Thesis is due by April 17th…

I have not started writing yet. Have not even submitted IRB. I’ll be doing it online so data should come back within two weeks max. I have no classes next semester so 100% of my time will be dedicated to writing it. It is not in stem . Will I be ok? Will I have time. If worst case scenario I couldn’t start writing until March. Is one month enough time? I’m starting to stress here

Hello and Good Day to you all! First time posting :)

I am an Engineering graduate aiming for grad school next year, targeting Master’s degree programs in Japanese universities. I’m currently preparing by focusing on three main areas: language exercise, reading publications, and fundamental subject reviews.

For the third point, I’ve been reading works published by my target professors, identifying my study topic, breaking it into fundamental subjects, and studying these from reference books. However, I feel like I’ve been learning too much while understanding only a fraction of it, given the time invested.

Should I continue focusing on fundamentals or should I pivot to directly building my research plan and structuring my studies around it? I’m considering this shift as it might save time and yield a concrete output—a solid Research Plan.

For context, I have 2–6 months to finalize my research plan, contact professors for an LoA, and apply for scholarships. My research interests are in Precision Engineering.

Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated. Also I'm happy to provide more context if the ones above still lacks clarity. Thank you!

Could I do grad school while working a 4x10 schedule or swap to a regular 8x5 schedule?

Hello,

I’m currently in the process of applying for my PhD in Clinical Psychology. My applications are complete, I’m applying to six different schools across the country.

My CGS-M application is complete but I’m having a hard time deciding which schools to include among my three.

For context, let’s say that school X is my top choice, however, the PI I’m applying to work with at school X indicated that the admissions committee doesn’t consider whether I apply or not. Furthermore, I have a hunch (1% from meeting GPA requirement) I may not qualify for the scholarship at that school.

Another PI highly suggested I apply for CGS-M, however, my research proposal is geared towards that of another PI I’m including in the application.

TL;DR: I’m applying to six schools for my MA/PhD and I have no idea which schools to include in my CGS-M application.

I (M23) recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering this past May. I secured a job at an consulting firm with an 85k starting salary, but the start date was delayed until August of next year.

In the meantime, I’ve been teaching at a school in my hometown while navigating an exhausting cycle of job applications (around 1,000 so far). During this time, I’ve had the chance to reflect on my goals and decided to pursue a PhD in Operations Research, with a specific interest in health systems,statistics and Optimization. So Far I applied to: Purdue University , UT Austin, Northwestern , Georgia Tech , U of Minnesota , Princeton University University of Washington, Arizona State Jan 15th , University of Massachusetts Amherst, and UMich.

I’ve applied to about 10 PhD programs and sought advice from professors at my alma mater. If I get accepted into a program, I’m trying to decide:

• Should I start the PhD in Fall 2025?
• Or should I gain work experience first by starting my career at the engineering firm and postpone graduate school?

For context, my undergraduate GPA was a 3.1, and my GRE scores weren’t great. I was told the GRE is often just a formal admission requirement, and some schools don’t weigh it heavily in consideration. I’m also wondering how likely I am to get into a PhD program in Industrial Engineering (IE) straight out of undergrad with my stats.

Another question I have: Would pursuing a PhD be worth giving up an $85k starting salary job? I spoke with a faculty member at one of the universities I applied to, and they mentioned that most PhD graduates in IE/OR end up in industry roles (e.g., at Amazon) and make well over six figures. I was wondering if I could also get any advice from PhD in OR/IE that can attest that their PhD was worth it. If so what industry did they pursue ?What are my chances of gettign into these programs straight from UG?

I’d love to hear your thoughts or advice on this!

Hi, I was just wondering if I have a good chance of getting admitted if one of the university professors is actively exchanging emails with me, sending me readings of their current research, and has initiated an online meeting for me to present my understanding of the readings and do a bit of chat. They also mentioned that they might be open to an internship the following year as well.

I just wanted to ask as I usually read that meetings usually happen after admission. And I haven't even submitted my application yet; I'll probably do it this month.

Hey everyone,

In the past few days two of my grad school applications for applied mathematics where accepted.

one is for the university of West Florida, a smaller university that has a master's track. 30 credit hours that can largely be taken online for a slightly cheaper tuition.

the other is the university of South Florida,for this one I applied to the PhD track. How it works here is you complete the 31 credit hours masters track and if you're in good standing then you start the doctorate track.

I like the field of mathematics, and already use my bachelor's in math for my job, also I'm the first in my family to go to college and have a degree so I'm unsure which would be the better over all.

If you burn out, what does that look like for you?

So im pretty nervous about sending in applications on time, this program I want to get into is first come first serve and the deadline is before March 1st. I already have 1/2 letters of rec but the other professor i reached out to took a month to respond to me about it, and now that she did she said she would be flexible in the new year to start it. Should i be worried and ask someone else who can do it sooner for me? I really want to get into this school and their admissions are only for the fall.

Hi

I’m looking for an endorsement to upload my preprint to arxiv.org. The paper is titled "AI-Driven WebTV" and focuses on the development and implementation of an AI-driven WebTV system. It automates the entire video content creation pipeline, from conceptualization to broadcasting, leveraging cutting-edge AI techniques.

If anyone in the computer science field is able to provide an endorsement and would like to review the paper, I’d be more than happy to share it with you!

Feel free to DM me if you're interested or have any questions. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

Hey everyone, I’m currently 2 and a half years into my masters degree. I’m pursuing the research track in earth sciences instead of the course only option.

I’m struggling with feeling like i’m not making enough progress and should have been done within 2 years. My family and friends constantly ask me when i’ll be done and I’m counting on the answer being within a few more months.

I might also add i’ve been working full time the whole time i’ve been in grad school and have finished all the course requirements- so it’s really just down to me collecting my data and writing my proposal. Should be defending my proposal soon and these thesis defense won’t be far behind it.

Im just struggling with being 26 and feeling like i’m not moving fast enough. Any advice or personal experiences that you all can give or share? i get motivated and then i lose it sometimes.

Just wanting to chat about others experiences with this feeling!

I submitted my application to a University of Washington PhD program. On my application checklist table in the "Date" column, it's showing dates from the past even though I uploaded fresh copies of all of my finalized materials before I submitted.

Does anyone have any experience with this? I just want to confirm that my application has my most recent uploads, but I don't see a way to access my application proof. Thanks!

Hi! I’m an international student studying a mix of PPE as an undergrad in Canada. I have decent grades and decent extracurriculars with excellent recommendations by professors and employers. I’ve spent enough money on my undergraduate studies but I still don’t feel like going into the work force. I’m highly inclined to get into diplomacy and lobbying. I really really want to move to the states but only on one condition that I don’t want to spend more money on my degree.

I had a study abroad in UK for an IR course and thoroughly enjoyed it. I would love to go to UK (not London) for my studies too but it won’t be my first choices.

I have an Indian passport and won’t mind sitting for IFS exam for my country sometime in the future. I’m in the middle of preparing for GRE and DELF A1 as well am writing my final year uni exams.

I’m highly stressed as all of this coincides with the same time when the masters applications are also due.

The school I have in my mind: Fletcher Tufts Elliot GWU American University UC Berkeley Boston University

Far reach - Georgetown Columbia Science Po

It’s a very big decision and I could hear my stomach growling just thinking about it. It’s making me really really anxious. I have two excel sheet named: Masters and Jobs which is why I’m unable to focus on any one. It feels like I’m in two boats and both are sinking with approaching deadlines as well as I have my exams gosh🥲

If anyone have some kind words to help me understand what should I do or how to get clarity, I’ll be very grateful.

I'm writing my dissertation proposal, and my future to be advisor told me I should get it done by last Wednesday. Unfortunately I got sick this whole month got it three times and at one point I even went abroad since it was planned from a long time.

I did write down a lot of it and just need to reorganize it by now and write a little bit more. Now it feels like I have been delaying it the whole time and in my mind he's probably thinking im a slowpoke and im not very eager. But I promise I am. I can't help but feel like this is coming off as an excuse to not do any work even tho I have been unable to do anything and leaving a bad impression.

The two schools have similar names so I had a complete statement for one school that autofilled the wrong school name into one of my sentences when I was writing my statement of intent (thanks grammarly) so I just put down the wrong school name for another school

So I just wasted $90 on a school that I’m probably not going to get into now RIP

Hi all, Applying to different schools in the UK. Is it recommended to alter the CV based on my master course subject? Should the job experiences be based in order around the degree you are applying to (healthcare)?

I have little healthcare experience, mostly just business and analyst positions, with one or two small design/research internships for healthcare companies during studies.

Should I begin the CV how it is currently, having my biggest job first with its current responsibilities. Should I alter them somehow towards being good skill sets for health industry?

Should I pump up the small healthcare internships to the top?

Any quick advice, would be super appreciated.

Thank you Grinch.

I’m an older adult returning to finish the BA in psychology because since I’m a life coach by career, I wanted to do an MFT program to take the EMDR trainings. I’m minoring in communications and I really like it. I think it would be fun to teach interpersonal communication and create a curriculum on some relationship research and write a book on it, since my clients have been asking me when will I write a book of the things I teach them in our sessions. I was all set to apply for the csun MFT program but never made time to study for the GRE. I have a 3.9 GPA and don’t feel like taking the GRE so I was going to apply to CSUSB, CSUDH and CSUEastBay. But then I saw that CSUN’s comms grad program is high on the list of great grad programs (I can teach on a stipend if I qualify, which would be great experience) and now am changing my mind. I need to apply this week; can anyone tell me if I’m making a mistake by doing a COMM masters? (Not the speech therapy program)…or give opinions on which they feel is better?

Hi everyone.

I posted on here a while ago, where I said that I was broken, I lost two people in my life, I had an engagement end, I had a project change and that my supervisor had left. Two weeks after that I lost my grandmother and then the day before I submitted my thesis I lost someone to cancer. To say I was completely broken and shattered was an understatement. My mental health severely declined. My defense was scheduled 3 weeks after that death and I had no idea how I was going to study and prepare for it. There were days where I had several panic attacks. Days where I couldn't get out of bed. Days where I was just consumed with pain and grief. Looking back it was one the worst times of life.

I don't know how I did it but I defended on Friday and I passed with minor revisions. The people on my committee said it was probably one of the best defenses they have seen in a while and I just don't understand how because my mind genuinely wasn't with me.

Regardless, I just wanted to thank everyone on here for all the kind words they gave me a couple months back. I needed that advice to push me through. Whenever things kept getting tough I would go back to that post. Thank you again.

Am I the only one that truly hates some courses and does the bare minimum to get the credit? I'm in an MBA and never plan to do any type of sales or marketing jobs, and I do not enjoy my marketing strategy course. It's so boring. The work isn't difficult so I'm just getting it done and getting the credit, currently have a B with one week left. Is this normal lol

Hi all!

So I was trying to submit my NSERC CGS M application (for Canadian Masters), and the last step mentions validating whether all relevant attachments can be viewed. I can see all the attachments I made directly from my computer.

Am I supposed to be able to see my CCV as well? Because I don't see that or the references in the pdf it gives me.

Just wanted to make sure.

Is there anyone who completed their thesis based Master's in around 1.5 years. Would you give any tips on how to finish early?

I'm overwhelmed and just do not know where to start. First quarter of my grad school is coming to an end and I have not accomplished anything.

I've come with so much hope and worked tirelessly hard just to get here. And now I'm lost. I dont feel just as sharp as before and I find my critical thinking skills atrophing. I am struggling with time management and meeting deadlines. My tasks are only piling up.

Is this normal? I am ready to take any advice at this point. It's not that I lost interest in research it's just I can't seem to find my momentum. I feel dull and tired all time.

Thank You!

CIHR CGS-M app has a CCV component and damn thing’s got awfully-vague instruction coming with it. Anyone knows where we are to include the paid/unpaid internships & credited research courses?

Hi everyone, I'm a researcher currently working on a project about Professor Raymond Dart. I've learned that the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) holds digital archives that include original photographs of him, but I've been unable to access these materials. Does anyone have experience with Wits' digital repositories or know which department or individual I should contact to request access? Any guidance or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you! Matteus

For reference, this is in Canada, and I'm trying to complete an application for the NSERC CGS-M. I have everything complete - and my supervisor has signed off on my part of the application, and has completed his reference.

Now, I'm just waiting on the second reference. I sent an email back on the 21st informing him that he would be getting an invitation for the application to complete his reference through the NSERC website. He did not reply. I emailed him again on the 27th, informing him about the need to complete the reference by December 2nd.

He sent back an email saying, "Thanks for the heads up".

I am hoping not to alarm myself, but I also cannot submit this application until he completes his part. He also did offer to make a letter of reference for me earlier last month, so it shouldn't be unexpected.

Then again, the semester is ending soon, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt and assumed he's just busy and will get to it.

If you were in my situation, what would you do? I worked quite hard on this application and I don't want it to go to waste. Any help or advice is appreciated!

There's more to the post, but feel free to reply to the title. It might actually give me some clarity.

Graduated earlier last year with my bach in science. Been out for a while now and have enjoyed the time. But I've also thought about my current career trajectory and my undergrad and I think I want to steer into a somewhat different path. I studied geographic information systems, but want to pursue geospatial analytics and data analytics. I got to attend a couple classes in my undergrad similar to this. I don't think I did super well in the classes. Got maybe a B+ or something, but would yap about it to my girlfriend and recite what I was learning in the class for that week. I think I'd like to continue learning about this and apply aim to work at a company that let's me pursue this passion in some compacity. I'd prefer to apply it in an urban setting though.

I can't really attend school out of state (funding would require in-state tuition and I also have commitments here). There's a program I'm looking at that I think could provide me what I want. It might not be planning adjacent, but works in the space of engineering which is close enough considering that I work with engineerers looking to build in our town that I work at.

I think the biggest thing holding me back in the worrying fear of not being capable or ready. I mean, is it too late to go back to school? Am I going back for the right reasons? I mean, it feels like it. And I get divided on going back because people say do what you love to do and others that state only go back if you know you're going to make more money (which seems like a pragmatic thing to do, but also a crude one at that). I have a vision on what I want to do with my life; to be a master of my field, but am I really ready?

Hello all - I’m currently a masters student in ethnographic documentary at UCL in London. I’d like to continue my studies afterwards in a visual or social anthropology program. Broadly - I’m interested in studying U.S. imperialism in the Balkans and the Middle East. Does anyone have suggestions on masters or PhD programs? I’d love to go into a PhD but not sure if I can without a traditional anthropology masters. Also wondering if there are programs that do a built in masters into the PhD. I’d love to go anywhere in the world. Thanks 🙏🏼

I (24f) am two weeks away from finishing my first semester of grad school in music education. I am stuck right now trying to finish up assignments and papers, worrying about if I’m going to pass all of my classes. Which is strange because I currently have all A’s, so maybe it’s perfectionism.

Anyway, I’ve been getting down on myself because of this lack of motivation, and keep thinking that I’m not qualified to be in grad school. My husband and I just got married in August right before school started, and I originally was pushing hard to finish everything but now I just feel stuck. Has anyone else experienced burnout or a rut right before finals week? In undergrad, I kept pushing myself hard before finals and I ended up getting motivation to get it all done as soon as possible but now I keep shutting down every time I try.

I’ve been avoiding homework all of Thanksgiving break to clean the whole house and cook, and I’m nervous I won’t be able to get it all done.