About r/GradSchool
Discussion forum for current, past, and future students of any discipline completing post-graduate studies - taught or research.
The community at a glance
r/GradSchool is a Subreddit for Students with roughly 936K members. It has been around since 2009. It uses a forum format for communication. It is the 7th largest community in the Students topic page.
Roughly 28K members have joined in the past year. Popular discussion topics include Struggling, Grad School, and Looking For. Common discussion themes are Advice Requests and Pain & Anger. Product recommendations often mention letter of recs and laptop.
Community Topics
Community Features
This community has a forum
Subreddit Analysis
via GummySearchMember growth over time
All time (yearly)
- 2013: 5K members
- 2014: 5K members
- 2015: 5K members
- 2016: 5K members
- 2017: 9K members
- 2018: 22K members
- 2019: 29K members
- 2020: 69K members
- 2021: 98K members
- 2023: 249K members
- 2024: 352K members
- 2025: 69K members
- 2026: 16K members
Past year (monthly)
- Jul: 981 members
- Aug: 2K members
- Sep: 1K members
- Oct: 830 members
- Nov: 3K members
- Dec: 4K members
- Jan: 3K members
- Feb: 3K members
- Mar: 3K members
- Apr: 3K members
- May: 3K members
- Jun: 1K members
Themes
- Advice Requests30 posts in the past month
- Prof said I’d be “wasted outside academia” after my MA.
- Is it reasonable to feel embarrassed of my master's research and worry about defending it?
- To those who have toxic PIs, did your mental health improve after graduating and leaving the toxic PI?
#130Advice RequestsProf said I’d be “wasted outside academia” after my MA. · Is it reasonable to feel embarrassed of my master's research and worry about defending it? · To those who have toxic PIs, did your mental health improve after graduating and leaving the toxic PI? - Pain & Anger5 posts in the past month
- My advisor ghosted me (has a good reason), right before my defense. Defense was canceled and put off until the fall. I can and am ready to defend this summer. Not sure what to do.
- My degree burned me out, how do I heal in post-graduate life?
- Terrified of social isolation
#25Pain & AngerMy advisor ghosted me (has a good reason), right before my defense. Defense was canceled and put off until the fall. I can and am ready to defend this summer. Not sure what to do. · My degree burned me out, how do I heal in post-graduate life? · Terrified of social isolation - Money Talk4 posts in the past month
- Am I doing gradschool (MS) wrong by paying for it?
- Tempted to take out the full $20k in Grad Plus loans for the summer
- How can I afford grad school now?
#34Money TalkAm I doing gradschool (MS) wrong by paying for it? · Tempted to take out the full $20k in Grad Plus loans for the summer · How can I afford grad school now?
Topics
- Struggling78 posts in the past month#178Struggling
- Grad School69 posts in the past month
- Getting married in grad school - doable?
- Is grad school harder than undergrad or just different?
- Is it realistic for me to go back to grad school after 10 years in the service industry?
#269Grad SchoolGetting married in grad school - doable? · Is grad school harder than undergrad or just different? · Is it realistic for me to go back to grad school after 10 years in the service industry? - Looking For63 posts in the past month#363Looking For
- Masters58 posts in the past month
- I’ve come to accept I love research a week after graduating my masters. Is a PhD the next step?
- Workforce or Masters?
- dealing with feedback on masters proposal
#458MastersI’ve come to accept I love research a week after graduating my masters. Is a PhD the next step? · Workforce or Masters? · dealing with feedback on masters proposal - Phd36 posts in the past month
- Should I actually seriously consider a PhD?
- MD or PhD - Still Can't Decide
- Will a Czech Master's translate to the U.S. PhD system?
#536PhdShould I actually seriously consider a PhD? · MD or PhD - Still Can't Decide · Will a Czech Master's translate to the U.S. PhD system?
Flair
- Admissions & Applications19 posts in the past month
- Letters of recommendation for “older” students
- Lab with no grad student
- Already accepted, not sure if I should actually do it
#119Admissions & ApplicationsLetters of recommendation for “older” students · Lab with no grad student · Already accepted, not sure if I should actually do it - Academics17 posts in the past month
- Prof said I’d be “wasted outside academia” after my MA.
- I don't hate my thesis. I hate how much time I spend re-reading things I've already processed.
- If you had a low GPA in undergrad, were you still able to get into a grad program?
#217AcademicsProf said I’d be “wasted outside academia” after my MA. · I don't hate my thesis. I hate how much time I spend re-reading things I've already processed. · If you had a low GPA in undergrad, were you still able to get into a grad program? - Health & Work/Life Balance15 posts in the past month
- Privileged take: My PhD was the happiest time of my life
- Finally being diagnosed with ADHD allowed me to do much better in my physics PhD
- My degree burned me out, how do I heal in post-graduate life?
#315Health & Work/Life BalancePrivileged take: My PhD was the happiest time of my life · Finally being diagnosed with ADHD allowed me to do much better in my physics PhD · My degree burned me out, how do I heal in post-graduate life? - Research10 posts in the past month
- Unpopular opinion: the hardest part of a PhD isn't the research. It's maintaining continuity across months of interrupted work.
- I am panicking, please help!
- Midnight Thoughts
#410ResearchUnpopular opinion: the hardest part of a PhD isn't the research. It's maintaining continuity across months of interrupted work. · I am panicking, please help! · Midnight Thoughts - Professional8 posts in the past month
- Doing a master's ruined my life.
- First Collab Paper – I’m a bit jaded
- Is it normal to send a thank you email to the members of your committee for joining?
#58ProfessionalDoing a master's ruined my life. · First Collab Paper – I’m a bit jaded · Is it normal to send a thank you email to the members of your committee for joining?
Product recommendations
- letter of recs6 posts in the past month
- Letter of Recs?
- Don't see how I can get any letter of recs, is grad school closed off for me?
- Quick Q's about Letter of Recs
#16letter of recsLetter of Recs? · Don't see how I can get any letter of recs, is grad school closed off for me? · Quick Q's about Letter of Recs - laptop2 posts in the past month
- Laptop recs for science PhDs
- Laptop recs for science PhDs
#22laptopLaptop recs for science PhDs · Laptop recs for science PhDs
Community Reviews
Frequently asked questions
- Who is r/GradSchool for?
- Best for Students enthusiasts looking for a Reddit-based community with forum discussion.
- Is r/GradSchool free to join?
- This listing is not marked as paid-only. Access rules and any fees are decided by the community.
- How many members does r/GradSchool have?
- Roughly 936K members, based on figures reported by the community or its host. Member counts are approximate and change over time.
- What platform is r/GradSchool on?
- r/GradSchool runs on Reddit. Reddit communities (or "subreddits") are forum-based groups on the popular social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website Reddit. Reddit is commonly known as "the front page of the internet". Users submit content to the site such as links, text posts, and images, which are then voted up or down and discussed by other members. From investing Reddit communities, to professional ones, to ones just for laughs, you're likely to find a community for you on Reddit.
- What topics does r/GradSchool cover?
- On the Hive Index, r/GradSchool is organized under Students.
- How do I join r/GradSchool?
- You can join r/GradSchool by clicking this link, or pressing the "Go to community" button above.
- What are the Students communities like?
- Communities for students at high school, university, and graduate level, covering study skills, campus life, career prep, and mental health. Discord hosts massive study communities with focus rooms and accountability systems, while Reddit has subreddits for specific schools, programs, and academic disciplines.
Added 10/21/2021
Monthly Stats
- 10
- Views
- 8
- Visitors
- 2
- Referrals
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