Jump to content

EIA0010

Members
  • Posts

    10
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Not Telling
  • Application Season
    2013 Fall
  • Program
    Lanugauge/Cognitive Sciences

EIA0010's Achievements

Decaf

Decaf (2/10)

2

Reputation

  1. Thanks for that. You perfectly described what was going through my head, the idea that "things will be different for me" compared to what his 4/5 students he's had thus far have gone through. The field of research was perfect (in regards to my interests) but like you and others have said, I rather go with something I'm a bit less interested in comparison (but still interested), but have the opportunity to work with a great supervisor in a wonderful lab environment, all of which I think can help me more in the long run, and something I don't want to risk losing simply based on chasing what I feel is like my passion topic at the time.
  2. Thanks everyone for the input. I'm still debating between the two at this point, but am heavily leaning towards A.
  3. So I applied to two programs at my first choice university, and was fortunate enough to be accepted into both. I also had a PI in mind from each program, one of which I have been working with as a research analyst for the past few months (let's call PI A). I've also had extensive meetings with the other PI (PI B ) over the last couple of months, discussing the lab culture, the type of projects potentially available, and other things I thought were important to ask. I've had the offers of admission to both for almost a month now, but the time to make a decision (which I've been avoiding) has come. My struggle to make a decision really comes down to which research topic I "feel" I would be more passionate about. Both are research topics I would feel more than happy to be involved with, but PI's B topic is something I dreamed of working on for some time, even when I was just barely starting my masters. However, after being able to have some private conversations with one of PI B's senior doctoral students, there were definitely some red flags that came up. Most of these regarded his lack of supervision at times, with helping his students achieve success not being high on his priority list (this was according to the student). He also was said to be an unpleasant person to work with sometimes, having no issue with scolding his students in front of their peers, thus keeping his students on their toes when he's around. The student also said that he's noticed that the senior students (3+ years into their PhD) have few publications (I attribute this simply due to the nature of the work itself however (developmental neurobiology), where experiments can easily take over a year just to complete data collection), leading to students to scramble to complete other projects not of their interest/not related to their thesis topic, just to reach the minimum paper count to graduate (3 papers for this department). However, like I mentioned, the research is just so interesting to me, and he's well funded (and I mean EXTREMELY well funded). The work is a bit outside of my masters, so there would be a lot of new things to learn as well (but that's always a part of grad school anyways). I've worked with PI A for some time (few months) so I'm becoming familiar with the research being done. I can seriously not think of working for a better PI. He is always available for discussions, always willing to offer advice/help if requested, always comes off with warmth and friendliness, and you can just see that he has a genuine investment in helping his students succeed. His lab is also well funded (numerous experiments are ongoing or will be soon), it's just not close to the dollar amount of PI B, but the nature of their experiments are very different, with PI B being much more intensive and expensive (so I don't think it's fair to compare dollars). Students part of this bigger group he is part of do get great publications (he just started his lab, so there were no senior PhD students to talk to, although I spoke to other students who he mentors in this bigger group he's apart of). This is a lab environment I would feel lucky to be a part of, and I think I can succeed here as well. At this time, I'm heavily leaning towards PI A. I think what this conflict comes down to (and what I was hoping for you advice on) is the decision between working on what you see as your number one "passion" topic, versus choosing another topic/group that you feel you may achieve more success with. From what I've read on other forums (as well as to speaking to some former mentors), only willing to work on a topic that you view as your dream research field can hinder you in the long run, and remaining flexible in what you want to work on is important. Also, I know that the advisor/work environment is so important, and in my eyes, A "wins" this hands down. Any advice would really be appreciated. Thank you.
  4. Great, thanks for all the helpful responses! My main concern was not being able to take advantage of submitting your score to 4 schools and wanting to avoid the extra costs that come with submitting them afterwards.
  5. Hi everyone, sorry for what perhaps may be a dumb question, but I'm writing the GRE later this week, and from my understanding, ETS allows you to send your scores to up to 4 schools of your choosing. My question is if I know what schools I'd like to apply to, but I haven't applied yet, can I still send these scores the day of the test, or would I have to apply first. Thanks!
  6. Thanks a lot Latte. Over the break I was able to speak to someone who's more of a mentor, and they pretty much stated something similar, something along the lines of, "If you have a good idea of the research you want to do, don't waste time with another masters and move right into the PhD." Just find it hard in my current situation though, since the process of moving on still feels so far away...Thanks again.
  7. Hi everyone, I'm currently in the 2nd year of my current masters program, hoping to finish sometime in the upcoming summer. However, there's something that's been on my mind consistently, but now, it's really eating me up and thus I thought I'd post here to get some feedback/advice. Anyways, long story short, I kind of stumbled through my masters applications, not knowing exactly what I wanted, and only applied to 2 schools. A great school, with a professor who's research I absolutely loved (and still do), in a city I couldn't wait to move in. The 2nd place I ended up applying to was at my undergraduate school, a not so great school (at least ranking wise, and in my field, not much better). Anyways, I got accepted into the program at the school of my choice, but I ended up putting all my eggs into 1 basket with the one professor there, funding ended up not working out (found out way late into the application/admission process in about June, making it pretty impossible to find another professor in that short amount of time for the upcoming fall), and as a fallback, I went back to my undergraduate school with a professor I worked with in my undergrad. I wasn't happy about it, particulary about returning back to a not so great school, but my thought was that do a masters, see if you enjoy research, and if so, move onto a school/research of your preference for your PhD. Now at this point, I feel like this masters has been in many ways, and it saddens me to say this, has been a waste. The PI is absent, runs projects and the lab in a manner that I personally don't like (some projects aren't well thought out off in the beginning, absent, rarely available for feedback/meetings, scattered with research leading to students being spread thin on various projects), the research topic is not of interest to me which I think hurts my motivation (which is my fault, since it very similar to what I thought I was doing when I first entered), and I don't like the school/department, particulary since it doesn't match with what my interests are. I also work very alone, since everyone in the lab has their own research which is very different. Thus, all the learning and work is very isolated (and I know people have told me this is usual, but I just prefer working with others). I was lucky enough to get scholarship, present a poster, and publish a small paper, but I'm very unhappy with where I am, and I know at the end of the day, this whole situation is all my fault. At this point now, I'm worried about my PhD applications, and if I can get into the school/lab of my choice. I've been debating to quit for practically the entire year, but I thought I'd finish what I started, but now, in hindsight, I wish I did. I'm not going to lie, and as vain as it sounds perhaps, I really want to go to a well known and high ranked school, which undoubtedly is one of the reasons I'm currently not happy. My current research is also very different compared to what I want to go in (which I've been told isn't all that difficult, in regards to switching research), but I worry that for this to happen, its more likely if coming from a well established school/lab, with my current position hurting me. I just feel like there's been very little to build off this masters when hoping to jump to a PhD. Now, I've been seriously contemplating about finishing my masters, and applying to Masters programs again, but this time at the schools of my choice, to labs I now know I would want to be a part of (from the research point of view). However, I also have the idea of my age in the back of my head bothering me. Finishing my masters next year would be put me in my mid 20s (took a year off between my undergrad and masters to work), and the idea of another 2 years for a masters, then a PhD also scares me. I just feel so lost. I know where I want to go (which school I'd want to apply to, and what field of research I'd want to work in), but its how to get there (and if), which is keeping me up at night. Sorry for the long post, just thought I'd get this off my chest and see what gets sent back. Happy Holidays and thanks to everyone for making this such a great forum, E.I.A.
  8. Yea that's what I thought. I spoke to a couple of colleagues and got similar answers. I hope I would be able to explain to potential PIs that me quitting was due to simply a difference in views/interests and what I thought was best for my future research, but some PIs would still take the quitting as a red flag.
  9. Thanks rising star for that. Although the one professor did tell me it would be difficult, the general advice I've been told is like you said, that it's not difficult to switch fields. I just don't know if at this point I should still stay in my program or quit, and reapply to the programs/field of work I would want to work in.
  10. Hi everyone, so before I get into my actual question/dilemma, I thought I'd give a little context. I completed my bachelors at an average school (not highly ranked or anything like that), where I ended up volunteering for a professor. In my final year, I decided to apply for a masters, and with me being a naive idiot at the time, only applied to two schools. One was my undergrad school with the professor I volunteered with (as a backup), and the other at the school of my dream, where I was in contact with quite a few professors over the year leading to my application. Anyways, I ended up putting all my eggs into one basket with the person at my dream school, to only be told he didn't have funding. I was devastated, but I guess in what was just a scramble to attend something for the following year, I accepted a position with my professor at my undergrad school. What I should emphasize is that the research I WANTED to do at the other school was my dream. It's one of those fields where I could read up on for days on end. However, the work with my professor, although not something I hated nor was in completely in love with, was interesting enough. However, as the year passed, the project itself changed to something I just lost any interest for. Topic is interesting, but the direction it's going in is not something I'm interested in. Now a year in, it's gotten to the point where I'm very concerned with my post masters plan. Having learned a lot more about graduate school from when I first applied, it seems as though I got myself in a terrible position. With my professor, the project lacks any direction, and I don't know if there will be something to show for it after my masters. The project itself has lost some of my interest with the direction it is going in. However, more importantly, I'm concerned that with my current research, if I continue down this path, would put a big dent in my hope of doing a PhD at the school of my choice, but more importantly in the field that I want. What I'm doing now and the research I want to do are very different. Overall the field is similar, but the techniques are very different (for example, currently doing MRI work, but would like to switch to cellular biology), and trying to get a PhD position with a professor, where they know I have no experience with their techniques, that seems like a recipe for disaster. Like I mentioned, it was my fault from the start. I thought hey, I can do a masters, but then for a PhD make sure I got into where I wanted to. But now, it feels like going down this path is hurting my future. I personally have been told from different professors that transitioning to a different field is very doable, and at the same time, some saying it's very difficult (paraphrasing "why would a professor take you when you have no experience in their field, when they can take another masters student who already had 2 years with the techniques they use"). I think every day I should quit, to leave a school I don't like (very little reputation), a project I'm looking motivation to work on, a professor where there are some issues with (not to mention I don't think I'll get a publication with him based on his recent track record of publications with his students), and more importantly, doing a masters in what I'm doing will prevent me from doing research in the future in my dream field. In retrospect, I should have only applied to schools I would have wanted to go to, for positions that would have provided a nice transition to a PhD (in retrospect with my new found wisdom), but it's all too late now. Having said that, some issues that are present include that I was lucky enough to win a prestigious enough governmental scholarship that I've been told will be a big positive on my CV for PhD applications (assuming that if I quit, I lose this as well). Also, funny enough a committee member is friends with the professor of choice at the other school, meaning if I quit, I can't imagine a good word being put in from him if I asked for a LOR. Quitting will surely burn any bridges with him as well, since I've worked closely with him. At this point, I don't know if I should quit to only start a new masters, or continue on for another year and just finish the masters. Maybe do another masters afterwards (although I've yet to here someone recommend this), then move onto PhD? I just feel like the current situation is hurting my prospects for the future instead of helping. Desperate for advice at this point! Thanks. E.I.A
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use