I realise this is related to a number of ongoing topics, but I wonder if any of you have had an experience of a tutor who has been completely unwilling to accept that you are bright enough to 'get on' in Academia.
I was doing a Masters at the top anthropology department in the country at which I didn't get on very well, but when I went to my tutor to help she insisted that I 'give up' on trying to 'get' certain topics. At the end of this course I applied for another (my grades weren't sufficient to get me PhD funding).... and was advised to 'do something more practical' and that 'if you struggle by Christmas, quit'.
I've had completely the opposite experience this year, have a PhD place and grades that I'm more than happy with (top in class). The other Institution is in a slightly different (but related) discipline, and the best department in the country for this discipline.....
I'm now concerned that I might come across a tutor of Type 1 in my PhD though........
Any similar experiences?

pamplemouse, I understand what you are going through. I am a first year student, just finish my MPhil upgrade. My supervisor kept telling how I am not capable of doing a PhD and will not going to submit in three years. No matter what I do it's not good enough for him. I am just dragging myself each day to the next. On top of it, I don't think he will support my docoument, since he plans to tell the MPhil upgrade committee that I will not finish in three years. From the way he's been talking it would be a relief to him if I ought to quit. The lab is quite demanding, we do electrophysio. Although, I managed to patched a reasonnable amount of neurons in a short time he is not happy with it.

The tutor I had for my second master was the same as yours. He kept telling me that I wasn't capable for postgraduare studies. He kept telling me to do corrections and when I did them he was telling me that it was wrong and the first was the correct one! He was telling me that they did not know anything and they let me pass on my first master!
Also, he never answered my mails and it was taking him about 3 months to give me feedback on my essays!
And most important, once he told me that foreign people should not study in the UK!
It's a good thing that I am over with him! And now I have two very good supervisors (so far) for my PhD.

emmaki, funny! my supervisor repeatedly told me that it's going to be tough for me in academia because not only I am a woman, I am black. I am just going to be a supertech.