robot_hamster

I understand what you're saying about trying to appease as many people as possible. It is going to be difficult. I understand that they want to make suggestions on how to make the research more "worthwhile", but I also think they don't understand what it is I am trying to do since they are from different areas. I wrote everything down and I tried to explain it in terms they would understand. However, I guess the idea is so foreign to them that all I got from them was suggestions that really took things away from what I wanted to do. Seriously, it was like they were trying to compare apples to oranges.

I agree. Definitely ask yourself if this is someone you feel you can develop a relationship with quickly and easily. An instant rapport when you first meet is a good indication. Sometimes when you meet someone, you can just tell that they are going to rub you the wrong way. Also pay attention to how attentive they are. Yes, professors are busy. But if they habitually lose your emails in the mountain of other emails, it might mean that they don't take care to respond to students in a timely manner. I have one professor that does this all the time and I'm always finding myself sending multiple emails until I finally get a response. It can be quite frustrating.

If your adviser doesn't know, then they will most likely know who does. Each school does stuff differently.

To try to answer you, I am worried that they might hinder my research. At least when it comes to what I want to do. They each have their own ideas about how to go about things. My adviser is more with me on this and understands exactly what I want to do. The others get defensive and say "you can't do it like that", but I think it is because they don't fully understand what it is I want to do. We try explaining it, but then the conversation somehow gets derailed. Before you know it, my ideas don't even sound like my ideas anymore because one "suggestion" leads to another and everything starts to take on a new shape. I assume I can switch out committee members if I really need to. But maybe coming more prepared would help. I don't know.

My school has a committee system and it seems like the members of my committee don't see eye to eye. I understand that they are from different areas (I need a well rounded representation for my thesis topic), but they were practically at each others' throats during a meeting. Is this normal?

From my experience, if you're planning to go on vacation or to visit family then you just ask if you can have some time off. People arrange those kinds of things all the time, just as long as your plans don't conflict with others (assuming you are going to be working in a lab with lab mates).

If you're doing research, I think they provide extra opportunities to present one's work and to network since these groups often hold conferences.

I have actually been watching for jobs over the past year. There doesn't seem to be much in the way of options where I live. I see job postings but most of the time they are on the opposite side of the state anyway. I guess my biggest fear is that I won't be able to find employment and I wouldn't be able to pay my student loans. Going directly to a PhD program would at least solve that problem, although it would only be delaying the inevitable. It really seems like we would have to move somewhere else anyway just so I could get a decent job.

No, we don't have any kids. We have pets though and I think that might be a source of conflict. Neither of us would want to be separated from our animals, especially our dog. She is getting old and I would be heartbroken if she were to die and I wasn't here with her. I think my husband would feel the same way if I were to take her with me.

I find it interesting that aside from this, all of the things described in this article are pretty obvious. We all know that grammar/spelling errors in a statement of purpose would be bad, as well as including stuff that falls in the TMI category. It's almost like a game of "What Doesn't Belong?". Why is so much emphasis placed on the disclosure of a mental illness? Hopefully I'm making sense here. So does this have something to do with the fact that this study focused on psychology graduate admissions? I suppose I could see the connection there (i.e. you don't want a "mentally unstable" person studying psychology). What would you call that? It's almost like a conflict of interest or a contradiction. I'm not saying I agree with it, I'm just saying that I can sort of see where it comes from. As for the mental health stigma being a problem in general, I think it still is. But as UnlikelyGrad said, it is getting better as old attitudes begin to fade away and mental health issues become more widely accepted. I personally have no experience with being rejected or feeling judged by an admissions committee, but I also did not disclose information about my personal history with depression and anxiety in my statement of purpose. There are people who know about my issues including my adviser and the associate director. This didn't come out until after I was admitted. But it wasn't like I was consciously omitting the information from my statement of purpose, I just felt it wasn't an appropriate place to discuss it. Really, it didn't even occur to me to discuss it there. It just isn't relevant information (but I suppose I could see why someone wishing to study psychology might feel it is relevant). Anyway, at no time did I feel judged by anyone. If anything, it seems like they were genuinely concerned and wanted to help me that much more. This is especially true of my adviser, they want me to succeed.

No, we don't travel much for anything. We can't afford to buy plane tickets since we are pretty much just getting by on my stipend and part-time job. Thank you for the suggestions though. Strangelight - I think I'm going to look around at some other programs to see what schools also offer his program. I currently only have 3 in mind and one of those does not offer his program at all. Maybe if there are more options, he might be more open minded. One more question: Would it be a good idea to apply to schools anyway just to see if I can get accepted? I hate to apply places and then turn around and say I'm going to wait a year or two. But at the same time, I have no idea if I will even be accepted. I might be working myself up for nothing. LOL

What airline did they use? I went to Southwest's website and picked a date way in advance and the price is still $500. Southwest is usually considered cheap.

Tickets for $300? Do those even exist? I've never heard of tickets that cheap! LOL Maybe you're right, maybe you have to live near a major airport (which I don't).

Probably not every 3 or 4 weeks. We wouldn't be within driving distance, someone would have to fly. Hehe!

I completely understand. I applied at the one and only place close to home that offered my program because I felt I was pretty much stuck where I am. But now that I am half way through a masters, I'm beginning to realize that it isn't a good fit for me. There are better places I could have applied. So that it why I am struggling with this so much. Do I just keep going there anyway (enter their PhD program)? Apply somewhere better and potentially leave my husband behind? Or do I wait 3 years and risk not going back (who knows what will happen in 3 years)? I feel very conflicted about the whole thing and it seems like you can relate to that.

If it were me, I would just write something about it in their evaluation and avoid taking another class with them. Everyone has a bad experience with a professor at least once. Your personalities just don't work together, they teach or grade things in a way you don't like, etc. It happens to everyone. If you're still going to get an A, then why bother getting administration involved?

I don't feel I would necessarily be choosing my education over my husband. If someone were to give up on the relationship, I don't think it would be me. I did spend some time away from him to do a little studying abroad, but it wasn't anything major (= it wasn't 3 years). I do wonder how he would handle it. It's not like I don't trust him, of course I do. But I imagine it would be hard for him. It would be hard for both of us. I worry that one of us would be tempted to drop out after a year of being apart because we would miss each other too much. I also wonder how my parents or his parents would react. I'm afraid they would think I was being unreasonable or selfish. They can be especially critical at times, unfortunately. StrangeLight - You're actually being kind of generous.

I was asking on here about the things I need to be aware of if I do decide to pursue a PhD immediately after my MS. I am still undecided, but it would have to be a decision that I make soon since I would have to apply this coming fall. Anyway, my husband is still working on his undergraduate degree. He's been going to school on and off for many years (longer than I have even known him). If he were to buckle down and go full time so he could finish, it would still take him 3 years to get his Bachelors. I have been told by several people (including professors at my current school) that I need to go somewhere else if I want to pursue a PhD. Basically, there are much better programs out there than the one there and it is better to have some diversity in your education (my bachelors and masters will be from 2 different schools, but in the same city). So I have 3 choices: wait 3 years to apply for PhD programs, apply for the PhD program at my current school, or apply to PhD programs in other locations within the US. Many of you are probably wondering why my husband doesn't just transfer. He is unwilling to transfer because he is afraid all of his credits won't transfer and his program is also one that is not offered everywhere (so it's not like he can just go anywhere). So my question is, how many of you would be willing to leave your spouse behind in order to pursue your graduate degree? I just can't imagine not seeing him all the time. He might not even be able to afford to come visit me on holidays, depending on how far away my program is. The situation makes me questions what is more important. It is sort of ironic since it was us getting married that allowed me to go to school in the first place (I finally qualified for financial aid). But now that I am in grad school, it is the thing that is holding me back.

I agree with what the others have said. Definitely see what you can do about switching advisers before doing anything drastic that you might regret later on down the line. If you ultimately do decided to drop out, my question for you is do you have any experience with GIS? If you have a BA in Geography, then you should be able to get a job processing data for use in GIS. Probably not your dream job, but you certainly wouldn't be stuck flipping burgers.

I don't agree with this. I work retail on the weekends and I am picking up more hours over the summer. My availability changes each semester and my employer doesn't have a problem with it at all. They just plug when I can work into the computer and it spits out a schedule. I requested some time off at the end of this last semester because I had a big project due and then finals that I needed to study for. They still didn't have a problem with it. They even let me take off a couple of months one summer (while I was still in undergrad) because I had scored an internship and I was expected to work over 40 hours a week for 10 weeks. Now I'm not saying every employer is going to be so flexible, but that doesn't mean that they don't exist.

You're meaning that your program requires that each student takes a stats course during their undergraduate education as part of their admission requirements? I wouldn't worry too much if they have already accepted you. They said you could take a class during the summer, so just do that and you should be good to go. My school does stuff like that too. If they feel you have a deficiency that might make coursework in the program difficult for you, then they will have you take a class to make up for it.

There is both a thesis and a non-thesis option in my program. Almost everyone does the thesis option. My adviser said it was a must if I wanted to apply to PhD programs in the future. I have looked around at some PhD programs I might be interested in and some of them list having done a masters thesis as a requirement for admission. I really think it just depends on the field. I have no idea how that works for psychology, but I would take cues from your adviser and fellow grad students. What do they recommend/what is everyone else doing?

Okay, thanks! I will look into those vocabulary study guides then.

From my own personal experience: Tuition is waived for up to 12 credits It depends on the position, but my stipend last semester was a little under $900 a month Yes, I got reduced cost health "insurance" (it's what they call a health plan) Nope, housing isn't free

I've been told that the flash cards don't really help. Like there are tons of words on the flash cards but no one ever sees those words while actually taking the GRE. I will get some though if you think it is the best way to study. I do remember Kaplan relentlessly calling wanting me to take their GRE prep course. I can't remember how much it was, outrageously expensive I'm sure. They "guaranteed" that you would get a better score. But I'm guessing I can do better simply by giving myself enough time to study for it. Are the any other suggestions that anyone has? About the GRE or the other things I have been talking about? I just want to make sure I'm not overlooking something important.