brainlass

I think if you've finished your undergrad degree and the accidental plagiarism flew under the radar, it is EXTREMELY unlikely that anyone will ever retrospectively go back, re-read your old essay, and catch it. (The exception being if the undergrad paper was published, or *possibly* if it is archived as a thesis...) I would imagine that the two likely outcomes are: 1. You get busted for the academic offense in undergrad, you deal with the consequences then, and when you apply for PhD programs, they expect an explanation for the offense on your record. This may hurt your admission chances. 2. Nobody notices when you're in undergrad. You finish your degree, and nobody ever reads that essay ever again. Nothing happens. If you did something extremely serious, like blatant data fraud or something, then there would probably be more far-reaching repercussions on subsequent work and degrees... I don't know of any instances of this actually happening to anybody.

CONGRATS!! I'll be attending Duke as well for a different program. Maybe I'll see you there someday.

Waterloo is an excellent school for tech, comp sci, and engineering. In Canada, it certainly holds a good reputation for those fields. Because of their excellent co-op programs, Waterloo also has some far-reaching influence (more so than you'd expect given the school's general world ranking). Moreover, if you are intending to pursue a PhD after the Master's, I'm inclined to think that the prestige of the Master's degree matters less. Also, I would always choose a funded program, myself.

I think this is a good plan. I personally would not feel comfortable about going in blind. Good luck getting more info!

Through the long and arduous process of researching options, preparing applications, flying out for interviews, waiting to hear back, receiving acceptances... It still did not really sink in that I was really forging a path for my future. The day that I made my decision and formally accepted an offer, I felt relieved and satisfied, but honestly still felt pretty business-as-usual. Then I announced it to my lab, and the post-doc came up to me, put both hands on my shoulders, and said, "This is the first day of the rest of your life. You're going to get a PhD!" Finally, it hit me.

My two cents: School A: Sounds like you are hesitating here because of a dearth of information. I know that uncertainty makes an option seem unappealing, but the answers to your outstanding questions may actually be good. You just don't know yet! I suggest you reach out to the POIs and their grad students to get as much more information as you can about the atmosphere of the department, the lab cultures, mentorship styles, etc. Maybe you could arrange another Skype call, long-distance tour of the lab space, etc. On a personal note, I moved from Albuquerque to Toronto when I started my undergrad. Yes, Canada is cold, and I know firsthand that the first winter can be a shock. However, you really do get used to it, and a big coat goes a long way! School B: Possibility of a joint supervision is good, but you need to inquire about whether that is possible. Different departments can be more or less accommodating for cosupervision situations, and there's also the possibility that the two professors may not get along. Definitely something to investigate before you commit.

She responded positively (wishing me the best and expressing that she hopes to see me at conferences) and provided information about the reimbursement, too! I'm very relieved that this loose end was resolved well.

@melian517, when I was having trouble composing decline emails, my current mentor said that it's standard form to say where you're going instead, but NOT elaborate on reasons why. Unfortunately, praising benefits of another program can come across like a backhanded, tacit statement of the cons of the program you're declining, so it's best to not give too much information... However, it's good to thank the POIs graciously and express that you'll continue to follow their research, hope to see them at conferences in the future, etc.

Update: The POI has now responded, so the question is moot.

Around two weeks ago, I went for my final interview/campus visit. It was an unusual case because the department did not offer any official interview or recruitment days for prospective students, so my POI arranged a short visit just for me. After the interview trip, I sent her a thank you email as usual, but never heard back. Several days later, after thinking everything through and meeting with my current mentor, I made my decision to accept my offer elsewhere. I sent her another email saying that I was declining, and I really tried to emphasize how grateful I was for her efforts in arranging the visit, and how wonderful I think she is as a person/researcher, because I do genuinely think she's awesome. There were other factors about the school/program that kept it from being my top choice. I had really hoped to end things on a positive note and maintain a good relationship with her, as she knows my current PI well, and I expect I'll continue to see her at conferences in the future. With every other offer that I declined, the POIs responded promptly with very gracious and understanding replies. However, this POI from the last interview never replied (to either the initial thank you email or the decline email). It's now been a week and a half. She had always been very prompt and responsive before, which makes me worry that this is an intentional choice to not respond. I'm anxious that despite my best efforts not to, I may have burnt a bridge here. So, I am seeking your thoughts on two questions: 1. Is it common or uncommon for a POI to ignore an email about your decision? 2. To complicate matters, she had previously said that she could reimburse me for travel expenses, but did not offer instructions on how to do that. Now, given the circumstances, it feels super awkward to inquire about reimbursement. Should I just suck it up and accept the cost? (It's $200, which would not matter terribly in the grand scheme of things.)

I use the app Goodbudget. It is not linked to bank accounts, which is good if you have concerns about security. Instead, you can set it to auto top-up your funds each month with a set amount (i.e., your monthly stipend allocation). You organize your funds and expenses by envelopes. For example, I have envelopes for groceries, household goods, transportation, etc. I also have one for the X amount I want to be saving each month. Your monthly sum of money gets divvied up into your envelopes, and you log expenses to subtract money from each category. I like that it also gives you feedback on whether you are using money at a rate above or below what would be expected if expenses were steady throughout the month. You can also link it across devices if there are multiple members of your household!

Sorry to resurrect an old thread here, but what is the convention for the "title" of a first-year PhD program student? It's a direct-entry program, and I do not yet have a Master's. I know that I am not yet a "PhD candidate," but am I a "PhD student" or a "MA candidate" ...?

I will be moving to Durham to start my PhD at Duke. I don't have a car, and I'd like to see if I can avoid buying one for now, if possible! I've found a place to live that is between campus and the downtown area (walkable to either), which is good. I'd like to get a bike, but I was wondering whether bike theft is an issue in Durham? I'm coming from Toronto, where it's seriously bad. Obviously I would have a bike lock, but I'd like to know if I should expect it to be stolen anyway, as that will inform the quality of bike I choose to buy.

I know it depends on the department, but I've heard that they can be willing to match competing funding offers, if that applies to you!

I'm also going into an experimental psych PhD program. I very strongly want to go into academia, but I am aware of the odds. I'm going to give it my all, but if it doesn't work out, I'd look for industry or government research positions. Would potentially also consider teaching-stream positions, but I definitely feel like a basic scientist at heart!

I'll be starting my PhD super young. I skipped a grade, so I'm graduating from undergrad this year at age 20. I'll turn 21 over the summer and start grad school in the fall. I think it really depends on your individual experiences and readiness! There's a lot of variability in the ages of incoming grad cohorts.

Hi, I've gone to UofT for the past four years for my undergrad. Yes, the stipend is unfortunately pretty low relative to the cost of living in Toronto. However, many students supplement that stipend with additional summer TAships, NSERC/SSHRC/CIHR funding, etc. They all report that it is livable. Living in Toronto, the biggest expense is definitely housing. The caveat of that, though, is that you will certainly need to have a roommate or two, and you will probably need to consider housing outside of the downtown core. There are plenty of places on the subway line that would connect you to the campus area. My experience is limited to living in the downtown core within walking distance to campus. I can give you some concrete estimates of cost for that radius: If you are living with 1-3 roommates, you can find a decent place for 800-1000 CAD a month, including utilities. It is possible to find cheaper places if you're fine with basement apartments. A studio is more like 1300-1500, which would presumably be out of your budget range on the grad stipend. Daily cost of living is not so bad; there are cheap food options to be found (try groceries in Chinatown/Kensington!). The main challenge will just be finding a place to live that doesn't eat up the whole stipend. *Note that the info provided above is under the assumption that you are referring to the St. George campus of UofT. If you're looking at the Scarborough or Missaussaga campuses, housing is cheaper and you'd probably live closer to campus.

I agree with the others that getting through the first round of the admissions process will most likely still depend mostly/entirely upon your credentials, unless you happen to get the faculty members you know reviewing your application (even then, it is a committee decision). However, I do think that if you made it through to an interview, you would then have an advantage! When I interviewed at my undergraduate institution for the PhD program, I definitely felt like a had a home-turf bonus. I was on good terms with many members of the department, which made every interview friendly and positive.

I'm in a very similar situation! I've been working on an original program of research for 1.5 years now as an undergraduate, and I'll be continuing data collection over the summer. Most likely, there will still be writing, revising, and possible follow-up studies extending into the first year of my PhD program. In my case, I am first author, and have no grad student or post-doc collaborators, so the responsibility of seeing this project through falls entirely on me (!!). I actually was up-front about this when I interviewed with POIs. I explained that my current program of research is my own, and I would like the opportunity to continue working on it (in addition to starting new projects). The PI I ultimately decided to work with was enthusiastic about this possibility, and even suggested that she could apply for a joint grant with my current mentor to keep our collaboration. In this case, though, my current research was a good fit for the PI's interests, because I am keeping continuity between my undergraduate and graduate studies. I suggest you 1. clarify authorship details, and 2. reach out to your future adviser to see if they are open to you bringing along some of your current work!

I came across this via academic Twitter the other day. It is the only concrete answer to the "how many pubs is enough, and how bad is the job market, really?" question that I have found. Pro: It's Canadian! Con: It's for cognitive psych positions, not clinical research, but I imagine it's still very relevant to you. https://psyarxiv.com/mxa35

Personally, I would really hesitate to go to NYC and pay my own way. Funding at Duke seems like a big pro for you, and from the description you write, it sounds like you would be more likely to thrive there. While you're definitely right that NYC wins on big-city opportunities, the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area contains many research institutions and has a strong tech startup scene, so there are probably still good options for you in the area outside of the program itself!

Before I finalized all my decisions yesterday, I met with my current mentor to talk it all through. My main goal was to get advice on how to turn down offers, because I felt terrible about it! She made the excellent point that if a PI gives you a hard time about declining and does not want the best for you, then that is a red flag potentially indicating that had you chosen to work with them, they would not have had your best interests at heart. I think you made the right call.

That depends on how big the disparity in supervisor quality would be. To be frank, that's a big prestige gap, which can matter (especially if you want to stay in academia). What about the supervisor at Queen's is more appealing to you? Just research topic, or mentorship style? I suggest you think seriously about how big the difference in supervisor quality would be, and whether it is great enough to balance/outweigh the relative prestige difference. If you're comparing "good" to "very good" for mentorship, I would suggest going with Cambridge. However, if the contrast is more like "bad" to "very good," then Queen's would be a better choice (a productive and completed degree from a less-prestigious institution is much better than a terrible experience elsewhere!)

I am declining my offers to Johns Hopkins, University of Toronto, and McGill (unofficial). Also withdrew from Columbia waitlist. Hope it helps someone!

@CogPhD18, congrats! I'll be meeting you this fall, then, as the CNAP cohort takes first-year classes with your group. (I also plan on affiliating with P&N eventually.)