The Grad School Thread

[PrincessButterCup]

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Welcome to the Grad School Thread!​

So, yes, there is already this thread that has some posts from current and past grad students and miscellaneous advice. I wanted to make a thread that was more social, along the lines of the C/O How You Doin' threads, for those of us that are either in the midst of graduate school or have recently escaped/will forever be haunted by it.

So who out there is doing the grad school thing?

​

 

[WildZoo]

Just posting here so I can spy. I might be doing a phd in a couple years anyway...

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

So burned out after 5 years of this BS.

In all honesty, I have a very, very hard time recommending a PhD in the sciences to anyone nowadays.....and most of my colleagues agree.

At least my defense is now scheduled and I have a jawb lined up. However, I'm permanently messed up in several ways from this entire experience.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

(leave it to WTF to start the conversation out with a wet blanket)

 

[Lupin21]

So burned out after 5 years of this BS.

In all honesty, I have a very, very hard time recommending a PhD in the sciences to anyone nowadays.....and most of my colleagues agree.

At least my defense is now scheduled and I have a jawb lined up. However, I'm permanently messed up in several ways from this entire experience.

Yup. Not sorry I jumped ship.

 

[SkiOtter]

Just posting here so I can spy. I might be doing a phd in a couple years anyway...

I mean, you CAN just click watch thread at the top

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Yup. Not sorry I jumped ship.

 

[PrincessButterCup]

(leave it to WTF to start the conversation out with a wet blanket)

Yup. Not sorry I jumped ship.

Can you guys talk more about this? Is it grad school itself, or the job market, or some other factor? Do you think you'd feel differently if you hadn't gone to vet school first and had that level of education going into it?

 

[Lab Vet]

So burned out after 5 years of this BS.

In all honesty, I have a very, very hard time recommending a PhD in the sciences to anyone nowadays.....and most of my colleagues agree.

At least my defense is now scheduled and I have a jawb lined up. However, I'm permanently messed up in several ways from this entire experience.

Congrats on scheduling your defense, WTF- and on the new job!! You'll do amazing. Almost done 🙂

 

[Lab Vet]

Can you guys talk more about this? Is it grad school itself, or the job market, or some other factor? Do you think you'd feel differently if you hadn't gone to vet school first and had that level of education going into it?

Vet school and grad school are mutually exclusive entities. They have virtually nothing in common. I enjoyed vet school far more than I did grad school. I completed grad school first, and left after 8 years with a Master's. A student's experience in grad school has everything to do with project choice and institutional support- with respect to mentorship and funding. It's impossible to compare the experiences of any two graduate students. They're experiences will be so wildly different, that there's no basis for comparison.

I don't regret the time I spent in grad school. I learned a ton, met wonderful people, did some solid science, and was introduced to my true professional love- lab animal medicine. It was, however, a very rough road with minimal signposts.

The job market is tight, and competition for grant funding is fierce- among ESTABLISHED scientists. Imagine how tough it is for the new guard? No funding = no lab = no job. It's as simple as that.

I'm sure that everyone here has their own story. What frustrated me the most was the degree of troubleshooting/development that went into my project early on- all to no avail because negative data was all that was collected during the experimental phase. Very hard to publish. Minimal publications = no grants. No grants = no job.

Generally, the process was very frustrating. I grew extensively as a person, but wouldn't want to relive those years.

Wishing you good fortune in your endeavors.

 

[WildZoo]

I mean, you CAN just click watch thread at the top

But then I feel creepy

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Vet school and grad school are mutually exclusive entities. They have virtually nothing in common. I enjoyed vet school far more than I did grad school. I completed grad school first, and left after 8 years with a Master's. A student's experience in grad school has everything to do with project choice and institutional support- with respect to mentorship and funding. It's impossible to compare the experiences of any two graduate students. They're experiences will be so wildly different, that there's no basis for comparison.

I don't regret the time I spent in grad school. I learned a ton, met wonderful people, did some solid science, and was introduced to my true professional love- lab animal medicine. It was, however, a very rough road with minimal signposts.

The job market is tight, and competition for grant funding is fierce- among ESTABLISHED scientists. Imagine how tough it is for the new guard? No funding = no lab = no job. It's as simple as that.

I'm sure that everyone here has their own story. What frustrated me the most was the degree of troubleshooting/development that went into my project early on- all to no avail because negative data was all that was collected during the experimental phase. Very hard to publish. Minimal publications = no grants. No grants = no job.

Generally, the process was very frustrating. I grew extensively as a person, but wouldn't want to relive those years.

Wishing you good fortune in your endeavors.

Absolutely.

I was fed the whole "research loves vets, research wants vets, tons of jobs for vets in research" line all through school. Nope. Your DVM means very little to high-end researchers. It is a clinical degree that in no way prepares you for the research life and the different standards you will be held to in that area. Your PhD, postdocs (if you want a serious research position, you will need postdocs...a PhD with two solid 3 year postdocs will beat out a DVM/PhD with no postdocs easily for most positions), the prestige of your mentor, your grant funding, your publications......those mean far, far more. It's absolutely cutthroat in terms of grant funding. I can't imagine living life as a PI. All I see them do is write grants and try to keep their ship afloat. It must be an absolutely nerve-wrecking life.

My PhD has been way, WAY harder than vet school. Emotionally, mentally, physically, all of it. Vet school spoils you in a way. You are given a schedule, you know what classes you have to take, you know what you have to learn, you (most of the time) know what you are going to be tested on, and if you run into trouble people can help you.

With a PhD, you are often completely on your own and fumbling in the dark, yet you are still expected to produce at a very high level. It's far more stressful to me to be in a position like that, especially when the rug can be pulled our from under you at any time.

 

[lilylilac]

Totally agree with what’s been said about PhDs. I spent 5.5 years doing mine and it was the most draining thing I’ve ever done. When no experiments are working, everything seems hopeless and like you’re never going to finish. I realized VERY early on that I wanted nothing to do with academics too, so I panicked a bit and had no idea what I wanted to do for a career. Then I realized that I really enjoyed performing necropsies and microscopy work, so I decided to pursue vet school for pathology. I wouldn’t say that I regret doing a PhD, because I met so many wonderful people and learned a ton, but man was it extremely mentally, physically, and emotionally draining. At least in vet school, there’s a light at the end. I know when I’ll graduate. With a PhD, your future is at the mercy of your committee and actually getting experiments to work and form a cohesive and fairly complete novel story.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Totally agree with what’s been said about PhDs. I spent 5.5 years doing mine and it was the most draining thing I’ve ever done. When no experiments are working, everything seems hopeless and like you’re never going to finish. I realized VERY early on that I wanted nothing to do with academics too, so I panicked a bit and had no idea what I wanted to do for a career. Then I realized that I really enjoyed performing necropsies and microscopy work, so I decided to pursue vet school for pathology. I wouldn’t say that I regret doing a PhD, because I met so many wonderful people and learned a ton, but man was it extremely mentally, physically, and emotionally draining. At least in vet school, there’s a light at the end. I know when I’ll graduate. With a PhD, your future is at the mercy of your committee and actually getting experiments to work and form a cohesive and fairly complete novel story.

Funding too. Can't do experiments if you can't buy the stuff to do them. And if you have a PI who realizes how useful you are and doesn't want to let you graduate.....this has happened to countless colleagues of mine. It's basically indentured servitude in in that you have almost no say when you will be finished. I've known so many people who have had to fight tooth and nail for their PI to let them go after 5, 6, 7 years.

 

[lilylilac]

Funding too. Can't do experiments if you can't buy the stuff to do them. And if you have a PI who realizes how useful you are and doesn't want to let you graduate.....this has happened to countless colleagues of mine. It's basically indentured servitude in in that you have almost no say when you will be finished. I've known so many people who have had to fight tooth and nail for their PI to let them go after 5, 6, 7 years.

Thankfully I didn’t have to deal with the funding issue. But saw MANY other students that did and I felt so bad for them. It’s also one of the main reasons why I don’t want to go into academics.

 

[Lupin21]

Funding too. Can't do experiments if you can't buy the stuff to do them. And if you have a PI who realizes how useful you are and doesn't want to let you graduate.....this has happened to countless colleagues of mine. It's basically indentured servitude in in that you have almost no say when you will be finished. I've known so many people who have had to fight tooth and nail for their PI to let them go after 5, 6, 7 years.

Yup.

 

[jaboo]

My bf has been having a terrible time with his PhD. He's 3 years into a program in electrical engineering, which is his own beast, but his PI went on sabbatical for 2 years (it was supposed to be just 1) and the dept is understaffed. He just earned his masters and is hoping to have no more than 2 years left before graduating. I've seen breakdowns aplenty with him. PhD's are so incredibly taxing and when your PI is MIA for the majority of your time there, you can start going a bit mad.

 

[jaboo]

I'm sure that everyone here has their own story. What frustrated me the most was the degree of troubleshooting/development that went into my project early on- all to no avail because negative data was all that was collected during the experimental phase. Very hard to publish. Minimal publications = no grants. No grants = no job.

This is the main reason I can't see myself going into research. Especially in the lab I just did my gap year in, nothing worked. And even when things did work, they weren't reproducible. Everyone is trying to find novel, cool things to publish which involves big risks and few rewards. It's really truly demoralizing when you work your ass off for 5 months to optimize an experiment and then it just never ever works and you have no data to show that you've actually been doing things.

 

[PrincessButterCup]

I'm starting a MS program right now. I can either graduate with my master's or continue into a PhD, but at this stage I'm not officially committed to anything but the master's. The conversation here is really valuable - I've heard some of this before, but it's definitely good to keep in mind. I'm reasonably optimistic that this was the right move for me, but of course I might feel differently later on when I have more experience here. I'm only in week 2 right now.

Knowing my PI and the situation in my lab, I don't anticipate having some of the problems talked about here - but again, I'm sure I'm pretty naive about everything right now. I am excited to see where this takes me.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

This is going to sound horrible but...while you may respect and even like your PI....do not trust them. At least, not implicitly.

There is a huge realm of unseen academic politics and drama that as a student, you (the generic "you")have no idea about because you are shielded from it. They are invested in making you like them and making you feel secure because ultimately, you are cheap labor. You are the person in the lab who gets the grunt work done, and they will say anything to get you to do it.

That doesn't mean that they are bad people, and neither does it mean that they do not want to mentor you. Most PIs are not nefarious dinguses who want to work you to death, and many actually do care about your personal development and you as a person.

However...... at the end of the day.....you are an indentured servant who has very little say, and they will absolutely sugar-coat things and tell white lies to get you to do what they want and stay a happy little student (e.g. ok you'll graduate this semester! ok, well, you'll graduate maybe next semester when this project is done...ok, definitely next semester when this project is done....etc) You are there to make them look good. You are there to do work that can get them grants, to get them papers, to increase their prestige and enhance their tenure applications. They will dangle carrots all over the place and very rarely will you actually get one. Learn how to say no, learn how to question them, and take care of yourself first. Never take everything they say for granted. There is always another angle at play.

 

[PrincessButterCup]

However...... at the end of the day.....you are an indentured servant who has very little say, and they will absolutely sugar-coat things and tell white lies to get you to do what they want and stay a happy little student (e.g. ok you'll graduate this semester! ok, well, you'll graduate maybe next semester when this project is done...ok, definitely next semester when this project is done....etc) You are there to make them look good. You are there to do work that can get them grants, to get them papers, to increase their prestige and enhance their tenure applications. They will dangle carrots all over the place and very rarely will you actually get one. Learn how to say no, learn how to question them, and take care of yourself first. Never take everything they say for granted. There is always another angle at play.

Yes, absolutely. I've been warned about this by a family friend who teaches in the department (back when I was applying, before I was even considering the lab I'm in now). Right now I'm 100% in training, so I haven't experienced any of this yet. I will definitely keep it in mind.

Looking at the way my finances break down was pretty sad - I'm essentially a FT employee making minimum wage PT pay. I was expecting that, but it was another thing to plan it out and realize I'm going to continue living with my parents for as long as their generosity will hold out.

I had one really awful (manipulative, demanding, possessive) boss that I put up with for over three years. I didn't know how to say no to her and after our dynamic had been established it felt impossible to address that and start setting boundaries. I did have one conversation that amounted to 'x, y, and z need to change or I'm gone,' (which was a huge step for me as far as personal growth, being able to even initiate that conversation) and I did quit about six months after that. All that's to say, I've learned a lot about standing up for myself and making sure I'm not being abused by my employers. I'm still something of an ass kisser, but I'm not going to let myself get caught up into the same situation I had with Boss Lady in my first clinic job.

It was really hard to grow that backbone, but hopefully I'm decently prepared for what I'll face in grad school. (Obviously the jobs and situations are very different and it's not perfectly analogous) I know there was a lot of drama in the lab with a previous student who arranged to start a PhD in a different lab without discussing anything with PI, and then didn't communicate that she was hoping to defend and be gone by X date (less than two years into her master's) until it all came out a month or so before she actually defended. There were a lot of hurt feelings and ruined relationships over that. Communication is going to be really important and I'm prepared for that aspect.

 

[SkiOtter]

realize I'm going to continue living with my parents for as long as their generosity will hold out.

#mooches4life

 

[PrincessButterCup]

I love how I started this thread thinking Harry Potter year 1 gifs were appropriate but everything that's been posted is at least year 5 level disillusionment. Obviously my gif game is as innocent as I am right now.

 

[Frozenshades]

(leave it to WTF to start the conversation out with a wet blanket)

Meh, people need the honesty. No one person's experience may be representative, but it still says something.

Absolutely.

I was fed the whole "research loves vets, research wants vets, tons of jobs for vets in research" line all through school. Nope. Your DVM means very little to high-end researchers. It is a clinical degree that in no way prepares you for the research life and the different standards you will be held to in that area. Your PhD, postdocs (if you want a serious research position, you will need postdocs...a PhD with two solid 3 year postdocs will beat out a DVM/PhD with no postdocs easily for most positions), the prestige of your mentor, your grant funding, your publications......those mean far, far more. It's absolutely cutthroat in terms of grant funding. I can't imagine living life as a PI. All I see them do is write grants and try to keep their ship afloat. It must be an absolutely nerve-wrecking life.

My PhD has been way, WAY harder than vet school. Emotionally, mentally, physically, all of it. Vet school spoils you in a way. You are given a schedule, you know what classes you have to take, you know what you have to learn, you (most of the time) know what you are going to be tested on, and if you run into trouble people can help you.

With a PhD, you are often completely on your own and fumbling in the dark, yet you are still expected to produce at a very high level. It's far more stressful to me to be in a position like that, especially when the rug can be pulled our from under you at any time.

And this is where my advisor always talks about DVM students struggling with the transition. His analogy is vet school gives you a complicated paint by numbers to complete. A PhD is a blank wall and you have to draw the lines before you can fill anything in. My PI is pretty hands off which has its perks, but also leaves me to figure a lot of things out for myself. He does seem pretty good about graduating people and getting them out though. Like you said, anyone in grad school knows people whose prof didn't want to let them go. I've also been independently funded for the last year and a half which doesn't hurt either, just on the minimum research assistant pay so I qualify for health insurance.

Definitely no intention of staying in academia though. If I can't finish in a year and a half or so from now I'd rather just leave with an MS and find an applicable industry job or go into SA practice. I get why so many people leave grad school.

 

[PrincessButterCup]

@PrincessButterCup I completed a masters a few years ago and loved my program and met some marvelous people as already stated. However, heed all the advice about PIs and look out for yourself. I started working on a great project and had some absolutely insane things happen (PI had a mental breakdown and almost compromised all our research). That can't be planned for but it almost kept me from graduating and was the source of immense grief and stress for a year. My best advice is document every exchange you have with your PI and others working on your project. It saved my butt when it came to publishing our paper and suddenly people were claiming they were meant to be a primary or secondary author (ok man, thanks for all the help along the way).

On that note, has anyone completed a PhD/DVM in public health? I clearly didn't suffer enough the first time around and would love to talk to you about your experience!

I think @vetmedhead did a MS in public health - something along those lines? She might have some thoughts for you. (Or I might be totally misremembering what it was you did, meats 😉)

As for documenting conversations, do you go back and e-mail the person and say "as a recap, this is what we talked about, this is what we decided" and have them e-mail back to confirm? My supervisor did this with our boss. I'm not sure if that's what you mean, or if you have another method to document these things.

 

[PrincessButterCup]

Meh, people need the honesty. No one person's experience may be representative, but it still says something.

And this is where my advisor always talks about DVM students struggling with the transition. His analogy is vet school gives you a complicated paint by numbers to complete. A PhD is a blank wall and you have to draw the lines before you can fill anything in. My PI is pretty hands off which has its perks, but also leaves me to figure a lot of things out for myself. He does seem pretty good about graduating people and getting them out though. Like you said, anyone in grad school knows people whose prof didn't want to let them go. I've also been independently funded for the last year and a half which doesn't hurt either, just on the minimum research assistant pay so I qualify for health insurance.

Definitely no intention of staying in academia though. If I can't finish in a year and a half or so from now I'd rather just leave with an MS and find an applicable industry job or go into SA practice. I get why so many people leave grad school.

How common is that? I'm not sure I've ever heard of this before. Is it from grants you wrote yourself, versus money your PI went looking for?

 

[vetmedhead]

I think @vetmedhead did a MS in public health - something along those lines? She might have some thoughts for you. (Or I might be totally misremembering what it was you did, meats 😉)

As for documenting conversations, do you go back and e-mail the person and say "as a recap, this is what we talked about, this is what we decided" and have them e-mail back to confirm? My supervisor did this with our boss. I'm not sure if that's what you mean, or if you have another method to document these things.

I'm finishing up my MPH this semester, actually! Kind of the same idea but it's technically a professional degree rather than focused on research. There are also DrPH degrees, although I think most of them require an MPH first before you can apply. Most people looking into public health will pursue an MPH alone, though if they're more interested in the PhD side of things many go on to get PhDs in epidemiology (there are many many other highly public health related PhDs - I've just seen epi most commonly)

 

[supershorty]

My PI and I just met and he thinks I might get this PhD done in 3 years, based on how much preliminary work I've already done toward my thesis project. I kind of wish I could just jump in now instead of having to do 1 more semester of the DVM curriculum.

 

[Frozenshades]

How common is that? I'm not sure I've ever heard of this before. Is it from grants you wrote yourself, versus money your PI went looking for?

Government fellowship. DHS and USDA have had some opportunities for students here - they want researchers prepped for when NBAF opens.

 

[vetmedhead]

@PrincessButterCup Yep, it's really common sense! I just remind people because it's so easy to forget when you're excited about the project(s) you're working on and verbally agree to things, especially when you see each other every day. Six months later when you're all doing different things and trying to publish or your mentor has taken an unexpected sabbatical it will make your life easier. Just keep a running email chain where all the little details are ironed out, no matter how small. A few times I had to dig back through to determine what had originally been agreed to in terms of team member duties, author order, testing sites, etc. It was also helpful because we did end up losing one of our original PIs so some info would never have been passed along if I wasn't able to show those emails. My circumstances were extremely abnormal, but if it can save anyone an hour of grief I'll keep reminding people. Just like every part of life there will be good and bad parts. Enjoy your M.S it will go quickly!

@vetmedhead What are you hoping to do with your MPH? Just trying to put feelers out and see what other people are thinking. Thanks!

I'm a bit of an indecisive jack of all trades so my interests have swung around a lot. I'm primarily interested in bringing public health principles into shelter medicine and animal control work

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

My PI and I just met and he thinks I might get this PhD done in 3 years, based on how much preliminary work I've already done toward my thesis project. I kind of wish I could just jump in now instead of having to do 1 more semester of the DVM curriculum.

Remember what I said about carrots.

Can't tell you how many times I've had fast timelines dangled in front of my face for motivation, only to have them rescinded as the date approached.

 

[supershorty]

Remember what I said about carrots.

Can't tell you how many times I've had fast timelines dangled in front of my face for motivation, only to have them rescinded as the date approached.

Hopefully the benefit of a dual program is the relatively firm timeline for the PhD since I still have to finish my DVM after.

Hopefully.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Hopefully the benefit of a dual program is the relatively firm timeline for the PhD since I still have to finish my DVM after.

Hopefully.

Hopefully. But make sure you keep on your PI about it, as many do not really understand the concept of an accelerated program and just assume you will keep working during school and summers. Remind him of that constantly and make friends in the department with faculty who can back you up. I know several people in the dual program (here, at least) who have had their defense date continually pushed, including my own SO.

He spent a little over 3 years doing the PhD part and, for reasons unknown (we believe it is because our PI didn't want to let him go - SO is a very talented researcher with years of previous full-time experience at a notable institution, and was a go-to person for most projects - because PI assumed SO would keep working during vet school or some nonsense like that) PI did not let him defend. Despite having all his projects finished and dissertation written.

Now he is finally getting to defend after his first year of vet school (when I guess PI finally realized he couldn't get more work out of him), which is going to be super difficult because he's been out of research for a year and has understandably forgotten stuff, and he's going to have to find time to study for his defense while simultaneously studying for vet school.

 

[PrincessButterCup]

Hopefully. But make sure you keep on your PI about it, as many do not really understand the concept of an accelerated program and just assume you will keep working during school and summers. Remind him of that constantly and make friends in the department with faculty who can back you up. I know several people in the dual program (here, at least) who have had their defense date continually pushed, including my own SO.

He spent a little over 3 years doing the PhD part and, for reasons unknown (we believe it is because our PI didn't want to let him go - SO is a very talented researcher with years of previous full-time experience at a notable institution, and was a go-to person for most projects - because PI assumed SO would keep working during vet school or some nonsense like that) PI did not let him defend. Despite having all his projects finished and dissertation written.

Now he is finally getting to defend after his first year of vet school (when I guess PI finally realized he couldn't get more work out of him), which is going to be super difficult because he's been out of research for a year and has understandably forgotten stuff, and he's going to have to find time to study for his defense while simultaneously studying for vet school.

What did the PI say during all this? Did they come up with bogus reasons to push the defense or just straight up say no? That's very frustrating, especially with vet school on top of it. I hope everything goes smoothly from here.

Because I'm nosy, what is your SO planning to do with his DVM?

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

What did the PI say during all this? Did they come up with bogus reasons to push the defense or just straight up say no? That's very frustrating, especially with vet school on top of it. I hope everything goes smoothly from here.

Because I'm nosy, what is your SO planning to do with his DVM?

His excuse was that he wanted to see SO "bring a project from start to finish" which was total bull**** because SO *had* - hence his entire dissertation and papers. The excuse PI gave was...SO had helped me with some bits of data in one of my projects just a few months before he made his defense pitch, the summer before first year (we met in the same lab). Since he was starting vet school, he wanted to help me out while he was still there and his projects were done. PI made the grand leap that now, the project SO has helped me on a little was now a joint project (WTF....) and SO could not graduate until it was wrapped up.

Now and year and a bit later, PI says SO is miraculously good to graduate even though literally nothing has changed since last year - of course he hasn't been able to do any research, he's been in vet school and then a clinical internship over the summer. It's dumb. I think he thought he could get SO back in the lab and when he realized it wasn't gonna happen, grudgingly gave the OK. Either that, or he just had issues with the idea of anyone finishing their PhD is 3 years because he didn't and most people don't. The whole "I suffered so you're gonna suffer" deal.

SO is probably going to specialize, potentially lab animal medicine or radiation oncology. He's a nontrad who has a lot of research job exp. behind him, so maybe there too.

 

[PrincessButterCup]

I know every school/department does things differently, but I'm getting frustrated with my program's reimbursement policy. We have to pay for everything related to conferences and travel up front, and we are reimbursed at some point after the event. I've already spent $1,000 for a conference next month and registration for another in 2019, and still have airfare and hotel rooms to add for the 2019 one. We're guaranteed to be paid back, but it makes things a little tight in the meantime.

I'm excited for the conferences. I just don't want my money to be tied up until then.

 

[Glammyre]

Can't believe I've missed this thread the whole time!

On that note, has anyone completed a PhD/DVM in public health? I clearly didn't suffer enough the first time around and would love to talk to you about your experience!

Haven't completed, but I'm starting on a PhD in Epidemiology (which is soon to be a PhD in vet sciences w/epidemiology program because I'm transferring to follow my epidemiologist mentor to another school)

I know every school/department does things differently, but I'm getting frustrated with my program's reimbursement policy. We have to pay for everything related to conferences and travel up front, and we are reimbursed at some point after the event. I've already spent $1,000 for a conference next month and registration for another in 2019, and still have airfare and hotel rooms to add for the 2019 one. We're guaranteed to be paid back, but it makes things a little tight in the meantime.

I'm excited for the conferences. I just don't want my money to be tied up until then.

Sorry 🙁. Unfortunately, I think this is typical. Is there someone you can ask about when you should expect to be paid back?

 

[PrincessButterCup]

Can't believe I've missed this thread the whole time!


Haven't completed, but I'm starting on a PhD in Epidemiology (which is soon to be a PhD in vet sciences w/epidemiology program because I'm transferring to follow my epidemiologist mentor to another school)


Sorry 🙁. Unfortunately, I think this is typical. Is there someone you can ask about when you should expect to be paid back?

It's usually a number of weeks after receipts are turned in.

How far are you in the DVM part of your schooling? Is your transfer going pretty smoothly?

 

[Frozenshades]

Yeah I think it just depends on the situation and who is involved. When I went to Boston in July I brought receipts back for reimbursement for travel related expenses and received a per diem for food which all took a few weeks to go through after I got back. But the airfare and hotel was booked and paid for by them in advance. But in December I'm going to a conference and I had to book airfare and hotel myself and will most certainly only be getting a few hundred dollars back and the rest of the cost is on me. These systems are never straight forward.

 

[WildZoo]

Hello, yes, hi, I semi-officially agreed to do a PhD with the lab I've worked in the last two summers and into this semester. Checking on whether or not it is too late for me to apply for the dual degree program.

 

[SkiOtter]

Hello, yes, hi, I semi-officially agreed to do a PhD with the lab I've worked in the last two summers and into this semester. Checking on whether or not it is too late for me to apply for the dual degree program.

😱

 

[PrincessButterCup]

Hello, yes, hi, I semi-officially agreed to do a PhD with the lab I've worked in the last two summers and into this semester. Checking on whether or not it is too late for me to apply for the dual degree program.

Congrats!

Or, alternatively, my condolences.

 

[JaynaAli]

I overheard people talking about Bd and Bsal in the hallway at ACVP this week. I wondered if they were connected to you but couldn’t exactly interrupt, say I was eavesdropping, and ask.

 

[WildZoo]

I overheard people talking about Bd and Bsal in the hallway at ACVP this week. I wondered if they were connected to you but couldn’t exactly interrupt, say I was eavesdropping, and ask.

Hehe. If nothing else I've probably at least heard their names, especially if they're working on Bsal.
I'm pretty sure one of the clin path residents here who is working on some stuff with our lab now is at the conference though.

 

[Frozenshades]

Hello, yes, hi, I semi-officially agreed to do a PhD with the lab I've worked in the last two summers and into this semester. Checking on whether or not it is too late for me to apply for the dual degree program.

I'm so sorry.

Assuming that will provide additional funding...yeah definitely look into and talk to your graduate program faculty and see what they can do for you.

Unfortunately, you gotta look out for your own financial interests. Many faculty members mean well...but money is always an issue. I know students who have been reliant on getting outside fellowships with no safety net because their lab doesn't have any funding to pay them. Or told, yeah apply for this fellowship! Only to find out after going through all the effort and being assured by faculty they were good to go, that the funding agency had requirements they didn't meet and their applications weren't even considered.

There's plenty of good out there too...just make sure you watch out for yourself too.

 

[WildZoo]

I'm so sorry.

Assuming that will provide additional funding...yeah definitely look into and talk to your graduate program faculty and see what they can do for you.

Unfortunately, you gotta look out for your own financial interests. Many faculty members mean well...but money is always an issue. I know students who have been reliant on getting outside fellowships with no safety net because their lab doesn't have any funding to pay them. Or told, yeah apply for this fellowship! Only to find out after going through all the effort and being assured by faculty they were good to go, that the funding agency had requirements they didn't meet and their applications weren't even considered.

There's plenty of good out there too...just make sure you watch out for yourself too.

Thankfully my lab has a couple grants that my work would be funded under 🙂 Money stuff was also my first question to the director of the graduate program, after he confirmed that it is not too late for me to apply for the dual degree. So we shall see!

 

[Lupin21]

Thankfully my lab has a couple grants that my work would be funded under 🙂 Money stuff was also my first question to the director of the graduate program, after he confirmed that it is not too late for me to apply for the dual degree. So we shall see!

Here's hoping it's all that you want it to be. 🙂

 

[Glammyre]

Somehow I missed the alerts on this thread. Sorry 🙁

It's usually a number of weeks after receipts are turned in.

How far are you in the DVM part of your schooling? Is your transfer going pretty smoothly?

DVM part is done! I'm now on to the PhD part full time!

The transfer went smoothly in the end, but there were some scary parts along the way. I had a weird program where my DVM and PhD would be from different schools (even before the upcoming transfer), which happened for a lot of complicated reasons, and having to change school administrations was the source of most of the difficulties.

Hello, yes, hi, I semi-officially agreed to do a PhD with the lab I've worked in the last two summers and into this semester. Checking on whether or not it is too late for me to apply for the dual degree program.

Agree that you should talk to your school. At OkState, people apply for the dual-degree program during second year if they're interested in research, so what you've done would in fact be the only way to enter the program. Good luck on the funding, congratulations on the opportunity, and hope you have a great time!

 

[nyanko]

Im doing a dual PhD/residency. It's....really weird, the logistics of it.

 

[WildZoo]

Agree that you should talk to your school. At OkState, people apply for the dual-degree program during second year if they're interested in research, so what you've done would in fact be the only way to enter the program. Good luck on the funding, congratulations on the opportunity, and hope you have a great time!

Thanks! I forgot to post an update.
1) I can totally still apply for the dual program. When I mentioned being surprised because of the wording on the program site and in the handbook, the director just sort of smiled and shrugged...so who knows. Working on application stuff now.
2) They can't guarantee it, but historically all the dual degree students get graduate assistantships, so tuition waiver (for PhD classes, sadly does not apply to vet school 😛) and a stipend. It isn't a huge amount but it is something, and I am also planning on doing clinical work when I can to bring in some more money and keep up with those skillz.
3) I'll get to double dip on up to 32 of the required total 48 credit hours, so that's pretty neat

So all in all I'm pretty excited/still scared/realizing I'm adding on another 3 years of school but working with some of my favorite people on research I'm really passionate about in a town I love doesn't seem too bad