Applemiu

Hi Vulpes, I completely agree with you. I think that your schedule sounds very reasonable and it is what we should all strive for, with proper organization and focus, considering maybe a couple of late evenings every week and a few weekends here and there when necessary (before exams, before grades are due, etc.). I did my undergrad at an elite program (top 15) and I can tell you that basically nobody puts in that kind of non-stop hours (like 9AM-10PM every day), unless maybe they all work from home? I doubt it. About half of the students get good TT jobs. My advice: get up early in the morning and dedicate a few hours every day to work/study/research only; no email, messages, browsing the internet etc. This will boost your productivity.

My advice is: apply. Maybe apply to just a few schools, but apply anyway. If you get in then, great! if you don't get in, it will be enormously useful the next time around. About research, I think that working with the Social Psych professor during the summer would be useful. Hope this helped!

To raise the quant scoe I recommend Magoosh, I really liked how you can customize the practice tests. My advice: set the timer at 30 minutes for 20 math questions.

Stanford is awesome. Have you visited it?

I think you are fine - just remember to apply to a wide range of program and diversify the rankings a bit (so if you apply to let's say, 7 programs, I would not choose them among the top 7 programs but the top 15). Good luck!

St. John is in Queens, a little bit far away from the city. I worked in a restaurant close to the university for almost a year. I don't know the area very well because I was just commuting to work everyday. That said, the prices will be lower than in other New York areas (because you are far from the city), so you might find something more affordable. My advice is to try to contact current graduate students at St. John (in your area or other areas, it doesn't really matter) and ask them about housing options and tips.

You can go into marketing or market research, HR, or also work in Higher ED as admission officer (usually the entry level position got Higher ED) and then advisor.

Sorry, I don't.

Are you attending St. John in Queens? You can find housing there that's more affordable than Manhattan, but you will also be far away from Manhattan.

I sent you a PM.

I know it's hard to wait but IMHO is better not to email POIs at this stage.

Nobody can answer a question formulated this way. You are asking people to predict your future. How can I know whether the U of Chicago "brand" will help you finding a job assuming that you do "decent" work? If you have the impression that graduates of the "Big Three" can get jobs no matter what, then it's the wrong impression. You should just look for a place where you have a good fit and that you are happy to attend. Then do your best work, and see what happens.

Sorry, I do not. But look at all the colleges in the CUNY system, some have masters in Neuroscience and some other in General Psychology. Once you get into a (relatively cheap) Master program in NYC you can also reach out to NYU, Columbia etc. to attend colloquia, volunteer, get connections...

Agree. Write to them and talk to them, you'll see you can get in.

Check this one too: http://qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/Psychology/Grad/masters/behav_neuro/index.html

Since you had already read and reviewed the letters, why not to waive the rights? Extra security check?

I disagree.

Your profile looks good to me, the only issue seems to be the Master's GPA. Maybe I would take out one "reach" and add one "hopeful".

I think what GeoDUDE! is trying to say is that you need a better, more positive attitude to succeed. Applying is hard, waiting is almost worse, and we all get disappointed when what we want does not come true. Many people are in the same situation. You applied to top programs, so getting in is very difficult, not just for you, for everybody. You need to look forward with a more positive outlook, rather than look back and count how much it costed you. Regarding the Masters, you can also find cheaper programs if you look at State School, for example Stony Brook. I would also look at City College in the CUNY system.

There is also a posting from the past application seasons though.

I would not do it, and I think that post describes a very uncommon situation.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but from the result page it looks like that the Princeton interview weekend is at the end of January. So if we haven't heard anything at this point, I would assume it is most likely a no. Most likely, not certainly.

Same here, and glad to hear I am not the only one.

You are perfectly right. What makes me upset is that the "follow your dream" advising policy could sometimes be motivated by convenience and profit. Students "following their dream" are happy, usually get good grades, graduate faster and get out of the way. The university gets the money. Who cares if the students can't find a job?

I believe that statistics (or computer science) is the answer. Don't be intimidated though. It is just that stats takes time. It is a great subject (I love it), but because of the way it has been developed historically, it is not intuitive. At all. You need to hang on in there for a while, then one day suddenly you'll see the beauty of it.