Before taking comprehensive exams, ask yourself if you actually know the material and how it connects to related fields. The speaker spent three months preparing for a traditional two-day exam, hand-writing 48 pages under strict conditions, and emphasizes that thorough self-assessment and community support matter more than cramming.
. It almost doesn't matter what the approach is. The purpose is, again, are you ready? Do you have a good handle on the material of your discipline, whether it's economics or education or physics? Are you prepared to move forward with your material? And do you have a grasp on how that material fits with other material? I'll give you an example. In my case, I was given the traditional route. I had 2 days and 8 questions. Now, in my case also, I was the first person in the program, so there was no one to go to to ask, "Hey, what were the previous questions like?" So I prepared over 3 months so that I could come in, and I couldn't have a computer, I couldn't have anything, I had to handwrite, and I wrote 48 sides of paper over 2 days. I've also worked with a number of people to prepare for their comprehensive exams. If you're interested, become a member of our Dissertation Help Group.
