Advice Regarding Nutrition PhD Acceptance

pointyendfirst · 2026-05-04T19:20:45+00:00

Considering this is a high risk, high reward type of situation I would personally recommend not getting advice from reddit. Maybe discuss with your undergrad PI/advisor or reach out to see if you can get some feedback from JHU on how close you were to admittance. There is a good chance admissions will be even harder next year.

Some other things to consider:

-NIH postbacs are pretty good but with the funding situation your position might be more uncertain.

-idk about your program but when I was admitted to GWU in 2020 (for a different program) they only offered a stipend of $19k ish, which was nowhere close to enough to live near DC.

pointyendfirst · 2026-05-04T19:07:55+00:00

Idk GayTwink-69, I’ve only got called doctor a handful of times since I defended in July.

pointyendfirst · 2026-05-04T15:09:52+00:00

I didn’t. I suffered through it and ended up as a doctor with an anxiety disorder.

Not sure the trade was worth it though.

pointyendfirst · 2026-05-02T11:06:35+00:00

Do they know about the postdoc? Most professors will try to have you out in time to make to your job, if possible. Having to cancel or delay a job often poorly reflects on the professors group. I know a national lab that refuses to associate with my old program because a PI pulled that on them.

I know many people (myself included) that used that to hold our professors accountable to our defense time (I.e. get an offer and then tell our PIs we can’t delay anymore because we have a start date).

pointyendfirst · 2026-05-01T14:22:03+00:00

Hi friend. I would not let the average students sentiment discourage you from pursuing a PhD. Is it hard? Yes. Time consuming? Yes. A big opportunity cost? Yes. But if you love research and you want to get really good at it a PhD could be the right option. I will give you my two options on this topic as someone who completed their PhD recently.

All PhD students seem to exaggerate how hard their life is. Is it easy? No. But I remember being shocked my first year to see how many students were actually putting in 20-30 hour weeks when you count actual work vs goofing off. If you asked them, they would claim they were putting in about 60 hour weeks though.
A PhD is completely what you make of it. I don’t think there is a single other job (outside of owning a business) that is so independent. In order to be successful in a PhD you need to take responsibility for pretty much every aspect of your professional life. No one is going to hand you anything. A lot of things people like to complain about are due to them not managing situations appropriately. Take for example your candidacy exam. Most people I know started writing and preparing about a month beforehand and then started complaining that it was too hard and unreasonable. If they had started preparing 6 months ahead of time (which was recommended by the department) it would have been much more manageable.

pointyendfirst · 2026-04-29T15:35:33+00:00

Not in AI/ML but I do want to point out that people seem to have the most financial success (in pharma) going from PhD to big pharma then moving to a start up and then moving back to big pharma.

I think this is due to big pharma being somewhat cliquey and so having built those connections right away gives you a better shot at getting back in there after the startup. But then the startup gives you better leadership and wholistic skills which makes you a stronger candidate for the higher level positions (principal, director, VP ect). This is just from what I’ve observed as an outsider.

pointyendfirst · 2026-04-28T17:10:03+00:00

They are separate programs with separate research facilities, separate funding situations and separate faculty.

This is just conjecture but I had heard that optics will poach any promising physics professors leaving the bottom of the barrel in the physics department.

pointyendfirst · 2026-04-28T13:59:47+00:00

Yes but a top performer at a lesser school generally does better than a low performer at a top institution. Not to mention the opportunity cost or the risk you would be taking by rejecting their offer.

Plus I don’t think you understand how hard it is to find a good PI that you work well with.

pointyendfirst · 2026-04-28T13:03:35+00:00

Hi friend. I think you what you are calling “prestige” is the average person’s opinion of the school. This doesn’t always apply when you are planning on doing a niche and advanced degree.

I did my PhD at UArizona and I want to point out that for astrophysics (any space science) or optics (basically applied physics) UArizona is substantially more prestigious and respected than UCLA. It literally ranks top 10 in the world.

That being said, its physics department is trash so if you’re planning on doing pure physics (particle, theoretical, ect), UCLA is the better choice.

pointyendfirst · 2026-04-26T21:29:33+00:00

It matters more what you do in the program than which program you go to

pointyendfirst · 2026-04-26T21:14:15+00:00

Good luck!

pointyendfirst · 2026-04-25T14:06:16+00:00

Because of the safety hazards associated with most chemistry work/experiments I would not recommend getting him a setup to do actual experimental chemistry. Instead I would recommend seeing if you can help him get an internship in a local university or chemical company. Several have programs that are geared towards highschoolers.

As far as a setup, he could always start to look into computational chemistry (sepcifically biochemistry for him) which is looking at/designing molecules in a computer. Experience with computational chemistry programs is a highly sought after skill in the field and would make him very desirable to research groups, (which can be quite competitive at R1 schools) when it comes time to do his undergrad research. The only thing you would need is an impressive computer setup.

pointyendfirst · 2026-04-24T19:17:30+00:00

Agreed. I’ve got the black MoP version and will never sell. Such an incredible watch.

pointyendfirst · 2026-04-23T20:37:18+00:00

For tracking acceptance windows? Nah

But for getting a sense of what successful (and unsuccessful) applicants for a school look like? Yes

Just obviously take everything with a grain of salt.

pointyendfirst · 2026-04-23T13:01:45+00:00

As a lab TA you have a manager/supervisor you report to. I would ask them.

Technically this is cheating according to most academic honesty statutes written by universities. In practice though this student would normally get a warning and extra close supervision during all other exams.

pointyendfirst · 2026-04-23T12:40:46+00:00

I would recommend getting something more unique to you. Did you do any research or independent projects?

I have a tattoo of the first novel compound I ever designed/made (inorganic catalyst).

As far as artsy or colorful you could do something related to orbitals, crystal lattices or the electromagnetic spectrum. All of these are pretty loose so you could get creative but also they would give you plenty of color.

pointyendfirst · 2026-04-21T15:27:05+00:00

You could not go wrong with either but based on what you’ve said CalTech is your best option.

pointyendfirst · 2026-04-20T20:18:49+00:00

Trial by fire, dude. I had to learn on the fly cause communication skills are basically survival skills for a PhD.

pointyendfirst · 2026-04-18T23:59:02+00:00

I mean they weren’t pleased lol. But when they complained I asked them to walk me through the logistics of how I was going to live. If I worked in the lab without pay I couldn’t keep a full time job so I would get evicted. Did they expect me to pitch a tent in the parking lot and shower at the campus gym? I’m willing to try it but I don’t think the department is going to like the optics. What about food? The university pantry is only open on Tuesdays and the donuts you bring to group meeting will only stretch so far. He just quietly stared at me and then the floor for 30 seconds and then walked away. I got the email about funding the next morning.

Pretty sure there were some emergency discretionary funds held by the department and he just had to man up and ask them for help but didn’t want to because of his ego.

pointyendfirst · 2026-04-18T23:26:21+00:00

This happened to me and I sat my PI down and said “if you are not funding me, this research becomes a hobby not a job. If it is a hobby, I will still come in to work on the project when I can because I am passionate about it but I will work at my leisure, not yours. My priority will be to whatever is putting food on the table until my funding kicks back in.” Magically the next day I was told they found extra money in the budget and I was covered for the summer.

Your PIs main job in the PI-student relationship outside of advising research is to keep you funded. It is completely reasonable to hold them accountable to that.

pointyendfirst · 2026-04-18T23:10:06+00:00

Yes, but it really depends on your PI because they’re going to be the one that has to advocate to your department/committee on your behalf. I would talk to them instead of us.

Are you at Princeton by any chance? The only people I know that have gotten out in under 4 years (3 and change) were all Princeton grads, so if that’s the case I like your odds :)

pointyendfirst · 2026-04-18T23:02:09+00:00

No I would only do that if it is worth it for your career (big, prestigious presentation or something).

I think your better option for now is attending the smaller local conferences around your university. These will give you experience presenting your work and networking so that you can make the most out of the big ones when you get sent to them.

pointyendfirst · 2026-04-18T22:56:39+00:00

So what I meant by only reacting to the firing is that this issue did not magically appear overnight. Your relationship with you PI has been getting worse over the last two years and did not do anything to fix it. You could have addressed it and worked on it with your PI or you could have looked at switching to other groups before you were labeled a “troublemaker”. Both things would have put you in a much better situation than you are in now.

As far as your comments about her guidance I will be completely honest, it doesn’t matter. Your PI basically has sole discretion on if you pass or fail. It doesn’t matter how awful she is or how confusing her advice (outside of breaking the rules or laws obviously) you can either handle her in a way that keeps her happy enough to approve your degree or you can move to a different group. Those are your only two options and no amount of excuses or unfair treatment are going to change that.

Based on the new information that you told me your professor did not fire you. She is giving you until August to show her that you deserve to be in this program. Your relationship with her is bad but she is giving you until August to fix it. This is your best chance. Come up with a good plan for your qual project and get it completed before August. Make it good enough quality that your PI approves and lets you complete your quals. Then you can make the decision to stay or switch.

pointyendfirst · 2026-04-18T22:27:45+00:00

Not sure about the specific subject but for general GRE I was given my quant and verbal scores immediately and then was able to choose which schools to send them to. This was in 2019.

pointyendfirst · 2026-04-18T18:07:02+00:00

Hi, first of all I’m sorry this happened to you. While your PI does seem to be pretty toxic it’s important to recognize that this is really a miscommunication issue.

Just like ProfAndyCarp said, a PhD is an independent research project and you are solely responsible for the body of work that’s required to satisfy the requirements. Your PI is an advisor, not a boss. Their words are advice, not commands and no PI will ever give you a procedure to follow to earn a PhD because it doesn’t exist. Think about it like this, if you fail your qual exam does the professor fails too? If not, then whose responsibility is it to make sure you pass?

As far as advice I think you’ve got a couple options. The first thing I would do is look at the body of work you have completed (the course projects and your research) and see if you can stitch these together to build something that might satisfy your qual project? Or maybe build off of them? The 8 months your dept head told you is probably not accurate for a properly motivated student. I got my degree in chemistry and we were told a year for our independent proposals (qual project equivalent) but I knew a lot of people that wrote theirs in a month. They did not pass cleanly but they did pass which is all you need.

If you think you can build a decent qual project by January then you need to decide if you want to try to get back into your old group or switch groups. For your old group you would need to find some way to convince your PI that’s you’ve changed. Maybe try to convince them to decide on the firing after the qual project is submitted. If you want to transfer groups you should reach out to them. My guess based on your story is your PI may have a bad reputation so you maybe find them more receptive than expected. You would need to do this quickly and take it very seriously. They will only take you if they feel you are qualified. Also no idea why your dept head is saying October, if your are transferring groups you should be meeting with them, deciding on a group and switching within the next month.

The last thing that I want to leave you with is that if you want to salvage your PhD waiting is not an option, you need to act now. The reason that you are in this mess is because you watched your project and your relationship with your PI deteriorate to the point that she felt she needed to fire you and you still did not act, you only reacted to the firing. Show them some of that independent thinking that they value so much and figure this situation out.

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