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Could you please tell me which MS you are come from?

I'm an International student and my English writing ability is not good... I never wrote English papers. When a POI asked me to give her a writing sample, I translated one of my papers into English. I spent a lot of time on it (it's 20+ pages), but I think it only showed to her that my writing ability is bad.. Maybe next time I should write a brief writing sample so that I can let someone help me revise it... But I am not sure what kind of articles I should submit. I think academic papers are always long.

But SOP is the article having been revised by other people... So I think SOP cannot show the real ability of a writer...

I know writing ability is extremely important to students in research oriented graduate programs and professors always think highly of it. But why many programs stated that they select candidates based on scores of V and Q? Why they don't mention AW? With 3.0 AW, I am worried if I can get admission, although my V and Q are good. It seems that different people have different opinions about the importance of AW....

Could you please tell me which CSU have you attended?

Thanks very much. These suggestions are really helpful. My past research experiences have nothing to do with the field I'd like to pursue in masters program. They just strengh my research skills and make me more familar with psychology research in general. So I only use this as a link between them and the reasons for pursuing graduate study: "With the accumulation of relevant experiences in psychology, many tentative ideas sparked in my mind, but I could not verify them due to the limitations of my current knowledge. I am looking forward to graduate education. " I'd like to know whether this link is too weak? The program is that my research experiences are not in the field I want to pursue.

A school describes the requirement for statement of purpose like this: Write a statement composed in your own words describing your career plans and the reasons you wish to pursue graduate study. I am wondering whether it is appropriate to spend nearly half of my SOP on describing my past research experiences. I am applying to masters programs. If I only keep the part relevant to the requirement, my essay would be very short. Thanks in advance for your help!

Anyone know these schools? such as Fullerton, Long Beach, Northridge... I read on their websites that the psychological research MA/MS programs in these schools have excellent record of placing graduates in top PhDs, like Yale, UCLA, Stanford..... a list including many top schools... Are the masters programs in these california state universities really so good that many students can get admission to top PhDs? I also noticed that almost all students enrolled last year in Fullerton are from universities at California. Whether it is very hard for International students to be admitted in these school? Thanks very much for your help.

When filling in a sheet required by the department, there is a blank like this: Special Skills Background (comp. programming, teaching/research experience, electronics): I am wondering if this is the right place I can describe my research experiences. In addition, is the employment blank the place I should describe work experiences, but not research experiences?

I'm a student from China. My SOP is for master in general/experimental psychology. My SOP has been resived by essayedge, but the editor made so few changes and she didn't purpose any useful advice. Thanks for your advice! Seeking a fulfilling and exciting life, I aim to pursue an academic career in psychology. In college, I acquired a broad knowledge scope of psychology. However, I gradually understood that I should not confine myself to or rehash the existing theories of others, but instead to further the current body of research and to make significant contribution to psychology. I therefore actively sought opportunities to participate in research in order to improve my research skills and broaden my perspective. As a sophomore at XX University, under the supervision of Prof. XX of the Psychology Department, I organized a research team and designed one of the chosen 2011 core projects that received fund from XX. In this project, we investigated peer relationships and maternal parenting style in children both in SOS children villages and in two parents families. This experience provided me with valuable opportunities to be closely involved in every step of psychology research. By the end of the project, I had developed from an amateur who merely had fiery passion for psychology, into a professional who could appreciate the beauty of psychology on a deeper level, and in a more scientific and systematic manner. The experience affirmed my aspiration to devote myself to psychology research. It also enabled me to learn how to cooperate with others as a team and to settle disputes timely and effectively. Our project eventually passed the final assessment of XX and now we are planning to publish our findings. To expand my research experience, I participated in a project investigating enterprise employees’ career resilience. I managed literature survey and data analysis under the supervision of Professor XX. He trusted my diligence and solid background in statistics. We developed a questionnaire of career resilience in the context of Chinese culture and conducted some empirical research using this questionnaire. From Dr. X as well as his graduates, I learned a lot about developing questionnaires and also improved my skills in operating statistical software applications. With the accumulation of relevant experiences in psychology, many tentative ideas sparked in my mind, but I could not verify them due to the limitations of my current knowledge. I am looking forward to graduate education. Conducting psychology research to find out the nature and principles behind people’s various behaviors is the most amazing cause I could undertake. I realize that the research field of psychology is vast, and I have interests in many research directions and topics. Accordingly, I have yet to decide on a specific research field on which to concentrate my academic efforts and wish to shape my interests through the general MA in psychology at XX University. The program’s strong emphasis on research and high-degree of individual attention from research-oriented psychologists constitute the most significant factors in my consideration. Both factors will enable me develop my interest areas and to lay a solid background in psychology for evolving into an elite PhD. Another appealing aspect of XX’s program involves the sizeable proportion of the faculty members conduct extensive research in the area of social and personality psychology. Research in this area is often grounded in effective measurement. Dr. A’s and Dr. B’s work on psychological measurement are closely related to my field of interest. I am also curious about why people with stable traits may change under different situations, which may fall within the category of their research interests. My interests in personality development may also correspond with those of Dr. B and I am fascinated by the future research direction Dr. B purposed in his articles. Additionally, I am also interested in the research directions of several other faculty members, and with my extensive interests, will cherish the opportunities for mentorship.

Thanks, your suggestions are really helpful! Most programs I apply adopt mentorship model, while I prefer to working with various faculty members to shape my interests... I guess I have understood how to mention research interests with the help of you guys!

I'll send emails for more information Describing how my research interests fit with those of the faculty is so difficult for me. When trying to mention their research in limited words, I often found their own summaries on the website is more useful, although they are usually fairly uncompleted...

Thanks for your advice. But I still have some puzzles. I read some articles of the faculty but I could not summarize exact themes of their work. Usually I found the themes they summarized are more applicable. If I have sent e-mail to one of the faculty asking whether he would recruite new candidates and got a affirmative reply, then is it impolite to send e-mails to others in the department? I want to mention 2 or 3 other persons since their research directions all interest me, but I'm not sure whether they will continue these directions and whether asking their future directions is suitable.

Thanks for your advice. I do apply to programs in which some faculty's research directions attract me and I'll only mention directions really fascinating me. What I feel confusing is the way to mention them. I do not hold certain interests, if I do, then I can seek connections with the faculty. But the fact is I can only read the website and some articles of the faculty and select from THEIR interests which I feel fascinating. And I dont know whether it is appropriate to do so...

I know I should tailor my interests to those of faculty. But to what extent is appropriate? I'm applying MA in general experimental psychology and not ensure as my interests. Is selecting research interests faculty listed in the website and writing them in my SOP suitable? Would it be regarded as artificial? And whether mentioning interests not holded by any of the faculty would be regarded as not fit? Thanks in advance for your help!

Thanks for your advice. I'm a student in China...Very few students in my university apply schools in America so I can hardly find people to review my CV. I'd like to show you when I finish, and I also plan to get it modified by a professional agency like resumeedge.

But the major and last two years are far more important than overall. I guess you have a good chance.

Yes! I'd like to show you when I finished it. I just begin to write it since the deadlines of programs I apply are late. I'll appreciate it if you could send me yours.

Thanks! I saw your CV. It is so unbelievable. Your 4.0 GPA, your experience, your research skills. I wonder how you can do it!

Thanks for your reply. There are other 5 authors followed my name in one of my articles. Should I include them all in the "references" part? Also, although a CV does not have a length maximum, I am worried about listing some experience being considered as irrelevant and hurt the effectiveness of my CV.

The sample for CV in the book "Insiders' guide to graduate programs in clinical and counseling psychology" raised some puzzles in my mind. First, should I list some irrelevant experience on CV? like university singers in the sample provided by the book,or a family tutor for a middle shool student? Second, is it necessary to include the "references" part? There are at least 6 people I mentioned in CV, list them all and their information will take up much space. Third, I participated in a students research trainning program and completed the research project. As the chargeman of my team I particapated in every step of our research. So how do I describe my duties? Listing all steps of a research seems lengthy. Thanks for your help!

And who can tell me what professional schools are?

Thanks, it's such a hard work... I have the 2012 edition of this book. There are 74 master programs in experiment psychology(general), and many programs in general psychology are as well research-oriented, and many programs aren't listed on it. Are the programs not in this book not so good?

I think this is a good idea as well. But for most of the programs, I cannot find their departments in the rankings.

Sorry i forgot to mention, I'll apply masters, and regard it as a step for applying phd in the future. I know the filters you talke about, but these will spend a lot of time.. it is impossible for me to investigate these kinds of information of each of these about 50-80 programs...how can i eliminate the majority of them so i can investigate their faculty interests, rate of publication,ect...