290: Advice for Nontraditional Students Applying to Grad School

290: Advice for Nontraditional Students Applying to Grad School

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Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: [00:00:00] This episode is brought to you by my Grad School Femtoring Collaborative Workshops. If you're a member of the global majority who wants to prioritize your mental health and well being, then I have the right resource for you. On Thursday, October 24th, At 3 p. m pacific time, I'll be moderating a virtual workshop called Meeting Myself Inside Out, facilitated by my dear friend and colleague Joan Choi, who is a Korean and American bilingual ex bartender turned licensed therapist working with Asian Americans, BIPOC, and other marginalized communities through a decolonized and internal family systems lens.

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Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: If someone were to tell me. That I had to go back to grad school now, in light of my current circumstances and scenario, I would do things a lot differently, primarily because I am older, I am more experienced, and I have children. These factors would make me a non traditional student and would impact the way That I would make decisions around how to apply to graduate school, [00:02:00] where to apply to graduate school, and what I would prioritize during that time.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: So because of this, I thought I would record an episode on this topic. It's also tied to a recent workshop that I attended. have given on how to thrive in grad school as a non traditional student. And so in light of this, I wanted to share some words of advice to anyone who self identifies as non traditional who plans to go to graduate school.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: So let's, let's begin. Dive right in.

Welcome to the top global ranked and award nominated grad school femtoring podcast. The place for first gen BIPOCs to listen in on conversations about grad school, And growth. In this podcast, you'll learn about all things higher education, personal development, and sustainable productivity. This is Dr.

Yvette [00:03:00] Martinez Vu, and I will be serving as your femtor, providing you with tips and tricks and everything else you need to know to successfully navigate grad school and beyond. For over 14 years, I've been empowering first gen students of color along their personal and professional journeys. And I'm really excited to support you too.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Welcome back everyone to another episode of the Grad School Femtoring Podcast. This is your host, Dr. Yvette. Today I'm sharing words of advice for non traditional students who are applying to graduate school. So this is working under the assumption that you are someone who is Over the age of 25, you are someone who may have dependents.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: You may have children, you might have parents to look after, you might have other people that, that are that you are caring for. And [00:04:00] you have already decided that you're definitely going to go back to school. So this is not an episode about deciding whether or not to go back to school. This is an episode about let's work under the assumption that you've decided you're definitely going to be applying this cycle or the next cycle.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: And you want to hear from someone else who has more knowledge and experience on what to keep in mind as you're going through this process. So I've got five main words of advice. I want to share. The first one is To make sure to include your family in the decision making process when you apply to graduate school is a family decision because you going back to school is going to impact your family.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: And it is important to make sure everybody's on board and is willing to support you. in this process. Sometimes some people make decisions around [00:05:00] grad school and their timeline of applying and even finishing a program because they might have children. And so they're thinking, well, I definitely don't want to disrupt my child's education.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: I've definitely don't want to be having my child move around too much. And for that reason, you might choose to apply in a certain year or when your child reaches a certain age or try to time it so that it matches with a certain transition that they're already making. So all of this to say that this is not something that I recommend that you decide on your own.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: I do think it's important to bring in your community to make sure that they too are on board, to make sure it works for everyone and ultimately so that they can support you to through this process, because going back to school takes a lot of time. It's a big commitment. And it's ultimately a sacrifice that you're making, a temporary sacrifice for the sake of [00:06:00] advancing yourself and your career.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: The second word of advice that I want to share is related to making sure that you leverage your work experiences and skills. This is where you stand out from the crowd. You likely have more work experience and more life experience than other applicants who are applying to graduate school who are coming out of college.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Probably worked other jobs. You have probably learned some skills. Some of them might be career and professional skills. Others might be life skills, but nonetheless, you have this experience over other applicants. And so you want to make sure that you position yourself in your writing, in your application essays, in a way where you stand out from others.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: in a positive light, and you do this by [00:07:00] showcasing the skills or the things that you gained from your work and life experience. So rather than seeing, maybe taking a gap from school, or, you know, in some cases, I work with folks who took time off so that they could take care of young children, instead of viewing that as a deficit or as something that you have to compensate for.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Instead, you position that as a strength, as an asset, and you showcase all the things that you learned from that. So that's the second thing I wanted to mention. The third word of advice I want to share is to make sure you're on the lookout for programs that offer support. Not all colleges and universities are the same.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: You cannot expect every college and university to provide the same level of resources. Even the organizations, the programs, the centers, the infrastructure can be completely different. From one [00:08:00] university to the next. And you can't even make the assumption that a top program will necessarily have the exact same or better resources than a program that isn't top ranked.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: This is why it's important for you to do your research. What is it that you need to thrive as a student? Is it a diverse population? Is it a university that already has a pre established non traditional student program? Is it a university that is an HSI? Is it a university that is a minority serving institution?

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Is it a university that has a robust set of first gen programs? You need to figure out for yourself, again, based on your identity markers and your needs and the skills that you want to learn, what are the resources that you need? And then you go out and [00:09:00] search for programs and look to see what resources they have available that match your needs.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Another thing I want to mention, and this is the fourth word of advice, is To look closely at the different types of graduate school options available to you in terms of the formatting and the way that they teach and deliver the curriculum. By this I mean that Because you are a non traditional student or non traditional, you may become a non traditional student if you're admitted.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: And because odds are you probably still have financial responsibilities, you may not be able to take time off from work to focus solely on your studies. A lot of folks still need to work at the very least part time and in some cases full time as well. And you have to account for Well, what type of learning structure [00:10:00] works for me?

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Do I want to be enrolled in a part time program where I can take classes at my own pace, even if it means it takes me an extra year or two to finish? Do I want to sign up for a hybrid program where some of the instruction is online and some of the instruction is in person? And so it gives me a balance of the Benefits of on campus opportunities without having to show up to campus every single day.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Or do I want to sign up for an all online program and make sure that I make time for it in between my work? Do I want to have the flexibility of Asynchronous or completely virtual live classes. Is that something that's going to work for me? Some people, this might be ideal. This might even be the only way that they can go back to graduate school.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: For other folks, they might need that [00:11:00] in person support. So it's about You taking the time to sit down and evaluate for yourself what actually works best for my needs right now. I'll give you an example too, because even though I am far removed from going to graduate school, I finished my PhD back in 2016 and I haven't gone back to school since.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: I have since then completed a coaching certification program. While it's not the same as going back to school, it is still a program that I signed up for that included a curriculum that required additional learning and homework on my end. And guess what? For me, it was important that I find a program that was diverse.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: For me, it was also important that I find a program that was completely virtual. Why? Because that's what serves my needs right now as someone who is disabled and neurodivergent and a [00:12:00] parent of two little ones who already works from home. I'm in an area where there aren't necessarily a lot of in person coaching certification programs near me.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: I wanted to prioritize that virtual learning environment. But I also wanted to make sure that it was live classes because I still wanted to tap into the network and the community building aspect of it. So you see how in my example, I needed to prioritize the virtual format. I needed to prioritize the diverse participants and faculty, and I needed to prioritize a program that was going to provide me with the curriculum That suits my learning needs.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: I wanted to learn not just about concepts and frameworks that would make me a really strong coach. I also wanted to learn about topics related to serving the BIPOC population. Things like considering [00:13:00] intersectionality, considering psychological safety, considering how microaggressions impact people, thinking about implicit bias.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Bias, having difficult conversations and what to do when difficult topics come up. All of that I took into account when I selected my program. So consider your grad school options. And if you're less certain, you can always reach out to people who have completed this program that you're considering to ask them What their impressions of that program were.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: In fact, this reminds me of a former episode I had where I interviewed someone who completed an online MBA program. And this person who was also returning back to school later on mentioned that she talked to people who had. been involved in that program. She realized it was a very supportive space. And based on the positive feedback that she got about [00:14:00] this program, she applied, she got in, she completed the program and guess what?

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: She only has good things to share about it because she too had an overwhelmingly positive and supportive experience in this fully virtual MBA program that she completed. So consider your options. Do you want it to be all in person? Do you want it to be hybrid? Do you want it to be online? Do you want it to be part time or do you want it to be full time?

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: And then the last thing I want to mention, and this is where I will wrap things up, I'm keeping today's episode short and sweet, is that no matter what, this applies to everybody across the board, but it's even more important if you are a non traditional student. is that you need to build up your support team.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: I can't stress this enough, especially for first gen BIPOC folks. Historically, we a lot of students that fit this population tend to struggle with [00:15:00] a feeling of lack of belonging on college campuses and also just in general, in academic settings. And because of that, you need to make sure that you have folks who are who have your back.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: This can be loved ones who support you by offering to help you in whatever way. You might be able to delegate chores or even friends. Sometimes they might be willing to, when you're going through, you know, a tough milestone, they might be able to send you A gift card so that you don't have to worry about your meals for that week.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: Or maybe it is finding mentors, tapping back into old mentors, letting them know, giving them an update and, and notifying them that you're applying to graduate school and that you you're Really appreciate their support. You want it to let them know what you've been up to. You can even follow up to meet with them to see what they've been doing since you last touched base.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: [00:16:00] So loved ones, peers, mentors, and anyone else who's part of your community, anyone who you consider part of your broader support system, you want to get creative. You don't want to just rely on one or two or three different people. You really want to think about, okay, within This larger cluster of support.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: What are the areas of support that I need and who can support me in this way? And then of course, I know it can be hard to ask for help, but remember that this is not just a transaction. This is also about relationship building. As people support you on this grad school journey, I trust that you will also support them when they go through their own journeys, whatever it is that they are pursuing, you will be there to support them because they did that to you when you needed it.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: And that is at this time while you're applying to grad school. So really keep [00:17:00] these five words of advice in mind. If you are a non traditional student, there's so much to you. That is amazing. That is an asset that people would be so lucky to have you in their programs. Sometimes it can be easy to think, Oh my gosh, I'm so far removed from school.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: And am I really going to be able to make it work? Am I going to be smart enough? Am I going to be able to keep up with the younger generation who is more tech savvy? But trust me, there is so much for others. There is so much that others can learn from your knowledge and your experience. And we need a wide breadth of people in these programs because diversity only enhances the learning experience.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: So make sure to include your family in the decision making process. Make sure that you continue leveraging your work and life experiences and skills. Make sure that you find [00:18:00] programs that provide the types of support and resources that you need. Make sure that you consider all all of your different grad school options from online to in person to part time to full time.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu: And then of course, please start building your support team because we cannot do this alone. That's it for today's episode. I hope that you found it helpful. And as always, I will talk to you all next time.

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