Inhale: Presented to my thesis committee and got the green light to schedule my defense towards the end of summer. I was worried I hadn't done enough, that the committee would say something like, "All these years, and that's all you have to show for it?" Instead they were very encouraging and congratulatory. Done with data collection, and almost done with all the analysis.
Vent: Now I have to actually write the thesis.
Overall: So many times I thought I'd never make it, but it looks like I may actually cross the finish line and earn a PhD.
Congratulations! You can do this! I'll give the advice I give to my own students at this point:
(1) your PI/committee won't let you schedule the defense if we don't think you're ready and will pass, so you ARE ready and will pass.
(2) working backward from your defense date, make a detailed writing plan, breaking down all remaining tasks into small chunks and scheduling them each day. Pad the schedule to account for unexpected delays and inevitable schedule slip.
(3) done is better than perfect-- do a rough draft of everything first, then you can go back and spend remaining time revising, but get it done first.
(4) look at the formatting requirements now, and use the template if the grad school provides one-- it will be easier than trying to retrofit it to the often very persnickety requirements later. At the same time, don't stress about formatting too much-- you can fix it after the defense if necessary, no one but the person in charge of final dissertation deposits will care at all.
Puget, thanks so much for this! I sketched out a tentative writing plan, and I'll definitely have to keep reminding myself of your "done is better than perfect" point. Also, I didn't even think about asking after formatting requirements yet. Thanks for that point too.
Harlow2 and epw, thank you!
