7 Survival Tactics for Grad School

I started my first semester as an online master of social work (MSW) student this fall and it is coming to a close. As I reflect on the last few months, I question how I survived classes, internship, assignments and motherhood without thinking once about quitting.

Trying to stay present in class while someone creeps in my room because they needed their fiftieth hug today, another person asks what’s for dinner, and my eight year old demands that I do snuggle time every time is not what I envisioned being here. Add a forty-five-minute commute to a four-day-a-week internship, and suddenly I’ve unlocked expert-level multitasking I never asked for.

Here are the survival strategies I try to adhere to, to keep me from dissolving into a pile of overdue readings.

1. Prioritize My Mental Health Over Everything

Grad school tries to convince you everything hinges on discussion boards and APA citations. Kids try to convince you that sleep is optional. I am not the best at it yet, but I know the only way I survive is by treating my mental health like Beyoncé: always the headliner, never the opening act.

Rest? Required. Boundaries? Installed.

2. Keep My Professors in the Loop—Especially With Chronic Illness

Listen, if something is flaring, failing, or falling apart, I do my best to email my professors faster than my eight year old can ask me about the extinction of the wooly mammoth as soon as she gets up in the morning. Most professors are surprisingly cool once they know what's up. Transparency saves me from stress—and retaking a class I absolutely do not have time to retake.

3. Keep a Hobby (AKA My One Secret to Not Losing My Mind)

A hobby reminds me I am not JUST “Mom,” “Student,” or “Intern.”

Whether it’s crafting, painting, baking, or aggressively scrolling TikTok for 12 minutes of peace, anything that brings me joy gets protected.

4. Maintain My Social Circle

Yes, my social circle has always been small, but tight. They know me on a deep level, like “I haven’t slept in three days but here’s a meme to keep you going” deep.

A quick group chat check-in or a voice note saying “I’M ALIVE” keeps us all in tune.

5. Go to Therapy

As an MSW student, going to therapy is both self-care and “continuing education.”

It’s where I go to unpack mom guilt, school successes and shortcomings, and get a tune up. My therapist is as cool as pie and she deserves an honorary degree. There isn’t much drama in my life, and I always serve it with a side of insight and humor. The only time I plan on us parting is if the insurance runs out.

6. Get as Organized as You Can (Which Is… Moderately?)

My digital calendar is a color-coded masterpiece, but it took a while for me to get there. I still can’t seem to take my medication even with three alarms, but I will keep striving to perfect this.

Having calendars, reminders, and a system for remembering who needs to be where and when keeps me from mixing up my kid’s dentist appointment with my clinical supervisor meeting.

7. Learn to Skim (A MOM SUPERPOWER)

There is NO universe in which I’m reading every assigned chapter. I am learning to skim like an Olympic athlete. I skim like my GPA depends on it,because honestly, it does.

If anyone asks, yes, I “absorbed the key themes” and “engaged critically with the material.”

Grad school as a mom is a bit messy, sometimes chaotic, and somehow still incredibly rewarding.

Every day I survive is another day closer to that MSW and a future where my children can say, “Wow, Mom really did THAT.”

If you’re out here juggling kids, classes, and commutes: you’re not alone, you’re not failing, and you’re doing a frankly heroic job.

Now go drink some water and get a snack.