MarineBluePsy

I think this is going to vary for everyone. I took a number of years off between undergrad and grad school and while I was a good student in undergrad I still felt I needed a review of statistics and some core content. It wasn't something I spent months on, just did a crash course consisting of skimming my undergrad textbooks (yes I kept mine lol). I felt it helped when I enrolled in classes and wasn't struggling to remember basic concepts.

Top programs can still suck, just saying.

I think the best way to make a structured schedule is to have a structured way of making it such as an online calendar, a to do list app, etc. Then like any other commitment, stick to the plan. Yes there will be days you don't feel like it, but you have to remind yourself of your end goal. There will also be days when your plan goes out the window because something else happened. You just adjust and move on. There will be some trial and error while you figure out the best way to utilize those gaps of time and balance self care needs so that you're productive and happy.

Uhhhh I don't think you need to do a second email clarifying anything. You've stated your reasons and that is all that is required. He doesn't have to like them or agree with them, but you also don't need to continue to justify them. All that will do is create a back and forth that will eventually turn sour and you 2 still need to work together. This is a great time to agree to disagree and move on to more productive uses of your time.

The best thing you can do is be honest. Advisors know that funding plays a huge role in where students decide to go and it is never surprising when students take offers that include more money. You can express how grateful you are for all that you have learned (because that contributed to you having a chance at getting that better opportunity) and you look forward to learning more during the remainder of your internship. If your department has extra money then your advisor can create a counter offer for you to consider, but if not the best thing is to wish you well.

Another thing to consider is if any of the classes you have have taken at Cal State will transfer to U of Washington. If they don't accept all of your courses then having to repeat requirements could delay your graduation plans and you'll want to be sure your funding will cover that. That aside I think wellbeing is tremendously important and especially when doing something as difficult as graduate school you need to set yourself up for success. If the move to Washington feels right then it probably is. Even though the program doesn't have a hospital internship, there may be a way to create an opportunity for you to get some training in that setting if you ask.

While I can't speak to the possible negative impact of no teaching experience in your field I am wondering if there aren't other options you're unaware of. It would surprise me if there have never been former students that desired teaching experience which resulted in creative solutions. Is there another department (perhaps interdisciplinary or related field) that might have such opportunities? Are students allowed to regularly guest lecture or teach a particular module of a courses content? Could there be opportunities at a nearby community college or high school? If you haven't already, I think its worth asking faculty and current students in this program and possible options or the willingness to create them.

This has not happened to me, but I know others that experienced this. Do you have the option of going with her to the new university? Sometimes faculty incorporate this into the plan when they switch universities and for students early in their program it can be worth considering. If this is not an option then you need to find out who your contact person is at the current program to discuss your concerns. Vague answers like "we'll figure it out" or "don't worry about it" are not acceptable with such a big decision at stake. Depending on your career goals and training needs this program may not be the right fit without your advisor and it may be better to decline and reapply if you don't have other offers.

I can't speak for bio, but most psych PhD programs don't allow transferring the way undergrad programs do. You'd have to reapply and if accepted that new program may not accept any of your coursework from the prior program. If they do allow you to transfer any courses it is unlikely to be more than three. Most people I know who did this were only able to get one course approved for transfer and had to retake everything else.

Your overall undergraduate GPA may impact funding opportunities early in your PhD program. Some funding lines may expect a higher incoming GPA and you may not want to eliminate those opportunities by slacking off too much now.

While some may appreciate the old fashioned appeal of handwritten letters you also run the risk of delivery being delayed. University mail is often routed to a primary mailroom, where it then gets rerouted to the department, where an assistant then routes it to the appropriate person. If anyone of these people is out then there can be delays. Also not every professor checks their physical mailbox regularly.

The constant negative comments such as..... ....Well everyone else seems to be doing everything, why can't you? ....The program has always been this demanding and past students didn't complain .....Can't you do that some other time? .....You really need to take your work more seriously and learn to prioritize .....I'm disappointed .....Maybe this isn't the right program for you Yet they had no problem prioritizing their self care needs and refused to let anything we needed from them disrupt their plans. Overall just not a supportive environment and that can be especially damaging to a first year student who may not know how to advocate for themselves.

I'm also no longer a first year, but I found it endlessly frustrating that faculty harped on how important self care is and that we need to model that for clients, yet gave us grief for actually trying to do it. Meaning if we worked exercise, regular sleep, or time with friends into our schedule faculty would then tell us that whatever research, clinical, or class related tasked was top priority and everything else should be put on the back burner. There was no respect for the need to maintain these routines when trying to schedule meetings (that were often unproductive) either. I declined to give up my self care routine and have no regrets, but I could have done without the attitude from the faculty. Other students caved and found themselves constantly ill, gaining weight, and exhausted.

Did the journal specifically say they don't publish articles authored by Master's level persons? That would seem strange to me as many in Social Work don't go beyond a Master's and I'm constantly seeing articles published by MSWs and LCSWs, none in French however. I'm not sure how many journals are published in French, but the broad advise I was given regarding journal selection is as follows: 1) Ask your advisor or the faculty member that is also an author on your article for journal suggestions 2) Look at the references you cited and see where those articles were published, often you see trends where certain journals tend to publish certain topics or an author tends to only publish in a few journals 3) Check professional associations for your discipline and see if they have preferred journals 4) It is very normal to have an article rejected so if you get a revise and resubmit consider that a golden ticket and celebrate. If you get a no thank you don't resubmit then see if their feedback includes suggestions of other journals that might be a better fit

I think it might help if you browsed the Psych forum here as all of your questions have been asked and a variety of answers have been shared. Ultimately its not too early to be thinking about grad school and there's nothing wrong with taking a gap year or two or three to figure out exactly what you want to do. Depending on what kind of a career you want a Master's may be all you need or it may make more sense to apply straight to PhD programs with a few Master's as a back up.

If you've completed the paperwork regarding your acceptance there is nothing wrong with you reaching out to the PI and asking if there's anything he'd like you to do between now and the fall. Perhaps there's some suggested reading or some online training that needs to be completed. You can also ask what frequency he prefers for communication between now and then.

Well the only people who will truly know why is the department and it sounds like they aren't willing to provide any further details. I am not sure if this is common or not, but it sounds to me like they may have made offers based on assumed funding. For example, suppose they had reserved funding for 4 teaching assistants and 3 professors said they applied for grants that would allow each of them to fund a research assistant. The smart move would be to move forward assuming 4 funding lines because that money exists, but they may have falsely assumed those 3 grants were a done deal and made offers to 7 students. Then of course came the bad news, grant applications denied, and now there's no additional funding to support the additional 3 students they extended offers to.

Well you're right that some explanation is necessary and it is perfectly ok to not share your mental health issues. You can say "personal matters" or "issues at home" or whatever other broad statement makes you comfortable and indicates you do not wish to be specific. I do wonder about the academic dishonesty charge however. Is that something that is listed on your transcript? If so then that is definitely something you're going to have to come clean about in the sense that "due to personal matters a poor decision was made that resulted in...."

You're right, those options don't translate into reality which is precisely what I ran into when I tried to use all of the established channels for help. I imagine this challenge exists at most Universities and the problem is how we're classified and the fact that academic settings don't completely function the way private businesses do (with an HR department, etc). While it is ultimately your choice how you proceed, regardless you need to consider your own wellbeing. Your situation is creating a tremendous amount of stress so increasing your self care (sleeping, exercising, doing things you enjoy, perhaps talking to a therapist, etc) could help with that. Does your University have any mentorship workshops where mentees can learn helpful tips on navigating the mentorship relationship, what a good one should look like, and how to survive when your mentorship relationship sucks? Conferences in your field may offer these types of workshops as well. I know attending something like this won't make your mentor function like an actual mentor, but there may be suggestions that help you moving forward.

No it is not wrong for you to need or ask for feedback and I'm sorry you're in this situation. I am experiencing this with my advisor so I get how much it sucks. Like you I tried the polite approach, tried getting help from other faculty in the department and no one wanted to get involved, and the university rep for grad students to go to with issues is overwhelmed and doesn't handle this type of issue. Quitting my program was not an option, but I also can't get through the program without adequate support so out of desperation I tried another tactic. I met with the Chair and Vice Chair, re-stated my issues, and informed them I would not be communicating with my advisor without a mediator. They of course didn't take me seriously and told me to meet with my advisor and work things out. I stuck to my guns and ignored all communication from my advisor, refused to show up to lab meetings, and didn't set foot in my office for over a month. I still handled all of my responsibilities, but did so remotely. Well my advisor became extremely frustrated and suddenly the department was willing to have someone mediate our meetings. So my frustration and needs weren't a priority, gee thanks. Our mediated meeting was tense, but resulted in my being granted a co-advisor. Since then I've been advancing appropriately through the program and things are going very well with the co-advisor. Things are still tense with my primary advisor and I'll have some rocky waters to navigate when its time for dissertation, but I don't regret advocating for my needs. Just to be clear, I'm not saying you should do what I did because it may not be the right move for you. I realize I am very lucky things worked out ok for me and could have easily gone differently.

I don't think there's one right way to do this actually. I inquired about this during my application cycle while on interviews, but it could be done after there's an offer on the table. I broached the subject based on observations I made in the field about a greater push for interdisciplinary work and realizing that I'd be at a disadvantage if I had no experience doing that. I didn't use the term "co-advising" but stated that I am interested in collaborating with other disciplines and want to be certain such opportunities would be supported. I didn't have a specific professor in mind, but knew which departments I was interested in exploring possible collaborations with.

You can ask your POI if there are funding opportunities available and they'll either provide you with info or direct you to the appropriate person with information.

I'd reach out to faculty in your department and the graduate college at your University and see if anyone knows of any opportunities. This isn't the first time this has happened and usually someone knows of an opening somewhere.

While I think you appealing is a good idea, it also seems like the department should be advocating for you as well. They want you to come aboard, they didn't know the grad college would reject you, and perhaps they have solid reasons that you aren't aware of that an exception should be made.

I think this will vary a lot as not all grad students are right out of undergrad or even 20somethings. A grad student with kids and/or a spouse will have a different experience making friends compared to those who don't for example. I think it really helps to not limit yourself to the students in your department or even your university when it comes to making friends. Establish hobbies off campus, go study in cafes in different neighborhoods, go to random events all over town, join meetup groups, etc. If you don't want to work all weekend then make your work week so productive you don't need to. If drinking isn't your thing, find other activities to enjoy. My weekends only involve work if I should to play hooky on a weekday or if I feel crazy inspired. Otherwise my weekends are for self care, socializing, or just lazing about.