So I was a panelist again earlier this week, this time for a seminar for first-year students who do not have an advisor yet.  Let’s see, at Rice, I was on a panel my senior year to give the juniors advice on senior design projects, and at MIT, I moderated a panel for EECS Info Day 2008, sat on the panel for EECS Info Day 2009, and sat on a panel on applying for graduate school.  Huh, that sounds like a lot … well, hopefully that means I am now at least halfway decent at distilling my experiences into helpful advice.

So what big points did I take away this time?  In no particular order…

1. Talk to the students in the group.  They are probably the people you will be working with the most, and they can give you insight into the group and advisor.  Talk to students who have left the group if you can too, since they have less conflict of interest and might be more willing to spill on any bad aspects.
2. Know your own style so you can find the right match.  For example, want someone hand-on or hands-off?  Like to work by yourself or in teams?
3. Don’t be afraid to go outside your comfort zone when finding a research topic.
4. Don’t take too many classes your first semester.  One of my friends took four (!) and used it as an excuse to procrastinate finding an advisor.
5. If you are not comfortable committing to a group, be upfront with the professor.  When you accepted the graduate school offer, you accepted the school, not a specific research group.
6. If you end up not liking a group you pick, don’t be afraid to switch groups.  Going back to the whole advisor-advisee marriage analogy, divorce is possible.  Time it right (for example, wait until you finish your MS), and don’t burn your bridges.
7. Use other resources.  If in a jam, talk to your graduate advisor or some other faculty since they have probably dealt with similar situations before.