Wow, You’re at MIT! You Must be a Genius!
Undervaluing hard work in grad school
“Wow, you’re at MIT? You must be a genius!” Um. Not sure how to answer that. Look down at my shoes. Nervous laugh. “Uh, thanks?” The random passerby who saw my MIT shirt and just had to comment on my presumed brilliance seems satisfied with my response. Perhaps the “awkward genius” trope played in my […]
Be Wrong
MIT graduate students, like pigeons, run into glass doors sometimes.
When I was in college I smacked my head on the same tree branch three times within a single month. A year later, during a particularly hectic period, two glass doors each acquired a decent print of my face. I am delighted to report that my head has not come into contact with a tree […]
Every Scientist is a Sherlock Holmes
Why we do experiments, even if they don't work
This summer I voluntarily stayed up all night for about nine days to stare at some computer screens and push some buttons. Voluntarily, I became a true night dweller by waking up at 7pm and going to bed at 8am. I wasn’t practicing some weird voodoo sleeping schedule or avoiding the sunlight. I was working […]
Don’t Panic
How to survive falling into a grad school hole
The people that get into MIT and places like it are used to being the best of the best. The people who come here are used to success. In particular, they’re used to success being easy. The easy success you may have experienced in undergrad is not going to continue at MIT. (Okay, it might […]
From My Future Self
Advice from a fourth-semester graduate student
Dear Alicia (circa 2015), Hi! It’s me. Or you, from the future. I’m writing you from the fourth semester of our grad school experience (the one you’re about to embark on!). I know you’re simultaneously thrilled and terrified to start a PhD program at MIT! Let me tell you, it’s going to be one of […]
