By: Isabelle Fisher

Hi everyone! I’m Izzy, a second year student in the School Psychology Ed.M. program here at TC. I am also a Student Ambassador for the Office of Admission.

I graduated from undergrad at the University of Delaware in 2017 and came right into grad school that September. I have always loved school and figured I would jump right into grad school (having the two month summer vacation was a nice break, though). I have no regrets going right from undergrad into grad school; I knew what I wanted to do with my life and I had to get a master’s degree in order to do it, so going right in just made sense for me.

The University of Delaware is a very suburban school, set in a small town with a main street and a beautiful, big campus. What I thought was going to be my biggest challenge when I came to TC was managing living in a big city after I had just come from the suburbs. But living in NYC is actually a lot easier than expected! The subway is the best invention known to man, making it super accessible to get virtually anywhere in NYC; there are also a ton of fun restaurants and bars to explore. My biggest challenge ended up being learning how to cook more than grilled chicken…I was an RA in college so I never had the luxury of learning how to cook. But it has definitely been fun experimenting with different recipes!

It’s always daunting moving to a new city and starting a new chapter in your life, but NYC is the best place to meet new people and explore. I wasn’t too worried about moving to New York because I had friends who were moving here as well, but plenty of my friends in the School Psychology program moved here without knowing anyone, and have made some of their best friends through school! So if you are worried about moving here without knowing anyone, that’s totally normal — but TC is a welcoming community and a great place to meet new friends.

If you are nervous about burning out because you are coming to TC right from undergrad, my recommendation is that you try not to overload your courses in the fall. You definitely want to make the most of being at TC, and you can’t do that if you’re exhausted!

And if you are coming into grad school after taking some time off, don’t worry! I have plenty of friends here at TC who did just that.

My biggest piece of advice, regardless of what you were doing before getting here, is to take advantage of your time here at TC and NYC. Get involved in things that interest you, take time to explore the city, and have fun!