A support group is definitely a must in this process. Not only does it help to know others are going through the same pain and suffering as you, it is a great forum (I like to use fancy words occasionally) to bounce ideas (i.e. problems) and share resources. Our group is rather diverse with our research not really related, though we are all in thr Volgneau School of Engineering. I met John in my first class at GMU (the hated algorithms) and Mark in the chaos of qualifiers. While waiting for our programming laguage qual to start, I asked if he needed some study notes and we've been friends since. Mark is the one who started the dissertation group and brought in his friend Jeff. Coco joined us after someone in the CS department sent her my way when she asked for help for the algorithms qual (algorithms is well known and feared). Though the department has sent others my way when they needed study notes, Coco has been the only one brave enough to keep coming back to meetings.
Though our meetings generally consist of each of us giving a status update and what we plan to accomplish before our next meeting, we do deviate. Mark and John have both tried out their dissertation proposal presentation on us and I plan to do the same in August. We also talk through problems with our advisors, dissertation committee members, fellow PhD students, and even how to submit our first paper. I've called and been called late at night for help on the paper problem. When we have found tools, books, or sites that are useful, we also bring those up. We also help keep each other motivated and accountable. Basically, I don't know what I would do without these guys!
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