Karajan

This is really helpful - Thanks so much!

The student emails that have no text at all and just an attachment (draft or whatever) are also pretty irritating...

Hi all, Any advice about how to deal with unprofessional student emails? I regularly get emails from students that do not begin with a salutation or end with a signature, demand answers to questions and fast responses to their drafts, and are generally impolite (i.e. do not use "please" or "thank you). How do you deal with these types of emails? Up until now, I've just responded normally and haven't included any note in the response asking them to be more professional. Today, however, I decided that I don't want to respond that way anymore because they really do need to learn professional email etiquette, so I responded to one such email with an answer to the student's question and a note to please make sure in the future that their emails adhere to professional email etiquette by beginning them with a salutation and ending with a signature. I then thanked the person for making sure that all future emails correspond to these guidelines. How do you handle these situations? Thanks!

Congratulations!

You need to find out what the academic requirements are of the programs you're applying to. If it's 2:1, your 3.5+ should be OK. If it's a 1st, you would need a higher GPA than what you have -- More like 3.70

I just wanted to let you know that I'm so sorry you're going through this. Everything is going to be OK. There will come a time when you will be able to look back on this, and things will have worked out.

I'll be there!

Thanks, guys. I'm going to make an announcement in my next class about this issue, and deal with it differently next time I get the flood of emails the night before an exam...

Hey guys -- Here's a question about answering student questions. Say it's the day before your undergrads' exam, and you're being flooded with questions from your students. Many of their questions can be answered by either a) looking at the textbook/their lecture notes or searching online. Do you answer those types of questions, or tell them to look up the answers themselves? I'm new to teaching, and tend to want my students to have the answers they need straightaway, but I feel like I'm being a push-over by answering all of these questions I *know* they can answer on their own; I may even be doing a disservice to them by not forcing them to be independent and self-sufficient. What's your take? [based on a true story!]

Thanks so much, Jean! I know that everything is alright, but, like so many grad students, I feel the need to be perfect in the work that I do. I know this is unrealistic, but there's a lot of pressure and it gets to me sometimes. Having strategies for dealing with those tough moments is important though -- THe suggestions on this page were very useful! I think that exercise is one fantastic way to relieve stress, as is taking time out and not working -- It's allowed!

Thanks so much for all of your responses!

Hey guys, Just wondering what tips you have to deal with the moments in grad school when the stress feels really overwhelming. I tend to go through moments like that and, I know it'll pass and I'll feel better, but getting through the overwhelmingly stressful moments can be really hard. Our programs are just so stressful sometimes! What do you guys do to feel better? Thanks!

Submit your strongest papers, whatever the topics happen to be.

WHEEE!!!

Hi there, Just chiming in with a word of encouragement -- Things have a way of working themselves out. You sound like someone with a lot of courage and dedication, and those are qualities that lead to good thing! It'll all be OK, no matter what you choose to do. Good luck!

Of course, try to do as well as you possibly can, but certainly don't get into the mindset that your GRE scores will make or break your application! I can't really comment on the impact of GRE scores on funding...

Try not to worry too much about GRE scores, guys! They are probably the least telling aspect of your application to committees.

Sent you a PM - Check your inbox!

Word of advice: There is no set of qualifications that you absolutely need to be admitted to top programs. People with only BA's get in, as do people with master's degrees. People with presentation experience get in, people without it get in. Don't try to fit a mold because there isn't one -- Just submit your best work, have good references, have solid reasons why you want to be in grad school/attend the programs you're applying to, have some sense of your research interests, and you'll be fine.

Congrats to everyone on their decisions! We have 3 incoming students this year in my dept -- Excited to have them join us!

Sounds like Columbia would be a good fit for you as an 18th c. person...

What are your research areas?

Yes! I posted that list... Should be in here somewhere!

Send me a PM and I'll chat with you about this :-) I'm an Oxbridge grad.

Hey guys, It's always such a huge downer to receive rejections -- I got one this morning! But I try to think of this guy, and others like him, who were rejected dozens of times before reaching their goal. This guy, Jack Andraka, received 199 rejections out of 200 applications he made for lab space and, with that one acceptance, he was able to get the lab space he needed to complete an amazing project that developed a new diagnostic tool for pancreatic cancer. Stay strong, guys!