robot_hamster

This isn't my first semester as a TA. I'm not sure what's wrong, but this time around has been absolutely crazy as far as grading goes. All I have been doing this semester is grading stuff, I can barely keep up. I didn't have this much trouble before, but there weren't nearly as many assignments being turned in (it was a completely different class). Is there a secret to keeping up with a gazillion assignments flowing in?

Now that we are talking about actual professors, I find it really strange calling them by their first name. Most professors at my school prefer that the graduate students call them by their first name, but it's still weird sometimes. I went to a very traditional school for my undergrad. You would not dream of calling a professor by their first name. You were to address them as "Dr. _____" or "Professor _____" (depending on their title). If you had a good relationship with them and knew them very well, then you could drop the "Dr." or ""Professor" and call them by their last name only. So obviously it was a bit awkward for me when I started grad school at a more relaxed school.

I'm just embarrassed because I never withdraw from classes. But I'm pretty convinced that this class is not where I need to be at the moment.

It wouldn't hurt to ask a doctor about the problems you are having, you never know. Staying focused on stuff, I think, is something everyone has trouble with at least one time or another. Part of the problem might be the class too. Last semester, I had a class a 8am. I was NOT awake for that class! This semester, I have classes that are 1 day a week so they last 3 hours. You start to get pretty restless about half way through.

I'm thinking I need to drop a class. How bad does it look on your transcript if you have a withdrawal? If I decide to apply to PhD programs in the future, would they be looking at that?

Never had this problem. Although I have had students email me addressing me as "Miss". I thought it was kind of cute since it is usually a 1st year undergrad.

I can understand her not wanting to come in another day. If she isn't already there on said day, then why would she want to make a special trip? I understand how you feel as well though, I would want to get the heck out of there! Haha! I agree with the others, try making a compromise where you stay late some of the time and she comes early some of the time. Or, if you are really good at piecing things together, some of the group could work on things without everyone present all the time. I have done that before, but it works best when other people in your group have similar a similar style of writing, etc. People who couldn't be there would just agree to work on X, while everyone else worked on Y. Then everything could be combined later with some carefully tailoring, of course.

Have you spoken with the director or associate director of your department? They may be able to help you in this situation. Let them know what happened. They may not be able to get you into an RA position this semester, but they could try to find something for you for the spring semester. Or at the very least they can help you with your financial dilemma. I agree not to make any hasty decisions, it could still work out.

Yes, I suppose that it probably it. I kinda sorta didn't do anything this summer and now it's coming back to bite me as I start the new fall semester.

This is my 3rd semester. Believe me, you still feel tired after the first week!

We're not allowed to work over 20 hours a week. I'm thinking that might be what it is! It's not an exemption coming from the IRS, but an exemption coming from the school because the school is actually paying for it. Nice investigative work!

What form do you receive? Mine is reported on a 1099-MISC.

It does have something to do with being enrolled in classes though. There was a notice that went out at the beginning for the summer. It said that if you were being paid over the summer months, then you needed to be enrolled in classes during the summer sessions. Otherwise, the taxes would be deducted from the paychecks for those months. I didn't have anything for the summer, so I didn't need to worry about that. Or there is another scenario, I suppose. Perhaps graduate students have been paying the taxes unnecessarily. That wouldn't be too good. I will have to investigate this more. Perhaps it has something to do with the way the income is reported to the IRS from the school in question.

It does sound weird, doesn't it? I'm not sure why it's like that. They don't pay very much for stipends there though either. Perhaps they have a different arrangement with the IRS? I didn't have an assistantship for my first semester, so I didn't have any of this stuff on my taxes last year. I'm not too worried though. Even if they end up thinking I owe taxes anyway, my husband is still in undergrad so there will be his education credits on our taxes anyway. So the worst thing that could happen is that it would be a wash and we wouldn't get our usual refund.

That's not what they told me at school. They said that if you met certain requirements, then you were exempt. Edit: Here we go, they actually say it on the website.

It also depends on where you are. Graduate students are exempt from SS and Medicare at my school.

It will also depend on the professor. Some are eager for free help in their lab and lack of experience won't matter too much. When I worked in a lab during undergrad, I didn't have any experience either. The professor just had one of his grad students hovering over me the entire time, at least at first anyway. There's no better way to learn stuff than to just get in there and do it.

Is there a larger university near you? You might just try contacting professors there and see if they will let you volunteer in their lab. I knew a lot of people who did that in undergrad because I went to a small liberal arts college. They contacted professors at the state university and got to do research there. I have mixed feelings about those practice GRE tests. They give you an idea of how the test works, which is helpful. For me though, the score I got on the practice test was actually quite a bit higher than the score I actually got when I took the GRE for real. So I suppose that part (predicting my GRE score) probably wasn't so helpful.

Well, looks like I will be surviving on $60 less per month this coming semester.

I have mostly only been surviving because we don't have to pay rent. Otherwise, there would be no way for me keep us both (my husband and I) afloat on my ~ $900 a month stipend. I agree with what other people have said. Keep the eating out and expensive drinks to a minimum, it really helps save some money.

Believe me, you're not a bad student. Your adviser just has expectations that are way too high for the average person. Don't feel bad. And a lot of people are just like you and want to get married/have families. That is one (but not the only) reason why people go to grad school in the first place. They want to have a better life and a better job so they can have a sense of security when they decide to start a family or for the family that they already have.

I heard about this today and I went searching for information on it. I guess I am confused. Does this apply to loans you took out as an undergrad? For example, say you took out subsidized loans during undergrad and then went on directly to graduate school after graduation. Right now, those loans stay in deferment. Would that mean that those loans would start accruing interest while you are in graduate school? Or does this only apply to new loans that you take out as a graduate student? Some people don't take out new student loans for grad school since they have funding.

WornOutGrad - I wanted to respond to this thread again since my first response was so short (wasn't at my computer) and I wasn't sure how serious you were. I just wanted to let you know that I completely understand how you feel. I have been struggling with grad school as well and I even posted about it on here before. I have been depressed and the fact that my program isn't a good fit for me has made things worse. A degree of stress is normal, but depression is not all that uncommon. I am glad to hear that you have been seeing a therapist. Having someone to talk to really does help, or at least it does for me. It seems that you are at a crossroad and you need to make a decision based on what is best for you. I agree with most of what others have said in this thread and I think they have offered very good advice. Everyone in grad school has a different experience and some people find out that grad school just isn't the right path for them. I have decided to stick it out for 2 more semesters to finish my MS. After that, I think I have decided to take a bit of a breather. I can always decide later on if continuing on is what I really want to do. I made the decision that I felt was right for me and my situation. Only you know what if best for you and only you can make the decision that is right for you. I hope things get better for you.

I guess I never really noticed. I'm not in the South though either, so I guess I can't offer much insight. Could it be that maybe people don't want to move up North where it is colder? If I was used to living in warmer weather, I don't think I would want to move somewhere like I am now where the snow is 2 feet deep in the winter!

Sure, if it is a small assignment then a quick note like that would work well with the comments function. I will have to remember that this coming semester, the details are a little sketchy still on what will be required of the students in the class I am a TA for.