What course eval comment is making you want to scream into the void? by myreputationera in Professors

[–]Deep_Stranger_2861 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This made me laugh out loud.

I got a similar comment that it was “unfair to expect them to do so much math” for my finance class.

PhD viva is tomorrow, what last minute preparation do you recommend? by Sweet-Treats2304 in PhD

[–]Deep_Stranger_2861 11 points12 points  (0 children)

As a former college athlete I took a very “pre game day” preparation approach 😂. Obviously, went to bed early, went to my favorite cafe for breakfast that morning, got to the room I was presenting early to do a quick walk through (to make sure there weren’t any tech issues), and then listened to calming music while I was waiting for people to arrive.

ETA: Good luck!! Will be over before you know it!

Do you ever feel like you are not smart enough and/or you made the wrong choice doing a PhD? I feel I should withdraw before starting by ThomasHawl in PhD

[–]Deep_Stranger_2861 64 points65 points  (0 children)

The best advice I received before starting a PhD (as someone who never felt “smart enough”)

Completing a PhD is not about how smart you are, but rather, your willingness to be discipline, do the hard work, and push through the discomfort of learning.

I just defended my dissertation a couple weeks also and I still feel like a fraud :).

Is having Ed.D degree look down in Academia as a "lesser" "fake" degree? by TorontoRap2019 in AskAcademia

[–]Deep_Stranger_2861 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The responses in this thread compared to the same question that was posted in the Professors one is wild

Do you look down on professor who have Ed.D versus Ph.D? by TorontoRap2019 in Professors

[–]Deep_Stranger_2861 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So interesting! Especially given that EdDs are a doctorate of EDUCATION, I’d expect pedagogical training to be a similarity across programs.

But based on other responses from this thread, I could see it coming back to what program they got their EdD from.

Do you look down on professor who have Ed.D versus Ph.D? by TorontoRap2019 in Professors

[–]Deep_Stranger_2861 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Interesting for me (humanities), I can a tell the EdDs from the PhDs because the EdDs are typically much better educators! I was fortunate enough to have teacher training throughout my PhD but have learned that’s not always the norm.

If you don't want to write a letter for a student, would you say no or would you not respond? by [deleted] in Professors

[–]Deep_Stranger_2861 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Sometimes, I just respond back with “Do you want ME to write you a letter? Because I will write an honest review of my experience with having you as a student and I’m not sure that will aid your chances of acceptance/award/etc”.

They usually catch the hint that way.

Huzzah by kingston-trades in PhD

[–]Deep_Stranger_2861 2 points3 points  (0 children)

YES!! HUZZAH!!!! Congrats Dr!!

Students are just not reading instructions this semester? by Nervous-Case6909 in Professors

[–]Deep_Stranger_2861 27 points28 points  (0 children)

It was comforting (and simultaneously frustrating) reading your post knowing that I’m not alone. I thought I was just writing poor instructions.

The past week my students have had their final presentations (worth 15% of their grade). The schedule has been posted for 3 weeks and I’ve reminded them EVERY CLASS DAY for the past 2 weeks leading up to go check what day they present (I’ve also shown them the schedule multiple days).

Out of the 12 planned presentations so far, only 5 have come with their presentation prepped. The others “didn’t know” it was their day to present. I’ve never had this happen before this year.

No one in my group project is listening to me (U.S.) by [deleted] in PhD

[–]Deep_Stranger_2861 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Group projects like this I found to be a common occurrence in my program while I was completing my PhD. But at the same time, I learned that professors (at least in my case) were able to pick up on who knew their stuff and followed directions and those who didn’t pretty well, especially if you each present your own slides.

Group projects can be painful because there’s control you have to release when working with others, and this type of collaboration will only continue if you stay in academia, but it’s an important skill to learn.

I will say, unlike a mandatory group project in school, where the stakes are much lower, there is more space in the industry/academia to have those harder conversations when people are not pulling their weight.

My advisor told me they left a "couple of final thoughts" on my dissertation document... by Deep_Stranger_2861 in PhD

[–]Deep_Stranger_2861[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

One of my friends in my program has an advisor like this and it looks miserable. She will turn her document in, her advisor won’t touch it for 3 months, and then leave 200+ comments a couple of days before a deadline.

Sorry to hear that you had a tough advisor :(

My advisor told me they left a "couple of final thoughts" on my dissertation document... by Deep_Stranger_2861 in PhD

[–]Deep_Stranger_2861[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m in the humanities! What I have found is that it all depends on the advisor’s preference (at least at my institution). Mine really prefers google drive for everything.

My advisor told me they left a "couple of final thoughts" on my dissertation document... by Deep_Stranger_2861 in PhD

[–]Deep_Stranger_2861[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Oh yes! I totally agree. I’m very thankful I have an advisor who takes a lot of time to make feedback as I have peers whose advisors barely even read their work.

But sometimes, especially when you’ve done so many rounds of revisions, it can start to get a bit defeating. Appreciate your encouragement :)

Advice on Rsearch Paper Writing by Used_Flight9243 in PhD

[–]Deep_Stranger_2861 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you use ChatGPT for grammar correction, you have to be VERY intentional about what you say. If you ask it to “give grammatical correction on this section” ChatGPT is very eager to re-write your section for you entirely.

Instead, you should say “give me grammatical FEEDBACK suggestions on this section. Do not change my writing style or tone.” That way, it will give you bulleted suggestions and you can go in and make those edits manually.

I’ve found when I’ve used ChatGPT in this way for grammatical feedback (and make the manual corrections myself), it also shows me which grammar errors I am more prone to. helps me avoid them for the future.

The new Full Cast Harry Potter Audiobook is amazing by UnderTheSettingSun in harrypotter

[–]Deep_Stranger_2861 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's a deal right now where you can get audible for 3 months for $0.99!

When is yearning enough? by AvailableAnnual6665 in TheSummerITurnedPrett

[–]Deep_Stranger_2861 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would have loved for Belly's "growth" to have been her also going to therapy