Questions tagged [undergraduate]

On providing academic services (such as teaching, advising, and research mentorship) specifically to undergraduates. Questions about undergraduate-specific issues that could not apply to graduate or post-graduate academicians are off-topic here and will be closed and deleted. Questions about coursework, etiquette, and other academic issues that apply to both undergraduate and post-graduate students should not be tagged [undergraduate].

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29 votes
11 answers
12k views

Is LaTeX an implicit prerequisite in Undergraduate Mathematics?

I am expected to start my first semester in college next spring as a math major. While preparing for undergraduate studies I heard from my peers that I should study this language/program called LaTeX ...
user avatar
18 votes
7 answers
10k views

Is it too pretentious for an undergraduate student to have their own personal page?

I am an undergraduate student from Brazil. I am not a mathematician yet because I've never published an article. I am very close to starting my master's degree and would like to have a personal page ...
Gleberson Antunes's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
88 views

How does getting an undergraduate minor instead of a major affect graduate admissions in the same area?

I'm currently a second year undergraduate student at UCSC well on my way towards a double major in Computer Science and Chemistry. I'm interested in either pursuing a graduate degree in Chemistry (...
piguy's user avatar
  • 13
0 votes
1 answer
55 views

How to apply for a first ever physics research internship in the 2nd Year of Undergrad?

I am a 2nd year student studying physics in the UK. I am very interested in securing a research internship at the end of my 2nd year. However, I have not done any research internships in my 1st year, ...
Graviton's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
316 views

The exact meaning of the term *Alma Mater*

More often than not, the term Alma Mater is applied to one's place of undergraduate studies. Would it be reasonable of me to apply this term to a university where I received my doctoral degree?
Michael_1812's user avatar
  • 2,770
-2 votes
0 answers
158 views

What are the chances of my degree being revoked? [duplicate]

In my final semester of undergrad, a group project I was part of was potentially plagiarized. This was for an introductory class for a general ed requirement that I didn't get around to fulfilling ...
dordacokki's user avatar
16 votes
4 answers
7k views

Is there any clear evidence that private universities tend to be better than public ones?

I keep hearing from Americans that on average, private universities tend to be better than public ones. This study by Klafke et al. concludes: A recurrent problem reported by the students, especially ...
AtlanticBiker's user avatar
3 votes
5 answers
238 views

How to handle a reflection exercise if a student skips the initial assignment?

For the next semester, I'd like to give students a reflection exercise after their first assignment -- specifically to confirm that they can access the feedback I leave in the online homework system. ...
Daniel R. Collins's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
98 views

What is the research on taking a gap year between undergrad and medical school (or PhD)?

I have some studies (below), but was wondering if anyone knows of any that I'm missing. Studies I've already read: 2020 study: “In multivariate analysis, gap years were independently associated with ...
BigMistake's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
264 views

Math REU and grad admission [closed]

I find myself particularly drawn to the subjects of analysis and linear algebra. Although I am currently a rising Sophomore and unsure about the specific field I'd like to pursue for my graduate ...
G.Yasuo's user avatar
  • 21
1 vote
4 answers
323 views

Is it common/acceptable practice for a PhD student to be on an undergraduate thesis committee?

I am currently a PhD student and have been advising an undergraduate student on their thesis, which will eventually contribute to part of my own work. Their committee currently consists of my faculty ...
Mediocre_student1217's user avatar
6 votes
3 answers
2k views

Undergraduate with research partner issues/concerns

In the Fall I will be completing my last year of undergrad. Once I graduate I want to get my PhD, and so grad school applications are approaching. I’ve been doing research with a professor at my ...
Anonymous Student's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
63 views

How far an Internship is helpful for Graduate School Admissions?

I am an undergraduate student currently enrolled in a 3 year Bachelor of Science Mathematics Course. I am a non-US citizen and student. I have an ambition to study in Ivy Leagues and other prestigious ...
Thomas Finley's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
125 views

When applying to a second master’s degree , can my first master compensate a low undergraduate GPA?

I have a 3.31/5 GPA in mechanical engineering undergrad but got work as a software engineer, 4 years have passed since then, i have had promotions in my work as programmer and I also Will graduate in ...
Fernando 's user avatar
12 votes
2 answers
6k views

What is the proper etiquette when declining a professor's Capstone project offer after I myself applied for it?

In my department, every undergraduate (including me) has to do a Capstone project with a professor in order to graduate. Students need the professor's consent prior to declaring that the supervisor ...
durianice's user avatar
  • 223
2 votes
2 answers
192 views

Conflicted on authorship possibly not included in journal publication

Approximately a few months ago, I was an intern in a research institute. One of the supervisors in a department became a PI of a project which seems to have huge implications. He needed help in ...
Jund_Ow's user avatar
  • 21
0 votes
1 answer
1k views

I have a bunch of incomplete degrees. Any chance to get in decent Masters?

I have a bunch of incomplete degrees. I nearly finished one bachelor's but the 16h work days made me focus on work instead of academia. Then I tried with other degrees but never got far in any of them....
Karolina's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
107 views

What’s a university’s policy for late paper (lab papers) in case of technical issues? [closed]

I faced an issue where a large amount of my lab papers got deleted near the completion of the semester. Some of those reports where combined and data collected in multiple weeks. Paper lengths were ...
Alaric's user avatar
  • 1
1 vote
2 answers
186 views

Your best advice for exam anxiety [closed]

This may be a question that does not belong here, but... What advice would you give someone who is preparing for exams and cares about grades. What advice do should I follow during the exam and after ...
V001_7 P's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
252 views

What to do when a professor does not provide an explanation for grades and does not respond to emails? [duplicate]

I am currently a fourth-year undergraduate at a prestigious university (top 10) and am finding myself in a difficult situation with a professor and do not know how to proceed. For context, I was ...
John Doe's user avatar
5 votes
4 answers
510 views

Is it okay to debug for student?

I am an assistant professor at an R1 university. I am advising an undergraduate student whose major is mechanical engineering. He tried really hard but cannot figure out how to do a python code (~300 ...
ArtificiallyIntelligence's user avatar
35 votes
4 answers
13k views

Is it right for a professor to assume every CS student has a laptop?

I'm an undergraduate student in computer science, and my university has a rule of prerequisite that one should have a sufficient computer (exactly the same word my university uses) to work outside of ...
Guanyuming He's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
369 views

Is it worth doing a second Bachelor's degree?

Currently, I am studying for a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Finance in Australia. Although I find my program enjoyable, I have a particular interest in mathematics, particularly on the ...
anonymousqs's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
191 views

Publishing undergraduate research

I am an undergrad physics major and I have been involved in something that I (and my supervisor) want to get published (I am the first author and my supervisor is the only other coauthor). This is a ...
ShKol's user avatar
  • 33
0 votes
0 answers
55 views

USA undergraduate seeking advice for PhD from Europe [duplicate]

I am hoping someone reading this can help me in this area. I am an Applied Chemistry undergraduate and I want to earn my PhD, however ,the PhD programs in the US are very long spanning about 5-7 ...
Charlene Chung's user avatar
41 votes
13 answers
15k views

Is it appropriate to give a student a "negative grade" (fewer than zero points) for a small portion of the overall grade?

I teach a course where attendance is required. The syllabus says "Every unexcused absence will result in a deduction of one point from the attendance grade". The total number of points for ...
Zuriel's user avatar
  • 3,275
7 votes
3 answers
547 views

How can I evaluate whether a school has developed a poor reputation?

I'm a father trying to help my son understand his college options. My son is looking at a liberal arts school in the United States that used to be quite competitive. From the college statistics web ...
adam.baker's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
203 views

Website/forum about reviews for universities

Is there any website/forum that people share their experiences or personal opinions in their university? I find it hard to get reviews other than rankings made by large companies that provide useful ...
m1ssing's user avatar
  • 17
3 votes
2 answers
327 views

What is a college essay?

I have been reading about potential impacts of ChatGPT on education, and one thing that came up time and time again is something referred to as "college essay" or "undergraduate essay&...
Iam Cleaver's user avatar
  • 1,049
0 votes
2 answers
268 views

Compensating for a bad undergraduate record so as to get into a good graduate school [duplicate]

I am currently a final-year undergraduate student of economics. I am among the top ten of my class. I am in Europe so my degree program would usually take me 3 years; I am going to complete it in two. ...
user avatar
28 votes
11 answers
8k views

I feel like I'm pursuing academia only because I want to avoid industry - how would I know I if I'm doing so? [closed]

I've posted a few questions regarding research and I'm trying to make my progress on a project more fruitful, and while the answers/comments have been quite helpful, it still doesn't seem like I am ...
Revise's user avatar
  • 425
0 votes
1 answer
147 views

Asking another professor about a research idea

I am working as an undergraduate research assistant for a professor in the mathematics department, on a specific project. Looking at the project I realized that there may be connections to a different ...
user334608's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
307 views

What should I do in this grading appeal situation?

The grade I received for Fall 2022 semester was not the grade I feel like I deserved so I emailed my professor as soon as I saw it. The professor did not respond to my email or any follow-up emails ...
Fanof101's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
66 views

What opportunities are there for me if I hold an undergraduate degree in translation?

I'm finishing an undergraduate degree in translation this year. Actually, the focus was on learning business English and I took more classes related to linguistics, the literature and history of Eng ...
blueyyh's user avatar
  • 109
0 votes
1 answer
144 views

How do you decide whether to let a student asking for a (professor-level) advisor to be apart of their senior/junior undergraduate thesis? [closed]

What are your expectations for a student asking for an advisor for a senior/junior undergraduate thesis and what do students need to have to write a approvable junior/senior thesis? Is there some ...
BornPerson's user avatar
-1 votes
3 answers
283 views

"Undergraduate graduation research assistant"?

I have a question regarding on how to list this specific activity in undergraduate school. I have helped many students (for free) in my undergraduate school with their graduation research by guiding ...
Firas K. Jumaily's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
422 views

Does telling people that I (undergrad) want to stay in academia come across as naive and/or big-headed?

I am an undergrad planning to apply to MA-PhD cognitive neuroscience programs either this year or next. I've decided to try to approach grad school in a way that will maximize my chances of getting a ...
Tamandani Mpho's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
430 views

Practice more math

tl;dr I would like to practice problems to develop a better understanding of topics in mathematics graduate-classes, but I don’t get time off my homework (which only covers a few problems), so I need ...
Aditya Khurmi's user avatar
10 votes
5 answers
4k views

I think my thesis analysis sucks and I don't know how make it work

I'm writing an undergraduate thesis in linguistics. My topic is about comparing politeness in English to the honorific system in Korean. No one in my school speaks Korean, neither my supervisor, but I ...
blueyyh's user avatar
  • 109
-1 votes
1 answer
158 views

Germany undergraduate : Is it possible to switch major from physics to medicine?

My niece is currently studying undergraduate at a German university majoring in physics. Can she switch to medicine? Does she need to take FSP to switch to medicine? Her high school diploma is not ...
Mehezabin Soha's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
278 views

How can I deal with being overwhelmed with large/not very concrete tasks and little support as an undergraduate?

I'm an undergraduate doing research and I have some friends in a similar field who also started in a close timeframe. While my friends have very detailed and concrete tasks (e.g. watch X lecture, do X ...
Revise's user avatar
  • 425
-1 votes
1 answer
126 views

Correct and wrong mindsets for problem solving [closed]

Is there one right answer in a math or physics problem?How does one approach a problem?With what mindsets? Is it necessary to have a mindset that you should find the correct combination of elements, ...
plants's user avatar
  • 69
0 votes
1 answer
183 views

PI asked me (undergraduate research assistant) to be involved in hiring other undergraduate/graduate student workers

I am an undergraduate student research assistant in the US and have been working with my PI for less than a year. Recently my PI asked me to help her in hiring other student research assistants. Not ...
Judge's user avatar
  • 31
1 vote
1 answer
386 views

My class got fewer days than the other class to study for a test. Is there anything I can do?

I am in a class that has 2 sections. My class is now 2 days behind in material compared to the other section due to class cancellations. We have a test coming up and there is a stark difference in the ...
user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
490 views

How do you get to research about theoretical high energy physics as an undergraduate?

I am an junior undergraduate in the U.S, and Interested in HEP "Theoretical High Energy" in Physics. I have had some exposure in research (i.e. Quantum Field Theory, General Relativity), ...
gshxd's user avatar
  • 21
0 votes
1 answer
141 views

What would my appropriate title be?

I'm a first year Biomedical Science student, who's currently taking a gap year. Lucky for me, I got the opportunity to help out a PhD student with her research. What would be my appropriate title? I'...
farahyasmin's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
169 views

How do I interpret rubrics with general/vague language? [closed]

I'm an undergraduate student and I've found that for many assignments, rubrics are not very specific and describe adjacent grade bands with almost identical wording. For instance: 0-19% 20-29% 30-39% ...
Chris Yalamov's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
188 views

How to view undergraduate studies in maths?

I am a undergraduate studying maths at the moment and I have been enrolled for 3 years almost. As I have not fully finished with the degree, I still have time and courses to take and there is this ...
Mahammad Yusifov's user avatar
15 votes
4 answers
3k views

My supervisor worked so hard to get a research opportunity for me, but now I want to quit. How to handle this situation?

It is about my friend (an undergraduate student in Australia), but I used first person pronoun "I" for convenience. My friend needs advice, and I tried my best to describe the situation. The ...
Pikachu's user avatar
  • 5,325
-5 votes
4 answers
458 views

Possible Grading Discrimination [closed]

I took a course, with 2 term exams (20% each) and a final (30%). I achieved close to the highest score on the first term exam, the highest score on the second term exam, and the highest score on the ...
DarkRunner's user avatar

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