quickstudy

Ah. Yes. Well. I got the (expected) rejection email on 1st December, 2016. If anyone got a call for an interview, good luck!

Of course you're right. Having said that, I still think that the OP would be well advised to endeavour to end the relationship with the PI on cordial terms. This might involve completing the thesis MS - the OP can take their project to a logical conclusion, get a degree and some valuable experience, and avoid any awkward career gaps. The OP has also not actually discussed the possibility of switching labs with the New Professor, and honestly speaking I don't know how enthusiastic he would be about taking on a student who has been "rejected" by one of his colleagues. Speaking to first year students is only going to get the OP so far; they need to communicate directly with the NP. If the NP is willing to take on the OP as a student, that's great, of course; really the best case scenario. I think both of us agree that going to law school would be an unnecessarily drastic step for the OP.

Here's my own contribution: don't sweat it. As someone else suggested, try inviting the professor in question for a couple of drinks with a few of the other students, including the male student. A PI I used to work with bonded with the male students over cigarettes in the parking lot (none of the female students smoked). It was annoying but then he was a bit of an arsehole in general. There are other ways to build a good relationship with professors; simply taking coffee breaks together might help. Be friendly without coming off as inappropriate. ON NO ACCOUNT MUST YOU MENTION TO THE PROFESSOR THAT YOU THINK THAT THIS IS AN ACT OF FAVOURITISM. Or anti-feminist. It is an instant kiss of death and you will be the subject of ridicule at the next all-boys club meeting. I've seen it happen and it wasn't pretty.

In my (admittedly limited) experience, if a supervisor asks the same question repeatedly, it simply means that you haven't given the "right" answer the first time around and they are waiting for you to spot your own mistake. Quite a passive-aggressive tactic, I know, but unfortunately quite common. You are in this program because you wanted to get a PhD, right? I think that switching to law school is a step too far; it might be just a temporary hiccup. Switching PIs is not as uncommon as people think, but at the same time it means that a lot of work has been wasted. It's also not a great thing to have on your CV; lots of future employers in academia might look askance at that sort of thing. It's not going to be a popular opinion on here, but I would say that you should stick to the lab, beg him to let you finish the PhD, and in the meantime generate data at a furious rate. If he's adamant, maybe you could talk to other members of your advisory committee (if you have a good relationship with them and they can be relied upon not to tell tales). Perhaps a chat with a friendly postdoc might help too.

Honestly, with this program, I can't even be bothered to cross my fingers: it's completely out of my league! But good luck to you If someone else has been lucky enough to get an accept, do let us know.

The program page (https://www.embl.de/training/eipp/application/index.html) states that results for the Spring 2017 recruitment round will be sent out by the end of November. While I am 100% sure that I will receive a resounding reject, I'd like to know if anyone has any news (even a rejection email or whatever). Thanks!