MsDarjeeling

I set a time limit of an hour and force myself to take a 10-15 minute break then. I also don't study every day, 4-5 days a week is plenty. Working yourself until you reach burn out is not healthy and it won't help you perform well on the test. There is no way to know absolutely everything that will be on the test. All you can do is learn what you can, take a deep breath, and try your best.

I ran into this same problem when I got into my Master's program. It can be done in a year, but I knew that wouldn't be enough time to establish relationships with professors, gain research experience, or ask for LOR's. In my opinion a one year Master's program is great if you're staying at the same school you completed your undergrad. You already have ties to the faculty and getting LOR's isn't a problem. For those of us who chose to go elsewhere and make new contacts one year isn't sufficient time to do any of that. Knowing that I needed to use my time wisely and boost my PhD applications as much as possible I chose to incorporate additional course work (which is related to what I'll get my PhD in) and extend my program to 2 years. This worked because it wasn't until my second semester that I had an idea of which professors I liked and were conducting research that interested me. It also wasn't until then that any of them were willing to consider adding a new research assistant (me!) to the group they already had established relationships with. Plus I learned by happenstance that the majority of them won't write LOR's for students that only had classes with them. So basically you need to do research with them, do an internship with them, or have them supervise some other independent study before they're even willing to consider writing you an LOR. Other students in my program who stuck with the one year option ended up taking a year off after to maintain relationships with professors, conduct research, or do internships and then get LOR's. I think doing it this way is a little riskier because current students are prioritized over alums in many cases. I doubt PhD programs see this as a bad option though as long as you gained what you needed. OP, I don't know if either of these options will work for you. The only other thing I would suggest is reaching out to professors at the end of spring so the summer before you can get started doing research, interning, or being a ta for summer classes. You need to get your face in front of them as soon as possible and as often as possible if in October you're going to ask for LOR's and your program just started. Keep in mind they could still say no, so you'll need to have a back up plan of who will write them. Also be prepared to go into PhD interviews and be asked why none of your Master's level professors wrote an LOR for you.

I agree that the people who love grad school probably aren't sharing it with the internet world. There are plenty of people enjoying themselves, I know I am and I'm only in a Master's program. I also agree that liking research is important to survive most grad programs. And yes the job market is rough for people at all education levels, but it isn't impossible to land a good paying job. All the predictions about how people with Bachelor's degrees will end up starving and back home with their parents? Ok that may be true for some, but I know some who walked into jobs paying 40k+ a year with full benefits. No that isn't a ton of money, but for someone just starting out with little to no experience that's amazing. There are people on both sides of the spectrum. I think it is great that you're putting so much thought into this now because that will save you a lot of time and headache later. It also sounds like you're not sure what you want to do and that is ok. My suggestion would be to go into industry after you've finished your BSci. So what if the pay is that of someone without a degree, in this challenged economy that is far better than unemployment. What you'll gain other than your paycheck is exposure to career paths that exist in your field. From there you can start to determine what you like and don't like. Then you can look into Master's or PhD programs that will direct you along that path. If a Master's is where you go I think its best to try to work your way through. That way you can just take out loans for tuition/books to keep that balance low. There are more programs designed for working adults so this could be a viable option for you. You might get lucky and end up at a company that will help you pay for a Master's. Or you might learn about scholarship/grant opportunities to help you fund that degree. Or you might be accepted straight into a fully funded PhD program. Either way grad school isn't the place where you figure out what you want to do, its way to expensive for that. If you aren't sure (and thats ok many people aren't) go work for awhile until you figure it out.

Well then that covers *at least one* and it sounds like they can speak to your ability to handle graduate level work.

Well there isn't really a rule that says you can't have LOR's from undergrad if they can still speak to your experience and academic ability. However, I think it will look strange to adcom's if you've completed a Master's and not one of your LOR's is from one of those professors. If you performed well in classes, did research, interned, or whatever then there should be at least one that would be willing to write a positive LOR. If not then it leads to questions of.....why not? I understand the timing issue with those you're just now studying under, but what about ones you've had prior?

I'm not in an MSW program, but my school has a few counseling programs to lead to an MFT or LPC. The students I've talked to express that developing applied skills is more important, but there are still papers to do. In one class you might see anywhere from 2-4 response papers which are more relaxed because its opinion driven. Then there are usually 2 larger papers (think midterm and final) and they could be research based, program development based, or case analysis'.

Of the psychology programs I have reviewed that said "recommended" they explained that to mean not mandatory, as in "it is not something we will penalize you for and yes we happily admit students that didn't take it." However when probing further I learned that for students that did not have an undergrad degree in psychology or for students who did and had really low gpa's then "recommended" means more like "strongly encouraged, because we're not sure you have necessary foundation knowledge." I have my undergrad in psych with a good gpa and am earning a master's in psych with an even better gpa, so I've decided to skip the subject test. I thought the cons (the cost, limited test dates, yet another thing to study for, and I don't actually need it) outweighed the pros for me.

Quite a helpful link, thanks for sharing!

It depends on how the book will be used in the class and what has changed in the new edition. Asking the professor is a good idea. You can also see if your campus library or bookstore has both versions and review them to see. If say only one or two chapters are drastically different you can probably photocopy those. If the whole book has been completely overhauled then the new one will be better.

Of those 4 both A and D seem the most interesting to me. If you are a Canadian student then you probably shouldn't skip C though.

I think is a greater problem than whether you contact PI's or not. There may have been nothing wrong with your application last round and there simply just wasn't enough funding or it was difficult to choose between so many qualified applicants. So while it is perfectly ok to apply a 2nd time they're going to wonder what you've been doing with this year off. Surely you did something productive and relevant to your field that makes your application better this year.

I sometimes have a protein shake for breakfast or I'll swing by Jamba Juice for a smoothie, but that's it for my blended meals.

Yes I've heard that before, from my peers. Nice people, but not the experts on PhD programs lol. When I talked to PhD programs or professors what they've said is that there needs to be a strong link between the extra units and my future plans. If I took extra classes in medieval art when I want to be a Clinical Psychologist that makes no sense so yes it would be questioned. Now taking extra courses of research or on populations I intend to work with makes perfect sense and can be explained in a sentence or two of my SOP. Like you I will also have extra units, but they're all completely relevant to my future goals. Some PhD programs or professors might think this is odd or completely unacceptable, but guess what? I don't want to work with them. If they don't get that I willingly took on extra work to make myself better prepared for my future career then they aren't the kind of mentors I want.

I agree that a cv is probably a better fit for your applications. You can search the web for cv's of people in your field to get ideas for layout and content. The schools you intend to apply to may post the cv's of the professors and grad students in your field and those would also help you. If you're still in school the career center or your adviser might be able to assist you as well.

Can we really say there is a *normal* timeframe to finish a Master's anymore? With so many programs being part time, online only, aimed at working adults, etc there are a variety of timeframes for people to finish. There will always be people that finish in 1-2 years because they are able to devote all their time to it, have the funding, and are driven to do that. There will always be people that finish in 5+ years because their responsibilities differ, their funding may be limited, and regardless they're still driven to finish. There will always be people who finish somewhere in between. If YOU feel that adding an extra semester will allow you to complete your work thoroughly then do that. If you rush, don't get the results you want, and end up with subpar work then potential PI's at PhD programs will wonder why you were rushing. You can address the extra semester in your SOP by stating you wanted the quality of your work to be the best it could be and that would not have happened had you not added the extra time. My guess is the people who will judge your decision are more likely to be your peers. I just had a similar experience myself when chatting with a classmate in my Master's program. The program can be done in 3 semesters and several students have done that, graduated, and hope to go into PhD programs. She is doing that and was appalled to hear I'll be taking 5 semesters to finish. I extended my graduation date to add a certificate program, establish better relationships with professors, and to conduct research. For me that made perfect sense and I'm happy with my decision because I have more stuff to put on my cv, broader knowledge, and will have much better LORs. Since those are all positive gains I think potential PI's at PhD programs will see that favorably.

Did the schools you are applying to provide a prompt (this might be listed on their website or on the form they want used) for the LOR writers to address? If so then that is an excellent starting point. You can also contact them directly and inquire. I too have LORs from non-academics (and you're right they do need help because it isn't the same as a job reference) and what I did was give them a packet that included a quick fact sheet of my stats/goals/app deadlines/LOR instructions, resume/cv, and my sop. Then I actually scheduled a meeting with them, sat down and had a lengthy conversation about what I want to do, how my work with them fits into my big picture, what I need from them, and why I chose them to write an LOR. I also explain that the schools may have additional online forms and/or follow up questions that may come via phone or email. I want them to know exactly what they're getting into if they agree to help me. I also follow up with them periodically via email and phone to make sure they don't need additional information and to make sure they are doing it lol. Oh and of course thanking them profusely.

If you're already in a Master's program this is the kind of thing you should ask your professors. They should know plenty about publishing options in your field with or without conferences.

Did this feedback come from the clinical programs you were applying to? From undergrad professors helping you with your applications? From somewhere else? I'm asking for clarification as I too am applying to clinical programs and have gotten mixed feedback on the importance of the quant score.

By imposter syndrome do you mean reading your sop and feeling like everything is a cliche, like it doesn't sound like you, it all sounds fake? If so then I definitely get that as I'm in the process of doing my sop now. So here's how I'm handling it. I just sat down one day and wrote. I didn't delete anything. I wrote everything I thought needed to be said to answer each prompt and didn't worry about how it sounded, grammar, spelling, length, or imposter syndrome. I just wrote. Then when I literally had nothing else to say I saved it and ignored it for a week. Then I went back and read it, made a few edits, and played with the layout. I actually did a "save as" here so that I could see the differences between the two later. Then I ignored it for another week. I repeated this second step and did a new "save as." Next I'm taking it to one of my editors for review. I'll mention all of my concerns about how I think it sounds (horrible!) and what I'm aiming for. I know it is not a great piece of writing, but that's ok because it isn't finished yet. After I've had a few people review it and incorporated their feedback I'm sure it will be amazing.

I agree with the other responses. I would also add that sometimes a gap year or years may be the time when you figure out you don't want to go in a certain direction. Right after undergrad I was sure about my direction and then a few years in industry made me realize I hated it. Imagine if I hadn't taken that time off and had just gone straight to grad school. I'd have a fancy degree I couldn't stand to use and years of my life gone. I then took some time to explore a few other interests until I stumbled upon what I really wanted to do. Then I set out to boost my apps by obtaining additional training, getting more research experience, volunteering, etc. Not one bit of that is lazy. In fact I'm busier now than I ever was in undergrad and most of my time is spent on stuff related to my new career path. The bottom line is this. If YOU think a gap year is best, then do it and make a commitment to not be lazy. Create a task list of long term goals that you want to meet by the end of the year. Create monthly goals that are stepping stones to those long term goals. Create your own cheerleading squad (friends, family, classmates, etc) to keep you motivated. Be of service with AmeriCorps. Continue to do research. Boost your GRE score. Edit and re-edit your SOP until its amazing. Stay in touch with your LOR writers and network within your industry. The year will only be wasted if you choose to sit around on your rear, so don't.

When I write any papers for school or work I avoid using contractions because they are less formal in my opinion. I don't want them to get to know casual, super fun, laid back me. I want them to get to know serious professional destined to conduct and publish great research me. Emails, personal notes, etc I contract as much as I want =)

I'm not in math or stats, but have you tried contacting programs you're interested in to see if taking those courses would be appealing to them? Simply telling you that a lack of stats courses was not good is helpful, but not real specific since there are several courses to choose from.

I'm not in the same field as you, but I had the same thought in my own field (psychology). When I was researching how to improve my PhD applications a certificate was suggested as long as it 1) was graduate level, 2) was related to my research or clinical interests, and 3) I earned good grades. Certificates are at times viewed as minor/specializations and if chosen wisely that is just one more thing that makes you stand out from everyone else. If you aren't interested in going the Master's route a graduate level certificate can demonstrate your ability to handle more challenging work and it is much cheaper. Also because certificates often target people who are already professionals in a given field you may be able to find some that have courses in the evening or on the weekend.

I agree that you should use what is stated on your transcripts for consistency. If your transcripts list the new school name and new program name you could always use an asterisk/footnote to say formerly UNC School of Public Health and formerly Health Behavior and Health Education. Any further questions about it can be addressed in a cover letter or during the interview, but I doubt it'd be a huge deal. I imagine this sort of thing happens all the time as schools expand, shrink, get new owners, change academic directions, etc.