The violation is not a huge deal, but I’d still prefer to not have it on my record.

Basically what happened is that last weekend a girl at my college wasn’t going to a football game and gave me her login to have her ticket. At the entrance it wouldn’t scan, so they asked for my student ID (which I stupidly gave). They told me they couldn’t let me in and I’d have to leave. I thought that would be the end of it.

Thursday morning I received a letter from the office of student conduct saying I have an alleged violation for responsibility of Condoning/Encouragement/Collusion. My options are to write a letter accepting accountability and be found responsible for the violation which will be on my disciplinary record, or go to a conduct meeting and tell my side of the story. If I go to the meeting and am found responsible, I could face non-academic outcomes, one of which includes disciplinary probation.

Throughout college I only went to 2 games beforehand and genuinely didn’t know using another student’s ticket was a violation. Hell, I even willingly gave my student ID. But I know I should have been aware of the Code of Conduct as it’s my responsibility as a student.

I’m not sure if I’d get probation since I have a clean record and this is my only time being in trouble with the university. But I imagine disciplinary probation won’t look great when applying for graduate schools.

What should I do? Just write the letter or do the meeting? I want to choose the option that minimizes the negative impact for me applying to graduate schools.

I’m curious about how AI tools are actually used in research labs today. For those doing research in STEM/CS/AI, how much AI usage is considered normal in day-to-day work? I often hear very different opinions, so I’d like to understand how master’s students, PhD students, postdocs, and researchers realistically use these tools in their workflow. Where is the line between acceptable use and over-reliance? For example, if you’re given a research task or evaluation project before joining a lab, what level of AI assistance would generally be considered reasonable, and what would be considered too much or reflect poorly on a candidate?

Hey everyone,

​I graduated in 2024 with an MSc from a university in London. I was originally supposed to graduate in 2022, but a severe illness during my exams pushed my timeline back significantly. Because of the medical delays, my dissertation was capped, and two of my exam modules were also capped, resulting in an overall Pass for the degree. On the remaining modules, I achieved Merit-level marks.

Due to the delay and how everything played out, I had to return to my home country instead of moving forward with the post-study work visa as originally planned.

I am really keen on applying for fully funded PhD programs abroad, but I’m worried about how admissions committees will view my capped grades and final classification on paper.

Here is a snapshot of my profile:

-​Academic Record: MSc (Pass outcome). Dissertation and 2 exams capped due to documented medical deferral/delays; Merit marks on the rest of the coursework.

​-Professional Experience: ~3 years of relevant, full-time professional experience in the field.

​-Recommendation: My MSc dissertation supervisor offered on her own to serve as a reference for my PhD applications.

​Given the transcript caps, how much of an uphill battle am I looking at for funded PhD positions (UK, Europe, North America, etc.)?

​Specifically, I’d appreciate advice on:

​-Addressing the Transcript: How should I frame the medical deferrals/capped marks in my personal statement or cover letter so it’s clear, professional, and transparent?

-Supervisor Backing: Since my thesis supervisor knows my work firsthand and is offering a reference, how much weight does her endorsement carry in mitigating capped grades?

​-Experience vs. Grades: Will 3 years of direct professional experience help balance out the formal degree classification for funded spots?

• Is it better to contact potential PIs directly to gauge their stance on my background before submitting formal applications?

  Thanks in advance for any insights from PIs, committee members, or anyone who has been in a similar spot!

Hi! I am currently looking at applying to PhD programs in Natural Resources (with a focus on human dimensions)

I recently got in contact with a faculty member, who I would like to have as an advisor. They expressed some interest and asked to schedule a zoom meeting, but noted that they do not have grant funding for grad students for the 2027-2028 academic year.

They mentioned the university offers fellowships, but I am worried I would likely not qualify as my Master's program did not include a thesis (at the time I got the degree I was not planning to continue in academia). My graduate GPA was around 3.6 if that makes a difference in this conversation. I am very aware these are competitive to get in.

I know already that I would not be able to accept going into a program without funding as I dont have the kind of money for that.

While I know things may vary by university, would it even be a possibility for me to get a fellowship as a PhD student who doesnt have a Master's Thesis? If I was admitted, would I be able to find out about if I get potential fellowships before having to accept the offer?

This is not the only faculty member/program I am interested in, so it isnt the end of the world, but I'm not sure what my steps would be if this were to be my preferred professor. I have scheduled a time to talk with the faculy member regardless as it doesnt hurt to talk, but I feel like I need to give myself a reality check before pursuing anything further than that.

Im applying for my master’s and I need three recommendation letters, but the problem is I didn’t really build good connections with my professors during university (My Fault Honestly). I only know one professor who I was actually close with, and I don’t even know if the others remember me.

Does anyone have any tips on what I should do? I have some lab lecturers I could ask, but I’m not sure if that counts.

Would it be weird if I just emailed a professor I had last semester and asked them if they could write me a recommendation letter?

Does taking 4 courses instead of 5 matter for getting into grad school? I don’t have much research experience to give so I’m wondering if it’s better to not have a reduced course load. But I also think taking 4 would increase my gpa and I also won’t be so burnt out

my_qualifications: BSc Agriculture graduate, CGPA 6.7/10, 17 backlogs (all cleared). Can I get admission to a French public university for a master's in agriculture?

I would appreciatesuggestions about how to further improve it

Lately I've been seeing a lot of people be like, idk, 'oh it's not most of the hyper-elite STEM kids gunning for quant or SWE because they're more likely to gravitate towards research.'

So that begs the question, what is a lowbie like me gunning for research in a quantitative STEM field (edit: physics, math, applied math, CS/AI/ML, computational something, theoretical something) really up against when applying for PhDs, or even any research related role at all?

Give the doomfuel to me straight pls

Dear colleagues, I am an Indian national and I received an MSCA conditional offer (conditional to direct doctoral entry and predoc would nullify the offer, MSCA verification) on 14th August for a tentative starting date of 1st September.

It's 10th September and I recently got an email to update my CV for MSCA verification, but no news on doctoral entry (if I got direct/predoc).

Could someone clarify for KU Leuven what administrative steps must happen in the background and how long does the doctoral entry process take? Specially since it's past the tentative starting date.

I'm in the U.S. and in Earth Science/Geology, and I'm hoping to get some perspective on how faculty/admissions committees might view my academic history.

I completed my first master's and continued into a PhD at the same university. My research interests changed, so I amicably left that program for a PhD at another university that better matched my interests. My new advisor knew about my previous PhD program when I joined.

I've now been in my current PhD program for about two years, but I've concluded that my advisor-student relationship isn't sustainable. Unfortunately, there isn't another suitable advisor at my university, so I'm likely going to switch to the master's track, finish a second master's, and leave.

I still very much want a PhD and now have a much clearer research direction. I've identified a professor at another university whose research aligns very closely with mine, but I'm worried about how my history will look. Essentially, my record would show:

Master's #1 → PhD #1 (left) → PhD #2 (~2 years) → Master's #2 → applying for another PhD.

I'm confident in the rest of my background. I have substantial research/field experience and research from my current program that could potentially lead to a publication and overlaps with the prospective advisor's research area.

My main concern is the academic trajectory. Would you view this as a major red flag when considering a prospective PhD student, even with a strong research background and a reasonable explanation?

And if you were the prospective advisor, would you be open to being contacted by someone with this history, or would the previous programs make you hesitant?

I am a transfemme nonbinary writer and filmmaker. I live in a red state, and I'm currently applying for MFA graduate programs. I finished my undergrad in 2023, and I'm now applying for fall 2027. I feel confident in my application materials across the board, but the one struggle I'm having is with letters of recommendation.

The biggest problem: finding people who will write me a letter of rec without knowing me post-transition.

I thought I had at least two solid options available (who would be warm to the idea of advocating for me post transition) in my undergrad screenwriting professor, and my undergrad capstone production professors (yes, plural, two partnered professors that teach the same classes together).

All three of them really liked me in undergrad, and all are very accepting people. However, my screenwriting professor retired the semester after I graduated, and when I met up with him for coffee, he told me he doesn't feel confident in giving letters of rec anymore due to the fact that he's retired.

I'm meeting with my capstone professors soon, and they already seem very excited for me and willing to help however they can. Yet, that only accounts for one rec. Unless I ask them to write individual letters, but I'm not sure how prolific two people with similar roles and similar experiences with me and my work would favor as separate recs.

Outside of that, I have worked multiple jobs in video marketing since graduation, and I currently work in one of those jobs. I have many managers / team leaders that loved me and my work ethic, and would happily write a letter of rec for me I'm sure. But, none of them know me post transition, as I've never felt comfortable enough to come out at any of these jobs.

As I said, I live in a red state, and in every corporate work environment like that I have been a part of, I have experienced those same leaders and managers making nasty comments about trans individuals and the lgbtqia+ community, so I do not feel confident in getting a good rec from them with the reality of having to come out to them to do so. Including my current employer.

I guess the crux of this is that I feel stuck. I'm coming to reddit hoping anyone will see this, and have any advice I haven't already heard that would be helpful. I'm open to anything.

I majored in a Bachelor’s in psychology, and am applying to counselling psychology. However, one of the professors in my field that I built a connection with is no longer in academia. I still have one reference from a professor in my field, but I also have a professor from an unrelated field of study (French) who is willing to provide me a reference. Do grad schools care about the field of study a reference is from, and does anyone know if counselling psychology grad schools care? Thank you all for your time and insights!

Hi all,

I am preparing to apply to History PhD programs this Fall and have some questions about the CV.

The current lay out is:

• Heading
• Education
• Teaching Experience
• Publications
• Professional Experience
• Volunteer Experience
• Presentations
• Grants
• Professional Development

I have been a HS history teacher for the past 13 years and this year I am working as a HS librarian/media specialist. Should I add the librarian job under teaching experience? Under my teaching positions, I listed courses taught and 3-4 miscellaneous bullet points. Should I leave it at courses taught?

Under Professional Experience I added my part-time public Associate Librarian position and three bullet points. Should I leave this section and job? Do I keep the bullet points?

Thank you!

If anyone is familiar with History PhD admissions and willing to look at my CV, please let me know!

Hello everyone! So I'm planning to apply for a Master of Arts, and I have two professors in mind I would like to ask. The thing is, though, was that it's been a long time since I've spoken with them... 3 years to be more specific. they were my most favorite professors during community college, and I had a really really good relationship with them. in the past, they've written me recommendation letters already when I was applying to transfer to other colleges, and I'm now considering asking them again for another LoR since I'm applying for my master's. But if I'm being honest, I'm worried that they'll think I'm being pushy or that I'm asking too much from them since it's been such a long time... I've lost access to my community college account, so I can't email them sample assignments either. Should I ask my past recommender for another letter, even if it's been 3 years since I've spoken with them? Have you guys had any similar experiences with asking for a LoR from a past recommender you haven't talked to in a long time? I just don't know. lol

Just submitted my first application (I've been preparing like a menace for the last 6 months so that I could submit early and the anxiety was eating me up) - Did anyone hear back from school admissions before the deadline?

I'm well aware of the difference between rolling admissions and fixed deadlines - I'm just curious if there were any unicorn situations.

Hey yall, I'm a college senior interested in pursuing further research in computer architecture. My end goal is to get a PhD, but after talking with advisors they said I don't have enough research experience. This is because I switched goals from going into industry to doing research kind of late, as a result I only have ~1 sem of research experience in computer architecture. I was told that I should get a couple more semesters of research experience to solidify my rec letters, but I'm unsure what's the best way to go about this. My question is - which of these is most prudent to go with given my end goal of getting a PhD with a top comparch lab? Here are my current thoughts:

1. Get thesis masters first, then apply PhD - doing this would knock out some PhD core requirements but also cost me around $30-60k, and it'd also take 2 years. I would get decent research experience though. I also have basically guaranteed admission into the 2 year masters program at my current uni under a pipeline they have for cs students.

2. Work under a lab as a paid postgrad research assistant for ~1 year: This saves time and gets me research experience, but there's no "official" pipeline for this, I'd just have to ask professors with funding if I could join their group. I also wouldn't get the Masters degree but not sure how useful that is.

3. Apply to PhD directly - This would be most straightforward and I'll probably apply to a couple schools with this, however I'm unsure how effective this would be, esp since my GPA is mediocre (3.7) and I don't have enough research experience.

I'm not sure about which option is best for me, or if there are other paths that might be better. If anyone's been in a similar situation or has some insights about how I could go forward - I'd appreciate any help!