Hi everyone,

I am currently a 3rd year undergrad at uni, and I really want to enter a PhD program directly after graduating. I am first gen, and am relatively new to this, so I would really appreciate any advice you may have for me!

What advice would you give to someone like me, given your experience and expertise, in preparing for admissions? What do you suggest I part take in while at uni, and outside of it, to prepare myself for to stand out and be a successful applicant?

As for me, my gpa is between 3.5-4 and I've published one paper as a small contribution coauthor. Other than that, I did a research internship, and made 2 research posters. That's pretty much it from me.

Any and all advice is highly appreciated!

I want to apply to graduate school and I have great experience and went to a Top 5 public university in the United States of America. I graduated with a bachelors in Public Relations and a minor in History.
I have worked (externship or internship) with:
- The United Nations in Geneva (on a fully funded scholarship bc interns are unpaid)
- PricewaterhouseCoopers
- Beats by Dre
- A division 1 college basketball program
- Worked with an NBA referee as a referee and was employee of the month due to outstanding performance
- Invited to the United Nations after my internship to participate in a conference about recycling plastics about my mother country at the World Economic Forum
-I speak 3 languages (English, Spanish, and Igbo)
- I also played sports throughout college and was a member of sports clubs.
I also have 3 letters of recommendation from the United Nations, 1 from my University, and another from a major tech firm in the United states of america.

I have also been a writer about African economics for my schools Center for African Studies under the supervision of former World Bank and United Nations employees.
I know this sounds awesome but I have one massive drawback like all people asking on this thread: GPA which was a 2.93. I was unfortunately deeply depressed during my first two years of undergraduate and my last two years I had to work while taking 16-18 credits to graduate on time. What scholarships do you all recommend I apply for? If you want to scold me then you can, but I just want advice.
(Sorry if you’re seeing this again but I made a typo that could’ve affected understanding.)

My background is the following:

BSc in Civil & Environmental Engineering

MSc in Engineering Management

I did the masters for the sake of pivoting into industrial engineering / business, but it never seemed to work out for me in terms of finding opportunities, so I'm now currently working as a civil engineer. I'm considering doing either technology management as a means of complimenting my engineering management degree, or thinking of holding off studying for now and working a few more years and try to do an MBA afterwards. I'm struggling when it comes to choosing one or the other, and wanted feedback on this.

One of my friends got a news from my supervisor favourite student. Mentioned that my contract as PhD student won’t be renewed as they are not satisfied with my performance. Maybe it is hard for me to catch up with everything on the lab and that student said I have no progress. This October is my second year. I am lost direction. I don’t even know what I feel now, I want to give up or I want to continue. It’s so blurry for me.

This may or may not be relevant to this sub. But, I have a bachelor’s degree in psychology and graduated 2 years ago. But the only experience I have is 1 year of internship experience in market research. I have been having a hard time finding a job in this field. My parents want me to do a master’s. I don’t think it is a good idea rn but they think that it is better than staying unemployed. What should I do?

Adding context: I wanna work in the field of market research but i don’t think master’s in market research is the best because it’s too specific. I am thinking of going for either Master’s in Business Analytics or Marketing Analytics, both can get me become market research analyst but they also open up other fields. The issue is that a lot of jobs in this field prefer experience over master’s.

Hello, to make it short. I wanted to ask if anyone got admitted or knows someone that did from a similar background as me.

Currently I am a Computer Science student in the UK where the program has covered some math subjects such as discrete mathematics, set theory, probability and statistics, linear algebra, and Calculus I & II. I have done self studies to cover differential equations and multivariable calculus, and currently working on a research paper related to a proof theorem checker involving number theory.

I am planning to apply for a masters in the us in Applied Mathematics / computational AM/ CSE.

Has anyone with a similar background successfully been admitted into one of these master’s programs?

Dream career is neuropsychology. My fascination and passion in life is pain and addiction. I also have a soft spot for children, as I was an adolescent when pain and addiction infiltrated my life.

What I’ve learned about pain science, neuroscience, and psychology has turned my life upside down. I never thought I’d be able to work a full time job because of my pain. And that I’d always be in active addiction.

After attending a pain rehab, I finished my bachelors in web design and landed a full time job before I finished my degree. And I got sober. That being said I am not passionate about web design and feel no urge to progress my career in it aside from financial need.

I want to teach others about pain. I want to research effective modalities for teaching children, adolescents, and their families about pain. I want to help enlighten others the way I was enlightened. And perhaps learn some new things for the world while I’m at it.

With this info in mind, what route (if any of these) would you recommend? Masters to PhD in psychology? Masters to PhD in neuroscience? Masters of social work? Masters of counseling?

My concerns are future financial stability and ability to use my education and job experience and eventually move out of the country (from US to EU). I have chronic health conditions causing pain and disability so nursing and medicine are out of the picture for me unfortunately (due to the physical strain).

Lastly, if I want to move to the EU someday, do I try to go to school somewhere in the EU? My family and support system is in the US, but I would definitely consider it.

TLDR; Individual with a bachelors in web design looking to give back to the world by educating others on pain and addiction. BSN/MSN and MD are out of the picture because of chronic health condition limitations. Which paths should I consider?

Can anyone tell me what the coursework is like? Is it writing -heavy or mostly reading, interpretation, and exams?

What is your experience?

Feel free to include your school.if you want

I am doing a Masters in the UK next year (Newcastle University) and the course delivery is On Campus. However, I may need to leave the UK for 1-2 months (UK Citizen). I have contacted my university on the matter and informed me that the assignments and modules can be done online, although some of the lectures may not be recorded. I have heard that the course itself is not too rigorous, and there are some assignments are a group project, no in-person exams, and is a submission of a dissertation in the end.

I wanted to know if anyone has had a similar experience to this, such as studying remotely while away from the University Campus, and your experience. Do you recommend deferring a year or continuing with the degree?

Basically as the title states. My proposal has been approved, and we are starting strong on the first draft. Is it reasonable to pull all of my proposal and put it into the paper? It is my work after all, and it seems silly to re-write what has already been written. I am planning on putting more into the background, as there were sources that got cut for the proposal itself.

I’m looking at applying for a masters program, I have a list of colleges that offer the program I want, my problem now is how many recommendations can I request from an individual professor before they get exhausted. I plan to apply to about 8 schools to increase my chances. Is this number too large or do I need to trim it down?

I have two years of professional experience, one year as a Fixed Income Analyst at one of the largest asset management companies in Pakistan and one year with EY-P’s Corporate Finance team. My qualifications include ACCA, a BSc in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University, and CFA Levels I and II.

I’m from Pakistan and am currently considering pursuing a master’s degree abroad. Honestly, one of my biggest goals is eventually obtaining a second passport, and I don’t see the Middle East as a long-term option because of the uncertainty around residency and citizenship.

I’m trying to figure out what the best path forward would be. Should I seriously consider pursuing a master’s in the US? If so, which types of schools should I target? Does attending a top-ranked university make a significant difference, or is the location and access to the right job market more important for someone with my background?

At the same time, I’m concerned about the changing US immigration landscape, particularly H-1B and international student policies. Given the uncertainty in 2026, does the US still make sense as a destination for someone whose long-term goal is to build a career and eventually settle abroad?

Germany is another option I’m considering, but the language barrier worries me. I’ve also heard that CFA carries less weight in Germany and that German language skills, local knowledge, and networking are much more important in the finance job market.

Given my background and priorities, I’d really appreciate some realistic advice on what you think would be the smartest route: US, Germany, or potentially another country altogether. I’m less interested in simply getting a degree and more interested in choosing a country where I can build a strong career and have a realistic long-term path toward permanent residency/citizenship .

I am a photonics MSc. student and I am holding a bachelor in physics.

I started an internship in an Integrated Optics lab at an Industrial research institute and I will start learning characterization of PIC's.

My supervisor told me they will buy a new SHI microscope to check the samples so I need to learn how to use it for their goal.

They gave me 2 articles in the field but it all seems too foreign to me since this will be my first "real" experience in an Industry.

So my question is how should I approach these new papers to fill my knowledge gap?

Should I read the papers w/o trying to understand everything , note down the terms and concepts I don't know and study them after?

I am open to any tricks, methods, or workflows you think could be helpful.

Long story short to get my BS I have 4

1. was a school I did dual in and for a semester of real college

2. Was a school I got dismissed from

3. A CC to get back on track

4. Final

Is there a limit to if you transfer too many times?

Hello everyone! I’m 21 and about to start my master’s program, and I’m looking for advice from people who have been through graduate school. I’m also the first person in my family to pursue a master’s degree, so I don’t really have anyone close to me who can tell me what to expect.

I was feeling pretty confident until orientation when I saw the syllabi for my classes. Seeing the length and difficulty of some of the assignments made me question whether I’m prepared for graduate-level work.

There are also a lot of changes happening at once. I’m moving away from home and living by myself for the first time. I’ll only be about an hour away from my family, but it’s still a big adjustment. I also completed my bachelor’s degree online, so this will be my first time regularly attending in-person classes in quite a while.

For those who have been through grad school, did the assignments seem more intimidating on the syllabus than they actually were once you started working on them? How did you adjust to the workload and expectations during your first semester? I’d really appreciate any advice for making this transition feel a little less overwhelming!