Butterfly_effect

Applied to 7 schools, went on 6 interviews, spent just over $500 (two schools I deliberately chose because they had waivers available for low-income students). I bought an $8 set of vocabulary word flash cards for the GRE and only took the test once. The rest of the prep I used I found online at the GRE and other websites (there are free practice tests available). I would suggest looking into whether schools offer waivers (google <school name> graduate school waivers) and if you know where you're applying, I think you can specify a few schools to send scores to when you take the GRE and its factored into the cost of the initial test (?). Of course additional score reports cost more.

I second everything TakeruK has said. For anyone unfamiliar with the terms basic vs. translational, basic research is research without obvious applications (think NSF) whereas translational research is a particular type of applied research to solve a problem in medicine, usually by testing some kind of treatment (more NIH). I will maintain that the line between basic and translational is often blurred though. Even if you want to do translational research ultimately, it really doesn't matter whether what you did in grad school was translational. Sometimes basic research can even expose you to a wider range of techniques and approaches that can make you more well-rounded and give you a different (and maybe better) perspective than if all you ever did was translational research. I totally understand that there may be other reasons to want to leave, including wanting to be closer to your SO. I guess I would ask you to think about whether the fit at the school you're currently at is bad/inadequate, or whether you're just thinking it could be better somewhere else. You'd be trading a certainty for an unknown if you quit. You say you love the people there. Are you happy?

Yeah, it's definitely a crapshoot. :/ My reviews were glowing, but I probably got reviewers who overall gave high scores, so that lessened the impact of my all Es.

In response to Pink Fuzzy Bunny, I don't think most courses will transfer. At least in neuroscience, it's very rare for a grad school to accept coursework done at another institution. Maybe if you got a master's but even then it might not transfer. I'm also a bit confused about why you're leaving. The only real complaint I can glean from your statement is that your lab doesn't focus exactly on what you want to do and isn't quite as translational as you want. I'd just like to say that your lab doesn't have to do exactly what you want in order for you to study it (you mention that you could work on B even if most of the lab does A). As long as your PI is supportive of this, I see no reason why this is a detriment. Most grad students end up expanding the scope of the lab's research in some way (otherwise everyone would be doing the exact same thing). I also don't know what you want to do after grad school, but it probably won't be what you do for your dissertation. I wouldn't worry if the project doesn't fit the most narrow definition of your research interest. Personally, I think mentorship and fit in the lab is way more important than the actual research. Most people are more flexible than they realize in terms of what they're 'passionate' about, and indeed this often changes over time as you're exposed to different kinds of research. I guess I'm suggesting you ask yourself what your overall fit is with the program and what your chances are of finding a better fit somewhere else are? You've only been in the program a few months. Are you really sure what you want is to leave?

Quick question about applying in the second year of grad school: Is it still fine if your personal statement focuses on undergrad? For some context, in my program, we do rotations and classes first year. October of second year is the time we actually start to define our projects so most people have no preliminary data. I chose not to talk about my other rotations in my personal essay because my undergraduate work was more productive (resulted in papers) and my previous rotations had nothing to do with what I'm doing now so it seemed to me like it would disrupt the flow of the essay rather than support my current interests. I also got E/E E/E E/E (but only honorable mention) last year using last year's version of this essay. Thoughts?

I'm starting to consider non-academic career options and am early enough in my PhD that I have substantial time to develop some skills outside of my research (or within it). Do any of you have suggestions for what kind of skills are useful in neuroscience industry? I'm still undecided on the particular type of industry (e.g. pharma vs. biotech), but my research will involve the genetic and developmental sides of neuroscience. Statistics, programming, etc.?

I second zotero. I use the web zotero button to save article citation info and PDFs at the same time, then annotate the PDFs with a program like Preview. That way I have a searchable archive and if I want individual notes I can double click any title and my annotated PDF will open. I also sometimes save summaries in Evernote.

If I got an email like this from one of my students, I would probably not respond (I'm not sure how that would really improve things), but I would definitely think about what the student is trying to communicate. I think the request to not surf the web in class is legit, no matter if the tone of the email isn't as polite as possible. I don't think the student wrote you that email just to troll you. You can deal with the tone by not responding, but seriously, do think about whether other students could feel this way as well. As a grad student TA, you are supposed to be a role model for students. If students can look over your shoulder and see you not attending to class-related material, that says to them that you're 'checked out' and don't care. It doesn't matter that it was grant-related or work-related. It's not a part of your job in that space; it's an active detriment to it. IMO, they are probably using a fake account because they're afraid of retaliation, which doesn't delegitimize their message. There are a lot of TAs that might judge the student or treat them differently after offering this kind of feedback. So I guess I'm saying you should not talk to this student, or try to find them (they clearly don't want to be found), but do think about why they sent the message, and maybe talk to other TAs? Do they also sit in the front of the class and surf the web? What does the professor think about non-class-related laptop use?

I'm curious to know what it is about this program you know isn't for you? Surely you had POI when you applied, or did you just change the direction of research you want to pursue? I'm just wondering if there's some way you can make this work at your current institution. Is there a faculty member there or advisor you could talk to about your concerns?

What does everyone think about Broader Impacts/Intellectual merit headings in the research statement? I previously had a broader impacts section, but I'm stumped about trying to shoehorn the intellectual merits in as well or just let the introduction/background also stand for intellectual merits. Thoughts?

Fellowship season is upon us, but as a second year student, I only probably have one potential letter writer at my grad institution (my PI). Most fellowships require 3-4 letters. Is it a horrible thing to have 2 of the 3 letters be from undergrad? For me personally, these would be from two different institutions (one REU, one my undergrad college) with PIs that worked with me and I ended up being on a paper in each lab. I just don't think anyone from my grad institution would know me as well. There have been professors whose classes I've done well in, but they can't really speak to my research ability.

OP, can you give us an update? I'm so sorry you've had to deal with this. It's probably my worst nightmare.

Thanks for the stories and perspectives everyone! From hearing your stories and talking with older grad students, I feel really positive about the future. People (myself included) will be awkward sometimes, misunderstandings will happen, and transitioning from one class to another isn't easy, but it's ultimately a positive thing.

Thanks for the reply! I always did my own taxes too. To be fair, grad school taxes are extra hard (and quarterly estimated tax payments are also a huge headache if you're in a program like mine that doesn't withhold any $$ from our paychecks).

Thanks for the reply (and thanks to everyone else who has replied!). And you're not a derailing voice. This kind of thing (relating to others) is exactly what I'm looking for. Yeah that's a great document. Here's the wiki link. http://howtoprepforgradschoolwhilepoor.wikispaces.com/.

Yep, same for me. I got undergrad breaks during the first year and since joining a lab, I just ask for time off from my PI directly. It's basically a job, though my PI is great and super flexible about not only taking vacation, but also taking time off to teach or interview, etc.

Yep, I totally agree.

Hi, thanks for the response. Just to clarify, I don't regret my decision to loan my family money at all. I just mentioned those instances as times I felt distant from my peers, kind of 'torn between two worlds' kind of way, if that makes sense. I don't think this is the case at all. Maybe I was unclear in my description. My family didn't support me largely because they didn't need to (full-ride scholarship) and it's not like they didn't help out (I stayed home over some breaks, etc.). Also just to be clear, they didn't demand, they asked me. I was free to say 'no' and they would have had to try to get a loan from the government or something. Again, I really don't regret this decision at all. I am happy to be able to support my family (and it's not like I won't get the money back eventually). I wrote the post more to get perspectives from people in similar (or different) situations regarding navigating class differences in grad school.

Whoa Definitely. I never really realized this could be a thing until undergrad. I have no clue how common this is among my grad cohort. I find the graduate students I know aren't as open as my undergrad friends about money, but I think a lot of that has to do with the depth of the friendships I was able to make quickly in undergrad (probably in part due to shared proximity). Just curious, how common is it to have to pay tuition in a PhD program? I am only really familiar with life sciences, and I think it's pretty uncommon not to get tuition completely waived as well as a living stipend.

Thanks! I do have friends outside of my cohort. I was more posting because I want to get along better with the people in my cohort that I interact with all the time. I don't always know how to overcome awkwardness caused by our differing assumptions about our backgrounds.

Disclaimer: I can only speak to my own experiences, and these are shaped in part by being in a well-funded science program at a top university. I can’t speak to the issues I talk about below in the context of humanities, though I imagine things may be worse (?). Grad school as a student from a low-income background can be difficult, even for me, someone in the sciences who gets paid a great stipend that means I don’t have to worry about accruing any debt. It’s just kind of an odd cultural situation. Honestly, things were much easier in undergrad. I attended a very small SLAC that prided itself on being inclusive and diverse. It had its problems, but as a low-income student I felt really welcomed by the no-cash campus and low-income-specific student groups. Even if we had problems with the administration, at least we weren’t alone. I held several jobs, but I didn’t have to. I just tend to be someone who squirrels away money ‘just in case.’ When it came to grad school, I was accepted to what is arguably the best school in my field. I would be attending for free and would even be paid a living wage stipend, and I didn’t even have to teach! I thought having the same stipend would even the playing field even more between myself and my peers. Or so I thought. I didn’t realize that in grad school that it’s common to receive significant financial support from your parents. No offense intended if you happen to be one of those students; I just had no clue that that was commonplace. Because I got a full-ride scholarship to undergrad, and did research internships (or other random things) during summer, my parents haven’t had to really support me in a serious way for years. I recognize that I was incredibly lucky to have received those privileges and it’s not nearly so easy for others who just miss cutoffs for financial aid, or who go to a less well-funded college. I realize my experience is nowhere near the norm, but what surprised me the most when I got to grad school is how every other first year grad student seemed to think that their life was the norm. For example, my program is small, but of the 15 or so of us in my year, I think everyone has parents that are professionals: doctors, lawyers, or professors/scientists. One guy even published a paper recently with his dad. For comparison, my dad works in a factory and my mom didn’t work while she was raising myself and my sister. My set of experiences are very different from my peers. Not necessarily better or worse, but so different that it's often hard to relate. I'm pretty candid about my background, but I can tell it makes others uncomfortable at times. Sometimes the differences make me feel uncomfortable too. For example, some other classmates and I went shopping together. I am very money-conscious and enjoy window shopping, but a lot of the time won’t get anything unless I feel like it’s a good deal. My grad school friends bought new winter coats and boots and used their parents’ credit cards to pay. I’m not bitter about it; if I could I would totally do that as well. I just can’t relate. And I don't think they could relate to me either. I just loaned my family $2000 for my sister to pay for college because my parents couldn’t afford the expected parental contribution. Loaning my parents money was a very odd thing for me, but whenever I try to talk about those kinds of experiences, I usually get blank stares or weird concerned looks. I just wish I knew someone who has been in my shoes; someone who I could share these experiences with. I was wondering if anyone else is in a similar boat, and if you are, how did you find people like you/relate to your peers who seem to come from totally different worlds?

If you're going for neuroscience or cognitive science, a PhD should not cost you anything. They will pay you (sometimes in exchange for teaching). Some people may argue otherwise, but I say never ever pay for your PhD.

I am currently in a similar situation (couple in Boston, low income). My girlfriend isn't in grad school, but she's just started working, so she doesn't get paid much at all. Combined, we make a bit more than what you make. Housing is definitely also our biggest expense. We've lived here for a year in student housing (apartment style, not dorms thank goodness) but had a non-renewal lease so just had to move again about a month ago. 1850 sounds like the standard price I found looking for a one bedroom around Cambridge/Longwood/Brookline. Does that include heat/hot water? Many of these have definitely been said by others, but here are some of the cost-cutting measures we've found: -Student apartment housing (not dorms). Still far from cheap (ours is around 2000 for a one bedroom with all utilities and internet included), but the location is substantially better than what we could get for that price elsewhere. It's also incredibly convenient to have everything rolled up into one bill and the apartment complex provides a pretty strong sense of community. Maybe one of your universities has something like this available for students? -Free shuttles (I use the M2) to get to work so I don't need a T pass -Grad markets. There are facebook groups like Harvard Grad Market that serve as meetingplaces for people to buy and sell used goods (they also post apartments and room available). I would try to access this page or something like this for your university. We were able to furnish our new apartment for incredibly cheap and even got a ton of stuff for free. -Couponing/Ibotta. I do a decent amount of couponing to save money on groceries. I also use the app Ibotta to get rebates on groceries I buy (so far I've made ~$25, so not a lot, but it's free and pretty easy to just scan your receipt. I would make more if I bought more name brand items). Overall, we spend maybe 40-50 on groceries each week. -Roommates? - I've only ever been in a sublet situation where we had to share with a roommate. It wasn't bad at all, but I think a lot of that was because we knew it was only short-term. Personally, I think roommates are a bad idea for couples. If you can find a roommate both you know and like, there's also the issue of how much to pay for rent. Some would say by the bedroom, but I've also heard split the rent evenly among the people living there, or some combination of those with splitting of utilities. You stand to save a lot if you could pay by the bedroom, but many roommates probably wouldn't be thrilled about that. -Psych studies. I used to do these a lot in undergrad to make money. If your school has business school/psychology studies available, they're an easy way to make a little money. It is necessary to note that you need to have time during the day to do them (usually they happen during business hours). Some of them are online though, which makes it pretty easy. If you are eligible, fMRI studies can pay hundreds of dollars (though again this is a time commitment, and probably spread out over several sessions). -Credit cards. I got a rewards card last year and basically put everything on it. In one year, I've made around $160. Again, not a ton of money, but it was free money.

Checking in: Did any HMs get late awards yet?

So I've seen some comments from older grad students on this forum about grad or visiting students being generally clueless/annoying. Reading these and rotating through new labs every few months, I wonder if other grad students think that about me when I ask a ton of questions/ am slow to figure things out. What kinds of things do early grad students do that make you crazy?