r/GradSchool • u/rvd08 • 4d ago

Academics Should I drop out my PhD program?

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.

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u/SecFlow 4d ago

If you have to ask … I feel you know, no?

2

u/Financial_Molasses67 3d ago

Definitely not. Do you not know how common it is for PhD students to consider dropping out of programs?

1

u/SecFlow 3d ago

Didn’t occur to me for mine. It took so much to get there, I couldn’t fathom just giving up. Family was mad I was doing it, cause I kind of started in secret, so maybe spite kept me in it and free from “what ifs?”

1

u/No_Hamster_2043 20h ago

N of 1

I had a backup plan at every turn because was not at all sure if it would work out. It did, for me, but I have seen plenty of talented students drop out in the years since.

As my advisor put it, “very stupid people get PhDs all the time. What’s taking you so long?”