100 Reasons To Study:

100 Reasons to Study:

I never expected this “reasons to study” thing to get so many submissions, and as it takes me so long to post them all, I decided to do a bulk post of some so here they are:

(If I haven’t included a url, it was submitted by an anon).

To prove people that “bad” students can become excellent students too.

To expand your knowledge of the world.

To look back on your success in ten years time. (Submitted byadxlastudies)

To not let my mental illness define my grades. (Submitted bymusicandmaths)

I study because I am privileged enough to have the opportunity. I study because I have no one getting in my way telling me I can’t. I study because I want to do some real good in this world. I study because I live in a country where being female has no significant disadvantage; and so, I take this opportunity so that I may make future opportunities for those who don’t have them. (Submitted by crimson-voltaire)

My reason for studying is how I’ll get to where I want to be in my life which is successful, comfortable, and happy.

I study to make my mum happy and proud.

I study to prove my anxiety wrong!

I study because I want to save lives.

I study because my grandpa, orphaned during WWII when he was 8, worked 4 days a week in a mine to learn for 2 days. He’s retired after 40 years of working in diplomacy, for the last 5 years as an ambassador. He’s my role model. And I love him so much.

I study because my primary school teacher from when I was 6 replied “Well who would think that?” when my mother informed her I was going to university. I study so I can tell her “Why would you not think that?”

I study because I want to give myself the best future I possibly can as a black woman. (Submitted by n-marlzz)

I study because my dreams are improbable. But not impossible. I will achieve them. (Submitted by redheadbecool)

I study because even though I can’t imagine having a future, I want one. (Submitted by stxdys)

I study so that I can be surrounded by the right people at school, at home, at work, and on Tumblr. You can only walk the path that you choose for yourself, so choose wisely. Pave your path with bricks, not straw.

I study because last year I was in a mental hospital for young people and I discovered that I want my death to mean something.

I study because diseases have haunted my family for long enough, and cancer deserves to be taken down once for all.

I study because my father left school at age 13 to work to provide for his family and he has been working ridiculously hard ever since so I can have an education.

I study to be self reliant and to get more answers. The concept of being independent is attractive to me, and if i study hard enough, i will be able to live freely without relying on my parents. The thought of getting answers is a huge satisfaction.

I study because I told my ex, “Watch me go to Harvard”. So oops.

Because I want to have a well paying job which means I can eventually travel the world one day.

I study because I love to be productive really just in love with the feeling of it being noon and already have gotten everything done that I needed for that day. (Submitted by revision-babe)

I want and I like to study because I believe that we as humans have the responsibility of maintain and grow the knowledge people developed in the past. How could we waist all those efforts to try know this wonderful world a little better? (Submitted by mochilunar-universe)

I study because my Dad went through a lot of work to get to this country so that I could have a good life and a good education, and I’m not going to waste all his good efforts and take him and my education for granted.

Because I believe I can do it and I won’t let their words stop me. (Submitted by truly-written-by-me)

I study for my own sense of achievement! I’m also really motivated by my boyfriend who is very clever and works really hard. I want to get a first in my masters this year and I will! (Submitted by @orchidbeam)

I study for Nicki Minaj, she would be proud of me, and all the other women in the world. I hope that my degree will put me in the position to make a better world for all my sisters out there and the little ones.

I study because my family isn’t as rich as our family friends, and other families always make fun about what my dad does for a living. I want to change that and make sure the only thing others talk about is how amazing we turned out and what a good career I’m going into.

I study to make my parent’s hardships (moving to America, to provide a better life for my siblings and I) worth it.

My reason to study is to show myself and everyone I am stronger than my mental illness and to prove everyone who said it would stop me from getting anywhere wrong.

I study so I can change the world for the better.

I study because I want to help my family, to fulfil my dreams and save lives.

To be a champion.

I want to study in order to prove myself and people that being dyslexic and dysorthographic doesn’t mean being stupid. (Submitted bybritannicusmyfav)

I love to learn,and I want to know about all the things I missed because of school system. (Submitted by @seshet)

I study because I want to be the first sibling to go straight into uni without transferring from a community college.

I want to study so that I can transfer out from a community college to a really good university so that people won’t think the decision I made to go to community college was bad. Also to make my DAD super proud!

I study because I want to be the best version of myself.

I study to make those who have taken care of me proud, to show them they did a good job. I also study for myself, to prove that I can fulfil my goals and that everyone who has ever made fun of me just pushed me forward instead of putting the boot in. Getting a good job to live with my boyfriend would be a great plus! We all need motivation, and what’s better to motivate oneself than dreams to fulfil! Here are mine. (~Submitted bystudy-littleidlegirl)

I study because I never want to stop learning about myself and the world we live in.

I study so I’m educated enough to take down the haters in an articulate way so I feel accomplished when leaving the situation.

I study to ensure that when I’m actively in politics, only weak minded people will be able to scorn me due to my ethnic background or religion (or something stupid along those lines) instead of the immaculate policies and work I am carrying out.

I study to become successful in my future and because I have a passion for learning. (Submitted by baklavugh)

I study because I don’t have anything else to do. I guess it keeps me so busy that I don’t have time to think how lonely I am.

Because it makes me happy to see my hard work paid off and also ensures a better future than I would have if I didn’t study well. (Submitted by h4rshitaa)

I study to be able to pursue the career I want. For the thrill of knowledge, the security of understanding. For the way it shapes how I interpret the world. I study not because it is something I must do, but because it is something that is a part of who I am. (Submitted by @audesapare)

I study to improve my mind so I can understand deeply the things people thought I was not capable of understanding. I study so I can live the most fulfilled life possible. I take every second of this life as a chance to learn and improve myself.

Because I’m going to prove girls are useful for more then just looks and a sex object.

I study to open doors of opportunity. I study to improve my and others lives. I study to feel good when I go to sleep. I study to feel confident with my ability. I study to prove to myself what I can do.

Because I want to show to my child that everything needed effort and passion. Also I want to show how important knowledge is, as a mom and as a housewife. (Submitted by studymamapartiallyhousewife)

I study because it makes me happy to know I am in control of my future.

I study because I am curious.

So that I won’t have to struggle like my parents are financially. (Submitted by study-sugar)

I study because I want my single mother who has worked so hard for my education to live a better life when she’s older. I want her to look at me in the future, sitting in my office in a law firm and telling herself “it was all worth it”.

FOR NICKI MINAJ. I WILL GO TO A HIGHER EDUCATION FOR YOU.

I study so that I can be proud of the person that I am.

I study because I want independence. After my bachelor’s degree I plan to be able to continue into further study such as an MA and support myself. I am an only child which has always led my family to be over protective and education will always be my way in holding my own in the world.

I study so I can have the freedom to leave where I am now and actually be happy for a change. Without studying I wouldn’t be able to get the job nor satisfaction in life I know I deserve.

I study because it’s the one thing I can decide for myself.

I study because knowledge is power and I never want to feel inferior to anyone or have any regrets. I don’t want anything to hold me back from achieving my dreams. (Submitted by shreestudies)

I study so I’m not so nervous for tests. Also to improve myself and my learning.

I study because I have a huge thirst for knowledge. I love to learn and allow that to change me as a person for the better. I love being able to understand the world around me and contribute my opinions that have been developed from what I’ve learned. (Submitted bymymindssecretpalace)

I want to be a successful person in life. I can use my intelligence to help those in need. Besides, people won’t belittle or pick on my appearance! ✌

I study because I want to help others and make people aware that how important it is to be literate. (Submitted by anashiv)

I study to show that I have potential. I study to show my learning disabilities and adhd is not me. I study because I want to grow. I study to be the person I know I can be, the person I know I am.

I’m so tired of not passing my tests, of feeling like I don’t know the material. I have testing anxiety which prevents me from doing well. I want to study enough that I feel so comfortable with the material and the anxiety goes away. I want to study so I can begin feeling proud of myself and all my accomplishments.

To help those struggling with different mental illnesses and help them see a better light.

Because I want to build that building.

I study because I want to prove all my male teachers and friends, that not only boys are learning the best, and if I want to, I can beat them all!

I want to study to make my parents proud after all the sacrifices they made for me and to succeed so my family and I can live a better life.

I study because I love to learn new things. (Submitted by ki-soonal)

I study to find a solution to stop the passing on of the genes for hereditary diseases. As in to reduce risk of young children being diagnosed with hereditary diseases.

To get that dream job and slay everyone who said it was too difficult for me.

Because education is awesome.

So I can change the world.

To give my mom and dad the life they deserve! (Submitted by samiya-malik)

Because everything is a competition and I must be best. (Submitted by letustudy)

To prove to myself and others that I can do anything I set my mind to. (Submitted by studiousstudying)

So when you are taking a test/exam your anxiety and stress levels are lower. (Submitted by introvertedturtlequeen)

I study because I want to know I’ve earned everything I achieve.

The biggest reason I study is that all of my friends are incredibly smart and when I was younger I wanted to prove to them that I could keep up, but now that I’ve decided that I don’t need to compete, I study just because it makes me feel good. (Submitted by queen-elbow)

I study because the world is an interesting place, and I want to know it as deeply as possible. (Submitted by matchamonstr)

I study because I am so sick and tired of seeing my mom struggle, all because she didn’t have a good education. I don’t want to wake up to a job I absolutely dread, and be paid minimum wage. I want to say “thanks mom, I can take care of you now.”

I study to grow big enough to reach my high hopes. (Submitted by seriousstudygirl)

To see the look on my mum and dad’s face when they see my results. (Submitted by seizethesaturday)

I study because I love to crush my enemies. I like to see the looks on their faces when they see me succeed. (Submitted by dirtylaundry-emptystyrofoam)

I study because I feel the need to prove to the world that I am more than a child prodigy that burnt out one day. I need to prove to myself that I’m just as good, if not better than I used to be. That I’ve got places to go and people to prove wrong.

I study because I love to teach and I want to know everything that I can so that I can more clearly convey things to others, and to be able to make connections across topics to make things personal and interesting to them. (Submitted by the-homework-fandom)

My dream as a little girl was “to be the most smartest person ever” and I still don’t know what else to do. (Submitted by polaroceanographer)

To create room for the real me in the future.

My reason for studying is so I can get into the university I want, and not have to travel away to one. (Submitted by iggythedragonslayer)

To get a well paid job so my children can have the best possible life.

My reason to study is to prove to my parents and myself that I can achieve my goals without the help of others. My reason to study is to gain valuable knowledge, NOT just for a grade. (Submitted by barbstudies)

To prove to myself that I am strong and can reach my goals. (Submitted by scared-robot

I study so I have a chance of getting into the United States Air Force academy…

I study so I am offered to meet interesting people that are also studying the same field as I am. (Submitted by ghostsname)

I’ll study so I can live relaxed as a cat in Hokkaido.

*Shia LaBoeuf voice* JUST DO IT

So I can prove myself that I am, indeed, intelligent and not just some bimbo with a hollow head. (Submitted by study-guerassimovna)

Because learning new things and having a more informed view of the world is beautiful. (Submitted by studism)

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Inspiration

TRIG REVIEW #2: IDENTITIES, EQUATIONS, & POLAR GRAPHS

So this trig review is going to be about trig identities, how to solve trig equations & oblique triangle problems, and last but not least, polar graphs.

Trig Identities: You have to know these identities (except half-angle and sum/difference). Also the bottom two are necessary for solving trig integrals, so memorize those!

Trig Equations: Here are various example problems showing how to solve trig equations.

Oblique Triangle Equations: You only have to know the equilateral equation for area of cross sections in Calc BC. The rest is just extra info. that is nonetheless helpful to know. (:

Polar Coordinate:

Polar Graphs: Memorize these trig graphs for finding polar area! (All graphs come from Wolfram Alpha)

And that’s basically all the trig you need to know for Calc BC. Good luck! If you haven’t seen my part 1 post, you can find it here.

Tags

reference math

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swirlspill-study

1 year ago

So I was back in Mandarin class and the teacher let us know that in ancient times sometimes they wouldn’t even give their girl children names. Their attitude was why bother getting attached to her when she’s just going to grow up and belong to someone else? She doesn’t need her own identity because she is the property of her future husband. If they needed to refer to a woman they would say that’s Wang’s wife. In the same way you would say oh, that’s Wang’s car or Wang’s house. Let’s remember that we give names to dogs, horses, ships and buildings but some human women don’t deserve such recognition. She also touched on sex-selective abortion for a bit and it was all in all a pretty sad discussion today.

I was really moved but it felt like everyone else didn’t care or thought that stuff doesn’t matter because it doesn’t happen anymore. And yet even now women’s identities are being erased when they get married. Their personal history and family ties are untraceable because they are “adopted” into their husbands family. It’s disgusting and I hate that its so nomalized and I hate that even women’s names are not our own. We might as well never have been given names in the first place.

Tags

feminism culture

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swirlspill-study

6 years ago

How to Take Notes: from a Textbook

(Be sure to change the post type from link to text post when you reblog, if that’s what you want to do)

This method is best suited for textbook or article notes, and is a version of revised notes. It is also well suited for books you plan on returning to the bookstore or books you have rented, as it does not involve writing directly in the book itself.

First, you’ll need to find a notebook, and the pens you like the best. My favorite notebooks to work with for note-taking, especially for my “revised” notes, are the Moleskine, hard or soft cover, in size extra large. For this specific class (Intro to Gender and Women’s Studies), I decided that lined pages would suit my needs better. For my math, engineering, and science classes, I usually opt for squared paper, as I draw in lots of diagrams and graphs.

My favorite pens ever are Staedtler Triplus Fineliners, so even though they show through the pages a little bit, I still choose to use them. I just love the way they write. I usually write out my notes themselves with a Pilot G2 05 with black ink, as it writes with a finer line and doesn’t bleed through quite as much.

I usually try to set up my notebooks about a week or so before class starts, that way it’s ready to go on my first day of class.

You’ll want to start off by setting up your notebook. On my first page, I put my course code for my university, as well as the course title.

Next, and this is perfectly optional (I just like the way it makes the book look, especially at the end of the semester), I include some sort of related quote to the course. For my engineering courses (which are related to my major), I put a different quote at the beginning of each section. But as this is a two-month long course during the summer, I opted for one quote by Mohadesa Najumi at the beginning of my book.

Next I set up my table of contents and include a page with basic course information. As this course is all online, my course information just included the start and end dates of the course, what time content is posted and on what day, and the name of my professor. For my usual courses, I will include the days of the week the class meets on and where, TA names and contact info, as well as posted office hours for my professors and TAs and tutoring hours either in the library or in the College of Engineering.

Next is one of the things I’m most proud of.

While I religiously use my Erin Condren planner to map out my days, weeks, and months, I have found throughout my college experience that including monthly views for the months my class ranges has been helpful. This way, there’s no sifting through the multiple colors I have in my planner, and everything related to that class is in the same notebook.

On this calendar I include start dates of the class, the end date, the dates of exams or quizzes, assignment deadlines, office hours, etc.

For this course, as I just started a few days ago, I don’t have a lot of dates or information, so my calendars are still very empty.

Next up I go to my weekly overview. At the beginning of each week, I set up a weekly layout, and I include a list of assignments, tests, quizzes, tasks, projects, etc that need my attention throughout the week, and I place the days I plan on doing them or the days they need turned in onto the weekly layout.

Now you’re finally ready to get into taking the notes.

Gather your book, some sticky notes, and your favorite pen or pencil.

I color code my stickies so that the “revision” process later goes a bit smoother. In this case, I’m using blue to denote something interesting, intriguing, or thought provoking, greenish-yellow to represent the facts or important concepts, and pink for important vocabulary words and their definitions.

Read the selection once.

As you read along the second time, write notes on your stickies, and place them in a place of relevance directly on the page in the book. Just make sure you don’t cover up anything you need to keep reading.

Now, once you’ve read all the material in questions (you can choose to break it up however you want, but since Chapter 1 was assigned for the week, I’ve elected to break it into chapters), carefully remove your stickies one by one and lay them out on a flat surface. This is when having a separate color for vocab can be helpful, as I sometimes put all of my vocab at the beginning or end of a section, especially if the section of reading was particularly large.

Organize your stickies in an order that makes sense to you, and use this order as your basis for transferring those notes into your notebook. The order you choose can just be lumping them under similar headings. Some classes even lend themselves to a nice chronological order. Whatever you choose, just make sure it’s something that will make sense to you when you come back to it in the end.

Okay so up there I wasn’t following my own advice, I just thought I would include the picture because my handwriting looks nice…

Now organize the stickies!

Now you just start writing everything from the stickies into your notebook. I like to take each category or subgroup and put them in the book on the facing page, then put them back in my textbook as I finish with each post it.

Moving on to the next category.

Before you know it, you’ve written all of your stickies into your notebooks.

Now you’re revved up and ready to go. You can either keep going and make a note summary page (which I’ll show you next week), or you can leave it. These will also be helpful when reviewing for tests and quizzes. You can highlight or underline, or use even more stickies (which is what I usually do) as you review.

Well, that’s all I have for you right now. Happy studying!

(To view this post on wordpress, click here)

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reference notes

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swirlspill-study

6 years ago

☪⚛

Here are some posts about cosmology, astrophysics and physics. I separated some of the main posts about space. Follow the list below ↓

Space-Time Fabric

What are Gravitational Waves?

What is Dark Energy?

What is Gravitational Lensing?

What are white holes?

Interacting galaxy

Quark epoch

Cosmic microwave background

The collision of two black holes holes

What is a Quasar?

What are Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs)?

What are Pulsars?

What is a Supernova?

What are white dwarfs?

What are brown dwarfs?

How did a solar eclipse prove the theory of relativity?

Black hole vs star

Millisecond Pulsar with Magnetic Field Structure

Some intriguing exoplanets

Cepheid star

UY Scuti

TRAPPIST-1 planets

Extremely Large Telescope (ELT)

Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART)

Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA)

Very Large Telescope (VLT)

What is the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA)?

ESO Telescopes Observe First Light from Gravitational Wave Source

Keck Observatory

Coronal mass ejection

Stars

Interesting facts about stars

Stellar parallax

Edwin Hubble

Interstellar asteroid Oumuamua

The most distant supermassive black hole ever observed

X-ray binary

Black holes

What is an Exoplanet?

Smith’s Cloud

Type Ia supernova

Protoplanetary disk

Magellanic Clouds

Herbig–Haro

Constellations

Solar system: Formation

Comets

Sunspot

Plasma Sun

Mercury

Venus

Mars

Ceres

Jupiter

Saturn

Uranus

Neptune

Pluto

67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Zodiacal Light

Eclipse

Excitation of atom by photon

String Theory

Quantum Entanglement

Quantum Particles

What are the four fundamental forces of nature?

Nine weird facts about neutrinos

IceCube ( IceCube Neutrino Observatory)

What are Quarks?

Quantum Vacuum

Fermions and Bosons

30 years after the detection of SN1987A neutrinos

The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO)

The Large Hadron Collider

Vampire squid

This Photo of a Single Trapped Atom Is Absolutely Breathtaking

Halo (optical phenomenon)

Dirty thunderstorm

Bioluminescent Plankton

Where Your Elements Came From

IG: astronomy_blog

My blog

Tags

space

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swirlspill-study

6 years ago

The basics of Research Methods. There’s so much to learn in AS and more is added in the second year. In an exam you could be asked to state which hypothesis is being used in an example, which experimental method would be best for a situation, or to create your own research plan.

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research resources essays format

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swirlspill-study

7 years ago

Literally do your work as soon as you know it exists. If you get homework, do it during your free or when you get home or on the train if you really want to, on the day you get it. Just got set an assignment? Get the draft done that weekend. It doesn’t have to be amazing and absolutely ready to send in, it just needs to exist. Just got sent an email? Reply when you see it. If you’re not sure how to response to it, write Dear (), leave a gap and then write Regards () and keep that in your drafts. Set a reminder on your computer or write the reminder on a sticky note that you’ve got that sitting in your drafts and you need to send it off in the next 24 hours. Need to clean your room? Don’t spend time thinking or planning how you’re going to clean it or how you’re going to change up the space in the process, just pick stuff up and put it where it should be until everything’s in order. Done. Seriously dude, when a task arises as an issue, tackle it as soon as you realise it exists. Remember, it doesn’t need to be amazing it just needs to be done. So, when the due date of the task creeps closer, you can go back, work with what you have and make it the quality you want it to be.

Tags

Advice

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swirlspill-study

4 years ago

do you have any learning materials for learning chinese?

Are you learning Mandarin or Cantonese or another Chinese dialect/language cuz I’m not sure which resources you want? I can give you some resources for both Canto and Mandarin but I don’t have any resources for other Chinese dialects / Chinese languages

Mandarin Resources

PDF’s (it contains PDF files to learn Mandarine.)

Mandarin Resources / Rec Post

Free Resources For Learning Mandarin Chinese

Chinese Grammar Wiki

yoyochinese

chinesehulu

memrise

Tips on learning Mandarin Tones (Check this post for tips on learning Mandarin Tones. I learnt Chinese tone naturally so I don’t have anything to recommend so I just link you this blog post.)

Chinese Pronouns

Youtube

Learn Chinese Now

Lenguin.com Language Lessons

Vocabulary Videos

How to Speak With Numbers in (Mandarin) Chinese (In the West, we use acronyms for online chatting and texting such as BRB and LOL. For the Chinese, we use numbers! This video will help you learn how to speak with numbers in Chinese.)

Chinese Family Tree

11 Crucial Chinese Phrases

How to Curse in Mandarin Chinese

Textbooks

Integrated Chinese 中文听说读写

Links to watch Chinese (Mandarin) Dramas

DramaFever

Viki

Cantonese Resources

My first language is Cantonese so I’m not learning it from any materials but I’ve found a few site that looks quite interesting and looked quite helpful that you could try.

PDF’s (it contains PDF files to learn Cantonese.)

Apps Rec

Teach Yourself Cantonese

Cantonese Dictionaries

Cantonese Grammar

Cantonese Pronouns

Youtube

Cantonese Tone

iCANTONESE

Cantonese Bad Swear Words

Vocabulary Videos

How to Speak with Numbers in Chinese - Cantonese Version

Chinese Family Tree - Cantonese Version

CarlosDouh (This is helpful to learn some slang and how and when they are used in Hong Kong.)Cantonese Slang (Another clip with a list of some commonly used Cantonese slang)

Sites to watch Hong Kong / TVB Dramas

newasiantv (with subs)

icdrama (without subs)

Watching dramas/films/shows will definitely help you learn and improve your Cantonese.

Chinese Reading & Writing / Character Resources

Chineasy (They also have books you can buy on amazon or on here)

3000hanzi (A site dedicated to help people learn to read Chinese)

Chinese Poems

To improve or learn Chinese characters, try to watch some Chinese dramas and/or shows with Chinese subtitles, it will help you learn and improve your Chinese reading.

Some Info about Chinese Languages / Culture

Cantonese Vs Mandarin (This video tells you the difference between the two.) There is another link you can try here)

Chinese Culture Topic Videos (You should check out their channel, they talk about many other things about Chinese Culture / China.)

The Chen Dynasty

Taiwan vs. Mainland Mandarin Chinese

Blogs / Blog Posts

language-obsession

Chinese resources

Tags

chinese resources languages

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swirlspill-study

6 years ago

hey I'm a rising junior and I really want to go to grad school right after I graduate. I wanna do research but I'm not sure of the exact field yet. I know I like molecular biology and genetics and the current lab I'm in works on developmental biology and that's pretty interesting to me too. Anyway I just wanted some advice. When do you think would be a good time to take the GRE? Also how did you choose a program?

Hi there! Aahhh I’m so glad to hear you have a plan for grad school! one of us! one of us!

That’s ok that you don’t know exactly what you want to study. Many schools offer degrees in just biology, with more specific tracks depending on your interests and research (for example, Boston University has a PhD in Biology with tracks in Cell & Molecular Biology; Neurobiology; and Ecology, Behavior, Evolution, & Marine Biology). You can often determine your tracks or research focus after being accepted and going through a few lab rotations. Also keep in mind that it is absolutely ok to have undergrad research experience in a different focus than your graduate school dissertation project. No one expects you to find your calling in the first lab you work in. The research experiences garnered before grad school are more so to show you know what you’re getting yourself into (ie. the specific physical, mental, and emotional demands of laboratory research).

If you’re going for a PhD, you’ll have a chance to rotate through 3 or 4 labs before deciding on a specific research focus. Like you can be in a Biology PhD program, but your research could be on developmental biology. If you’re going for a Masters however, oftentimes you will have to pick a lab from the get-go (or even before the university accepts you).

Lots of PhD programs are doing “umbrella acceptance programs”. You apply to and get accepted into an umbrella biology program, which is comprised of multiple departments that specialize in different tracks (eg. Mol & Cell Bio, Pharmacology, Cancer Biology, etc), and after your lab rotations and first round of classes, you choose a home department (and dissertation lab) in the Spring. Here’s an example of the umbrella biology program from the University of Arizona that I applied for because I was undecided between choosing Immunobiology and Cancer Biology (the latter being what I ultimately chose after rotations and the first semester of classes).

As for the general concept of choosing a program (aside from these umbrella programs, which are fantastic imo), it’s going to take a lot of research (online and in-person) to see what’s out there and what ultimately piques your interest. It may sometimes boil down to a single lab you are absolutely enamored by. I ultimately settled on Cancer Biology at my university because a) it’s super fascinating, b) good job prospects in industry companies like Roche (I do not plan on staying in academia), and c) I absolutely loved the program–the research, the people and culture, the resources, and the funding (philanthropists looooove donating to cancer research, which the fairness of is a discussion for another day).

Lastly, keep in mind that science is extremely interdisciplinary. Just because you choose to study developmental biology during grad school doesn’t mean you’ll never get another chance to do research in molecular biology, or genetics, or even dabble in some bioinformatics through a future collaborator. No field exists in its own bubble; we’re all giant blobby venn-diagrams upon venn-diagrams constantly learning about and participating in other fields. And it’s great!! So don’t feel like you’re pigeon-holing yourself permanently into anything because of what your degree says.

So now, for the GRE! When to take it depends on your study schedule and how confident you are in whether you may need to retake the test or not. It think a good general timeline to follow will be to give yourself at least 6 months to study for the 1st test, and then give yourself another 2-3 months to study for a retake if necessary. The Princeton Review has a fabulous grad app timeline (including when to take the GRE) here.

I have a Applying to Grad School Masterpost with lots of info culled from mine and others’ posts, including GRE tips and a link to a link to a GRE Study Plan.

Hope that helped! Let me know if there’s anything else you’ll like to learn more about. Good luck, awesome scientist!

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