We've wined, we've waited, now it's time to celebrate 2016

[spectastic]

17 hours ago, EveryDay said:

I wish I had never started this. This crap will put a load on my marriage.

 

Just working and having free evenings was such a better life that I didn't appreciate. My field is going to be overloaded and dead-end by the time I graduate anyways, there's no point in any of this. Maybe if I was smart enough I could actually get stuff done.

sounds like either you need a vacation or reevaluate your priorities. 

[spectastic]

On 10/7/2016 at 10:24 PM, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

Unfortunately if you get an iPhone 4, it won't be able to upgrade to the last few iOS versions which is required by many apps. As long as you hold off on updating apps and are okay with the (I think small) loss of functionality, I totally agree that the iPhone 4 is great since it's probably free (or maybe even the 5 is free now.) 

that's ok, I only use like 10 apps, half of which I use regularly, and they're all really basic, and available on the old OS. I don't have facebook or imgur or any of that extra shit on there anymore, which is a good thing, because less distractions. although, compared to 4G, this 3G is slow AF.

On 10/7/2016 at 7:03 PM, Neist said:

You know, I'd love a smaller phone; they are all huge anymore. However, I love fingerprint scanner on my Nexus 5X. I can log into my bank account without my password, as can I log into PayPal or pay for things on Amazon or Google Play. 

I never thought I'd use the fingerprint scanner when I first got the phone, but it's become my favorite feature.

yea, it's neat and all. I can totally see how people would find it useful for security and convenience. I don't do any purchases with my phone. only sensitive information i have on there is email, and even that doesn't have anything I want to hide from anyone. phone is a phone to me. to some people it's like their lives. and there's everything in between.

[avflinsch]

On 10/10/2016 at 1:23 PM, Neist said:

This weekend I burned through about 400 pages of Descartes. I'm not even sure what I'm thinking anymore

There is probably an anti-Descartes quote in there somewhere.

I'm not thinking, therefore I'm not ?

 

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

I'm sad that this forum doesn't have an emoji that encapsulates the stress of grad school, but I guess this is close enough --> 

[ARau]

Thanks for the budget tips posted on this page. It's time to celebrate the fall of 2016 and I have already prepared a list of cosmetics and skin care products which I have to buy. Lancome is my favourite amongst cosmetics and my neighbour has suggested me Image Skin Care for cleanser and toner. She says their anti aging solutions are best.

 

[Neist]

16 hours ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

I'm sad that this forum doesn't have an emoji that encapsulates the stress of grad school, but I guess this is close enough --> 

I'm a little irked that my program's expectations demand that dual majors be more overworked than regular MA students.

I think I'm going to talk to someone in order to see if I can get an extra semester to complete my degrees. 

[Need Coffee in an IV]

still surviving and thriving. inventory will kill me one day though ha. its fun to organize all the samples! plus one of my bosses request my CV because he thinks i'll be perfect for a particular grant he is working on. so far lowest grade has been an A-. Its nice to see people haven't died from stress yet! Still having trouble identifying bones though sigh

[Neist]

6 hours ago, Need Coffee in an IV said:

still surviving and thriving. inventory will kill me one day though ha. its fun to organize all the samples! plus one of my bosses request my CV because he thinks i'll be perfect for a particular grant he is working on. so far lowest grade has been an A-. Its nice to see people haven't died from stress yet! Still having trouble identifying bones though sigh

 

Glad to hear from you! I managed to get a B on a paper, but I admit that it wasn't a great effort. It's difficult to put in as much effort as I would like when I have little to no time to polish a paper.

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

I have my first exam today... fortunately, GPA doesn't matter in the slightest here, but I'm still going to get steamrolled and it's going to be bad.

But on the bright side, we got our first snow, and it stuck! Yay!

[Need Coffee in an IV]

18 hours ago, Neist said:

Glad to hear from you! I managed to get a B on a paper, but I admit that it wasn't a great effort. It's difficult to put in as much effort as I would like when I have little to no time to polish a paper.

lol its ok, i just jinx myself and got a B on my second paper! Oh well, I'm not worried. @Pink Fuzzy Bunny Yeah GPA is really important but I guess its because the program is a terminal degree.

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

Well, I knew I was going to get steamrolled on that exam but not to that extent. I felt pretty confident going in - I had put a lot of work into this class to the point where I was more comfortable with the material than any class I had in undergrad. The whole semester I studied probably 30-40 hours per week for this class... doing homework problems, doing extra problems, talking to the prof/TA, etc....

I got maybe a 25%. Sat down and couldn't even answer two of the four questions. And it wasn't a lack of studying, I just... had no. idea. at all. And of course, everyone after the exam says "Oh, it wasn't that hard!" Like, is that supposed to make me feel better?

[Neist]

4 hours ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

Well, I knew I was going to get steamrolled on that exam but not to that extent. I felt pretty confident going in - I had put a lot of work into this class to the point where I was more comfortable with the material than any class I had in undergrad. The whole semester I studied probably 30-40 hours per week for this class... doing homework problems, doing extra problems, talking to the prof/TA, etc....

I got maybe a 25%. Sat down and couldn't even answer two of the four questions. And it wasn't a lack of studying, I just... had no. idea. at all. And of course, everyone after the exam says "Oh, it wasn't that hard!" Like, is that supposed to make me feel better?

 

 

I've sort of thrown my hands up at this point. I'm going to do the best I can with the time I'm given. As long as my grade are sufficient enough to maintain funding, I'm not sure if I care all that much. 

Edited October 28, 2016 by Neist
Typo.

[Need Coffee in an IV]

@Pink Fuzzy Bunny Ouch I'm sorry about that. Grades are pretty much like money, just talking about them sets off landmines. @Neist I care a lot, maybe a bit too much lol. I would have to say I've become a lot less worried though. It seems like I'm plateauing with my ratio of level of effort and grades, so I'm focusing my neurotic behavior on other things ha

[MarineBluePsy]

 

On 10/26/2016 at 5:54 PM, Neist said:

I'm a little irked that my program's expectations demand that dual majors be more overworked than regular MA students.

I think I'm going to talk to someone in order to see if I can get an extra semester to complete my degrees. 

An extra semester doesn't seem like an unreasonable request.  Are there courses offered during summer or could you do something as an independent study to stay on schedule?  I would not have finished my MA on time if it weren't for summer classes.

On 10/28/2016 at 11:18 AM, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

Well, I knew I was going to get steamrolled on that exam but not to that extent. I felt pretty confident going in - I had put a lot of work into this class to the point where I was more comfortable with the material than any class I had in undergrad. The whole semester I studied probably 30-40 hours per week for this class... doing homework problems, doing extra problems, talking to the prof/TA, etc....

I got maybe a 25%. Sat down and couldn't even answer two of the four questions. And it wasn't a lack of studying, I just... had no. idea. at all. And of course, everyone after the exam says "Oh, it wasn't that hard!" Like, is that supposed to make me feel better?

Me too!  I put in just as much work as you did, talked with the professor/TA, found additional tutorials on my own time and did them, did the homework, read the chapters, did all of the optional supplemental practice questions, felt ok going into the exam and still earned a lovely 30%.  And yep everyone else thought it was such a breeze.  *sigh*  Then I had another chat with the professor that boiled down to "you must be disabled or stupid, which is it?" and being told I'm on my own, gee that was super helpful and not at all insulting.  So I'm still hanging in there and am waiting for the results of the most recent exam that I am hoping I did better on because not passing this class will jeopardize my funding.

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

19 minutes ago, MarineBluePsy said:

 

Me too!  I put in just as much work as you did, talked with the professor/TA, found additional tutorials on my own time and did them, did the homework, read the chapters, did all of the optional supplemental practice questions, felt ok going into the exam and still earned a lovely 30%.  And yep everyone else thought it was such a breeze.  *sigh*  Then I had another chat with the professor that boiled down to "you must be disabled or stupid, which is it?" and being told I'm on my own, gee that was super helpful and not at all insulting.  So I'm still hanging in there and am waiting for the results of the most recent exam that I am hoping I did better on because not passing this class will jeopardize my funding.

No offense, but I'm kind of glad someone else is struggling. I also felt good going into the exam and did previous years' exams and flew through them. Fortunately my professor is not as much of an %$& as yours is, holy cow. 

[MarineBluePsy]

1 hour ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

No offense, but I'm kind of glad someone else is struggling. I also felt good going into the exam and did previous years' exams and flew through them. Fortunately my professor is not as much of an %$& as yours is, holy cow. 

I'm not at all offended!  In fact I was as relieved as you seeing your post!  I get that being in graduate school means we're above average in terms of ambition and intelligence compared to many people (not saying all, there are exceptions), but it does not mean we're all geniuses that instantly perform amazingly or immediately excel at everything.  If we didn't have things to learn then we wouldn't need to be in our programs.

 

[Neist]

4 hours ago, MarineBluePsy said:

An extra semester doesn't seem like an unreasonable request.  Are there courses offered during summer or could you do something as an independent study to stay on schedule?  I would not have finished my MA on time if it weren't for summer classes.

 

Of my two degrees, one program only offers directed readings of the summer (of which I'm only allowed one during my MA), and the other program only offers highly specialized courses during the summer (most of which are not relevant to my interests). 

I'm going to take two classes this summer, but beyond those two courses, I'm unsure if I'll be able to take classes in the summer ever again.

I think I have rather sound reasoning to extend my degree by a month. One MA takes 30 hours, and they expect a two-year completion. Okay. The dual MA takes 54 hours and they expect that I'll do it in three. And my course load is more structured, so a typical MA gets a few electives (so they could take more summer DR courses). Taking two summer directed readings courses, one could complete an MA in the history of science side of the MA on two courses a semester. I'm almost required to take three a semester.

[MarineBluePsy]

18 hours ago, Neist said:

Of my two degrees, one program only offers directed readings of the summer (of which I'm only allowed one during my MA), and the other program only offers highly specialized courses during the summer (most of which are not relevant to my interests). 

I'm going to take two classes this summer, but beyond those two courses, I'm unsure if I'll be able to take classes in the summer ever again.

I think I have rather sound reasoning to extend my degree by a month. One MA takes 30 hours, and they expect a two-year completion. Okay. The dual MA takes 54 hours and they expect that I'll do it in three. And my course load is more structured, so a typical MA gets a few electives (so they could take more summer DR courses). Taking two summer directed readings courses, one could complete an MA in the history of science side of the MA on two courses a semester. I'm almost required to take three a semester.

Well if an extra month is all you need maybe they'll be open to seeing that month happening during a summer you don't have classes to take or winter intersession or at the beginning of Fall if that becomes the best option.  It also might spark them to consider restructuring the dual program because surely you're not the only student who has run into this challenge.  What have past students done?  Just burnt out stacking up too many courses in Fall and Spring?

[rhombusbombus]

i keep telling myself that grades don't matter, but it's hard when they hammer in the importance of grades throughout undergrad!

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

2 hours ago, rhombusbombus said:

i keep telling myself that grades don't matter, but it's hard when they hammer in the importance of grades throughout undergrad!

Yeah seriously! It's so strange to think that our grades will never matter again (but after last week's exam... I'm so thankful)

[Neist]

8 hours ago, MarineBluePsy said:

Well if an extra month is all you need maybe they'll be open to seeing that month happening during a summer you don't have classes to take or winter intersession or at the beginning of Fall if that becomes the best option.  It also might spark them to consider restructuring the dual program because surely you're not the only student who has run into this challenge.  What have past students done?  Just burnt out stacking up too many courses in Fall and Spring?

 

 

 

That should have been an extra semester. Emperor of typos shall not be dethroned soon.  

To be honest, there isn't a lot of people who go through this program. It's pretty particular, and I doubt there have been more than 3-4 students in the program in the last five years; you've to be independently accepted into both departments, and you have to compete with the entire history of science department for funding (only 2 of us applicants got funding this year).

5 hours ago, rhombusbombus said:

i keep telling myself that grades don't matter, but it's hard when they hammer in the importance of grades throughout undergrad!

Graduate students are the best to critique the nature of graduate school because the transition is still very fresh. I'm enjoying myself, but something about the entire process seems very broken, or at the very least misaligned.

Edited October 30, 2016 by Neist

[Neist]

Oh, and I'm totally getting an unwelcome sense of deja vu. I asked my old boss to write me a reference for a scholarship application to rare book school (a very specialized training program in LIS). This perhaps three to four weeks ago? I asked if they could have the letter to me by last Monday, with the caveat that while the application isn't due until tomorrow, I can't even begin the application materials without the reference letter; the system doesn't allow it.

I have no letter as of this writing. I called once as a reminder, and I've sent a tentative "it's cool if you're busy, but please try to get it to me by Sunday" email several days ago. 

Going to be a little bit disappointed if I can't apply for a scholarship because I doubt I can go without a scholarship. Not really angry, but kind of sad and disappointed.

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

4 hours ago, Neist said:

Oh, and I'm totally getting an unwelcome sense of deja vu. I asked my old boss to write me a reference for a scholarship application to rare book school (a very specialized training program in LIS). This perhaps three to four weeks ago? I asked if they could have the letter to me by last Monday, with the caveat that while the application isn't due until tomorrow, I can't even begin the application materials without the reference letter; the system doesn't allow it.

I have no letter as of this writing. I called once as a reminder, and I've sent a tentative "it's cool if you're busy, but please try to get it to me by Sunday" email several days ago. 

Going to be a little bit disappointed if I can't apply for a scholarship because I doubt I can go without a scholarship. Not really angry, but kind of sad and disappointed.

Gahhhhhhh! I'm so sorry that you have to deal with that. It does bring back memories of application season, doesn't it? *cringes*

[pterosaur]

@Pink Fuzzy Bunny - I had an exam that went almost the exact same way... I was working/studying hard all semester, aced the first problem set, got through the the previous years' exams fine. The profs said the exam would be based on the material from the lecture notes and exercises, and there would even be questions from the exercises on the exam. All of these things were lies. It was a disaster. I've never left questions blank on an exam before (because it was also one of those where parts b,c,d, and e build on part a, so if you don't get the first part you're screwed). The last time I even got a B in a class was 7th grade gym class. I ended up deciding to drop the class, even though it still would have been technically feasible to get the required B- in the class; given how big of a time sink it was (I had no time for research) and the unhealthy levels of stress it was inducing, I decided that was best for my mental health. My advisor is also totally cool with that, which is a relief. I feel 300% better since dropping it last Monday. I'm doing way better than one of my friends in my cohort who is losing patches of hair from stress.

But I also found out I got Distinction on my masters, so it's not all bad!

[hippyscientist]

On 10/28/2016 at 3:41 PM, Neist said:

I've sort of thrown my hands up at this point. I'm going to do the best I can with the time I'm given. As long as my grade are sufficient enough to maintain funding, I'm not sure if I care all that much. 

1000% with you on this. It's not that I've given up but my research is my primary focus, I have qualifying exams coming up and honestly the assignments for class that I can swing to meet my research get attention and the rest get a slap-dash approach. 

@pterosaur congratulations! I get my grades next week.

I love grad school though. It's the best fit. I'm sorry to hear that a bunch of you aren't finding it as fulfilling as we thought it might be a year ago. Hopefully as we start to find our feet and places it gets more enjoyable!