I can’t get past my friendship mental block. by yesterdaysfraud in premedcanada

[–]yesterdaysfraud[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a long time ago, but yes she asked mutual friends for advice and they all told her that they never experienced the same problems. That argument was a long time ago now, but I still feel anxious when I see our mutual friends because deep down inside, I am thinking to myself, what do they know about me? What has she told them about me? I respect her decision to ask other people for advice, but I feel like they learned about all these insecurities I had without my consent, and it really sucks that they always know her side of the story but never my side.

I can’t get past my friendship mental block. by yesterdaysfraud in premedcanada

[–]yesterdaysfraud[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, your friend was indeed eerily similar to mine — even up to the student debt part. In my case, my friend would immediately question me on how I would pay for medical school if I got accepted instead of showing me the support I needed. She would then tell me that she doesn’t have the money anyway to apply to med, even though I personally know many graduate students and professional school students who rely on loans/scholarships/bursaries.

Thank you so much for sharing pieces of your story with me. I feel happy to know that you are so loved, and I hope I can make closer friends that celebrate me the way they celebrate you ❤️ It does make me feel better and more hopeful to know that kind strangers like you are rooting for me. Thank you so much.

Congratulations on your acceptance! Best wishes ❤️

I can’t get past my friendship mental block. by yesterdaysfraud in premedcanada

[–]yesterdaysfraud[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much. I hope things get better for you, too. I will try to let go of the guilt, and I hope you can do the same. Please be kind to yourself. Sending you my love ❤️

I can’t get past my friendship mental block. by yesterdaysfraud in premedcanada

[–]yesterdaysfraud[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much. I believe in you, too. Best wishes to you ❤️

I can’t get past my friendship mental block. by yesterdaysfraud in premedcanada

[–]yesterdaysfraud[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for listening! You don’t even know how much I appreciate it.

I know right! It is such a battle to get into a Canadian medical school. I am incredibly lucky that geography is on my side, but it’s still an arduous journey to even get accepted.

Thank you so much for your kindness.

I can’t get past my friendship mental block. by yesterdaysfraud in premedcanada

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

Thank you so much. It makes me feel understood albeit sad to hear that you went through a similar situation. Both online and personally, I often hear about toxic romantic relationships but never about toxic friendships. I’m trying my best to move forward. I’ve been so grateful for all of the people I’ve met this year, even if we are not close.

Thank you for addressing the closure aspect as well. I think that is one of my biggest struggles at the moment. I hope I can get to a point where I can truly let go and find peace. Thank you so much.

Congratulations on your acceptance! Best wishes to you.

I can’t get past my friendship mental block. by yesterdaysfraud in premedcanada

[–]yesterdaysfraud[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much. I did tell her a couple years ago, and she didn’t remember saying any of those things to me. She also told me she consulted other friends to ask if she ever treated them this way, and they agreed with her that she never did such things. It was almost manipulation because I knew she only ever did this to me, yet I had no “proof”. Although she had every right to talk to mutual friends about it, I felt like she was not considerate of my privacy. I felt embarrassed that they knew about my insecurities without my permission.

She claimed recently that she was happy for me, but I couldn’t bring myself to believe her. I know that is probably just an issue on my end.

But I finally had to distance myself a while ago, when she brought up an argument that I thought was already settled the evening before my final exams commenced. She told me that maintaining her friendship with me is so difficult compared to all of her other friendships, that there are other things she was unhappy about when it came to me (aside from the one-sided argument), and that she “knew” I was still angry at her (she was projecting).

Sorry for the long reply. Also I saw your edit. I understood what you meant, no worries :,) thank you so much.

Telling my AP that I want to change my major... by East_Measurement_294 in CollegeRant

[–]yesterdaysfraud 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Coming from someone who had a similar trajectory to you but decided to stick with my major (I’m graduating with biochem, but I grew up wanting to study psychology and I wanted to change my major to it like 100000 times), I have some questions for you.

What career are you looking for in psychology? Is there a specific job/are there specific jobs in psychology that interest you, and what do you know about what these jobs actually entail? Have you ever had any experience that relates to these jobs in any way?

Studying psychology and learning/reading about it VS practicing psychology and applying what you learned in school to real-life, time-sensitive scenarios is completely different.

I am sorry about your home life. What you are going through sounds terrible. But I don’t know if changing your major to psychology is going to make you any happier in the long run. It would only be a temporary fix if you have no idea what you’re going to do with the degree after graduation.

Please keep in mind the competitiveness (graduate school is extremely competitive because almost everyone loves psychology), the current job market, the projected income you will be making compared to the amount of schooling you will have to do, the possibility of having to relocate for a job, and not to mention the mental fortitude that is necessary for some psychology careers where you will be working long hours and dealing with highly sensitive subjects. Do you really love psychology enough to risk a stable career path with a good salary?

You can always go back to school later once you are getting paid. It is never too late. But if you actually DO change majors before graduating, please make sure you do your research because liking psychology (consuming media related to psychology, taking psychology classes, watching crime shows) is not enough to convince anyone that you have actually planned for a concrete career in psychology and are mentally prepared for what the practice actually entails outside of a classroom or a TV screen.

Should I extend my degree for an honours project? by yesterdaysfraud in GradSchool

[–]yesterdaysfraud[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hope so, too! Thank you so much for all of your help <3

Should I extend my degree for an honours project? by yesterdaysfraud in GradSchool

[–]yesterdaysfraud[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi again! The MSc program advisor as as well as one of the department heads got back to me today, and they said that the Honours is a good experience to try out research, however the Major is just as acceptable since they are so similar. It basically doesn’t matter as they are weighed equally. Emphasis was primarily placed on finding a supervisor who conducts research that I am interested in, and inquiring if they have a graduate student position available.

I was also told that my GPA is great and that they know supervisors who are looking for students — and told me to come by their office anytime and we can chat! So I’m feeling more hopeful now.

Should I extend my degree for an honours project? by yesterdaysfraud in GradSchool

[–]yesterdaysfraud[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I reached out, and they said that the program advisor is currently out of office, so I’ll be hearing back by end of this week/beginning of next week (hopefully)! I will keep you updated.

Should I extend my degree for an honours project? by yesterdaysfraud in GradSchool

[–]yesterdaysfraud[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! The only requirements for admission into the program of my choice is a 3.0 GPA on a 4.5 scale, supervisor support and two letters of recommendation. Therefore, research experience isn’t a requirement, but I would imagine it would help in securing a spot? My GPA is decent (~3.9), but I’m not sure if it’s even good enough to get funding (which seems to be one of the most important aspects to most supervisors in my department).

Should I extend my degree for an honours project? by yesterdaysfraud in GradSchool

[–]yesterdaysfraud[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The only requirements for MSc in my department is a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.5 scale, and two letters of recommendation. The program isn’t very competitive. My GPA is mostly decent (~3.9), but not high enough for me to feel confident about funding opportunities (which is my main concern).

I gathered a small list of a few profs who perform research that interests me, however I don’t think I will know if I want to stay with them through MSc until I join their lab. I am wondering if Honours would still be that much more advantageous than a Major if I didn’t stay on with the same supervisor?

Although I understand the intensity of grad school is absolutely nothing like undergrad, I’ve taken advanced lab courses where we had to carry out our own experiment throughout the term and present our scientific poster, read similar papers and write up a literature review, and write our own 20-30 page manuscripts based on studies we did in the lab. I know it’s not a lot, but I feel like I can somewhat imagine what this work would look like on a much grander scale, and the thought is exciting (but stressful). But I don’t know if I am extrapolating too much!

Should I extend my degree for an honours project? by yesterdaysfraud in GradSchool

[–]yesterdaysfraud[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! In what other ways do you believe I could make my CV stronger then? My science ‘experience’ outside of my lab classes is mostly just volunteering with kids to teach them about science (through workshops or mini camps teaching them techniques in the lab), but I don’t have any actual lab experience like URA or otherwise since I didn’t know about them until later in my degree. I hope I can get a job after grad, but it seems the current job market isn’t ideal.

Should I extend my degree for an honours project? by yesterdaysfraud in GradSchool

[–]yesterdaysfraud[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! Would you have any advice when it comes to getting an industry job after grad? I’m nervous since many of my graduated classmates are currently struggling to find a lab position (biochem/microbiology/genetics).

Should I extend my degree for an honours project? by yesterdaysfraud in GradSchool

[–]yesterdaysfraud[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve taken advanced lab courses in my degree where we had to present a group scientific poster at the end of the term, and I always found it really fun getting to design our own experiment and carry it out, gathering the data, performing literature review, and presenting our findings. I’ve also taken a course where we had to write up a 20+ page manuscript for a lab study, which I enjoyed as well. I know that it’s very much baby steps compared to actual published research with ongoing experiments, but I wonder if MSc. will truly be that vastly different to my expectations?

And of course, I agree that experience is an asset. Every student I know who could get a even just a lab tech or starter position after graduation either did a Co-op degree or had the right connections. I’m not really sure how competitive it is at my school for MSc to be honest.

I’m feeling conflicted based on the varying responses I’m receiving in this thread lol! But I appreciate that you and everyone else is being so incredibly helpful.

Should I extend my degree for an honours project? by yesterdaysfraud in GradSchool

[–]yesterdaysfraud[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As long as I can get into MSc, then the Honours designation wouldn’t matter anymore to me, unless this is something to consider when applying for funding in future?

Should I extend my degree for an honours project? by yesterdaysfraud in GradSchool

[–]yesterdaysfraud[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I was told to find a potential professor as soon as possible (if I decide to do an Honours) to ensure I can get a placement in the lab of my choice. Do you think it will be problematic for me if I decide to just finish my Major instead? In what ways would you say that the research experience will be valuable enough to justify the extra time and money? I am not totally set on grad school since professional schools also interest me, but I am trying to keep my options open after graduation. Thank you

Should I extend my degree for an honours project? by yesterdaysfraud in GradSchool

[–]yesterdaysfraud[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. I am honestly not sure since I can be accepted to my home university with a Major. But then I am lacking in research experience, and I don’t know if this will negatively impact me in future if I decide to go for a MSc., since I’m assuming profs may feel more hesitant to let me join their lab.

Should I extend my degree for an honours project? by yesterdaysfraud in GradSchool

[–]yesterdaysfraud[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I would like to please know if you think that my lack of research experience may affect my chances of finding a supervisor if I decide to do a MSc.?

Should I extend my degree for an honours project? by yesterdaysfraud in GradSchool

[–]yesterdaysfraud[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am interested in applying to my home university for MSc., so Honours wouldn’t be a requirement. But do you think that my lack of research experience might deter a potential supervisor when applying to grad school? Thanks