iLikeTrees

My current stipend nets ~1300 per month. For the past 2 years I've been living with roommates and that saved a LOT of money (rent + utilities = ~$350 per month). The bulk of my expenses is probably food: I basically buy whatever I want and splurge on good coffee, beer, & meat (when I buy it, which is not often) but cook a lot and almost never eat out. I also rarely go to the movies and bars etc and try to limit my other random shopping expenditures ("luxuries" like new clothes etc). I also walk to/from campus & town so my car expenses are pretty minimal as well. With this budget I supposedly have quite a bit leftover each month for savings, but last year that got pretty much eaten up by unanticipated expenses such as medical bills (even with insurance), being in a wedding, and a splurge vacation overseas. Next year I'm moving into a much more expensive apartment and live alone which will probably cost $800 per month with utilities etc. Unless I get an outside fellowship or some sort of pay raise (here PhD students get minor raises for passing candidacy & comps) I will be watching my expenses more closely. I should be able cut my food & luxury (non-food/bills) expenditures enough not to have to dip into my savings for routine expenditures, but it will be tight. As a last resort I can rent out the small spare room in my new apartment and live with a roommate again, but I'd rather try and make ends meet other ways first. I won't be taking out any loans and hope not to dip into my savings except for something really major.

I understand why people want to know the stats of winners, but part of me doesn't want to support your idea. It may seem a cop-out, but I think it's worth it to apply even if you don't meet the statistics of winners who post here. First, there IS value in applying even if it's a long shot. Gaining experience in proposal writing, being forced to think about your goals, and being able to put it in perspective of what it means for other people is all very valuable career and personal development experience. So is not getting an award and putting your ego in perspective (*cough cough* myself! *cough cough*) Second, I guess I don't really like buying into the numbers-based criteria for this or anything else and wouldn't want to discourage people from trying because they aren't the typical profile. Sure it makes things seem more cut and dry, but I really can't bring myself to believe that reviewers really care about the number of citations you have, the NUMBER of service projects you've done, etc. I would hope that they would care that you've gotten personal value and meaning out of what you've done and read more than the mere fact you can put it on your resume. Maybe I'm just too idealistic, not in touch with reality, or just preparing myself for a major letdown, but I think the process of applying, doing research, etc is more important and valuable than the end results. We'll all end up with the same titles (M.S./PhD, etc) and what makes us different is the process of what we've done and how we've gotten that degree, so why would this application be any different? Why bother writing 3 essays if all they care about are numbers? Good applicants can be anyone, come from any institution, or have any background as long as they show personal motivation and capacity to do good research. Anyways, that's my not-well thought out mini-rant at people who are obsessed with the numbers and outcomes. I understand, sympathize, and sometimes join you, but remember there's more than "winning" and "losing"! I'm sure I've probably ruffled a few feathers with this, so fire away.

hahaha, so true! Looks like I'd better get another cup of coffee and continue to try to convince myself that the outcome doesn't really matter ;-)

Personally, I agree with Jae B. I don't like debt and think that the less of it you have when you finish grad school, the better since you will likely have other debt-inducing events (buying a house?) and other concerns after that point. If you have the means to start chipping away at it now, I would say go for it! Just a little bit a month will reduce the burden of what you have to pay when you finish your PhD and are struggling to get other parts of your life in order. I think that a little work and paying now will make things easier in the long run.

Ecology PhD research often has a lot of constraints that means you have to focus early if you want to be done in 4-6 years. For us, the project proposal usually comes within the first year and revisions based on the successes and failures of the first field season of data collection. Many of our experiments are large and cannot be easily changed once they've been established. Also, data collection is usually only done during the summer and typically at least 3 years of data is required to account for inter-annual variability or visit enough field sites. You can shift your focus slightly once you start, but typically you have to remain within the framework of your established experiment and time constraints unless you want to start over. Switching advisors or "shopping around" once your there usually means adding several years to your program and may mean going without funding for a while. Ecology or any other field that requires fieldwork typically requires a level of pre-planning and commitment not always required by lab-based science to get in and out quickly since we have to work at nature's pace. We also usually only do 1 major experiment/study (with maybe a smaller one or two on the side) and frequently don't publish anything until the end of our degree. I think it's very rare for an ecologist to publish a paper in the first year of a PhD unless it's from previous work.

Glad we could help! As for funding, see what's available. When I meant I found less funding available for MS students, that doesn't mean it's not out there. I'm finishing my MS and had full funding the entire time. I did have to TA but it was good experience. Most people will tell you (and I agree) that you shouldn't have to pay to get your masters in a science. So unless you have some other obligations (family, expensive car payments, ridiculous rent) and can live on a budget, you shouldn't have to go into more debt to do either a MS or a PhD.

I actually think the fact that some of us are taking so seriously something that we cannot change right now may be a good reason to joke about it. I've always thought that if you take yourself too seriously, you just become a joke for everyone else. I seriously considered posting this morning that I talked to NSF and they said they wouldn't post any results until June just to lighten things up a bit! As Slorg and beachedotter said, we will all find a way to manage with or without the fellowship, although it may be more difficult. (Although I had to be reminded of this yesterday because I tend to stress about things when I can't plan ahead.) I think I may actually prefer not knowing it'll be soon because I just check my email even more.

I'm writing my M.S. thesis and have gotten about halfway through and seem to have hit a wall where I'm having a lot of trouble concentrating to finish writing and go through the very painful edit/rewrite phase. Has anybody been through this or experiencing the same thing? At the beginning, I set deadlines for each little part, but other work (talks, posters, etc) has cropped up and gotten me off track. I now have a bit less than a month before I told my advisor I'd have a basically final product ready (she'll look it over and then I'll send it out to my committee). All I have to do is write introductions (i.e. lit reviews for 3 chapters), a synthesis, and edits. Sometimes this seems totally manageable, but at other times it totally stresses me out now that I have some big deadlines coming up very fast. Any suggestions?

Same here, except I've already signed a lease for a new apartment that will require me to be a lot more frugal if I don't get an NSF or DOE fellowship. I had hoped to wait until I'd knew more before making a decision, but circumstances wouldn't let me wait. I'll just have to make it work somehow one way or the other. I won't be eligible for the GRFP next year, but I guess it'll be an extra incentive for other fellowships if this year doesn't work.

In my experience, raw numbers aren't as important as convincing a prospective advisor that you know what you want to do and have the skills or motivation to learn the skills to do the research that you want. If you're worried about your GPA and have a a valid explanation (without just making up excuses) or can argue that it doesn't reflect your academic caliber, mention it! For example, I had a rough time my freshman year with intro biology (as a bio major) because I wasn't used to that style of test-taking, but I completely rocked other relevant upper level classes and was able to great great recommendations from professors. I've even had some applications ask you to separate out your Jr/Sr year GPA since this is usually more reflective of your capabilities than what you did as a freshman. Maybe you had similar challenges you had to learn to overcome, a change of major/focus? If not, it's fine, you just have to make the argument that you have skills not reflected in your GPA. Describing to professors/application reviewers how it is you know you want a PhD in ecology goes a long way too. If you can convince them that it's just some random thing you'd thought you try that is good too. As for the MS/PhD debate, I too am really glad I'm finishing my MS right now before my PhD. I could've gone straight into a PhD and handled it, but doing my MS has helped me gain some more experience and is allowing me to craft some really competitive grant proposals (or at least I hope!) because I am sure in what I want to do for my PhD research. If you're not sure what you want to study, want an option to switch regions or topics, or are not 100% sure about a PhD right now (a 4-7 year commitment) I highly recommend your MS first. I've known people who have gone straight into their PhD with lots of "research experience" and are having a really hard time and some that have very little and are doing great--it's definitely and individual thing! One thing worth noting though is that in my searching experience, there is often a lot more funding available for PhD students than their are MS, especially with the recent flux of people going back to school with the economy. When I applied for grad school (and now fellowships, grants etc) I don't highlight my numbers at all. While good enough, my GPA and GREs were definitely not amazing. What makes me stand out to others is my non-academic work and how I have non-research experience that has guided my grad school and research decisions. Oh and for GREs, you just need a decent score. I recommend working through one of those prep books or something similar to help prepare though. Hope this helps!

I'm hoping for Friday but really expecting next week. I'm growing really impatient and anxious to find out and being disappointed with how some of my current work has turned out is not helping my optimism. :-( At least I'm already in a program with a great advisor and have a guaranteed TA slot as long as I need it. But I'd rather not need it and could really use some sort of ego boost right now. Darn thesis writing...

In my experience, "vacation" time is between you and your advisor/supervisor. If you're TAing, taking classes, etc., you will of course be expected to be there during classes and take vacation during holidays or between summer commitments (if any). My research requires me to do fieldwork for all of the spring, summer, and fall, but my advisor strongly encouraged me to take time off from fieldwork for time to relax and clear my head. (I went to Australia for 2 weeks plus lots of smaller trips throughout the summer.) My advisor is really laid back though and doesn't mind me taking long weekends whenever I want or not coming in to the office a lot as long as my work gets done and done well. It's totally up to the advisor though and I know some that aren't quite as flexible, but most are understanding and expect you to take vacation time. I even know some people (mostly internationals) that go away for all of the summer, so it really varies a lot based on your advisor's/program's/school's expectations. Talk to your potential advisors and programs and make sure you know what their expectations are!