MonstersU-Terp

This probably is a pattern for him. I would not be at all surprised if he already has a bad reputation in the field for past romantic infractions. This is NOT someone you want to be associated with professionally - especially if you're a young woman (I'm not sure if you are.) Regardless, rumors could circulate about YOU simply by your association with him. Cut your losses and join another program. He has tainted his name professionally, don't let him taint yours. Sounds like he was a bad adviser even without the drama. The programs you got into - what don't you like about them?

My advisor is notoriously MIA. I only see her once a week in our 1 hour lab meeting which I have to share with her other students, and she frequently is late or reschedules. Communicating with her over email is nearly impossible. I'd wager that about 90% of the emails I send go ignored. I am mentored by a post-doc so luckily I don't need much of my advisor’s support, but it would be great if she could actually give me input when I really need it... Anyways in May we are going to a conference. She asked me and the other grad student to apply for a travel scholarship. We have been discussing this sporadically for about 6 weeks. So she knew that the deadline was approaching. The application required a personal statement from me and a letter of recommendation from her. Last week (6 days before the deadline) I emailed her and the lab my draft statement. I asked everyone to please give me any comments if they had a chance and I reminded her that I needed the letter of recommendation. I didn't hear back from her. On the day before the deadline, I emailed her again and told her I was finalizing my statement. I did not mention the rec letter again in this email. On the day the application was due, I emailed her my final draft of the statement and again requested the letter. The deadline was midnight and she never got back to me. This morning she sent me an email saying that she could not do things for me "last minute" and that in the future I needed to reach out to her 2-3 days in advance... How do I defend myself without sounding rude/argumentative? Should I just drop it? Honestly I know that even if I reply there is a good chance she wouldn't answer me anyways.

I'm not sure why you even applied, it's clear you don't want to go there. If you think you would be a better match and have a better experience at a different school, then reapply when you think you have a better chance. Don't choose a program you won't enjoy

" 2. I have been given, and read, the information booklet for this study and have been given the opportunity to ask any questions that I have about the study. (Please write YES in box to give consent) " Where is the information booklet? Thanks.

He didn't realize that it was possible to be overqualified and he thought it was best to pursue the field (materials chemistry) to the fullest extent

GRE & GRE Subject are two separate exams. In general, GRE is required by the Graduate School and GRE subject is required for the program. You have to keep in mind that even though you're only filling out one application, technically you have to be accepted twice: by the Graduate School and by your program. You most likely will have to take the GRE for the Graduate School, I personally don't know of any schools that don't require it.

In general, anyone applying to any city in Florida should plan to have a car because our public transportation system is completely worthless and unreliable. Our cities are laid out such that walking is not really feasible. There's no such thing as "walking to the grocery store" in Florida, haha, you basically have to drive!

You're not aiming too higher but you absolutely need to have some "safe" schools that you would enjoy and be a good fit for.

I think you will be a great applicant even with low GRE scores. The things graduate programs most look for in applicants is (a) good work ethic and (b) passion for the field. Your career experiences exemplify both perfectly. They will know you are hard working and can handle the work load. After all, the program is going to be research > grades, so they will care more about your ability to perform research than your ability to do well on a standardized exam. Also - you really should consider applying to more than 1 program. There are a host of reasons why you might get denied, and it could very well have nothing to do with you, and everything to do with lack of resources/funding. Imagine getting turned down to the only school you applied to simply because that program wasn't accepting any students that year.

You're clearly not happy where you currently are. Finish up your MA/MS and then move on. Your education will be useful for you by allowing you to explore your interests more thoroughly and then you can better select a more suitable PhD program. And you'll of course be more competitive with a graduate degree under your belt.

It doesn't look bad to leave blank. The universities are inquiring so that they may record statistics of what programs they are in competition with. It's a fair way for them to to measure their ranking/standing in comparison to other graduate programs.

Ok you've stated this over and over again, and people here have repeatedly asked you to clarify. I'm glad everything went ok but it doesn't seem like you really learned anything at all. I have a hard time believing your professor wanted to discuss plagiarism with you without having any concerns. You must have done something somewhere that was wrong. It doesn't mean you're a bad student, we all make mistakes. But it's your responsibility to own up to your mistakes so that you can recognize how to improve.

When did you apply, when did they make offer, and when did you reject it?

Some other programs you may want to consider: NYU School of Professional Studies -- MS in Global Affairs. Their areas of concentration include Global Gender Studies, Peacebuilding, International Development and Humanitarian Assistance, and Human Rights and International Law. GWU Elliott School of International Affairs -- MA in International Development Studies. You design your own area of specialization. Some examples they give are Gender and Development, Humanitarian Assistance, and Democracy and Governance. University of Buffalo Transnational Studies -- MA or PhD in Global Gender Studies. You choose one of two concentrations: Feminist Studies or Global Gender Studies. American University School of International Service -- MA in Ethics, Peace, and Global Affairs. Courses in the program include Feminist Philosophy, Gender and Conflict, and Women and Development. Brandeis University Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program -- MA, MA/JD, MA/PhD, or joint MA with another discipline. You can choose to do a joint program (two MA) or get a PhD in one of the following: anthropology, English, Near Eastern and Judaic studies, public policy, sociology, or sustainable international development. Here's a great list of programs for you to peruse: http://www.smith.edu/swg/pdfs/Women's%20Studies%20and%20Law%20Programs.pdf

OptionS 1 and 3. Option 2 won't have much to say other than "she did well in my class."

Can you elaborate on exactly what happened and what the professor said? It's hard to give advice if we don't know the situation. I know you're really upset but try to keep a cool head and provide us with the details in an objective manner. It's hard to imagine that he/she would accuse you without having a solid reason. 2% is really, really low so it must be something other than just that number that caused the suspicion.

Give them a study guide if you want but they shouldn't expect one. If they are being inundated by so much information that they simply don't know what to focus on, that's an issue with the class structure. Maybe the lectures are covering more material than can be reasonably expected on one exam; maybe there needs to be more exams so that each exam is more focused. I would personally say that they should choose between having a study guide or getting the opportunity to earn extra credit. Like you said, they shouldn't be spoon-fed. It's not your responsibility to make things easy for them, college isn't supposed to be easy.

Yes that's ok. Schools don't necessarily need your GRE schools by the deadline, they just need the rest of your application to be complete. They know people are still taking the GRE and they know that it can take 3 weeks for results to roll in. They'll just mark your application as submitted on time and then wait for your GRE scores to arrive.

Oh hey! This was my essay question when I took the GRE in October 2015. One thing that struck me though out the essay is your tendency to use the passive voice rather than the active voice. Passive voice is OK sometimes but it's not generally accepted in writing unless it's for a newspaper or journal. I would practice re-wording your sentences to the active voice. Hope my comments helped

Hi BioBum, As you stated, many folks who move to Tallahassee with long-term plans end up buying. Housing in Tallahassee is quite affordable. In the neighborhood I lived, renting a 3 to 4 bedroom house cost about $1200-$1500/month. This was for houses close to campus. The further you go away from campus, you get nicer homes and more family-oriented neighborhoods and even better prices.

Thanks so much for your great advice, I really appreciate it. I have a tendency to take things too personally; I know it will get better but things stink right now, you know what I mean? I want to address a couple of things you and another commenter mentioned. First, I want to clarify that this weekly 1-hour meeting is not one-on-one; the PI comes and meets with the whole lab, which is me, another student, and two post-docs. Secondly, the PI has not personally confronted me yet, which is what makes things awkward - a face-to-face discussion and apology would be awesome, but I literally have heard zilch from her (as usual, like I said, she's a busy lady.) I heard this all from my mentor, the post-doc. He explained that when I didn't show up at the lab meeting, the PI went on a 20 minute rant about how I should never have taken time off without asking and that it was disrespectful. I only heard about it this morning, so I sent her an apology email. I'm hoping she answers but I doubt it... Other than that, I'm neither happy nor unhappy in my lab. I feel totally unsupported by my advisor but my post-doc mentor is really great. I'm currently an MS student and was considering transferring to PhD but this whole lack of support is making me reconsider that...

I want to add another note as well. The other post-doc in the lab (who is the mentor to the other student) has been cold to me since this incident. Usually she is friendly to me but now she is being very cold towards me, giving me short answers, not smiling, etc. I'm just upset cause I feel like such a loser in my lab in general. It's a really small lab and I feel like I don't know anything compared to the other 2 students. I came here directly from undergrad with limited experience in the subject (but lots of passion.) I feel like I'm expected to know more than what I know. But I thought I was here to learn, not to already be an expert?! I'm just feeling a bit miserable and would appreciate advice. Thanks.

This is true in some cases. They worry that because you're overqualified, you'll leave the company as soon as something better comes along.

I understand your point but I disagree; I think email etiquette does not fall under a TA's responsibility. I believe the TA should focus on instructing the students in the class subject, not other matters that do not relate to the class topic. If you as a TA personally want to take the time to teach on other things, that's your call. But it's hardly your responsibility.

My adviser is angry with me and I don't know how to fix things. We have 1 hour lab meeting every week and last week I missed it without telling her. To be frank, she's never around (she works in an off campus research facility and only comes to campus for meetings.) Any time I've had important questions over the past few months, I email her (often multiple times) and get a response maybe 10% of the time if I'm lucky. She's not a bad person, she's just extremely busy. So last week, I took off to visit my fiance in another state. I didn't tell my adviser, I only told my mentor who is a post-doc. My mentor is the person I work with on a day-to-day basis, I consider him more of an adviser than my actual adviser. So now my adviser is mad at me for not telling her. I sent her an apology email, apologizing for having taken time off without her express permission and promising not to do so in the future. What else should/can I do? I doubt she'll even reply and it's gonna be so awkward at the next meeting. I just feel unsupported in general. It's my first semester and I'm not really doing anything. I was supposed to be doing my own research in lab but it hasn't worked out because I'm busy with classes. I'm also helping another student because his work is the lab priority right now. I feel like nothing I'm doing is going well and now my adviser doesn't like me. She barely knows me and now I've made a poor impression. HELP.