veileddreamer

Yes, what Psygeek said. I meant to say they had made a job offer to a potential faculty, and were taking that faculty's interests into consideration as they selected potential grad student interviewees.

I just got an email asking for clarification about something and it mentioned that they had just made a job offer to someone and implied they were taking that person into consideration. The email also explicitly said they were just starting to review apps. So Psygeek seems correct!

SCROLL PAST IF you're looking for new info and don't want semi-tangential advice and encouragement. @nanobasiness @FirstYear Hey you guys, tagging you since you asked about what to potentially do to improve your app next time (which hopefully won't even be necessary!!!). I'm applying for my second try this year and thought (as someone who didn't get a single interview the first time and now has 2 so far) I'd share some encouragement / advice. With that said keep in mind I'm a social neuroscientist and things may work differently for programs that are "wet" neuro / would never even remotely be grouped under psychology. -First I, as a huge hypocrite, tell you to spend less time worrying. Commit yourself to only checking your e-mail once a day over the holidays. They aren't gonna revoke your interview if you don't get back to them within 3 hours or something so stop stressing yourself out (I say, as I prepare to check my email again before bed). Just forget about it as best you can. You either will get rejected or accepted and can do nothing to change that at this point. The arrow is already in flight and no amount of worrying, checking this site, or agonizing over it will change its flight path. -Be optimistic! Remember, nothing is definitely not no, especially at this point. Nothing only starts to look a lot like no in mid February, or around then. Nothing right now means the PIs may just be on Christmas break and they don't care nearly as much about reviewing our apps as we do lol. -If you're a senior in undergrad, don't get disheartened at all. It is almost unheard of these days (again, at least in my subfield) for someone to get in directly from undergrad. I've heard PIs say they outright don't take people who are applying out of undergrad, and others say they'll consider current undergrads but it's a strike against you. So you should strongly consider taking a post bacc position (either a class based program, or as a lab manager / full time research associate). -I've heard mixed reviews about what to do if you still don't get in after a post bacc. Some say a terminal master's in a related field is good because it shows you actually are definitely interested in the field. I've also heard from an R1 PI that a master's is a waste of money if you eventually want a PhD, because you want to spend more time doing research to improve your skill set and CV, and the coursework in a master's may interfere with that in terms of time commitment / not be relevant enough. I don't know; that last tidbit seems extreme to me, but still, some PhD programs don't even accept "transfer" master's credits anyway. -Make sure your letters are good. If you have any hesitation or bad gut feeling get another letter writer. Always ask in a way that gives them an easy out if they won't be thrilled to do it ("if you feel like you could write me a strong letter, ..."). I had a weird feeling about one of mine for my first cycle but went with it since he told me to my face he would write me a good one. Turns out the letter was borderline negative (heard that through the grapevine a year later). -Reach out to the PIs beforehand!!! This is critical. It helps save you time and money if they're not even taking students. It helps you determine if they're even still doing the research you like (academic websites are notoriously bad at being updated). AND they remember it. I know a PI very well who seems to believe that if you didn't email him before you applied, then you probably just wrote down his name as a "eh, I need three PIs listed, might as well pick this one" situation and views those applicants as much less competitive than those that emailed in advance. -Have good numbers. PIs care more about research fit than your academic stats, but the department might give them grief about even inviting you to interview if your stats would reflect poorly on the program. It's super dumb and unfair but it's true. -This year's outcome does not have to have anything to do with your next try. I applied to some of the same PIs and one of the interviews I have now is with a PI who dismissed me the first time. Difference? Two years as a lab manager. That's it. That two years made me a much better scientist too, and ultimately I'm glad it happened since I'm more prepared to milk my PhD years for all they're worth. I definitely felt like my post bacc was a miserable purgatory at first but truthfully it has been a great thing.

@davidfreire20 @PsychGal @buckeyepsych @ktwalsh I @'d people who commented on UNC in the past few pages... they are my (tentative) top choice so I bit the bullet and called Monday. Social division said to expect interview invites within a week if it's good news. Obviously not the same as clinical but I doubt the different sectors of UNC psych are on too very dramatically different time frames. I think I posted this already in the Social-specific psych PhD thread but thought I'd say so here, as well. Good luck to all, friends!

I have a little insider info on U of Miami, if anyone wants to ask me about PIs about DM. They had their initial committee meeting as far as I know and so if you don't hear back relatively soon it's probably not great news.

I called UNC today and they said that some but not all PIs have submitted their list of invites -- so if you don't hear back within a week, you can be fairly confident you will not be getting an invite. But has anyone actually heard back from UNC? The wait is killing me. I know it's only been two weeks, but still.

Yes indeed! I know you must be so excited too! Do you / does anyone here know what your odds are like getting an interview for CNAP? Like ratio of interviewees to admissions offers they're prepared to make?

I actually think they called all the CNAP applicants, as I got a call too and that was the only Duke program I applied to (I am a social neuroscientist). Very exciting phone call! I definitely did a happy dance!

I knew someone who the PI personally rooted for her to the admissions committee, really wanted her to get in, etc., and then the school said no, because she'd applied for the clinical program which historically had quite high scores, GPAs, etc., and since she didn't, she would reflect badly on their program's rankings and they didn't want anything to negatively affect their ability to get accreditation and so on. This is a prestigious R1 school (would rather not say which one) with a strong clinical program -- but I was shocked that the PI personally put their neck out for her and the school still said no due to testing metrics. So, it really does seem like it matters a whole lot more than it should in clinical.

So was looking over in the Social Psych thread, and the person who posted about the UNC interview was for a Skype interview with PI. So, not sure what program they are in, but it's safe to say (in my opinion) that UNC is not done sending out invites, since that Skype interview would be the same day as social / just 1 week before the other areas, so seems unlikely that that is telling of formal interview invite status.

Just want to comment and sympathize! I know we are all so intensely stressed! Additionally, I'm a UNC (undergrad) alumna and social neuroscientist -- so if anyone has any questions about UNC PIs, feel free to DM me! I also applied there this cycle and have not heard back. I asked a friend/colleague in the program there ("normal" psych/neuro, not the BBSP thing) and she said she hasn't heard anyone talking about it yet (which implies admission comm hasn't met yet?) but she could just be out of the loop.

Oh, that makes vastly more sense then, haha. I'd agree with that advice.

My research advisor told me to do precisely not this. Every faculty I've asked has said s/he hates it when applicants email them unsolicited after applications are starting to be evaluated, and that it only hurts the student's chances, never helps. One downright told me her division of our department thinks it looks pitiful/desperate. I'm an undergrad at an R1 top ~15 university, for reference. Interesting how much variance there is in opinion on this!

FYI: insider info that I really trust suggests that all UNC-Chapel Hill psychology decisions have been made. So, there's that.

School: U Michigan Ann ArborArea/Degree: Social Psychology, PhDRationalization: standard rejection email about how everything was sooo competitive this email; my numbers and experience are excellent, I think, I was just a crappy fit for this program tbhComment: got 8 other schools to hear back from so kinda whatever about thisCoping tactics: none needed; I wasn't passionate about U Mich if we're being honest