biisis

I can't speak to the legalities or the procedures for anything (those are likely highly specific to your university) but in terms of repeating classes, I'd say that it's highly unusual, but not damning. Save for the odd grant application (and maybe that's not even relevant in your case?) no one is going to scrutinize your transcripts at this point. Still, I'd follow up with your graduate program coordinator/director to ensure that you can reenroll in a class. You might doublecheck your doctoral program handbook or the equivalent before hand so that you can approach that conversation all the more informed. As for your disability and feelings of discrimination, I would strongly advise you to contact the disabilities support office at your school and get registered in their system. It's always a bit of an investment of time, jumping through the hoops, but it will pay off in extended deadlines, councilors you can talk to, and advocacy. Once your in the system, see if there's someone you can talk to about your comfort levels in the lab/classroom. They may help you target what external and internal barriers you're facing. If there is something system and oppressive going on, the next person to reach out to would be your school's office of graduate research. Usually, students can meet with these folks off the record, even without proof, to discuss the climate of the university or behavioral problems with colleagues or professors. They can suggest strategies to ameliorate the situation, or advise you on the steps you'd need to take to bring forward more direct proceedings. These things take time, but then again, you'll probably still be interacting with the same folks as you pass your coursework.

I have no respect for the Golden Key. The scholarships are small and few, and it offends me to pay for a resume line. Being in the top 15%, particularly among the grad crowd, isn't that exclusive. Plus, according to their annual report, their spending looks a little dodgy (what a vague category "student recognition" is!) https://www.goldenkey.org/media/84817/2013_annualreport_final3.pdf

It means being able to understand texts (academic or not) in the language, and perhaps being able to work some sort of translation. But here's the big beautiful caveat: you're allowed to use a dictionary.

If they're looking for a writing sample, definitely.

Don't do it! It sounds like a pretty weak excuse (+why not go take it again if it bothers you?)

I don't know, flagrant and repeated misconduct seems quite damning to me, particularly if OP is trying to get into a research field. Field work, moreover, doesn't really demonstrate lessons learned so much as 'job gotten.'

This is a really broad question, and answering it depends a lot on your individual circumstances.The viability of that $1500 a month really does depend on what sort of city you're living in, and how frugal you can live. Similarly, internal grants will differ from school to school, though there are definitely larger, competitive awards on a national level in the sciences. I think you'd have better luck getting a precise answer if you check in with your university's student awards/grants office, who will be able to match you with awards that you are eligible to receive/compete for. There are many grants out there. If you're still in the admissions cycle, check in with the graduate program directors that are trying to recruit you- mention your financial pressures and let them know that you're looking for additional funding sources. They may be able to direct you to some. It's also a good idea to ask to chat with current students, in order to get an accurate picture of the cost of living.

Don't know much about interviews (sorry!) but I just wanted to let you know that I think you'll do just fine. These things are rarely as involved as they have the tiny potential to be. I don't think you need to worry about converting cash into USD in advance, nor will it likely be necessary to get the original passbooks for your dad's accounts. Be as prepared as you can, within reason, but don't let it stress you out too much! You'll be fine!

It's going to be damning, plus by the sounds of things you haven't really learned your lesson regarding academic integrity (having your friend write your essay for you now?).

Go with your biggest cheerleader rather than the most eminently relevant. Your research skills and work ethic are transferable, no matter what subject. Art History's interdisciplinary enough to respect museums/film work; you'll be fine!

Read Marx instead.

Hey All! I've got a combination of FOMO and thrift that's making it tricky to scope out what professional associations/organizations I should be joining. What are you a member of, and why is it awesome? Presently I'm enjoying AOIR, though it's not entirely relevant to my research, and I've got my eye on SCMS.

Oh man, I'm super curious to hear everyone's responses too. This is something I'm still trying to grapple with as my libraries go increasingly digital and I can't take all my papers with me when I move every year or so. I've heard good things about Evernote, particularly in regards to its tagging features and searchablity. As for references, I am still in love with Zoterro (open source politics 4 life) and that's preventing me from making the switch. I use a free program called PDF Xchange Viewer for reading my pdfs when I have to keep digital. It's got a good assortment of drawing, highlighting, and typing tools that work for me in terms of mark up, but isn't in anyways newly searchable. I'm basically recreating the scribbles I'd write on the page, without any efficiency gains. Beyond that, I'm at a loss. Academic e-book software like e-brary (which exists mostly as an IP protection measure for the book's copyright) are pretty terrible. Things load slowly, search is sluggish, and there's way too many authentication steps to make it useful for my casual/regular browsing. There's also a poverty in terms of visual access to information when doing things digitally, and it being more difficult to spatially arrange. For all the foibles of paper, I still find its pedagogically more useful to start there, in terms of mark up and also for more general note taking/writing sketches. My resolution this term is to type up all my written notes at the end of term so that I'll be able to toss the paper copies guilt free and still have the ideas and page numbers at hand for reference.

I'd suggest taking some time to work in the field if you can, to put some distance between your bad experience and hopefully get a better sense of what you'd ultimately like to research and how to go about doing it. You'll also need new references, by the sounds of it...

Here's my two cents: I think that working with a stipend that doesn't pay more than mimumum wage for all your work hours, bundled together = volunteer work. That being said, Americore is a well recognized program. Folks will understand that it's public service work, regardless of whether or not you classify it as paid or volunteer work. They'll also have a good understanding of the scope of the commitment and the time you put into it. I wouldn't worry as much about the classifications of these positions as what you'll learn in doing them, and how that learning could support you interest in the field you'd like to study, and indeed if you even actually want to study it. While there's nothing to suggest that this is you particular case, there's nothing sadder than a volunteer with no passion, challenge, or commitment to their work, merely going through the motions in order to get an abstract credential. What you'll get out the experience, as a learner, community member, and a human being, should probably hold more weight that what you get for your resume.

Standard conventions in my part of the world let you indicate future/anticipated items on your resume by writing them all in italics. Make sure you've got the future date clearly indicated, and then you're golden!

Marx, Capital Vol 1, Chpt 1. It's all about labour power, man.

I read too much Marx to consider financial investments.

Tutors can be great! I'd give that option a shot. Additionally, going forward, you might want to pick courses that involve a little less math, if that's at all an option. Having never taken any economics courses I am speculating beyond reason here, but maybe historical or micro-economics would be a little kinder?

Canada's a pretty GRE-free zone, but you're going to keep running into the GPA problem. If taking more courses isn't an option, perhaps there's a way you could add more research/publications/conferences to your CV?

nothing "lucrative"

Yeah, I think you're suspicions are accurate. The prof's impact on you is not what's under scrutiny in the LOR, so much as your impact on the prof. Pick a writer who is familiar with the full extent of your abilities as a student. These might be the professors who gave you As; it might even be the Bs or Cs professors, but they have to be able to enthusiastically endorse you as one of their best students overall. It's okay to ask them in advance, "do you feel well enough acquainted with my skills to write a strong letter of reference?" and this will give them an out if they don't think you're that great or barely remember you. Good luck!

You aren't out of the count yet! Medical things happen, and as long as you explain it tactfully in your personal statements, have have really awesome GRE marks/professional experience/letters of reference and maybe a publication or two, you could be a very competitive candidate. (And in the future, register with your school's office of disabilities if stuff like this comes up again. They can be an invaluable advocate to get you the time and resources you need to avoid bad turns in your grades.)

Not only is this an excessive burden on your letter writer (even if they just copy/paste a generic letter each time) think of the cost! Don't waste $1,500-2,000 on redundant applications. You want quality over quantity; you want to show how you're interested in specific programs rather than just desperate to get in somewhere/anywhere.

A card and a really nice bar of chocolate, right after the last letter was submitted. I got nice thank-yous back!