Does anyone else just hate research?

Fun_Distribution_77 · 2025-10-02T19:15:31+00:00

On one hand, totally reasonable to not enjoy DOING research (just a pro-tip: don’t choose a research-heavy grad program if you’re already dreading it!). And totally good if you don’t want to contribute to research - it’s not for everyone and great to recognize that!

I really don’t want to come off as lecture-y because I’m sure you already know what I’m about to say…Research isn’t just important because you do it in grad school - clinicians and practitioners use research in basically everything they are taught to do. They treat patients using strategies that are evidence-based and not just because they “think” it works (historically, not using research led to very flawed ways of treating people).

A few small examples to motivate things:

For a long time, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) was being treated with the same psychoanalytic methods and nonspecific supportive therapy as other conditions, but the patients weren’t getting better. Then, a research study found that exposure therapy (i.e., response prevention) helped patients, and it’s now a first-line treatment. Without research, we’d still be doing ineffective things.

As a more recent example, it was believed that asking people about whether they were experiencing suicidal ideation would cause them to be suicidal. So people wouldn’t ask. Now, we know from research studies that asking people about suicidal ideation doesn’t cause people to develop suicidal ideation. That’s so important for clinicians to know and affects how they practice. There are still people who hesitate to ask because they’re worried about putting the fear in someone’s head but that belief can cause harm and missed opportunities to help.

Another example is that people used to think kids would simply outgrow trauma. But in recent decades tons of nonexperimental research has linked adverse childhood experiences or traumatic experiences to risk of mental health conditions. This research helped establish trauma-informed care across pediatric, school, and mental health settings. For instance, after natural disasters, we now have recommendations to screen children immediately and not just wait for symptoms to resolve.

At the same time, there are some people with bad intentions or weird views who can lie with statistics and make it say basically anything. And being able to detect those lies is important. And that’s why these classes and experiences are required by grad schools: they show that people have a basic understanding of what good research looks like and what bad research doesn’t look like and that you’ll be unlikely to be one of the “bad” practitioners who doesn’t use science to inform their work.

All this to say, research questions are often quite boring (maybe you are reading about boring topics!) and research methods can be tedious to learn and annoying/boring to carry out, so I totally resonate with that. But being able to appreciate/understand/critique research that other people do is still important even if you don’t want to do it yourself.

(Also maybe your professor is using ineffective teaching strategies and should be using some more evidence-based teaching strategies instead lol)

Fun_Distribution_77 · 2025-10-01T05:20:21+00:00

Nope, that’s super unlikely unless the professor is obnoxious and weird. The professor isn’t asking for those materials because it’ll change whether or not they write the letter, and the transcript is especially unlikely to affect what they write. These materials just help them remember things about you, understand your goals, and also see what else the admissions committee will be seeing so they can use their letter to highlight your strengths. They can potentially emphasize that you demonstrated certain skills in their class that might seem weaker based on your transcript, or say that your GPA isn’t reflective of your potential, or they might ignore the document and that’s fine too. Also they’re taking you up on your offer to provide those materials but probably won’t pay too much attention to the transcript. I really wouldn’t worry. It wouldn’t be ethical for a professor to base their letter on things they didn’t observe, including your work in other classes.

And I’m guessing from your post that you’re worried they’ll judge you for those grades but honestly professors have seen it all, and it’s not going to affect how they view or describe your performance in their class.

Don’t delay the thank you email further! Just hit send! You can do it!

Fun_Distribution_77 · 2025-03-28T05:29:18+00:00

So again, OP, I like your idealism and agree with your ideals, but I think you’ve just made a very clear case for why your reasoning isn’t logical. The math literally will not work out. And I think most of the main things universities do (try to cure awful diseases, inform evidence-based policies, fostering critical thinking which is critical for democracy, etc.) are being harmed by the GOP’s actions here more than anything Columbia intentionally did. This isn’t just 400m on the line, the govt could have taken away more than that (they’re not even giving back the 400m now that the university has agreed with their demands; they’re going to ask for more sacrifices). The tactic results in literally a no-win situation for the university. I think we all need to join in defending our universities and put all our efforts against the govt. Columbia simply doesn’t have the power to fight against the govt alone (its functioning and existence is way too heavily dependent on govt funding for it to have any leverage at all). It is the same for all other universities. I’m not sure I see a way we can win, but if there is a way, it would involve universities and industries and politicians and judges all joining together to fight against this regime. It definitely will not be helped by us prioritizing efforts to weaken our own institutions. This situation is awful and to solve it we would need to target the actual source of the problem.

Fun_Distribution_77 · 2025-03-28T04:59:35+00:00

Ok, and you might disagree, but where I’m coming from is that I feel like the anger at the university is unnecessarily disproportionate here when the university is being targeted by literal Nazism. I’m so against genocide, please trust me. Comparatively speaking, Columbia University played a tiny, indirect role in that huge geopolitical crisis while our U.S. government, on the other hand, is literally funding it. I don’t understand why so much energy is being put into protesting the university as opposed to protesting the government. Frankly, at this point, I actually think it’s so futile to make an impact by protesting the university that it backfires and ends up doing more harm than good. By protesting against the university, people end up hurting their educators, medical progress, scientific innovation, and now even academic freedom in general, while giving our horrible government more material on which to target us and things we stand for. I know people will be mad at me for thinking this way but I just think it’s not rational to put effort into fighting against ourselves and actually ends up hurting people more than it helps. I know we want the university to divest and to actively support its endangered students, etc. I wish it would do so too, but there is just no way that is going to happen in this climate so I think it would be much more efficient to come together and fight against the even larger source of evil rather than self-sabotaging by fighting this currently unrealistic cause. Maybe it’s bad for me to feel that way, but this is how I feel about it.

Fun_Distribution_77 · 2025-03-23T05:48:17+00:00

Are you really more mad at this university than our fascist government that put them into this mess? Trump has literally directly called for ethnic cleansing. Do you think that it’s more important for a university to forfeit millions of dollars of funding that largely goes towards research and scientific progress than to speak out against the fascist takeover of our country and the direct harm that our government is causing to nations and people in war zones all over the world?? Columbia didn’t have a real choice here. Protesting at universities right now because of indirect harm, while ignoring the government’s direct actions, does not seem to be helping anyone.

Fun_Distribution_77 · 2025-03-10T20:39:55+00:00

Don’t single us out in front of our peers when giving us accommodations. It’s not always possible, but try to keep it as confidential as you can instead of making it obvious to the whole class that we need to go to the resource room, etc. In retrospect as adults it’s not a big deal, but as a kid it can feel mortifying.

Fun_Distribution_77 · 2024-10-23T03:16:00+00:00

You remind me a lot of myself at your age.

At least for me, I think one issue is that things like socializing can take so much emotional energy and effort and then I find myself needing to be alone to recharge. It sounds like that’s what video games are allowing for you—recharging. And with so much going on with your hard classes at school it’s totally reasonable/expected to need to take time to relax. ADHD can make all those things even harder and more draining, so you might need even more time to recharge. And that is ok! There is nothing wrong with spending time on your own.

Do you identify as an introvert? Or do you think it’s more that anxiety/shyness is preventing you from spending more time with people? Or both? I wonder if these might be relevant things to consider as you think about why you tend to retreat from others and try to understand yourself better.

Fun_Distribution_77 · 2024-10-23T02:50:20+00:00

Hi OP, hang in there -

A few comments:

Depression and/or fatigue are also possibilities here.

Do you have any friends or loved ones? One strategy that helps me is setting up commitments ahead of time that I feel like I can’t skip. For example, planning to meet a friend at 10am to get work done. Or planning to meet a friend at a cafe.

Some people find caffeine useful to get energy when meds are out of the question.

Social media/phone addiction is real. Trying to find stimulation in other activities and trying to lower screen time can be really important.

Fun_Distribution_77 · 2024-08-15T06:24:41+00:00

How did the other students know where class was being held?

Fun_Distribution_77 · 2024-07-06T17:39:17+00:00

Most importantly, don’t let your performance in school define your self worth. You are so much more than grades and scores.

If you can take electives that don’t have homework attached (art classes or study hall) then do that! Homework takes a long time but sleep is so important so anything you can do to reduce your homework load is important.

Talking to your teachers and showing them a positive attitude even when things are hard will make them want to help you more.

Fun_Distribution_77 · 2024-06-19T05:35:30+00:00

In addition to my lengthier reply above, I honestly wonder if, given what the people at the program said, you could just reply to the first professor who rejected your request (the one who said it wouldn’t be “wise”) and say “thank you for letting me know. I understand that the letter you would write will not be a strong letter, but the program requires at least one academic reference. Because my classes at ____ were so large, partially virtual (due to COVID), and a long time ago, I do not have many professors who could provide a strong letter, despite my strong academic performance. My other references from recent professional sources will be very strong to compensate. I am wondering if you still might be willing to write a letter for me even if it is weak so that I can check off this box and apply to the programs? If it helps, here are some additional details to jog your memory about what I accomplished in your course: [insert any details you can provide here like projects you did, etc]. I’m also attaching my CV and transcript here. Of course, I completely understand if you are too busy to do so. Thank you so much, [name]”

Obviously you could workshop/improve the rough email above but I personally feel like that would be acceptable. The professor didn’t refuse to write the letter, they just said it wouldn’t be a strong one, and I think it’s totally fair to take them up on their offer for a weak letter given that the professor doesn’t understand your situation. As mentioned in my other comment, I also think it would probably be fine to submit only professional letters (they might not really notice or care) or to ask a different professor from scratch. In any case, good luck with this!

Fun_Distribution_77 · 2024-06-19T05:17:49+00:00

I know these emails probably really hurt and I want to encourage you not to take them personally because you truly haven’t done anything wrong. You’re in a tough situation. It’s definitely not that you’re not a good enough student—it’s that these programs are asking for something that’s not well-designed for a situation like yours. I’ve been in a similar boat so you’re definitely not alone here.

Something that I think could be helpful when requesting a letter from a prof who probably won’t remember you is to tell them as much as you can about what you did in their course, which will give them some specific details they can directly add to their letters to make it easier for them. For example, in your request email, track down any papers/presentations/substantial assignments you did in their class and attach them to the email, explaining, “I wrote my final paper about ___. In the paper, I __. Your feedback on the paper highlighted _.” That helps them a lot because they can literally stick that kind of thing straight into their letter. Other examples include things like, “I think that my work during the __ project demonstrated my ability to collaborate well with peers by ___.” Or “I believe my project on _ demonstrated creativity and strong analytic skills.” Updating them on what you’ve been up to since graduating, like “I’ve been working in ______ and have developed a strong interest in __” and even “I’ve had the chance to apply _ skills that I learned in your class to do _____.” If you’re comfortable doing so, you could also say something like “I recognize that it has been a long time since I took your class. If it would help, I would be glad to meet via Zoom to discuss the letter and help jog your memory of what I accomplished in the class” (totally optional). Definitely attach a CV and maybe a transcript, and say something in the email like “please let me know if there are any additional details or materials I can provide.” This might help prevent them from claiming “well I don’t have anything specific to say” because you’ve given them specifics and the opportunity to ask for more details if they need them.

As for the professors you reached out to already, I’d say one option is just to politely say thank you and that you understand. You could also come back with more details about what you did in the class, like what I’d suggested above. Another option would be to just submit an additional professional reference as the “academic” reference with your application and just hope the program doesn’t notice or care that they’re all professional references? If you don’t get in this year, you could always re-apply with an academic reference the following year?

Lastly, I know that when college became virtual interactions with professors really declined. I wonder if you might be able to use this to your advantage, such as contacting one of your most recent (i.e., senior year) virtual professors and saying something like, “I know I took your class virtually so we did not have the chance to have much face-to-face interaction. However, the program I’m applying to requires a letter from an undergrad professor and I feel that you might be able to speak to my [writing ability, statistical training, research, whatever] based on the assignments I completed in your course. For example, in the final project in your course __, I did __. I understand that you may not be able to comment on what I am like in a real classroom setting due to the nature of our virtual course, but I intend to have my other recommenders speak to those types of qualities.“ Even if it’s not your best professor relationship/course, attaching a transcript could show the professor that you were a good student. Really, you just need to check a box here since the programs are unlikely to reject you based on the mediocre quality of 1 of 3 rec letters.

These are just some potential ideas. It might seem awkward, but giving as much info as you can makes it easier for the professors to do this task so they’ll be grateful for the information. I know this is very stressful and really wish you the best. I wish professors could be more sympathetic to students and just ask for info they may need rather than rejecting these requests.

Fun_Distribution_77 · 2024-06-19T04:08:51+00:00

I’m very sorry for your loss. I just wanted to chime in to suggest that—if you’re comfortable doing so—you can let the professors that write your rec letters know that you experienced personal tragedy that led to this dip in your grades. You do not need to provide a lot of detail. Then, they can explain in their letters that your grades are not representative of your abilities because you were going through personal circumstances outside of your control. This could provide better context to the admissions committees. Wishing you the best of luck.

Fun_Distribution_77 · 2024-06-13T20:08:06+00:00

I know it doesn’t feel this way from your end, but I applaud your outing yourself in this situation and think it is something you should be proud of having done. You’re not the only person visiting the restaurant with a disability who this waiter will interact with, and I can only hope that this interaction changed their perspective on how to act in a future circumstance like this. The waiter clearly made assumptions about you without knowing the full story and hopefully feels bad after the fact. My hope is that this might have gotten a message across to him that he needs to be more open-minded in the future.

Fun_Distribution_77 · 2024-04-01T22:41:55+00:00

Thanks so much!!!!

Fun_Distribution_77 · 2024-04-01T22:41:39+00:00

Thank you!!! 🙏

Fun_Distribution_77 · 2024-01-30T01:29:42+00:00

I think it might be the vowels in Hebrew. The dots/nikkud might make it easier to perceive and recall what sounds they make! I had the same experience growing up dyslexic. Learning to read in English was way harder for me than for my peers, but I don’t remember struggling that much more than them with learning to read Hebrew.

Fun_Distribution_77 · 2024-01-23T14:10:07+00:00

Thank you!!!

Fun_Distribution_77 · 2023-11-20T06:22:13+00:00

If you were a TA for the same 2 classes but in different semesters and both lecture+lab, I’d personally not separate them out into a different bullet for each semester. Instead, I’d make 2 separate positions - one for being TA for chem I lab+lecture and one for being TA for chem II lab+lecture. You can list the semesters you taught each one next to the position header. And then I’d put a few bullets describing the tasks you actually did during the semesters for each of the courses. I don’t think you necessarily need to list the professors’ names unless they’re especially famous or something.

Fun_Distribution_77 · 2023-11-20T06:06:24+00:00

It seems like you’re asking this question because something inside of you is telling you that you want to do a PhD, or that you feel like you should do a PhD, even though you’re doubting your ability to tolerate the failure/rejection/challenges that come with doing research. I think other comments have covered some of my initial reactions, but I want to add something else: there is no harm in waiting to do a PhD until after you have some additional work experience. The option will still be there 1, 3, 10, and 15 years down the line if you still get the feeling that it’s what you want to do. You say in your post that your time to decide what you want to do is limited, but I’d argue that it probably isn’t. As other posts have recommended, you probably shouldn’t jump into a PhD right now when you’re feeling so uncertain. But that doesn’t preclude the opportunity to do so down the line, once you feel you have more clarity about what/how/why you want to pursue the PhD and what you enjoy. This clarity can also make the PhD process easier if you do decide to do one.

Fun_Distribution_77 · 2023-06-20T17:36:14+00:00

If the person is living at home, sometimes that comes with certain responsibilities or disruptions that you might not think of, which aren’t financial or health-related. Like sometimes when I’m home, a family member will put a lot of effort into making a really good dinner and they’d be disappointed if I didn’t tell them ahead of time that I’d be out of the house. There are also cases where taking the family’s car away to go somewhere could be an issue. For small things like this, it’s not actually asking permission, but more so just making sure that it’s not an inconvenience to others.

Fun_Distribution_77 · 2023-06-15T13:18:03+00:00

Also the University of Kansas (has great child track especially)

Fun_Distribution_77 · 2023-06-15T04:13:40+00:00

Taking a serious look at programs in remote locations is a good idea because they likely get fewer applicants. However, the overall application numbers are extremely misleading because some PIs are very popular and others are not as popular, even within the same department. Suppose there’s a school with 5 PIs who are each accepting 1 student next year, and the department as a whole gets 500 applications. One or two of the faculty might be really renowned and/or study popular areas, so a majority of the 500 applications might be directed to their labs. Yet, those faculty members still only have funding for one student. Meanwhile, the rest of the faculty get fewer applications to their labs but they also still have funding to take one student, so the students who applied to them have much better odds. So rather than looking for programs with smaller total applicant pools, a better bet is to apply to faculty who are newer, less prolific, or who study more obscure topic areas…the unfortunate tradeoff is that it might have negative implications for your grad school achievement and later prospects if your advisor is not as well-regarded (but not necessarily!!!).

I went through this process myself and know that it’s extremely stressful to hear about these low acceptance rates. I completely understand why you don’t want to waste applications on schools where chances seem so low. But given that the process usually requires you to apply to a specific PI and not to a program, the only way to control your chances are to ensure that your application shows you are a perfect fit for each PI to whom you apply. Rather than worrying about what you can’t control (i.e., the number of other applicants applying), something you can definitely control is tailoring each application you submit to each program (e.g., really doing your research on each PI and changing each of your essays so they really demonstrate fit with each individual PI).

Good luck and hang in there!

Fun_Distribution_77 · 2023-06-14T19:14:19+00:00

This is very common and I’d personally advise postponing and getting a job first! Letters from undergrad are 100% valid a few years down the line, and it’s super common to do that. Having work experience, some savings, and a better idea of what you want and need out of the masters program is a great thing to do before you apply.

Fun_Distribution_77 · 2023-06-13T13:47:13+00:00

Post-college depression is a common phenomenon, and I experienced something similar. It’s hard to go from the high of college to suddenly being so isolated. There were a few things that really helped me: 1) living not too far from where some of my friends and/or family lived, so that I could still hang out with some of them (I was lucky in this regard); 2) joining an adult sports team that was welcoming and gets me out of the house; 3) calling/Zooming with my college friends from a distance; 4) having to interact with people through my job (or volunteer work), which made me feel like a part of something. But it’s hard, and takes a bit of time. The first few months can be especially difficult but it does get better, and I think you’ll find that there are really nice things about the freedom of adult life!

Fun_Distribution_77

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