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Grad School - Blog Posts
99% of mathematicians quit staring intensely at the problem right before it solves itself
if your class project group is dysfunctional enough the google docs instance counts as a MOBA
why didn’t jesus just go on ssris?
— my kinsey scale seven friend
the existence of a parameter space implies that you could like hang out there and maybe have a good time but you can’t and thats sad ;(
i’m the laboratory. straight up “doing it”. and but “it”, haha well. let’s justr say. my experiments.
she feed me that glucose analog till my lacoperons express their proteins
hello it’s me, your grad school fairy godmother, just dropping off a
grad school application spreadsheet
so you can stay organized & track your progress more easily. a gentle reminder because the Season is upon us: i have a rad school tag & a big list of previously-answered asks here. please check both before sending me an ask about the application process :-)
tips for organizing quals notes/general studying tips...I'm taking them at the end of the Spring semester eep!
i sure do have some! context: i’m an english lit phd, at an R1 institution, & my quals involved
3 reading lists (for major, minor, & research fields) totaling about 300 items
a written portfolio (3 sample syllabi, a publishable article, dissertation prospectus)
& a 3-hour oral exam (30-min presentation, 2.5 hours of questions from reading list & portfolio) conducted by a 5-person faculty committee (3 direct advisors, one for each field, & 2 additional examiners).
i took mine 6 months early, so i only had about 6 months to prep instead of the usual 10 months to a year.
>> advice on reading for your quals, under the cut.
Keep reading
i was terrified of doing this in undergrad, and now that i’m asked to write them fairly often, i am fondly exasperated when my students don’t know how to ask for them. obviously there’s no single way, but here’s the way i usually do it.
(obviously ask in person if you can! but email is also fine.)
THE FIRST EMAIL
should be short & should mainly be asking whether they’re willing to write you the letter
should provide only the basics - what the professor absolutely needs to know.
the position you’re applying for
when the letter would be due
optional: if you’re afraid they won’t remember you, a quick line identifying yourself & your relation to them
i like to provide an “out,” in case they don’t want to or are unable to write the letter
SAMPLE Dear Professor X, I’m applying for a job as an English tutor at the University Student Resource Center, and was wondering if you’d be willing to write me a letter of recommendation for the position. [optional identification: I really enjoyed taking English 300 with you in Winter 2016, and I’m hoping to develop and pass on those skills to other students through this job.] The letter would be due by September 1st - I know you’re very busy, so I completely understand if you’re not able to write one. All best, Your Name
THE SECOND EMAIL
they said yes!! amazing.
this one can provide a little more information – a link to the job posting, if there is one, or you can write a quick summary of the position, plus a sentence or two about why you’re excited/interested in the job.
also tell them where to send the letter!!
directly to the recruiter for the job
to you, to add to your application packet
upload to an online LoR service or to an application website
99% of the time folks are fine with receiving electronic copies, but if they need to mail a hard copy, let them know up front.
SAMPLE: Dear Professor X, Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. Here’s the link to the job listing; the letter should be sent as a .pdf file to the email address at the bottom of the page, anytime before 9/1. Thanks again – I’m hoping that this job will provide me with some teaching experience and the opportunity to work on my own writing. Please let me know if you need any more information! Best, Your Name
WHEN TO SEND A FOLLOW-UP
these stress me out real bad but here’s the deal: most professors have a very shaky relationship to deadlines (especially when they have half a dozen more important ones than your piddly LoR).
the upshot: do not be afraid to nudge them.
often they need the nudge and are appreciative of it.
when that nudge happens is up to you and how much room you’ve given them before the deadline, and it’ll look different depending on your relationship with that professor.
GRAD SCHOOL LETTERS
i offered to send my professors essays that i had written for their classes, especially if i had taken those classes more than a year before asking them to write the letter, just so they could refamiliarize themselves with my work. you can also offer to send them your writing sample, if you haven’t already asked them to look it over for you.
honestly i’d recommend asking for these in person bc it’ll give you a chance to talk to them about their grad school experience and your own hopes & aspirations, which will help them write a more personal, fleshed-out letter.
one important note: if this letter is intended for use in grad school applications, do not stress out if it’s a little late. most programs do not care, and pretty much all of them accept late letters without a problem. your professor’s ability to meet deadlines does not reflect on you, and professors are intimately familiar with running late on LoRs. they really honestly don’t care. as long as it gets there before too long, you’ll be fine.
thank-yous are up to you! keep in mind that many departments have policies about gift-giving. i did give thank-yous to my three major letter writers, but they were handwritten cards & homemade cookies, nothing store-bought or expensive.
hello!! if u are applying to grad school (humanities or STEM!) & u
are trying to save money on application costs
are interested in programs that care abt saving u money on application costs
are interested in programs that are aware of the fact that the GRE tells them nothing of use about your academic abilities
this site may be useful to you as you decide where to apply :-)
here is a list of questions i have already answered about graduate school!!
please check it before you send me a question about graduate school :) :) i hope it’s useful! xo // updated 08.2019
basic info
what is the PhD and what can you do with it? (+)
what does a literature PhD entail?
should i do a PhD if i have to pay tuition?
does it look bad to take time off between degrees?
what was your timeline like?
what’s the difference between a terminal MA and a PhD? (+)
does getting an MA first help you get into a PhD program?
application process
how can i prepare for applying early in my undergrad career? (+) (+)
where should i start looking for programs?
should i choose a program based on rank or fit? (+)
how many programs should i apply to?
parts of the application
advice on the writing sample
advice on the GRE (+)
how should i ask for letters of recommendation?
how should i write a statement of purpose? (+)
how do i demonstrate my “ability to excel”?
how should i address mental health/family/personal issues that impacted my grades?
grad school application spreadsheet
how should i email potential advisors? (+)
how can i survive the waiting period? (+)
how should i prepare for an interview or phone call? (+)
what should i ask at open house?
what should i do if i don’t think i can afford my grad school tuition?
what should i do the summer before i start my program?
seminars/coursework
how should i plan for grad seminar presentations? (+)
what should i bring with me to seminars?
what are grad seminars like?
how can i get better at speaking during seminars?
reading
what should i have read before i start my lit grad program?
how much reading should i expect?
how can i read a lot without getting overwhelmed? (+)
how can i read efficiently? (+) (+)
quals-specific reading advice
how should i take notes on critical articles?
writing
how do i write a lit review?
how do i write an indicative bibliography?
how do i choose a dissertation topic? (+)
how do i plan for a long research paper?
how do i balance all the different kinds of writing i have to do?
money
how do finances work in grad school?
what is adjuncting and why does it suck?
how can i budget while on a stipend?
should i work while in grad school? (+)
fellowship, postdocs, & job stuff
how do i think up a second project when i’m not even done with my dissertation?
CV writing tips
which websites post US fellowship/postdoc/job ads?
how do dissertation fellowships work?
tips for grant, award, & fellowship applications
misc
will grad school make my mental health issues worse? (+)
how do i survive conferences?
how should i deal with burnout? (+)
i think i want to quit
my advisor is ghosting me
how do i work with no structured schedule?
how do i get enough sleep?
how do i balance my work & my teaching?
how can i beat imposter syndrome? (+)
how can i excel in grad school?
what do u mean "From what I know, getting into med school/law school/similar programs is actually harder for students who got their undergrad in pre-med/pre-law/pre-that field." that makes no sense? u get into a med school by taking pre med classes in undergrad?
I totally understand your confusion. The idea that pre-med isn’t the best thing to major in to get into med school flies in the face of logic/conventional wisdom.First off, I’d like to correct myself by saying that (for example) getting into med school with a pre-med undergrad isn’t harder from what I understand, but it’s not necessarily any better than majoring in something else. There’s two major reasons for this.One, med schools/other grad programs want to be able to claim diversity in their population when it comes to their students undergrad majors. They want to be able to point at their grad students and say “Look! We have students from every field of undergrad studies!”Two, schools care a lot more about how you do as a student rather than the classes you take. They want hard working dedicated students, which there are plenty of outside of pre-med/pre-law/whatever else.I hope that made sense! If you have more questions you can keep asking.
18 May 2022- Another Life Update (This time a happy one)
Well, I did it ya’ll. I have, officially, graduated.
These past couple of years have been rough, but I’m really proud of myself. Grad school is already hard on its own. Grad school with a pandemic AND a bunch of negative things happening in your personal life? Don’t get me started...
Anyway, I’m (cautiously) looking forward to what my future holds. So far, I’ve been able to cross off a few things from the vision board I made on New Year’s Eve. I’m determined to cross off more soon.
Also, with school out of the way, I think this is the perfect time to get back on track with my health and fitness goals. I haven’t stepped foot inside a gym in MONTHS. I’m actually looking forward to restarting tomorrow.
I know I’ve done this several times already. I used to feel embarrassed every time I would post about having another setback on here. But, you know what? I’ll restart 100 times if that’s what it takes to get to where I want.
So, here we go again :)
24 January 2022-Reset
Hey ya’ll!
I can’t believe it’s already almost February. I really feel like this month flew by. I’ve been all over the place since this semester started. However, I finally feel that I’ve finally settled in and have gotten used to being back in school. I had all of these tasks I had planned to accomplish during winter break that I ended up neglecting. Honestly, I was beyond exhausted and burnt out after the end of my last semester. I, pretty much, spent my entire break sleeping, playing Animal Crossing, hanging with my family, and catching up with my friends over the phone.
The funny thing is, in the past, during winter break, which is like a month long for a lot college students, I would get bored around the 2 week mark and would start looking forward to going back to school for the spring semester. However, this year, for the first time ever, I didn’t want to go back...like at all. In fact, by the 3rd week of break, I was starting to get anxious again and was absolutely DREADING going back to school. I was even wishing I had an additional week, on top of the entire month, of break. Not only because I had not completed any of the tasks I had set aside for the break, but because I was still really tired. Not just physically, but mentally as well. I’m really not sure why though. Maybe it’s because I’m entering my second (or third???) year of the pandemic. Maybe it’s the fact that last year was awful and I was still recovering from everything that happened. Maybe it’s because this spring is the last semester of my degree and I still have no idea what I want to do with my life and just wanted more time to not have to think about that. Maybe it’s because I knew how lonely I was going to be again once returning to the city I attend school. Maybe it’s a mixture of everything...and more.
Then those feelings of dread ended up turning into guilt. I felt guilty for not being more productive with my winter break. I also felt frustrated with myself, especially after realizing I now had very little time to accomplish a large amount of work by the deadline that was established prior to break. This just worsened my anxiety and dread.
I ended up, reluctantly, bringing this up with a therapist. After telling them everything I was feeling and how I wished I didn’t choose sleep over work during my break, they said something that has stuck with me and will probably stick with me for the rest of my life. They said, “Maybe you needed that break.” They then proceeded to reassure me that there was no reason to feel guilty for choosing to rest. And you know what? I agree. It took a while to get to this point, but I finally do agree with them. I mean...I still think I would have benefited from getting at least SOME of my tasks done, but it’s fine. I really did need that break. Last year left me drained and broken and I needed to use that time to rebuild myself a bit so that I could be ready for this year.
This also reminds me of what I have told friends of mine these past couple of years. “If you don’t take a break, your body is going to do it for you.” Basically, what I mean when I’ve said this is that if you’re constantly on the go and not listening to your body and taking necessary breaks, your body is going to shut down when you least expect it. When it does, it’s going to be at the most inconvenient time of your life. At that point, you will have no choice but to finally slow down a bit and take some time to recover.
I’ve decided that I really need to start applying this philosophy to myself. Not to hype myself up too much, but...sometimes I do give good advice. I just need to be more proactive with practicing what I preach.
Anyway, if you’ve made it this far in this long post (if you’re some of the new people who have followed me this past month, just to warn you...unfortunately, this isn’t going to be the last lol) thank you for taking the time to read my jumbled thoughts. I’m going to start back up with my fitness/health journey-related posts this week, now that I feel a bit more grounded. So stay tuned.
Until later, stay safe friends :)
I fucked this up. Present me is pretty pissed at past me.
i can not and i mean i can not stress this enough… make a bibliography as you do your research. i mean, make a fully formed, correctly cited bibliography as you work. just do it. i know i know you’re being lazy or you hate making citations or you’ll just get to it later or you don’t want to get distracted etc etc etc
whatever your reasons just make the fuckin bibliography
and while im at it… put the footnotes in properly as you are writing. just… do it. for future you. please. for your sanity. do it.
My technique for Quick Literature Review
Literature Reviews were one of the most confusing things for me when I began my PhD. I would get lost in searching for papers, wallowing in tangential directions, sometimes looking at entirely unrelated stuff. Other times, I’d be trying so hard to read an article and stuck without moving forward.
From my fair share of struggle with literature reviews, I deviced a technique that helped me do quick literature surveys, especially when I needed to write a proposal or improve half-written manuscript or to understand a new method/theory. So, here you go…
1. Collecting literature: Research Rabbit App🐇
This is my go-to tool for literature discovery. In addition to quickly build a literature collection, it helps to see how all the papers in my collection are connected! This is very essential when you write your LitRev, as you will need to draw connections between different works.
Go to www.researchrabbit.ai and search the topic you need articles for, and add them to a collection.
The app will automatically suggest more papers based on your selections and will make connections between the articles in terms of authors, citations or references!
You can also look for other papers by a certain author or similar papers to the one you choose.
(Make sure to stop when you find yourself going down the Rabbit Hole ;) )
2. Extracting information: Skim & Annotate 📑
Once you finish collecting the literature,
quicky read the abstract and decide which ones are important, relevant or new.
Now and skim the chosen papers, and annotate the most important things you find. I usually go for paper and highlighters, sometimes use the annotator in Mendeley
Optional: categorize the articles and assign a colour for each.
(Don’t spend more than 10 minutes per paper. You can always go back and read the article thoroughly after completing this task)
3. Organizing thoughts: The Sticky Note Method 🗂
Here comes my favourite part. I developed this technique inspired by a lot of tools I found on the internet. The Sticky Note Method is to capture, rearrange and construct thoughts.
From the now annotated, categorized collection, write down the essence of each article in a separate sticky note.
(here is where the colour-coding might come in handy: you can use different coloured sticky notes for different categories.)
After doing this for all the papers, stick them in a board/notebook
Rearrange them till you get a coherent flow!
That’s it. Now start writing your review! ;)
100 days of productivity
starting 25th October 2023 ending 2nd February 2024
Rules
Success or failure -- just show up
No #ZeroDays -- No matter how hard it feels, do a little thing, a bare minimum. Don't let any day become a zero day
Do at least one PhD-related task everyday
Read a journal article everyday. Skim, AIC, full workout - anything
Weekends are excluded, but counted -- because rest is productive
Learn & practice mindfulness
Take two pictures everyday to represent the day (post them here)
Accountability
Daily update of task list here. Perfection is the enemy of done. So don't overthink, just post - even if it feels half-baked.
-----
I’m currently in the final quarter of my PhD. I feel quite demotivated and I find it hard to gain momentum. So I thought I'll take up an accountability challenge to help me stay motivated and eventually build a routine.
If you are already doing a 100 days of productivity challenge, or would like to take on one, please do comment/like this post. I'd love to have some company and inspiration! Please help me find similar accounts! <3
A summary of my grad school orientation:
I got lost in the woods
Weird almond sparkling water (it slapped)
Professors bullying historical figures
Professors damn near giving us panic attacks
Professors lamenting the state of the school
Professors bitching about admin for not giving us our budget 2 DAYS BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS
Lunch break
The new 3 stooges (me and 2 others)
3 of us getting covid for the first time this summer (surprise, it's the stooges)
Lunch communism
"Yo, the cane surprised me" "Yeah I have a gene mutation" "So will it get better?" "No" -cue awkward silence-
ONE OF US DROVE INTO A FIRETRUCK AT 60 MILES PER HOUR???
Nice conversations with professors
Everyone leaving except the GAs
Nearly freezing to death
Cool research projects!!!
Chugging almond water
Free school supplies!!
Getting lost in the woods again
Coming home to all the cabinets open because of Gilbert, my ghost
🚨BIG NEWS!🚨 So I’ve just been put in the running to potentially win a huge scholarship with my art, and I’d love if you guys could help me out! The drawing in this post is part of a contest where you can vote for your favorite one - the more votes you get, the better chance you have to move into the next round. The winner gets to have their drawing made into a greeting card for the company, along with a big scholarship. This scholarship would fund my education going into art teaching, so it would really help me out a lot to have a chance to win it. If you want to vote for me, please:
Click on the link here: https://www.gallerycollection.com/scholarship-monthly-voting
Click on the first option on my linktree site
Scroll down on the contest page and click on my drawing. Then just click “vote” to submit your choice
Any and all support helps, so thank you in advance!!!