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PhD applicants continue to be misinformed | 9 comments (9 topical, 0 hidden)

[new] I am the original poster (none / 0) (#3)
by jukis on Mon Aug 28, 2006 at 01:53:46 AM PDT

This is the OP. But many phd applicants have been so successful in their undergard progs that they DO NOT REALIZE how different a phd prog can be, unless this is *explicitely* communicated to them. Besides, some applicants take time off after undergrad before they consider enrolling in a phd prog(for them to seek help from their mentors). Obviously, it wouldn't hurt for phd deps to put this on WWW; just state that success in undergrad is no reliable indicator of success in phd. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a chance to visit schools; many have only limited opportunities to interact with ppl face to face. It only takes for the deps to post some pretty basic info on their WWWs that says more about their prog structure, stats etc. It's an info technology era; if applications are submitted on-line, why not use this medium for such purposes as well?! For some, the only/primary source of info is WWW, there are many int'l students in math phd progs. I mean if you go to the WWWs and seek out pertinent info it's still an effort on the part of a student, isn't it?! I don't dispute that it is a student's responsibility to find out; however deps can be a little more forthcoming and helpful, in making the info readily available....this is a book we'll use extensively, it's your bible, you gotta know it from cover to cover; be prepared, read this book in advance, becuase once you are here you will not have time to start it from null because your gonna be showered with problem sets and proof construction problem techniques so be ready...then...our attrition rate stands at X percent, only half of the students will remain for the second year, so be advised that many students will not complete the program and that on top of dropout rates at a later time... Just put it up on deps WWW, make it readily available. Why make abig secreat of it? Here is a trick: considering the amount and the level of difficulty of theory obviously it takes time to read and understand theory; this stuff is not pipedin piecemeal step by step but in large portions...and that's fine...if you dedicate enough time it's doable...but then comes another stage--application of theory...for that to materialize you must know the theory well in the first place, right. Some students are very passionate about studying the models, dedicate plenty of time..and then boom....what they see on exams/prelims its all some drills and problems, devoid of the need to demonstrate much of the theoretical underpinnings that they were anxious to master...And the trick is, you lose confidence AND a motivation to dedicate so much time to mastering theory; not because you no longer wish to do so, but because you suddenly realize that its all problem sets that matter, not your mastery of theory...so many hours put into learning theory all of a sudden seems wasted; and that happens because the prog is designed in such and such a way and you didn't know what to expect. What are the grounds for forcing a student out?! You know phd prog involves a long time committment (and this fact is well advertised, no qualms); if you are not willing to commit that much time or you lose interest in the subject matter or your not working hard enough or obviously lack the intellectual capacity then you leave. Simple as that.

PhD applicants continue to be misinformed | 9 comments (9 topical, 0 hidden)

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