This BSD Student Mentor Guide was made for students by students, based on our own experiences and guidelines developed by other universities (see the Resource Guide at the end). We recommend first reading through each section and considering your current preferences and priorities, as well as future goals. Consider talking about these topics with current members of the groups you are interested in — they know their lab cultures better than anyone. Your research interests will be a key driver of the lab you select. But, the goal of this document is to help you figure out what else you want and need, and to decide whether a given advisor and their group are also a good fit outside your specific research interests.
Use this guide to reflect on your goals and expectations, and discuss these with your potential advisor to make sure your and your advisor’s expectations align.