St Andrews Lynx

It's usually cookies/biscuits & coffee at seminars in our Dept, then for public defences the student is expected to provide pizza/Dunkin Donuts & drinks. A friend of mine at an Ivy League uni for grad school (non-funded professional qualification) told me that of course the fancy Ivies/top 10 schools provide plenty of free food - they need to as justification for the outrageous tuition fees...

Go in with an open mind. Even if you can't imagine yourself (at this point in time) being friends with anyone outside your current circle, when you get to grad school you may find that there are people there whose company you enjoy and who you want to hang out with. If you go into grad school thinking "Oh, I'll never find close friends in a lab who share my interests"...well, you won't. Being "close" to someone or an individual doesn't necessarily mean that you spend >x hours per day interacting with them. "Closeness" can also mean that you are very emotionally honest with each other, or that you find it easy to converse about serious/random/stupid topics (delete as applicable). I believe that you can only meet with a person once a year but still be "close friends" with them. I've always kept a bunch of distinct social circles. In addition to the folk I work & study with, there are people I know via my rather diverse hobbies, and the social groups just happen not to overlap. And that's OK. No one says that all your friends must be friends with each other, too. By the time you get to grad school you'll be interacting with people with plenty of life experience and individual social circles (high school friends, work buddies, running group partners, roommates): everyone in your program will respect that. No one is going to demand that you become their best friend. Finally, if you're going to talk about your old friends, just mention the autism like it's no big deal, no different from saying that your friends "are all psychologists." People will be able to sense if you're ashamed of your friends, and I reckon that will cause more awkwardness than the fact they're autistic. If you're working in the field of Applied Behavioural Analysis then you'd hope the people in your program would be sympathetic towards autistic spectrum disorders.

Tell the graduate/interview weekend coordinator that you have a dietary requirement. Do it by email well in advance (ideally when they're in the process of giving you information about the weekend), and just make it a polite 1-2 sentence statement. There will almost certainly honour the request if given enough time. Vegetarianism is widely-accepted in the States, so I don't think there will be a problem supplying you with food to eat. For most social events & parties there will be a couple of vegetarian options anyway - most hosts include some meat-free dishes just for the variety. Likewise, in most restaurants you go to there will be at least 1 vegetarian option on the menu (it might not be the most inspiring or tasty dish, but it will be there). When in doubt if a dish is meat-free, just ask the host/waiter.

Moderately normal. If you look on the Results section of GradCafe you can see when the schools sent out their offers last year. Quite a few (Princeton and UPenn, for example) sent out their decisions in early/mid Jan, or even later. Other schools do it in waves.

Do you know what the role of the PI was in supervising her project and writing up the paper? It is usual in most fields that the PI will (at minimum) look over the drafts of any manuscript before it is submitted to a journal. My point is, if the PI has been involved supervising this particular project/checking the manuscript, there is a chance that they are aware that the grad student chose Reference 1 for their parameters and is OK with it. It isn't uncommon for research groups to select a set of parameters/data sampling sets that "boosts" their results - it isn't completely ethical...but people do it quite a lot. Personally, I'd ask the grad student why they chose Reference 1 over Reference 2. It's possible that you are missing something - maybe they've adjusted for what you see as an error elsewhere in their protocol. Or perhaps they first ran the experiments using Reference 2 and the parameters didn't work at all for their dataset (or they lacked the resources to use the Reference 2 protocols). If the grad student gives you a response that doesn't satisfy you...don't push the matter.

Part of bring an adult in a job is that occasionally you have to do stuff you would rather not, at times you consider inconvenient but are without your contracted hours. Unless your career plan is to become a hobo under a bridge. Starting work at 8.30am for one quiet tutorial near the end of term is not a violation of your basic human rights. If you don't have a genuine excuse then there is no way you'll get out of this without sounding whiney, lazy and unprofessional. Just bring your laptop, spend an hour doing work/playing games then go back to bed if you wish once it's done.

For my PhD applications I wasn't asked to rank my list of the other schools, so I guess that no one will know for sure what your preferences are. Just order them alphabetically. Anyway, most schools know that you will be applying to places above & below them in the rankings, it ain't worth stressing over!

I head home early and try to get a good night's sleep. I also try to think about my goals (why I'm here in grad school) and my successes so far. That helps me keep on at it.

I don't think there is any way to make your advisor more organised (unless they really want to be more organised). Often, scatty people don't like having their scattiness drawn to their attention, either. Communicate by email for everything, since that way you have a paper trail that you can refer back to. After any phone calls or in-person meetings, immediately email a "confirmation summary" of everything you discussed. If she confronts you or blames you, calmly & politely refer them to email correspondence ("I sent you an email on Monday evening saying X. You replied on Tuesday morning confirming Y."). If you are able to keep your cool, and confidently (but politely) advocate for yourself, I guess that is the approach most likely to make her become less inconsiderate in the future.

Depends on the Dept (and funding) exactly how much coursework you get to do. At my school I only took 1-2 classes per semester, for the first academic year (if I hadn't transferred credits from my previous degree I would have needed to take 5 classes in total those first 2 years). However, the people in my cohort who received a fellowship took 2-3 classes per semester (since they didn't have to TA, and I did). In other universities I know that the coursework is significantly more intense. It's something to ask about at visiting days. Yes, there was some repetition in the classes, but I looked at it as "revising/strengthening my core knowledge" rather than "repetition" per se. And honestly, I appreciated that the classes didn't take too much time out of my research. I was also able to transfer those credits from my MS degree and get an exemption from some classes, but I had to complete 2 semesters of credits first (that's another thing to look out for in your school's PhD guidelines). My opinion is that if you can get accepted into a PhD program without a Masters...then go for it!

In that example I'd still call it a Biological Engineering degree. Presumably for a Biomedical Engineering degree you would have to meet a (different) set of core course requirements - the core requirements are what allow you to take a earn degree title. If you didn't meet the core requirements for a BME degree, I don't think it is appropriate for you to list having one on your CV. Americans can do the whole "joint degrees" and major/minor nonsense, so I don't think there would be any problem with putting the additional info on your resume. Technically, what I have is a Chemistry degree from an international university. But I met the core course requirements for a more specialised degree title 'Medicinal & Biological Chemistry' (which is the name on my academic transcript). I feel it is OK to list my degree as 'Chemistry' on my CV, provided I also talk about the fact that I specialised in medicinal & biological chem. But it wouldn't be OK for me to list my degree as 'Organic Chemistry', because even though I did a lot of organic chem at uni, I didn't officially specialise in it according to course regulations...

Look at it this way: if you spend ALL your time in the lab, your net productivity is going to go down as your stress/fatigue rises. In fact, you will probably be more productive over the week if you take a day or 2 off to recharge your batteries, rather than ploughing on through. Don't feel guilty - taking breaks is really important to your future success. Keep focussing ahead. I found life a lot less stressful once I got my coursework requirements out of the way and could focus more on my research.

I don't think a bad experience in one class is worth quitting the program over. Perhaps a better way of looking at the situation is "Does this program adequately train students for their future careers?" (does the program have good placement/employment rates, are the alumni well-regarded outside of the university, etc). If the program is good at getting its students into the kind of careers that you want to do...I don't think there is anything to worry about. Try to see the positives in your cohort, instead of categorising them as "ignorant morons" (which doesn't help anyone, and probably won't add much to your overall happiness in the program). Everybody has different strengths: if they aren't good at discussing things, maybe instead they are great at research, or are fun people to hang out with when you don't want to academic talk.

If your application has improved since the last cycle (you've done new things and gained more CV lines), then go ahead and re-apply. Re-applying with the same application packet is going to give the same outcome. In general, a lot of people reapply, especially to the top competitive schools, so there isn't anything unusual per se in that.

...Although be aware that the cost of living is often higher in Europe than the USA - Zurich is one of the most expensive cities in the world, and the salary for PhD students reflects that.

I've seen people who got straight As in their coursework (undergraduate/graduate) do poorly when it comes to handling their own research program or "academic scholar"-type exercises. And there are people like me who consistently sit just above the failing grade limit in their classes...but who do well in their research and (occasionally) kick ass at it. Then there are some people who get 98% scores in all their classes and kick ass at their research without breaking a sweat; or who just aren't cut out for grad school in any sense. ...But anyway, my point is (i) there isn't an overwhelmingly strong correlation between success in grad school classes & success in research, nor does a poor performance in one mean that you can't succeed in the other (ii) you can compensate for any weakness in grad school by playing to your strengths, whatever they are (maybe you are great at searching through the literature for new research ideas, maybe you are the only person in your group who understands how to run computational calculations/analyze Western blots). The mental pressures in grad school change as you progress through the program from coursework to full-time research. I think that people can find research more mentally challenging because there are no grades given for your independent studies, you really are on your own. It takes a lot of stamina to cope with shifting goal posts and a constant stream of setbacks. Your mental health is important, and you should think about how it will be affected by different sorts of pressures. Personally, I don't believe grad school is worth ruining your mental health over - but it is up to you to decide what you can cope with.

In general, it is hard for international students to get their hands on competitive scholarships in the USA (most of the fellowships and awards I've seen are advertised 'For US Citizens & Green Card holders only'. The Fulbright Award is the biggest exception, but it is also the most competitive. The best option is to look for awards and scholarships offered by the Department/university (rather than national ones), since they are usually open to all. The Indian government might offer some scholarships for its citizens to pursue study abroad, I imagine? A lot of Chemistry PhD programs at good schools offer stipends in the region of $20-30K per year. This information can either be found on the school website or by looking through old GradCafe forum posts (where stipend is quite regularly discussed). It depends on the cost of living, but if you are careful with your money, you can get by quite easily on a PhD stipend and still have some cash left over. Once you get to the university you may well find opportunities for tutoring, ad hoc TA work (in my Dept there are regular calls for extra exam graders, lab stockroom assistance, etc all paid reasonably per hour) and other ways to earn a little bit more on the side.

The other things to think about are the PI's management style and general group dynamics, since those will vary from group to group. Some people like a group where there is lots of flexibility in the working hours you self-select. Other people prefer a more regulated set of working hours, to keep them motivated. PIs can give you lots of hands-on assistance or very little - depending on how independent you are you will know which kind you prefer. Some PIs are more concerned with "training" their graduate students and placing them in good jobs, others will expect you to train yourself. The type of research you do in grad school doesn't matter too much: many chemists use their postdoc to change fields and explore new research areas after their PhD. Ideally you want to do a kind of research project that gives you a good skill set, that will make you employable afterwards.

A lot of folk have academic crushes on their advisors. Maybe it is something you can make a joke of if ever anybody comments on how well you get along. ("Of course - he's so intelligent, who wouldn't want to hang out with him?!") That way you can laugh it off, admit it instead of feeling guilty and desperately trying to conceal your feelings, and people will be a lot less suspicious because it is clearly just a run-of-the-mill academic crush.

How many academic jobs are there available in your subfield of choice? Reading through the academic job listings should give you an idea of (i) how many tenure-tracks jobs there are opening in French Cooking (compared to Chinese Cooking) this academic year (ii) what the average department is looking for in its new French Cooks (do they want their nominally-French cooks to work at the interface between French and Italian cooking, or do they want French cooks with advanced specialisation in baking pastries?). The point is, you don't want to specialise too far if there are only going to be 4 job openings for a French cook when you hit the market, and 100 newly-minted PhDs trying to compete for the positions. It might even be in your best career interests to increase your emphasis on Chinese cooking if that's what will get you a job in 5 years.

With regards to training. You want a PI who will not just say "Oh, you're doing that wrong" but who can articulate why you are doing it wrong and suggest helpful ways to start doing that thing right, not just "Oh, go and figure it out for yourself, don't waste my time". A good PI will be honest when you are doing something wrong - ideally they will also be diplomatic about it. Honestly, in Chemistry I've seen a lot of advisors who don't think it is their job to train their grad students or to help them procure jobs/strengthen their CV. Good advising = actually trains their students, in that respect. Thankfully, a few questions about "mentoring style" (addressed to the PI, and group members) should make it clear which PIs are willing to train their students, and which aren't.

Initiate a conversation with this girl. Instead of only being the person who passively listens to what others talk about, try setting the topic of conversation. You are both interested in social work, you're both at the same university in the same program...there has to be some overlap in your interests, personalities & life experiences. Find out more about her - ask questions and be interested in her answers. Invite her for coffee between classes. The things you said make it sound like some social interactions in general are challenging for you. Not knowing what to say in conversations with strangers, trying to "better" other people's experiences, thinking that colleagues will judge you for being single. If getting to your therapist is an issue, perhaps consider taking part in improvisation/drama classes. Hell, I find it difficult to cope with a large group of noisy friends all at once, even when I like the folk - but in that case I just skip the crowded bar nights and hang out with smaller groups of my friends in a more sedate setting. You don't have to interact with a friends in a way that doesn't work for you. What everybody wants to believe (and trust me, I mean everybody) is that there is some clearly-defined goal that they just need to reach...and BAM! They will be happy forever afterwards after they hit it. Because people want to be happy, and they want to believe that there is some magic way to just "become" (and then stay) happy. In your case you believe that getting in to a relationship will make you happy. For other people it's a new job, their PhD, a nicer house, losing 10 lbs. I've spent this whole semester adamant that buying a car is what I really need to do. Happiness doesn't work like that. You can't 'unlock a happiness badge' upon completion of any life milestone, nor can you guarantee 20 years of happiness through fulfilling a set of pre-requisites, as it were. Happiness is something that you work upon as and of itself, and it is something that comes & goes (sometimes you can control that a bit, other times you can't).

Gosh, what a terrible dilemma to be faced with. Just play it cool. Mature and restrained.In future correspondence with the editor remember to politely thank them for accepting your manuscript at some point in the email...but don't gush.