Semester In Review

[DELTABRAT]

Entering the 6th year of my doctoral program...tired.

I applaud you Soror for doing what you felt in your heart was right. I know the anxiety attacks all too well...the anxiety is pretty much constant the attacks happen as I walk into the hospital where I work/attend classes. Spend most of the day avoiding profs. lest they ask "how's the research?" STFU and leave me alone!!!!!

Interestingly your story is all too familiar for the many Black female doctoral students I know. The intersection of race and gender makes it so that our experiences are unparalled by that of any Black MALE students or white female students (we won't even discuss white male experiences in academia). We take care of our families before ourselves and suffer for it a lot of times, in the end.

I tell students (Black and Latina) who want to enter a doctoral program that life happens (my mom is getting older, sick, dad's sick, lost a close close friend who dies out of nowhere, also at the age of 36) and when it does, you have to determine (with God) whether staying the course is right AT THAT TIME...if it's right period, you can always go back and if not, it wasn't meant to be...and that's OKAY!!! So, I applaud you. LOUDLY!!!

That said I am on the quarter system. 10 weeks, you're in, you're out. Good if you have a crappy prof. Other than that everyone knows it sucks.

[FiestyGourmet]

Originally Posted by DELTABRAT

Entering the 6th year of my doctoral program...tired.

I applaud you Soror for doing what you felt in your heart was right. I know the anxiety attacks all too well...the anxiety is pretty much constant the attacks happen as I walk into the hospital where I work/attend classes. Spend most of the day avoiding profs. lest they ask "how's the research?" STFU and leave me alone!!!!!

Interestingly your story is all too familiar for the many Black female doctoral students I know. The intersection of race and gender makes it so that our experiences are unparalled by that of any Black MALE students or white female students (we won't even discuss white male experiences in academia). We take care of our families before ourselves and suffer for it a lot of times, in the end.

I tell students (Black and Latina) who want to enter a doctoral program that life happens (my mom is getting older, sick, dad's sick, lost a close close friend who dies out of nowhere, also at the age of 36) and when it does, you have to determine (with God) whether staying the course is right AT THAT TIME...if it's right period, you can always go back and if not, it wasn't meant to be...and that's OKAY!!! So, I applaud you. LOUDLY!!!

That said I am on the quarter system. 10 weeks, you're in, you're out. Good if you have a crappy prof. Other than that everyone knows it sucks.

I haven't done a search on this site so if there's a thread on this already can someone point me to it? If not, would you be willing to start a thread on doctorate helpful hints for those of us who will be pounding that trail? I am still in my Masters program but I am already anxious about the whole PhD journey. Lawd...my stomach is in knots just writing this.

[Little32]

There are a couple of graduate school threads, one in this forum and I think one on AKA Avenue (I believe). I would search it for you, but I am too lazy right now.

[DELTABRAT]

I am not sure (Feisty) if the interest was doctoral programs specifically or just graduate school...I think it was the former, right?

I am so, so sorry if I sound condescending to those awesome masters students out there pounding away at their degrees (I was once one), but the doctoral experience is like no other. Medical school, law school, or masters in pretty much anything...are different.

The definitive nature of those programs (not that they aren's ball busters) makes them different. For the most part, if you start school Fall 07, you are class of 2011, unless you take ayear off, leave of absence, decide to do a dual degree, etc. A PhD is essentially two programs. There's the coursework and then there's the dissertation. If you search you will see that there are throngs of ABD (all but dissertation) people out there. Folks have been in school POUNDING for 8 years, straight...

People just don't finish...writing a 150-300 page document is very daunting to pretty much everyone. Having to verbally defend it is another thing.

I am saying this because I usually find that threads for "graduate students" tend to not address the "helpful hints" for doctoral students as FeistyGourmet said.

Just my opinion...you can still do the search as was suggested...it was a good suggestion, they may have what you seek.

[Little32]

From the ones that I remember, I found them pretty useful. They were started around my first year of my Ph. D. program. Really for me, at that point, just to hear any words of encouragement and stories of success was great.

[DELTABRAT]

I hear ya Little 32. You're right...Are you finished with your program?

Also, I found that other doctorate specific websites altogether tend to be useful....depending on the purpose or what's needed at any given time.
Sometimes one just needs to send out a little "pray for a sistah, I'm defending my proposal" or something and keep it pushin.'

[Little32]

Yup, finished last year; working on revising into a manuscript now. Let us know when you are defending, we will pray for you too.