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St Andrews Lynx

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Everything posted by St Andrews Lynx

  1. At my university: if an instructor thinks that a student has plagiarised or cheated on an assignment then they can initiate a formal complaint to the Academic Integrity Office, but they also have to provide evidence that the student plagiarised/cheated. In some instances this is difficult. For example, if a student downloaded a pre-written essay from a website and submitted it as their own then all the instructor would need is a link to the website/online essay in question. However, if a student took a 15 minute bathroom break during an exam then the instructor might suspect that the student was in the bathroom looking up answers on their smartphone, but unless the instructor caught them with phone in hand then they couldn't prove that cheating occurred, but the behaviour would strike them as suspicious. This is what I suspect happened with you. You submitted an essay that made the instructors suspicious. If you aren't a native English speaker then perhaps the writing style was unusually fluent. Or maybe the wording sounded like it was copied from another document. Or it is very different in tone from your other writing samples. However, the instructors can't provide more than their suspicions, so a formal charge can't be pursued. You need to do as your instructor asks, and make sure that your style of essay preparation, drafting and proof-reading are radically different (and firmly in line with your university's academic integrity policies) from your earlier attempts. Are you Chinese? I ask because there are some very different cultural norms in China regarding "academic integrity" and "what is cheating".
  2. Don't be afraid to be slightly rude. "Let me finish, please." or "Excuse me, I'm still talking." are reasonable things to say. They also alert everyone else to your colleague's habit of talking over you, and maybe they can help fit you in "Oh, I think madbiochemist wanted to say something, here." Etc.
  3. * Take juice from 1 squeezed lemon. * Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of honey * Add hot water. * Drink. Trust me, that stuff works magic. Hope you feel better soon.
  4. I'd actually tell your advisor the dates you are proposing being on vacation and asking if they are OK with them. I think it's easier for a boss to approve/disapprove a date range than make them think up the dates and consider all possible conflicts to work around (the latter is a lot more work for them).
  5. I don't think that there is much you could have done, so I wouldn't beat yourself up about it. Sometimes a committee can really grill you...but still be happy with what you've done. Or they can be nice...and privately think your work is kinda sloppy. What matters most is the end result - you passed, so that's great. It also might be that what you were hearing as strong criticism/major problems weren't actually meant to be that bad: it's sometimes hard to tell with academics.
  6. Is there another competent undergrad RA that you could buddy up with needy RA? It might help this new RA get out of the habit of relying on the senior grad student "Voice of Authority" for detailed instructions, and instead learn the ropes through a more equal peer-to-peer relationship. TakeruK's strategies are good ones to follow. I've seen a lot of undergrads seem to lack confidence when it comes to research - they're reliant on professors telling them exactly what to do at every step. Maybe some you got this one kid! pep talk would encourage them, rather than berating them about their lack of independence. In lab sciences you don't want undergrads doing everything by themselves first in case they spill a hazardous reagent on the floor or break an expensive piece of equipment...but I reckon in the humanities you don't need to worry about that kind of stuff so much.
  7. In addition to emails, I would also advise against talking departmental politics with faculty. Either you're going to end up saying something you shouldn't, or you'll hear things about the people you work with that can't be unheard. If a professor you're talking to brings up Dept. politics, my advice would be to either say nothing, make a sympathetic noise or give a "what can you do, eh?" kinda shrug. Ask a discreet senior graduate student for backstories or explanations. In the scenario described, there are avenues for younger faculty to complain/appeal to authority in the case of conflicts like this (for instance escalating the matter to the Department Chair). The official channels of conflict resolution are almost certainly more effective and with fewer risks to the OP/junior researcher.
  8. It sounds like there's a lot of stuff going on inside your head - Does my PI expect me to work longer hours? Is my PI upset/angry that I'm not producing results fast enough? Are other people judging me? - that is not necessarily connected to what onlookers are actually thinking. It means that you're getting even more unhappy in a kind of downward spiral as the rotation goes on. I've now worked in several different labs, with PIs at every stage of the hands-on/hands-off advising spectrum (plus different group management styles and personality traits). A few times that I've started in a new place I've experience a kind of disappointed comedown or mini culture-shock. My last PI was so great, why is this PI so different? I really liked my last PI, I don't think I can stand my new one. There's no lab out there that can exactly replicate the one you came from - be glad that you have a great former PI (certainly keep in touch with him), but accept that everybody does things differently. Be open to the new PI's style. You can just say "Things are going fine," and leave it at that if you feel he's being too persistent.
  9. If money is going to be the biggest issue with the UK school, can you spend the deferral year working to save up some cash? That might be more productive/ethical than enrolling in the Canadian school.
  10. It sounds like a close call, and I think either option could work out OK for you. I'm the sole female in a dude-heavy lab, and I guess it depends on the personalities involved just how much of a problem it could be. If you have any experience growing up with brothers, then that will come in useful. If you seem to get along fine with them right now, then I'd not be too concerned. Also, the presence of you in the lab may help attract more girls later down the line. That said, I've noticed that the "intense" labs tend to attract more boys than girls, so it could be a symptom of a demanding adviser. With regards to funding. A lot of labs go through rough patches: either they miss out on a grant, or there is some uncertainty about whether their grants will be renewed. Some PIs & groups get more anxious about funding than they need to. You can look up the funding history of this group (NIH/NSF grants are publicly listed online) to see how the group has fared in the past. Finding out how your Dept deals with students who don't have fellowship funding is important: are there enough TAships to go around? Is there a limit on how many years you can TA? How are other students in Lab 2 funded?
  11. It sounds like grad school has gone well for you - which is great. I wouldn't freak out too much, I remember you worried about getting accepted into the program, getting funded and settling in...all of which you managed.
  12. The sun is shining. The weather is warm. The undergraduates have not yet returned. Everything is good...

  13. When taking part in classes there are usually opportunities to practice your essay-writing before the final graded papers are turned in. If English isn't your first language then you can make use of the university writing centres to look over your papers and check your grammar. You can ask senior grad students to look over drafts of your essay if you're really worried about grades and not meeting the acceptable standards for American semester papers. No one is expecting you to begin grad school as a perfect scholar (that's why you're going to grad school after all!) - they're expecting you to learn and develop as you go along. From a personal perspective as foreigner who moved to the USA by themselves to work and then later return to grad school...I've never once regretted my decision to move abroad. The experience was fantastic: I grew and matured a lot as a person, my world views changed for the better, I had a lot of cool experiences that I'd never have stumbled upon if I hadn't moved abroad. I met some really interesting people and make a lot of good friends. I would REALLY encourage you to take the opportunity to move to a new country - I think you will surprise yourself with how well you do.
  14. In my school there is a fair amount of TA shuffling - both in the immediate run-up to the new semester, and actually during the first couple of weeks. I think we'd also be expected to prioritise our TA assignments (i.e. the thing that the school is paying us to do) over any of our classes (the things that we are choosing to do). If you have the option of sorting it out with the TAs themselves, then I'd go ahead and do that. There's guaranteed to be somebody else who is mildly dissatisfied with their assignment, or who wouldn't mind swapping with you. That certainly happens a lot in my Dept too.
  15. If the postdocs aren't willing to help you, or blow up if you ask the same question twice, or act like you're invisible...then this isn't a lab you'd want to join. When in doubt about something, always ask. It's better that the other group members are mildly annoyed that you're asking the same question repeatedly, than you breaking a piece of equipment/needlessly set yourself back by a week by doing something wrong.
  16. Most PIs and grad students understand that rotation students aren't going to start knowing everything. So don't panic too much! What I'd do is ask the PI directly "What are your expectations for my rotation?" and "What would you need to see during my rotation before you admitted me into your group?" It might just be that they want you to turn up, do at least *some* work and get along well with the current group members. Or it might be that they have a specific project they want you to complete.
  17. The university-wide orientation at our school was very generic, I didn't have much use for it. There was some free food to be found, though. If you want to meet people outside of your cohort/discipline then it might be useful...but I think that most people bond with their program cohort, roommates, etc.
  18. I got travel health insurance from the Post Office (UK) to cover the gap. I think I was advised to have proof of health insurance to show at border control when I arrived. As I recall, it wasn't too costly, and I didn't need to use it.
  19. Much to my excitement, I'm moving to a new apartment - one I've got all to myself! I wanted to add some greenery to my space, but I'm fairly clueless when it comes to plants & flowers. What plants would you recommend for (i) a well-intentioned but busy grad student (ii) someone based on the Eastern Seaboard climate (iii) both indoors and on a balcony?
  20. Regarding guns: although statistically-speaking the USA has a very large number of guns per population head, most are concentrated with a small number of gun-owners who have large numbers of guns. Meaning that most folk in the USA are unarmed. As others have said, individual states have different rules about gun ownership and carrying guns in public. Large universities or those located in rougher parts of a city often have their own police force to patrol the campus areas and keep their students safe. As general practice, don't walk by yourself late at night (11am-3am on Friday & Saturday seems to be the worst time for muggings on my campus).
  21. In terms of socialising - maybe "bonding through studying" was an unrealistic expectation. In the romanticised world of academia then yes, you and other budding scholars would spend hours poring over the literature and engage in deep intellectual discussions, connecting through your shared appreciation of your field. In reality, what I've seem is that people in grad school usually bond over lunch/coffee/dinner. Or they go to the bar. Or they play some kind of sport with a gang of friends. In fact, most of the shared activities don't involve studying! Personally, I'd not necessarily be receptive to somebody I didn't know well asking me to form a study group with them. I guess it's a distrust that the relationship would be one-way (i.e., they're going to mooch homework answers of me). Other folk I know wouldn't always see that as a problem - but it might explain the resistance you encountered to the idea, and why other members of your cohort were perhaps more keen to study with the people they'd already established friendships with. Also, don't limit yourself to just making friends in your cohort! Try to find friends outside of grad school through your hobbies/interests (Meetup has saved my (social) life in several countries over the years - I'd urge everybody to use it). There will certainly be university-wide clubs that you can join. For transferring: just be polite and diplomatic, talk about poor alignment of the school with your research interests, rather than the social environment. Thank everybody for their assistance.
  22. It gets more complicated if you're an international applicant to the US (the OP implied that they're currently studying in another country) because you have to think about visas. I wanted to start a rotation at my chosen school as early as possible, but my F1 visa only allowed me to enter the US 1 month before my official program start date. If your current institution is making you miserable, then my advice would be to drop out as soon as you can (thank your advisor for their time/patience, apologise but explain that it's a bad research fit for you, yada yada), apply to new grad schools and find whatever employment you can to tide you over until next Fall.
  23. It sounds like it's intellectual stimulation you crave, rather than a PhD specifically. There are plenty of ways to get that kind of stimulation without entering a PhD program (new hobbies, freelance work, volunteering). Many of which are less stressful, expensive and time-consuming than 5 years in grad school.
  24. It really depends on the advisor. Some will assign you a smaller project to start out, or pair you with a senior lab member. Others may well give you a topic and leave you to it. Asking potential PhD advisors (and their students) about their project management style is really important. Be polite when quitting the group. You can explain that your research interests have changed and you want to try something else, or that you are having difficulty balancing research and your academic studies - both of which are valid reasons for an undergrad to leave a group. Thank everyone for their time and assistance.
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