The fear of impending doom has taken over the Class of 2017. (Okay, I exaggerate.) We graduate in less than eight months and I think I speak on behalf of most of us when I say we’re anxious about it. Some of us have the next five years planned out, whereas some of us are unsure about lunch tomorrow. Even so, most of us fit somewhere in the following categories. We’re:

Taking a gap year or two to get work experience, then going graduate school

Getting a full-time job, not planning to go to graduate school in the immediate future

Going to graduate school right after

I won’t say much about the first two categories, but as someone applying to graduate school, let me tell you that it is both nerve-wracking and exhilarating. Mostly anxiety-inducing, though. There are applications to fill out, standardized tests to write, personal statements to draft. It never ends, until one day it does. But an important question presents itself: are NYU Shanghai students ready for graduate school?Although NYU Shanghai may have provided us with plenty of opportunities to prepare us for graduate school, ultimately it is a personal question. Despite the learning, writing, networking, and growing you’ve been doing over the past four years, you can’t force yourself to be prepared for graduate school. It is true that faculty support, guest lectures, GPS, GPC, other critical analysis and writing classes, and research opportunities can help you prepare yourself for graduate school. But it does come down to where you are on your personal journey.Until four months ago, I had no idea what I wanted to do after graduation. I knew that I needed to go to graduate school, but if you asked me what I wanted to study, you would see me shrugging and then running away. I was certain that I did not want to do anything even remotely related to Finance (my major), but that was it. I spoke to my professors and got conflicting opinions from them. Hearing about their experiences helped, but at the same time, confused me to no end.How did I finally decide to pursue an MFA in Creative Writing?Over the past year, I’ve taken several creative writing classes and worked on a research project related to poetry. I made connections within the writing community, with help from my professors. I talked to people who’ve done the MFA, scrolled through blogs and websites catered to MFA applicants, joined a Facebook support group for South Asian women writers, and ignored people who told me that I should just stick to business. Am I ready for graduate school?Yes, I think so. This article was written by Pramugdha Maheswari. Please send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Huigui