Grad student life, thus far, has either made me feel like a) I have a solid direction on how to navigate my 20s OR b) the noise pollution in my head is caused by the crushing feeling of imposter syndrome. And there’s no in-between :D
I remember ending off my last HerCampus McMaster article expressing my impending sense of doom with graduating (and potentially leaving) McMaster. BUT here I am, back again, new and improved, this time as a Master’s student! I’m so thankful to have been accepted to McMaster’s MSc. Global Health program, as part of the 2025/2026 cohort! Even though it’s officially only been a month, I see such profound changes in myself. Not to sound stereotypical, I swear! I think it’s frightening, but so exciting, to see my self-growth in such a short period of time – especially because the vibe in grad school is so different from the vibe in undergrad, even though I’m still at the same university!
So, after a solid month of excessive journalling and introspection, I wanted to share three major lessons and sentiments I’ve developed as a Master’s student in my program. I hope sharing my thoughts could help other grad (and undergrad) students also going through the motions of navigating school, find the excitement hidden within the fright. Not all change needs to carry the label of being ‘scary!’
- Lesson 1: Get comfortable with the feeling of uncertainty
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Let me be so honest, I was initially waitlisted for my program when the first round of acceptances/rejections went out. I was devastated, not because I “didn’t get in” but because my future felt so uncertain at that moment. My plan of what I wanted to achieve within the program literally dissipated because I didn’t even get into the program! Maybe I lacked the foresight when I was making my plan for the upcoming year. Maybe I should have considered what to do if I got waitlisted or rejected. Looking back, there are a lot of ‘maybes’ I should have considered. I think it finally clicked in my head that life is full of unknowns and ambiguities. No matter how much I want to plan and account for everything, there’s no realistic way that I can. I’ve learned it’s okay to not have everything figured out all the time— everything will work out in the way it’s meant to!
Anna Schultz / Her Campus - Lesson 2: Imposter syndrome is so real (but so is growth!)
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This program has some of the most intelligent, well-spoken, and compassionate individuals I’ve ever met. Listening to everyone introduce themselves during the first week of classes, detailing all the initiatives they’ve done that got them interested in global health, just fuelled my imposter syndrome. I think for the entire month of September, I kept questioning if I even belong in the program— I mean, I don’t have a bunch of research publications, or a non-profit, or a sociology background to understand half the frameworks in our readings. It took me a long time to accept that just because the experiences that got me interested in the Global Health program are different from my peers’ experiences, doesn’t mean that my experiences are insignificant in comparison! We’re often told that “comparison is the thief of joy,” but I think an addendum to that quote should be “that fuels imposter syndrome.” Instead of comparing myself, I’ve learned to ask my peers questions about their experiences so I can learn from them and grow my knowledge within the field of global health. Don’t get me wrong, some days the imposter syndrome screams louder than anything else, but I’ve learned that the best way to tune it out is to embrace self-growth.
- Lesson 3: Think about what success means to you now that you’re in grad school
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I think the meaning of success changes as you progress to different levels of schooling. I didn’t anticipate my definition of success to change between undergrad and grad school, but maybe that’s because I hadn’t experienced a transition like this since high school. I always thought that ‘success’ meant staying organized, keeping up with weekly coursework, and being ahead of deadlines. But I quickly learned that’s not the only definition of success in grad school. I feel like this program gives me the unique opportunity to explore my interests and get involved with things that I wouldn’t normally get involved with. If I emphasize success in grad school mirroring my success in undergrad, I think I’d limit myself to the person I was in undergrad. My new definition of success partially includes my old definition, but it also encompasses how I can find purpose in my work, instead of only perfection in the outcome. I realized that I would feel like a ‘successful grad student’ if I could find opportunities that deliver my passion for why I care about global health, almost like learning to fall in love with the journey instead of only the destination.
As I sit here writing the first draft of this article, it is exactly one month to the date of when my classes as a grad student began. Looking back on this month, I’ve realized grad school isn’t about mastering a subject or degree— there’s an overarching (but hidden) message to master yourself! Finding comfort in the uncertain, dealing with imposter syndrome, and redefining success have encouraged me to grow in ways that wouldn’t have been possible without grad school. Even though growth and change aren’t always glamorous or linear, the messiness, emotion, and beautiful confusion make it worth it. Maybe becoming a better version of myself isn’t meant to happen in comfort or familiarity, and that is perfectly okay!