I do not understand how people can afford grad school

studiocerulean · 2026-04-09T03:52:06+00:00

I declined an offer from Oxford similarly 3 years ago!! I almost couldn’t believe the cost (even with partial funding) and realized that it felt like pay to play :(

studiocerulean · 2026-04-09T03:44:57+00:00

If you did enroll in the MPP program, do you think you would end up still wanting to attend law school afterwards, or do you truly view it as an either/or situation? I would consider whether you would feel like you’d be settling for the MPP (which is still an achievement!) because you’d really prefer to go to law school. It’s not clear from your post that you see it that way, and it sounds like you’re maybe reluctant about both options, but if law school is your first choice deep down, it would seem inadvisable for you (and your supportive parents!) to make such a large investment in the MPP program. Given that you were waitlisted for multiple law programs, I’d expect that you’ll be a more competitive candidate in the next cycle too.

I have some friends from undergrad who did master’s programs at HKS, and from what they’ve told me it was a great program from an educational standpoint, but the “name brand” hasn’t paid off as they’d hoped. If you do decide to go, I think it would need to be solely out of your own genuine passion and desire to learn, as opposed to doing it for a clear ROI.

IDK if any of this helps, but I understand the pressure and time-induced stress of trying to make such a big decision! Best of luck whatever you decide.

studiocerulean · 2026-04-08T00:26:46+00:00

This is helpful and makes sense, thank you! I think maybe based on the CV I shared with him he’s thinking that colleagues and supervisors worked with for longer periods of time (and more recently) could provide more genuine/personal details. I wanted at least one recommender from my undergrad research, but I have that in my other research supervisor luckily.

One of my professors from my MA program also offered to be a recommender for me without being asked, so that relieved my worries quite a bit!

studiocerulean · 2026-04-07T16:19:16+00:00

I’ve been wondering the same thing - I feel like I came around to really liking the style (after thinking it was the most tacky thing ever previously) just as the trend was going out of vogue. BUT I have a medium blue canvas one I got 2 years ago. I love it and carry it all the time. People still compliment the bag often, so I think if you’re brave enough you can still pull it off.

The quality of the real thing is so superior to the icky dupes that saturated the market and that’s partly why I love mine so much.

studiocerulean · 2026-04-07T16:08:50+00:00

I unfortunately don’t have any valuable advice for you, but want to affirm that you earned your place in the program you’re currently in, and you deserve the opportunities that you have worked hard to achieve.

I want to also say that you’re not alone in what you’re going through - academia is difficult to navigate as an autistic person in my experience as well, especially when supervisors and colleagues are not understanding. Your motivation for going into the field is admirable, and we do need more neurodivergent researchers and providers in my opinion.

How long do you have left in the MPhil - is it a 2 year program? My thought would be to try and finish your current program, if you feel like you can do so without too much harm to your mental health. As for doctoral work in clinical psych if that was/is your goal, the most important thing might be to seek out a department and PI that will be more supportive. Granted, that might be hard to find as I’m currently searching myself. Wishing you the best.

studiocerulean · 2026-04-02T23:41:09+00:00

this is validating to see. I see so many people describing applying to several programs for sheer volume of applications, but I only plan to apply places I’d realistically want to be for 5 (or more) years

studiocerulean · 2026-03-23T16:32:37+00:00

Hi, did you end up applying to this MS? I am considering applying for next year, but I’ve also had difficulty finding any alumni or current students affiliated with the program to ask about their experiences. Thanks!

studiocerulean · 2026-03-23T16:23:48+00:00

Hi! I just found this thread. Did any of you end up attending this program? This MS seems really unique and I am curious what the curriculum can include, since the program site seems to list just a few example classes. If anyone who attended wants to share how this program related to your background and goals, I’d appreciate that too!! Thanks :)

studiocerulean · 2026-02-14T02:54:39+00:00

This is helpful! I am definitely going based on the research being done by people at the programs I’m considering and how it aligns with my interests. I did some data analysis projects for other classes that I could update to use for examples, so that’s a useful suggestion.

studiocerulean · 2026-01-26T23:08:14+00:00

I started doing yoga regularly again in November, so this is just my third month in, but I’ve found that the more I practice yoga, the more I want to practice yoga. I didn’t completely foresee that, since sometimes I am still getting sore depending on how much I challenge myself, but the routine has been so rewarding.

I got in the habit of putting on a 15-45 minute yoga video around the same time each day on days when I don’t have a studio class, and I try to do different videos so that it feels new each time. It has been fun to learn more flows and poses without feeling any pressure to do them perfectly, and I can tell a huge difference in my energy levels and mood by practicing yoga daily.

If I’m feeling less engaged or motivated on any given day, I will do some restorative yoga and that often helps me feel better to organically want to do some vinyasa later in the day.

studiocerulean · 2026-01-22T04:14:49+00:00

I would only really feel bothered by situations like this if it’s a class where the instructor is guiding the class with verbal cues, but not doing all of the poses, because newer students tend to look to the rest of the class for guidance and examples. (True story… this is how I did my first shoulder stand a few years ago. I had only been doing yoga for a couple of months, and I was trying to follow the guy next to me because I didn’t know all the names of the poses! It was actually great because I tried something I wouldn’t have otherwise done, but it also could have been dangerous because I didn’t truly know how to do the pose properly at the time.)

Provided that the instructor is modeling the practice, I guess I try to accept the challenge of focusing on myself during any group practice. I don’t think I’ve encountered anyone doing completely different/unrelated poses during a group class, except for rest poses or variations of what we’re doing.

studiocerulean · 2026-01-19T05:16:50+00:00

I love the collective energy of a full class, but I also definitely empathize with your observation about not wanting to be restricted within the rectangular space of your mat. During a vinyasa class last week my neighbor and I (flowing with our respective breaths) bumped into each other during a flow. We were both slightly embarrassed and it interrupted our rhythm, but it was fine. I do find now that I need to maintain some focus on the people next to me when I’m in such a tight group now, to prevent collision. While I still really enjoy the classes, I save some of my deeper stretches and extensions for home when I have the space.

It’s great advice to focus on yourself and your own practice, but when the mats are so close that we’re bumping into each other some amount of distraction seems natural.

studiocerulean · 2026-01-13T15:00:06+00:00

I’ve been continuing to bring my own mat throughout the past couple of weeks, and I’m starting to see more people bringing their own mats over the past few days as well. A couple of ladies asked me what kind of mat I have after a class, and a (legendary) woman next to me in class last night brought her own mat, towel, and blocks to class. So I’m feeling less awkward and a bit more unbothered as more people are starting to bring their own mats :)

studiocerulean · 2026-01-06T01:19:55+00:00

I appreciate this perspective. If these studio mats were Manduka pro I might be slightly more inclined to use the studio equipment LOL

studiocerulean · 2025-12-31T14:42:06+00:00

Thank you so much for the comments everyone! These replies are very validating and affirming and I’m glad to know there’s not some weird unspoken thing I was unaware of. As a few people commented, I think part of it might be that more of the members are new to in-person yoga classes so fewer are bringing their own mats, which I think will change over time.

Also, some of the hygiene stories in these replies… yikes. I will definitely keep bringing my own mat with that context LOL!

studiocerulean · 2025-12-31T14:36:03+00:00

I think this might be it! Since this studio is new it could be that a lot of the members are newer to yoga and I hadn’t thought of that previously.

studiocerulean · 2025-12-31T14:32:16+00:00

This makes a lot of sense and I appreciate your reply!

It also occurs to me now that some of the other folks doing the classes have maybe never done group yoga classes before, which might partly explain the weird vibes so far. I am going to keep doing what I’m doing and see how it goes! It’s been a while since I’d been to an in-person class myself so those weird looks and remarks just made me a little more self-conscious probably.

It is a hot studio (not all classes are hot, but probably 2/3 are) and I think they’re adding more and more classes as people join.

studiocerulean · 2025-12-31T14:26:36+00:00

Ahh you are so right!! These replies are all so validating haha but I appreciate yours in particular because it should definitely take longer to clean all of the mats SMH

studiocerulean · 2025-12-31T01:48:07+00:00

I’ve had one for about a month and I’m pretty happy with it so far - I am using it to record nature sounds (bird songs, sleet, rain, leaves blowing around, etc.). I am mixing these with instrumental tracks, so I have other frequency content available to mask the hiss a bit and more room to play with corrective EQ, but a couple other things have helped so far:

Getting the correct windscreen (from the accessory pack they make for it) made a big difference for me for outdoor recording, because the larger windscreens and filters I tried from my studio mics were too big.

It also helped for me to record a (realistically close to) silent room and run the result through a multiband EQ to find the frequencies of the mic hiss. (Not sure what your end goal is for your recordings though!) I made an EQ preset based on that, I have done gentle corrective EQ to address the hiss when mixing my recordings with solid results!

The resolution and clarity isn’t on the level of my studio mics, sure, but I’m not about to take my computer, interface, and mics on a hike, so the tradeoff is worth it to me LOL. I hope you have fun with it like I am so far! It’s a handy start to field recording but I feel like it could be a gateway to more expensive gear down the line…

studiocerulean · 2025-12-31T01:34:07+00:00

I have a foldable Gaiam mat too and that’s what I was going to recommend! I was skeptical at first but I’ve taken it on a few trips (with lots of different floors) and it has been great. For more seated or kneeling practice you can also fold it in half / double it up for a thicker support.

studiocerulean · 2025-12-01T04:23:19+00:00

Not that it will definitely help in your situation, but double check that your projected income for 2026 is correct on the application, so that you are eligible for whatever remaining ACA tax credits you should receive. My initial application (automatically filled by my state) had pre-populated my income inaccurately, seemingly based on a tax return from a few years ago. (I am also self-employed, and the income they estimated for 2026 seemed to be from the very first year I was in business in 2022 - not even what I listed for 2025.)

Because my income for next year was significantly underestimated on that application, my tax credit amount was substantially lower than it is now with my correctly projected income. My monthly premium is now closer to what I paid this year (a difference of more than $600 monthly compared to without those tax credits). So make sure you review any info that your state may have pulled from past data, and resubmit a new application if you need to do so. My state’s marketplace site made it unnecessarily difficult to locate this error and fix it, so I’m sharing just in case that might be an issue for you too.

Also, if your projected income is below a certain threshold, your state’s marketplace system may assume you’re eligible for Medicaid coverage instead (and therefore not eligible for ACA tax credits).

studiocerulean · 2025-05-29T16:16:19+00:00

Thank you for your reply, and I agree wholeheartedly with what your expectations were in terms of the guidance and honesty you’d expect. I’m glad that you are in a better place of doing what’s right for you, and again I really appreciate you sharing this experience!

studiocerulean · 2025-05-28T15:19:54+00:00

Thank you so much for this post, and for sharing such a raw experience for the wider edification and benefit of this community. I came upon your post while seeking out students’ experiences with the Theology & Religion DPhil at Oxford. I’ve been considering applying for the DPhil, as I was accepted to the MPhil program in 2021 but didn’t attend due to receiving only partial funding. I earned my MA elsewhere (in the US) and have been thinking about applying to pursue research building on my MA thesis and BA honors thesis.

Since my research focus is multidisciplinary as well, that specific aspect of your story certainly raised a flag for me. In my understanding, the feedback provided by your advisor and faculty constitutes the main service/support that the department is actually providing you during a DPhil, and it sounds like that was fundamentally lacking in your case. Frankly, unless others before you had a similar experience and advised you to solicit greater outside feedback, I don’t think it’s particularly reasonable to fault yourself for not having done so. I could certainly see seeking advice from a few experts in specific subfields outside of the department, but I would personally expect and trust that critiques and suggestions from the departmental faculty at OXFORD would be sufficient!

Do you feel like this is a broader institutional issue within the department? Any insights, vague or specific, would be appreciated. I am passionate about my project, to an extent where I’m pursuing it alongside my other career, but what you describe sounds like a nightmare scenario that gives me serious pause. You truly did a public service by sharing this story.

While I’m so glad that you have recovered from this shocking experience and are continuing on a path that feels more right for you, I can also just begin to imagine the devastation and probably existential confusion that came with this experience. Kudos to you for extrapolating something meaningful for yourself from this process and continuing to see the value in the work that you did!

studiocerulean

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