Jump to content

TwirlingBlades

Members
  • Posts

    67
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1

Reputation Activity

  1. Like
    TwirlingBlades reacted to MarkySharky in Venting Thread- Vent about anything.   
    Same advice as the other, it sounds like school 1 might be a better fit. To put a long story short, I kinda had a similar experience to yours - except mine was just a campus visit. I had been told to meet with a certain professor who was apparently awesome, so I did, but the way she acted towards me (dismissive, like I didn't know what I was interested in, etc) completely turned me off from the entire program (along with a couple other things). Family and support systems are extremely important, but what matters too is what you want to do in life - it is entirely possible to keep having your support system even at a distance and also build a new one in a new place! (I only know this about my family because my brother is in Ukraine for the Peace Corps)
    I understand 100% wanting to stay close to your mom - maybe look into some ways to make sure that she will be taken care of on the weekends that you can't make it home, or even schedule certain weekends that you plan on being home? I firmly believe that if you can go to the school that you're more excited about, then things will work out. It might not be ideal, but depending on the program (if it's an MA) then it'd only be for a couple years, which could be a couple of awesome years that you look back on fondly, or a couple that you're kind of "meh" about. 
    Also, I don't think you need to "deal" or "get over it". If it's upsetting for you, then that's okay! You are valid in your feelings, and honestly it is not okay for someone to treat anyone that way - that faculty member acted unprofessionally in my opinion. You don't deserve to be at a place where you are uncomfortable, or where you feel like you will be belittled for anything (which is what he did!) 
    Sorry this is long! 
  2. Like
    TwirlingBlades got a reaction from Adelaide9216 in I passed my project defense! I'm now ABD.   
    Congrats!!!!!
  3. Like
    TwirlingBlades reacted to Future_Chem_Professor in The sub-3.0 GPAs ACCEPTANCE thread   
    Update: I got into the PhD program! After working hard my first year, my grades were good enough to convince the graduate committee to let me transition in the PhD program! Now this happened after the Spring 2019 semester, so I'm a little late in providing an update, haha. I have another 3 years to go, but I've been working hard and have been truly enjoying every minute of it!
    For anyone who is serious about pursuing an advanced degree in ANY field, don't let anyone talk you out of it. I've had undergrad professors, former coworkers, and friends try to tell me that my dream was unrealistic and unachievable. But I didn't listen, and I worked hard. And just like a lot of people on this thread say after they've accomplished their goal, it was worth it. I'm so grateful that I was given an opportunity to turn it all around. It is NEVER too late to chase your dreams!
    If make it all the way through, I'll most definitely update this post again to show everybody that this is achievable no matter what circumstances you may find yourself in  
    Good luck to anyone out there who's currently trying to go to grad school and prove to themselves that they're capable of succeeding at this level. You most certainly can do it!!!
  4. Like
    TwirlingBlades reacted to labradoodle in Can I assume that a reference letter will be a good one if a prof agrees to write it?   
    From what I've heard, it can be useful to frame it in a different way, asking them: "would you be able to write a strong letter of reference with regard to xyz," instead of just asking for a letter of reference. This gives them more space to say no if they think their letter would not be strong.
  5. Like
    TwirlingBlades reacted to drunkenduck in Toledo, OH   
    I've lived in Toledo most of my life. To answer the question about coffee, I'd try Rustbelt, which is downtown, or one town over in Perrysburg, check out Flying Joe. 
    You can find reaaaally cheap housing downtown, but it's not very safe and it wont be pretty. If you have the money and value safety, I'd look for a rental in Sylvania, which is a pretty safe suburb of Toledo. I don't know much about the housing options immediately around the UT campus but I'm sure there's plenty to choose from there.
    For dining, the restaurant Tekela has half-price on all alcohol and appetizers every day during happy hour. I'd also highly recommend the Indian Jewel and Rumors, both are very cheap and very delicious. Domo, Tougen and Kengo are the best sushi places here, Tougen being the least expensive of the three. There's also Food Truck Thursday downtown. Monroe street and downtown are happening places for weekend nights. Bier Stube, Bar 145 and Reset are my go-to bars. If you like craft beer, check out Black Frog Brewery and The Casual Pint. 
    I would also take advantage of our many wonderful metroparks! There's Wildwood, Secor, and Oak openings is about thirty minutes away, plus many more and they're all free. The zoo is pretty nice and residents of Lucas County get in free on Monday mornings. The Toledo Art Museum has free admission, too. There's Westgate Shopping Center and Fallen Timbers if you're a mall kind of person.
    Hmm what else can I say... Echoing Sobeobe, Toledo is kind of dingy and there's a real poverty problem in some areas, but if you know where to look, there are some pretty good things to do/ places to go, too. I would definitely not try to get by without a car here.
    Let me know if you have questions about anything I haven't covered.
    -C
  6. Like
    TwirlingBlades reacted to Adelaide9216 in I failed my thesis.   
    Actually, I did not fail. I used the wrong term because at the time, I felt like I had failed. I was told that I had major revisions basically. If I did not address those revisions the second time around, then I would have failed for real. 
    It felt like I had failed because I am a type A student. Even now, for my doctoral coursework, I only got A+ in all four of my courses. I do realize now that there were a lot of external factors to me as to why that happened. 
    Someone could fail their dissertation if they don't do the work or if it the person doesn't show enough critical thinking skills or for a lot of other reasons. I did not fit into neither of those. I truly did the work and worked hard and seriously and did not procrastinate. There are people who fail, but it happens rarely to be honest.
    In my specific case, my supervisor did not offer the support I needed throughout my master's studies. I have a sense that she overestimated my ability to do this so she felt like I did not need as much support although I kept saying during the entire academic year that I needed support. There's also other factors that were at play regarding the sole person who evaluated me (that I won't go into for confidentiality reasons), and the school of thought of my university/department that differs greatly from the ones of the evaluator (who is teaching/trained at another university).
    I don't resent my supervisor for it, but at the time, when we learned I had major revisions and could potentially not get my degree, my supervisor spontaneously apologized to me and said that it should not have happened to me. The week before I got my evaluation back, my supervisor said they had zero concerns regarding my ability to succeed. They did not say so, but it is clear to me that they did not read the entirety my thesis before I submitted it (and they should have), because again, overly confident that it'll be all good. I know academics are busy, but it looked bad for the supervisor as well. All the professors that have had me as a student were deeply surprised that this had happened to me. 
    So that in and of itself speaks to the fact that it was not a "typical" type of major revisions situations. 
    There were other factors as well that I won't get into for privacy reasons. 
    I truly believe that it had nothing to do with my ability to succeed. However, I learned a lot from that experience and have a better sense of what's expected of me in my field when it comes to research and academia although my research skills are always a work-in-progress.
  7. Upvote
    TwirlingBlades reacted to TakeruK in Confronting a PI about a rotation grade   
    One of the grad classes I took had one prof who graded individual problems in a homework set as 10/10 (correct) or 0/10 (not correct). I think this grading method did teach us some useful concepts/lessons for academia. For example, in some cases (e.g. getting a paper out before your competitors), the only thing that matters is whether or not you achieve your goal in the end, not how hard you tried to get there (or what mistakes you might make along the way). 
     
    Personally, I don't think this is the best grading method, but since grades in grad school do not really matter, it was not a big deal. The unimportance of grades in grad school allows for different approaches to grading and instruction (as well as different strategies on learning the material), which, overall, I find positive and refreshing. For example, few of my classes have closed-book exams where we have to cram useless materials--instead, we work on projects that are related to our own research and the reduced emphasis on grades means that we have flexibility to prioritize our research over classes etc.
  8. Upvote
    TwirlingBlades reacted to rising_star in My #1 Committee pick... not so much anymore?   
    I wouldn't word it that way. Instead, say something about how you'd like to meet with them about the possibility of being on your committee.
     
    That said, if this person is on sabbatical and people have warned you away, perhaps you should talk to your advisor first to get their opinion.
  9. Upvote
    TwirlingBlades reacted to MashaMashaMasha in Had an exchange of bad words with my academic advisor   
    I have learned through extremely sensitive bosses in the past, that it takes only a swallowing of pride and an admittance of confusion to remedy an unpleasant exchange. You'd be amazed how saying "I'm sorry" really diffuses a situation.

    I wonder if going into her office, and starting out with "I got your email. I'm sorry, I think I may have gotten confused, and I didn't mean to step on your toes. It won't happen again. Here is why I was confused - I thought [insert scenario here]. Could you help me figure this out?"

    This is seriously the most magical when I feel like I haven't done anything wrong, and I am just so angry at the injustice of it all - then just genuinely apologizing (not in a sarcastic voice!) can make the other person open up/help you/get over their hurt feelings.

    Hope this + all the other good advice in this thread helps. Update if you figure out something that works!
  10. Upvote
    TwirlingBlades reacted to NothingButTheRain in Just when you thought HELL couldn't get any worse...   
    I'm going to play Devil's Advocate here for a second - do YOU think you can?  Did your MA work represent your best work?  Or did you have more to give that didn't come through?
     
    The point I'm trying to make is this: the two people who know your work the best have both come to the same conclusion.  They (at least one) may have some terrible people skills, but do you think their comments are valid or not?  The situation alone is cause for some heavy introspection and brutally honest self-assessment (NB: this is NOT equivalent to self-doubt, self-pity, feeling like crap, and generally beating yourself up).  IMO, it's time to take stock of who you are and what you do and do not bring to the table.
     
    What do you have that will contradict them?  The last question is not rhetorical, but I don't need your answer to it - YOU do.  If you can deliver an answer to that question, I think you will find a lot more answers that you need to move forward, and possibly some reasons why they (or others in the department) should support your Ph.D application.  My purpose is not to fill your mind with self-doubt, but rather to cause you to solidify the source of your self-confidence and allow you to articulate it better.  
     
    Knowing yourself - who you are, your abilities, your weaknesses - is critical.  Not only for the application but for any serious undertaking that is going to consume years of your life.  Knowing what you want out of it is not enough; having the entire picture of the journey and the process is critical.
     
    You may note that I'm not coming at this from an academic perspective (just starting a Masters).  I just have experience working in/around people who are all too willing to deliver honest assessment of one another - most of it honest to a fault - and much of which may not be conveyed in the most pleasant manner.
  11. Upvote
    TwirlingBlades reacted to dr. t in Unreasonable invasion of privacy   
    I'm not sure what the other posters are talking about, but it seems pretty clear to me that your professor wants to make sure you didn't plagiarize the other assignments. You could probably refuse the request, but the professor might simply drag you before the ad board instead.
  12. Upvote
    TwirlingBlades reacted to nugget in 1 Failing grade in Grad School = no chance?   
    McGill is in the top 3 in Canada and they only take 185 out of 2,500 med school applicants worldwide so it does not seem that average grades would cut it, in my humble opinion. What grades are other students in your classes getting? Since you will be competing with other science students and not liberal arts students it doesn't really seem worth the while to compare yourself to them. They are not your competition.
  13. Upvote
    TwirlingBlades reacted to dr. t in Almost failed prelims (in a humanities field)   
    It's ok, even if your profile hadn't said, I would have guessed polisci or econ from the way you extracted general conclusions from a highly limited case study and were willing to fight to the death to defend them 
  14. Like
    TwirlingBlades reacted to dr. t in Almost failed prelims (in a humanities field)   
    If you can pass comps without a ~3 month period where you're focused on studying (I had to give up cycling and gained 25 lbs), your committee let you off easy, to say the least. It sounds to me like comps are more a formality in your program than they were in mine; you should be careful about universalizing your experience.
    And sure, we can all question the utility of comps, but in the end, you need to do what your committee expects. Otherwise, you don't pass, and then your publications (or whatever) don't matter. 
  15. Upvote
    TwirlingBlades reacted to TMP in Almost failed prelims (in a humanities field)   
    I've failed my exam before.  I was rushing too much and I also didn't allow myself time to digest and integrate arguments (which @fuzzylogician mentioned).  My committee, of course, got into a big argument over whether I should stay or leave.  They settled that i should be given another chance.  I buckled down and re-organized my notes, and then passed the second time.  I was still left with so many doubts.  I worked hard to pass the second time but I could not shake off the general comment coming from the first exam, "Do you want to be generalist or a specialist? If the latter, it doesn't make sense for you to be a historian."  Ouch.  Eventually, my favorite committee member reassured me that such a situation isn't going to define what makes a scholar great.  Two years later with a number of accomplishments, I believe that she is right.
    Frankly, I am surprised that your adviser asked you to undertake an article for publication when you should be focused on studying (my adviser severely restricted what I could do during my third year, including grant applications and research).  If you advise graduate students in the future, you have this experience to draw from as to how to advise at this stage of graduate students' career.
    Going forward, if you still have the same committee for the dissertation proposal/prospectus defense, you have this opportunity to truly shine.  Go above and beyond with your prep work.  Make use of books/articles that you had to read for your exams and show how your dissertation fits with those works. Once you pass this with flying colors, everyone will more or less forget about the exams themselves.
  16. Downvote
    TwirlingBlades reacted to Bimmerman in Are anyone else's classes much harder than they thought they would be?   
    Yea...if grad school doesn't work out, I already have a BS degree and can very quickly get a high paying engineering job locally, so...yea. Suicide is the coward's way out.
  17. Like
    TwirlingBlades reacted to TheorySchmeory in 2021 Applicants   
    Not to speak out of my expertise here, which is limited to what I've seen and experienced from a single application cycle, but I'm not sure the ideas of "Reach" and "Match" can be applied to graduate programs in the same way as they can be readily applied to undergrad programs. Although an applicant's statistical chances might be higher at one school than another, many perfectly qualified applicants are rejected from programs for various unpredictable reasons (maybe their interests aren't well suited to the department, or a professor they would like to work with is going on leave, etc.). Some people are rejected from lower-ranked programs and accepted to higher ones. Forgive me if I'm only repeating information you already know, but I just wanted to opine that these categories are not ultimately very useful for applicants thinking about grad schools. At any rate, that is a really useful list, and and thank you for sharing it here!
  18. Like
    TwirlingBlades reacted to cassidyaxx in 2021 Applicants   
    Glad to see some familiar people in this thread! Like everyone, I'm also concerned about this application cycle. I am currently at Uconn's MA program, and currently our EGSA group is attempting to get everyone in the program an additional year of funding. I'm not quite sure how this would work out for MA students in particular, as the scheduling is quite tight, but just alerting people what Uconn is doing. At least I may potentially have another funded year if I am unable to get into a program for 2021.
    I've been talking closely with my advisor and other professors, and they've still pushed me to continue with applying for the 2021 cycle. I am going to spend the summer working on materials, and also once we are in the late months of summer, start emailing schools to see if there are any changes to funding and what they expect their cohort size to be. 
    I'm also concerned about how competitive this cycle will be, as someone who was shut-out of PhD programs out of undergrad, but I do have some hope. I have a few backup plans because though I love the work I'm doing and ultimately would love to be in a PhD program, the job market is going to be even more abysmal now (I was aware of this previously, and I will say that even despite this, having another five or so years to do something I love is worth it to me, even if I don't land a job). Since I think I'd be happy teaching in general, as well as doing other jobs in academia, I'm exploring MA's in education, and also library science programs. But we will see, I am definitely holding out hope to be admitted into some Lit programs this cycle! I hope everyone is doing well and I'm sure some of us will have luck in 2021!
  19. Like
    TwirlingBlades reacted to Sigaba in Deferred acceptance?   
    I would reach out to the departments directly and ask. Then I would hang up the phone, call the graduate school and ask the same questions. (Because a department's policiies may not align with the graduate school's.)

    Based upon the information in your post, profile, and signature, I'd either defer or not go unless I had an iron clad contract for funding for at least four years.
    The situation in Florida is still unfolding AND hurricane season is arriving. 
    Washington state's economy is taking a tremendous hit. (Yesterday, I was on a team conference call. A team member who lives in Washington was beside himself.) Unless tech companies, especially Microsoft and the federal government pour money, jobs, and medical resources into the state, the road to economic recovery is going to be a hard one. Also, on a controversial subject, WA has different 2A sensibilities than Texas. I am not offering an opinion or value judgement here. I'm simply point out that you will have a different set of factors when it comes to making decisions.
    Something to consider is that information one hears/sees about  impact of COVID-19 on a school's financial health is likely conservative unless the source sits on sitting on specific committees or has a skill set centering around higher education finances, the forecasts are probably conservative.
    IME, the way financial statements are put together, it can be very hard to figure out the origins of all the inputs into the revenue "bucket." A public institution that gets revenue from sales taxes could take a cascading hit as consumer spending tales off locally, regionally, and state wide. Forecasting the impact of the cascading hit can be extraordinarily difficult if one is working with financial statements that are not "right sized" an audience and if that audience doesn't have direct access to someone who truly understands the nuts and bolts of the coding of each and every line item.

    On the expense side,  projections may not have critical line items because those items are complex, contentious, and the numbers are so daunting that the decision has been made year after year, to kick the can down the road. An example from my work experience is the looming costs of deferred maintenance.
    Expenses can have a cascading impact on each other as well as on revenue. A highly skilled student athlete goes elsewhere because she doesn't want to practice in facilities that are not state of the art. An academic superstar turns down an offer for an endowed chair because she doesn't want to contribute to a dynamic in which undergraduates are packed into lecture halls with inadequate HVAC systems. The loss of the two women results in a school having less pull for programs and grants and events that could generate revenue of one form or another.
    In the case of WSU and FSU, revenue generated by sports programs could be going to your program in ways no one in the department realizes.

    $0.02.
  20. Like
    TwirlingBlades reacted to Sigaba in Academic Dishonesty and grad apps.   
    Non disclosure is not without risks if:
    one consents to a background check that goes beyond transcripts; Imagine someone who performs background checks and is worried about losing a job because of COVID-19 and decides to prove his value by really leaning into his work and checking and re-checking every fact. a school has a code of ethics that hold students accountable for conduct before enrolling; the very act of non disclosure could be deemed as not within an institution's accepted standards of behavior one admits to the misconduct later and the new information gives professors and others the opportunity to reconsider their opinion of the student. a professor could conclude "I'd never have worked with this person had I known..." So, OP, if you decide to go the non disclosure route, I recommend that you first read and reread all the "fine print" you can find related to each school's policies on background checks, full disclosure in the application process, student conduct, and, maybe, a department's position on academic misconduct. If non disclosure works, as a graduate student, and later, as a professional academic, do not mention the incident to anyone with whom you don't have a legally privileged relationship. ("Everything is discoverable," is a key lesson of risk management training in the private sector.)

    And DO NOT cultivate a reputation as a firebrand when it comes to academic integrity. This is to say, when it's time to do your job and bust someone for academic dishonesty, do it without fanfare. 
    Finally, you might consider the benefits of doing something about your sense of shame. You made a mistake, you have learned your lesson, you've paid the price, (and may continue to do so). Do not let a mistake of your youth become a burden that puts you in positions where you can be emotionally or psychologically compromised.
  21. Upvote
    TwirlingBlades reacted to bibliophile222 in The Positivity Thread   
    I was just going through some old files from undergrad and found something that made me cry from laughter.
    My undergrad was online at a for-profit school, so there were some students that, well, maaaybe weren't ideal candidates for higher education, to put it politely. In one class there was this girl who wrote INSANE discussion posts. In addition to the terrible grammar and lack of insight into the topic, her posts were incredibly long and veered from wild tangent to even wilder tangent. She found vocab words (I'm guessing from the thesaurus in Word) that made no sense in context but substituted them in for simpler words. 
    So it turns out that I saved all of this girl's bizarro discussion posts in a Word doc and was able to reread them all. It feels like Christmas!
    I think my favorite line is "The cusp is that ants are a common living thing these days. That will never go away. The cogent is how many are there???"
    Amazing.
  22. Upvote
    TwirlingBlades reacted to Sigaba in why is it so damn hard for ad office to send a decision?   
    The Bronx ranks fifth and third among American counties for COVID-19 confirmed case and deaths, respectively. Fordham, like other schools in New York is in limbo -- trying to prepare for the next term without knowing if in person instruction will be allowed.
    While I can understand the frustration of not knowing one's status, I think it is important to keep things in perspective. The challenge you face is figuring out where you'll be going to grad school. The challenge people who work and live in the Bronx face is staying healthy.
  23. Like
    TwirlingBlades reacted to Adelaide9216 in Venting Thread- Vent about anything.   
    Tired of being single. I cried again.
    I also stopped praying and meditating these last couple of days, maybe I should get back at it because it helped me to let go of my relationship status for a couple of weeks when I began. I was surprised by the change. But I don't feel the strength to meditate and pray, I just want to cry. 
  24. Upvote
    TwirlingBlades reacted to calvin8 in Just when you thought HELL couldn't get any worse...   
    When I am older and I hear about a great philosopher in the news, I am always going to wonder if it is that 1000Plateaus fellow from some old forum on something they used to call an "internet". 
     
     
    Life is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short". But Hobbes was just an imaginary stuffed animal, so ignore him and do what you need to do, to get where you need to go. 
  25. Upvote
    TwirlingBlades reacted to dr. t in sexual harassment?   
    Oh, we're at the dictionary definition part of the argument already?
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use