xolxs

I would say that the faculty are looking for the same things in their potential students, whether they are international or domestic. It seems that the interview largely serves as a way of determining fit, that is, does your personality mesh with your potential advisor's personality? Five+ years is a long time to work together, so you want to get along well. And that goes both ways, so you are evaluating the school/program as much as they are evaluating you. Otherwise, interview days give you an opportunity to get to see the school and the program, so it is tricky for international students who don't get to see the campus or meet with graduate students, etc. What I've seen for international students is that they do a skype or phone interview with the advisor they want to work with. Some schools might do it differently, but it's definitely a much abridged version of interview day. I would imagine that it is much harder to make a decision about a place you haven't seen, so I would encourage you to reach out to graduate students and talk with them via email or skype once you get an interview. Also, just as an FYI, for quant, domestic students are typically invited and the school pays for their travel and accommodations. This is a great question, don't feel like an idiot. I think the biggest pitfalls for interviews is not having strong responses for "why do you want a phd (in quant)?" and "why do you want to attend [program]?" Those questions should be easy to answer, but some interviewees are caught off guard and it can look kinda bad. Also be sure to have questions for the faculty. Basically, you have to show that you're interested in the program and that you're also trying to gauge your fit with the program. They usually want to extend offers to students who they think will accept. As far as faux pas (not sure plural for this)...one thing that occasionally comes up in psychology is applicants disclosing their own mental health struggles, either in personal statements or in interviews. I think that there is a way to broach this topic in a way that is okay, but I would generally steer clear of that unless you are asking about certain accommodations or resources. Otherwise it is the somewhat obvious things like don't say anything offensive or rude and try to seem confident without being arrogant. I honestly can't think of many instances of students doing things that automatically hurt their chances for getting an offer an an interview.

My response to this question will mostly echo MissData's response. Unlike other areas of psychology where an applicant is expected to know their interests, it is typical for quant students to not have a clear idea of what they want to do when they start in my program. Exposure to quant before graduate school is not always possible, and even if you have the technical background (e.g., math or stats major), you may not be aware of the research going on in quant specifically. Thus, it is not necessarily going to hurt you to not know this and you will likely see that other applicants are in the same situation. You're not going to be expected to come into the interview with a research project in mind or anything like that. At the same time, I think you need to be able to communicate that you have a reasonable grasp of 1. what quantitative psychologists do and 2. the research areas of the faculty at each school you apply to. As MissData mentioned, a defined interest is helpful for figuring out which programs and faculty to apply to and will give you talking points for your personal statement and interviews. So it may be best to try to get some sense of what research areas sound interesting to you, at least right now. Keep in mind that interests can and do change. I do think that it could potentially hurt your application if your interests come across as being very vague. I think MissData alluded to this in her personal story. Faculty may wonder whether you know enough about quantitative psychology to actually want to pursue it, or they may feel they can't gauge whether you'd fit well at that school. So the short answer is...it is ok to not know what your interests are, but you need to somehow communicate that you are aware of the possible research areas in quant and particularly the research of the faculty to which you are applying. This is a tough question. It is really hard to say how GRE scores factor into admission decisions. A 150 in writing is 48th percentile, so you are just around the average. Verbal ability is important to any academic field because you will have to write papers, and I've seen that psychology applicants tend to have higher verbal scores on average. It is possible that any concern about this score might be offset by a very strong personal statement, a transcript showing high scores in writing-related courses, and/or a referee addressing it and mentioning that you have strong writing skills. However, it is also possible that a faculty may wonder why your score isn't higher. I would consider a few things when thinking about whether to re-take the GRE: Do you have the time/resources to do so? Would preparing to re-take the GRE take a significant amount of time away from preparing your applications? If you can pull your score up, it might be worth it, but only if it will not require significant amounts of time. My opinion is that you should avoid neglecting your other application materials in order to focus on your GRE verbal score. I hope this helps!

Hello, I am a third year graduate student at UNC. I did my undergraduate degree at UNC in psychology and linguistics and it was there that I was lucky enough to be introduced to quantitative psychology. I then worked for a few years before applying to phd programs. I completed my MA in history quantitative and theoretical psychology at Simon Fraser University and then applied to schools again. I applied to 5 programs and received 4 offers. For the last year I have served as a pre-graduate school advisor and I have a strong interest in helping folks navigate through the application process. My interests in quant include measurement and analysis of longitudinal data. My substantive interests are relatively strong as well and include adolescent substance use and other topics in clinical psychology. I work with applied researchers and find their work to be a source of inspiration, but keep in mind that not all quant students are as interested in the content of psychology. I do not have a strong background in math and was worried at times that this would make it difficult for me to do meaningful work. I've found that this concern about knowing enough math or stats is a common source of anxiety for applicants and students in quant. While having a strong math and/or stats background is excellent preparation, my opinion is that you can absolutely be successful if you come to graduate school without it. As MathStat86 said, GradCafe was really helpful to me for learning more about quant and especially for connecting with other applicants. I like the GradCafe because you can hear the opinions/experiences other people have had about graduate school and the application process in an unfiltered way. That being said, you have to weigh the advice appropriately and that caution should be applied to anything I say here. I am only talking from my experience and observations and you may find your own experience to be quite different.

Hey folks, I found this thread and am in a similar situation, I'm hoping I can get some advice. I am done everything except my thesis at my MA program and begin a PhD program in August. Assuming that starting my PhD program is contingent on finishing my MA, and that I can enroll in two programs (checking now)... The main drawbacks of starting my PhD while still finishing my MA: 1. Money: my MA school tuition is cheap and they can pro-rate, and I have funding at PhD school and can live with my parents for a semester to save money, but these schools are literally thousands of miles apart, so it's an additional trip that I hadn't worked in. 2. Transitioning: I wanted a smooth transition from MA to PhD. I worry about having this "hanging over my head." 3. How others perceive me at new school: I don't want it to look like I don't have my priorities straight if I'm still finishing up a MA thesis at a different school. Just some other info: The program I'm in is not a terminal master's program, but there is a natural break between MA and PhD for situations where the fit is not good (which is my situation). Anyway, here are the drawbacks of not completing my MA: 1. Burning bridges: this is a huge one. I've been a productive student in some senses (10 presentations in 2 years, 1 pub), but my supervisor has not had many MA students and so I would feel like I was screwing them over. They don't have tenure so having a student not finish could be a bad thing. The field I'm in is small and I don't want to have bad blood. As I said, there has been a strain on our relationship, which is frustrating on one hand but understandable on the other. They felt like I screwed them over by leaving with my MA, so i can't imagine how they would take it if I just don't finish my MA. You might think "So what?" Well, they wrote me a letter that helped me get into arguably the best program for my specialization in North America and have been supportive. I think the only way to salvage the relationship if I didn't finish my MA would be to write up many manuscripts in the next year so that they can at least have some additional pubs on their CV. We have talked about continuing to work together and that is something I would like to do. I don't even know how I would prepare to tell my supervisor that I will not finish my thesis. They would probably try to talk me into finishing it. 2. Finishing things: I am already disappointed in myself for not finishing this summer. I think my project is an excellent idea and I've had a lot of hurdles (personal and otherwise) since I arrived here, so I'm trying to put it in perspective. I realize that it doesn't really matter in the long run if I don't get my MA here. I also realize that the project itself and the progress I've made is pretty impressive, finishing was a lofty goal to begin with (I didn't even start writing it until March). Plus, I've grown in so many ways that I don't see like "it is time wasted unless I get my MA." But yet, I had a goal and I want to stick to it. 3. Perception: being a "quitter," screwing over a fairly well-known figure in the field, etc. I think this won't matter, eventually...but ugh. Any thoughts are appreciated. I'm leaning heavily towards finishing, while realizing that this may not be the best decision long-term.

fast times

Good idea! Just to clarify, should we limit the posts to definitive rejections, or implied rejections?

Hey, have you heard anything from vanderbil I just heard from a current student that they sent their interviews out. Only two faculty seem to be taking students. I'm sort of bummed about it, but the faculty who I had the best fit with weren't taking students so I'm trying to not be too down. Good luck with the other schools. Also, did anyone else apply to Davis? I'm waiting to hear about interviews but I haven't received anything and they're supposed to go out by tomorrow so I'm getting nervous.

Hey, have you heard anything from vanderbilt?

I find the interview advice here: http://www.unc.edu/~mjp1970/Mitch's%20Grad%20School%20Advice.pdf to be helpful.

Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about a 3.5. I think GPA only really matters independently if it's quite low (3.2), or a perfect 4.0. Same goes for GRE, and you have a 170 in quant, so that will look good. Those sound like great letters and interests, too. IRT is so cool, right? And sure, feel free to PM me :). there are only like 4 people in quant so we must stick together!

haha, it was meant to be a compliment! How low was your GPA (if you feel like sharing)? Generally, it's not a dealbreaker (in quant) unless it's unaccounted for and/or your whole application package is weak. And how are your letters? I wish I had come on here in early November...it would have been nice to chat with someone else going through the process. I'm curious about how you framed your quant interests for your statement and whether you integrated anything about your philosophy background. I feel like a lot of quant people I've met are interested in philosophy, the two seem to go hand in hand. Yeah, so it looks like invites went out December 6th (a Friday) in 2013, and the 9th (Tuesday) last year as you said. It's very nerve-wracking. I'm trying to just BREATHE and not check my email excessively. Patrick is super nice and does great work. I'm glad you got a chance to correspond with him :). I talked with Notre Dame folks and they were so kind and helpful. When I met a current grad student at a conference, she spoke highly of the program. So that makes me very excited about ND. And yes, I'm definitely interested in longitudinal methodology. What are your interests?

Hey there, I'm interested in working with Curran, Bauer, or Bollen at UNC, and Wang or Cheng at ND. You may be aware of this, but UNC does admissions on a departmental basis. You are assigned a first year advisor, so you must have *some* interests in common, but it's not like the apprentice model that other programs have. What about you? I'm familiar with UNC, they have historically sent out invites before the end of December, so you are correct. Though we may be getting our info from the same source :p...did you look at the results search on gradcafe? The same is true for Vanderbilt in quant, though I see you're applying there for clinical and it is probably different for that program. I think your background in math and psych, plus your GRE scores, make you a competitive applicant. Did you email with any faculty before you applied?

I am . I'm a little nervous about my credentials, I'm currently in a MA program (second year) in quant, but my math background as far as coursework goes is sparse. I did calc in high school and then didn't do much math until discovering quant as a junior. I have the aptitude but I find university math classes intimidating because of the grades and the format, so I've audited some classes and done independent study. (Please excuse my casual tone in this comment, I prefer to write like I speak). Here's my history/stats -I did my undergrad at UNC-CH and got a BA in Psych and Linguistics. GPA: 3.59 -Worked as a data analyst for two years at a non-profit; was employee of the year (doesn't hurt to mention) -Currently in MA program and have focused on measurement and modelling, also individual differences. GPA: 4.28/4.33 -GRE (v/q/a): 163/163/5.5 -Posters/publications: 10 posters (7 first author), 1 publication. Notably, I presented a poster at the society of multivariate experimental psychology's annual conference, which is a rarity for a student who only has one year of grad school completed. Interests: Methodological: Longitudinal methods, measurement, psychometrics, modelling, statistical dependencies; substantive: substance abuse, mood and well-being So the million dollar question...where did I apply Completed: UC Davis, UNC, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame Will complete v soon: CUNY Graduate Center Other possibilities: UC Merced (They have a later deadline), University of New Mexico (in the Ed program). That's about it. I wish you all the best of luck. Tangent: There's this perception that getting into quantitative psychology programs is easier because there is a smaller applicant pool. While this is true, it does not mean it is easy by any means. It's not like a program will accept the best students in any given pool of applicants just to have new students. If there aren't promising applicants in the pool, they'll just accept 0 new students that year. This isn't really directed at ppl in this thread, but rather for posterity. Also, if you're a clinical person who is good at math and not totally completely 100% sure that you want/need to be a practitioner, consider quant. Especially if you're still in your undergrad. Clinical is insanely competitive. No, I mean I N S A N E L Y competitive. As in, more competitive than law school and med school. You might be exceptional, but unless you walk on water or have some other advantage/super power, you probably won't get in. One of my mentors from undergrad applied three times, they were able to get into UNC (and other excellent schools) after volunteering basically full time for two years in a clinical lab. I don't want to discount this individual's ambition, because that was certainly a factor. However, they were fortunate to be able to volunteer for two years to build up their resume. With quant, you will have the training to be able to do research in pretty much any area you want. You won't be a therapist though. It's just pretty hard to watch some bright and talented individuals get rejected from every school they apply to, knowing that their talents would be greatly appreciated in quant.

Hello, As the title says, I am an American student currently in my second semester of an MA program at a Canadian University. I've spent quite a lot of time looking for funding sources from either the US or Canada and find that I am often ineligible because of my international status. For example, I'm not eligible for NSF fellowships because I am not at an American university, and I am not eligible for Canadian tri council funding because I am not a permanent resident of Canada. I am hoping that there are others who have been in my situation and can offer some advice about what options I have. I have a fellowship and a grant from my school, but given the insane cost of living here, that ain't gonna cut it.

Quantitative psychology applicants: Is ASU done sending invites? I haven't seen anything in this thread and the only recent results on the board are for social psych.