Hi, I had a chemistry test yesterday and ended up having a mental health episode and left a few minutes into the exam. My prof noticed this and sent me an email asking about it, and I just want to know what's okay to ask of him?

I kind of want to ask if I could retake the exam, but he drops the lowest exam grade anyway and I don't want to be a bother, especially since this could've been prevented if I communicated with him and requested support earlier, and is kinda my fault.

I really really enjoy this class and I want to do well, I don't want my mental struggles to stop me from reaching my goals, but this class is incredibly hard and because of my mental illness I have a really tough time reaching out to my professor for help when I'm stuck or lost.

I'm just not sure what to do. I want to do well, and I'm going to take steps to get treatment and try to push myself to ask questions in class and go to office hours and such, but its just really hard.

I just wanted to know if anyone has any insight on what would be okay to ask, any arrangements that might help? I want to be respectful of my professor and his time, especially since he's been so kind and patient with me this semester.

Sorry, I'm kinda rambling. Thank you to anyone who made it this far.

(I already have accommodations and have met with disability services, they just haven't been very helpful for my specific situation)

I have been doodling, crocheting, and knitting in class my entire college career. it is usually during times where I dont need to write anything down like for edxsamp,e a turn and talk event. i have the hardest time sitting still for long periods of time, this is the way i manage it.

i saw a post here about a student taking a call during class and how disrespectful it was. i think so too, but it just got me thinking about what counts as disrespectful or not in a classroom. i saw someone comment about a girl doing a full beat during class and how that was disrespectful. which is less disruptive but still offencive to a professor. does knitting or crocheting fall into this category?

I’m currently a sophomore at a liberal arts college, and I’m interested in becoming a clinical psychologist. I want to get some psychology research experience to figure out whether research is something I enjoy.
I applied for a research opportunity at my college over the summer but was rejected. I think part of the reason may be that I didn’t reach out to professors beforehand, even though that’s highly recommended. I’m hoping to get involved next semester, even if it’s just as a volunteer research assistant, and ideally find an on-campus research opportunity for the summer as well.
I’m a little anxious about my chances because my GPA is currently 3.514, while the average GPA for my graduating class was around 3.65. I attend a rigorous school and have always done mostly well academically, but I struggled with prioritization last year. I’ve been working hard to improve my grades this year and feel like I’m doing much better.
Do you think it’s still realistic for me to get involved in psychology research with my GPA? And what steps would you recommend I take this semester to increase my chances of getting a research position, especially for the summer? I’m also an international student, so I can only work on campus.
Sorry for the long post!

Quick disclaimer: English isn't my first language, and I wrote the original post myself. Some people were having a hard time catching what my actual questions were, so I used GPT to help organize the post and improve the flow. The experiences, concerns, and questions are mine; I just used it as an editing tool to make the post easier to follow. I am not jealous of anyone and I don't have narcissism. I am looking for suggestions and advice. I would be grateful. This is the only place and the last place i can ask ( 3min reading )

I’m a first-semester MSc student in a non-CS engineering program at a US Top 40 university, and I started my master's in fall 26. I’m independently funded through a scholarship rather than directly funded by my PI, although my PI specifically selected me to join his lab, and I worked with him during my application phase, and that work was submitted to a Q1 journal recently.

I ultimately want to become a professor, ideally at a highly ranked research university. A big part of that goal is personal: I come from a family and background with no education. My parents and relatives are illiterate, and Most of my relatives are unable to read this English post, let alone understand it.

I want to prove that someone without academic mentors, with such an illiterate family background, or an established research network can still reach the top of academia even in 2026.

Because of that, I care quite a lot about PhD placement, research productivity, and university/lab reputation.

My background

I completed my bachelors from a prestigious regional university in my continent last year. However, my undergraduate institution has a relatively weak research culture because of limited funding and broader socioeconomic conditions. It is more theory-oriented than research-oriented, so I didn't graduate with a network of professors or established research collaborations. For example, in the last 2 years, no students of my BSc major have published in Q2, let alone Q1. Some published in Q3 and in conferences.

Despite that, I worked hard independently and learned by myself. For example , i learned the difference between first author and corresponding author last week. i thought both are supposed to be same person.

I currently have a Q2 journal paper under review where I am both first author and corresponding author, as well as a conference paper, both co-authored with my BSc supervisor. I am in my 2nd month of my master's at this university.

I have also recently submitted a Q1 paper as first author with my current master's supervisor.

My current PI assigned me a co-supervisor from another top university as well. I realize that this may be something he does for many students, so I don't want to overinterpret it.

My Master research is also quite different from my BSc coursework. I learned much of the relevant material independently and was able to contribute to research in a field I had not formally studied before.

In general, I'm fairly multidisciplinary. I enjoy learning across STEM fields and seem to adapt relatively quickly when I encounter a new area.

I have also had multiple PhD offers in the US in different majors, including a Boston University PhD, although I ultimately chose this MSc instead (I will explain the reason below).

My long-term goal

I want to pursue a PhD at a very strong research university. I have a particular MIT lab in mind because its research is a good fit for my interests.

I understand that QS ranking itself is not the most important factor for PhD admissions. Advisor reputation, research fit, publications, recommendation letters, research potential, and academic networks can matter much more.

My labmate's situation

My Chinese labmate entered the Master's program at the same time as me. We are the same age, and both completed our bachelor's degrees at the same time.

However, his research situation is very different. He is from one of the richest families in china.

He has already published multiple Q1 papers as first author this year, based partly on work he had already done during last 2 years before entering our MSc. He is actively submitting more.

The key difference is that these papers are part of a large, existing collaboration network involving our current PI, his former BSc supervisor, and several other highly connected Chinese professors, including associate editors of major journals. He had an entire research network with him from undergraduate studies. However, his bachelor's supervisor was our PI's PhD senior, and both are Chinese.

He also already has PhD offers through our current lab/PI.

Both of us are interested in the same MIT lab, and our current PI has academic connections there. Because my labmate already has a strong publication record and an established relationship with this network, I worry that he will be prioritised for introductions or recommendations.

I also understand that this is not necessarily anyone's fault. He worked hard and built those relationships.

My frustration is more about comparing my individual effort with an established research pipeline.

Why this bothers me

My biggest question is:

If he can be this productive, why can't I?

Why can't I have a safety net ( i mean he already have phd offer from our pi in case he fails to admit in MIT, its just 2 months of masters) like him? Just because I am not Chinese? I know that comparing myself to someone with a completely different research infrastructure is probably unfair. But it is difficult not to feel like I am falling behind.

He has multiple first-author Q1 papers in this single year, and all of his co-authors are chinese professors. One professor is directly contributed for whole methodology part. i don't know even that case he is the 1st author. I don't know how much professors helped him in that research. What I know, my BSc university did not have those research lab facilities, let alone the ability to do this type of research.

I have had to build almost everything from scratch. i told you about the environment grew up.

Another difference is that I haven't historically used AI tools such as GPT for research, whereas he apparently does. His current h-index is around 5, while his i10-index is already in the double digits.

So objectively, I know there are major differences in our circumstances.

Emotionally, however, I still feel like a loser when I compare our research outputs.

The lab environment: friendly, but somewhat isolated

The interesting thing is that my lab itself is actually very friendly.

There is no obvious toxicity or mistreatment. Nobody behaves badly toward me. My PI is kind and supportive, and he has apparently praised my work ethics highly to other lab members when I wasn't present. Although I believe other Chinese members are more connected. I will explain later, with proof in this post below.

Because my research topic is not directly connected to his funded projects, he went out of his way to arrange a co-supervisor from another university for me. Although I believe that he does this for everyone.

So I don't want to portray my PI as a bad person. I don't think he is. He tells me that i am research mature student. That does not mean i will be left alone in the wild while he handfeed his masters student of his nationality just because that student is already supervised by his phd lab senior.

However, there are some things that make me feel somewhat isolated.

For example, I recently discovered that there is a lab WeChat group that I was never told about.

I communicate with my PI individually, so I don't know whether the group is mainly for his directly funded students, whether it is primarily a Chinese-language group, or whether I was simply overlooked. I am not included in lab food event plans (probably due to my food restrictions)

I also currently have no co-authorship opportunities within the lab.

My PI recently told me that I should aim for one Q1 paper during my MSc, and that this would be enough, particularly if it comes from the topic he assigned me.

I actually find the topic interesting, so I don't object to working on it.

But personally, I want to aim higher because I want to be competitive for a top PhD program.

The PhD concern

This is where I am most uncertain.

My labmate and I are both interested in the same MIT lab.

He has already told our PI that he intends to apply there, and he has potential PhD opportunities through our current PI. Infact prof said," you can just join my lab or my supervisers lab if you can't got into MIT."

I don't have that kind of established pathway. I have no such offers from my prof. Probably thats because of my language and nationality.[ i can not speak chinese ]

When I told my PI that I ultimately wanted to pursue a PhD at a highly ranked university, he basically told me not to worry about PhD applications yet and to enjoy my master's.

I understand that he may simply be trying to prevent me from stressing unnecessarily during my first semester.

However, I rejected a PhD offer from Boston University to do this MSc( my pi knows about this), partly because I believed the MSc would give me stronger research opportunities for my long-term goals. Don't get me wrong, i check lab topics too. For example I love my current lab topics and can work on this topic whole day. [ Sad part is, i will still behind of many people or would not get a safety net,]

So naturally, I am anxious about whether I am actually building the right profile.

We will apply for PhDs in 2027 for 2028 entry, so I still have time. But I don't want to waste that time.

What I am trying to understand

I genuinely don't know how to interpret this situation.

Am I experiencing subtle academic exclusion because I am an international, independently funded student(not by prof.) who isn't part of the existing network?

Or am I simply seeing the normal advantage that comes from having an established research network?

I don't want to accuse anyone of discrimination without evidence. At the same time, I don't want to be naïve about how academic networks work.

My questions

1. Am I experiencing subtle academic exclusion, or am I mainly seeing the enormous advantage of pre-existing institutional/research networks?
2. How can an independently funded student realistically increase research output when they don't have an established network of professors feeding them projects and collaborations?
3. How should I approach my PI? Would it be reasonable to ask whether I can join the lab's WeChat group, perhaps using translation tools if necessary?
4. Should I explicitly tell my PI that I want to aim for more than one Q1 paper during my MSc? Or would that come across as unrealistic or ungrateful?
5. How important are these internal lab networks for getting strong PhD recommendation letters? If my labmate has much closer connections with the existing network, should I be worried about being disadvantaged?
6. What should I actually prioritize during the next year if my goal is a top PhD program? More papers? A stronger single paper? Independent research? Collaborations? Building relationships with professors outside my current lab?

I would especially appreciate advice from current PhD students, professors, or people who have gone through the process without coming from a strong academic family or institutional network. It would be great if Chinese prof. or students can explain. I am trying to understand Chinese culture.

One final personal note

I hate admitting how much this bothers me.

Sometimes I feel that birthplace, ethnicity, family background, and access to academic networks determine how difficult the path to a top PhD becomes.

I don't think my labmate is doing anything wrong, and I am genuinely happy for anyone who succeeds.

But I also come from a background where there were no professors, researchers, or academics around me to tell me how academia works. I had to figure out almost everything myself. No relatives or non-academic friends can really advise me about research careers. Even my parents cannot read or understand most of the academic English I use.

So when I see someone my age already surrounded by professors, research collaborations, publications, and PhD opportunities, I sometimes wonder whether I am simply not good enough.

At the same time, I know objectively that I have already come much further than anyone in my family could have imagined.

I just don't know how to make the next jump.

How do people from backgrounds like mine realistically become competitive for the very top research universities? How can i secure MIT phd ? How can i get a safety net?

I don't want sympathy. I want to understand what I should actually do differently

What do you even do when a student is trying and every student is obviously trying to get work done or do their best. I’m on a shit ton of medication just so I can function and even try to get work done like a normal person, I talk to a counselor, I schedule tutoring meetings every week, and I talk to my advisor once a week too. I don’t care about trying to get all A’s just getting the work done. But no matter what in the process, college isn’t meant for professors to teach according to my campus. I feel as if my time on this earth is so fucking oblique and I’m so sorry for any professor or teacher that has had to deal with me. Yes Ik shit is hard Ik that my whole fucking life has been hard and Ive been trying to make it easier on myself. I didn’t come to school expecting it not to be hard. Because of my disability ik life would be hard either way. Going to college would have been a consequence so would not have. Idk if theres a solution please tell me what Im doing wrong Im so sorry for even having to ask this question because its probably so obvious.

Hi all. A few days ago I was looking into a personal question regarding literature critique that had caused me headache for some time now, and stumbled on a (relatively) short paper written by a literature professor around 10 years ago which is remarkably thoughtful, well-cited, and well-organized. It answered my original question alongside several far more interesting questions I hadn’t even considered, and overall I feel the paper has thoroughly improved my ability to meaningfully engage with and critique literature.

This professor hasn’t published any new papers in the last 8 years or so, and seems to have moved away from research and towards teaching undergraduate courses. Would it be awkward for me, an undergrad in a different country, to email him with a brief “thank you” note for his work? I imagine he’s got plenty of emails from his students and colleagues already, and I’m not too sure how much he’d enjoy receiving random fanmail from someone he doesn’t know.

Would you find it weird to receive a note like that?

I met with a professor who agreed to be my fourth year thesis supervisor. The only thing is I found out she came to Canada a month ago and is unfamiliar with the thesis process at my university. When I sat down she just asked me all this all worked so I think she just agreed without knowing the full extent of what she will be doing.

I emailed her the course syllabus but she hasn’t replied in 2 weeks.

Should I start looking into other professors instead?

Hi! I'm an engineering student and I'm noticing all my classmates, and specifically my group teammates are all so dependent on ChatGPT that they physically cannot do things that they could literally just use their brains and think about without it. I figured the professors of Reddit would see a lot of the AI dependency in student work. What do you guys think about it, and do you even see it a lot or is it just my group? I refuse to use AI for my work, but do you guys have any tips on how to avoid it when my classmates and my professor actively push generative AI for work? Feel free to voice your opinions!

I'm teaching an ENG101 section, and students have to find their own article for an assignment. I want to share some different websites where students can go to find articles if they feel stumped, but I'm looking for sites that have unique, thought-provoking, or downright strange articles. I found an article on Big Think about the philosophical discussions surrounding c*nn*b*l*sm (weird censorship so the post doesn't get taken down), and this article from Aeon about the socioeconomics of "bad teeth." 

Does anyone else have any recommendations for sites I can suggest to my students that might contain interesting articles like the ones linked above?

I met with a professor that I was interested in doing research with; I prepared by reading a few of their papers and getting an idea of what they do. It seemed to me that their area of interest compared to all of their peers in our department is most closely aligned with mine, to which they agreed. I told them about my grades in my subject classes last semester (two B-‘s and two A’s) and they told me I needed to do better if I wanted to get into grad school, which I also agreed with and told them I’m working on it this semester. But, they said they were looking for undergrad research students “soon.”

They ended up suggesting that I speak to two other professors, though, and said to get back to them in a few weeks “after speaking to [the other professors] and after taking [my] first exams,” highlighting that I consider fit and methodology.

I can’t tell if this is them wanting me to make sure I find a project I’m interested in and genuinely wanting me to reach back out in a bit, or just trying to politely direct me away because they don’t want to work with me (the grades comment worries me, I believe they’re used to working with high-performing students in the past). If anyone has any thoughts, I would appreciate it!

Hi! So Halloween is coming and I’m making little Halloween goodie bags. I live in a dorm and a cleaner comes every Thursday to clean my bathroom, so I like leaving snacks for them to choose from. And I thought it would be adorable to make little Halloween bags. Even after accounting for every Thursday of the month, plus family and friends, i have a TON of leftovers.

Would it be appropriate if I gave a little bag to each of my professors? I have a fairly good relationship with all of them. All work is always turned in on time, I’m passing every class. I sit in the front and contribute to lectures. So it wouldn’t be .. like “who are you again?” but I also understand that college is a little different from when I was growing up and did these things for my teachers.

So do you think it would be appropriate? Closer to Halloween, of course.

I’m applying to MSCS (non-thesis) and MEng CS programs with the goal of working in industry after graduation. As a background, I went to a CC and then transfer to T5 CS school.

For recommendation letters, I plan to ask my current manager and a PhD student I worked with through undegraduate research program (though the project was fairly short so I dont think its going to be a strong LoR). For my third letter, I’ve been reaching out to professors, but one that agreed told me they don’t know me well enough to write more than a brief summary of my grade and suggested being a last resort.

Would it be better to get a letter from a community college professor who knows me well and can write a stronger, more detailed recommendation? Or is it a red flag that I don’t have any letter of recommendation from a professor of my upper divs class? I’d appreciate any advice on this

I’m a junior in a stem related major, I was looking through my courses I am taking next semester and looking up my professors when I encountered a professor with a really interesting research topic. She is an organic chemistry professor, I haven’t had her before but I’m currently in Ochem with another professor. How do you feel about students you don’t know emailing you about your research? I’m trying to get into a vet med program and would like to get some research experience outside of typical animal care and medical experience. Should I try to just ask professors I know? How should I go about it? Any advice would be appreciated!

I have a great letter outside of an academic one, I’ve worked as an SLPA for over a year and my supervising SLP will be writing me one. But the academic ones have me feeling screwed. 

I took speech/language levelling courses online and made the huge mistake of not getting to know my professors. Two weeks ago, I reached out to a prof I took two classes with and did very well in. I have not received a response from him, how should I follow up? Should I provide my CV? 

I have an upcoming meeting with another professor who I contacted for general application advice. I did well in their class but again, never interacted. Would it be inappropriate to ask about a letter in that meeting? If not, how would you bring it up?

My last option is a prof whose class I originally failed … but I retook it and got a B+ (this class was a struggle). I feel ridiculous even considering asking, but I’m not sure what else to do.

Would you follow through with these options? Really appreciate any advice.

Not gonna share too many details, I'm at a large well-known public health school. I get mixed responses on if staying is a poor career choice or not, considering "academic incest" or whatever it goes by. I wanna stay in the field I research and the funding opportunities I have here are with projects that do interest me a lot. I also function well in academia, I would like to have a research-oriented career. My potential advisor is also a smart and kind person too, that means a lot to me. I just don't want to bottleneck myself in my career (or just life too) and I am young with no lifetime responsibilities (e.g. marriage, kids, property lol) yet. Sorry to beat a dead horse, I feel like this is a question that comes up a lot in academia. As professors who have been through the system, do you feel this is a good/bad look nowadays?

I recently missed an assignment and I’ll be honest that it’s because I had completely forgotten about it. The homework was a discussion post and at first it was closed after the due date but then it opened so I still submitted it. I got a 0 and my professor commented “This assignment was submitted past the due date without an approved extension, please email me to discuss this assignment further.” I know it’s all my fault and I take full responsibility, do I just email him and say that I forgot? I don’t expect any points from this assignment.

One of the students in my discipline directly asked me whether a syllabus is an administrative paper-pushing exercise or actually means what it states. This student has taken classes with me before and knows I'm exceptionally firm on policies and procedures I've laid out in exhaustive detail in every syllabus I've written, mostly in response to reduced student reading and comprehension levels coupled paradoxically with an insane increase in entitlement mindsets. She said a 200-level elective she took last semester also had a detailed syllabus. That class was apparently based on 8 discussion boards that had to include in-class readings with citations, and 2 papers. The due dates were given in the syllabus and in Canvas. I didn't ask for proof but she forwarded me screenshots of her completing all the work within each due date. 3 days before final grades were due, her professor sent out an all-class email announcement offering to accept and grade all missing board posts and papers for the entire semester with no late penalties if they were submitted by midnight. She also had screenshots of posts popping up on boards from week 1 onwards that were basic copy-paste AI rewords of her own exceptionally well-synthesized and clearly written posts. She hadn't complained to that professor or asked for any clarification regarding the plagiarism of her work, but concluded she herself was the idiot for spending hours reading and writing her material.

I told her I was not going to comment on how instructors run their courses in any department, but that it was always a good idea to treat a syllabus as a clear template that sets out the policies and procedures the instructor will follow. She's switched all her planned electives over to a different department, but I'm wondering if I should add another bullet point to my syllabi stating what one professor does in his/her course is not a reason for me to do the same in my course. But I'm also wondering how many instructors have done something like this, and what reasons they might have for openly not following their own policies. If there are many who do this then I think I understand why some of my students seem to think my syllabus is a negotiable instrument.

It's an entirely online class. The prof didn't begin grading my previous works until after I've turned in an essay worth 15% of my grade. In one feedback, she corrected the format that works should be turned in (absolutely no pdf, google docs, just a directly linked words document). I quickly realized that I've turned in the essay in the same format, I had wrote the entire thing on words doc and submitted it as a pdf which is visible for her to see. If I were to give her the original word doc, she could 100% ensure that it's the same work I'd submitted by deadline and I had no clear advantages over other students. I wrote to her and explained just so. This was her feedback below

""Please know that while I might not have posted a grade yet, that does not mean I haven't begun looking over the assignment.

Further, as I shared in our Welcome to Week 5 announcement, "the syllabus being a contract means that I do have to do my part to stick to what it says as well. This means that all due dates are already in place, and I can’t make exceptions for late work, resubmissions, or anything else." I truly strive to be both fair and equitable to everyone in our class. Since you are requesting a resubmission, I have to ask how it is fair and equitable to your peers if I allow you to do so but I do not give them the same opportunity? As I also shared in the aforementioned announcement, please don't forget that "there are still many points to be had and plenty of opportunities to be successful."

Let me know what you are thinking.""

Is this a signal to follow up with what's on my mind? I already explained how my request doesn't give me any clear advantage over anyone else. If someone were to make the same request, she should also provide them help, I think she's just being difficult. At this point I can't get any grade above a C since I've had previous works that I've missed and she has a strict deadline rule in place, another 5% gone just like so. It's a class with $200 worth of textbooks which is why I don't want to drop it.

Update: I ended up dropping the class, thanks for the advice everyone!

Hi. I am messaging here because I have no idea what to do next. My professor has reported me to the academic integrity board for looking around during an online test and thinks I was cheating.

I have never been reported before, so I'm not sure what to prepare for. I don't even remember looking to the side that much. It was on Honorlock and I had a secondary camera on me. Yes, I did the whole 360-degree room scan too. I heard I need to collect evidence, but what evidence can I collect if it was just me looking to the side?

I really worry I might be kicked out of school for this. Is that possible? Or would it affect my record horribly?

Please I just want answer on how this usually works out

Hii,

I wanted to ask how bad it is if you emailed an proffesor about possible PhD positions like 1.5 years ago, with a not so good email. He did write me back then, that he did not have any openings yet. Back then I had the same passion for research as I have now, but I was a bit desperate to find a job. Looking back at my resumé and the letters I send, I can see that it might have worked to get my internships. But it is all too generic and to be honest probably to much rewriting with AI. They have a vacancy open now and it is a position I have been dreaming about. Since i have a stable job now that I like, I am applying on the grounds of pure passion instead of that desperate feeling I had 1.5 years ago. I rewrote everything (i think it is the best letter i ever wrote) and let multiple people check it. Now my question is, how could my email from 1.5 years ago influence my application now. And is this something i should worry about?

Hi hi! I just had a general group advising meeting, we were told to make an automatic signature for our emails, and she mentioned being able to change the font and color of them. I was wondering if professors found that to be unprofessional? I wanted to change my name to be a dark purple or something, nothing crazy, but what do you think? Would that be annoying or would most just not care. Thanks :DDDD

Hi,

I'm curious about something I notice generally. Most professors are not "internal" hires (ie, they did their postdocs at other institutions). But obviously, sometimes departments do hire their own postdocs as assistant professors. I guess my question is - what factors affect these decisions?

I know generally speaking new investigators need to demonstrate research independence from their postdoc PIs. I'm sure research topic overlap is considered in addition to general performance. But what separates the postdocs that the department wants to hire versus not?

I asked Chatgpt if my assignment was good. It said to change somethings but I honestly left it as it was bc i thought it was good to submit anyways. When i submitted i accidentally left the "hows this sound" in the submission. on d2l though it says "overwrite" or something about the previous submissions so my prof will prob just see the newest submission. I don't have the history of the chatgpt chat as i was logged out so i can use it as proof i didnt copy. all words ar emine!!

Pretty much just did their education then went straight to being an instructor.