How to Succeed at the Master, Essay Example

Much of the success that students find at the master’s level is attributable to their management of time, their organization of resources, and their efficacy of communication. Master’s programs demand more maturity from students, because the focus of their study becomes much narrower and defined as compared to their bachelor’s degree efforts. In essence, the master’s degree is a time when students dig deeper from among fewer learning topics.

Each student holds the same amount of time –24 hours in a day. The successful student will discriminate between trivial and the imperative things that complete for their time and attention. Students, out of absolute necessity, will need to structure work, play, relaxation, recreation, and all of their duties as people (spouse/partner, employee, student, etc…) to cover all of the responsibilities that follow them. Setting and following daily and weekly patterns will help to ensure success with the management of time. We do not create or save time; we merely manage it.

Resources must also find a sense of purpose and place in the lives of successful graduate students. Having and utilizing the right technological resources is a real plus in the academic atmosphere of the 21^st century. In addition, having a dedicated place to study and reflect is a strong key that determines timely completions of reading and writing assignments. Resources also take the form of people, as diligent students nurture friendships from among their student peers, forming study groups and tackling large assignments cooperatively.

Communication flow from learner to teacher and from teacher to learner requires emphasis. It takes more than class attendance to experience the upper echelon of academic success. Students should communicate regularly with their professors, or at least their graduate assistants, to track the flow of their understanding of key concepts. This is achieved as students attend out-of-class seminars or make appointments with professors during their office hours. Students can also ask for enrichment opportunities that the professor recommends for increased exposure to the lessons taught through the regular class sessions.