Stay in Touch with Your Advisor from the Start

Many students make the mistake of approaching the dissertation committee for feedback closer to the submission or after they’ve already made much progress with the work.  There are two problems with this approach.  Firstly, if you’re taking comments toward the completion and realize you need to make major changes, you’ll be in the soup. Going over all the work you’ve already done is not only time-consuming but also pretty frustrating. Secondly, your advisor will be loaded with requests from other students as the dissertation submission dates come closer. He might not be able to devote full attention to your problems. So, don’t collect all your problems for the last hour. Meet your advisors and sort your issues as they come.