Enrolling into grad school sounds like a good idea in theory—with eyes full of ambition, individuals hope to expand their horizons, learn something new, and work on the competencies they already have, all of which is great. But it’s when one starts reaching those goals that the reality kicks in in all its glory, often making them re-evaluate their decision.

When said reality brings grad students to the ground, few things might seem funny—or everything does, depending on the stress levels—but memes have the power to cheer up a student, even one on the brink of quitting. Such memes, dedicated to keep people going and provide solace in the fact that they’re not facing grad school-evoked hardships alone, are often shared on the ‘Grad School Memes With Relatable Themes’ Facebook group. We have put some of their best posts on this list for you today, so scroll down to find them, and see what challenges grad students face on their day-to-day (or take a moment to unwind if you are one of them yourself).

#1 Currently

Image credits: Hannah Duffy

#2 I Wish I Had Thought Of This Years Ago

Image credits: Bella Jules

#3 Relatable

Image credits: Thomas Hathaway

The thing with grad school is that it’s fun before and after, rarely during. The joy of getting accepted and the anticipation of starting a new chapter can surely make one feel optimistic; so can successfully ending said chapter. However, in order to reach the finish line, the student typically has to spend countless hours and sleepless nights working towards their goal.

But if grad school is nothing but torture, why would individuals choose to endure it, you might wonder? Well, needless to say, their reasons differ with each person, but experts believe that some are more valid than others.

“A poor reason for someone to choose graduate education is because they loved undergrad and they want to continue being a consumer, rather than a generator, of knowledge,” the dean of the University of Washington Graduate School, Joy Williamson-Lott, told the U.S. News, pointing out that college students typically focus primarily on absorbing the existing information rather than conducting research and contributing to creating it, which is what grad students do.

#4 It Took Me 4 Years To Finish My Master’s Thesis Bc Of This

Image credits: Sarah Ga

#5 I Was Definitely Not Doomscrolling When I Was Attacked This Way

Image credits: Jamie Molotov

Other poor reasons to start grad school, according to experts, include staying on the path of education just because a mentor said that one should or doing it for the sole purpose of seeking career exploration opportunities.

However, as president emeritus at Missouri State University, Mike Nietzel, pointed out to the U.S. News, there are professions and occupations that not only favor candidates with a graduate degree, but require them to have one. “For individuals who are convinced and determined that this is what they want to do, not only is graduate school a good choice, it’s a necessary choice for them to pursue,” he said.

#6 Got Me

Image credits: Jordy Ildvad

#7 Go To Grad School They Said It’ll Be Fun They Said

Image credits: Néïsha Pierre

#8 Hoping My Light Starts To Return After I Defend In 3 Weeks

Image credits: James Ojascastro

Once the decision to start grad school has been made—hopefully for all the right reasons—another one follows of choosing the right one to attend. The factors that can influence this big step also depend on each individual, but, according to an online survey carried out by a student loan provider, the main ones are the school’s quality and convenience of its location.

Roughly 86% of respondents chose their grad school based on quality and convenience, pointing out that the school’s prestige, its academic program, and flexible coursework all play important roles, too.

#9 Pure Gold

Image credits: Thomas Hathaway

#10 Mine Is Definitely Finishing Me

Image credits: Angie Jauregui

#11 I Just Wanna Enjoy The Holidays Without Thinking About It

Image credits: Tony Cheng

When it comes to the list of schools to choose from, the top options really depend on the field of one’s interests. According to the U.S. News rankings, the top business schools, for instance, include the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania respectively.

For those seeking a medical education, the top choices reportedly are Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, or University of Pennsylvania, while for people interested in law-focused studies, it’s Stanford University, Yale University, and University of Chicago that comprise the top three.

#12 Why It’s So Difficult To Write With Your Advisor

Image credits: Eric Chauvin Quallen

#13 Naughtayy

Image credits: Maushumi B

#14 It’s “Break It Down Yo” Not “Watch As I Break Down, Bro”

Image credits: Erika Trinidad

For those willing to relocate and move cities or even countries, the global statistics of top universities propose two main destinations—the US and the UK. Based on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024, seven out of ten of the world’s best universities are located in the former, while the remaining three are all in the latter country.

The top five, according to the list, are University of Oxford (UK), Stanford University (US), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US), Harvard University (US), and University of Cambridge (UK).

#15 Facts

Image credits: Thomas Hathaway

#16 Whenever I Have A Paper Due, I’m Suddenly Very Interested In Random And Completely Unrelated Things

Image credits: Jamie Molotov

#17 This Is Too Real

Image credits: Adam Edward Madar

A report—though, a roughly 15-year-old one, which is important to note—found that when it comes to graduate degrees, women and men tend to opt for different directions.

For instance, when it comes to master’s degrees favored by men, the list was topped by Business Administration and Management (22.3%), followed not-so-closely by Electrical, Electronics and Communication Engineering (2.8%), and Education Leadership and Administration (2.7%), Business and Commerce (2.5%), and Education (2.2%).

For women, the number one was also Business Administration (11.4%), but it preceded Education (5.1%), Social Work (4.2%), Elementary Education (3.8%), and left Curriculum and Instruction (3.6%) fifth on the list.

#18 My Amazing Friend Submitted A Grant & Became A Phd Candidate This Month, So I Took Her To Get A Professional Massage Yesterday

She got to the part of the form where it asks where you feel discomfort

Image credits: Siara Rouzer

#19 I Am The Maker Of My Own Problems

Image credits: Tony Cheng

#20 Still Cringing From A Year Ago

Image credits: Tony Cheng

Since then, over the decade between 2010 and 2020, the top five subjects for a master’s degree remained the same with business, education, health, computer and information sciences, and public administration together with social services lining up respectively. (The list remained the same for the following—2020/21 school year—too; that year, more than 200,000 students got their master’s degree in business.)

Individuals taking it one step further and seeking a doctor’s degree reportedly chose health, law, education, engineering, and biological or biomedical sciences as their go-to options.

#21 I Can’t Wait For That Glorious Day

Image credits: Néïsha Pierre

#22 When All Else Fails, Use This Powerful Combo

Image credits: Nucleic Noodles

#23 Bold Of You To Assume I Had Either Of Those Things To Begin With

Image credits: Julie Elizabeth

For one reason or another, more and more people seem to be interested in graduate studies. As a matter of fact, the number of grad students has been somewhat steadily growing for the last four decades, with roughly 81,500 people enrolled back in 1985, and more than 138,500 in 2020.

It’s safe to assume that with that, the number of humans in need of a pick-me-up or some relatable memes has likely been on the rise, too. That’s where online groups like ‘Grad School Memes With Relatable Themes’ can come in handy, which is likely why this one has already amassed nearly 180,000 members.

#24 Spoiler: It Was Not

Image credits: David Hontz

#25 Remember: You Can Edit A Bad Paper, Not A Blank Page

Image credits: Jamie Molotov

#26 And Her Fans Insist On Calling Her Dr. Swift

Image credits: Chan Narula

If you’ve enjoyed browsing the life-boat-like memes for grad students, you might enjoy what Bored Panda has in store for others in school, too. There’s also a collection of memes teachers can relate to, if you feel like taking a glimpse at what people on the other side of the barricades go through on a daily basis.

#27 Who Else

Image credits: Constance Lin

#28 Why Is This So Accurate

Image credits: Sethaniel Bradley

#29 I Support This Wholeheartedly

Image credits: Maushumi B

#30 I Thoght This Could Fit In Here

Image credits: Amelie Ya Deau

#31 So Glad To Be Doing It In My Dissertation

Image credits: Aline Muratore

#32 This Was Once Revealed To Me In A Dream

Image credits: Emery Spike Lawrence

#33 Rude

Image credits: Ren Carmichael

#34 100 Percent Me

Image credits: Thomas Hathaway

#35 The Disappointment Is Felt

Image credits: Taylor Burrell

#36 Everyone’s Dissertation, Apparently

Image credits: Thomas Hathaway

#37 Me Looking At My Thesis Edits

Image credits: Neal Alonzo

#38 Got My Halloween Costume All Picked Out

Image credits: Maddie Lee

#39 Facts

Image credits: Sarah Ga

#40 But Its Different

Image credits: Thomas Hathaway

#41 Wait You Guys Get Helpful Edits? I Don’t Understand

Image credits: Tess James

#42 Find U A Partner Who Speaks To U Like This

Image credits: Taryn Gustafson

#43 My Issue Is That I Download Them And Then Never Read Them

Image credits: Emery Spike Lawrence

#44 Quantitative Researchers Looking At Their Quantitative Data

Image credits: Chris Nguyen

#45 Guilty As Charged

Image credits: Chris Nguyen

#46 This Seems To Check Out

Image credits: Thomas Hathaway

#47 It’s That Time Of Year Again

Image credits: Tony Cheng

#48 Me

Image credits: Sara Gilliland

#49 It’s Coming

Image credits: Samantha Cassel

#50 Under Length With Only One Point, Sounds About Right

Image credits: Charanjot Singh

#51 No My Thesis Will Not Include 7 Journal Papers

Image credits: Lena Downes

#52 And That’s On Being 3 Weeks Away From My Candidacy Exam

Image credits: Sarah Ga

#53 I Feel Seen

Image credits: Katrina Finkelstein

#54 As The Only 7th Year In My Department, I Can Confirm

Image credits: Rachel Elaine

#55 Going To Watch The Bbc Pride And Prejudice For The Seventh Time

Image credits: Lesley Frew

#56 Hey Brain, It Was Your Idea So Pull Your Own Weight Plz. Poor Liver Is Really Taking A Beating Cuz Of You

Image credits: Tony Cheng

#57 Why Does This Make So Much Sense

Image credits: Deema Yousef

#58 When The Going Gets Tough The Tough Survive Off Easy Mac And Cheap Beer

Image credits: JM Day

#59 I’m Catman

Image credits: Chan Narula

#60 Dear Professor, I’m Certain You Will Hate Me Immediately, But As Per My Last Email

Image credits: Spencer Cortney

#61 Oh No. I Hope To One Day Cite My Own Work. Halfway There At Least

Image credits: David Hontz

#62 November In Grad School Am I Right

Image credits: Emma Margaret Morton

#63 I Got This From A Friend So I’m Not Sure If It’s Been On This Page Before But It Cracked Me Up

Image credits: Sarah Ga

#64 I’m Still On Step One And My Advisor Is Trying To Convince Me To Get A Phd

Image credits: Thomas Hathaway

#65 Courtesy Of Llamaposting

Image credits: Victoria Elise Renovitch

#66 It Really Hit Home

Image credits: Kenzie Hurley

#67 It Do Be Like That

Image credits: Amie Paige

#68 How I’m Feeling As I Enter My Fifth Year Of The Phd

Image credits: Brittany Smart

#69 My Thoughts In Cursive

Image credits: David Hontz

#70 Why Does This Hurt?

Image credits: Raelly W. Alvarez Morales

#71 Me To My Reviewers After I Received Comments For Edits And Changes To My Thesis For My Mpa Program

Image credits: Caleb Weeks

#72 Laughs/Cries In First-Year Prelims

Image credits: Katrina Finkelstein

#73 So True

Image credits: Tony Cheng

#74 The Children Have Returned To Campus And Now My Elevator Wait Times Have Skyrocketed Again

Image credits: Jake Perez

#75 Need To Get A Few Of These

Image credits: Chan Narula

Source: boredpanda.com