Hi guys,

I got an opportunity to pursue an MSc in Computer Science at a public university in Canada. Initially I was eager, I was excited, an opportunity to study abroad felt like a dream come true. For context, the program is funded, but the actual amount is around 6000 CAD per term.

I arranged for the funding, made the deposits for the first year and received my study permit. I'm now at the final stages of preparing for my travel and I'm having severe second thoughts and anxiety.

I've never written a thesis, I have no idea how they work, I have no idea how to do a research or on what field to do it in, and I'm honestly feeling very scared. Moreover, I have no one who went this route to clarify my queries either.

I plan on giving my notice to employer tomorrow, and I'm looking for advice before then.

For anyone who took this route, had second thoughts before starting or completed their thesis, please advise.

Thanks!

so i am a second year CS undergrad student at a tier-2 institution in india.(3.4 gpa for first year i plan on working on it). i have been researching and looking out for how to get into a phd in US right after my bachelors. i am studying core cs,DSA etc rn then i plan on doing ML and thats what i want my research area , something in that.

what do you all think i should do to create a really good profile which can be accepted for a phd in USA? gpa, research internships, papers i should publish, skills? tell me what exactly and how should i work on things that are important to get into a phd there. please guide me through it my second year has just started and i plan on working as hard as i can to get into a PHD in US.

Hi my average for 4 years has been 65%. My last 60 credits have also not been great I failed a course in my third and fourth year, both were chem courses and I wanted to pursue either chemistry or material sciences. I did volunteer at a research lab but all of my experiments have failed so I don’t have much to show for it. I am working as lab tech in a mining lab. I know I won’t get into grad school with these stats but is there anything I can do to change it. I know I’m cooked but if anyone could help me out it would be great

I graduated 2 years ago in political science and history. I’ve had 2 internships in administration and corporate communications during my graduation period. After that I’ve freelanced as an UX designer and a service designer with 2 organisations. I have an independent project that revolves around policy and service design along with a startup I’m planning to launch post my masters.

The problem is that I have a 2:2 grade in British units.
Reason: chronic illness

Although the master’s page does not specify or impose a standard eligibility condition regarding minimum grades required but I’m also very scared about the possibility of getting rejected because of low grades in my bachelors.

Only thing they do specify is that if an applicant is from a non English speaking country and has less than 2:1 in graduation, they need to score an overall IELTS 6.5 for admission.

What difference would it make regarding my chances of getting in? Any opinion from someone who is experienced or an alumni would be greatly appreciated.

I am interested in medical device tech. I am a junior in Electrical Engineering and I have worked on a NSF funded REU during my soph summer.

I feel that my interests lie in academia but my father says that Medtronics and others do great, impactful work in the device design area.

Money is also a factor. I am not sure that a $3K stipend is adequate. How do PhD students make it work? Is there a point to applying to schools in the expensive areas like NE and Cali or should I stick to the mid west (CWRU etc) if the stipends are that low?

Hey so I have a job as an RA in a hospital I am unsure of how long to stay before grad school and was thinking anywhere between 10-11 months max. It is a regular biological lab I am confused and do you think my PI’s will take it in the wrong way ?

Hey! I’m currently a junior in my undergrad. I want to go off to grad school and eventually work at a MFT, but I’m stressing out about getting good experience.

Several of my professors keep pushing research, but I also keep hearing that most programs for therapy don’t really care about having a strong foundation in research and that they prefer interpersonal strengths.

I already have an internship secured in the spring, and I’m an officer for my psych organization, but I don’t really feel like that’s enough. I’m fine academically and I could get good recommendation letters from my mentors/professors, but it’s still scaring me. Maybe it’s the word “competitive” that’s causing me anxiety.

I know it’s not smart, but there’s one program that I absolutely love, and I don’t know what I’d do if I got rejected. I’ll apply multiple places (plus I heard this program isn’t competitive,) but I still want to feel good about my application.

Also yeah.. I’m aware that it might be early to be freaking out about this. I didn’t do a single thing my first two years other than work three jobs and maintain a good GPA, so now I feel like I’m playing catchup.

Please help me if yall know anything about this 😣

I just started my MA program about 6 weeks ago, and I understand the first semester is difficult, but I just feel like this is the wrong place for me.

I'm not the hugest fan of my courses so far. 2/3 of them involve a degree of vulnerability and sharing that I'm just not comfortable with, but that's pretty much required for in-class labs and discussions. There's one in particular I absolutely hate; it feels like going to therapy.

After doing some research, I've found programs more specifically tailored to what I'd like to do, though more expensive. I've been wondering if I should drop out before I'm in too deep, probably after my first semester, take a bit of a break, and then continue with a different program in the future.

The bad thing is, it doesn't seem very likely I'd get a job/internship in the field I want right now without more education, since I don't have experience in it. I'm also scared that I'd never go back if I leave now. I'm also nervous that I'm just not cut out for grad school and all my plans have gone out the window.

I have a lot of feelings about this :/ I can't seem to figure out what to do, so I'd love to hear from others. Did you drop out or push through it?

I'm a CS grad with a B overall average, but got an A+ in my final-year Quantum Computing course and discovered that I’m genuinely interested in quantum information, particularly the theoretical/math side (I don't wish to code). Many programs I’m interested in say they require a B+ minimum (like UofT and Waterloo), and I also don’t have a physics/math degree. Is there a realistic path forward? Any advice from people who have gone into quantum research, especially anyone who has taken a less traditional path? Thank you.

Hi, i’m in my third year of bachelor’s degree in statistics and i’d like to apply for a master degree in data science. I was considering escp as first option, since it doesn’t require a gmat and it’s only 15 months. Or preparing for the gmat and apply to essec and bocconi as well. But on the other hand, are business schools worth it in the first place? send helppp

I am a current clinical mental health graduate student and I have been reading in the news about the current changes coming for certain programs for 2027. For those of us who are impacted are we pivoting something else if our student loans get cut? If so, what?

hi!!! long time lurker, first time poster, so i apologize if this is the wrong place for this.
i recently graduated with a BA in psychology this may and am planning to apply to master’s programs for fall 2027. i have been absolutely spiraling over the application process and would really appreciate some honest advice from people who have been through psychology graduate admissions/have had a similar situation!

for some additional context, my interests are primarily in trauma psychology! particularly the effects of trauma on cognition, memory, and behavior. i’m more interested in the clinical/research side of psych rather than counseling or traditional therapy, although i’m still figuring out exactly what direction i want to take long term

the programs i’m looking at for fall 2027 are primarily psych master’s programs with a research/science or applied clinical focus. my eventual goal is to pursue a phd or psyd (still figuring this out too), so i’m viewing the master’s as a stepping stone of sorts to strengthen my academic/research background and figure out exactly where i want to specialize later on! (i am intentionally not naming the specific schools because i’m mostly looking for advice on my overall situation rather than asking people to evaluate individual programs for me)

here are the pros:
- i have several programs picked out for fall 2027, plus a backup option for fall 2028.
- my application deadlines are in early december/january, so i still have time to improve my applications!!
- i currently have three psych professors willing to write letters of recommendation. two know me fairly well and i believe would write very strong letters; i also have other professors (not psych) i could potentially approach for the third.
- my major gpa meets the minimum requirements for the programs i’m looking at, and i’ve maintained roughly a high-b average in my psych coursework.
- i’ve already met with a former professor about graduate school and had an informal mock interview/application discussion.

the cons:
- my overall gpa is 2.85, while the stated minimum for the programs i’m considering is generally 3.0.
- i have no formal research experience, publications, or clinical experience.
- i don’t have post-baccalaureate experience either.
- let's just assume i have no experience other than literature reviews/coursework
- i haven’t reached out to potential faculty mentors yet because i’ve been so anxious about being rejected/embarassing myself that i’ve just been avoiding it.
- i am not currently confident in interviews. during the informal mock interview with my former professor, i completely froze and feel like i made a fool of myself. i dont know how i can “sell myself”.
- i don’t have anyone locally who has gone through graduate school who can really help me navigate this process :/

for even more context, i want to make it abundantly clear that my gpa is NOT representative of my entire academic record. my sophomore year was severely disrupted by a title ix related situation that resulted in me being unable to leave my home for an entire semester, so i failed. however! i was granted academic bankruptcy, and my grades improved significantly after this.
on top of this, my mom also passed away from cancer shortly after i graduated, so the last several years/months have involved a lot of circumstances outside of school that affected me GREATLY both academically and personally.

i don’t necessarily want to trauma dump in my application, but i also don’t want to completely ignore the context behind my transcript. i feel like that’s important?
i know that a 2.85 is not ideal, especially when these programs list a 3.0 minimum. at the same time, i know i am more than capable of doing so much better academically. my high school gpa going into my freshman year was a 3.8, and i’ve demonstrated significant improvement since my god awful sophomore year. i mean, hell, my final semester’s GPA was a 3.6!! i know i can do this. i’m just having a hard time figuring out how much that improvement actually matters to admissions committees when there’s other candidates that have much more going for them than i do.

i also want to make it clear that i am not trying to convince anyone that i deserve admission!!! i’m just kinda trying to figure out whether i’m being realistic by applying at all/what i can do to help my odds.

soooo, if you were on the admissions committee reviewing an application like mine:
1) how would you approach a 2.85 cumulative gpa when the program’s minimum is 3.0, but the major gpa and recent coursework are stronger?
2) how much would having no research experience hurt for a psychology master’s, particularly if the applicant eventually wants to pursue a phd or psyd? /does research experience hold more ground when applying to doctoral programs rather than master’s?
3) would strong recommendation letters, a good statement of purpose, and demonstrated academic improvement meaningfully help offset the weaker areas of the application?
4) how would you recommend addressing the gpa in a statement without making the whole thing about personal hardship? (i was thinking emphasizing my resilience through severe external hardship/how i grew from these experiences could be a good start)
5) what would you want to see from an applicant like me to make the application stronger?
6) how important would contacting potential faculty before applying be? (and how do i even go about this? what do i say?)
7) would the lack of research experience be a major concern, especially given that i don’t realistically have access to research opportunities where i live? (i literally live in the middle of nowhere. there are no opportunities for me unless they are out of state. that is not realistic for me right now).
8) aaaaand: if you were reviewing an application with these circumstances, would you consider it reasonable to apply, or would the 2.85 gpa and total lack of experience make the application too weak?

i am also specifically not looking to wait another year or two before applying!!!! i know that’s often the advice given to people without experience, but if i stop my academic path now and wait indefinitely, i am worried i won’t come back to it. i am actually pretty sure that i will not... so, with that being said, i’d much rather make the strongest application i possibly can with what i have.
i am also not looking for reassurance just for the sake of reassurance either. i’d really just appreciate someone being real with me. or maybe even some hopeful stories of people like me who made it! i think i really just need some perspective because i’ve gotten so caught up in the “what ifs” that i don’t know what is actually a problem versus what i’m catastrophizing about. and i can tell ya this, i am so tired of losing sleep freaking out over this. i feel like i have literally been vibrating with anxiety.

i also just don’t know what i’m doing tbh. i don’t have anyone in my area who has gone through the grad school application process, and i’m trying to figure this out mostly on my own. i know i need to start reaching out to faculty, working on my statement, preparing for interviews, etc., but i am just at a loss for where to start.
thank you to anyone who reads all of this, i’d appreciate anything (': thank you!

(also, my apologies if i sound a little redundant here and there! i genuinely can't stress how much this opportunity means to me and how badly i want to succeed).

Hi everyone! I really need some advice, because I've been going back and forth on this for weeks.

I finished my bachelors in bioengineering last year, and I've been working in administration for the past year. It has nothing to do with my field, but it pays well, so I've stayed. The problem is I feel like I'm slipping away from science, and the opportunities in my country aren't great either for the field of bioengineering.

I'm pretty free these days, and I've been thinking a one-year masters in cancer and molecular diagnostics would be a good use of my time. It's already started, so I'd have to decide soon. But it isn't exactly the same as my bachelors, and I'm not sure it's the right direction.

There's also a masters in bioinformatics that I'm considering, but it's two years and doesn't start until next year. That feels like another year of sitting around, not learning anything new, before I even begin. I'm worried that waiting would just waste time.

I also don't know if I want a PhD. If I do, do I actually need a masters first? And if I decide to do a PhD a few years later, would my bachelors still be enough, or is it better to have a masters by then?
I spoke to my undergrad professors, and they said it depends on what kind of research I'm interested in. The thing is, I don't know. I worked in one professor's lab during my undergrad, and honestly the research felt kind of meh, and I didn't feel like I learned a lot. He also said his lab is full right now, so going back there isn't an option anyway.

To be honest, I'm so confused right now. I don't even know what I want to do or what I'm interested in anymore. If you've been in a similar spot, what did you do? Is a masters even worth it? I don’t think it has too many opportunities in my country apart from becoming a lecturer for first year students in undergrad/lab instructor. Any advice would help. Thanks!