I just met her yesterday, though I've heard about her many times (she is a good friend of my lab mate). This Argentinian girl was hanging around our office for some time yesterday, and she's a very fun girl to talk to.
I talked to her about my current biggest worry: my qualifying exam. If I don't pass next year, I really don't know what to do. Retaking it won't be easy: they'd set the bar higher. The big question may then arise: is it worth investing time and energy for one whole year while the chance of passing will actually be smaller?
Anyway, she has two points of view that I found quite interesting :). She's brutally honest and realistic and I like her.
1) She tried to build up my confidence by saying -- there are only two reasons why you can be at MIT: (1) either you are really smart or (2) you are really good in pretending that you are smart. Either way, you are good enough.
2) Ok, this is the more serious part -- she told me "R, I believe you can pass the qual. I just want you to listen to one thing: YOU ARE GOING TO SUFFER. Your advisor will not make it easy for you, she'd want to make sure that you'll do all you need to do to qualify as a PhD candidate at MIT. If you are ready to accept and bear the suffering and live through that, you'll pass the qual."
Honestly, I think her second comment is the most true statement I've ever heard whenever I voice out my qual worries.
Wish me luck, friends...
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