psychsquirrel

Hello! I just finished my second year of grad school at ASU and I absolutely love it! I personally live in a suburb about 30 minutes away from campus because I REALLY did not want to be near the undergrad scene, but friends that do live in Tempe suggest the west side of campus because it has more of a neighborhood feel. It also seems that south Tempe (near the Chandler border) is a nice area - you get the suburb feel but it's also quick to campus. With that being said, most people drive, and a good parking permit will run you $720 (SO WORTH IT to avoid the heat). Some use the lightrail system but it can be sketchy, especially for females. I personally have never heard of anyone experiencing anything on the lightrail, but there are a lot of homeless people that use it so people do feel a bit uncomfortable. 
The Tempe/Phoenix area is definitely not the coolest (ha) city that exists, but it's actually very up-and-coming so we get the benefit of cheaper cost of living AND fun restaurants and bars. I hope this is helpful - let me know if you have any other questions. Good luck!

I say don't email them--when I was applying last year, a big shot professor told me that emailing typically doesn't sway their decision either way. And I agree with you that it would seem like an afterthought. Good luck!

Here is what I asked my POI and some of her students. You might need different things:
-Could I start reading up on things and preparing studies in the summer?
-How long do people normally take in the program?
-Do students go to conferences often?
-How is the competition for external funding?
-What is your supervisory style? How often do you meet with your students?
-Do your students have a lot of projects at different stages, or do they usually work one at a time?
-How do your students balance TAing, classes, RAships, research, and potentially teaching/internships?
-I asked a bit about going into industry, as its pretty common in my program. I talked about it more with the students though. Sometimes you don't want to go down that road with your POI.
-Do you prefer your students to work on campus? What do they normally do? Do students talk about their work with each other to get feedback/new ideas?
If you're not sure yet, you could ask what research they are working on that isn't out yet, what they're planning to do, or if they want you to come up with your first few projects independently. You could ask about collaboration with people at different schools, within the school, between their students, or across departments.
I hope some of that helps. There's probably many more things I forgot!

I've been paging through this post since I was admitted in the spring and appreciate a lot of the suggestion!
I've moved into a radically new environment - from a small liberal arts college to a large state university, and from living in relatively rural areas to the sprawl zone of an enormous city. I live in a house with three other grad students. I'm just getting started here, but I have a few insights to share for those getting started in the future:
You'll have work/study space at school/in the lab, but you need dedicated study space at home - somewhere where you can leave yourself notes, have things organized for what you need to work on next, keep books and papers. Somewhere that doesn't double as anything else. If I work in bed, then I tend to end up piling up my work on the floor when I go to bed, which then gets pushed around and covered up. Keep it in the right place. So - have a desk you like, that's comfortable, and that can hold your stuff. It doesn't need to be a massive computer desk with 80 cubby holes for everything under the sun, but it does need a drawer at least.
Get some sort of planner. Some of us like minimalism. Some people like a planner with lots of guidance - to do lists, goals, etc. Figure out what you like, or buy both. Spend time with schedule organization. If you use both a physical planner and an online calendar (Outlook, google) you might just end up being better organized by keeping both up to date. It forces you to look ahead at the calendar so that the other can be up-to-date too.
Give yourself some comfort. Do you like to cook? I do. I brought all my kitchen gear with me, including lugging a kitchenaid mixer I don't really need half way across the country. Because time-consuming things like baking, or making a really good meal, are great opportunities to let your brain process things and to think about things outside of the normal stress-and-work context. So I have all my weird kitchen utensils and ingredients and I cook and I think. And I end up with leftovers that save money. Snapware. Tupperware. Buy it. Have some other thing you like to do? Do it. And put it in your calendar and bring the stuff you need to do it with you.
Organization tools - Everyone manages their space in different ways, but if you can keep your space tidy and focused, you can have tidy and focused thoughts too. If your space is messy just because you don't have an efficient way of organizing it, get that efficient way! Get shelves, get a file cabinet, get little organization knicknacks. This stuff is cheap at goodwill. 
Stuff you like working with. An uncomfortable desk chair is going to kill your concentration. You don't need to spend a gazillion dollars to have a good chair, but don't settle for one that will make you not want to do work. Likewise, lighting that doesn't fatigue your eyes or cast weird shadows on your desk or workspace. Think about this stuff as you settle in and figure out what you need to change. Don't just get used to stuff that sucks! Buy notebooks that feel good to write in, and pens that don't hurt your hand. Some method of holding papers in your bag that doesn't leave them wrinkled or torn (story of my life).
There's enough misery involved in the amount of work required to get a graduate degree. Don't make more by refusing address other things that make you miserable. Ask yourself why you don't like, cooking, reading at home, showering, typing at your desk, being in the office. If it's caused by something you can change or work around, make it happen! Is it the noise? The light? The feel of the space or the objects you interact with? 
You're all awesome, super-smart people. We don't need to have a terrible time trying to do awesome, super-smart stuff. Make your space work, or find someone with better design sense to help!
Out.
 

I received an acceptance to Villanova a couple weeks ago, but funding info won't come until mid-March.

In choosing a program, trust your gut. It knows better than your head.

I'm surprised this thread hasn't taken off. I guess we're all still waiting to hear back from other schools.
I've been accepted to Mizzou's Clinical Psych PhD program. I'm really excited about it, but I have a couple more interviews for equally awesome programs. It's a relief to know that I can definitely be in school this fall.

Aside from the usual advice (study for GREs, get excellent grades, research experience, etc.), I think the component that is arguably the most important is: find a fantastic mentor (or two, as I did). I made sure to strategically seek out mentors (a few years ago) who would prepare me the best for the application process and graduate school. Without them I truly do not think I would have been admitted in my first round. Not only did my mentors provide me with invaluable research opportunities (conferences, posters, publications, amazing LORs, etc.), but also they really helped me through the application process. They helped me understand the process of choosing the right schools for me, they looked over my SOPs and scholarship proposals, and they gave me an incredible amount of moral support! 
Feel free to PM me if you want any other advice.  

I've been doing a bunch of googling and looking through threads on here, and this is the categorized list I've come up with that I plan to draw my questions from. (I might be over-thinking/over-preparing.)
 
Graduate Students
Research
What research are you working on? How quickly were you able to start your research?
Life/social
How much of a student community/social life is there (including within cohort)?
Is it an inclusive environment? Have there ever been problems with harassment?
Where do you (and students in general) live? How is living here?
What is the area around campus like? How are the housing options?
Is the university helpful with finding housing?
Is the stipend enough to live on?
Advisors
How is working with your advisor? (intentionally open-ended)
How would you describe your PI's advising style? (hands on/closely supervised or hands off/independent)
What strategies have worked well to maintain a successful relationship with your advisor?
How available is your supervisor? How frequently do you meet with your advisor?
Does your supervisor support support interest in a career outside academia?
How regularly/quickly does your advisor publish?
Would you choose this advisor if you were doing it over?
Program/University
What do you think of the program? Biggest pros and cons?
How easy/hard is it to customize the program? (i.e., taking different courses)
What do you think of the courses? Useful content, well taught, relevant to your research/goals?
How big is the program?
What would you change about the program?
Does the environment feel more collaborative or competitive? Are students generally collaborative or competitive?
How easy/difficult was the process of joining a lab?
What are responsibilities of TAs like? What is the workload/time commitment? How many terms do you TA?
Group/lab
How would you describe the lab group? (Intentionally open-ended)
What is the culture in the lab? How much time are you expected to spend in the lab?
What kind of schedule do you work?
How much collaboration is there within the lab?
Other
Are you happy here?
What do you wish you had taken into consideration when making your decision about where to attend?
Who is on your committee and why?
Do you get to attend conferences?
How is it being a female in this generally male-dominated department/university/field?
Professors & Potential Advisors
Students
Do students create their own projects or work on something already developed/in progress?
What are the expectations for a graduate student in your lab? (i.e., working from home, fixed hours)
What advice would you give to a student who wants to be successful in your program? Are there any specific pitfalls to be avoided?
How much do students RA vs TA? What is the funding structure/guarantee for students?
How often do you sent students to conferences?
How long do students in your lab take to complete?
What do students from your lab typically do after graduation?
Research
I hear you study X. I've only studied a little bit of that so far, but I remember learning about Y. Can you tell me a little bit about your work?
What are your current projects?
What research projects do you have that would be looking for graduate students?
What directions or projects are you thinking about for the future?
University
What is the big picture/goal/focus/priority of the department?
What's the biggest strength of the program?
What professional development services are available?
How/when are students paired with advisors?
What percentage of students complete the PhD? Pass quals?
What are responsibilities of TAs like?
Would any of my master's coursework transfer?
Other
How is your lab organized?
What collaboration goes on? Within/between labs, departments, other schools?
How would you compare this program to X and Y?
Is there funding available for attending things like conferences or summer schools?
Do you have lab/group meetings? What do you discuss? (papers, research in progress)

If there's one word I could come up with that includes basically everything, it's preparation. Preparation, preparation, preparation. Prepare applications early! Prepare for interviews by coming up with sample questions/responses, reviewing the program, figuring out what you're going to wear, getting enough sleep, a good breakfast, exercise, coming up with LOTS of good questions to ask current students and faculty, etc...Start preparing for GRE and/or subject test early. It took me literally a year to apply to 8 programs, go through interviews, and get accepted into a program. Lots and lots of work. If I hadn't started preparing so early I'm not sure if I would have come out alive. Good luck at your interview!

I'm in the same position you are, having been admitted to four programs but only seriously considering two. Being a fan of tables, I made a pro-con chart that considers:
location, including distance from friends/family cost of living availability/cost of housing near campus program ranking school ranking outcomes of conversations with current students how well advisors' methods match my research interests my impression of how well-defined and cumulative the advisors' lines of research are advisors' years of experience, number of publications/citations number of students advisor has had in the past, including their outcomes (types of institutions they end up at, # of publications / year, # citations / year after graduation) funding my impression of advisors' personalities overall culture of the program With that chart in hand, what was a difficult and anxious decision now seems obvious!

I would send your POI the actual offer details with the funding amount (perhaps the actual letter as an attachment?) This is what my MA advisor told me to do with my offers when applying to PhD programs. Make sure you tell the POI that although you have a funded offer at another school, you are more excited about the program at their school and prefer it over the other school. You can even say "I plan to seriously consider every funded offer I get, but currently your school is at the very top of my list." That way, you still give yourself room to choose anywhere. This might incentivize your POI to make sure the school extends an offer to you sooner rather than later so they can lure you away from the other program.

Although my SO has not been accepted yet, he received interview invites to his top three programs with a less than stellar quant. score (32nd). This whole process has the "right place at the right time" or "right program at the right time" vibe about it.
These application cycles are brutal, and although I would never encourage someone to give up on their dream, I completely understand where you are coming from. I know that my SO and I were (jokingly, but not really) planning out our Plan B, which included moving to the Netherlands and never looking back, and definitely not going thru another application cycle. Anyways, if this is something you really want, keep trying because it is possible to get in somewhere (or at least get an interview somewhere), with a low quant. score. I wish you the best of luck wherever life takes you

We recently had interview day at my program. After the day ended, we met with all the faculty members and were asked to briefly provide our thoughts and any potential red flags we noticed about applicants. Feedback included social awkwardness, being under dressed, saying judgmental things, asking great questions, being personable, having admitted to not being interested in research, being (un)able to coherently discuss their research interests, (not) being a good fit, etc.
No matter how casual your interactions with current graduate students may seem, remain professional; the faculty will likely ask for their input on you. The moment you step on campus, act as though you are being interviewed the entire time. If you are staying with a current grad student, the same advice follows. Don't say anything to anyone that you wouldn't say to a faculty member. I know of several instances where students or staff affiliated with a program told faculty about unfavorable things applicants said/did, which resulted in rejections (admitting to not liking research, fighting over where to sleep at a grad student's apartment, being mean to a secretary, etc).

I have yet to get any official acceptance letters, but I've been "recommended for admission" at one university, which basically means I will be getting an admission letter any day now because recommendations are never turned down by the dean. Then, at another university my POI said that "as far as he's concerned, I'm admitted," but it won't be official until after the departmental meeting next month. Then, at the end of my most recent interview weekend I was told that I will "probably" be offered admission.
What has struck me as surprising is that it seems like there will be no surprises in terms of where I get in. So far, all of the schools who intend to make an offer have either blantantly said it, or they've hinted at such.
Before, I just imagined this cinematic moment where I open my email and, to my surprise, I've been admitted somewhere. But, it seems like that likely won't be the case. If I get an admission offer from any of the schools I've interviewed with thus far, it won't be a surprise (except for the program that said I'd "probably" be accepted). Of course, I'll still be overwhelmed with happiness and excitement, but not surprise. 
Granted, this is all specific to my experiences. I am certain there are programs that do not inform applicants of their admission status until they are admitted. I'm sure many others here will have the cinematic moment I imagined! 

Hello fellow developmental psych students! I applied to 8 schools (a little over zealous). These include: Emory, Georgia State University, University of Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Boston University, University of Maryland, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, and University of Louisville. 
I have had a skype interview with University of Louisville and Emory. I am going to visit days for University of Tennessee, Emory, and Georgia State. 
So far I am feeling good about the process! It all seems to be happening so fast! To prep for them, I have just really chugged through my POI's publications, and what their current graduate students focus on. My mentor now told me that I need to be really well versed in the research that is being conducted in the lab I am an undergrad RA in. She said that the people you will be meeting with at an interview want to hear if you can talk about research in a way that makes sense. 
Good luck to everybody! 

One thing I have found helpful when talking to POIs is to ask more specific questions. Most people ask something along the lines of "what is your mentoring style?" But that is a very abstract question. I have found it helpful to ask specifics that tell you about their style (ex. How often do you meet with students? Do you take a hands on or off approach and does that change as students get further along in their time here? What is your approach to starting new projects?). This way you are sure to get answers that are relevant to your decision making. 

That is easier to say when you have systematically benefited from the privileges of being of a certain gender or race. By which I mean that the literature is very clear that, for example, first generation, low SES, and some minority students are at a disadvantage from their first day of college, which affects things like their GPA, their CV (unpaid internships or volunteer lab work are a financial impossibility for many), their summer opportunities (for example, being expected to come home in the summer to watch younger siblings rather than being able to pursue summer jobs or research assistant positions), and much, much more. As an example, not all institutions have similar research opportunities. Should we privilege those who went to schools that offer abundant research experiences for undergrads (integrating them into the class, requiring them for graduation) over those who do not? Without knowing where they went, that's precisely what would happen. Your (HistoryGypsy and TXInstrument11) idea would eliminate the ability of the admissions committee to consider such factors on the first pass. My guess is that this would actually lead to less diversity in graduate programs, which may very well be the goal of some.

Maybe unusual - but my main goals would be automation and transparency - making the selection more fair, speeding the process up, and saving uncompetitive applicants time & money. 
 
Integrate some kind of survey-esque/Qualtrics-like software that can quickly and neatly divide applicants based on the most relevant stats, such as GPA, GRE, and years of research experience [if most schools have this, they really have no excuse for their slowness]. If sub 3.5 GPAs don't cut the mustard and/or the university has strict GRE score requirements, auto-email all applicants fitting those criteria w/in a week of their submission with a short message explaining just why they were rejected so that they don't reapply next year.  (related to the above) Have such spoken and "unspoken" stats published on the admissions website. (related to the above) Release stats for the previous five years of admits.  If interviews are required, reject all applicants who are not invited to interview IMMEDIATELY. List whether or not faculty are seeking students on their webpages, preferably 2 month in advance of the application deadline. Indicate in instructions whether students should contact faculty or not; make it clear when individual faculty are responsible for accepting students [uT-Austin is, admittedly, very explicit on this front]. If I were a faculty member, have guidelines for exactly what I would want for a prospective to email me (CV + 1 page research statement, etc.) (related to above) Maintain a separate lab email for this purpose Expunge identifying information like name, race, gender, and undergrad/master's university from adcomm's first read-through materials. Add back in uni information and names only after top 5-10% are chosen based on CVs and SOPs. Publish this exact process as well as any other relevant procedures on the website.

This is the only time when I hate the weekends.  Finally Monday has come, yay!  

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I've had two interviews so far in this round of applications and both went very well, although I wasn't aware of that for the first one until I got an unofficial offer  It's easy to think they'll care as much as you about a certain thing you screwed up during the interview or about the fact you got nervous, but sometimes they saw it as just a minor detail and were happy with the other perks you showcased. 
Remind yourself that you're likely to be the most judgmental person about your own performance, so maybe it wasn't really that bad...don't read too much into it and just wait for the decisions - the fact you had an interview shows they were already interested.

Trying to contact the department at your school for transcripts:

 
Trying to contact your professor for LORs:

 
Trying to contact ETS about sending your GRE score reports:

The three stages of checking my email/GradCafe results:
 
9 AM, with coffee:

 
3 PM, after coffee has worn off:

 
10 PM, when coffee is not an option: