I've noticed some posts from undergraduate students hoping to enter graduate school because they feel their undergraduate studies were insufficient. I'm writing this in hopes of helping them.
There's a big difference between undergraduate and graduate studies: - Undergraduate is where you absorb knowledge created by experts. - Graduate school is where you learn to create new knowledge.
If we compare it to cooking: - Undergraduate study is like learning to appreciate and digest meals (knowledge). - Graduate study is like learning to become a chef.
Wanting to enter graduate school because you feel your undergraduate knowledge is lacking is like enrolling in a cooking school because you can't appreciate meals well. The path to becoming a chef is long and difficult. It takes over 5 years to be able to cook something that barely compares to a fraction of what you learned in undergraduate studies.
If you feel your undergraduate knowledge is lacking, it's better to postpone graduation for a semester to study more. This will help you realize that the deficiency isn't in the time or number of lectures.
Don't be too afraid to turn the page in your life's book because of an illusion of perfection. I'm not discouraging those who truly want to become "chefs". But don't waste your youth enrolling in professional cooking school just because you haven't tasted enough delicious meals yet.
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