thepsychoblogist

Congratulations!!! I wouldn't worry too much- I think that's one of the perks of being in psychology! Most professors I have worked with have been more than supportive towards students who are starting their own family. If the program(for some reason) does frown upon accepting pregnant students, I would steer away from it and put my tuition money elsewhere! Pregnancy and grad school is a common combination. We are there for 5-8 years and many of us work a few years before going into graduate school- meaning majority of us are going to be in the prime baby-making years of our lives while doing a Ph.D. The only thing I would suggest, is to make sure that the program you are getting into a) supports their students with children and b)offer health insurance. I actually asked these questions during my interview with the current graduate students and they all told me it was perfectly fine. Good luck and all the best!

For myself, I utilized Magoosh and their free vocabulary ebook of 300+ words. I did many of the questions during commercial break and I would go through video lessons or flashcards during my commute. I wrote all the words I did not know from the ebook onto flashcards and I learned new words at a rate of 25/week. While reading, I also kept a record of words I encountered that I did not know the meaning of (not sure about you guys, but I have a bad habit of just guessing what the word in the sentence is and just continue on). The GRE is hard work! Good luck!

In my opinion, I would choose the second score. In terms of percentile (might be a bit off, you should have the correct one on your result page): 1st time: V (84th) Q (74th) A.W (38) 2nd time: V (81) Q (71) A.W (56) Both your V & Q scores should meet the cutoff for most graduate programs, however the difference between your first A.W score and second is quite large. Do you have any published material you could include in your application?

For me, I only applied to schools that 1) fit my research and 2) was within my geographic location. When deciding on my schools, research and mentor fit was my number 1 priority. That being said, I never considered the question of funding at all and looking back, I do think that it is important to keep it into consideration. Unlike undergrad (which I chose based on school ranking), I chose this program because I thought I would be happiest going to school here for the next 7 years. The program objectives as well as the career trajectories of graduates of this program matched my own career goals. I also think a large part depends on the age you are at. If you are older, you may have more ties to a specific area- whereas if you are a fresh grad, you may be more keen on the idea of living somewhere new and exploring. Best of luck!