orange turtle

Actually, not all studies require review. I can't tell you the specific details now, though. Interesting you should mention Canada has more restrictive guidelines, though. I had felt / thought it was the opposite! For example, if the NIH funds a grant, Canadian REBs are required to review the study at the full board meeting (i.e., it has to be discussed with quorum and not just assigned to reviewers x and y). OP: I think the take home message is that without knowing the exact details of your study and the exact details of your international country and the actual work you will do there, it is hard to say exactly what you would need to do. That is something your university's IRB staff can work with you on. It is probably beyond the scope of most of our expertise. Be prepared, though, that you *might* need to apply for additional approval than the IRB of your home university. And, again, the how's and all will be something your IRB staff can help with. Good luck!

Yep!!! I knew I found the mattress I wanted when I got into one of the stores and while trying out one particular bed, I actually fell asleep in the middle of all these people. Bought it on the spot. Also, try and look for a store that has an exchange policy. Some stores allow you to exchange (within 30 days or something) if you find you don't like it as much as you thought. But, yeah, wouldn't go with a cheap mattress if at all possible.

I am speaking as a Canadian (in a Canadian institution) student who has sat on the Canadian School IRB (called REB here); note there are probably differences between countries. In our case, you would almost always be required to get IRB approval on the other end. In fact, to be able to recruit in schools (or even talk to the schools) in Canada, you would need approval from the school boards and they have their own IRB/REBs. Over here, for students intending to collect data in another country, there must be a local "contact" that is in the form of: i) a researcher / clinical prof or something to that effect who is affiliated with a university, or ii) an authoritative figure that is overseeing your population in some way (e.g., school board; priest of local parish). For (ii), there might not be an official IRB. For example, if you are recruiting from a remote village where the authority figure is the village chief. Even though there is no official IRB, you still need to get permission of some form. So, the short answer is: yes, you probably need two IRBs. All the work in my lab that crosses borders requires IRBs/REBs from all institutions and we have collaborations with US universities. Our contact on the other end will either help or do the applications on their end. (Also bear in mind depending on the work you do, you might also need additional approval [e.g., FDA; Health Canada]. From your post, I really doubt you need any of that, so just FYI.) Edit: Yes, as @lewin said, talk to the staff! They are very knowledgeable about the processes and red tape.

I know money is a problem (it is for me, too!) but want to say if at all possible, consider buying a good mattress (and if possible, new). You don't need a bed, really. If u want it raised, get a cheap bottom frame. A good mattress has been my life saver. Grad school is tiring and you don't want to come home and go to a crappy bed. If you are really on a budget, buy a used mattress and buy a good mattress topper. Your body (and mind!) will thank you. P.s., look and see if your school has a student forum to sell, buy, and / or trade stuff. Mine has a forum that allows students to post stuff (like housing request).

@TheWalkingGrad I'm going to look into this weighted blanket! Thank you!

Hi @wildfireflies "Many people will not understand what you're going through or why it was damaging." I can't even tell you how you've summarised this so well. Some of my friends know of the harassment, and they're completely incredulous that it could possibly be damaging. They all go "eww, what a creep...eww, eww" but it stops there. Right now, in my entire university of people who do know, 2 people "get it." The rest (faculty) completely ignore it, and then when we happen to bump into each other during department events, they give this dramatic "OMG. I've been thinking of you. I'm worried about you. You look like death warmed over". And I'm sitting there thinking why didn't you just send an email to ask how I was doing then? I would rather they pretend nothing happened than to do this fake concern. As for not doing anything wrong, I struggle with this so much. I've played all the versions of "what if I had / hadn't..." scenarios in my head. What if I hadn't answered his questions? What if I just did not smile back when he smiled? What if I had worn more pants? I have wondered about some form PTSD, and the psychiatrist did bring it up. Nobody has done any official diagnosing though. She went, Oh you must be depressed. Student health is sure it isn't depression though because he said my problems are very situational. I really don't care what they think the problem is, TBH. Just help me. You could call it scary monster syndrome for all I care. I read the survey you posted a long time ago. I follow TPII. It feels very defeating when you realise you are another statistic of the many women (and men) who keep having to put up with this crap. Thank you for reaffirming my concerns. And for letting me know there is a tunnel of fresh air on the end.

@Neuromantic I commend on your bravery in disclosing to your PI and lab. Thank you for sharing. I have acute PTSD (or so the psychiatrist thinks; she doesn't seem sure yet) from sexual harassment and assault that happened in the first year of my prog (also in Neuroscience). I just posted of the nightmares I get from these on the Officially Grads section. My PI isn't the most supportive person and so I avoid telling her anything. So far, I haven't been able to talk to my peers either. Solidarity and best of luck with your program.

@fuzzylogician thanks for clarifying the differences. Very helpful, and I am now kinda wishing it wasn't a psychiatrist I was seeing (because of the intense focus on drugging me). Probably should look into changing professionals and trying something that doesn't involve meds. I am probably just naive but I didn't think I would be sitting with sexual violence counsellors and psychiatrists and the like within the first year of my program. I was watching out for signs of depression and anxiety because there is so much out there about how graduate school is perfect breeding ground for them to manifest for the first time. Definitely wasn't prepared to be referred to a psychiatrist for nightmares! I also didn't think my first introductions to the bigwigs at my university would be for having "very complex graduate student problems." Nor would I have thought I would be sitting there crying in front of an entire group of them while they all sat there awkwardly. C'est la vie, eh? Regardless, I am thankful I have access to free services and online forums such as these. The anonymity certainly helps because I haven't been able to talk to any of my peers about this.

p.s., is it only my psychiatrist or do they use drugs a lot to treat everything? I had to persuade her very hard to try other techniques before resorting to medications.

I have tried some of these, and am glad others have done so with success, too. I now sleep with an essential oil diffuser of a mixture of scents I have always found comforting. And I have my childhood bunny. I also have a baseball bat I have on my nightstand. I exercise quite a bit, and am now contemplating taking up boxing. Will try the bath you mentioned and the self-help circles. With a combination of techniques, and drugs, I am getting better at falling asleep when it is bedtime. I have tried sleeping with a nightlight, but I realised the shadows cast by the light scare me. My issue is when I have the nightmares and I am jolted awake in the middle of the night in cold sweat. That is when I need something to help. Many nights I end up moving to my couch, turning on all the lights, and turning on cartoons on netflix and eventually dropping off into a fitful sleep. My psychiatrist gave me Ativan for these "awakenings" as he calls it, but they don't work anymore. I now need about 5mg to feel drowsy and calm. For perspective (I learned from the psychiatrist), neurologists give 1mg tablets to patients for home "rescue" when they have seizures that go on for too long. Funny you should mention this. I have a baseball bat by my bedside that I have been trying to "use" in my nightmares. I can lucid dream in other instances when I try because I always have the same funny object that will show up that cues me that it is a dream. Unfortunately, I have not yet been successful at all in these nightmares because what ends up happening is I am paralysed with fear. It's like when you're a child and there is a monster under your bed or in your closet and the room is pitch black and you're taken completely by surprise and squashed from above you by the sheer size of the monster. I am so frustrated I just want to curl up in a ball and cry. Thanks, guys. Appreciate the feedback. And like you both mention, it's gonna take time. It's a relief to hear that I am at least on the right-ish path.

@Hope.for.the.best I am seeing a sexual violence counsellor. Still working on the whole "not my fault; didn't ask for it" thing. It is surprisingly hard. I am afraid I don't know what the difference between a psychologist and counsellor is? Your suggestion for a 24 help-line was something I didn't think about, nor was it suggested by my psychiatrist and counsellor. Will look into it, thank you.

I just gotta ask this because I am at wits' end and I am sure somebody somewhere has some answer or advice. Long story short, without going into too much detail: I was sexually harassed last year (propositions for sex; indirect threat of stalking) and then assaulted (non-rape) by TWO different men in / tangentially in my university. Both men tower over me size wise and I only reach their chest level as I am pretty small. One could easily bear hug me. (I mention the non-rape aspect as I don't want to make it sound like I can understand the trauma of those who have been raped and "hijack" their story and voice.) In my head, the two men have somehow now kinda amalgamated into one horribly bad person. I get nightmares about this one horrible big person coming out of the shadows and forcing himself on me while I silently scream. I am now taking several drugs so I can sleep through the night, including one which I am building tolerance to. Does anybody have suggestions to sleep without all these drugs? Does / did anyone have to deal with nightmares and found strategies? I have heard anxiety and panic attacks, for example, causes trouble sleeping. I also know people have nightmares about comprehensive exams. I am seeing a psychiatrist so the nightmares have lessened in intensity somewhat (also could be the drugs). I have not had any panic attacks while awake, thankfully, as my psychiatrist has helped me with strategies like breathing and grounding techniques which I have been very diligently following. However, I do need strategies that others have found helpful for sleeping in the meantime as I consciously work through this with my psychiatrist during my waking hours. Academia comes with many forms of nightmares because of the pressures and I'm hopeful people have suggestions. Help? Please?

Similar here. I used one person (manager/coordinator) from a community volunteer organisation I work with, and a professor I have kept in touch with for years. The coordinator addressed and emphasised my going "above and beyond" portion for the marginalised community at large. The professor addressed and emphasised my work with student government, mentoring, student activism, etc. Similar to @CrazyPugLady, the only "academic" portion my professor mentioned was that I was an excellent student. So I guess we all read the instructions similarly. Good luck, everyone!

Same here. 4 referees. But the 2 leadership ones still have an "academic flavour." Eep.

Guys, I actually did have a question (for the next competition) as I am sure that I would have to reapply. For the 2 leadership letters of references, whom did you choose? Did you ask one or both of your academic referees to also write your leadership letters? Or did you have 4 different referees? Did people find it hard to find 4 separate referees? How did you overcome that? I was not prepared that they added a new letter as a friend who won the Vanier before said they only needed 3 letters total.

It won't make me happier, either. But it would make me so relieved to not have to worry about how I will be covering my and my family's expenses.

By the way, is anybody at all in the CIHR pool on this thread? I seem to only see SSHRC and NSERC. Tell me I'm not the only neurotic, sleep-deprived CIHR person here! ...Hug me...

I am going to be in so much trouble re. sleeping and eating then. I was so anxious I stayed up all night for this, and then went to the pool to "refresh" myself and go into my happy place in preparation for the (most likely bad) news. I actually fell asleep in the hot tub. I crossed my arms on the steps around the tub, closed my eyes, put my head down (nose and mouth above water), and went right to sleep. A lifeguard woke me up and I apparently asked him "is it here, yet?" "Grad student, eh?" said the guard. ...Right...How'd you know?

Hi. Previous recipient here. Some of you probably remember that you can apply for the CGS-M and state up to 5 schools where you wanted to be considered. As such, there will be some of the recipients who would be competitive enough such that they would receive offers from all the schools they applied to. I would wait till April 1, or whatever the deadline is. There is not a very high chance (I'm not saying they won't, but the probability is low) a school would release the results earlier as it won't be fair to the other schools an applicant might have applied to and will be seriously considering. For many students, funding is an important consideration in whether we accept or reject an offer of admission and a school that releases their results ahead of others will likely not be receiving friendly looks from others. If it helps, there are way more SSHRC spots nationwide (1300) compared to NSERC (800) and CIHR (400), which means your chances are probably higher for most schools. http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Students-Etudiants/CGSAllocations-QuotasBESC_eng.asp Good luck, guys! I am waiting for the doctoral award competition results, so I know how agonising the wait is.

Neuroscience PhD student here. Didn't do a masters. Note I'm in Canada, though, so it might be a little different. I took a long time to investigate researchers, programs, and universities. I also took time away from school for a bit. I think you might want to rethink what graduate admissions are actually like. Grades and "lab experience" or "research experience" will only take you so far in a graduate program, especially when admissions in that university and department are competitive. What grades and basic research/lab experience do is tell admission officers you qualify for admission. The things that actually get your foot in the door are the more "minor" things many students don't think about: 1) Is there a supervisor in that university / department who does the work you want to do? 2) Is that supervisor taking students? 3) Does the work / background you have even remotely line up with that supervisor? (e.g., you probably won't make a big impression on that supervisor if you work with worms and that professor works with elderly with, say, multiple sclerosis) *Note: many research skills are transferable and students change interests as they progress through their programs, so your interests and background don't have to be exactly the same as your potential supervisor. 4) Did you make a connection with that supervisor, and made a (good) impression? If 10 people applied to work with that supervisor and only 1 had previously corresponded (well!) with that supervisor, who do you think will get in? Essentially what I'm saying is it is hard to even guess what your chances are if all we know are your GPA, GRE scores, and some general info about your projects and interests. Many things factor into an admission decision. The first 3 you know: GPA, GREs, and research experience. But also don't forget LORs (letter of references), statement of interest/purpose, research focus, availability of supervisor, previous connection with the POI, funding status of POI, etc. I had the same question. Why "of course the dream is in NYC"? I would advise you to not start by choosing a city, even though the location is obviously a big factor. Start by deciding what work you actually want to do, which programs offer that, which supervisors could help you do the work you want to do, and then start narrowing down from there (e.g., location, weather, etc.). I had the same question here, too. Nothing wrong with taking time off. I took many :-) p.s., I know this post is quite late, so it might not even be relevant anymore...

This is from personal experience, so take it with a grain of salt as what works for me might not work for you. As you probably figured out from being in school and reading all the posts on this forum, grad school is stressful and requires a huge time commitment (I'm in my second year). A professor of mine said there are 2 extreme types of grad students: 1) The one who wants to be involved in every extracurricular and social activity, both inside and outside school (and ends up not having time to do their research) 2) The one who isolates themselves completely to truly focus on their research and never knew there was a world outside their lab (and burns out very easily) Both are not the best way to approach school. Personally, I try and be smart about what I do "outside the lab." Besides the more "expected" things like attending talks and colloquia, I try to only generally get myself in activities that / where: 1) I feel is a good investment in terms of time and career 2) I feel I can make an actual contribution in, and not one where I show up because everybody else shows up (just because it works for others doesn't mean it works for you!) 3) If within the academy, my supervisor knows about and "approves." (it is extra, extra stressful if your supervisor is constantly berating you about the "useless" work outside the lab that you are doing) 4) If outside the academy, only things I am truly invested in. This can take different forms for everyone. Like some invest themselves in a cause they really care about (e.g., women's rights), or things they find helps them regroup and return to the lab refreshed every week (e.g., yoga). Currently, I serve on one university committee that is broader than my direct and immediate area of research (i.e., I work in Neuroscience, and I serve on a committee that serves the whole Faculty of Medicine) and do outreach / workshops relating to that, I mentor students in my area / field, and I "intern" every couple of weeks at a research institute that is also broader than my area of research. I also volunteer at a local community health care centre outside school. They all take time, but not so much that I become the grad student who is never in the lab missing deadlines and/or is always being reminded to do her work. The first two are service to the profession and academic community, the third is just for my own professional development, while the fourth is for my own personal fulfillment. I found it takes time to figure out what you are passionate about, and how you think you can nurture that passion while still taking care of yourself. The key is to not burn out (very hard to do!). And that starts with thinking about the direction of your future career and/or life goals and then picking your battles. I (think) am like you. I was involved in several simultaneous activities and events as an undergrad, both inside and outside school. But grad school is no longer about being that queen / king social butterfly. It is more about (for me, anyway) learning how to be a colleague, peer, mentor, professional, and learning how to give back to the next generation and what you want (or think you want) your future life to look like. And I personally think that holds true whether you decide to go into academia or not. FWIW, nobody expects you to do it all. And it is okay to change your mind when you realise it isn't working and/or that you are spreading yourself too thinly. Also, as I learned recently, having a mentor, friend, and a network like this forum who has/have gone through the process to give you perspective about expectations, norms, and reality helps tremendously. Give yourself some time to figure it out. Grad school, and life, are marathons (triathlon, really). You don't want to sprint like mad in the beginning and realise you can't move after a short while. (Orange turtle r.e.a.l.l.y. needs to remind herself about this constantly as well) Good luck!

I just wanted to say I really appreciate what a great forum this is, and how much having a support network like this has made things so much better. This past academic year and a half has been exceptionally difficult for me. I entered my program full of beans and and have since felt like I've let my department and my supervisor down repeatedly. Life got in the way (changing doctors from moving, chronic medical condition deteriorating, spending weeks recuperating part of which was in the hospital, difficult supervisor, sexual harassment, death of a mentor, supporting mentally ill family member; you name it!) and it just spiralled out of control from there. I was / am the grad student department chairs cringe when they see because yet another something has happened. There are days I am convinced my department made a mistake and I just slipped in by mistake. (This is not a post asking everyone to reassure me I'm doing well and all that!) I could not have done it without all of you, taking time to respond, support, encourage, and give perspective to strangers on the Internet. Many of you support each other without judging. A special shout out to the ?admin? and / or just really smart people like @TakeruKand @fuzzylogician and @telkanuru and @rising_star and @Sigaba for replying to virtually every panic stricken, lost, and scared graduate student on this board. I am sure I've missed some people, but know I do appreciate you. My memory sucks from all my drugs, so I shamelessly blame that. If you ever feel like graduate school is just too much and feel like quitting (that's me very often lately), come here. You are not alone. This community will support you...or knock some sense into your head.

When I started grad school, I weighed about 135 pounds at 5.4 feet. I gained weight (~7 pounds) the first semester. I then lost ~18 pound in about 6 months. My pants are falling off my hips and I've had to self-add 2 holes to my belt, and am on my way to my 3rd self-add hole. I did start eating more healthily after gaining the 7 pounds and did exercise quite a bit more. I started doing more exercises as I felt it helped with the stress of graduate school. To be honest, I can't tell if the weight loss was due to work on my part or a combination of stress and healthier habits. So, thanks folks for sharing your experiences. It's reassuring that weight changes in graduate school are quite common.

This is a frustrated rant: Academics keep saying that graduate students and faculty need to show "academic productivity". Well, what on earth does "academic productivity" even mean? What is the benchmark? *orange turtle wobbles off with her heavy shell while foaming at the mouth* I know it is different for different fields. Forget other fields, I can't even figure out my own! Gah! *orange turtle buries her head inside her heavy shell still foaming at the mouth* 2 hours later: *orange turtle falls asleep inside shell; it is cosy in here*

@Dalmatian I can assure you, like the other people here, that you are not alone. A professor in the department I've only spoken to once noticed I was sad (homesick) the first day of term this year. She asked me how I was and that was when the water works started. I just went right up to her, buried my head in her shoulder, and cried. I was completely horrified after that. And very embarrassed. She said it was fine as she has a daughter and her daughter cries on her shoulder when she has to go back to school, too. Her shirt was covered in my tears. I was just so thankful I didn't wear mascara that day. Especially when I've only met this woman once before.