Hello. I was wondering whether is it possible for someone to go into a PhD program in astronomy after getting a BS in physics (in US). Moreover, is it preferable to do a Masters first and what is the tuition like on average?

I'm starting my Masters in Chemistry in January in Organic Chemistry and I'm feeling like I'm going to have no idea what I'm going to do.

My supervisor sent me some info regarding the project that we've discussed and that I agreed on working on. The project is something I want to do and is really interesting to me.

However, the first part of the project involves a synthesis of a molecule that I've never heard of nor do I have any idea how to do. I've been doing some readings over the past 2 days on how to synthesize the said molecule and it's just making me more confused.

Have any of you felt this lost/nervous/worried before even starting grad school? Like I have legitimately have zero clue on how to start the synthesis besides getting the starting product lol..

And this is only the first part of the project. The latter parts of the project makes sense to me and I have somewhat of an idea on what to do (like I understand the theory more or less and the big picture) but if I can’t get the first part of the project right I won’t be able to do the rest.

Obviously this is subjective, but when you want to get stuff done, which hobbies do you try and avoid because of their potentially more distracting nature? I'm nearing crunch time for my thesis writing, and am looking to drop my go-to video games and social media doom scrolling because they take up too much time before satisfaction. What hobbies should I pick up that will keep me on the proper academic mindset while still acting as a decent release?

Ideally I could focus 100% on my writing, but I fear that'll only lead to burnout so I'd like to keep a few healthier sources of dopamine around. Reading is obvious, but I've never been a hobby book reader (ironic being in the academe, I know), and I wouldn't want to take a break from reading only to do more reading.

Please share yours!

past you would've sold a kidney to be where you are now. it'll work out just like it did in the past. you're gonna be ok🫶🏻 now get the f off reddit and go do your work

....

that's it. that's the post. time to get back to this paper

update: i didn't get back to my paper, i instead engaged in comedic relief (see below). thnx for that.

I'll be going to a conference on Monday and I'll be flying spirit. i didn't know i would be getting a poster tube until now so my booking has one personal item and 1 carry on already. i can't put my personal item in my carry on because its too big. does anyone who has flown spirit with a poster tube know if they will charge me for the tube as a personal item? or do you think they dont care? i asked a few of my friends but they haven't flown through a budget airline so they weren't sure either.

I just got my score of my electrochemistry midterm, 31/100 assuming all 10 items are scored the, I say that because in the test paper some items have 20% near them totaling 130% for all but I only have 31 even answering 2 20% items. Nevertheleas the point is I failed. And the option to drop this course already passed. I only have the finals to pass. The grading system for this subject is 30% midterm, 40% final, and 20-30% homework. I studied so hard but some topics i studied didn't came up and the ones I skip did. Now I'm changing strategies in studying. However, there is that feeling that there is no point I cannot pass now no matter what grade I get in the finals or I cannot get a high enough grade. I just waiting for the inevitable.

Is there still hope? I don't want to quit since my proffessor(advisor) and other subjects are understanding and I can understand those topics easier.

Looking to vent and for some solidarity (and advice, maybe?). I’m several years into my PhD program, leader of a grad student club, extroverted. I have friends in my program, though my closest ones in my cohort are getting ready to graduate whereas (despite my best efforts) my research is progressing at a slower pace. In the summer, my social life was great, mainly because I put a lot of effort into organizing group hikes (my favorite activity; group size ranged from 2 to 8) every weekend, for months. I forged some new friendships and strengthened others; several people said directly how much they appreciated me bringing them together and making those things happen.

But in the colder months, when hiking isn’t an option, my social life has dwindled, and I realize now that it seems like if I don’t organize something, I don’t get invited to things. An occasional dinner, maybe. But for the most part, unless I instigate something, I’m not included. I’m really feeling the sting of that right now bc I just got off the phone with a good friend and she mentioned how she just went to an escape room with a group (all people I know, several I’d consider friends) and now is headed to dinner with two more (acquaintances of mine). I feel no animosity towards this particular friend I was on the phone with (she’s so sweet, we were just catching up), but that conversation really has me feeling down. Last week, something similar - a few of my friends (different people than other story) went on a city trip without me.

I spent all day in lab (today is Saturday) doing experiments and working on a presentation, and tomorrow will be the same. I came home and worked out. I’m doing what I can to stave off burnout and engage in hobbies while being productive, but why is it that if I want to hang with friends, I have to reach out? Why don’t they reach out to me? It feels like if I don’t instigate connection, none of my friends care enough to check in. I know it’s a busy time, but come on. That hurts.

I'm currently applying to grad schools in Oregon (Lewis & Clark, Pacific University, and PSU) for a counseling license, specifically an addictions program. When I was 18, I was deep into addiction myself, and I got a sweet little felony for possession of cocaine. It was expunged when I was 26 or so, and I am now 33 and have been sober for 3 years with no other bruises to my record. The advice I've gathered from my online searches ranges anywhere from "check 'no' on the box that asks about previous convictions" to "be as honest as possible on applications." I've been under the impression that once something is expunged, especially a nonviolent offense, you no longer have to disclose the previous conviction. But also, I don't know shit about fuck - I'm just worried that admissions would choose an applicant with zero dings to their record vs someone who does.

hi all, finishing up a paper and struggling with how to properly cite a youtube video (or wondering if i should cite it as a youtube video at all?)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv8xnSW1jrQ

this is the video, not created specifically for youtube, and made about a decade before it was posted, but the only place i could find it. i'm wondering if i should leave out the fact that its from youtube, and if so, what method should i use. including my current bibliography citation below, thank you!!

McMullen, Ken. “Pioneers in Art and Science: Gustav Metzger.” YouTube. August 25, 2017. Video, 28:30. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv8xnSW1jrQ.

23M here who recently graduated With a BA in Economics in the USA and doing Grad School in a Spanish Online School.

I’m doing a master’s degree in International Economics at a UNIR(Universidad Internacional de la Rioja) where the Final Exam’s minimum score is 5 out of 10(50%) and to pass the courses is 6 out of 10(60%) as well as graduating the Master’s degree is 6 out of 10(60%).

This is my first semester and I got the lowest score on an assignment in one of my classes. I passed the assignment with the lowest passing score, but it was the lowest score in the whole class.

I know that when graduating with your BA, grades don’t matter when applying for jobs and i eventually didn’t care about my grades, but knowing this is Grad School, i’m not sure if this is the same idea that i should care about my grades after graduation.

What is your opinion about this? Should I care about my grades after getting my Master’s degree when applying for jobs?

Ps, my school is in Spain

I'm looking for testimonies/information/stories about how grad schools handle a student's suicide.

Have you known a student who took their life ?

If yes, how did the school handle it ? What was the procedure ?

How long did it take for the news to reach the administration ?

Did the student leave any letter behind, or last message to their classmates ?

Did it impact the other student's semester ?

Thank you

I'm sitting in the library surrounded by drafts of my proposal/notes/materials and I'm just like...I made all this up. This is all fake. None of this was made by an official company or office. I just made all this up and am shuffling papers around a lot and am typing nonsense. And I somehow have to pass this off as "research."

Hello, I plan to apply for MS in data science at UWMadison. While filling the application, there is section to submit my SOP and a other section to submit a essay on, how have my background and life experiences has led to my decision of pursuing MS at UWMadison. I have written about all these things in my SOP.

Can someone suggest how should I split my SOP or what should I mention in these two essays?

Hi Everyone,
I am filling LOR by myself as professor are very busy,how to rate myself in LOR question?
Are you top 2% in class?
Anyother advice please respond urgently

Entering senior year in Spring 2025 & graduating Fall 2025. I plan on pursuing a PhD & I really want to begin in Fall 2026, which means I'd be applying to schools in Fall 2025. Starting school in Fall 2026 means there'd be a 6 month (Spring & Summer) gap between graduation & beginning the PhD, which I want to fill by working & saving up to put myself in a bit more of a comfortable position rather than completely relying on the stipend.

The field I'm pursuing features a heavy amount of programming so I was thinking about becoming as proficient as I possibly can & working on projects to maybe land an entry level software engineering job during those 6 months. It's alluring because I'd be enhancing my programming skills & saving up, particularly more than if I were to work retail, but it doesn't seem realistic in the sense that I would ever be hired, considering I am not a computer science major.

To be clear, I will be working somewhere during those 6 months, regardless, because I don't believe the average PhD stipend is sufficient for the average COL in most US cities. I'd just prefer to use the time working on something that will help me out in my studies & in the future, rather than going back to the retail store I worked at during undergrad or something unrelated. I'd also be open to being a research assistant in other fields, (my field does not have abundant research assistant positions i can just take up), but I'm also not sure how practical this is. Do biology/chemistry labs just hire 'anyone' who's taken GEN Bio/Chem?

I'd love some advice, as it'd be a lot easier to plan long term & figure out if Fall 2026 is even a viable start date or if I'd have to apply for Fall 2027. I'm largely just worried about the financial aspect of it all, considering COL seems to be rising everywhere, I'd rather not put myself in a position where I don't have more than $500 in monthly savings, if at all.

I feel like when I rarely speak in class I say something stupid or inarticulate. I also feel like I’m just socially awkward and not naturally fitting in with my cohort. Then I go home and ruminate about it for hours instead of studying or thinking about the material. I dread going to school because I am so anxious about the social aspect. I wish I wasn’t so sensitive & could detach, I wish I was more likeable & popular & confident

After burning out in spectacular fashion, my time doing animal work is over. Now I have to change direction, but i botched my first masters and lack skills and experience to the degree needed to find a job.

One of my undergrad professors I have a good relationship all these years later invited me to apply to a communication and advocacy sciences MA program. As long as I teach, which I love doing, its free tuition wise. Gives me a chance to start over in human factors, but i don't know enough about the field to really know what it is I would want to do with it.

Any thoughts?

I am a semester away from graduating. I picked my program because I took a special topics course in undergrad that got me so excited about the subject. I thought it would be okay because I'm supposed to learn more in grad school.

I was wrong, and I don't know what to do or how to push past it.

I tried so hard to do as well as others in my cohort, but the fact is that my background knowledge was not enough. My school also focuses more on research, so the important classes (including the one for my actual degree) are useless because the quality of teaching graduate students is shit here. Even the course coordinator acknowledges that the course is total shit for grad students.

When I came into the program, I realized that none of what I learned in my undergrad was useable. I had to be trained on everything, so I had no time to process and ask "why?" questions. Instead, I invested my time in learning the techniques and doing as many experiments as I could. This was sufficient until this past summer where I inevitably fucked up an experiment, and my PI got pissed. It's been downhill since then.

My PI is sick of me, and someone in their family is the lab manager. The lab is so small that I'm one of two graduate students who are part of it. I'm so doomed. I have a huge talk to do soon before the semester ends and my PI is pissed at me for not knowing my audience and for not telling a coherent story for my presentation. Yes, these are weak points of mine, but I'm fucking trying my best, and my PI is acting like I put no effort in. I know that my PI is pissed because they care, but I'm just so fucking burnt out. I just want to go home. I wish I stuck to what I studied in undergrad. I'm so sick of being incompetent in this field when I was so good at my original subject.

I don't know what to do. Can I even land a job after this? Has anyone been in a similar position? I feel so lost. I'm begging for your guidance.

figshare, research gate and academia.edu If I share this through those websites, what are the pros and cons? By the way, it is an MSc thesis, not a PhD. I presume that I did not make critical mistakes based on my supervisor’s feedback so I am planning to publish it. I am also going to get a CC license as well. I mean it is entirely my work so I assume that I can publish it anytime I want, right? Or should I wait until I hear back from the university for my result? 😅

i got into the following universities for Fall 2025, kindly help me narrow down which one to go for, i'd really appreciate it:

1- University of Rochester Simon Business School for MS Marketing Analytics Total Tuition: $76k Scholarship: $10k

2- Stevens Institute of Technology for MS Business Analytics Total Tuition: $45k Scholarship: $10k

3- Boston University for MS Business Analytics Total Tuition: $90k Scholarship: $10k

4- Georgia State University for MS Data Science and Analytics Total Tuition: $48k Scholarship: $15k

currently facing a dilemma as to which one to go for, please help outtt!

Hi! I am currently on my last 3 subjects in my MA IO Psychology. But some of my close friends had switched to MBA or totally dropped out from the program. I am not sure if this MA is still worth it?

hello everyone. hope all of you're doing great.
I'm currently doing an online masters and I've been told to select couple of topics and send it to our supervisor for his approval. the supervisor didn't provide anymore info to me.
Now my question is what's the process of submitting the topics to supervisor for approval?
do i need to write an abstract or something like that for each topic or need to add any other info also?
if you have any format then please share it also. It'll help me very much.

I’m a third year PhD student. I started right out of undergrad, and from the beginning I felt out of place. I don’t think I had a clear goal going to grad school, it just felt like the obvious next step as a science major.

I’ve done well in all my classes, but I can’t seem to motivate myself to do research. I had a bit of a break down because I was struggling so much at the end of last year and had to take time off to go to intensive therapy. I started on antidepressants and my mood got better, but productivity actually got worse because I was less anxious.

Late this summer I was diagnosed with ADHD, started on meds, and they’ve helped a lot with everything except research. I feel like I have some mental block where I dread doing research more than anything in the world, so many days I don’t do anything. I don’t know if that’s just anxiety or residual from my break down or what, but I can’t seem to overcome it.

My PI has been incredibly understanding, but today when I met with him he told me for the first time that he feels my progress is too slow. I feel like this has reinforced everything I already knew about myself.

Before grad school I felt smart and capable. Now I feel stupid, lazy etc., but I can’t get out of my own head. The thing is, my research isn’t even that hard. It’s 100% something I could do if I put in consistent effort. I just can’t put in the effort.

I hate quitting and I feel like leaving the PhD with a masters would be admitting that I’m just not good enough to do it. But I’m honestly miserable. I feel like I should just suck it up and work, but it’s so hard and I don’t understand why. I’m stressed all the time and my health has declined and I feel like I’m in a hole I can’t get out of. Believe it or not, it’s not depression - I am much better in many other areas of my life than I used to be. But this is so hard.

Has anyone been through this? What did you do? Did it work out?

I really messed up and could use some advice. My professor arranged an important meeting with our lab sponsors. I set an alarm but ended up sleeping through it completely. My professor was understanding enough to reschedule, but then I somehow managed to miss the rescheduled meeting too. I've never missed a single meeting before in my academic career, and I'm absolutely mortified.

I requested to a reschedule again and this time meeting was rescheduled for later today that I was able to attend. I apologized for missing earlier and then meeting went fine.

My professor said it's okay, but I feel terrible about wasting everyone's time and potentially damaging our lab's relationship with the sponsors. This is completely out of character for me, and I'm worried about how this might affect my professional relationship with my professor and the sponsors.

I never missed a single meeting in my entire life and don't know how to navigate through this. I literally can't sleep and want to cry. Idk what to do

I’m interested in applying to an online program for PMHNP. Right now online school is all that’s feasible for me due to a need to work full time and a lack of brick and mortar schools in my area.

I was wondering which school has a better reputation? I want to feel confident in my job prospects when graduating.

I will write a paper and literally cringe the entire time reading it. There’s just something about reading your own writing that’s unbearable to me. Has anyone else experienced this?