Helpful Alumni

I have been in various stages of the grad school application process for the past several months. Although it has been stressful at times, I’ve gotten support from many people. Carleton’s alumni network has been one of the most helpful resources throughout this process. Despite Carleton not having an oceanography department, several alumni work in the field and were excited to answer any questions I had.

When I began my applications last December, I contacted two alumni of Carleton’s Department of Physics and Astronomy who are now professors of oceanography. I set up phone calls with each so that I could ask questions about grad school and learn about their paths to oceanography. They helped me narrow down which programs to apply to, how to search for an advisor, and what to focus on in my applications. I stayed in contact with one of them and had the chance to meet her at AGU, the earth science conference I attended in December. She then connected me with some professors that she had worked with in grad school. Both of these alumni went out of their ways to support my applications and encourage my interest in oceanography.

More recently, I reached out to two more Carleton alumni. I wanted to start thinking about options for next year in case I didn’t get accepted to a program, so I set up a meeting with Rika Anderson ’06, who received a Ph.D. in oceanography from the University of Washington and now is a biology professor at Carleton. My discussion plans were disrupted when, five minutes before the meeting, I received an acceptance letter from UW! In our meeting, Rika and I talked about the program at UW and how it compares to other universities, and she gave me advice about choosing an advisor. A few weeks later I spoke on the phone to a second alumnus of Carleton and the School of Oceanography at the University of Washington, who gave me another helpful perspective on the program.

When I began thinking about applying to grad school, the process seemed overwhelming. I knew little about oceanography outside my summer research, and didn’t know the first thing about talking to potential advisors and submitting strong applications. I thought talking to alumni who had gone through the process would be interesting, but I never imagined that it would be so helpful. I am currently deciding between the oceanography Ph.D. programs at the University of Washington and at the University of Rhode Island. I am visiting both and will decide over the next month — check back then for an update!

Jacob is a senior physics major interested in climate science and oceanography. Jacob enjoys eating, sleeping, and hanging out with friends — the simple things in life. At Carleton, Jacob works in the physics department and captains the Gods of Plastic, Carleton’s nationally competitive Division III men’s ultimate team. Meet the other bloggers!