Hiiiii, I’m Vic, and in this Doctoral Diaries vlog I’m taking you along while I prep for my mock comprehensive exam (aka a field exam in my program). My official International Relations comps aren’t until May, but this “baby exam” is a core course requirement—so it’s basically my low-stakes practice run to see what works, what doesn’t, and how chaotic my brain gets under a real timer. Over three days, I walk you through my actual study process: I start by analyzing past comprehensive exam questions to figure out what the exam is really asking for (and what kinds of prompts keep showing up). Then I set outline goals so I’m not staring at a blank page on exam day, and I synthesize my notes by paradigms so I can compare theories instead of memorizing random fragments. You’ll see the highs, the stress, the “why did I do this to myself” moments, and then my post-exam reflection—plus my results—so you can see if my strategies actually worked lol. If you’re heading into comps, a mock exam, or any big grad-school milestone, I hope this gives you a realistic game plan and a little motivation to keep going.