I am a non-EU PhD student in a European country. I am 5.5 months into my program. However, I am facing a lot of issues adjusting to the social aspect.
Due to the virtual nature of the setting, I haven't met any of my lab-mates, except for my supervisor. This is expected, given the current situation. However, this isolation is made even more difficult by the fact that I was racially abused by some teens very close to my apartment. At one point, I even felt physically threatened by their behaviour, and I just walked back home. I didn't go out of my apartment for two days after this incident. I had a similar experience while buying a SIM card. The place doesn't have much to offer in terms of social activities.
On the plus side, my supervisor is a genuinely good advisor and kind person, and very well connected in the field. The field is also pretty new in terms of the possibility of scientific problems that can be solved. The University, however, is not highly ranked, and, will leave me with limited options if I choose not to continue in academia, or continue in the same field. I am also unsure how a degree from a lesser ranked program will pan out in terms of career options if I want to continue in academia. And these, are magnified if I decide to go back to my home country.
I spoke with a mentor in a University in the US, whose research overlaps with my current research. After discussing the pros and cons, advised me to discuss my issues with my supervisor here in Europe, and, also, prepare applications to grad schools in the US. He is willing to write LORs for my applications.
I know that no place is immune from the issues I mentioned above. I believe that having a social bond helps in dealing with issues like this. And, there are lot of students from my country in the US, which makes the social isolation part a bit easier to deal with.
I know that it will not look good to any admissions committee, if my current supervisor doesn't write an LoR.
How do I
- Broach these topics with my supervisor? I have just started working on a project that is exciting.
- Write about these issues in an SOP without using any controversial words?
How do I mitigate this while writing an SOP without actually using terms like racial abuse, etc.
If it helps, I made the decision to come here when the pandemic was ravaging across the US,and funding, visa, etc., in the US was uncertain late last year.
