Treat Yo’self: The importance of self-care while applying to grad school

By: Michelle Fletcher – Global Health

I’m sure at some point we’ve all experienced graduate school application stress. It’s that angst or trigger we feel when someone asks us, “How are your applications coming along?” or “How’d the GRE go?” Over time we may find ourselves falling deeper into the rabbit hole and we get to a point where we wonder, “Is it even worth it? Am I even good enough to get in?” When I was applying to MPH programs there were so many times where I wanted to give up and imposter syndrome took over. It wasn’t until I took a step back and re-evaluated why I wanted to get a MPH that I truly understood what I needed to do to make that happen. The first step was self-care. Now, we’ve all heard some more traditional ways to promote self-care such as meditation, sleep, journaling, exercise, etc. that are depicted in this word cloud below:

While all these known forms of self-care are great and effective, I want to talk about one aspect within self-care that is not talked about often – rewarding yourself. It is so important that we validate the things that we do – regardless of how big or small. An example of this could be treating yourself to something you enjoy like a movie after completing a draft of your personal statement or binge-watching a show on Netflix after the GRE — I personally binged Stranger Things. Regardless of what you decide to do make sure that you are taking the time to acknowledge your accomplishments during the application process. And remember to treat yourself from time to time.