Rating: 
Summary: Read this First
Review: Based on my own experience with graduate schools, I wish I had read this book first. Graduate school and undergraduate education are as different as night and day. This book is a gift--the author is honest and tells you what you need to know.
Rating: 
Summary: This is not the graduate school bible many claim it to be
Review: After finishing my masters degree I decided to take this year off in order to refresh, get a little work experience, and pull together the strongest doctoral applications possible. In addition to talking to students and faculty in the programs I am interested in, I have been reading this book which was given to me during university by a professor who claimed it is the "bible" for potential doctoral students.While there is some substantial advice in the book, Peters is overwhelmingly dramatic, discouraging and negative. His anecdotes about advisers stealing students work, failing to show up for orals, sabotaging funding opportunites etc. serve more as scare tactics than top issues to worry about when approaching the doctorate. Additionally, some of his advice is outdated and based on humanities and natural science programs which may be less than helpful for students in other areas.
Finally, this book really should have focused solely on the PhD process. Masters programs are extremely different with a unique set of issues around funding, faculty interaction, and final/comprehensive work (not necessarily a thesis).
Overall, a decent book worth checking out of the library perhaps, but one should read this book (and all such texts) in addition to conducting their own research of schools, programs, faculties, and students.
Rating: 
Summary: Getting What You Came For: The Smart Student's Guide....
Review: Like many of the other reviewers have already said, Getting What You Came For is an invaluable tool for grad students. As informative as it was, though, it was just like all of the other stuff you end up reading in grad school, pretty stiff and boring--not that there's anything wrong with that...I bought this book along with another grad school guide called Playing the Game: The Streetsmart Guide to Graduate School. Both books contain excellent information, but Playing the Game was really funny and easy to read, too. Between the experiences related within these books, you won't likely be blindsided by any of the typical garbage that slows people down and makes them miserable.
Rating:
Summary: The first intelligent graduate school guide I've read
Review: Until reading this book, I was convinced that all graduate school guides were written for second graders. The advice contained in most guidebooks is tragically simplistic and usually amounts to plain common sense. And any detailed information (on financial aid, etc.) contained within can be easily found using a good search engine on the internet. Peters' book is the only guidebook I have ever read that is worth buying. It is geered towards educated, resourceful people contemplating graduate school and actually "tells you something you didn't already know."
Rating:
Summary: Real, tightly-packed information.
Review: This is one of the most useful books I've read in a long time. I laughed through tears with the war stories from grad students, as I can tell every single one again with a friend's name on it. The most impressive part of the book is its knowledge as how graduate school works: just like the world outside the school, that is, politics, money, name recognition, time and power. If there is one quality Peters needs recognition, it is conciseness. Topics that have been badly covered in other graduate school books, he kills in one page. His work is so summarized that some chapters you'll have to read two or three times to squeeze all the information he is providing in your head. Many times through the book I wished he would have written separate books on some of the chapters, like Financial Aid, Admissions, How to Survive, etc. Shelves might be full of Graduate School books, but my friend, this is the one you really need. If you're thinking of spending the next 2 (4?, 5?, 7?, 9?) years of your life in school, a few hours of this read are very worth your time (Which put me to wonder why somebody who cannot read for a few hours straight want to go to graduate school).
Rating:
Summary: A graduate Student Must Have
Review: This book is as relevant and packed full of great information and advice when I first started graduate school as it is now three years later and I'm ready to defend my thesis. I know I will pick it up quite a few more times between now and the time they crown me my doctoral degree. I'm impressed by the fact that Peters and I come from different academic backgrounds (him from biology, and me from psychology), but his book is nevertheless very relevant to my experiences. I imagine it does for students from many other fields as well. One other "succeeding in graduate school" book I own is filled with citations to research that support the book's suggestions. There are charts and graphs, but unfortunately, one cannot survive and thrive in graduate school using only your head. Peters' book not only makes you ponder hard the reasons and ways to be successful in graduate school, it does so with a heart. The advice and information are real because there are real people behind them. Thousands have come before you, and you can be one of them too....or not. The book doesn't glorify nor idealize graduate school. It gives you an inside look at how it has worked and not worked for others. You decide what to do with this information. Much of graduate school can be very political. Academia is occupied by smart and often very weird people, socially and otherwise. The book doesn't gloss over any of this. It guides you through people politics and the importance of self-care. It celebrates how the graduate school experience can be so right, but sometimes, unfortunately but realistically, can also go so wrong. Peters' book is a great companion through all of this. Highly recommended (despite a need for the author to come out with a new edition to replace outdated information on computers, computer softwares, and personal information managers). Probably most relevant to graduate students interested in academia.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic Reference, but...
Review: As some reviewers have already noted, this book is an invaluable reference for those seriously considering the possibility of going for a graduate or doctorate degree, or for those already enrolled in a program. With that being said, this edition was revised in 1997, making it notably out of date in terms of Internet resources. It is still an excellent reference - having read it, I'm sure it will be my constant companion while going through what might otherwise be the rather nerve-wracking application process. Dr. Peters, we need a new edition! I, for one, will be one of the first in line to buy the next revision.
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: Read it as an undergrad if you're thinking about grad school.
Rating:
Summary: An Indispensable Reference
Review: I thought I knew what I was getting into when I applied to graduate school the first time. I knew several professors in my field, had earned excellent grades and several top honors, but I didn't know a book like this existed. When I didn't get into any programs the first time around I had time to reassess my true interests (and actually switched fields of study). I also bought this book. It contained much of the advice I had gotten from various professors, but in a lot more depth and clarity, plus more. I read through it eagerly when I was re-starting the application process, and just recently when I was accepted. I'm sure I'll read it again come thesis time. This is an indispensable reference. I wish I had bought it years ago, but I'm glad to have it now.
Rating:
Summary: A Necessary guide
Review: Are you planning to go to graduate school? If you are, this is a necessary guide which gives you all the basics--from applying to graduation and beyond. One of the most important points is that you have to prepare for graduate school early. Don't wait until after you're accepted to choose your advisor. You shouldn't even apply until after you select your advisor. This point of advice saves a lot of heartache later on, because having a good relationship with your advisor is one of the single most important things in graduate school. If you have a suitable advisor, graduate school will go more smoothly. Another thing I like is that it doesn't try to sugarcoat the graduate school experience. It tells you exactly that graduate school is a rough experience and that out of all the people who enter graduate programs, only 8% go on to academic work. If you can't face these facts, then you probably aren't driven enough to succeed in a graduate program. If you're still burning for higher education and are willing to face the difficulties involved, you're ready for graduate school. Basically you should go in with both eyes open. I recommend picking up this guide to help you through your postgraduate life.
| 
