ShiningInShadows

I officially entered my "post-late-20s" over a year ago. I'm in a slightly different position as I already have my Master's but it's still daunting to jump back into the academic fray. As others have said, it can be of benefit to be older and more mature, the big question I would ask is how much of your lifestyle are you willing to give up to do this?

Don't know how much later is later (haven't been on here in weeks), but one less I learned is have a copy of EVERYTHING! I remember when I had my defense, I had my powerpoint on a flash drive and no where else, and the night before I couldn't find the damn thing and was up unitl 4am remaking it from scratch!

While I agree with the majority of the replies on here, seeking out psychology "students" is probably as helpful as going on WebMD. You could get a mix of people on the verge of finishing their degree to the verge of starting their degree.

How you relate to other applicants is going to depend on who else is applying, not just the school. Maybe you should focus on yourself than getting in at all costs. If you aren't focusing on where you want to go with this then it's not going to do you much good, and it's pretty much guaranteed that if you interview some of the questions will be why you chose the school (more than a slam dunk admission) and why you want/what you want to do with your degree.

I usually do as little printing at home as possible. I often printed out things on campus the last time I was in grad school and for the last eight years or so I was able to do that at work instead. That being said I don't know what it will be like when I am back in school in the fall and I have a little ink jetter as a just-in-case that came free with my last laptop. I also have a printer/scanner with a broken printer part, but I'm debating getting rid of that for space. So my current setup is that I have three computers. I recently replaced my perpetually failing laptop with a windows tablet, I have a computer hooked up to my TV so I can just watch streaming shows instead of paying for cable and internet, and a desktop with two monitors. If that second monitor is for a separate computer (not sure if that's what you meant) then I'd make sure you have a home network set up, I find being able to transfer files between computers via my router makes things SOOOO much easier. Something else to consider, furniture. I built a BIG desk for myself a few years ago because I tend to spread out pretty wildly, but more broadly having a good, comfortable chair is very important for a home office in my opinion. It's a place where you could potentially spend a lot of time and it's easy to get distracted when you aren't comfortable.

I'm a little unclear as to what your goal is. Are you trying to get feedback about where to direct methodology improvement? I'm coming from a different field, granted, but when I put on a presentation the main focus is on telling people about work I (and my team) are doing; better yet, what is special about what I'm doing. On the other hand, if I went to a presentation and was asked about my opinions on an issue I'd fear that the presenter either didn't clearly understand what he or she was talking about or something to that effect. That being said, if I were in your shoes I would probably do one of two things. My preferred option would be to make a group exercise on the topic (methodology analysis) part of the presentation. It would be a way of eliciting some opinions but I personally would want to be confident that I was steering the ship. Also, I don't know how much time you have and this could get lengthy and it might skew to foci of the presentation if not originally a focus. The other option is to propose a discussion group later in the conference or at a later date. At some larger conferences I've been at sometimes they have organized discussion groups to discuss research related issues, usually with one or two people leading the discussion but it's a more open format than one person giving a presentation and asking for that level of group involvement.

I would certainly be upset. I would suggest handling this Highlander style, there can be only one! All kidding aside, though, I don't know a lot about stipends yet but what I have been keeping in the back of my head is to focus on getting a grant after my first year to free up some more funds and to possibly relieve some of the expectations of work.

I seriously thought about applying to a school in NYC but even with a stipend I worried the cost of living would just be too high to be independent. Like Hopslam, I was enrolled fulltime in my Master's program and I've been working fulltime in a few different jobs since I was a senior in undergrad (and these jobs often ate up more than 40 hours a week). It's doable, but for me it meant giving up a fair chunk of my personal life (I tried going without sleep at one point to compensate, I don't recommend this). Fortunately the classes I took were primarily at night and most of the time I had flexibility with my job to balance my class schedule. I think I was taking around 4 or 5 classes a semester. I'll be the first person to say that this isn't for everyone, though. I tend to get annoyed when people complain about having to work and go to school but I tend to thrive on being busy.

How long from what? Finishing undergrad? If that's the case I'm WAAAAY over 3 years.

So now that I'm officially in, I'm trying to balance all the logistics of wrapping up projects at work, cutting my person budget by 80%, and moving to a new area with prepping for my program. One of the issues I have to tackle is getting syllabi from my Master's program which I finished back in 2008. Should I contact the departments secretary or the head of the department? There's been some major shake-ups in the faculty since I was there and I preferred to take classes with adjuncts in the first place so I'm worried about having to track down people for this. I've been told thus far that I need to get the sylalbi but any other factors related to successfully getting credit for previous grad work would be appreciated.

Don't mention it. It's been my experience that our neck of the field is wonderfully social and supportive (granted, I'm biased), probably because the issue we deal with are incredibly complicated and involve professional manipulators. I'm sorry I don't have more specific information but if there's anything I can do to help feel free to pm me.

Hmmm, admittedly he was not the POI I was in most contact with but he is the head of the dept there. I don't know if you are familiar with ATSA (Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers), but it's one of the major sex offender related organizations in North America. It's definitely geared towards offenders more than victims but you might want to check the conference information as there's often victim-related presentations. I get fulltext access to a number of journals that are commonly used by sex offender researchers and since I woke up early today I took a look at some people who have published in these journals, maybe there are some you haven't seen yet. Mary Koss, U of Arizona (a very good program to be in... this was my second choice school) Libby Ruch, U of Hawaii John Briere, U of Southern California Carol Jordan, U of Kentucky Joanne Muzak, U of Alberta Rebecca Campbell, Michigan State Univ Christina Hassija and Matt Gray, U of Wyoming E.S. Byers and Shannon Glenn, U of New Brunswick Sara Cottrill, Vanderbilt Univ Audrey Miller, Sam Houston State Univ Ian Handley, Montana State Univ Keith Markman, Ohio Univ-Athens Just a warning, most of these people/programs I'm not familiar with but they have all published within the last few years.

My specialization is in the treatment of sexual offenders, it's close but pretty apart but I can sympathize with trying to find POIs in this general area (I only applied to three schools myself because of this). Have you considered University of Nebraska-Lincoln? I applied there myself this year and David Hansen there does work with victims of sexual abuse and in my correspondence with him he was super nice. Not to be discouraging though, but have you considered widening the focus of your research interest some? I am pretty permanently connected to my current research team in New England as I've co-authored two manuals up here and even though I'm going to Tennessee to return to school, and in my preparations I had questions about how my ongoing connections and wrapping up projects would be impacted by being at a given school and my current supervisor cautioned me that having so much focus on my own projects might actually hurt me to some extent. I've come to terms that I will have several decades to work on my own projects and for now, as long as I'm in the right metaphorical church I can tolerate sitting in a different metaphorical pew for a bit.

This thread sure got a bump! After several years in the professional world, I think I would have a hard time wear jeans to class as a student let alone teaching. "Business casual" is my rule. I will often sport all-leather police-style boots (as long as they don't look sneaker-ish) and maybe.... MAYBE some dressier cargos, but I have a wide selection of slacks and button-ups for a reason.

I would have to disagree with that. Conditionally, of course. I know some branches of psychology require a doctoral degree, no ifs, ands, or buts. However, there are many jobs which you can do with a Master's degree. I've been working for almost five years with a Master's degree, and living quite comfortably at that (one of the biggest sacrifices of going back to school for me). I'd consider looking at what job options are available now that you'd be interested in doing later on that you could do with a Master's.

Sorry that no one has responded to your post yet. In case you haven't made your choice yet I hope this helps. School A seems like a better choice in terms of fit and the status of the program. I'm going to a relative new program but two-years-old seems a little too new to me; it doesn't sound like you are interested in clinical but on the chance you are a two-year-old program may not be accredited. And while connections with others are important, I imagine there'd be more opportunity to do that where ever you end up. For me, knowing how I would pay the bills and put gas in the car is just as important though. Certain parts of New England can have a ridiculous cost of living, and then there's the difference between rural and RURAL New England. With gas prices as they are, I wouldn't want to isolate myself too much on my stipend, even at $24k.

1) Research fit with 1 PI... I'm already working in a fairly tight specialization, which most schools only have 1 good fit to, and I plan to continue this route. 2) Funding... My girlfriend (possible future fiancée) will be moving with me but I keeping the lights on are very important! 3) Location... After living in New England for 4.5 years, I need to be someplace warmer!

I don't know much about literature degrees, but I grew up in Pennsylvania and my girlfriend lives literally within a mile of Dartmouth. I may not be able to speak to the programs, but I can say that culturally speaking Penn State is much, much more active (I've known many people who have gone there both as undergrads and grads) whereas Dartmouth is a much quieter area with fewer distractions/activities. Something to keep in mind, Hanover, NH and the surrounding towns are pretty isolated and the cost of living is quite high. I know a few Dartmouth students who have generous stipends but my girlfriend splits rent with four students in a house and she pays more than some houses we are looking at renting for ourselves when we relocate to Tennessee this fall.

Here is an example of update request I used: Good Morning Dr. So-and-so, I hope you are enjoying your (insert appropriate season)! It has been a while since we have corresponded, and I realize that doctoral interviews are likely (being planned or underway) but I sincerely hope that you and your department will continue to consider me as a candidate. Included in this e-mail I have attached a copy of my updated CV. Sincerely, You

I applied to three schools this year. #s 2 and 3 were more prestigious than my #1 choice. 2 and 3 rejected me early. #1 had late interviews. #1 sent out acceptances today, April 1, of which I received one! Suffice to say I was extremely happy with this news. One of the four people I told asked me if it was an April Fools joke. UGH.

As for a clinical masters, I've been out in the world with that for the last 5ish years. If your interest is in forensic psych (esp. prison treatment), most people have only a Masters degree, the same goes for many licensed mental health counselors. I currently am in Vermont, which actually does have a Masters level licensed psychologist option, and I think it's one of two states that does (I think the other one is Hawaii). Keep in mind, that there are many sub-psychologist jobs out there that require only a Masters degree. Two issues with that though: 1) They only require a Masters, today. Credentialling constantly gets tougher. 2) Every state will have differences in their Masters level license/certificate options. If you are as desperate to be out in the world working as I was several years ago, getting a Masters now will allow you to do so. This has the benefit of giving you a chance to get a general training and an opportunity to know what you want to specialize in more. My conundrum is that there's a definite ceiling to what you can do with a Masters degree, which is why I'm now pursuing a PhD (which I finally got accepted to this afternoon WOOT!!!).

"How often do applicants get rejected after an interview?" Very often. Consider the following simple formula: 1 - (# of positions available / # of interviewees) = Percent that aren't getting accepted. Assume all things being equal, this is the probability you won't get in during the first round of selections following an interview. Of course, all things are not equal, but it gets the point across, right?

I started doing homework in early summer to identify potentials. I based this mostly on papers I read which I found relevant, and looked into the authors working at universities. I started e-mailing in August and most didn't respond until I did a follow up in September.

I'm down to one school in the running, ironically my first choice is my last hope. I know they were supposed to make decisions last Friday, and at least two other people who interviewed are on here (based on the results search). I'm trying to think positively but part of me is figuring (catastrophizing) that I'll be shunted to the wait list. I keep checking to see if anyone posts on the results search... I think I'm developing OCD over that.

I can't even begin to imagine what applying to one school would feel like! My #3 was only a safety pick as it didn't really fit me all that well. On a side note, where do you feel you fall on the "value of experience" vs "being away from academia" continuum, as in what are they going to pay more attention to? I know in practice in my field experience is highly valued but I'm always fearful of how academia and practice don't always line up.