I spend my days doing three things: supervising graduate students, reviewing scholarship applications, and researching artificial intelligence. None of it involves a camera.
I kept noticing the same thing: students asking me the exact same questions, over and over — about applications, funding, moving abroad, surviving a PhD. Questions with real answers. Nobody had just written them down.
So I started writing them down. That's Academic Compass.
"I'm not trying to guarantee anyone an acceptance letter. I'm trying to make sure the things you can control aren't the reason you get a 'no.'"
On paper: I'm an assistant professor, I research decision-making and machine learning, and I've reviewed more scholarship and PhD applications than I've kept count of. None of that makes the advice here infallible — it just means it comes from someone who's read the file.
If any of this is useful, the newsletter's the best way to keep up. Want to reach me directly? Say hello.