Enrolling in grad school sounds like a good idea in theory—with eyes full of ambition, individuals hope to expand their horizons, learn something new, and work on the competencies they already have, all of which is great. But it’s when one starts reaching those goals that reality kicks in in all its glory, often making them re-evaluate their decision.
When said reality brings grad students to the ground, few things might seem funny—or everything does, depending on the stress levels—but memes have the power to cheer up a student, even one on the brink of quitting.
Such school memes, dedicated to keeping people going and providing solace in the fact that they’re not facing grad school-evoked hardships alone, are often shared on the ‘Grad School Memes With Relatable Themes’ Facebook group.
We have put some of their best posts on this list for you today, so scroll down to find them, and see what challenges grad students face on their day-to-day (or take a moment to unwind if you are one of them yourself).
#1 I Wish I Had Thought Of This Years Ago
Image credits: Bella Jules
#2 It Took Me 4 Years To Finish My Master’s Thesis Bc Of This
Image credits: Sarah Ga
#3 Naughtayy
Image credits: Maushumi B
#4 Relatable
Image credits: Thomas Hathaway
#5 Currently
Image credits: Hannah Duffy
#6 Got Me
Image credits: Jordy Ildvad
#7 Go To Grad School They Said It’ll Be Fun They Said
Image credits: Néïsha Pierre
#8 Pure Gold
Image credits: Thomas Hathaway
#9 I Support This Wholeheartedly
Image credits: Maushumi B
#10 Facts
Image credits: Thomas Hathaway
#11 I Was Definitely Not Doomscrolling When I Was Attacked This Way
Image credits: Jamie Molotov
#12 Hoping My Light Starts To Return After I Defend In 3 Weeks
Image credits: James Ojascastro
#13 Why It’s So Difficult To Write With Your Advisor
Image credits: Eric Chauvin Quallen
#14 Remember: You Can Edit A Bad Paper, Not A Blank Page
Image credits: Jamie Molotov
#15 Mine Is Definitely Finishing Me
Image credits: Angie Jauregui
#16 I Am The Maker Of My Own Problems
Image credits: Tony Cheng
#17 Whenever I Have A Paper Due, I’m Suddenly Very Interested In Random And Completely Unrelated Things
Image credits: Jamie Molotov
#18 I Can’t Wait For That Glorious Day
Image credits: Néïsha Pierre
#19 Why Does This Make So Much Sense
Image credits: Deema Yousef
#20 100 Percent Me
Image credits: Thomas Hathaway
#21 Who Else
Image credits: Constance Lin
#22 Still Cringing From A Year Ago
Image credits: Tony Cheng
#23 Me Looking At My Thesis Edits
Image credits: Neal Alonzo
#24 This Is Too Real
Image credits: Adam Edward Madar
#25 So Glad To Be Doing It In My Dissertation
Image credits: Aline Muratore
#26 It’s “Break It Down Yo” Not “Watch As I Break Down, Bro”
Image credits: Erika Trinidad
#27 My Amazing Friend Submitted A Grant & Became A Phd Candidate This Month, So I Took Her To Get A Professional Massage Yesterday
She got to the part of the form where it asks where you feel discomfort
Image credits: Siara Rouzer
#28 Bold Of You To Assume I Had Either Of Those Things To Begin With
Image credits: Julie Elizabeth
#29 I Just Wanna Enjoy The Holidays Without Thinking About It
Image credits: Tony Cheng