Your advisordidn't knowwhich classesyou needed totakeMultiple monthswent by beforeyour stipendreflected a new,increased rateYour advisorcompletelyforgot about ameeting youhad scheduledYour committeemeeting wasvery delayedbecauseschedulesnever alignedDebugging codefor hours/daysonly to realizeyou forgot asemicolon (orsimilar)Your advisor forgotthat they asked youto do something andthen questioned whyyou would do suchan unnecessaryexperimentYou couldn't getahold of youradvisor for a ≥3workday periodYou turned30 while ingradschoolYou stayed upworking reallylate the nightbefore anadvisor meetingYour advisor saysto change youranalysis only totell you afterwardto revert to theoriginal planYour submittedmanuscriptwas rejectedby at least twojournalsCryingDURING ameeting withyour advisorYour advisorneglects tointroduce youto theircolleagues at aconferenceYour advisorforgot whatyour projectwas aboutYour advisor andpostdoc(s)demand you makecontradictorychanges to yourpaperYour professorgives no feedbackon a paper duringthe semester, thentears it apart at theend of the courseYour advisorrefused toteach you anessential labmethod/techniqueFailing to passacomprehensiveexamReading Redditor Quora postsabout sad gradsituations tomake you feelless aloneYour advisorforgot you wereon vacation andexpected you todo somethingTurning toYouTubebecause thosevideos teachbetter than yourprofessorsYou had to payfor your owntravel, hotel,food, etc. for aconferencePitt IT takesseveral weeksto unzip a .csvfile and make itavailable to youAttended adepartment-wide receptionthat has nofood or drinkYour advisorforgot to tellyou they areout of thecountryYour dissertationdata is delayed bymonths becausePitt messed up asingle word in theData UseAgreementCompleting agroup projecton GoogleDocshours/minutesbefore deadlineBelonging to adepartment thathas nopermanent chairfor more than afew monthsWhen, at yourdissertationdefense, youradvisor strugglesto remember howlong you've been astudentCryingAFTER ameeting withyour advisorWaiting forreimbursementafter paying forfood and drinkfor your wholejournal clubYourreimbursementfor a conferencegets stuck inConcur formonthsYour dissertationchair moves to adifferent university,forcing you toreconfigure yourentire committee withonly a few weeks'noticeYour advisor failsto give feedbackon your thesis formonths butdemands majorrevisions just daysbefore deadlineYour advisordidn't knowwhich classesyou needed totakeMultiple monthswent by beforeyour stipendreflected a new,increased rateYour advisorcompletelyforgot about ameeting youhad scheduledYour committeemeeting wasvery delayedbecauseschedulesnever alignedDebugging codefor hours/daysonly to realizeyou forgot asemicolon (orsimilar)Your advisor forgotthat they asked youto do something andthen questioned whyyou would do suchan unnecessaryexperimentYou couldn't getahold of youradvisor for a ≥3workday periodYou turned30 while ingradschoolYou stayed upworking reallylate the nightbefore anadvisor meetingYour advisor saysto change youranalysis only totell you afterwardto revert to theoriginal planYour submittedmanuscriptwas rejectedby at least twojournalsCryingDURING ameeting withyour advisorYour advisorneglects tointroduce youto theircolleagues at aconferenceYour advisorforgot whatyour projectwas aboutYour advisor andpostdoc(s)demand you makecontradictorychanges to yourpaperYour professorgives no feedbackon a paper duringthe semester, thentears it apart at theend of the courseYour advisorrefused toteach you anessential labmethod/techniqueFailing to passacomprehensiveexamReading Redditor Quora postsabout sad gradsituations tomake you feelless aloneYour advisorforgot you wereon vacation andexpected you todo somethingTurning toYouTubebecause thosevideos teachbetter than yourprofessorsYou had to payfor your owntravel, hotel,food, etc. for aconferencePitt IT takesseveral weeksto unzip a .csvfile and make itavailable to youAttended adepartment-wide receptionthat has nofood or drinkYour advisorforgot to tellyou they areout of thecountryYour dissertationdata is delayed bymonths becausePitt messed up asingle word in theData UseAgreementCompleting agroup projecton GoogleDocshours/minutesbefore deadlineBelonging to adepartment thathas nopermanent chairfor more than afew monthsWhen, at yourdissertationdefense, youradvisor strugglesto remember howlong you've been astudentCryingAFTER ameeting withyour advisorWaiting forreimbursementafter paying forfood and drinkfor your wholejournal clubYourreimbursementfor a conferencegets stuck inConcur formonthsYour dissertationchair moves to adifferent university,forcing you toreconfigure yourentire committee withonly a few weeks'noticeYour advisor failsto give feedbackon your thesis formonths butdemands majorrevisions just daysbefore deadline

Marisa's Anti-PhD Bingo: Find an individual who has experienced a situation below (one block per person) - Call List

(Print) Use this randomly generated list as your call list when playing the game. There is no need to say the BINGO column name. Place some kind of mark (like an X, a checkmark, a dot, tally mark, etc) on each cell as you announce it, to keep track. You can also cut out each item, place them in a bag and pull words from the bag.


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  1. Your advisor didn't know which classes you needed to take
  2. Multiple months went by before your stipend reflected a new, increased rate
  3. Your advisor completely forgot about a meeting you had scheduled
  4. Your committee meeting was very delayed because schedules never aligned
  5. Debugging code for hours/days only to realize you forgot a semicolon (or similar)
  6. Your advisor forgot that they asked you to do something and then questioned why you would do such an unnecessary experiment
  7. You couldn't get ahold of your advisor for a ≥3 workday period
  8. You turned 30 while in grad school
  9. You stayed up working really late the night before an advisor meeting
  10. Your advisor says to change your analysis only to tell you afterward to revert to the original plan
  11. Your submitted manuscript was rejected by at least two journals
  12. Crying DURING a meeting with your advisor
  13. Your advisor neglects to introduce you to their colleagues at a conference
  14. Your advisor forgot what your project was about
  15. Your advisor and postdoc(s) demand you make contradictory changes to your paper
  16. Your professor gives no feedback on a paper during the semester, then tears it apart at the end of the course
  17. Your advisor refused to teach you an essential lab method/ technique
  18. Failing to pass a comprehensive exam
  19. Reading Reddit or Quora posts about sad grad situations to make you feel less alone
  20. Your advisor forgot you were on vacation and expected you to do something
  21. Turning to YouTube because those videos teach better than your professors
  22. You had to pay for your own travel, hotel, food, etc. for a conference
  23. Pitt IT takes several weeks to unzip a .csv file and make it available to you
  24. Attended a department-wide reception that has no food or drink
  25. Your advisor forgot to tell you they are out of the country
  26. Your dissertation data is delayed by months because Pitt messed up a single word in the Data Use Agreement
  27. Completing a group project on Google Docs hours/minutes before deadline
  28. Belonging to a department that has no permanent chair for more than a few months
  29. When, at your dissertation defense, your advisor struggles to remember how long you've been a student
  30. Crying AFTER a meeting with your advisor
  31. Waiting for reimbursement after paying for food and drink for your whole journal club
  32. Your reimbursement for a conference gets stuck in Concur for months
  33. Your dissertation chair moves to a different university, forcing you to reconfigure your entire committee with only a few weeks' notice
  34. Your advisor fails to give feedback on your thesis for months but demands major revisions just days before deadline