Every year, I get the opportunity to mentor undergraduate students and lead them through a summer research project to introduce what grad school could be like. I find this rewarding and an informative decision, given that I would love to teach at a university and mentor students in the context of my own lab. During this program, I also give a presentation about my complicated route that led me to my current position as a graduate research assistant. During this talk, I usually give tips and a list of things to consider. Recently, a new book was released called _Is Grad School For Me?: Demystifying the Application Process for First-Gen BIPOC Students_ by Yvette C. and Miroslava Chávez-García. Of course, I am never one to either recommend or denounce a book without even trying to read it.
For full context, I have listened to Dra. Martínez-Vu’s podcast, “Grad School Femtoring,” and I was aware that she was in the process of writing a book based on the graduate school application process. I do enjoy her podcast content; however, I was worried that someone not from a scientific field may not understand that specific process of giving a scientific application. I’ve seen this sometimes where the disciplines just do not translate. I did not need to be worried, as I felt that this was a great book that gave enough specifics and generalized information to be useful. There were also example statements from different fields to give an idea of what different applicants said in terms of their different fields of study. Also, there was a lot of informational content that surrounded all of the material presented. I anecdotally noticed some of the aspects of being an underrepresented student, but I would always shake it off as it “just being me” or that “I’m reading too much into the situation.” It was very validating that it was not just me and that there is actual research into this field.
I think this is an amazing book whether you think that further going for higher education is for you or you are trying to help someone make that decision. I’m just upset that this book was not written soon as this would have been a relieving experience to read before making this step in my overall education journey.
Drabble Geeks 