BeingThere

Read the other thread that asks (and answers) this same question.

Thanks for answering that, SuperiorDesign. Both of your research experiences sound much more sociological than psychological. Your experience creating performance assessments would be related to I/O. I am assuming they were fairly straightforward criterion measures, right? Have you read the research literature on performance measurement? If you have relevant experiences, lack of I/O coursework in your undergrad becomes less of an issue, but you should have a solid idea of what I/O is and what topics are considered I/O topics. (You may have this; I don't know.) If you have experience with statistical software on your job, that's a great plus. A master's program would give you a solid foundation in I/O topics and give you some good direction on specific topics you might want to research in a PhD program.

A master's would give you the opportunity to get some solid research experience (if you pick a good program) and would help you be sure that you want to continue on in I/O and that you really want to get a PhD. Lack of research experience, being five years out of school (what about letters of recommendation? what about the GRE?), and - I'm assuming - a lack of experience/knowledge about I/O practice: all these things are big obstacles to getting into a PhD program. I'm not saying they are deal-breakers. I'm just saying they are obstacles. Or maybe you work in the field? (You didn't say how you got interested in I/O.) Best of luck to you!

May I ask who your POI was at Purdue? (And congrats! I haven't heard back from anywhere yet. Though I ended up not applying to Purdue.)

I don't know whether this differs between subfields, but many programs I applied to had two professors that I would love to work with. I contacted both professors at each school to ask if they would be accepting students and briefly explained my interest in their research. Then I mentioned both in my statement of purpose. I did not frame it as "first choice" or "second choice." I stated why I was enthusiastic about the prospect of working with each, not giving preference to either one. I chose this way of handling it because both profs at each school had overlapping or related interests. I made the case that I have skills and knowledge that could contribute to either "lab" (in the context of my own research interests.) Because the topics are related, I was able to do this without sounding "wishy-washy" or undecided/uncommitted to my interests. Note: I haven't been accepted yet (I/O programs seem to start contacting applicants in mid-to-late-January) so I'm not claiming this is a successful way of handling it. It's simply the way I handled it. You may also want to keep in mind that you have a year to read more of each of these professors' work and you may find yourself eventually drawn much more to one or two of the four. Additionally, when you get to the point of contacting professors to ask if they are taking students, you may find that some of them will not be. This will further narrow the choices. A third consideration is that in this last year - given that you continue to do research - your interests may shift a little bit and you may find that you become less enthused about certain lines of inquiry and more enthused about others.

Up at the top of this page, you'll see some links (Forum, Members, Blogs, Chat, Results Search....). Click on Results Search and type in Psychology or whatever your subfield is and the list will populate with folks who have posted schools they've heard from. Of course this is just a subgroup of the people who are members of Thegradcafe.com. For more complete info on your programs you would have to contact them directly or see if they say on their website when they usually send out interview invites.

Have you checked the results board?

And thank you for bringing us back to square one. For myself, I think we've said anything useful that is to be said already. I wish you luck, PsychCT and hope schools will see your true aptitude despite your struggles with the GRE!

I think you have misunderstood my comments. And it seems you have not read the full thread. I'm sorry you had a bad experience with the GRE. I would not dispute the reality of test anxiety. I am not clear why you chose to quote my post; I would not - and have not - disputed anything you wrote. If you look back at my posts on this thread you will find a genuine attempt to get Canis to propose practical, reliable, valid alternatives to the GRE. We are all agreed the GRE is not perfect.

Yes, it would be strange to assume that. This is why propositions such as those are tested. With research. The kind that psychologists do. Sorry to leave you baffled. Perhaps you could consider broadening your education. Psychology is a fabulous field. And you must be interested in it, as you posted in a psychology forum.

Canis, you wrote: "My suggestion is to do what the schools in Europe, UK, and Canada do - make it like a job application. Ask for a statement, a research plan, a CV, and transcripts. Require students to get an advisor to agree to work with them before applying. And then judge the applications on their merits. . ." What "merits" do you refer to? How would you assess and rate these "merits"? How would you assess two competing CVs or transcripts or research plans? What rubric or rating system would you use? How would your proposed system eliminate or decrease bias? If we want to continue the trend of opening academia up to under-represented groups, then limiting bias in the selection process should be of great concern. Your system sounds a lot like the "good ol' boy" system. I am guessing you wouldn't want that. The solution you propose doesn't do anything to address the problems you've identified.

Hi Canis, I would be curious to know what content programs should measure when selecting students. I have read some articles giving a pretty decent r between GRE scores (general and subject GREs) and first year grad school performance. As someone who has a little bit of training in selection methods (through I/O and HR coursework), I think it's a good idea to base selection decisions on measures that can be standardized in order to limit selection bias. Using qualifications such as research experience, letters of recommendation, publications may all be a good idea, however, these can be unfairly distributed to the privileged in the same way access to preparation for the GRE is. Another consideration is the research that shows that GRE scores don't really increase all that much with prep courses (despite the advertising claims.) How about GPA? Would you also eliminate its use in selection decisions? GPA can be an unreliable tool to compare students across schools - and even within schools if two students took the same course from different professors. So how would you recommend that schools ensure that they are selecting the students with highest aptitude for success in their program? I don't mean to be argumentative. I really am interested in your plan.

^ I think by "residency" they mean something other than living in a dorm on campus or even in on-campus housing. "Residence" can also mean attending the campus in person and showing up, having an office with office hours, etc. Not necessarily sleeping on campus. As a grad student it is possible to work on your thesis or dissertation while even living in another city (or state). I would get clarity from the graduate school. A simple phone call could clear this up.

Maziana, that's good to know about Dr. Ryan. I had emailed her months ago asking if she'd be taking students and never heard back. But there is another professor I am also very excited about at MSU, so I didn't worry too much about it. I knew I would be applying there anyway. Sorry to hear about your trouble with your LORs, Roebuck. That would be very frustrating and anxiety provoking!

You will have to talk to people at the schools you plan to apply to. Due to the fact that you have research experience, period, and that you are considering master's programs, what you want to study might be more important than what you have studied. If research is your interest. If you don't want to do research and want an applied master's then there should not be a problem. Read the information provided on master's programs websites and talk to people at the programs you are interested in.

You have great GRE scores. (They are less than 5 years old, correct?) Your work experience sounds good. For master's programs maybe lack of research experience isn't a deal-breaker. PsyD sounds like a decent possibility with your stats. I find it interesting that you are considering I/O since your focus has been so heavily on client services in mental health and social services. I work in that field and the people who work even at the systems level usually have clinical degrees, not I/O degrees. An I/O masters may not get you where it sounds like you want to go. But maybe I'm not understanding what you mean by "systems level." If you mean social work at the macro level, then yeah, you probably don't need an I/O degree. I say go for it!

Lewin, I think you may have misunderstood what OP meant. I read it as him meaning that there are some "hardcore" OB topics, or some topics that are very traditionally OB. Not that gender/sexism research can't be hardcore.

I don't have expectations of hearing anything before mid-January (if last years results board is anything to go by), so I plan on having a nice, relaxing holiday season and working on other things. I check in here pretty regularly, but certainly don't expect to see results for I/O for another six weeks. I try not to concern myself with how the sausage is made, because that way lies the land of senseless anxiety.

I have read on some program websites that any research experience is considered. These programs state that they at least want to know a student understands what they are getting into with research. Of course, research experience in your topics of interest is probably better, but any research experience is better than no research experience at all. Can you do an independent research project in your area of interest or more closely related to it? Also think about how those "social" topics may be relevant to OB.

I like your optimism, SportPsych!

One of my statement prompts asked me to discuss strengths and weaknesses. My quant score is passable but not great (61st percentile) - and this is a school with a reputation for taking high quant scores. So I took a risk and mentioned that it wasn't as outstanding as my verbal score, and immediately followed that with mentioning my high grades in math and stats and my other stats-related experience/accomplishments. My gambit was that I was making the case that this apparent weakness is not necessarily a legitimate weakness. I debated about whether to mention it at all, but I figured this at least gave me a chance to address it in the light of other evidence of my math abilities. I ran it by my advisor and he agreed that it was a good way to handle it. I wanted to address every point on the prompt.

That does sound like a lot of work. So, hey, congratulations on all that work - along with your great score! I took the practice test from the ETS website, and I took the practice test out of the Kaplan book. I didn't study for this test b/c I felt that much of the material on the practice tests was still easy to recall. I got a 93rd percentile score. Could NOT, no matter how hard I tried, leave test questions unanswered on the actual test. So chances are that I lost some points doing that. So I would add to the OP's suggestions: 1) take some practice tests first to get a diagnostic on where you stand with material. 2) If you don't know the answer on the actual test and don't feel extremely lucky, leave it blank! I would also like to add that some programs do care about the Psych subject test. One program I'm applying to makes a point of saying that it is one of the key pieces of information they use to evaluate applicants.

Handmade cards. Good call, Gellert. Thanks!

I am wondering what would be appropriate as far as "thank you"s to my letter writers. I won't have these professors again for coursework at this point (although I will still work with one of them on research - but not for a grade), so I don't think there would be an ethical conflict if I gave a very small gesture of thanks to them for taking their time to write letters for me. Or should I wait until I graduate? Anybody have thoughts - or experience - on this?

Okay, I guess it's time to post the list. PhD programs I'm applying to (in no particular order): Michigan State Penn State Colorado State Rice University of Houston Wright State Central Michigan University of Minnesota Virginia Tech North Carolina State University of Akron Master's programs: Middle Tennessee State University Minnesota State University Good luck to everyone!!! I hope we can all have a relaxing and enjoyable holiday season/winter break until the decisions start rolling in.