Tall Chai Latte

Hey enginerd, Speaking of being disappointed, I totally feel you. As of now, I have gone through 4 lab rotations, found my lab home twice and was forced to find other opportunities due to random stuff happening in the background, unrelated to me. I am still without a lab, and my second year is about to start in less than two weeks. I totally understand how it feels like to be promised something, and have that promise taken away... Hang in there! It may be dark today, but tomorrow may be brighter. Wish you the best!

I also have the same approach as lambspam. You can also set Gmail to send your emails out as your school email address, like lambspam said. I find it to be quite convenient.

Here is a post that might be useful for you: You might find some answers to your questions there. For striking work-life balance, it is very difficult to maintain the balance because research goes on 24/7, rain or shine. I have to literally schedule my fun times and make sure fun times do happen, or else I might get consumed by grad school and work. Just because you are in grad school, it doesn't mean your personal life has to suffer! I am on the same boat as you in terms of dating, and I have trouble with meeting new people because everyone around me seems terribly busy, and I am too.... As for staying in control, biggest thing is "don't panic" (lol, like hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy). Life has ups and downs, so does grad school -- learning to make the best of your particular situations and accept the ones you cannot change will help you feel more in control.

We are entitled to have two additional weeks off from the national holidays at my school. But if you need to take longer break, as long as your PI is okay with it you should be fine.

Hey Eigen. I am a biochemist with some structural biology background, so I'll be handling the biochemical and biophysical assays, maybe some cell-based assays... I guess I'm one of the biologists since I don't do synthesis at all.

Hey guys, it's Chai. On Monday, I started a new rotation with another lab. The prof is an assistant professor started in 2008, and the lab currently has 2.5 grad students, 3 post docs, and 2 rotation students (me and another guy). The science is interesting and very applied, which suites my intention of going into industry perfectly. My background is also the perfect complimentary to the lab's skill set, so far it looks like a good fit. However, as I started to get more hands-on and interacting with everyone in the lab, I see how the PI structures her team: the research is in the lines of rational drug design, we have chemists handling the synthesis, molecular biologists handling the cloning and protein expression, and when any of them has time, they run assays to test the molecules. The lab only focuses on two main drug targets so far, and everyone works on a part of everything. Everyone has a focus, but it's skill oriented rather than topic oriented. I know there are many ways to run a lab, but this is something I have never experienced before. It's a great setup for a pharmaceutical company, where every team member has a technical niche and collaborate. But after all, we are in university setting, especially when it comes to constructing a somewhat unique storyline for a thesis, this particular approach sounds a bit lacking in the "uniqueness" aspect. Or, is it me who should be striving for the "uniqueness"? I'd like to hear some perspectives, just out of curiosity, I'm by no means saying this approach is not going to work. Thanks everyone!

Hey fumblewhat. My current living situation is similar to your option B. I commute to central campus everyday on the bus. Having lived here for almost a year (3 miles south of central campus), I have to say that living way south provides me with the peace of mind I prefer (I just can't stand all the commotion from game days and drunk undergrads), but the downside is commute during winter (too much brrrr). Yeah, it does suck when you want to have a drink out late with your friends and then say "oops gotta go, my last bus is coming", this happened to me all the time. But you know, you'll find ways around that, and your friends will understand. I don't think living way south is a bad option, and honestly, your first year of grad school will keep you busy. Time will fly by you fast, and you'll have a better idea where to live next year.

The address I used for my car insurance is the address of my parents' place in MD, and we didn't tell the insurance company that I will be away for school. I vaguely remember that a grad student (from OH) doing his PhD at my MD alma mater also kept his OH car insurance, using his parents' address. I haven't had any problems so far, maybe because I've been driving very carefully and not getting into any accidents.

Yeah that's what I'm planing to do. I still have my MD license tag and everything, which means I have to go home to do emission test once in a while. One more excuse to go home!

I also go to school in MI, and I moved from MD. I didn't change to be a MI resident, and my license tag and driver's license remain as MD. I heard that it is very difficult to regain your CA residency once you give it up, if you plan on going back to CA after graduation, you might not want to change residency.... At my school, once you pass candidacy exam, your tuition rate goes down a lot, so switching to MI residency wouldn't make a difference. One thing here is that you have to file income tax to both CA and MI, something to think about.

I would say not living with someone from your cohort in the same department/program. While you all are trying to be friends with each other, you probably don't want school drama entering your private life... It could get awkward (say, if you two are competing for that one spot in the same lab)..

I had concerns with the MCard debit card from TCF Bank though. It is very convenient for sure. One thing to consider is that if you take the bus everyday and have to swipe your MCard a gazzilion times, maybe the magnetic stripe on the back of the card might get scratched up after some time (not sure if it will really happen). Also, what if you lose your MCard? I guess I am the more careful type of person, so I have separate debit/credit cards from my MCard. Just some other perspective newms

Chase bank is actually everywhere in Ann Arbor. I have my accounts with them.

Definitely terrible traffic on game days for sure. I'm not sure if it's very undergrad intensive where you are at, but those houses along State street, leading all the way up to Central Campus, is very undergrad intensive. It should be alright...

My previous advisor is at my undergrad alma mater, I suppose I would come by and see him if I come home. Plus we still have unfinished manuscripts, so we are still in close contacts.

It's true that grades don't matter as long as you are above a certain threshold. I did get a C before in a course, but my rotation grade neutralized the damage so I still am above the minimum requirement. But in my case, because of this sudden policy change and other crap going on in the background (that has nothing to do with me), the transition becomes very rough. The program director even said my freshman year calculus is also a reason they think I can't be successful in the program (didn't do well before). If they want me here, they will say yes....

Continuing the search since Tuesday. I have had a couple conversations with the boss man and program director, apparently I got caught by a sudden change of policy. It saddens me to hear the boss man saying "you are a solid student" but "you should go to places where talents are needed", given the expectation, the workload, the funding status, my grades aren't particularly good, this and that... He offered me a spot but now retracting... I thought things are finally getting serious and fun. Now this. So tempting to say "I hate all of this".

You know, I was wondering about this too. I have such a relationship with a previous professor I worked with, and I care deeply about maintaining this. I don't know, it just feels right to continue keeping in touch. Like yours, mine made an impact as well, and was the one inspired me to pursue grad school. Anyone has any tips on how to keep it all professional?

Can someone comment on how likely it is to transfer one PhD program to another, within the same school, and the PI is affiliated with both?