#grad advice

[tennesseewillams]

hiiiiiii i have a stupid question. should i bring my backpack and my laptop with me to the conference. should i bring them to panels and stuff?? whats going on

[therepublicofletters]

Do you have any tips on how to get scholarships and external funding etc

I think the biggest thing is to just start asking - because a lot of the time you won't get anything unless you don't ask. I got a lot of funding from my undergrad that way. The first year they had offered me a huge amount towards my tuition, and the second year they suddenly halved it! so I asked why, and they said oops, sorry, our mistake! and put it back to where it was.

Similarly, a lot of people simply won't apply to grants within a university because they aren't well advertised and people don't know that they don't exist! Few people tend to apply to those things, so that means that there's a larger pool of money available.

Always give well thought-out reasons for what you're asking for. They'll often ask for a cover letter or proposal, and you should use that space to be explicit in what you want to do and how the money will support you—even things as banal as food, housing, etc. If it's well thought out, it shows that you're going to use their money wisely.

In general, always have your advisor or a professor or other established person in the field read it over. Writing grants is really an art and there are entire courses and classes on it, and it can be a full time job if you give it a lot of effort. But don't forget that you won't get anything if you don't ask for it first!

[phdead]

Things I wish I knew before starting a PhD

🌱 Contact your advisor or who you intend to work with to try to get a head start on a project. Even if nothing comes of it, they’ll admire that you took the initiative to start early

🌱 Make friends with seniors. They’ll be your support group, the ones you go to for advice, the ones who’ll emphasize work/life balance, and maybe your future collaborators

🌱 Read papers!! Update yourself on the current literature, get used to reading them, figure out how to read them fast, and understand how you like to take notes

🌱 Learn how to take notes! By that I mean figure out what platform would work best for you. (I switched through a few before settling on OneNote) Changing platforms is a huge waste of time so try to figure it out beforehand! 

🌱 Understand how you relax. Find out what calms you down efficiently and effectively. When you’re busy with deadlines, relaxing is the last thing on your mind, but your body will need the break. To prevent burnout, make relaxing more of a priority. For some (like me) it’s exercising and as a bonus that helps focus too 

🌱 Know who your support group is. Have friends and family outside of school to keep you grounded and to remind you that your degree isn’t everything. And when you start your degree, find other grad students who you’ll complain to (i love talking to people outside my department because they have their own complaints and won’t be already tired of hearing yours)  

🌱 Most importantly - make sure you take a break before starting. Enjoy life, discover yourself, and have fun, this will likely be your last summer for a while

Note: These points are subjective. This advice is based on my own experience studying behavioral marketing at a midwestern university in the USA. I tried to make the points generalizable to a broader audience but it’s not unbiased

[gliagirlphd]

I'm looking to get a PhD after I finish my BS (the program I'm looking into doesn't require a master's) but my grades during freshman and sophomore years were just "ok" before I switched my major to what I really like. If I work to improve myself now do I still have a good shot at a quality graduate school even if my overall GPA ends up being closer to a 3.5?

Hello!

Disclaimer: This advise is based from my experience in a Biological graduate program in the US.

Okay so there’s a lot of things that go into answering this question: 1) what field you’re studying, 2) what school/program (and country) you’re applying to, and 3) if you have any previous experience (research/internship).

The GPA requirement depends on the university and department you apply but usually >3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) is recommended. More prestigious schools require higher GPAs so keep that in mind. If you are applying to a science field, graduate admissions committees will look at your science GPA over core classes. One thing I would advice that would work in your favor is having an upward trend in your GPA, as this will show that you are capable of handling your class work (especially higher level classes). It’s best to take a look at individual universities and programs about their requirements. Also, don’t be shy to ask what their average matriculant GPA was for the year as this will you give you a good idea of your chances of getting into the school.

Believe it or not, graduate schools do look at their applicants in a holistic manner, so you are more than your GPA. You should complement it with other things such as research experience/internship, strong letters of recommendation, a competitive GRE score, and a strong personal statement, as these will increase your chances of acceptance. These can tip in your favor and increase your likelihood of getting accepted. For example, a lot of biological graduate programs look for research experience in their applicants.

I hope this was helpful, and let me know if you have anymore questions.

[pleasegostudy]

Advice for grad school visits?

Hey gradblr universe — I’m attending a few PhD program visit days soon, and I’d love any and all advice for how to make the most of them. What questions should I ask students, professors, whoever else? What do you wish you had asked/known/thought about when comparing programs? Thanks in advance! 😊📚

P.S. If it helps to know my field, I’m looking at economics and political science programs.

[wolframalpha]

Graduation Advice In 5 Words: Don't keep up old habits

https://wolfr.am/uGp8VZP4

[zelda-s-fitzgerald]

How to Start Your Masters Applications

Ah yes, August - the month equivalent Sunday for academics. A lot of my friends are starting their applications and realising they don’t actually know where to start, so here’s the advice I’ve been giving them.

(also i’m no expert i’m just a lady who did this last year)

1. Make a list: So much of my advice for applying to grad school involves lists, and the very first one to make is a list of the schools where you might want to go. In the end, you might not apply to all of them, but it is just a place to start. For each school you are interested in, write down all of the requirements and what documents each school requires you submit. This is important because some schools require a proposal and a personal statement, some require one or the other, and some require you to combine both into one page. Include links to the instructions each school provides for each component that you have to write!

2. Write your longest proposal first: This is easier said then done, but writing the longest proposal (in my experience it was 2 pages) allowed me to have a base to work from for all the rest. Then, for each school, you can take the parts you need for that application and just add the specific things each school needs. If you’re applying for your MA in Canada, your longest proposal will probably be you SSHRC CGS-M proposal, which is conveniently due the earliest as well.

3. Be cognisant of (fake) deadlines: These deadlines will seem like they are a million years away, but they’ll sneak up on you. Specifically, there is a rule of thumb that you should allow a potential reference a month of time to write you a letter, so write that deadline down. By that date, over a month before your deadline, you should have something resembling a proposal to send to your potential references. 

4. Workshops at your uni: Likely, your university will have a lot of faculty-wide as well as department-wide workshops for applying to your Masters and related funding. They’re definitely useful (especially the department-specific ones) but do not wait for them to start your stuff. For instance, one of the workshops I attended was set a week before the deadline of a major funding opportunity, which would be essentially useless if I hadn’t already known about the scholarship.

5. Find a mentor: Ideally a professor or upper-level graduate student who knows the insides and outsides of your country’s system of graduate school. My mentor was a professor of mine (also a reference) and she was full of useful information because she chaired my university’s graduate funding committee. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from professors, especially regarding your proposal. The worst thing they can say is no. 

Good luck, future academics! May the funding gods smile on you and the application seas be gentle.

[tennesseewillams]

hey gang so i’ve been essentially having a sustained low-grade mental breakdown about moving + grad school for the past 2 weeks. you guys have been incredible and amazing and so unbelievably helpful and supportive for the past 2 years while i’ve been going through this process, and i was just wondering if you guys have any advice/tips/recs/stories literally ANYTHING about actually being in grad school and doing coursework?? i would be so so so so so grateful. i’m soooooo scared lol