Designed to help students who either want to go to American graduate schools or who are already in advanced degree programs, this book was written from the student's point of view. Chapter One on becoming a graduate student discusses motivation, choice of school, preparation for graduate work, graduate programs (the M.A. and PhD.), differences between undergraduate and graduate programs, and dropping out or transferring. The second chapter on financing education explores sources such as family, working grants and fellowships, and university aid. Also examined are applying for grants, taxes, assistantships, and graduate teaching. Graduate course work, including the student's program committee, the relationship with the major professor, classes, written and oral exams, grades, notes and file systems, the library and related facilities, and building a library are surveyed in Chapter Three. The fourth chapter describes research and writing papers, choosing M.A. and PhD. thesis topics, special problems with dissertations and theses, conducting off-campus research, the benefits of publishing, and how to publish. Problems of graduate life are considered in the fifth chapter, including the special problems of the women student, arrival on campus, building a good image and professional reputation, extracurricular activities, social life, medical and insurance problems, legal matters, and buying food. The final chapter investigates obtaining a job and discusses the problem of overeducation. An annotated bibliography is appended. (PHR)