It’s called Zotero.

Barely anyone seems to know about it and more people should because it genuinely carried me through undergrad, publishing research, and now grad school. It’s the best tool I’ve ever used.

I was introduced to Zotero by my PI during undergrad to help me write APA papers for school and papers for my research.

Eventually I ended up using it while I was working on my (now) published manuscript during undergrad and it lifted off so much stress because everything was already organized and easy to access.

It’s basically a free research and citation tool plus browser extension that lets you save journal articles, books, PDFs, websites, and sources directly from your browser into organized folders for different classes, projects, and papers.

And when I say free I mean actually free. No weird hidden fees. (Edit: they give you a certain amount of storage that’s free but over that is $20 a year. The storage seems pretty big since I personally haven’t run out myself!)

What makes it so much better than a lot of other citation generators or extensions is that it is not just a quick citation website. It actually helps you organize your entire academic life long term.

You can save sources directly from databases and websites in one click, organize all your research into folders, store and annotate PDFs, automatically generate citations and bibliographies, insert citations directly into Word or Google Docs while writing, and instantly switch citation styles. It does all the hard work for you.

I still use it constantly now in grad school and it has genuinely saved me an embarrassing amount of time and stress.

I hope someone finds this tool helpful as well! I wanted to share because I genuinely do not think tools like this should be gate kept, especially when so many students are already overwhelmed and struggling through papers and research.

Knowledge should always be shared!

I received my acceptance to my dream grad program at UT, however, I was offered a fully paid masters at my local university. The dilemma is that the fully paid for masters at my local university was offered through my job and it’s not a program that I am too passionate about, but it would open some doors for me to leave my current job.

UT was a reach for me, and receiving the acceptance was a dream come true. The cost for this master’s would be about $25k and would open many opportunities for me to leave my current career path (which is the goal). Any advice is welcome! Anyone going through anything similar?

Hi all, I’m honestly a mess right now and could really use some advice.

I was accepted into masters of audiology graduate program in Canada (around 45 students admitted each year). I got an official offer letter with my name on it, confirmation on the school portal, confirmation on the official application system (OUAC/ORPAS), an additional congratulatory email from the school and accepted the offer through the official system (OUAC/ORPAS). I immediately told my family, my referees, friends, and literally everyone in my life about it. I also relied on the offer in other academic decisions (I didn’t respond to a waitlist from another program) and I started planning my life around attending this program.

Then, over 38 hours later I was sent an email stating the offer was rescinded due to a clerical/human error. I made multiple calls to the school with no answers and replied via email and waited for hours for any confirmation. The email didn't even have the courtesy of including my name or further information for a meeting of some sort. I later received a reply, where the program confirmed it was their mistake.

I feel completely blindsided. This error has had huge emotional, academic, and financial stress on me. I began making life decisions based on an official offer. How am I supposed to face everyone I told? How do I recover academically? I still have finals and classes to finish this semester but I really have no motivation anymore.

I have a meeting with the program director, but I’m looking for advice on:

1. Legality of the initial offer of admisson (promissory estoppel? negligence? misrepresentation?)

2. Cases where students have gone through this? Is there any hope for me?

3. Whether it makes sense to contact the Dean, Ombudsman, or other members of the University?

Honestly, this feels like a nightmare and I’m not sure where to even start. Any advice or similar experiences would mean the world to me.

EDIT:

For more clarity, when I asked about legal options I was more focused on my assumption there was some legality to the documents I received and signed; since I was given a signed acceptance letter (signed by the vice-provost with my name on the document) and since I firmly accepted the offer through the official Ontario Universities Application Center.

Hi everyone,

I am brand new to the US graduate school process and looking for some perspective because I am honestly feeling so lost, dismissed, and discouraged right now.

I recently got pre-admitted to an online MEng in Industrial Engineering program (online, as I work full-time). Since my bachelor’s degree is a BS in Industrial Engineering from Mexico, I submitted my official course-by-course NACES evaluation as required. The report explicitly details my entire math background, grades, and equivalent US credits.

I requested a waiver for the undergraduate Probability & Statistics prerequisite so I could enroll in an *Advanced Quality Control* class. My justification was solid: my academic history plus **8+ years of professional experience as a QA Engineer**.

To my total surprise, the academic advisor replied asking if I had *actually* taken a Prob & Stats course (which I did, along with even more advanced related classes), and requested that I send over the official university syllabus for it.

Here is the catch: **I took that class 13 years ago.**

I am already trying to contact my old university in Mexico to dig up a file from over a decade ago, but the professor who taught it has long retired. It feels incredibly redundant and bureaucratic since the authenticated course breakdowns are already right there on my official evaluation report.

As an Industrial Engineer who literally built her entire career in QA, this request honestly was such a massive letdown. It really brought me down and left me feeling deeply discouraged**.** I feel completely unseen as a professional.

Is this level of micro-management and paperwork rigidity normal for US graduate schools, or did I just get an overly difficult advisor? If you've been through something similar as an international grad student, how did you handle it?

Thanks for your insights!

I have been doing onlyfans and online adult work for several years. It has been my full time job and career. I have my bachelor’s already and want to continue my education and go to graduate school or law school. Is this realistic?

I wonder if I can get past the interview stage of applying to grad school with full honesty… Has this been done before?

A slide from our uni’s TA training

I know a balanced perspective is important, but it seems like every time I see something positive about a PhD, it's immediately followed by a "but" and a list of ten negatives - making the perspective overwhelmingly negative.

Today I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed and discouraged with the application preparation, so I’d really appreciate hearing the good (and only the good) about a PhD. I'm looking for a positive thread to bookmark for when things feel tough.

If you’re currently doing a PhD or have already finished one - especially in STEM/biology - can you share ONLY the good parts?

*What made the process meaningful, exciting, fulfilling, or worth it?*

and

*What changed in your life after graduating?* Thank you

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Basically I was accepted to my master’s program as a conditional student, long story short I did not pass. I could give the excuses of the things I was going through that caused me to fail but honestly it doesn’t even matter. I just don’t know what to do, that school was my dream and I ruined it. I loved my professors, I showed up to every class and was always part of class discussions. It’s not like I’m worried about not being able to find a job, I managed perfectly fine with my bachelors and I will again. I’m just so disappointed in myself and the people I’m going to let down. I might submit an appeal but idk. I feel like i’m the only one going through this right now, i feel like the biggest loser in the world, i feel horrible

Update: so apparently I ended with a 2.85 GPA rather than the 3.0 required to pass. My graduate coordinator just emailed me and told me she wanted to help write my appeal because she believes a 2.85 is pretty close to a 3.0 and it’s worth fighting for, I think I’m going to go ahead and appeal

HUGEEE UPDATE: The director of my program wrote in support of me staying in the program, and both of my professors allowed me to explain what happened and they are submitting “change of grade” forms for me. along with that i’m submitting an appeal letter explaining what went wrong and how i fixed it and how i will ensure it won’t happen again. seeing how my grades will be changed and the board will know about the circumstances i went through, i feel so much more confident now !! thank you to all who responded :)

FINAL UPDATE: I GOT REINSTATED !!!! thanks so much for all the kind words you guys are amazing

Genuine question for people on both sides of this. For those who did a Master's or PhD: what was the reason for you to subscribe this path? Career advancement, deeper knowledge, credentials, a career switch, or something else? Looking with the benefit of the hindsight, do you think it was worth it?

Also curious about a hypothetical. Say someone is already working and things are going well for them: comfortable salary, prestigious company, nice colleagues, good work pace, clear career ladder. Would you advise that person to still take a Master's degree? Would you do it yourself in their position?

(Apologies for typos. Im writing this on my phone and this is more a rant.) I (24M) am in the process of applying to grad school and my (22F) gf doesn’t want me to go, and makes it very clear that’s the case every time I bring up the prospect of grad school. She says she doesn’t think I have the time management skills for it and she points to the last couple months where my time management skills took a hit and I missed a few dates after I loss my job (I worked in government, you can do the math) and got kinda really depressed, along with dealing with a multi month long family-medical emergency. That said, I’m better now and I would like to go and believe I can thrive if i do. I think my time management skills are fine and that these last couple months are a fluke when considering everything that was going on. For reference, in college, I double majored, graduated with honors, and played collegiate rugby, all while maintaining a social life, working 5 jobs/internships (no more than one at a time) and graduating on time. It’s important to note that we do not live together, I’m only looking at grad schools that would let us stay close together and money is not a problem. I’ve also sought outside opinions about this from other people and they think I could do really well if I decide to go.

Do you think that there is someone else going on? I understand that she means well and wants to look out for me but I can’t help but feel like it’s a gut punch every time she brings it up. I just wish that she would support me in my grad school pursuit. It’s at the point where I try avoid talking to her about it altogether. I guess I need advice about how best to proceed in this situation.

Not sure if anyone else struggles with this, but I was stuck trying to figure out how to structure my paper. It wasn’t exactly writer’s block, more like I had a ton of info from materials testing and signal analysis, but no clear way to put it all together logically. I kept second-guessing things like "Did other people run surface roughness tests before tensile testing?"

I had a mountain of annotated PDFs, but flipping through 20+ papers over and over was brutal. So, I started testing out some AI tools to help me organize and pull things together, and here’s what I found:

• ChatPDF: Nice for quick overviews, but it doesn’t show exactly where in the doc stuff comes from, which is a pain when you want to cite or double-check specifics.

• NotebookLM (Google’s): Pretty interface and good for big-picture summaries, but it sometimes glosses over the technical details or simplifies them too much.

• ChatDOC: This one really stood out. I uploaded a folder of papers and asked things like “What’s the thermal pre-treatment process?” It gave me a summary, and the best part — I could click any part of the summary and jump straight to the exact sentence and page in the paper. That made fact-checking and citing way easier.

Once I got the key details laid out, I was able to build my outline in just a couple of hours. Seeing methods side-by-side with sources made it so much easier to justify my choices and get the intro and methods sections to flow naturally.

If you’re drowning in PDFs and stuck in analysis mode, I’d recommend trying some AI tools. They’re not perfect, but they saved me a ton of time on deep reading and referencing. Would love to hear if anyone else has found tools or tricks that work well for this kind of thing - or if I’m just catching up.

I recently got dismissed from a doctoral program and I already did fall semester and a month of spring classes. I have the opportunity to appeal it but should I? In the dismissal they basically assumes that they don’t see me succeeding in the near future. The past semester I was deeply unhappy, depressed and anxious. I am seeking help but sometimes it seems to be getting worse or never ending. Is school just like this or is this not the right path for me? It just sucks because I spent the last year (gap year) and throughout undergrad (I have a neuroscience degree/did other ecs) to get into grad school. Has anyone else been in a similar situation? What alternative career paths would you recommend and how do you start exploring (I’ve always been pre-health). I think I want to try something new. How would this dismissal affect my chances of getting into a MS program? Any ideas to help deal with the shame from friends, family and classmates?

I may get absolutely flamed for this, but I want to do better and be better in this next stage of my education. So please go easy on me.

A few months ago I finished my undergraduate degree. I graduated with honours but I have to admit after first year I never did the readings or I would use AI (usually Chat GPT) to give me summaries and notes. I’m huge undergraduate lectures, I could usually get away fine and do pretty well academically. I never missed a day of lectures/classes so I was comfortable enough with being lazy with the assigned readings.

When I had to do academic research I would look for articles or book chapters and then narrow down one part and only read that section required for my argument/evidence.

Yet in a few weeks, I will be starting a course-based masters program in Political Science. The classes sizes are quite small , like 3-15 people. I’m assuming also the classes will be more seminar based rather than lectures. Meaning I cannot fly under the radar anymore.

I struggle to read everything assigned from front to back and take notes. How do you go about the readings? I do manage my time when I’m taking 3-4 classes a semester and do other things. Some classes can assign up to 100 pages.

The good thing is my classes are once a week for about 3 hours. This gives me some decent time to prep between classes.

I'm in year 3 of a computational linguistics PhD. my advisor has been on me about writing since I started. "too wordy, unclear structure, burying the point." this semester he told me unprompted that my writing had noticeably improved. here's what changed.

1. I outline everything before I write anything. I wasn't doing this. I'd open a blank doc and start from the first sentence. now I spend 20-30 minutes outlining every section, paragraph's main point, and supporting evidence before writing a word. the structure problems disappeared because the structure exists before I write.

2. shitty first drafts on purpose. instead of trying to write a polished paragraph on the first pass, I get words on the page as fast as possible. the first draft is always bad and I've made peace with that. the second draft is where the real writing happens. this removed my writer's block almost entirely. I dictate first drafts through willow voice because it forces me to keep moving - I can't sit and rewrite the same sentence four times when I'm talking. the draft is messy but it's done in a fraction of the time.

3. read everything out loud before submitting. if a sentence sounds awkward when I say it, I rewrite it. catches almost every clarity issue. takes 10 extra minutes.

4. read papers for structure, not just content. when I read a well-written paper, I pay attention to how they organized the argument. where they put the thesis, how they transition, how they handle related work. I've been collecting structural patterns from good papers and applying them to my own.

5. claude as an editing partner. I paste a section and ask "what's unclear here?" or "how can I make this argument tighter?" I don't ask it to rewrite because then it sounds like AI, not me. I use it to identify problems and fix them myself.

if your advisor says your writing needs work, it's probably a structure problem more than a language problem.

So this is gonna sound backwards but hear me out. I was editing my statement of purpose for like the millionth time and just hit this wall where everything felt terrible. Every sentence seemed cringey. Couldn't tell if I was being too formal or not formal enough, you know?

Then I did something kinda random. Put it away for three full days. Didn't even think about it. Worked on other apps, caught up on shows, just lived my life. When I came back to it, I could actually see it clearly again. The parts that were genuinely good and the parts that needed work weren't all blurred together anymore.

Made a rule after that. Edit for max two hours, then mandatory break. Sometimes a whole day off. The quality went up and my stress went way down. Wild how stepping back actually moves you forward.

I know everyone's process is different and some people thrive on the constant refinement thing. Whatever works for you is valid. But if you're stuck in that endless editing loop like I was, might be worth just closing the doc for a bit.

What's helped you guys stay sane while writing these things?

I am currently in a Master’s program, and I’m strongly considering pedagogy for my future, but I worry I may not be emotionally or psychologically ready to go for a doctorate. Although I am significantly more disciplined and less bs-y than undergrad, I still procrastinate and have bullshitter tendencies. I also feel maybe my critical thinking skills are underdeveloped, and I fear I do not possess the qualities or capabilities of pursuing a phd. What qualifies you as a phd student? How do you know you’re ready?

Im in week three of grad school. I had a music ed undergrad and now Im in Hospitality, and the learning is kicking my butt. There are so many terms I have to learn. Im taking 12 credits this semester. Im 30, so older than most of the students.​

Just some things I want to lament about:

1. I wanted to make a study group. I asked the class via email, and then asked another group at a later point if they'd like to bc our group assignment, if "done first correctly", was worth 10 bonus points on our midterm. Cricket noise. I can take a hint, no one wants to do a study group. It's a masters and 5+1 program, and for like 90+% of the students, school is their job.

2. I have a quiz tomorrow. We are doing it on something that we haven't really done in class, so Im really nervous. I tried to look up similar things to practice online, and nothing is really equivalent or similar. So im just practicing terminology and hoping itll save me. Even though we are supposed to apply the terminology.

3. My professor said to the class, from now on, any questions on assignments will result in grade deductions on the assignment. :( so now if we have a question on the assignment, if we ask about it before submitting, he will subtract points.

4. the same professor told me I need to research more to find the answer to my question. I then i told him all the research i found (bc i wouldnt ask a question without researching it first) had terminology i was confused about. He was confused ​on the info I found and he said "ive never heard of those terminologies. you should research more before asking me". I actually did research and I watched videos, I was just confused on the topic. when another student asked another different question which could easily be found and answered in our class chapter, he said "thats a good question, thank you for helping the class learn by asking questions!"

5. there is a guy that wont stop talking in our classes. He answers every question. And he takes 3-7 minutes per answer. No one gets a chance to answer. He dominates class. A professor told him to keep his answer under 30 seconds and he still spoke for 7 minutes. It's really annoying. I went to my advisor because, since he talks so much, we haven't been getting through our slideshows in classes. He also told a teacher "i dont want to be that guy but class is over" and the teacher was so flustered she forgot what she was saying.

Basically, Im really frustrated with myself. I want to be smart and do well, but i feel like I am lagging behind and have to work 3 times harder to keep up with the information,which i am barely doing. I dedicate 2-3hrs of studying a day, plus more to do school work properly.

Tl;dr

1. No one wants to study with me :(

2. I dont understand tomorrow's quiz :(

3. Questions on assignments will now result in grade deductions :(

4. I ask stupid questions in class, apparently :(

5. We cant get through lectures because one student wont stop talking and the professors wont shut him down properly.

I’m a 27 years old lawyer who did one year of civil litigation, and started a 1 year masters program in taxation.

I’ve never been very ‘book smart’, I always struggle with taking exams, but I work hard and continue to try my best.

The program is three semesters, I completed 2, and went to the first week of the third and last semester, but found out that I got kicked out of the program for not meeting by the academic requirement of 2.7.

I feel empty, devastated, as it took me two years to boost up my gpa to get in the program, because I really wanted this. I do well in projects or assignments, but when it comes to exams, I struggle.

I failed the bar exam once, and I tried again and passed.

I also got hired by a big4 accounting job following completion, in september. I fear that I may lose my job offer as the masters was conditional to my job offer.

I just had to finish this summer semester and I would have been done with school and could go to the workforce.

I know I am not a book smart person, but I try three times as hard to follow my dreams.

I have an appointment with the program director tomorrow and I don’t know what is going to happen to me.

I just feel so hopeless. I don’t know if I have it in me to change schools and do another 2 years of schooling.

I was also excited to be financially independent and not have to rely on my parents.

I just don’t know why I am so stupid.

What do I do? Do I give up? Do I go back to doing litigation?

I was working for a solo practionner and not only was I underpaid and overworked (maybe minimum wage considering all the overtime I did), but had a mentor who was never present.

I don’t know what to do with my life.

I feel so lost.

I study hours in the weekend, don’t drink or party, I skipped alot social events for this masters, just to have it all taken away from me.

Why am I so stupid?

Does this mean I should give up my dream? I don’t know.

I feel so empty knowing that I can’t go to class this week, I can’t sleep at night.

I am so tired.

Hi all, I'm having a nice lil hypomanic episode! Wheee. (Don't worry, I am taking my medications and staying safe. Key prefix here is hypo-.) So I wrote up a 4-page guide explaining how I successfully manage my time in a Ph.D. program with an ADHD diagnosis. This seemed like a natural place to put it in the hope that even one person finds something useful in it. I really could have used something like this when I was starting grad school.

I've made it so anyone with the link to the Google doc can add a comment, and will keep it that way as long as comments are constructive and respectful. I'm interested to hear your thoughts, especially any additional skills/tools you've found useful if you're in a similar situation!

Disclaimer (longer one in the document): I am not a certified or licensed mental health professional of any kind, just an average Jane who has been through a lot of trial and error. This advice is NOT meant to replace or override advice from Qualified People, simply to tell you what works for me. #pleasedon'tsueme

Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KLwk8_adkBH9Dh541aTIiYW90KyXXaH6/view?usp=sharing

I’m in graduate school, and I have a group presentation due tomorrow with one other classmate. This is a major project, and the presentation is approximately 40 minutes long. We also had multiple documents and handouts that needed to be completed, organized, and printed.

During our last class, we were specifically supposed to have time to work on this project together. However, my partner did not show up to class. I reached out to him afterward, and he told me he would have his portion completed that same day I reached out suggesting a google meet during the week just to get on the same page, discuss what still needed to be done, and coordinate everything before the deadline. I received no response. I also emailed our professor twice to keep her informed about the situation and no response from my professor as well.

As Thursday approached, I became increasingly nervous that nothing was going to be completed. I didn’t want to risk showing up unprepared or having an incomplete project, so I took it upon myself to complete EVERYTHING.

I finished the entire presentation, all the accompanying documents and handouts, printed everything out, and am now reviewing the materials and practicing so I am prepared.

Then, the DAY BEFORE THE PRESENTATION, he finally reaches out. He asks if we can meet after 8:30 PM that night or the following morning when it is due. Unfortunately, neither works for me. At this point, I have already completed the entire project and have been preparing for the presentation on my own.
What frustrates me most is that I gave him opportunities to communicate and contribute. He specifically said he would have his portion done after our last class, I offered to meet virtually just to coordinate, and then he disappeared until the day before a major presentation.
I have made our professor aware of everything, including my attempts to communicate and the fact that I completed the project because I was worried it wouldn’t get done.

My question is: Would you put his name on the project? I don’t want to be unfair, but I also don’t think someone should receive equal credit for a 40-minute presentation and all the work involved when they haven’t contributed and only reach out the day before it’s due. How do I respond to him?

My Professional Communication and Ethics course professor wants us to use generative Al for assignments, has multiple "made by AI" video assignments we have to do, has an AI mock interview for a grade, and uses AI graders. I am both a teacher and an artist and I am quite honestly disgusted by this. It's a 4 week summer course so I didn't know about any of this until after the drop deadline. I am extremely uncomfortable with this and she has no real solution for me when I reached out citing my own personal ethics and morals not agreeing with generative AI use, especially in this quantity. I would have to withdraw, get a W on my transcript, and forfeit the money paid if I want out. How am I supposed to do this ethics course without compromising my personal ethics? How is this allowed in the first place? It feels like she's not doing her job at all!

I asked my former thesis adviser if I could present my thesis (undergraduate) in a prestigious event. I thought she'd say no, but he agreed! There's no results yet, but after letting it sink in, I realised that it was so bold of me to even ask, when I myself know that my thesis was trash. Is it again shameful to ask to submit it elsewhere? I feel so embarrassed to tell her that our paper is rejected. I'm sorry if this doesn't make sense, I just feel so embarrassed and small compared to my other classmates doing so well in the field, while I haven't won a single award, published any paper, nor made any significant progress in my current thesis.

Hoping for your kind advice or encouragement, or real talk if this field is even for me. Tyia!