I’m seriously considering dropping out. I am one year into my program and even 6 months ago I was already very apathetic about the program and crying over it. I don’t even want to be in that field anymore (my program works towards a specific profession) so I question why I am wasting so much of my time and energy being burnt out and doing assignments when I am not even sure if I want this profession anymore. On top of that my mental health is completely deteriorating when I thought I healed. I was recently diagnosed with anxiety and depression, my doctor is very concerned about me and really wants me to take antidepressants, and I am thinking about relapsing into old addictions/bad habits and just… ending it everyday. My program also specializes in helping other people and I am completely not in that headspace to even help myself let alone others. The only reasons why I might stay are that my parents already paid for so much and I don’t want to disappoint them. They also expect a lot from me and want me to have a stable career, which of course I understand, but at the same time I am so burnt out I do not have it in me to look for a job, and I can barely even work a regular 9-5 job because I get depressed every time I do. I dont know, office jobs just deplete and drain me even if I like the job itself, and of course the depression has come back every time i am in these kinds of jobs. My true passions are jobs that will not make me a lot of money but that’s not sustainable either. So im stuck about what to do, should I stick it through even though it’s ruining my health or should I take a leap of faith and drop out? If i do drop out i will really need to formulate a sustainable plan but if i don’t, i am afraid of what i will do to myself.

First semester grad student here and majoring M.S. in Psych. I am still learning to read and summarize research literature which has been super hard (got my Bachelors of Arts in K-12 Education which was more hands-on) and my professor assigned a lit review paper as our final which has to have 10 peer reviewed journal articles as sources included in it due in a month. I am not sure how in-depth my citations need to be but I am a really good writer eventhough I am not sure how to make my writing sound masters level or scholarly.

How has your experience been? I recently got into a funded program but am getting cold feet considering I have two toddlers. My partner is amazingly supportive, but I've also been the primary financial provider. Curious about your experience or advice you'd offer. Leaving this open-ended because I'm not really looking to be talked into/out of it, just genuinely curious.

Hey guys!

I just found this sub, which is very convenient because I desperately need an advice!

For context I’m a first year PhD student (I’m also an international student at my uni). From the start of my program I’ve been with my advisor, but since then some things had happen that made me really consider to switch my PI.

I’ve been through some situation of micromanagement, my advisor is constantly making meeting to ask about progress during the week; sometimes he even arranges meetings during the weekend. Feedback is delivered as criticism and one of the things that I came to realize is that the projects I’m working on are interesting but not what I’m actually passionate about.

There are many other situations that had happened, but I don’t want to extend too much this post.

People who have switched advisors, what’s your experience? And advices.

I’m feeling a little overwhelmed and also worried that other researchers won’t consider me if I abandon my advisor and projects. I also feel compromised to finish the projects that I’m currently working, specially with one where I was paid for a few months.

Hey y’all I am a 3rd year in an MA/PhD program (just started the PhD portion after getting MA) and I am struggling completely. Struggling mentally and physically. Feel like I am completely drowning in work with no time to get it all done.

Mentally, I am constantly going through waves of stress. People tell me I seem very laid back and unconcerned but the truth is, I am somehow able to remain apathetic towards my responsibilities until a crunch period comes and I become so stressed to the point of depression and dysfunction. I mean even when I am not stressed, I struggle completely to be a functional human being. My apartment is filthy because cleaning it feels like it takes too long and any time not spent on work makes me feel guilty. I constantly go days without eating until I can’t make it and then binge eat a ton on one day. Outside of family and my girlfriend my only social life is video games with friends from home.

Physically, I am distraught at how out of shape I have become. I am not incredibly overweight or anything but I used to be a 6 days a week at the gym guy. I used to coach at an MMA gym. Now, I rarely go, maybe I can manage once or twice a month. The gym takes time, and the gym makes laundry, the more laundry I have to do, the more time I lose that could be spent on other things. I hate how I feel. I hate how I look.

Work-wise I am completely overloaded. We have to teach 2 sections, and follow a strict program and grading schedule. I am so behind because I have been to two conferences recently and have another in a week. On top of that I have 2 classes that I am constantly missing deadlines for because I can’t justify spending time to work on those things because I have more pressing matters. I need to work on two presentations for an upcoming conference, I need to finish an IRB for data collection, I start a manuscript (based on previous projects I have done) which needs to be submitted for publication to satisfy program requirements, I have to grade a metric **** ton of exams and problem sets, and the best thing is that I am probably forgetting stuff on top of that.

I can’t take this. I feel completely out of my depth and feel like I have been drained of my energy and life. I don’t want to do this anymore. I hate feeling guilty for relaxing for even a second. I hate feeling like there is no end in sight.

I like my field generally and I have been told that I have a good head on my shoulders when it comes to this sort of work but it just doesn’t feel worth it at all. I don’t feel rewarded or fulfilled by any of this I just feel relieved that I don’t have to do it when it’s done.

I have thought of leaving my program so many times, and at one point had even told my professors I think I was done, but decided against it because I don’t know what else I would do, and thought I would regret quitting. Not to mention there are rare moments when I do genuinely enjoy reading and thinking about my niche topic. But i don’t know if it’s worth how horribly i feel it is affecting my life.

TL;DR: Grad school is ruining my life

EDIT: I feel doubly guilty for feeling this way because when I talk to professors about projects and ideas they genuinely are so kind and interested in what I have to say. I feel like they have so much more faith in me than I have in myself. One professor even told me recently that she likes me because I have a brain (lol) and told me she has faith that i can be motivated because I genuinely am passionate about what I do. But I don’t know. I am passionate about some stuff but the sheer quantity of work I have to do is seriously impacting my quality of life. I feel like a shadow of my former self.

Sorry, I know this probably just looks like venting and yea it probably is so I guess to avoid that can I just ask what other people do to avoid just… crumbling?

I am a cs junior and I have been confused about undergraduate research. I am aiming for MS in the subfield I am passionate about. However MS at reputable university requires prior research experience. The thought of getting started in research has been a huge source of fear in me. So I have a few questions hoping someone experienced can answer it:

1. Do you need to be a master of the field to start research, or do the basics count? By basics I mean foundational undergraduate coursework and general knowledge. Is it normal to feel completely unqualified at the start?
2. Are local university positions and cold emailing the only ways to find opportunities? If both methods fail, especially because my home university (and even country) lacks active research positions or faculty specializing in my subfield is there a "third path" to getting research experience?
3. What actually qualifies as "research experience" for an MS application? Does it have to be a peer-reviewed publication, or do deep implementation portfolios, advanced final projects, or structured independent studies count?
4. Is the "stepping stone" MS strategy valid for a PhD? If I do a coursework based or average tier MS to build up my research profile, how realistic is it to use that as a stepping stone to get into a phd program in top US universities ?

I’m thinking about my masters; im still a year or two away and might take a break before depending on how the job market for me is, but i think i want to get it in a foreign country (i’m american). Part of the reason is cost, so my choices of foreign country are largely dependent on whether its significantly cheaper than america. The other reason is i’m an archaeology major and in america, the research is basically all indigenous archaeology, which i’m not super into, partially because i feel like it’s not my history to make assumptions about as a white guy, but also cause i like architecture and there’s not much architecture to look at.

One of the places i’d love to study is Poland; im half polish and have visited relatives there before and really liked visiting; it’s also much cheaper which is great. However, english language programs are limited, especially in any area i’m interested in. I’m not totally against learning Polish, i’m just not very good at it. I’d probably get a little better before deciding completely, but i can’t imagine id achieve fluency.

Has anyone else gotten a masters in a program of a language you dont speak? I know it’s not ideal, but i’m interested in how possible it is.

I came home from a two and a half hour in-person class tonight and didn't realize I had a paper due this Sunday for another class when I could have worked on it last month because school has been overwhelming (taking three classes, this is my first semester) and I was in tears a little bit ago because it has been affecting my physical and mental health and vice versa. This semester hasn't been perfect and has been all over the place and it is really hard to balance your own well-being with that of school and I keep forgetting that grad school is not like undergrad and how professors do not remind you to submit assignments on time as you have to check Canvas yourself. Like I dont know if I am going to make it out with six weeks left as have two D's and an A.

I (24f) graduated from university last year when I was 23, but the last year of my bachelors was too hard on me for several reasons and I couldn’t apply to the masters degree for 25/26 educational year back then. I took a gap year worked on my psychology, did some field work (nothing too impressive), spent time with my family and friends. This year I applied 6 masters degrees for 26/27 educational year and except 1 of them got rejected. 1 of them wanted extra documents and I sent them immediately but the masters office tells me that the process can take until the end of November and it is not even certain that I will be accepted. The semester started 2 weeks ago and I am already missing lessons. If I cannot make it this year, I feel like a total failure and think I will be losing one more year of my life. This gap year was not a total wreck but I feel like my life is on pause until I achieve the master study I yearn for. And I feel like I am losing so much time on nothing…

I'm in an MSW program and working 40 hours on top of that. Weekends come and I get chores done and spend a little time with friends. I have a few hours on the weekends to get extra work done but I am having the hardest time getting myself to do it. My brain is just tired. I eat and sleep pretty good, not getting a ton of exercise or sunshine though.

I have one research methods paper in particular that is seriously like pulling teeth. Idk what to do. I've tried going to the library or a coffee shop. I've tried the pomodoro timer. I just can't get myself to do stuff until it's like the day of the due date or late.

I'm two months into my second and final year, and I'm having such a hard time. My program has genuinely given me so much, and my teachers are fantastic and top in their field and I'm lucky to have the chance to work with them. But the favoritism and subjectivity of grades is slowly getting to me.

It doesn't truly affect me or my professional outcome. I will have no problems graduating. But I'm watching the students who get preferential treatment continue to get more and more special attention from the teachers, because they get more experience from having more opportunities.

It's just really hard. I'm working to stay detached and just focus on learning and improving myself. But it sucks.

Any kind words or advice for how to deal with these feelings welcome.

I'm a final year postgraduate student of IR but my thesis is based on Free Trade Agreements in Asia. I'm unable to form a system to decide countries to pursue my PhD in

Is getting PhD fundings in Europe as competitive as it is in Australia and say, Singapore?

Im considering taking this MS program online but I can not seem to find anyone who has been enrolled and is able to give me their two cents. Any advice would be appreciated.

STEM background student here.

Okay, first I would like to clarify my question. I have read up a lot of posts online everywhere to not do a PhD and how big of a slog the work is. I am in my senior/final year of my engineering degree in India. Quite lost in what to do. I wanted to write something so that I understand things myself and maybe get to talk to some people too.

I've always wanted to work in academia. I'm currently taking some graduate level courses this semester and working under a prof. And after spending quite some time on research and high level courses, I have a feeling that everything seems so gloomy? Don't get me wrong on this, I love the work, however it seems like everyone is extremely burnt out.

On top of that, I wanted to go for fields that are more applied math oriented. It seems that the clankers are doing so much that I might not even produce good work alone. However, I still have hope? I feel there will be some wall that clankers will have their own hurdles and human creativity will still thrive. Idk how the human spirit works. Idk enough. Of course you can go ahead and correct me for being gloomy. I think I should still be realistic before I commit my 20s and early 30s to a PhD/Postdoc life.

Honestly, I feel like I do not want to deal with the stress and uncertainty in academia at all. Which is a shame I feel because I'm doing extremely well in my courses, considering my cohort consists of PhD and Masters students who know way more than me. I have a few friends who want to go to academia who do get "less marks" than me, but I know that's not a good enough indicator for success in research. I told them that I do not want to go for research anymore, and they get disappointed. It's because they think I am wasting something.

I'm really not sure anymore. I had a fire to learn more things and discover something new in a niche research field before. But now I feel like it's all but gone away. I think I should just start preparing for a stable industry/defence sector jobs with what I want out of my life. I feel that I want to stop pigeonholing myself to just academics and explore more. But I still honestly really doubt if I want that or is it just some other people's idea of success.

PhDs take a lot of commitment and grit. I don't think I have what it takes for that.

I just wanted to have inputs from actual graduate students about this. Any insights would be appreciated.

Hi everyone!

I'm applying to Chemistry PhD programs in the US for Fall 2027 as an international applicant.

One university I contacted told me to convert my GPA to the 4.0 scale, but I'm unsure how to do this correctly. I now WES is an option but I don’t have the money.

Would a simple proportional conversion be acceptable, or is there a specific conversion method I should use?

I'm also unsure how to present the conversion. Should I edit my transcript to include the converted GPA, or should I leave the official document unchanged and submit a separate page explaining the conversion and the method used? If a separate page is appropriate, should it be an informal statement prepared by me?

I'd appreciate advice from anyone who has dealt with this, especially international applicants

Thanks in advance!

I’m a current masters student in mechanical engineering from canada looking to apply for PhD programs in the US. I have a letter of recommendation from my current masters supervisor and one of our academic collaborators who I worked with directly in the past.

I asked my undergraduate thesis supervisor, who said that he would probably not be the best letter writer. I really struggled in his lab that year and he does not think he can write an outstanding letter for me which is why he recommended I find someone else.

Would this raise red flags for an admissions committee that I don’t have a letter from my undergrad thesis supervisor.

Also for a third letter writer who of the two options would be best:

1. another prof who I haven’t done research with or taken a class but she is a personal mentor of mine and I did a summer research skills program with

. We’ve also been on the same faculty committees in the past

2. professor from one of my classes probably would be from undergrad since I haven’t gotten to know any of my grad profs very closely.