fuzzylogician

Definitely not anyone who doesn't want to write you a letter, so Professor D is out. (But try and schedule a meeting and ask her in person, before you decide she is avoiding you.) Probably not the professor who you think views you as young and immature and may not like your research output (but again you may want to ask in person before you decide what people think for them). Also not professors who can't say anything about you beyond the grade you got in their class. That information is on your transcript, so it'll be a completely useless letter. That leaves mostly Processor C, in my opinion. It's not very important that he/she can talk about your grades. Instead, you want letter writers to be able to say something beyond what the adcom can just read in your transcript - be it your enthusiasm, devotion to research, teaching ability, etc.

The professor who knows you better.

My response would be: Sigh. If you're going down this route, you should make this paragraph much more concise (read: less wordy). The verbiage betrays the cheekiness that you are aiming for; having to go back and reread this several times just left me a little bit puzzled about what it is that you think you are doing here. Once it's very tight, give it to several professors to read and watch their reaction closely. If they recoil, take it out immediately. Honestly, I would not take this chance, but I understand that not everybody agrees with my conservative approach. But if you stay in academia then you will write quite a few more essays that "sell" yourself and your work and they will all need to conform to a formulaic, precise and professional template. I think it's a much better exercise to view this statement as the first in a long line of boring research statements as opposed to a place to get very creative.

I'm not just talking about a smart student asking smart questions. I'm talking about a student who consistently asks questions that are outside the scope of our discussion, and who can't take no for an answer. We have a quiz coming up next week and as much as I'd enjoy discussing (genuinely) interesting stuff that is tangentially related to the class, I want my kids to succeed in the quiz and for that we need to focus on drills that are directly related to what we're doing in class, even though they may not be as exciting. We're talking here about someone who can't sit quietly and raise their hand, nor do they let any other person in class answer questions - they just shout out all the (correct) answers to my questions. So, it's more than just a bright kid who wants to learn more. Thanks, that's good advice. I'll see if we have a similar office on campus. I should say that the main instructor has been very good about helping me deal with this person and their questions but it's hard to have someone who just won't let the other kids speak up. They also don't self-identify as having a problem, so bringing the issue up is a little bit tricky.

Oh, that's bizarre. I'll ask bgk about that, thanks for letting me know!

What do you mean practical? It's the same as with any other exam. You learn the material you don't already know and you practice. Is that unrealistic? Well, it depends on how much material you have to learn, how good you are at it, and how much time you have for completing the task.

Look. First of all, you need to stop comparing her situation to your own. That's exactly what she is doing, and you don't seem to like it when it's done to you. She seems to think (perhaps incorrectly) that it's better to be apart for extended periods of time than having a constant on-again off-again relationship. I've done long distance and I know it's difficult but I can imagine that the constant and frequent shift in intensities is also no fun in a relationship. Either way, there is no one solution that fits all and you need to stop envying her for her situation, just as you'd like her to stop envying yours. Same point goes for the sex issue - is she supposed to not have sex with her boyfriend when he visits just because you don't get frequent visits of your own? There is no sensible way to interpret her actions as rude towards you in that regard. The noise issue, on the other hand, is a real problem and I think you should address it. The way to do that is to have a polite conversation where you explain that you're a light sleeper and that she kept you up the other night, along with the remedies that you suggested in your post. At the same time, on your end, you should get your ipod fixed (or leave your computer on, or whatever else works) so you're not completely dependent on her actions, since she doesn't sound like the most considerate person and that's likely not going to change - at least not very quickly. Remember, moving away from home and becoming an independent adult is a process and not a smooth transition.

I am counting on my advisors to mention any useful but non-obvious skill I learned in graduate school in their letters of recommendation if/when it becomes apparent that it's relevant for the jobs I'm applying for. Adding a line to my CV stating that I learned obscure method X seems much less effective and is, at this point, probably completely unnecessary. If it turns out that I'm applying for jobs where it could be helpful, or if they'll want to give an example of how I can go off the beaten track and teach myself methods from other fields, then they can discuss these skills. (Mind you, I hope to use all the obscure skills I've had to teach myself in papers I write, to show direct evidence of what I've learned, but that may not always work out.)

Maybe a better wording would have been "just rotate until you find a lab you like and can join!" but I generally agree with the sentiment. You want to find a lab and PI that you are comfortable working with. The decisions you make now can make or break your career (and spirit) when you come closer to graduating and when you're looking for jobs afterwards. Make sure that you take the time and make a good decision.

As far as I know it should be possible for you to apply for a SSN at the US embassy where you currently live. Check out the embassy website or contact them to find out the details. Here is the information for the US embassy in the London: http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/faqs/faq_fbu_ssn.html

What you probably need to do is have a conversation with the PI. Say that you feel the atmosphere in the lab has soured since this person arrived because for some reason she believes that someone is sabotaging her work. If I were you I would not mention that I think she's blaming me unless I had first-hand knowledge of it, unless the PI brings the question up. Just ask for help dealing with the situation, that's what the PI is there for.

I really don't think this is about your GPA. A 3.57 is no where near any cutoff I've ever heard about, so I don't think your applications get automatically disqualified. Rather, this seems to be an issue with the next step in the process - your SOP and LORs. You need to be extra-careful with your SOP - you need to explain your past and alleviate adcoms' concerns that whatever caused your unusual background is still a problem. Adcoms want to admit students who have a good chance of finishing the program in a timely fashion and be successful. You need to demonstrate that you can be that student, and if your past makes it seem less likely then you need to clearly address it and explain how things are different now. The other potential issue is LORs - you want strong academic LORs that can attest to your abilities and preferably address your commitment level and follow-through on projects. Your research background sounds relatively strong, so it's probably these other issues that are holding you back.

Other people addressed some other aspects of the situation, which I tend to agree with. This sounds more like a bad relationship than a bad advisor. The one point I wanted to make here is that you seem to be a little bit confused about the notion of advising. Yes, it's your work, but it directly reflects on your advisor if she lets it leave from under her hands and be published or submitted as a graduate thesis with her blessing. If she has concerns about your work, she can and should bring them up and insist that you fix the problems. If the relationship is healthy, you should be able to discuss the issues with her and agree on a course of action. You should understand why she asks you to make certain changes and you should be able to communicate any reservations you may have. Mind you, you might not always agree and in that case, it may just be that you have to do things her way because the buck stops with her and not with you, so to speak. Given your description of not meeting your advisor's expectations for work times and taking the work seriously, and for needing a different kind of mentoring than she is giving you (i.e., more positive criticism), I think that your relationship is probably not the best. Since you're three years in and it sounds like you are close to finishing the degree, I would argue that it's a more reasonable course of action to do your best to manage the situation and get out of it with the degree, rather than start over with a new advisor - even if it means you have to compromise on some things.

Must be field dependent. I found the first year to be the hardest - moving to a new country, making friends, settling in, getting used to the classes, having virtually no time for research. The second semester was better because I had some friends and could get back to research. Over the summer I developed a major project; I made the friends I have now in the beginning of my second year, and it's been improving ever since. As I become better adjusted and the classes/research ratio shifts ever more towards research, I definitely feel my well being tracking those trends and changes.

Actually the question was about the work load in linguistics, which you did not comment on. If you're going to pick up on another part of the original post, it helps to spell out your point of view instead of posting obnoxious one-liners.

And you're telling us this because ... ?

Have you tried telling the instructor that you're not following the class? The instructor is obviously making incorrect assumptions about what you all know and don't know and if you don't correct these assumptions then you'll just get further and further behind. Often enough just making it clear will take care of the problem - the instructor might slow down or go back to materials that were not clear, or simply refer you to study guides and explain what background they are assuming. Any of those would be preferable to the current situation of being lost without hope. You should organize a group that can approach the instructor, or if you're scared or ashamed (which you shouldn't be!) then seek out a student representative from your program who is not in the class, or the DGS. Don't let the problem worsen without trying to solve it.

There are relevant threads in the grads forums you should look up. Basically my two main thoughts are these: (1) The job will take from you everything that you give it. If you devote your entire day to studying, that's what your life will look like. You need to ACTIVELY schedule your other important activities - including (if necessary) sleep, work-out time, household activities time, hobbies, friends, relaxation. It can be hard to keep to a work-day like schedule - at the very least there will be some times when you have to work longer hours before deadlines - but barring that I think it's important to have at least one day off, if not more. You're not necessarily more productive if you spend more time at the office. (2) You cannot, I repeat, CANNOT, possibly do all the required readings and assignments in graduate school. You need to start to prioritize. Some readings need to go undone; some assignments need to be done just-well-enough but not perfectly. Concentrate on doing a good job when it matters and on the projects that are relevant to your future career. If you're a phonologist with no aspirations to become a theoretical semanticist, then it won't hurt if you write a shorter paper or spend less time on the assignments in that course. Do a good job in presentations and published papers, and do the work that will lead you there well. Other things need to be prioritized lower and treated accordingly. As for the comparison with professional programs, I can't help much except to point out that it's probably not a fair comparison and that even if it was, it wouldn't be useful. I think you'd benefit more from just doing a better job taking care of yourself and being mindful of how you invest your time.

Yes, you can put things like that on your CV and probably no one will immediately find out that you weren't really there. However, academia is a small world and everyone knows everyone. Eventually you will run into someone who actually was there, or your professors will. If someone ever finds out you lied on your CV and added credentials you don't really have, that will have dire consequences. I, personally, would not want to have anything to do with that kind of person, and I bet you I'm not the only one. Your academic integrity is something to hold on to and preserve, not play with. No one wants to hire a liar.

Yep, Service. That's what it's usually called on academic CVs.

I'd say it shouldn't be a priority in case word limits are an issue, but it won't hurt to mention it in your SOP if you have the space. I agree that you shouldn't just list courses, that's what the CV is for, but you can mention the techniques you learned when you talk about your interests or plans for future work, if it's relevant there.

In addition to what others have said, you could try looking into the resources that your university provides for problems such as yours. For example, there may be councilors you can consult for legal rights as well as for general advice about how to proceed. Perhaps the student council can find someone experienced to support you on-site on your campus, or can provide someone to advocate for you with the program or school authorities. Maybe you need to seek out the ombudsperson or the assistant dean in charge of graduate students. All these contingencies depend upon you being able to prove that your advisor is unfairly taking advantage of you and that he is not letting you graduate for irrelevant reasons so before you talk to anyone you need to decide what you can prove. If all else fails, I think that emmm's suggestion has a high chance of working. Once you make it clear to your advisor that he can't take advantage of you, he'll have to let you go one way or the other - you just need to make sure it's the way you want, with the degree!

Yeah, that one I know. I was hoping for something more.

So this is a somewhat sensitive situation, but I was wondering if anyone has ever had to deal with students with some kind of Autistic or similar disorder in a class you were teaching. I have a student who is probably some kind of genius is what he does and is also very interested in the material I teach, but unfortunately he often goes off on tangents or asks unrelated and/or too advanced questions that I cannot address in class. He constantly has his hand up to ask some kind of question and he certainly means well and is excited about what we're doing. He's not one of those students who just want to appear smart by asking complicated questions. I don't want to stifle his enthusiasm but on the other hand I need to think of the other students in the class, to whom I'm sure he is very distracting. Has anyone been in a similar situation in the past?

No good reason on a personal level, but on a more institutional level several of my professors use dropbox and have shared folders with me, so I need to have a dropbox account anyway. I'd prefer not to have my information spread over many services so I keep everything there.