Adviser just bailed on me. SO LOST!

[Pink Rose]

I can't seem to find a new adviser, and I contacted the department head. I don't know if I should continue writing at this point.

 

My topic is good, but I cannot believe my adviser just bailed and said, "I have prior commitments." What am I to do?

[FCP]

At this point, the only thing you can do is find another advisor and keep it moving. Sorry to hear about your misfortune. 

[Pink Rose]

At this point, the only thing you can do is find another advisor and keep it moving. Sorry to hear about your misfortune. 

That's okay. Thanks so much. I'm just wondering if the chat users are right. They keep telling me to write a letter of complaint.

[FCP]

That's okay. Thanks so much. I'm just wondering if the chat users are right. They keep telling me to write a letter of complaint.

well you could do that too. You were kind of left out in the open. 

[Loric]

Well, the old adviser is certainly doing you no favors. See what the department head says. If there is a venue for a formal complaint, I don't see why not to pursue it.

[fuzzylogician]

There are a lot of details missing here. Is this a PhD program or an MA? How far along are you? Have you written (and defended) a thesis proposal/prospectus? How much writing have you done already? How long have you been working with your advisor? Is your advising relationship a formal one or have you been working with several people at the same time? Were you assigned to your advisor or did they explicitly agree to take you on as an advisee? Are there other professors in the department you could work with? Do you have a committee? Are you planning to stay in academia or leave once you get your degree? 

 

You make it sound like everything was going great, and then suddenly your advisor decided not to work with you anymore. That is not an impossible story, but it is somewhat improbable. Were there any warning signs before they decided not to work with you anymore? 

 

I think that contacting the department head is the logical next step, but I would advise against taking this issue out of the department and complaining elsewhere until some of the other questions I asked are answered. First figure things out and find a solution within your department, then you can think about taking other measures. Complaining may cause the department trouble and that may be what you want, but I wouldn't do that until I knew that my situation was solved (if at all) because causing them trouble is not going to make them want to help you. 

[Pink Rose]

There are a lot of details missing here. Is this a PhD program or an MA? How far along are you? Have you written (and defended) a thesis proposal/prospectus? How much writing have you done already? How long have you been working with your advisor? Is your advising relationship a formal one or have you been working with several people at the same time? Were you assigned to your advisor or did they explicitly agree to take you on as an advisee? Are there other professors in the department you could work with? Do you have a committee? Are you planning to stay in academia or leave once you get your degree? 

 

You make it sound like everything was going great, and then suddenly your advisor decided not to work with you anymore. That is not an impossible story, but it is somewhat improbable. Were there any warning signs before they decided not to work with you anymore? 

 

I think that contacting the department head is the logical next step, but I would advise against taking this issue out of the department and complaining elsewhere until some of the other questions I asked are answered. First figure things out and find a solution within your department, then you can think about taking other measures. Complaining may cause the department trouble and that may be what you want, but I wouldn't do that until I knew that my situation was solved (if at all) because causing them trouble is not going to make them want to help you. 

 

Well, better believe it, because that is exactly what happened. I'm an MA student writing my thesis.

[nohika]

Well, better believe it, because that is exactly what happened. I'm an MA student writing my thesis.

You didn't answer the rest of Fuzzy's questions. Without that information, it makes it more difficult to advise you properly.

[Pink Rose]

There are a lot of details missing here. Is this a PhD program or an MA? How far along are you? Have you written (and defended) a thesis proposal/prospectus? How much writing have you done already? How long have you been working with your advisor? Is your advising relationship a formal one or have you been working with several people at the same time? Were you assigned to your advisor or did they explicitly agree to take you on as an advisee? Are there other professors in the department you could work with? Do you have a committee? Are you planning to stay in academia or leave once you get your degree? 

 

You make it sound like everything was going great, and then suddenly your advisor decided not to work with you anymore. That is not an impossible story, but it is somewhat improbable. Were there any warning signs before they decided not to work with you anymore? 

 

I think that contacting the department head is the logical next step, but I would advise against taking this issue out of the department and complaining elsewhere until some of the other questions I asked are answered. First figure things out and find a solution within your department, then you can think about taking other measures. Complaining may cause the department trouble and that may be what you want, but I wouldn't do that until I knew that my situation was solved (if at all) because causing them trouble is not going to make them want to help you. 

 

Do you know any tutoring or writing help services that can assist me in formulating my thesis project?

[St Andrews Lynx]

Based upon your previous threads about choosing a thesis topic on firstly "Rebutting Ann Coulter" then "Islam & Woman", it sounds like you didn't really know (i) what would make an appropriate thesis topic (ii) how to go about writing a comparative literature thesis (i.e, that it needs to be based off a few pieces of primary literature). You were also changing your mind pretty quickly about what you wanted to write.

 

I can imagine that if your advisor thought you were ill-prepared to write a thesis he might have second thoughts about advising you. 

[Pink Rose]

Based upon your previous threads about choosing a thesis topic on firstly "Rebutting Ann Coulter" then "Islam & Woman", it sounds like you didn't really know (i) what would make an appropriate thesis topic (ii) how to go about writing a comparative literature thesis (i.e, that it needs to be based off a few pieces of primary literature). You were also changing your mind pretty quickly about what you wanted to write.

 

I can imagine that if your advisor thought you were ill-prepared to write a thesis he might have second thoughts about advising you. 

 

Umm... my thesis is halfway done, honey. I need an editing service to ensure that it's well written. My adviser left me by saying that I had one of the best and most passionate topics. She simply said that she had "prior commitments."

[juilletmercredi]

This story does not add up/does not make any sense.  It simply doesn't make any sense that an adviser would agree to advise you, get you halfway through the thesis, praise you for the quality of the thesis and then pull out claiming prior commitments.  I'm not saying that it didn't happen, I just find it very hard to believe.  Why didn't you answer any of fuzzy's questions?  I am very curious.

 

Also, how can your thesis be halfway done if less than a week ago you were shopping two separate thesis topics?  Just two days ago you asked how to formulate body paragraphs.

 

In any case, most campuses having a writing center that you can go to if you need writing help.  But if you need line by line editing you usually have to pay for that - look for flyers on campus or check on Craigslist.  Often there are English PhD students who do this for a little extra cash on the side.

Edited February 1, 2014 by juilletmercredi

[Pink Rose]

This story does not add up/does not make any sense.  It simply doesn't make any sense that an adviser would agree to advise you, get you halfway through the thesis, praise you for the quality of the thesis and then pull out claiming prior commitments.  I'm not saying that it didn't happen, I just find it very hard to believe.  Why didn't you answer any of fuzzy's questions?  I am very curious.

 

Also, how can your thesis be halfway done if less than a week ago you were shopping two separate thesis topics?  Just two days ago you asked how to formulate body paragraphs.

 

In any case, most campuses having a writing center that you can go to if you need writing help.  But if you need line by line editing you usually have to pay for that - look for flyers on campus or check on Craigslist.  Often there are English PhD students who do this for a little extra cash on the side.

 

I was going to scrap the thesis I have now and work on something else, but I decided to stick with my topic. I'm actually doing quite well with my project. Do you really expect me to read all of that? Lol!

 

But I did find a few editors on my school campus. I'm almost done writing, so I'll have them take a look at it as soon as my new adviser gives me the "Okay. Go."

[Eigen]

So you want advise, but are too busy to answer the questions we'd need to advise you?

[Loric]

Or you're just fishing for things to be judegemental and insulting about - which is fairly obvious - and providing any information at all no matter the validity would just be kindling to your burning desire to talk down to someone in the internet. Thus she would be ill advised to give you an inch, never mind the mile you're demanding. There's always that too.

Don't pretend you have anyone's best interest at heart but your own.

[Pink Rose]

Or you're just fishing for things to be judegemental and insulting about - which is fairly obvious - and providing any information at all no matter the validity would just be kindling to your burning desire to talk down to someone in the internet. Thus she would be ill advised to give you an inch, never mind the mile you're demanding. There's always that too.

Don't pretend you have anyone's best interest at heart but your own.

 

 LOL!!! You're funny.

[Pink Rose]

So you want advise, but are too busy to answer the questions we'd need to advise you?

 

You're using the collective "we." Why, did you have the same questions? At least make them a bit concise so you don't overwhelm your reader. I'm assuming you never studied literature.

[Pink Rose]

But since you are all dying for details, here they are. I'm a very private person, so excuse me if I don't give out full details.

 

Yes, I'm in an MA program, my last semester.

The thesis is halfway done.

 

I've been working with her for about three months now, but she had an "emergency" and "prior commitments" come up. I approached her for my topic, she accepted, we worked on my thesis, then she dropped me because of her "emergency."

 

I got into Columbia for a PhD program, so I need to ensure my graduation date. I'm planning to get my PhD in Comparative Literature.

 

I've spoken to the committee, and they paired me up with a new adviser. Problem solved.

 

Happy now, everyone?

[Eigen]

You seem like a very abrasive person, at least online.

And yes, those were all pretty necessary questions to know the answers to to give advice. I didn't think they needed to be restated, as they were already quite specific.

[Pink Rose]

You seem like a very abrasive person, at least online.

And yes, those were all pretty necessary questions to know the answers to to give advice. I didn't think they needed to be restated, as they were already quite specific.

 

But if someone else is abrasive towards me, it's okay? 

[Loric]

You seem like a very abrasive person, at least online.

And yes, those were all pretty necessary questions to know the answers to to give advice. I didn't think they needed to be restated, as they were already quite specific.

 

You were right.. I was wrong wrong.. I'm sorry..

 

*not enough face palms to express this feeling*

[Loric]

But if someone else is abrasive towards me, it's okay? 

 

For the record, I was actually telling them to be nice to you and to retract their claws. However your frighteningly egocentric viewpoint pretty much made the case for them.

[Pink Rose]

For the record, I was actually telling them to be nice to you and to retract their claws. However your frighteningly egocentric viewpoint pretty much made the case for them.

 

Honey, I'm sorry. I thought you were talking to me. Please forgive me. I'm just so used to people getting angry at me on here when I ask specific questions. I hope you'll forgive me for my stupid, careless mistake.

[Lisa44201]

... Why would you change the topic of your thesis in your final semester?

[Pink Rose]

... Why would you change the topic of your thesis in your final semester?

 

I don't know. I figured it would be best to change the topic in order to find an adviser, but I was very wrong.