"Summer field experience is important.
If a student wants to attend grad school, it is better to participate in
or even volunteer for a field program than to work at a summer job that
pays little more than car expenses."
Geological oceanography professor
 Graduate students and faculty were quick to point out
the value of getting involved in research. This can mean finding a job in
a lab, working with a favorite professor, or signing up for a summer field
study class.
Because the actual process of science is different than
learning about it second-hand in classroom, the opportunity to participate
can be quite inspirational. As one grad student put it, "The hands-on
approach is by far the best introduction into science available. If I would
recommend any one thing, I'd say: 'Get out into it.'"
"I would listen to the people who tell
me to take more math. I would pay more attention, and keep up with it, not
let my knowledge of the subject lapse."
Biological oceanography graduate student
You'd be hard pressed to find a group of more repentant
slackers than in a grad school science program. A funny thing happens when
you get caught up in research that you enjoy: You decide that you actually
want to understand calculus, and chemistry, and all those other classes
that your professors tried to pass off as useful and important.
It's an amazing transformation, one that might seem
unlikely to happen to you, but the consensus is that there will probably
come a time when you'll wish you had a second chance to sit through some
of those classes that you could barely tolerate the first time around. It's
enough to make anyone think twice about becoming an oceanographer, but try
not to be put off; it's really an endorsement of the appeal of the science.
Calculus, statistics, and differential equations are useful tools for oceanographers.
It's a tough story to swallow until you've seen it with your own eyes, but
hang in there and try to be convincing when you tell yourself that it's
for a reason. | 
