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Jericha

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  1. Okay, so I'm a first generation college student, trying really hard to wrap my head around grad school and my odds of being accepted. Background: I have a bachelor's degree in elementary education from a small, private liberal arts college. Graduated in 2014. Immediately after college, I joined Teach for America and spent two years in an inner-city school. After, I moved back to the western Chicago suburbs. I have since been teaching kindergarten at a not-for-profit child care center since June 2016. Here's the catch: I have decided I want to do research psychology. Psychology has always been a strong interest of mine, and my teaching experience has strengthened that. I am also a lover of science and research, but have no formal training in either. Limitations: Because of personal reasons, I must continue to live in the western Chicago suburbs. Because of financial reasons, I need a grad school where I can get an assistantship offering both a tuition waver and paid work. Because of financial limitations, I cannot take additional undergrad courses to beef up my prerequisites. I have zero college credit in statistics or research of any sort. My liberal arts college did not offer research opportunities. I only have one undergraduate psychology course, Child and Adolescent Development. Although I took two other courses that were technically in other departments, but the content was psychology. I took a class in Education called Theories of Learning, which was an educational psychology class, and a Natural Science class titled Mind and Matter, which was essentially a neuropsychology course. I've got a full-time 9-5 job that I am not willing to compromise until an assistantship can be attained. What I've got going for me: Teach for America Alum (that's supposed to be good on a resume, right?) 3.31 undergraduate GPA (something like 3.4 in the last 2 years) Excellent standardized test skills. I have not yet taken the GRE, but on my first practice round, I got 162 quantitative and 152 verbal. I imagine that with studying, I could raise that quite a bit. Trying to figure out by how much it needs raised. A five-course MOOC series specialization titled "Methods and Research in the Social Sciences" published by the University of Amsterdam. It is not for college credit and it is totally self-paced, but by the end of it I will have completed a little research project of my own, as well as be proficient in R. I have also used Khan Academy to teach myself statistics. Unfortunately, neither of these provide college credit. I don't know if there will be an opportunity to showcase my self-taught skills, or if it would even matter. Where I'm trying to get in: Northern Illinois University, Masters (to PhD) in either Developmental Psychology or Cognitive & Instructional Psychology Admissions requirements according to the Developmental Psychology Program Website: "For strongest consideration for admittance candidates typically: Should complete and send in your application by February 1. Early application is strongly encouraged. Have a B.A. or B.S. in psychology, although other related majors may be considered Have earned a strong undergraduate GPA; typically above 3.30 Have strong GRE scores; typically over 1000 (Verbal + Quantitative) Have strong letters of recommendation Have relevant research experience Note that the Department of Psychology admits only full-time students." University of Illinois at Chicago, (MA to PhD) in Cognitive Psychology According to the website: Admission Requirements The department accepts only applicants who wish to be candidates for the PhD. Applicants are not admitted as candidates for the MA as a terminal degree. In addition to the Graduate College minimum requirements, applicants must meet the following program requirements: Baccalaureate Field No restrictions. Prior academic work must include course work in psychology and statistics. It is preferred that students have laboratory course work in experimental psychology and physical and/or biological sciences. Grade Point Average At least 3.20/4.00 for the last 60 semester (90 quarter) hours of undergraduate work. Tests Required GRE General. GRE Subject Test in Psychology is recommended, but not required. While applicants may have had their official GRE scores mailed to UIC from ETS, the application requires an uploaded copy of the unofficial GRE score report from ETS. Letters of Recommendation Three required from those who are familiar with the applicant’s training and ability. Information concerning an applicant’s research experience and ability is especially pertinent. Personal Statement Required. This should include information about how the applicant has prepared for graduate school in Psychology, research experience and interests, what the applicant would like to do as a research psychologist, and who the applicant would like to work with as a faculty advisor. There is no minimum or maximum length for the personal statement. __________________________________________________________________________ So I guess my question is where do I go from here?
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