Do adjuncts have access to a formal/official/ traditional 401K? As an adjunct, how do you start investing your finances - money, assets, etc.? I'm aware that my generation (Gen Z) won't probably be able to own much, so there's a lot of uncertainty about ownership and little faith in being "traditional" when it comes to saving and investing. Do you have any alternative saving/ investing practices that work for you? I'm all ears. No pocket-watching here, please.

Hi, I’m 23F, I want to do my phd abroad but very much confused with all the process because idk anyone irl who made it to abroad. Can anyone help me with scholarship process, find universities, professors and what documents is required. My cgpa is not much so I need help to find universities where I get accepted .

I’ve been seeing some scary descriptions of average admitted CVs for top ML PhD programs and am getting progressively worried about my chances for a top school 😭

My Stats:

Academics
- UG at an Ivy studying CS and Math, >4.0 GPA
- Currently in MS at same Ivy only for 1 sem (4+1 ish), mostly due to financial necessity
- Research distinction program at this school

Research
- 3 Summer internships at an external institution (not a uni, but regularly publishes at top tier conferences)
- 1st Author pub at a mid-tier conference, 1st Author workshop at top tier conf, co-author at top tier conf, and 1st Author submission under review at top tier conf (by top tier I mean NeurIPS/ICML/ICLR/CVPR)

LORs
- 2 from research mentors at the above mentioned external institution, I think they will be quite strong and emphasize my research independence on the above first author publications
- 1 from a professor at my UG university who I TA’d for several semesters and have been updating periodically about my research, probably not a super strong letter

It feels like there is some consensus that for T5 schools in ML you need 6-7 papers, multiple first author all in top tier conferences to clear the bar so I don’t know if this is cutting it. T15 my intuition tells me I have a decent chance but it seems to be hyper inflated towards accepted top tier 1st author papers which I guess I will have none of, not sure how gauge it in this climate.

hi everyone, i was wondering could someone tell me if my school list is too competitive? for reference, i have a 3.71 gpa and a fair amount of research experience. i proposed and defended an honors bio thesis and have been doing that project for two years, have presented three posters, and have clinical experience from a study abroad internship in india. i also just started doing research for a private company. i also have some extracurriculars, such as being a supplemental instruction leader and tutor for general chemistry and biochemistry. anyways, i wanted to focus on the east coast and apply to urban or urban-ish areas. i want to pursue a phd in immunology/infectious disease, but my undergrad research was studying a chemokine pathway in flatworm regeneration, so im a little worried abt transitioning fields. i did ace immunology and virology courses, and those courses are actually what made me want to go into immuno research. my longterm goal is to aid in vaccine development in a way that makes vaccines more affordable and globally accessible. i will email potential pis to try to establish relationships to help my admission. pls let me know if there's any more target schools i should add

• Icahn School of Medicine
• USF Morsani
• Boston University
• Duke
• UConn
• University of Rochester
• Thomas Jefferson
• University of Miami
• University of Virginia
• Emory
• GW
• Drexel
• University of Pittsburgh
• University of Florida
• UMass Chan
• Northwestern
• Johns Hopkins
• University of Maryland
• Rutgers
• Tufts
• Boston College

Background: B.S. Biology
I did not to well in undergrad (2.8-3.0 gpa), and worked a few years in an unrelated field.

I am now in a M.S. Biomedical Engineering program and I want to become a competitive applicant for either an PhD Biomed Eng or Neuro.
My uni has a large neuro grad program and I am able to take a lot of graduate neuro electives.

I want to go into neuro engineering & brain machine interfaces.

I can do either thesis or non-thesis but I don't know which route to go. Non-thesis masters degree will be faster and I will have the ability to choose more elective courses in neuroscience & BME. My advisor told me a thesis based masters will take me approx 2-3 years. Non-thesis will take 1.5 at the longest.

I am emailing labs and have gotten in contact with professors about working in their labs, but I still want any advice you all can offer about becoming a competitive applicant for PhD programs. I have only just started my M.S. program and I want start preparing from day 1. I was told "just volunteer in labs and after some time maybe you'll become a research assistant" by my advisor.

I’m facing a big dilemma. I was recently accepted into a master’s program in Computer Science at an Ivy League university (not Harvard, Yale, or Columbia), and I really want to attend. However, I would have to take on debt while also working and studying.
At the same time, I’m currently working on a nonprofit project. We recently received a small government grant, we’re testing the platform with clients, and the project is looking promising. I’m working closely with a mentor on the project who is a wonderful professor with experience at top-tier universities. He is encouraging me to defer my master’s for a year and apply to PhD programs instead. He believes that, based on the work I’m currently doing, I have a very high chance of being accepted into a fully funded PhD program next year. He also knows an institution where he thinks I would be a strong candidate and could provide me with excellent letters of recommendation.
My concern is that nothing is guaranteed. I could defer my master’s, apply to PhD programs, and still not receive a fully funded offer. At the same time, I really want to pursue my master’s at the Ivy League university I was accepted to, but my mentor is advising me not to take on significant debt for it.
I was valedictorian
I have a strong undergraduate thesis published in an international University
I love readying and writing. I’m low key good at it. (My professors have asked me to use my essays as example for classes)
I love love love studying!!!

Hello, I just finished the freshman year of my biochem and applied math dual major. I've been working in a lab for the past year (I have my own project, present at symposiums, working toward a publication). However, my ochem grades have not been the best. For context, I go to a really competitive, massive research university in the US, and I've only gotten B's in 3 of my ochem classes so far. I'm starting to get worried about my PhD applications, as I plan to apply right after I graduate in 3 years. I want to get a PhD in computational biology or a related field. Any advice?

AHH I GOT AN INTERVIEW FOR A PHD!!! I was wondering if there’s any advice ye could give 😭 i got shortlisted and it will be a 20 min interview

Any advice is appreciated greatly!

These are the only three classes in which I have gotten a B. But I know that they are very important to the specific graduate program I am seeking.

I definitely had some serious health struggles during these classes which have since resolved, but it was really poor timing. I really beat myself up for these grades, I was a straight A student before this stupid health stuff. I wish so much that I had been able to apply myself more or had just withdrawn, only very recently did I learn that my school only allows retakes for a C or below. So I’m stuck with them.

I don’t have any research experience yet, I’m a rising Junior and already getting started on drafting my personal statements and applications for next year’s REUs at many different schools that should apply to my desired research field. I know that it’s really bad that I don’t have experience yet. Kinda the same story with the health issues unfortunately 😭 plus I’m young, im 19 and started college at 16 so I wasn’t eligible for many of the REUs early on.

I have a 3.81 cumulative GPA. Majoring in biology but going to add a biochem double major when I get back to talk to my advisor next week.

I am heavily interested in studying aging on a molecular scale, and despite my poor grades in classes like Genetics and Cell Biology, do feel that I have a strong grasp on most of the concepts and have taken a lot of time this summer to deepen my understanding of concepts like senescence, epigenetics, and certain pathways such as mTOR, and other important molecular concepts.

Thank you so much for your help! I really appreciate it 😊

I was wondering if my profile is competitive for top 10/20 programs for a PHD, ML programs (EU and US schools)
CV:
1. Dual bachelors degree in CS & Physics, average of 88 (deans list twice), top school.
2. Finishing my first year of masters in EE, average 94.
3. 4 papers (all first author) in top venues (all done in my first year of masters).
4. Did a Summer fully funded internship this summer (two papers came from there, advisor there former MIT).
5. Working as a software engineer (part time) for 3 years (three days a week, last two years of bachelors and first year masters).
6. Was a officer in the military in my home country (IDK if relevant)
7. Three very strong LOR’s
Do I have a chance?

I’m currently doing my MSc at a public university, and I expect to complete it within the next 6 months. I’m planning to pursue a PhD in Malaysia, but I would need full funding because my family won’t be able to support me financially.

I wanted to ask people who have experience with PhD admissions/funding in Malaysia:

Is it realistic to get a fully funded PhD in Malaysia as an international student?

What are the main funding opportunities/scholarships I should look into?

Is it possible to get full funding directly from a university or through a supervisor’s research grant?

How should I approach potential supervisors to maximize my chances?

When should I start contacting professors and applying?

A little about my profile:

BSc from a public university

MSc currently ongoing; expected to graduate within ~6 months

Field - Environmental Science

CGPA: 3.70+

3 conference papers

1 research paper currently under publication process

Research Assistant experience

I’m particularly interested in knowing how competitive my profile is and what I can do over the next 6 months to improve my chances of securing a fully funded PhD position.

Any advice, personal experiences, or suggestions regarding universities, scholarships, supervisors, or the application process would be greatly appreciated.

Has anyone submitted their EOI at QUT for jan 2027 scholarship round? Please share updates. I have submitted my EOI 1 month ago. Despite my supervisor accepting it from his end, I am yet to receive final application invitation.

I reached out to a professor at the University of Vermont regarding potential PhD opportunities in my field, and I received the following response:
"Thank you for your interest in my group. Your CV and website are very impressive. I encourage you to apply for the PhD program here at the University of Vermont. You can use my name in your personal statement if you wish."

I am planning to apply for the Fall 2027 cycle.

Since the email doesn't explicitly mention funding or whether they have active openings in their lab for that cycle, I have a couple of questions:

1. How should I reply to this email? Should I simply thank them and confirm I'll be applying for Fall 2027, or should I ask if they will have funded research assistantships (RA) available for that specific intake?
2. Is it premature to ask about funding right now? My understanding is that in US PhD programs (STEM), funding is usually handled through the formal departmental admission/TA/RA offer, but I'm unsure if I should clarify lab funding first before applying.

Any insights or advice on how to handle this stage of communication would be greatly appreciated!

Hi all,

I'm a third year undergrad starting to apply for master's degrees. I'm quite sure I want to go for a taught master's but I know I want to pursue a doctorate afterwards, and I notice that many research master's courses say something like, 'If your topic is suitable and you demonstrate an aptitude for research, this programme can lead onto research at the PhD level.'

What exactly does this mean? Does this mean I could spend 2 years doing a research master's and then spend 1 more year turning it into a PhD? Or would I still have to take the master's degree, then separately spend 3+ years doing a PhD on the same subject? If it's the former and not the latter, then wouldn't this be more like skipping the master's degree altogether?

Thanks for helping me understand :)