R.S.

I would contact your old advisers first and see if they'd be willing to write another letter of recommendation. I am considering leaving and that was the first thing I did. You would be surprised how willing they are to help!

Thanks again for all the advice. I asked about undergraduate courses, but there's honestly just no time to do it, and the undergraduate courses wouldn't help with what I'm taking now. Completely different material and style. We've gotten tutors and are continuing to do our best. We'll see what happens come December. Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst. ;(

Thanks guys. I do have a tutor, who was next to impossible to find, but he literally told our study group that "we were screwed" in the middle of a study session. That's the kind of environment this is. It's awful. I'll take everyone's advice. Especially the part about sitting down and figuring out what I want to do with my life. All I know is right now, nothing is worth the damage this is doing to me. I have no choice but to stick it out until the end of the semester though, but I really do think I'll leave and try other options. Thanks again.

I'm a first year biology grad student at a really good school. The problem is, I bombed my first set of midterms. As did half of my program. After much begging for help, we finally got assigned tutors, but they don't know what they're talking about and are not helping us. The people that are doing well in our program are not open to helping us, and the people in other departments are cliquey and somewhat mean. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, don't know how to correct it, and am receiving very little support/guidance from my program. On top of all of this, I feel out of place. I like my research, but I don't love it. I've never loved research, but I've always been good at it. I produce good data but....some mornings I have to force myself to go in. It's never been like this for me. I've had jobs I've hated with a passion and I've never felt this way. My classmates are not very receptive to my efforts to become friends (every time I ask if they'd like to grad a drink or a bite, I get a yes, and then an awkward text two hours later with some excuse). I've made efforts to fit in that have all failed. The half of my program that is doing poorly is in the same situation I'm in. I want to leave. I am honestly sadder than I've been my entire life. Never have I worked this hard and done this poorly. I wish I was slacking but I'm not, and I'm doing my best to get better but no one will guide me and I can't figure this out on my own. I'm in a terrible place emotionally and it's putting a strain on my relationships with loved ones too. What should I do at this point? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. ;(

I'm not updating it until I'm registered and I've secured housing. I'm a tiny bit superstitous.

When I was on the interview trail, I asked current graduate students about this. All of them told me the same thing: Don't break up with your signifcant other solely because you're worried about the coursework. All that will do is make you depressed, burn out, and very resentful towards the program. "You've gotten in so you've got to have good time management skills. That's all that matters, really. You can have a social life if you're careful with your time." I'm not expecting to have the same sort of relationship I have now, and neither does he. Just talk it over with them and be honest. Also, as my significant other told me, I've got to eat sometime, so it might as well be with him!

I'm a current Junior with a 3.75 GPA (3.651 major GPA) at Brooklyn College. I'm currently during research in a lab focusing on insulin-resistance in mice, and by the time I graduate, should have 2 years of research completed. I'm looking into graduate schools right now, and have a few questions on what I should do in order to get into a program. 1) I'm currently taking Physics I, and was wondering how crucial Physics II is to get into a biology program focusing on Ecology and Evolution? 2) Does anyone know anything about the CUNY Graduate program? 3) Will my undergraduate college be detrimental to getting into graduate school? I have around 75 credits in the sciences/maths (Evolution, Comparative Physiology, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Organismic Biology, Zoology, Chemistry I and II, Organic I with plans to take Organic II next semester, Botany, etc), but am worried that the fact that I go to a CUNY will weaken my transcript in the eyes of admissions. 4) Are there any courses/steps I should absolutely be taking right now? I've already started to study for the GRE and plan on also taking the subject test in biology. Any advice/comments/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!