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I PASSED!!! WITH AN EXCELLENT GRADE!!! PHEW!!!

Ever wished you could look up who's taking grad students? Or find paid lab manager/RA positions, all in one place? Now you can! http://psychgradsearch.wikidot.com Psych Grad School wiki is a new resource that will let you hone in on who's actively looking for and accepting grad school applicants this season. It's modeled on the Psych Jobs Wiki - a long-running (and well-regarded) website that helps PhDs in psychology locate and apply for faculty positions in the field. Our hope is that this site will do the same for folks looking to apply to grad school or post-bac positions within psychology. Many faculty have already begun to post and share grad student and other paid positions in their labs; we anticipate that more will do so in the coming days, as information goes out over listservs, and reaches folks beyond social media. We also recognize that many undergrads may be looking for paid positions, either in preparation for grad school, or in the event that grad applications that don't go quite as planned. With that aim in mind, we've also added a section at the bottom for lab manager/research assistant, etc., positions - anyone can update these and post about new openings you've found. We encourage you to do so. A one-stop crowd-sourced resource makes the job market more transparent and better for the community as a whole; the editing process is quick and easy. See a job posting? Share it on the wiki!

I AM SO RELIEVED

Agreeing with Hector here. I can see wanting to take electives at an online program, but why would you take your major --especially in the Humanities-- at an online program?

Not profoundly. You're just getting the experience. The most important thing is to focus on your writing sample and clarifying the questions you'd like to explore as a PhD student. I also would keep working on languages (or start on something related to your area of interest). Finally, understand that there is no "reach/match/safety" in PhD admissions. As with academia as a whole, much also depends on luck. I also encourage you to look beyond the East Coast as being part of academia does require one to be mobile as possible, particularly if one is interested in a tenure-track professor job at the end.

Unless your AoI requires significant expertise in math/logic, and maybe even not in that case, retaking the GRE seems like it'd be a waste of time with those scores. Based on everything I've seen on this forum, I doubt those scores are what held you back (there could be a bunch of reasons, including just bad luck, but I'll repeat the writing sample mantra).

I'm sorry you've been having a bad time in your current setting, but it sounds like your personal rancor at your hospital is seriously biasing your opinion of the entire field. To play devil's advocate, the school setting has problems too: packed schedules with group sessions that mean not enough time is spent on individual goals; having to provide therapy in a broom closet, cafeteria, or hallway; and living in fear of litigious parents that are made their kid doesn't qualify for services. For that matter, any job anywhere has its problems! Productivity demands in the healthcare field are problematic and cause serious ethical dilemmas. If you work in a place like this, get the hell out and try something new, but don't dump all over the profession in the process. Research shows that when were treating APPROPRIATE patients, we can and do make a difference!

THANKS EVERYONE FOR THE EMOTIONAL SUPPORT! I learned a lot from this experience even if it was difficult and I will be able to carry that knowledge on to my PhD studies

I really hope the examiner submitted her report yesterday, and my university will see it on Monday. that's my hope. If on Monday I still get no news, I will do what you've just said. But I've already sent multiple emails to the departement, even sent to them a recommended letter by mail to stress on the importance of the situation. I cannot contact the examiner directly (conflict of interest). The university has also contacted the examiner multiple times in order for her to submit it on time. It's on the examiner's side. My family and I are considering going further than that (they're liable like you've said) if my lose my admission offer and scholarship because of the examiner. I am advocating for myself, but there's not much I can do at the moment. I will let monday come and if by the end of the day, I get no news, I am emailing the Dean.

I'd contact the department head and director of the grad school, personally, to let them know what's going on re: the deadline. No harm in CC'ing General Counsel (the university's legal department) either. If they're breaking their own policies and that causes you to lose your scholarship, that makes them liable. Probably better to contact them now instead of after the deadline. I know that sounds aggressive, but advocating for yourself is really important, and it's better to be prepared by contacting people earlier than having to do it later, IMO. Wishing you luck.

The Casella Berger course is the core of what a statistician does (and what will be on your quals if your program has them), and most people don't use much measure theory at all, so definitely don't skip that. It's hard to give advice without knowing the specifics of your program, but there is probably no way to speed up the coursework. If you want to finish quickly, the best thing to do would be to be an RA and establish a good relationship with your advisor so you can get started as soon as possible on your dissertation. But you're not going to be able to do any statistics research without taking a Casella Berger-like class, so just do well in your courses. Failing your quals by not focusing on coursework is one way to guarantee you won't graduate in four years. As for staying happy, I don't think putting an artificial timeline on yourself is going to help. This is going to be a slog, and it'll get done when it gets done. You can obviously try to go quickly (and this depends on your program - Duke is known for getting people out in 4 years) but I wouldn't want to be putting a strict timeline on this. My one tip is to try to have some friends and activities outside of your program. It'll drive you crazy if you just think about statistics 24/7 - if you're able to keep some perspective on the grand scheme of life it'll help take some pressure off.

I can empathize with how challenging it is to know what the best route is and how to strengthen your CV while economizing your time as much as you can! With regard to your first question about a postgrad certificate/diploma to improve your grades - I think this is a great idea, especially if you take some courses you don't have. Eventually, you will need to take a social psych class anyways to fulfill the breadth requirements for registering as a psychologist. Maybe look into what courses you may be missing and will need in order to register, and use this time to get them out of the way before you start a grad program as well as boosting your GPA. A BSc doesn't ultimately matter when applying to clinical programs - plenty of people get in with BAs (myself included). For your second question about doing a PhD in the UK and then coming back to do an additional PhD - this is a challenging decision.I will say that it is exceedingly uncommon in Canada to do a terminal clinical MSc/MA. Most programs are set up with the expectation that you continue on to your PhD after completing your masters. I'm not sure based on your post if you are mostly interested in clinical work or clinical research? Your decision between your PhD in the UK and a clinical psych program should ultimately come down to what you are most interested in doing research-wise. I don't think there is any reason to continue with your PhD in the UK if you ultimately want out of research in the end, since that won't get you doing clinical work. I think it is also unnecessary to do all the research involved in a clinical PhD if all you want to do is practice, since there are other options for working with the populations you want to work with that don't involve (as much) research. That being said, the truth of clinical programs is that most of those who graduate from them end up working in clinical practice and not in research. I think this is a fact that many ignore because of the research intensity during programs. Taken together, in my opinion, you should consider taking some breadth psych courses you need to register (e.g., social psych, history of psych, etc.) and get your GPA up. This will not be a waste of time, as you will need to take these courses eventually if you want to be a clinical psychologist. Then, apply and see what happens. Your CV is otherwise stellar and I have no doubt someone would want to take you as a student so long as you meet the GPA cutoff. If you go through your first application cycle without success, reassess again what you want to do and go from there.

First orientation's in two days, yikes, and then the department orientation is the day after. First day of class likely on the 27th? Haven't technically signed up for classes yet, but I'm pretty sure. Talked to my advisor for a bit yesterday and we're getting along well so far, so that's been really nice and also a relief. Currently working through Derrida's Specters of Marx.

Like others have mentioned, having an undergraduate publication might be more about the experience than the line in the CV. It is a nod to your professional aspirations, but that's it. I second @Sigaba's advice of moving away from metrics as the structural force in your application. What @TMP and @psstein have mentioned also relates to articulating your application around your goals as a scholars, not location or fixation on certain programs. Furthermore, in doctoral programs the prestige that you see in rankings is often blurred by other factors, especially the specifics of departments. There are many programs ranked in the top 20 that were useless for me since there was virtually no Latinamericanist when I applied. Your geographical, chronological, and thematic interests underpin a strong application. Focus more on the questions that you bring in than scores, GPAs, and undergraduate publications.

Speaking in terms of institutional and program reputation, ASU would be the best. How well that would translate in terms of an online degree program, I'm unsure. However, ASU has some name-recognition in academic philosophy because it has a graduate program in philosophy with some areas of particular strength (though unranked), and more generally is a decent, reasonably well-known large public university. The other schools will not have any such name-recognition. I can't speak to the online aspects of any of these programs, but I would ask you this--why do you want to pursue an online program? You'd be better served by completing your degree in-person rather than online if at all possible. A big part of a good philosophical education is talking to your classmates and interacting with faculty, and it's hard to replicate that adequately in an online space.

Assuming that you score well on the Quantitative section of the GRE and get A's in Real Analysis I and Advanced Linear Algebra, I think you have a definite shot at NC State and possibly Duke. Conditional on strong performance there, I think you could even try applying to a school like University of Washington (though this is possibly a reach). Physics is a hard subject, and your GPA is pretty good. I'd recommend adding a few more schools like Wisconsin or Minnesota too.

I don’t want to discount others’ experiences, but I wouldn’t say that THAT many apply 3-4 times before getting admitted. Although not totally applicable to your situation, about 20 out of 30 in my CSD undergrad cohort applied our senior year, and everyone got into at least one school; I applied one round and got into 4/6 schools. Your stats sound good, you’ve got some experience, and schools want to have a variety of applicants and have nothing against out-of-fielders. I really think you’ll be fine, especially if you research schools and apply to ones in your range. And worst case scenario, if you aren’t accepted you can work for a year before trying again.

You can publish in a graduate or undergraduate journal if you like, but I don't think it counts for anything in the admissions process. Publications in peer-reviewed, scholarly journals -- that's impressive. Undergraduate journals, not so much. Additionally, you may be giving away scholarship that you could develop into an article for a major academic journal later while in graduate school (undergraduates also, on very rare occasions, publish important articles in "real" journals). I would concentrate on improving the writing sample.

@San Blas, sounds like you’ve had a rough day, and probably more than that. I’m sorry to hear you’re struggling. I do wonder if this is the best outlet for that frustration. As aspiring SLPs, I think a lot of us come here for help and support with the education/licensing process. While I think it’s helpful to hear SLPs experiences, the tone and anger from your post feels unhelpful. There is a medical SLP forum on facebook that I think would be more suited for you to vent and get support. A lot of folks having hard days and asking critical ethical questions of their peers can be found there. I’ve shadowed medical SLPs and while they face challenges, the purpose of their job is clear and they are largely respected by their co-workers. My point is there are better opportunities out there and I truly hope that you find a more fulfilling workplace or path. Best of luck!

I big part is learning how to skim properly. You don't need to read every single word of every single reading. Skim through and read the parts that seem most important. Also, during particularly heavy weeks, my cohort and I will sometimes split readings up and take notes/write summaries and share them with the rest of the cohort.

Eh... This is obviously hard to say for sure and will vary a lot from program to program (and advisor to advisor), but I suspect that especially top tier programs (even if they pay lip service to alt-ac careers) look down upon people seeking careers outside of academia. That's not to say you won't find resources to pursue those careers at those universities, but I might be slightly hesitant about expressing though wishes too loudly too early in your program. Despite all the talk about the life of the mind and what not, PhD programs in the humanities should still largely be understood as a very peculiar form of vocational training. To the OP: I applied to PhD programs with the intent of eventually becoming a professor and by and large maintain that goal (despite some doubts and a desire to keep my eyes open for alternatives). But I don't think I mentioned that desire once in my SOP and I don't think there's really a need to. Instead, I wrote about my research goals and interests, why I thought they were worth pursuing, what skills I had to do that research, and why I thought that particular program made sense for pursuing that research. People reading your SOP will likely assume you want to pursue an academic career (mostly because they are so thoroughly ingrained in academia that alternatives won't occur to them) but so what. You're not deceiving them, they're just reading into it what they want to. For the sake of PhD applications, I think there's at least some risk of expressing a desire for alt-ac careers, and since there's no real reason to talk about your career goals in an SOP, don't do it. If and when you get accepted, you should certainly go through graduate school with an eye towards generating the best chances of getting a job outside of academia and take advantage of all the resources the university has to support that. At some point, you will need to have a conversation with your advisor about career plans, but that's not going to happen until at least a couple years into the program. All that being said, you should take very seriously @EM51413's last point. I think a PhD can certainly be a valuable fulfilling experience even if you don't want to be in academia, but it's also a lot of work, stress, academic politics, and time spent when you could be jumpstarting an non-academic career. And if it's not going to be directly career-relevant to you, don't take that decision lightly.

I actually thanked the examiner in my acknowledgements! My thesis is much stronger in terms of quality now and I am proud of my work.

I would be less specific in my search. Can you find departments that support Queer lit, Ethnic lit, and YA lit, through an assortment of scholars rather than one that covers all 3? Can you find places that cover at least two? As for the other question, I think people generally wind up placing themselves within the category their specific interests are in. So someone working on those 3 fields would probably find themselves in 20th/21st American (or Anglophone). In what generalist courses would your specialty be taught?

One of the things to keep in mind is that a program/prof may look amazing now in your mind (or basically the image you are creating of it), but upon visiting/meeting this person may disappoint. This could also work out the other way (so a program/prof you may not have been incredibly excited turns out to be a great interpersonal fit + you love the program). I have people in my cohort that happened to, so they ended up being happy that they applied to some places that they felt they may have been a less good fit initially. One girl applied to about 12 programs and said her whole order basically changed after having done visits and meeting people. Keep in mind that programs vary in culture, requirements, location, expectations, etc. Some programs are very collaborative, some are not. Sometimes you'll get a secondary advisor, sometimes you don't, etc. Also think about what you need with regard to those things (some people thrive best in very communal type of departments, some are fine more independently). Furthermore, also keep in mind people's interests are changing - so double-check this with people they're interested in. I wanted to apply to some people, but their line of work was moving in another direction, but they recommended me other names. Similarly, I was not 100% sure about my advisor initially but turns out his line of work has moved so much in my direction (but not yet publications) that he ended up being the best fit (although it didn't seem initially so on paper). I also initially wasn't that much into that program because of the location, but it ended up all being great. Also, keep in mind that the majority of people apply to study one topic, but end up doing something related/different often. Very few people end up doing what they initially planned to study (what I do is highly related to my initial topic, but it has also moved a bit). So, I wouldn't be too firm on sticking to one person/one topic, but do keep to a general theme of things (e.g., I'm into macro-level influences, so I've applied to people who have a line of research on that - but not specifically only one macro-level variable or framework). I ended up applying to 7 programs (only people I really wanted to work with), got in at 2. My initial list contained 10 programs, but I dropped some due to finances/not having funding for internationl students/location. Some people applied to far more and got 1 acceptance. Some people are indeed lucky and apply to 1 - 3 and get in. But it's just a very risky strategy... I was recommended to apply to about 8 - 10 programs given my credentials (I also have a MSc. and a lot of research experience). Ask them if they can recommend people. Professors will understand you're not going to apply to one place (and would probably advise applying to one place anyway). If you're interested are indeed broad - then apply to multiple. Personality is a big field, whether it is people studying cultural differences, to whether there are 5 or 6 factors, origins, personality behavioral traces, etc. Evolutionary psychologists also are starting to enter the realm of personality and start trying to explain it. Try to make a list of other people and read up upon their work - see if it interests you as well as you think it could KEEP interesting you. I don't think you're expected to have read all papers by faculty at all. They're generally interested in why you want to work with them and you're interested, but rarely will they ever quiz you on their papers (a lot of profs will rather maybe ask some questions about the field and what you want to do, but not specifically their papers in detail).

Oh my goodness, you should not be paying research expenses and travel costs. I’m sorry if that’s not a helpful response but you should know that it’s not normal or expected! I’m curious how your program works; did you apply to work with a specific PI? And if so, did they develop the project with you, and was there any discussion of funding? This is why many programs will not accept students without at least partial guarantee of funding (e.g., a grant your PI has that you will be working under), but I don’t know how it works in your field. Do you have a dissertation committee, and did you go through a research proposal process? I cannot imagine allowing a student to take on an international research project with no funding. At the very least, your advisor and department should be helping you find grants to apply for. Unfortunately I think it’s pretty standard to have to pay student fees even when your tuition is covered, as much as that sucks. But the research expenses are a different story. I hope you are able to find some support.

Sure. By sense of cohesion, I mean something like this: Does your AOI relate to courses you took in undergrad or an MA program? Can you give examples of this area consistently across two programs, or even from several years within undergrad? @Glasperlenspieler definitely put it in the right tone: show that your interests are stable, but without being too hyper-specific. (A balance you won’t strike on your first draft, it requires getting someone else to review your draft to tell you where you are in that balance.) You are not building a grand narrative that connects everything together, just a sense of definition or cohesion. Thing of it more like smoothing our rough edges than giving fine details. For example, if you have an MA is psychology, but are now trying to do a PhD in philosophy, you need to be able to explain why this MA would be an asset and you understand how they relate, and not that you are just jumping from one field to another. An area of interest at the intersection of the two fields would help immensely in a case like that. Mentioning specific courses you took that give a sense that you are prepared for your areas of interest is a great tactic. If you wrote papers on that topic specifically, great, mention it once or twice. Interested in Nietzsche and Kierkegaard? It would be good for them to know: you took a course on Nietzsche, and a course on German Idealism, you wrote a phil. of religion paper on Kierkegaard, and that you’ve taken German for two years (or whatever! Fill in your background). Don’t tell them that you started reading Nietzsche when you were 16. Don’t give reasons why one class led you to the next, the listing of them will suffice. This isn’t about how you ‘think deep’ or some story about how nietzsche moved you, its about making clear that you have real, material proof that you have done work that would prepare you for the next degree.

I'm also not convinced that any of these examples make a lick of difference for PhD admissions. It seems like the main goal of an SOP is to demonstrate that you have clearly defined, interesting research foci that are informed by recent scholarship and that the department can support. Beyond that it's probably good to show to some extent in your application that you have the personal qualities that will allow you to complete and PhD program and succeed in it (motivation, determination, integrity, commitment, etc.) and perhaps also that your research interests are stable enough that they're not likely to change completely every week. I'm highly skeptical, however, that you need some grand narrative explaining how you came to be interested in your subfield and why it's important to you. I doubt this will hurt you too much (unless it takes away from the above), but I don't seeing it doing much to benefit your application either. Stick to the philosophy and try to be as clear and compelling as possible.

"encouraged" not required. Also, you just sort of pasted two separate sentences from the admissions webpage together, when really they aren't related. Stanford's PhD program doesn't require numerical analysis - Harvard biostatistics, one of the more applied biostat programs, certainly does not. You may be misunderstanding their page if English is not your first language, please take my advice. You do not need numerical analysis to apply to any biostatistics program.

So the big caveat here is that, as others have said, the WS and SoP and letters are far, far more important. That said, here are my thoughts on the subject test: I studied for the subject test for a couple of weeks—it's really a question of memorization and study technique more than anything else. My advice is to use a guide (which, yeah, are usurious and cruel cash cows) and, unless you specialize in the 14th-18th centuries, spend plenty of time there. A plurality of my questions asked me to identify particular poets and styles of poetry, especially British, especially pre-1800. They like to return to their favorites: Donne, Marvell, Thomas Gray, Pope, Dryden. Best of luck!

After reading through all 23 pages, I think I've managed to compile the most salient (at least for me) and still relevant pieces of advice as far as grad school supplies Laptop - While most people have a laptop, it was recommended by several people that folks in a new laptop (unless yours is less than two years old) and make sure you get an extended warranty (one that will hopefully last the entirety of your program). Note: look into funding opportunities for laptops within your department. Some will finance a new laptop for incoming grad students! Desk - L-shaped came highly recommended, given the extra space. While i love my little desk, I may invest in a larger one by year 2. Chair (Desk) - Investing in a good chair was stressed many times. You will likely be spending many hours hunched over a desk. get one that will be comfortable for your back, but won't put you to sleep. Chair (Reading) - a separate reading chair was recommended for those hours upon hours where you'll be reading. a comfortable chair or couch was recommended. Printer - there was some debate regarding the pros/cons of a printer. In an increasingly digital age, I don't think a printer is completely necessary. ESPECIALLY because so many universities have printers available and printing costs included within stipends. But this will depend on the person Scanner OR File Cabinet - One person had recommended getting a file cabinet and regularly organizing it so as not to fall behind (if you are someone who likes having physical copies of everything, then go for this option). HOWEVER, someone then chimed in to say screw a file cabinet. just get a scanner. and i thought that was an excellent idea! just scan everything you need and chuck the physical copies (unless its like your birth certificate or something) Coffee - Coffee maker, coffee carafe (to keep it warm for those days of marathon working), french press. you get the idea. ALTERNATIVE: electric kettle for tea drinkers Large Water Bottle - lets be sustainable folks! Snacks - for those long days Wall Calendar Dry Erase Board Noise Cancelling Headphones External Hard Drive Dongles - actually didn't see folks write about this, so I'm adding it! Dongles/adapters are constantly changing based on your device. Get the one that is specific to your computer to HDMI and VGA, and you should be set for most campus systems! Paper shredder - unless your campus has a shredding removal service like my current one has. I'd say take advantage of that Travel - Luggage, toiletry bag, international travel adapter/converter, etc. You will presumably be traveling a bunch! Get the right travel accessories if you can Desk accessories - post its, highlighters, pens Notebooks - it seems like everyone has been unanimously pro-moleskine notebooks on here. mmmm I'm not! What *EYE* recommend is going to your local art supply store, and buying sketchbooks from there. They are usually so much cheaper. And most art stores have artist and student memberships available, so you can get major discounts. I just showed a sale and got all my notebooks and pens for less than $30. Just my opinion Software - Just some of the software that came highly recommended and that I felt like was still relevant today: Evernote. Zotero. Scrivener. CamScanner. Nuance. iStudiez Most of this is hella obvious. But some of these I hadn't even considered! And its nice to think about these things early so you have enough time to save up or search the internet for deals. I curated an Amazon wishlist based on the information i listed above. Let me know if you'd like me to post it here and make public! And remember: 90% (if not all) of this is OPTIONAL. Let's not make academia seem more inaccessible than it already is. You will excel regardless of whether or not you have these things. There's always borrowing. lending programs through your university. free services through your libraries. There are options! Hope this is helpful to those reading this post 8 years later! It was certainly helpful for me. Aside from curating a great list of things i want, it also helped distract me from decisions this week ://////

i am so ready to be back in school. restaurant life 50 hours a week wears real thin quickly. but right now i'm reading john caputo's "against ethics" and judith butler's "frames of war" and having a good time with those.

Glad to see this thread still getting updated omg I'm still a ways away from UC Irvine starting but that September 26th start date is creeping up quick. I have two orientations next September (School of Humanities + Campuswide) and then a beginning of the year party. Also have an apartment, about to pick up keys in a few weeks' time and hopefully settle in by mid-September. It's a little bit surreal to call myself graduate student still (much less having a new institutional affiliation). I've been busying myself with MLA database deep dives as well as reading some books that are long overdue for me to read (all this time my UG library would have a full PDF of Cruising Utopia digitally lol). I don't have the jitters quite yet, but tbh once it hits September it'll definitely sink in for me. So excited for all of you!

Brown doesn't have a statistics PhD program, so I'm not sure which program you're referring to (applied math probably? Biostat?) I definitely would not submit your subject GRE score. I'm going to be a lot less optimistic than the above. I think your 161 GRE Q is going to really hold you back. Yes, you have good grades, but grad-level course grades are known to be heavily inflated. As said above, this would be mitigated if you were taking grad classes at Harvard, but not so much if you're at Villanova (49). I could maybe see a big school like TAMU taking a chance on you, but I think you're going to struggle getting into a top 20 program with a 161. I would do whatever possible to raise that score - even a 163 would help you significantly. I think Washington, Cornell, Brown and NYU are not realistic targets. If you improve your score to a 165, I think they could be in your "reach" list and schools like Florida and PSU could be targets.

Hey Nghi, Hope you are doing well in your search for post-bacc research positions! Your plan was almost exactly the same as mine when I graduated with a bachelor's in psychology in 2017 hoping to apply to PhD in clinical/counseling psychology one or two years after working in a full-time research position. I do not mean to discourage you, but I would want you to know that you are not alone if the job application process gets rough. I, too, am an international student on F-1 visa, and I found the job application process extremely frustrating because of visa issues. My OPT lasted for one year, but most labs would prefer hiring someone who would stay for two years. I got very close to landing a few positions, but the labs were not allowed to hire me because HR refused to apply for H1b for me. I sincerely hope that you will have an easier time getting a job, but I would recommend having a plan B of applying to master's programs that helps for future PhD applications in addition to applying to PhD programs if getting a post-bacc position is not a viable option.

I believe Berkeley's is in the school of public health, but heavily associated with the statistics department. The only well-known department I know of that is not in a SPH is Penn, which is located in their school of medicine.

Yes, I would also say that it's very possible to get an industry job without any internship experience at all. There are graduates from my PhD program who got jobs at Amazon, JP Morgan, etc. without any internships. If you are leaning towards industry, it might still be beneficial to do one the summer before graduating though.

Also, a lot of internships only want people who are farther along in their studies so you don't even have the opportunity to do them every summer. I agree with above that 1 internship is common, 0 is also common. But I know people who have done 2 or 3 as well and if your advisor is supportive, it can be done.

@erebuni2 welcome to the Grad Cafe. You may have better luck finding answers that will help you get to where you want to go if you search in the History forum. https://forum.thegradcafe.com/search/?q=writing sample&type=forums_topic&nodes=38

Yes, I didn't mean to sound so heavy-handed. It's hard to give detailed advice on every single choice when the list is not in the order of difficulty. I don't think OP will get into Chicago or Columbia, but I could see them getting into Duke or Michigan or even JHU. I just think they should mainly be targeting those other schools and consider schools like Duke to be on the reach end.

Update: You were right! I only emailed 1 school, but it actually worked and they were very kind to my plight. Now I'm eager to apply there.

Hi all. I see at least some of you are interested in social cognition and/or emotion. If you have any applied interest at all, you may want to look beyond social psych programs into Ed Psych or Learning Sciences programs. Lots of work in social cognition in that field. Best of luck on your applications!

Get started as early as possible, ESPECIALLY asking your LOR writers. I waited too long and had wicked anxiety waiting for them to submit their letters. One person actually submitted a couple weeks late. Fortunately it didn't affect my application, since it was still winter break and they weren't reviewing apps yet, but it was kind of horrible! There are only so many polite follow-up emails you can send (and have ignored) without going kind of nuts. I would ask at least two months before the deadline to be safe.

Hi everyone! I just stumbled upon this website at precisely the right time. I am planning to apply for a PhD English program for Fall 2020. I am a postcolonialist with a specific interest in Caribbean literature and attitudes to language. Some other interests of mine include south east Asian literature, African literature, black diaspora writings and early modern drama. I have been researching programs I want to apply to non-stop and every time I feel as if I have my list confirmed, I find something that deters me from at least one program. Currently I am constructing my SoP, and for my writing sample, I will pare down my masters thesis, which thankfully aligns with my sub-field interest perfectly. I am super nervous about the entire process, and since I would be an international student planning on studying in the US, it adds another layer of complexity and anxiety. I decided to ditch the GRE altogether since I can't do it in the country I live in, and to do it would not only mean paying the GRE fee, but also traveling to another country, buying test prep materials etc.; it would be a mounting cost. Instead, I chose programs from the growing list of those not requiring GRE, which is currently a small pool (although more have dropped their requirements within the past month or two). I hope more schools revise their requirements by the time applications open for Fall 2020 in September, but I'm not holding my breath. Anyway, I just wanted to introduce myself. It's exciting, but kinda tragic seeing people as freaked out as I am (group hug?). I decided to take a break from the increasingly desperate research process and read The Witcher book series. Thus far, it has been successful in distracting me. Good to meet everyone!

Hey all -- current UT Austin PhD candidate writing, to say that if you have any questions about UT's program vis-a-vis your interests, feel free to PM me! Happy to answer questions about the department and program as a whole.

I did this basically; the key thing is also finding (when you get there, or before) some more senior people who can be co-mentors. It goes a long way when applying for training grants, papers, etc.

It's been awhile since I've chimed in, but here's some insight since I have colleague who I met here on GradCafe who was in a similar situation as you (Canadian in the UK). Your CV is stellar and you have substantial experience that will make prospective supervisors very interested, particularly if you want to pursue the same line of work/research that you are currently devoting your time on. GPA-wise, you should determine whether your current transcripts meet the cutoffs. For most Canadian schools, we are looking at A- in the last two years. If you did well in your last year of undergrad, you may already meet this cutoff. Admissions with a Masters may also change the way each program determines your eligibility. Two other questions for you to ponder: 1) Where do you want to practice? Each country has their own judicial system for their psychologists and mental health professionals. You're right that terminal Master clinicians are far and few between in Canada (though there is that current debate about what psychologist refers to, especially in Ontario). If you're Canadian, you may also be thinking about returning home after studying and working abroad. If you're set on clinical practice, completing a program in the UK may not give you the same abilities to practice in Canada and will be a huge time commitment if you choose to return to Canada for a MA/PhD after a more advanced program in the UK. 2) Will you be able to access the same type of research or line of work in Canada? Are there programs/clinical researchers that you know you would apply to here in Canada? It sounds like you're quite passionate about the area of focus you are in, so you may want to do a little bit of research to see if this is something you can continue pursuing in any of the accredited clinical programs in Canada.

Hi everyone - having mulled this idea over for years, the time has finally arrived to join the applicants thread! Happy to meet you all (and to have finally decided to do this - my friends and family are relieved that I've finally decided to do the thing they've known I was going to do for years). I'm a British Romanticist a year out from a MFA in Fiction, in my thirties, currently freelancing and traveling as well as finishing a manuscript. I'm in the weeds of a huge critical review to try to see where my place is in the period's present state of scholarship and hone down my interests. My interests right now are allegory, the ethics of the sublime, and comparing philosophy of mind and consciousness studies with the Romantic project. They need some reigning in, to say the least. I've decided not to use any of my lit papers as samples since my best work was on Wilde, Pater, and Arnold and not my time period/focus, so I will probably try to submit that as some kind of paper somewhere, and, I don't know, try to write something new about Shelley or Hazlitt or something. I completed the Lit GRE and got an Acceptable Score (90%) and need to retackle that completely stupid general GRE monster, which, in the face of all of this scholarship to read, I'm zero percent motivated to do, but c'est la vie.

There will likely be a different admissions committee this year, and your application will be read in a new context — maybe they offered places to 6 Americanists and all of them accepted, in which case they might be offering a smaller number of Americanist spots this year, etc etc. My advice would be to get in touch with the prospective advisors who accepted you and to explain the situation—otherwise it’s going to be very strange for them to have your application re-appear on their desk. Professors are just humans and will understand (and if they don’t that might be a red flag anyway). As for recommendations I’d stick with what you had, unless your relationship with any of the recommenders has changed, or you’ve added anything significant to your CV. Good luck!

Good luck to you all! So many memories, so many tears; I miss it in some sick way.

About your dog: I think that depends entirely on you and your program. I am in a social science program where the majority of my analysis and writing can be done from home, and I prefer to work from home or from a library (as opposed to my cube in the windowless cube farm). When I was taking classes I was generally there from 9-6 or so, but now that my coursework is finished I am rarely at the school itself. I go for meetings, seminars, interesting kinds of things and I do most of my work remotely. My time is verrry flexible, and if my building didn't prohibit it I would get a dog in a heartbeat. Another thing to keep in mind: a dog can be a great comfort when you're all stressed out over graduate school. Advice? Age: -Don't feel like you have nothing to offer just because you are younger. I was 22 when I started graduate school. You got accepted to the program for a reason, and chances are you are just as equipped as any older students are to successfully complete the program, just in a different way. -Your older classmates may be just as terrified as you. Talk to them. You have a lot in common. You are, after all, in the same place. -You will feel like an imposter, like you don't belong, or like you are constantly behind. Or all three. It's normal. It will pass. (Well, sort of.) People of all ages go through this. Adviser related: -If you are lucky enough to get both research interest fit and personality fit perfect, congratulations! But sometimes, personality fit is more important than research interest fit as long as the research isn't too different. A great adviser is interested in your career development, likes you as a person, advocates for you, and wants to hear your ideas. Even if his or her research is quite different from yours, they may give you the autonomy to work on your own projects and just supervise you. A bad personality fit will drive you nuts, even if you love his or her research. Consider that when evaluating your adviser fit. (This will vary by field: research fit may be less important in the humanities, more important in the natural and physical sciences. Social sciences are somewhere in-between.) -Don't be afraid to be straight up blunt with your adviser when it comes to asking about your progress. Ask if you are where you should be both academic program wise and getting-a-job-after-this-mess-wise. -Be proactive. Advisers love when you draw up an agenda for your one-on-one meetings, come with talking points and progress to share, have concrete questions to ask, and have overall shown that you have been thoughtful and taken control of your own program. Of course, this won't immediately come easily to you, but in time you will work up to it. Every semester I type up my semester goals, and at the beginning of the year I type up annual goals. I show them to my adviser and we talk about whether they are too ambitious, or whether I need to revise them, and how I can meet them. -Don't expect your adviser to actually know what courses you have to take to graduate. They will know about comprehensive exams and the dissertation, but a lot of professors don't really keep up with the course requirements, especially if their program is in flux. Get you a student handbook, and find out what you need to take. Map it out in a grid, and check off things when you finish them. Show this to your adviser every semester. You may have to explain how such and such class fills a requirement. -Nobody loves you as much as you, except your mother. Keep this in mind as you take in advice from all sources, including your adviser. Your adviser is there to guide you, but that doesn't mean you have to do everything he says. Studying: -You will have to read more than you ever did before, in less time than you ever have before, and you will be expected to retain more than you ever have before. The way that you studied in undergrad may need some tweaking. Be prepared for this. -Corollary: you may find that your methods change with age or interests or time. I preferred to study alone in college, but in grad school, I prefer to study in groups. It keeps me on task and the socialization keeps me motivated. You may find that you shift from being a more auditory learner to a visual learner or whatever. -You will feel behind at first. This is normal. -At some point you will realize that your professors don't actually expect you to read everything they assign you. This, of course, will vary by program, but there will be at least one class where the reading is actually impossible to do in one week. The point is to read enough that you know the major themes and can talk intelligently about them, and then pick some of the readings to really dig into and think more deeply about. -For most programs, don't worry so much about grades. If you stay on top of your work and do what you're supposed to, you will probably get an A. How much grades matter varies from program to program. In some programs, a B is a signal that you are not up to par, and more than a few Bs will warrant a discussion with your adviser or the DGS. My program isn't like that - A, B, it's all meaningless. My adviser doesn't even know what my grades are. But at almost all programs, a C means you need to retake the course, and two Cs means you have to convince the DGS not to kick you out. Extracurricular activity: What's that? No, seriously: -A lot of your time will be unstructured. You will have coursework, but most grad classes meet once a week for two hours and you may have three classes. You may have meetings with your adviser every so often and some seminars or things to catch (like we have grand rounds and colloquia that are required), but a lot of time will be unstructured. However, since you have so much more work than you had in undergrad, you actually will have less free time than you had in undergrad. This may initially cause you great anxiety. It did for me. Some people love unstructured time, though. (I don't.) -Because of this, you'll have to be planful about your non-grad school related stuff. -TAKE TIME OFF. DO it. It's important for your mental health. However you do it doesn't matter. Some people work it like a 9-5 job. Some people take a day off per week (me) and maybe a few hours spread across the week. Some people work half days 7 days a week. However you do it, there needs to be a time when you say "f this, I'm going to the movies." -Find your happy place, something that keeps you the you you were when you came in. I love working out. It gives me energy and I feel good. I stay healthy. I also love reading fiction, so sometimes I just curl up with a good book, work be damned. You have to give yourself permission to not think about work, at least for a couple of hours a week. You may also discover new hobbies! (I never worked out before I came to graduate school.) -Your work will creep into all aspects of your life, if you let it. This is why I hate unstructured time. You will feel guilty for not doing something, because in graduate school, there is ALWAYS something you can do. ALWAYS. But since there will always be more work, there's no harm in putting it aside for tomorrow, as long as you don't have a deadline. -You may need to reach outside of your cohort for a social life. None of my close friends are in my doctoral cohort. I've met master's students in my program, master's students in other programs, and I know a few non-graduate students I hang out with, too. Go to graduate student mixers. (If your university doesn't have any, organize some, if you like planning parties.) Join a student group that doesn't take up too much time. I had a doctoral acquaintance who kinda laughed at me because I joined some student groups other than the doctoral student one, and I was usually the only doctoral student in those groups, but I met some close friends (and future job contacts) and had a good time. -DO NOT FEEL GUILTY FOR WANTING A LIFE OUTSIDE OF GRADUATE SCHOOL. This is paramount. This is important. You are a well-rounded, complex, multifaceted human being. NEVER feel bad for this. Everybody wants some kind of life outside of work. Yes, you may loooove your field, but that doesn't mean you want to do it all day long. Some other doctoral students, and perhaps professors, may make you feel bad about this. Don't let them. Just smile and nod. Then disappear when you need to. Career: -This is job preparation. Remember that from Day One. Always be looking for ways to enhance your skills. Read job ads and find out what's hot in your field, what's necessary, what's in demand. For example, in my field statistics and methods are a hot commodity, and they're not a passing fad. I happen to really like statistics and methods, so I have pursued that as a concentration of mine. -Don't be afraid to take on volunteer work and part-time gigs that will give you skills that will be useful both inside academia and out, as long as it's not against your contract. Your adviser may be against it, but he doesn't have to know as long as it doesn't interfere with your work. -If you want to work outside of academia - if you are even *considering* the possibility - please please definitely do the above. Even if you aren't considering it, consider the possibility that you won't get a tenure-track job out the box and that you may need to support yourself doing something else for a while. You will have to prove to employers that you have developed usable, useful skills and this is one of the easiest ways to do it. But don't overdo it - get the degree done. -For more academic related ones - always look for opportunities to present and publish. Presentations look good on your CV. Publications look better. When you write seminar papers, wonder if you can publish them with some revision. Write your seminar papers on what you maybe think you may want to do your dissertation on. Even if you look at them three years later and think "these suck," you can at least glean some useful references and pieces from them. Discuss publication with your adviser early and often, and if you have the time and desire, seek out publication options with other professors and researchers. But if you commit to a project, COMMIT. You don't want to leave a bad impression. -If you can afford it, occasionally go to conferences even if you aren't presenting. You can network, and you can hear some interesting talks, and you may think about new directions for your own research. You can also meet people who may tell you about jobs, money, opportunities, etc. -Always try to get someone else to pay for conference travel before you come out of pocket. Including your adviser. Do not be shy about asking if he or she can pay. If he can't, he'll just say no. Usually the department has a travel fund for students, but often it's only if you are presenting. -If you are interested in academia, you should get some teaching experience. There are two traditional ways to do this: TAing a course, and teaching as a sole instructor. If you can help it, I wouldn't recommend doing a sole instructor position until you are finished with coursework. Teaching takes a LOT of time to do right. You should definitely TA at least one course, and probably a few different ones. But don't overdo it, if you can help it, because again, it takes a LOT of time. More than you expect at the outset. If you are in the humanities, I think sole instructor positions are very important for nabbing jobs so when you are in the exam/ABD phase, you may want to try at least one. If your own university has none, look at adjuncting for nearby colleges, including community colleges. (I would wager that the majority of natural science/physical science students, and most social science students, have never sole taught a class before they get an assistant professor job. At least, it's not that common n my field, which straddles the social and natural sciences.) -Always look for money. Money is awesome. If you can fund yourself you can do what you want, within reason. Your university will be thrilled, your adviser will be happy, and you can put it on your CV. It's win-win-win! Don't put yourself out of the running before anyone else has a chance to. Apply even if you think you won't get it or the odds are against you (they always are), as long as you are eligible. Apply often. Apply even if it's only $500. (That's conference travel!) Money begets money. The more awards you get, the more awards you will get. They will get bigger over time. If you are in the sciences and social sciences, you should get practice writing at least one grant. You don't have to write the whole thing, but at least get in on the process so that you can see how it's done. Grant-writing is very valuable both in and outside of graduate school. -Revise your CV every so often. Then look and decide what you want to add to it. Then go get that thing, so you can add it. -The career office at big universities is often not just for undergrads. I was surprised to learn that my career center offers help on CV organization and the academic job search, as well as alternative/non-academic career searches for doctoral students. In fact, there are two people whose sole purpose it is to help PhD students find nonacademic careers, and they both have PhDs. This will vary by university - some universities will have very little for grad students. Find out before you write the office off. -It's never too early to go to seminars/workshops like "the academic job search inside and out", "creating the perfect CV," "getting the job," etc. NEVER. Often the leader will share tips that are more aimed towards early graduate students, or tidbits that are kind of too late for more advanced students to take care of. This will also help you keep a pulse on what's hot in your field. It'll help you know what lines you need to add to your CV. And they're interesting. Other: -Decide ahead of time what you are NOT willing to sacrifice on the altar of academia. Then stick to it. I'm serious. If you decide that you do NOT want to sacrifice your relationship, don't. If it's your geographical mobility, don't. I mean, be realistic, and realize that there will always be trade-offs. But you have to think about what's important to you for your quality of life, and realize that there is always more to you than graduate school. -If you don't want to be a professor, do not feel guilty about this. At all. Zero. However, you will have to do things differently than most doctoral students. Your adviser will probably never have worked outside of the academy (although this may vary depending on the field) so he may or may not be able to help you. But you have a special mission to seek out the kinds of experiences that will help you find a non-academic job. Test the waters with your adviser before you tell him this. My adviser was quite amenable to it, but that's because I told him that my goal was to still do research and policy work in my field just not at a university, AND because it's quite common in my field for doctoral students to do non-academic work. If you're in a field where it's not common (or where your professors refuse to believe it's common, or it's not supposed to be common)…well, you may be a little more on your own. -Every so often, you will need to reflect on the reasons you came to graduate school. Sometimes, just sit and think quietly. Why are you doing this to yourself? Do you love your field? Do you need this degree to do what you want to do? Usually the answer is yes and yes, and usually you'll keep on trucking. But sometimes when the chips are down you will need to reevaluate why you put yourself through this in the first place. -To my great dismay, depression is quite common in doctoral students. Graduate work can be isolating and stressful. Luckily your health insurance usually includes counseling sessions. TAKE THEM if you need them. Do not be ashamed. You may be surprised with who else is getting them. (I found out that everyone in my cohort, including me, was getting mental health counseling at a certain point.) Exercise can help, as can taking that mental health day once a week and just chilling. Don't be surprised if you get the blues… -…but be self-aware and able to recognize when the depression is clouding your ability to function. Doctoral programs have a 50% attrition rate, and this is rarely because that 50% is less intelligent than, less motivated than, less driven than, or less ambitious than the other 50% that stays. Often they realize that they are ridiculously unhappy in the field, or that they don't need the degree anymore, or that they'd rather focus on other things in life, or their interests have changed. All of this is okay! -You will, at some point, be like "eff this, I'm leaving." I think almost every doctoral student has thought about dropping out and just kicking this all to the curb. You need to listen to yourself, and find out whether it is idle thought (nothing to worry about, very normal) or whether you are truly unhappy to the point that you need to leave. Counseling can help you figure this out. -Don't be afraid to take a semester or a year off if you need to. That's what leaves of absence are for. Lastly, and positively… …graduate school is great! Seriously, when else will you ever have the time to study what you want for hours on end, talk to just as interested others about it, and live in an intellectual community of scholars and intellectuals? And occasionally wake up at 11 am and go to the bank at 2 pm? Sometimes you will want to pull out all of your hair but most of the time, you will feel fulfilled and wonderfully encouraged and edified. So enjoy this time!