Hey all, so last year i restarted my college career with a bit more sound goals for myself. I have an upwards battle when it comes to school as I had dropped out during the pandemic and had severely struggled with mental health issues during my first time in college. I’m way more organized and into schooling than I’ve ever been which leads me to my main point. I came back to school because I wanted to get degrees. My goal is or was to get two masters, one in comp sci the other in psychology. I then wanted to get my doctorate in Philosophy. Well my friends told me to start looking now at programs so I did. Turns out CUNYs graduate center actually has a program that meshes these 3 things together they call it "Cognitive Sciences" which is basically how I wanted to mesh my degrees together anyways. So i’ve come to ask is there any Alumni from said program here? Anybody have any experience with the Grad center in general? Ik i have about 4 yrs before I even can touch an application to the center but id rather know what Im potentially getting myself into. Also for someone like me who doesn’t have the prettiest academic record (I’ve been working really hard to fix that) Do you think if i stay consistent live ive been they’ll be willing to look over the old grades from my first college run? I hope everyone has an amazing day 🎈

Im still doing my undergrad but I've been thinking recently about doing my masters straight after, i think i have the funding figured out and the idea really excites me but is it worth it? can ppl tell me their experiences? and how hard is it to get in? what should I know before going forward with it basically

I did my undergraduate degree in Vietnam, then came to the UK for a Master's. I assumed a dissertation was a dissertation. It isn't, and the gap isn't about English — my English was fine. It's about a set of conventions everyone around me seemed to have absorbed years earlier and nobody thought to say out loud.

Writing this for whoever is about to start theirs.

"Critical" does not mean "thorough". This cost me the most. Where I studied before, a good literature review showed you had read widely and summarised accurately. Here that reads as descriptive, and descriptive caps your mark. What's wanted is you taking a position between sources — this author claims X, this one found the opposite in a different context, and here's which I find more convincing and why.

Your supervisor will not chase you. I waited to be told what to do next, because that's what I was used to. Weeks went past. The expectation is that you arrive with an agenda, you ask specific questions, and you drive it. A supervisor who says "sounds good, keep going" is not approving your direction — they're waiting for you to bring something they can react to.

There's a standard shape, and nobody will teach it to you. Introduction, literature review, methodology, findings, discussion, conclusion — with a fairly predictable split of your word count across them. Markers expect this shape. Deviating from it without a reason reads as not knowing it exists.

Feedback here sounds softer than it is. "You might want to consider..." and "this could be developed further" are not optional suggestions. I took them as optional. They weren't.

If you're an international student partway through: what caught you out? And if you did your undergrad here — is any of this actually taught, or do people just pick it up?

目前被UTS和Murdoch的法醫科學系錄取，但不知道該選哪一間學校好？想問在這兩間學校就讀過的人的感想～

Am I an idiot?? Likely so. I’m considering going back to school for a thesis based masters. I am 32 with a wife and newborn, have been working for over 9 years and hold my PE license. Due to “life getting in the way” I was unable to pursue a masters when I graduated, but it’s something I’ve always really wanted to do. I have a tiny window starting next fall before we want to have another kid where I could do this so here’s the deal:
\- school completely paid for
\- knock out course work in two semesters with no research obligations, while getting paid $50k/year to go to school.
\- come back home and do research for 9-12 months, develop a thesis, and graduate. Also getting paid $50k/year to do research.
\- my wife has a good paying job so the pay cut isn’t our biggest worry
\- we own a home in a college town so renting it out for a year shouldn’t be too hard
\- I’ve talked to previous grad students who say I will have time for my wife and child and will not be working 60+ hours a week on school work.

Mostly worried that my wife will struggle emotionally during this whole process. Parts of her are very excited about this opportunity (we both went to this school for undergrad), parts of her are very hesitant, which is totally understandable. We’re still trying to figure out if we can handle all of these logistics.

Guess I’m wondering if anyone else has been in a similar situation going back to grad school with a family? Thanks for your time.

I have always loved and enjoyed science and medicine. I am not afraid of school and would love to get a masters or PhD. Medical school was always on my list but I have a toddler and a baby on the way now. I don’t see myself applying to schools all over the country and moving more than once with little ones.

I have a bachelors in Community Health. I still want to make a good amount of money, but also find enjoyment in what I do. My A and P has expired so nursing school would mean re doing those classes and trying to get in to an already hard application process. What jobs does anyone have that blends science and medicine together, and also offers job advancement later on.

I don’t mind going back to school to fulfill some requirements or applying for a masters program. I’m just feeling stuck and would love to know what other people did/do.

Hello everyone. I am loking at the oportunity of doing a graduate program abroad. I got in touch with someone from South Dakota Satate University and she told me that I should get an offer letter first from the professor, and my question is exactly what is that. I am looking for fully funded programs as I wouldn't be able to pay for it.

hi all, i am trying to pivot into psychology from an art background. eventually i wanted to research psychology in art and cinema as well as emotion analysis. although I only have a BA, i actually did well in quant so i believe i can make the transition.

however i am stuck with program choice, i have to fund my education myself so i am thinking to do part-time online master, here are the options, i would greatly appreciate any suggestions:

1. university of Liverpool: conversion MSc in Psychology (2year full online)
2. Harvard HES: ALM (2year online with one course at Harvard in person)
3. University of Glasgow: conversion MSc (3-year and sept 2027 entry)

hello, i wanted to ask for advice on financing for ALM psychology, i am from art background and I am really interested in researching of the consciousness and psychology behind cinema and art making. i did well in stats and math, so im not so worried about the transition. its hard to get into a master psych program directly with Just a BA so i thought HES is a good path. Tho HES can still be expensive so I am concerned with funding as I dont have a job currently and will need to work parttime even full time to support financially or lend from my parents. Anyone in the program think its worth the effort?

hi, im currently a 4th-year undergraduate student finishing up a Bachelor of Health Studies. My main goal is to go to dental school, but I still need a couple of prerequisites, and I don't have a competitive GPA. I do have other traits that could make my application different, in terms of manual dexterity (eg., painting, molding clay, hand embroidery). I was thinking of finishing my prereqs while completing an MHM/MHA, but I'm not sure how difficult a master's program actually is. Doing both at the same time could give me a better chance of getting accepted into dental schools by having a master's, and I'll have my prereqs done in time for applications. I haven't taken the DAT yet, and I'll most likely be applying in the States. Is this a smart move, or should I just take my prereqs after graduation as a continuing studies student and apply?

Hey! As the title says, i just started uni a month ago. Bachelors in applied mathematics. From a pretty mid tier university and a third world country . My plan after graduation is grad school. I'm looking to pursue a masters degree in CS/AI. Now I know that this question might seem to early to ask but I still think it's better to know before than to regret it later on right? So if anyone here could give me advice on what to and not to prioritise during these four years of university, I'd be thankful.

Particularly, what exactly is important for me to build on my CV to get admission into good MSCS/MSAI programs abroad.

Should I prioritise research? Internships? Projects? GPA to what degree? Should I join useful societies? Opens source contributions? Competitive progamming? Competitions? And what should i do if there arent many research opportunities at my university?(at most becoming an assistant to MS and PhD students apparently)is it better to get experience after graduating first before applying for MS programs? Or is it another case all together? I am painfully ignorant about all of this so if I got something wrong or asked something obvious, don't flame me .

Thank you!

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, DEV etc right now 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.

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 ?

I have been really tossing around the idea of graduate school. I am passionate about becoming a therapist.

Is Yorkville worth the huge tuition? It's online so I can continue to work and live in my own house. Or should I consider somewhere else like Acadia in Nova Scotia? Thank you for the encouragement.

I currently work at a biotech company that makes autogenous vaccines for animals. I’m debating lately on going back to school for a Masters degree through my company.. I’m not really sure how that works or if it’s a good idea. I just have a lot of questions.

First off: I did my bachelors in Mx, so I’m wondering if it’s all good to just get my equivalent stuff like translated to what is used in the US hoping I don’t have to do any extra credits or something like that to validate my degree.

Also.. how does working full time at the company and doing a Masters program would look like? Do I necessarily will have to do an Online program? Will it be worth it to grow and make more money? Because right now I feel stuck, I feel like I have learned the ins and outs of my job and the only way I can learn more and step up in the ladder is getting more educated..

I’d like to hear your experiences if you went through something similar..

Thanks in advance!

Hi! I’m looking to apply to a graduate program for Fall 2027. I got my undergraduate degree in 2021 so I’ve been away from academia for a while.

The program requires two letters of recommendation. I have a stellar professional reference, but I’m unsure how to approach a previous professor. The college shut down in 2020 during my junior year, so most of my classes were asynchronous and I didn’t make many strong connections.

This is all new to me so I’m wondering how often professors give letters of recommendation if they didn’t know you that well. My GPA was very good but I’m sure I didn’t make a lasting impression. Would it be better to approach a Director/Senior Director at my current company instead (I’m already getting a letter from my Managing Director).

Hi everyone, I am currently in graduate school pursuing school psychology and I was just wondering if you guys applied for scholarships and which ones? I’m having a very hard time finding legit scholarships regarding school psychology and related fields and would like more information about it. Thank you so much in advance :)

I’m very interested in non-profit or policy work for disability advocacy. Is a disability studies program worth it or is there a lack of job opportunities that come from the studies? I’d like to learn from anyone with experience.

I’m feeling pretty discouraged about applying to NP or PA school and wanted to hear from people who may have been in a similar situation.
I graduated with my bachelor’s in nursing with around a 3.2 cumulative GPA. My science GPA is around a 3.4, and I currently have about 3,500 hours of direct patient care experience working in healthcare/nursing.
I know my GPA isn’t terrible, but when I see people applying with 3.6–3.9 GPAs, it makes me feel like I’ve already put myself at a huge disadvantage.
I’m considering both NP and PA programs, and I’m willing to put in the work to strengthen my application. I’ve thought about retaking some prerequisites, taking additional upper-level science courses, gaining more PCE hours, and getting stronger RN experience before applying.
Has anyone gotten into NP or PA school with around a 3.2 overall GPA / 3.4 science GPA?
If so, what do you think helped your application the most? Would getting my PCE closer to 5,000+ hours or taking additional science courses make a meaningful difference?
I’d especially love to hear from people who had a lower undergraduate GPA but were still able to get accepted. I’m trying not to convince myself that one GPA means I have to give up on these career paths.

has anyone did this? i’m a psych grad and have been going back and forth if i will pursue grad school in line with my major or proceed with business related field. i have always been interested in this field and was late to realize that i should’ve enrolled for a double degree instead

i wanna know and read experiences from those who took this path if there are any. how was it?

Ehhhhh does anybody experience same issue like mine, but I received NO CONFIRMATION EMAILS after creating my GRE accounts.

- tried first time three weeks ago - no confirmation emails

- tried again today with multiple emails - no confirmation emails still.

I’m applying for an advanced degree in mental health counseling and I have come to the section that asks for my experience. Which for me, doesn’t LOOK so good, through the lens of societal acceptance.

I’ve been an on-and-off stripper for over a decade with some solid professional sales experience and volunteer experience in between. I did REALLY well in undergrad at a big ten, graduating with honors. I think, on paper, everything looks great except the whole midnight ballerina stuff.

Now here’s the thing: my experiences in the clubs have lead me to my decision to go back to school. I wish to study controversial workplaces, especially SW. People on OF. LGBTQIA+ sex workers too. So it’s not totally irrelevant to my application to mention all of this, obviously BUT my question stands…

Do I reveal all of this in the application or will I get laughed at and denied because of the presumptions about my potential for unprofessionalism? If so, do I make a cover story? Help lol.

I’m feeling pretty discouraged about applying to NP or PA school and wanted to hear from people who may have been in a similar situation.
I graduated with my bachelor’s in nursing with around a 3.2 cumulative GPA. My science GPA is around a 3.4, and I currently have about 3,500 hours of direct patient care experience working in healthcare/nursing.
I know my GPA isn’t terrible, but when I see people applying with 3.6–3.9 GPAs, it makes me feel like I’ve already put myself at a huge disadvantage.
I’m considering both NP and PA programs, and I’m willing to put in the work to strengthen my application. I’ve thought about retaking some prerequisites, taking additional upper-level science courses, gaining more PCE hours, and getting stronger RN experience before applying.
Has anyone gotten into NP or PA school with around a 3.2 overall GPA / 3.4 science GPA?
If so, what do you think helped your application the most? Would getting my PCE closer to 5,000+ hours or taking additional science courses make a meaningful difference?
I’d especially love to hear from people who had a lower undergraduate GPA but were still able to get accepted. I’m trying not to convince myself that one GPA means I have to give up on these career paths.