What if someone did their dissertation on Zhang et al? Like they just really drilled down into the impact and like what it means to be a SME. And if they did - what if they got him to co-sign it so it could be titled Zhang et al approved by Zhang et al.

For context, I’m graduating with my Master’s in Social Work this December! I’m currently unemployed so I can focus on completing my full-time internship.
I really want to secure a job before graduation, so I’ve already started applying to positions. However, I’m wondering if employers will even consider me since I’m still about a month and a half away from graduating.
Has anyone had success getting hired or receiving a job offer before officially graduating with their MSW? Should I continue applying now, or would it be better to wait until I’m closer to graduation?
Would love to hear others experiences.

Any input from previous physics people who transitioned to engineering?

I just started my program at the end of August. I'm studying for MS in ABA. I. am. struggling.

I live with family so while I have no rent expense, I am still largely responsible for my own food. I have a car with a high car note & high insurance. I'm dealing with some personal health issues. Behind on car maintenance. My best friend died in a crazy accident last weekend and I can't even afford to send her family flowers let alone travel for her services.

Im a GA/intern but limited on the hours I can work. I'm here full time but it's half fieldwork which is unpaid and half client work which is paid but my paid hours have been on the lower side.

I applied for SNAP but was denied due to not working enough hours.

The only good thing to come from starting school is getting medicaid and finally having health insurance.

I'm struggling to maintain and this is only the beginning?? Tired of having to choose between putting gas in my car or eating dinner.

Is there anything I can do for extra income, preferably wfh. The area I'm in leans more rural so stuff like DoorDash isn't really worth it.

I am 26f and while part of me feels like grad school is just a cry for help, another part of me would actually really love to go back to school and get an MBA or LCSW (I know these are very different).

Every time I think about it tho I feel crushed by the imagined weight of working to pay to cover my bills and cost of living, going to school and having homework and assignments and then also being in debt. Plus no guarantees of a good job. Like how??

How are we interpreting a very safe business casual dress code? Event is in the North East, Fall time. I am female and dress more on the hippie/boho side daily.

Are heels cool or sneakers?

Pants/blazer?

Is a dress doing too much?

Pantsuit?

Colors?

Scarf or is that not business casual anymore?

How much jewelry?

Want to prepare my outfit and feel comfortable now. In the past I would wear black pants, white shirt and blazer. Can that classic combo still work?

This is for a research based society that I will be contributing to over this academic year. Thanks for any input!!

Hi - I did a Masters in my twenties, and whilst I've worked - with words, with academic content - and I read voraciously, I'm finding that note-taking whilst reading academic books is a challenge.

I'm using Zotero to store notes and tag stuff. I'm organised. I know what to read for my essays (so strategic reading) BUT I end up feeling that I'm summarising the content rather than noting down key ideas. And that's probably the nub of the problem - I don't feel that I engage critically as I read. I'm having lots of thoughts but none feel worth writing down as the key idea. It feels like that part of my brain isn't switched on enough, if that makes sense.

I don't know how to get there.

And the big problem is if I take library books - I feel I need to really capture the point because otherwise I have to go back and get them again.

Help appreciated, thank you.

It’s October and I am dying! There is no context, I just feel like giving up, stop data collection, stop course work, retire, take a gap year, build a family, be a house wife.

Pretty much the title. I went to the doctor yesterday and they updated my patient information, I cried when I read my weight on it. I didn’t even realize. Literally how the fuck do you take care of yourself. I’m up to my nose in coursework, I have 18 hours of unpaid internship a week and 2 full days of classes a week. I don’t know how to take care of myself anymore. I thought I was doing ok despite the stress, but clearly not. It’s not even about time management, it’s about the physical effect the stress of school has on you. Anyway I don’t know why I’m sharing this. If you’re having a hard time taking care of yourself too, I feel you.

Taking my PI's class this semester, and the theory behind my own project has been used as material a few times. The only yes/no short answer question on the midterm was about a condition in my project. It was something I absolutely could have calculated for, but I very confidently answered incorrectly without scratching down a single formula.

I know getting something wrong about my own project is no big deal, but I am so embarrassed that I didn't even try to verify my own answer. It felt like my PI was throwing me a freebie, and I decided to duck out of the way and crash into a window instead.

Is he going to think I only know things about my project when I have access to resources? That I may have made a ton of errors in my research because I didn't care to check my answer??

I'm writing a check for that condition into my code before the next time I see him and hopefully he doesn't think I'm completely incompetent.

I submitted my NSF GRFP application before the deadline, but unfortunately, I wasn't able to get my official undergraduate transcript from my university in time.

Rather than submit nothing, I uploaded my unofficial transcript, which includes my courses and grades. I just received my official transcript, but the application portal is now closed.

I know the requirements this year specifically state that official transcripts are required, so I'm worried this could make my entire application ineligible.

I've tried calling the GRFP Operations Center, but the phone number appears to be out of service. I'm also reaching out by email.

Has anyone dealt with something similar, either this year or in previous cycles? Does NSF ever allow applicants to correct or replace transcript documents after the deadline, especially if everything else was submitted on time?

I put a lot of work into this application, so I'd hate for a transcript issue to disqualify me.

Any advice or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Hi everyone!

I'm conducting a short student-led research survey about how graduate students manage overlapping deadlines, heavy workloads, and competing academic or research responsibilities.

I'm particularly interested in understanding how difficult it can be to prioritize tasks when several deadlines fall within the same week, and whether better task-planning tools could help.

The survey has just 4 multiple-choice questions, takes approximately 1–2 minutes, and doesn't collect names or email addresses.

Survey:
https://forms.gle/K1JF48bSKbshefBM9

I'd really appreciate your input, especially if you've had to balance coursework, research, teaching, or work deadlines.

Thanks for helping out!

Hi everyone!

I’m currently an undergraduate at USC studying Public Relations and Advertising, and I’m interested in eventually pursuing Marshall’s MS in Marketing through the Progressive Degree Program, specifically the Marketing Analytics track.

I recently attended a Marshall master’s programs information session, and it made me even more interested in the program. I’m hoping to connect with current students, alumni, or anyone who has applied through the PDP pathway.

I’d love to learn what your experience has been like with the following:

- How quantitative or technically demanding is the Marketing Analytics coursework?
- What skills or courses would you recommend developing before applying?
- What kinds of projects, academic experiences, or professional backgrounds did you have when you applied?
- How practical is the curriculum, and have you found the networking, mentorship, and career resources valuable?

I’d genuinely appreciate any advice, including things you wish you’d known before entering the program!

If anyone is comfortable connecting or chatting privately, I’d love that too.

Thank you!

I had to take an extra semester to finish my undergrad degree in bioengineering and ultimately want to do a PhD. Issue is my cGPA is 3.01 due to some mental health stuff, and 0 internships. (I did stuff like clubs, research, and such. I’ve got at least 2 pretty good letters of rec from my PIs, a second auth in scientific advances, and a poster at BMES.) It seems to be ok, at best , with the GPA hurting it bad.

Anyways, I can continue at my uni for an MSc but its fall 2027 admit only, but I can graduate this semester (fall 2026). Now I have options:

- Postpone degree and take 7 credit hrs to max out how much can transfer over while working on a thesis for Spring 2028 graduation. Maybe apply for PhD’s Fall 2027 depending on funding and outlook.

- Call it quits. Been a good run in academia, but engineering money is decent enough IF I get a job in the next 2 months.

- Graduate, aim to work as an RA at a better university for 1 year (from january) while taking 16hrs (4 grad classes) and doing a non-thesis MSc to then get into the better uni for PhD.

- Work for a year or two then comeback as needed. I’m turning 23 and aim to come back at 25 if the environment is conducive.

My ultimate goal would be to become a R1 professor, but chances are slim. I enjoy academia. If I focused and had a good gpa, I would be getting a good PhD, but I messed it up royally. Plus, US science/biotech is unstable with no entry level jobs. Advice would be appreciated.

Hi all, I graduate this May with a degree in Statistics. I want to stay in the Southeastern US, and all the programs I'm looking at seem so hyper competitive that I have basically no chance, esprcially in terms of a real well thought out statement of purpose because... I have no clue what I'd want to do! I have an internship as an actuary as well as 2 actuarial exams passed, but wanted to keep studying so I could do something more interesting with my life. How do I look for programs beyond just thinking of a random school and looking on its website?

Plz lmk if this isn’t the right sub for this type of question. Basically I’m graduating with my bachelors degree in the spring and I’d love to go to grad school, but I can’t afford it if it’s self-funded and I assumed I’m not a competitive enough applicant to get into a funded program (I get good grades, I just don’t have much on my resume). But today my academic advisor told me that around 90% of the masters students at my school are GAs with tuition waived and a stipend, and the rest just don’t bother because they’ve got the money to pay for it anyways (as in basically everyone who is looking to be a GA gets it). He also acted like it’s pretty common in general for masters programs to be funded.

I googled it after our meeting and there was NOTHING from the school about what % of masters students get funding or about the amount of graduate assistanceships that are typically available. I know it’s possible that my advisor has a biased sample and maybe he just knew a lot of people with GAs but the actual % of masters students who get them is much smaller than what he said, but I’m wondering if maybe it really is just more common than I realized… it just sucks because if I really have a chance of getting a funded masters it would 100% change things for me, but it seems like they (in general, not just my school) want to make it hard to learn about this stuff so that students don’t base their whole decision on whether or not they think they’ll be able to get a GA. But it kinda seems like a pretty reasonable thing to base that decision on…

My school doesn’t offer grad programs in my field so I’m asking to see if I should look into other schools, or if my advisor gave me false hope. Is there anywhere online for me to get more info on this? (I’ve googled “funded masters programs in __” before, but that led me to believe that funded programs were uncommon and very competitive)

Or, if I call and talk to graduate admissions or someone like that at individual schools will they be able to tell me about this stuff? Or are they just going to give me some general answer like “we do have a limited number GA positions that offer tuition waivers and a stipend, but they are not guaranteed” ? I mean I know nobody can guarantee anything like that rn, but less than half of the masters students getting even a 1 semester GA is very different from 90% of them getting full funding—I just need some sort of idea to know if it’s worth pursuing.

Any advice/insight is appreciated!! Even if you have anecdotal evidence about a school I should look into!

Hi everyone!

I’m an MSc Psychology of Mental Health and Wellbeing student at the University of Wolverhampton. For my dissertation, I’m exploring the relationship between perceived stress and sleep quality among online postgraduate students.

Online study can involve balancing coursework with employment, caring responsibilities and other commitments. My research aims to improve understanding of wellbeing within this student group.

You can participate if you:

• Are aged 18 or over.
• Are currently enrolled in an online postgraduate programme.
• Can understand the study information and questionnaire in English.

The survey takes approximately 5–10 minutes. Participation is voluntary, and responses are confidential. Full information about consent, data handling and withdrawal is provided at the beginning.

Survey: https://wolves.questionpro.eu/t/AB3u7rYZB3wsnL

I’d also welcome general discussion: what could universities do to better support the wellbeing of online graduate students? There’s no need to share personal health information or your survey answers here.

Thank you for your time!

I’m a first year grad student (not in psychology but majored in undergrad) who’s been cold emailing professors looking to get involved in psychology research for months now, and one finally not only added me on LinkedIn but invited me to their weekly lab meeting. How do I prepare for this lab meeting beyond reading through their projects and familiarizing myself with the lab?? I’m super nervous and don’t know what to expect. I only have one year of research experience in undergrad.

i'm doing my grad schooling pretty late, after almost 6ish? years away since undergrad. my grades back then weren't anything exceptional, but i was a pretty hardworking student.

i'd have multiple days in a week where i'd wake up at 4am to study before class, then a few days a week i'd spend a couple of hours studying after classes.

obviously for grad school, the amount of reading you have to do is so much more, and having to balance that with other commitments is difficult.

what was your grad school experience like, especially in the beginning where you had to adjust and try to revert back to student mode after a long gap?

How many ecology PhD programs do you think I need to apply to to have a >90% chance of being accepted to at least one?

And what schools should I apply to? I'm not bounded by geography; aka any country and any university in the top global 200 I am considering.

Profile:

I have an MSc (distinction) in statistical ecology from a UK russell group. I have a first author publication in progress at a Q1 ecology journal with IF > 6. I have three LoR from professors of ecology who are each world renowned giants in the field.

How strong is my application realistically?

My career goal is to pursue research in academia.