robhat

I have a valid visa. I completed a Masters degree from US from an Ivy. And when I went to this xyzee school for a PhD, since my current visa was on my Masters degree school, this new school just transferred my SEVIS record - that simple, barely takes fifteen minutes. And that's what will happen if I drop out and switch to another school, just a transfer of SEVIS account and a new I-20 shall be generated. No need to take the visa interview. I checked. And I double checked. The new school to which I'm applying happens to be my alma mater. I love that school - infinitely! I have got positive responses from the faculty but considering the funding scenario and I being an international student, nothing can be certain. I have been in the US for a couple of years so the only problem I'm guessing I will have it finding a job within two months and getting the company to file a work visa in time. Nothing else. I'm not new to this system which is why I have an opinion.

Hello folks! I'm an international student who's applying for a PhD degree for Fall 2014 (this is my second application cycle). In my applications, I have said that I have not dropped/been suspended from any school till now (which is true). But, in spring 2014, I will be joining a certain school for one semester and wait to get admitted to any of the schools I applied for fall or get a job. Any which ways, I'm dropping out of that school either way after the spring semester. Now, most of you think it's not necessary to join that school in the first place, which is very true. But, this school kind of took my doctoral funding away at the last minute courtesy which I did not enroll and deferred my admission and came back to my country. I dont have the money but paying tuition for the first semester is the only way I can come to US in spring (when I can start looking for employment as a fall back option in case the PhD applications don't work out). This school is not going to fund me or any other PhD student. They have told us that. So I have to drop out no matter what. Either a PhD admit/job/no money to pay for second semester so drop out. So my question is, when I meet faculty for these schools I'm applying to in Jan/Feb, how do I communicate that I will be dropping out of this xyzee school because of funding issues? I'm inclined to tell them, but should I? Would that go negative against my application? I mean getting ditched about funding at the last minute kind of sucks - I left my job/work visa/money for grad school and then they kind of screwed me royally. Any ways, how do I tell them is the question. Any help will be highly appreciated! Best Ro

I meant more on the lines of not-being-rude-on-my-face, I get your point though. I was editing my earlier response to you before I read your reply. But, thanks. It does help me to think that he's going to try. And so should I.

^ A school promising me funding at the time of admission but denying it when I went there to enroll which is why I'm too skeptical. On second thought, I guess you are right. Maybe I'm thinking too much. Human brain tends to go negative first. He is interested for sure, otherwise no one would propose an interview themself without the potential-grad-student even filing an application. Also, this school is a top-10 school, an Ivy, which also happens to be my alma mater, just a different department.

Hello This might not be the correct forum to post this one, so I apologize before hand. If a professor interviews you even before you have applied (in the first exchange of email itself he says he wishes to discuss potential opportunities), asks you 'something about yourself'.. and when you are done, discusses about funding, tells you he is a new prof and he already has 2 PhDs and 1 more joining in spring and current funds doesn't allow any more, and further talks about applying for fellowships, reviewing my proposals if I'm willing to write one, handing me out a conditional admit if any of the fellowships require me to be admitted first, tells me he filed a grant and is in talks with a company, and if anything materializes, he can consider a new PhD student, but ASKS me to apply for sure : 1) Is he really interested but has no funding? 2) Bluffing about the entire apply for scholarship thing because he cannot say no to my face? I say the 2) because I wouldn't see a prof being so eager with a potential grad student if he had no funds, he must have something. Maybe he's dearly expecting some. Maybe I said something during the interview to put him off? What do you guys think? I was initially thinking that 'oh, bad luck me, let me try to look up fellowships, write zillions of proposals right away' but the more I mull over it, the more I'm inclined to think that he's probably showing me the door. Best Rob

Lisa : It is not ideal, agreed. I would have preferred an alternate arrangement but that's what I have in hand right now and I have to make do with whatever I got. It is a short term thing, since the professor only wants me to stick around for the semester, and if I want to continue further, enroll in grad school in the summer semester and start taking classes come fall. I don't exactly know if I would go up on contract or not, the discussion I had was only for about five months, so maybe a contract won't come into the picture. So people normally work for two years (roughly) before starting their PhD's? Woah! In my field, most of the people normally get work experience in the industry or just continue directly from their Masters or Bachelors to a PhD degree. I guess it all comes down to different majors. ----- Psychgirl: When I posted this, I was still in a dilemma. I was under the impression that it was going to be a PhD (prof said he's looking for a PhD preferably) and the professor just hinted that we might explore other options (such as a short term). Which was when I had posted to enquire. I don't have too much knowledge of how a PhD works and I was extremely confused. The situation changed over the course of these few days and now I know that if I take it, it is going to be a short term thing initially - I would still NEED to prove my mettle to be able to stick around, a PhD just doesn't come banging on anyone's door. I agree with you that one semester of research won't help me much. You have a point there. But what you might have missed seeing is the fact that I'm keeping this as a safety net, if my other applications don't work out - considering they are all big ass top notch schools. I'm not at all determined that I will leave, in fact it is the other way round - maybe I will get to like the research, maybe I would think that 'Oh, I have already spent six months. Why join a new school when I can complete my doctorate studies in (n-6) months?'. I would like to give this a fighting chance. Maybe it will work out. There is no certitude with anything else. I do not want to not take this offer, look back distraught one year from now and think - 'I should have taken the offer, 'cause if I did, life would have been a wee bit easier'. I hope you get my point. I still understand if you beg to differ. And yes, I have made up my mind. I was confused and in guilt when I thought that this was a PhD offer - I was fighting my inner conscience to separate what's right from what I need to do to secure my future. I would have probably bowed down to ethics and would have declined this opportunity, but now when I know it's an initial noncommittal thing, I'm relieved. Disappointment might still exist, but you cannot keep everyone happy all the time. Thank you for your incisive and differing opinion on this. I won't deny that it did help me to view this situation through a different lens, and I appreciate that.

That's what I'm saying, it is NOT a PhD right now. Consider this more like a lab tech position (which has a scope to be converted to a PhD later). Also, I won't be enrolled/taking classes or anything like that. I have had several email and video chat conversations and I have been told to come to work - I have not applied yet, I wasn't even planning to apply to this school. I realize the guy is pulling strings and he's indeed desperate for someone to start on this new project and even though my research interest/background is no where related to what he works on, he's trying to get me there so that he has someone who can start work on the project, and believe you me if I decide to leave, I would tell him within a month of joining and work till he finds a suitable replacement. But that still doesn't discount the fact that I would let him down in some way. But I'm not joining on the condition that I would be continuing for a PhD. I'm not trying to convince myself that whatever I intend to do is the right thing, if I had thought that - I wouldn't have bothered posting, but consider the situation - a prof is seeking a grad student preferably to start work on a new project ASAP, he comes across my profile, our interests don't match, I haven't applied yet, he's the one who initiates the topic of getting me on a short term research visa initially, I tell him that on a lab tech position - I would also come to know if I'm developing any taste for this research or not, and he would get to know if I'm good enough. And he says that if all goes well, I can continue this research as a PhD. He doesn't have my word that I will continue. But if I don't continue or develop any inclination to that research, then it should be okay to go wherever I find my research interests best meet right? Not like I do be voiding the employer-employee contract in any way, I would be abiding by it fully. Another example would be to consider this as an Intern. You are expected to continue in the company where you have interned if they offer you a full time and they will be disappointed if you do not continue, but the decision to continue is not their's to make. You got a better opportunity, you took it, plain and simple. EDIT : I should probably change the title of the thread considering it is not a PhD anymore which is why some of you can get the wrong impression about this. EDIT 2 : Looks like I cannot change the title, sorry for the inconvenience everyone. I realize few people would be able to go through all the posts to understand the situation fully.

Erm, okay, thanks for the reply, and I appreciate the honesty. Please keep it coming! I mean I realize that it won't be smooth, but I wasn't expecting it to be that rough. Technically, if I do not accept the formal PhD offer made by the school, complete my research in the time frame and stay the duration of the offered 'Visiting Scholar' position, I'm not going too much against the tide right? I mean I have conveyed the prof that this is a new research and I would want to see how much I will be able to like it and you will also get the opportunity to see what I'm capable of. So it's like a trade off. At the end, maybe I would want to stay but he might think that I'm not suitable enough or driven enough. The last thing I would want to do is to take advantage of someone which is why I'm extremely bothered about this. What do you think?

So the situation is a bit different than before. I'd be going in on a short term visa. So no dropping out of a PhD. I hope completing my desired 5-6 months of research work as per the contract and then (maybe) choosing not to enroll as a PhD won't be taken as a personal offense by the prof in question.

Hi So my story goes like this .. I'm an international student who got screwed at one of the universities that promised me financial aid for a PhD but they didn't have any to give (not the most ethical of things), so I didn't enroll and came back to my country, leaving a well paid job for this shit. This happened this August. Anyhow, I'm applying again for the fall 2014 session. I'm in the process of applying and I'm receiving positive replies from top tier Ivy League schools (I'm an Ivy League graduate myself). A professor from a public ivy university contacted me two days back with a PhD position. He got my info from some colleague of his. He is in a hurry to recruit a new graduate student. Applying to this school wasn't in my initial scheme of things. But, chuck that. All of this seems good. Only obstacle being, he wants me to start in January and he is willing to bend the admission rules if need be. Now, I don't want to let this opportunity go. But I also want to see how I fare in the top schools because I want to go there! But I will only get to know about them in March and this prof wants me to start in Jan. I'm concerned because if I don't make it to the top schools and if I lose this opportunity, I would have nothing. Yet, I would like to keep this as a secondary option incase, nothing works out there. I would have appreciated it if this was a fall thing so I knew which school I'm going to. I'm trying to go work on the new project with this prof on a short term visa initially (I need to convince him for this, and this sounds extremely stupid because the prof would think that I'm not interested or something) so that I have an exit point, as well as the chance to really work on the project without worrying about coursework. If I don't get in anywhere else, I will just take the visa interview again for a student status and continue with the PhD. If that doesn't work out, and if I indeed enroll as a PhD on an F1 visa, and I get in somewhere really good within a month or so of starting this program, is it too uncommon to drop out of a PhD within the first semester or after the first semester? I mean I don't even know if he would want to make me work on the project right away or just learn techniques, do literature review and shit the first semester. And if I get to go to a top school, then why not? For the ones who read the entire thing, thank you! Any comments, tips, advice?

Hi I have a Masters degree in Food Science from Cornell U. My research interests run into studying the association between diet and diseases and studying food components - phytochemicals, micronutrients for their health beneficial aspects (and translating into real world applications such as fortified foods, micronutrient supplementation trials, functional foods, dietary strategies). I'm in the process of applying and I'm confused like hel! I have been looking up several Nutrition programs to apply (I want to go to a good program such as Harvard or Cornell, Tufts, etc) .. and majorly I see the 'student profile' with admitted students holding a prior MD degree or a Public Health degree or years of experience in Africa or Bangladesh and it seems more policy oriented and less benchwork. I'm utterly confused at what to look at. Am I going in the wrong direction? Should I instead, focus in Food Science only? I realize I'm more Food Science than Nutrition, but then that's just my background talking. Is my profile not upto it? Do I have to HAVE an MD degree to make it into Harvard for a PhD in Nutrition? Can someone please help? I wish I would could be less confused at this stage. Best Ro

Thanks guys for all the helpful replies and valid arguments. I was initially planning on applying for the next admission cycle, but the recent turn of events has really demotivated me. So I won't be applying again. However, I'm considering taking GMAT and going to a business school in some years. With my current mindset, I don't really think that I can succeed in a PhD and gain much out of it (even if I'm funded, which most importantly, I'm not). A senior told me that he came in late and he had to fund himself the first year but since then he has been funded by a GA position, which worked out for him but I don't see that working for me since I already have to take care of the educational loan that I took to fund myself for my masters degree. Taking another loan for a PhD would be totally insane. Having said that, I don't really know what to do. I have a very specific skill set which is not recognized in my country yet, so its hard for me to find decent employment to pay the bills. With a job in US, atleast I'm doing something which I love (and for which I paid a humongous amount of money) and also get paid for it. I'm exploring options that can at the very least, waive the tuition off, but it seems highly unlikely that I will find one. Being an international student is not easy in US. My dept (nutritional sciences) has just one or two TA positions which usually goes out to the seniors, my parent department (which is food science) has the same case. We are usually handed TA positions in the life sciences department and I have been put on a waiting list for that. I was initially told that most likely I would end up with a biochemistry TA and I should brush up my biochem skills. Erm, not anymore. @ Jeffster I realize the point that you are making. But it all boils down to money. I need education but not at this cost. I mean I come from a country where 1USD=60 bucks in my country and I'm not really rich. So cost is a thing that I really need to consider. i realize the end point will remain the same but the casualties in the war as you may say, would be much greater. @TakerUK Thanks for the honest advice. I totally agree with you on the fact that if international student are doing the same work as domestic students and putting in the same number of man hours, they ought to be paid the same. A little here and there in money is okay, but still, a grad stipend minus no grad stipend is a huge difference. What I plan on doing now is go to this school (I have no other option, my country doesn't have any jobs for my research).. try to find funding (the prof I'm in talks with has money- I'm not sure though if he would want to invest in me though).. we have this rotation policy and then find a lab.. but I would be skipping that as I already know which Lab I would want to work in. So without digressing, find a lab and get funding, that would be the most ideal. If I don't find funding the first semester- I would find odd student jobs to support my living expenses, seek a leave of absence in the second semester (if they keep me unfunded, I just hope they have one!) on monetary grounds, get a job, get the hell out. Screw a PhD, then GMAT and an MBA few years later. But I would have to shell out money. Otherwise all the money I have spent till now and all the hard work would remain in dumps, its like I will go four years back if I stay in my country since I would have to seek alternate career options (also an MBA, take a test for that happens once a year and is very very competitive). Do let me know if you think this plan is right. I mean I'm so demotivated right now I just think I have made a huge mistake by taking up this PhD offer and quitting my job and everything.

Thanks for the advice! I cannot even work, which is the worst part. I would have chosen that option if I could. I have gone back to the F1 status and I can only work on an H1B (Filing cycle: next April; Hopeful completion: October), so I cannot work until October 2014 come what may. This kind of sucks! I was told about the non funding part five days before only.

Hi! I'm an international student who is starting with his PhD this fall. I'm really worried because I was initially told (not promised and nothing on paper) that all students get TA's initially and then get RA's beginning second year. Now I'm told that because of the cut in the federal funding, I won't be getting funded my first year and come second year, the professor I decide to work with 'might' fund me. This is really bothering me. I'm a graduate from an Ivy League school with a Masters degree, I had a pretty decent job with my employer willing to sponsor my work visa before I decided to let it all go and just go for the opportunity to be back in school again. I'm helpless now since I have given up the privilege to work so I can only 'study' if I want to be in US. And with my specialized research, opportunities back home are next to none. I have to cough up the money for which I was not prepared for, gather loans and shit to attend this school. I feel PhD is more of a curse rather than a new chapter and it hasn't even started yet. Probably not the best of mindsets to have when entering a PhD, but all this pandemonium is getting to me. Without digressing further, what I wanted to know was - "Are unfunded PhD's common?"; "Can I expect to be funded soon?"; "Is it worth it?", etc. Best RSB