Advice from Graduate Students

Housing Options
Transportation and Parking
Academic Preparation
Class Registration and Payment
Purchasing Books
Employment and Funding
Financial Resources and Planning
Campus Organizations and Resources
Hokie Sports and Traditions
Health and Wellness
Connect with Others

Housing Options
Look at the off campus housing website before you have to move so that you can get an idea of good apartment complexes that are in your price range. If you move in during a month besides August, look for subleases; they will often be your best bet for finding available housing. – Tiffany New

Oakbridge, Sturbridge, Chasewood, and the Village at Blacksburg are also popular apartment complexes. – Harshit Shaw

Transportation and Parking
It is okay to not own a car while you are in Blacksburg. One can travel to Walmart, Kroger, and the shopping mall at Christiansburg, which also has a movie theater, through the Blacksburg Transit. There are buses every 10 minutes in the bus routes through the popular off campus complexes, and the service is very reliable. – Harshit Shaw

Always get to school by 8 a.m. to make sure you get a parking spot. – Mary Minton

Academic Preparation
When it comes to choosing an advisor, there are two important aspects to consider: the research and the advisor. My advice would be to find a few people that you think you can have a good working relationship with and then choose whose research interests you the most. You can always find something in your research that interests you, but if you don't get along with your advisor you're stuck. – Mary Minton

You need to find an advisor ASAP when you start grad school. Make sure that your advisor is someone who you like that does research in an area that you are interested in pursuing. Make sure that you start investigating possible classes to take during your first semester so that you can get your plan of study done on time. – Tiffany New

Contact current grad students in your major to get really good advice. Once you have a major advisor, get to know them and meet with them often. – Katherine Cachaper

Find people in your classes who you can confer with about homework questions. Don't be afraid to ask any and all of your professors for help. – Tiffany New

Class Registration and Payment
Keep track of paperwork on your own. (The Bursar's office has given me incorrect statements every semester after my first semester here, but I'm still expected to pay the right amount by the deadline.) VT only accepts cash and checks for student account payments. – Susan Tice

Purchasing Books
Student software distribution has software that is cheaper than that offered elsewhere. Also, when setting up an Internet connection, Student Software Distribution has VTnet CDs that are free and very helpful. – Katherine Cachaper

A lot of students think that library at Tech can provide them with their textbooks. Certain textbooks of your courses may be available, but there is a mechanism called book recall, under which anyone looking for the same book can call back the book from you. So, one should be prepared to buy a book. Also, you may want to know that grad students can borrow a maximum of 100 books for a period of 90 days. – Harshit Shaw

Online sources, such as Barnes and Noble and Amazon sometimes have really good deals for textbooks. – Katherine Cachaper

Employment and Funding
If you are a teaching assistant (TA), I would contact the professor and talk with them about their expectations of you as a TA. In the best case, you will be a TA for your major advisor, who will tell you what they expect. Also, if the class requires a textbook and/or a lab book, I would ask the professor for a copy or sometimes you get to have the department pay for it for your use. This way you can familiarize yourself with the material that you will be helping students with or that you will be teaching to the students. – Katherine Cachaper

Go by the financial aid office before classes start to make sure that everything is in order. This way you can avoid dropped classes and late fees. Make sure that you secure funding for the next semester a month or two before it starts. This way, you avoid any missed paychecks and tuition payments. – Tiffany New

Financial Resources and Planning
Online phone cards: To help with long distance bills; some online websites, such as Bigzoo and OneSuite offer really good rates on long distance phone calls. – Katherine Cachaper

Campus Organizations and Resources
Get involved early. It helps to minimize adjustment issues and compliments the studies. – Marcus Ly

Find clubs and extra curricular activities to join so that you don't fixate too much on your classes and research work. – Tiffany New

One does not have be an undergrad to participate. I'm involved in two organizations that have mostly undergrads, but they welcome grad students and it's been fun! – Katherine Cachaper

Hokie Sports and Traditions
If you get season tickets with a group of people from your department or group of friends it may cost a little, but you don't have to stress over the ticket lottery. And you get to sit with people that you know. – Mary Minton

Health and Wellness
The paved path that goes along Route 460 is the Huckleberry Trail. This trail is popular for running and biking. It starts at the Blacksburg Public Library and ends at the Christiansburg mall; it's 5.75 miles long. – Mary Minton

Connect With Others
Get a good network of friends before you come to Blackburg and learn to
tolerate, adjust, and to say NO in a polite way when situation demands. – Girish Pillai

Find someone here who is doing well, preferably one year ahead of you, and try to develop a solid relationship with that person. Ask questions. – Susan Tice

The only advice that I would give is that before prospective students apply to become graduate students, they should know what they want to do and who they want to work with during their graduate work. If possible, contact current students and ask them about which professor would be good to work with in the area that you are interested in. – Katherine Cachaper

Although it's harder to meet people in graduate school, you have the advantage of starting with a group of people in your department who are all in the same boat as you. Chances are there's a least one person in that group that you can get to know better. – Mary Minton

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