jakem

For professors, you need to ask them lots of questions about their research! Since this is the reason you are going to grad school, and the main thing you will be doing for 5 years, you need to seem very excited about their research. Things I asked on my interviews: "Where do you see the lab going in the next 5 years?" "What recent dissertations have come out of the lab?" "How do you view the process of picking a dissertation topic?"

I interviewed at UT for social a few weeks back! PM me if you want to talk

To the person accepted to Princeton a few weeks ago... are you Psychology or Neuroscience primary? PM me your POI?

I'm in social psych as well, and just finished going through the PhD interview circuit. There is a large push in the social psych world right now for increased focus on quantitative methods, including social network theory, advanced programming skills (R, MatLab), and advanced statistics. Even data normally thought of as "qualitative" (interviews, text) is being increasingly analyzed through quantitative means, as wacky as that is. I personally think this is a bad thing, and that dismissing qualitative data as "unscientific" misses a huge pool of valuable information. But anyways: if you really want to get into social psych, I'd get as much quantitative skills as possible. If you feel more drawn to qualitative methods, I'd take a look at cultural anthropology. There has been great qualitative research coming out of that discipline for decades.

I wouldn't count us out just yet! I've had 5 interviews so far, and one more left (late February), and only one acceptance. I've seen some people get offers 4-5 weeks after their interviews, so just keep waiting.

The way they calculate the grad school rankings is very straightforward. It is 100% based on the results of the "reputation surveys" they send out to academics across the country. So it's completely a measure of reputation, and nothing else. (see http://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/articles/2013/03/11/methodology-best-social-sciences-and-humanities-schools-rankings) And I disagree - a fancy name school in the academic job market can certainly ensure that your application is at least looked at. Beyond that though, it's not much help.

I found this while searching the depths of the internet... I was trying to see how a potential program's reputation has changed over time. Turns out MIT has hoarded all the old US News Psychology rankings since 2001. So you can see exactly how your program's reputation has changed over time! http://web.mit.edu/ir/rankings/USNews_Grad_Rankings_1994-2013.pdf (page 26, to be specific) Note: It's not complete, just has data for the top 30-ish programs. If you know a site that has more complete data, feel free to post it. Note 2: I know rankings aren't everything, and some people really dislike them. But reputation is still pretty important on the academic job market.

Which CUNY program did you apply to? The BASP or Critical Social? I was just at the BASP interview weekend last week.... they only had about 9 prospectives there. If you applied to that program, chances are you've been waitlisted/rejected.

I've gotten interview invites from both Princeton and UC Irvine so far. Both late January. I haven't heard anything from UNC yet though! Hopefully Quant is just really early. :/

So just as an update: I found out recently that I have an interview next month at Princeton University. Which is exciting! But I stand by my original statement. It'd be nice to go to a school like that, with great resources, blah blah, but it's not essential.

I submitted my (13) applications (Social Psychology PhD) a few days ago. I was about to start descending into a rabid mania of checking email every few seconds, but then I had a realization. When it really comes down to it, none of this matters. I mean, seriously. We're scientists here. Do we really think that going to school XYZ or ABC is going to make us a better thinker? A better planner? Give us special skills to make special science? It's all crazy, when you look at this process critically. You are you, no matter where you go or what you do. If you're going to do great science, you'll do it anywhere. Sure, a prestigious degree will help you get into more prestigious schools. But that's circular logic. None of it involves better science or a better, more peaceful planet. Prestige begets prestige. So until someone can get me a peer reviewed study that shows that world-changing science and GREs are statistically correlated, I'm simply going to throw up my hands and tell myself this is all a big joke, a game. A game I'll still dutifully play, mind you. But a game nonetheless.

Wow, people are getting acceptances already? I just submitted my applications a few days ago, and just in time for the December deadline. I've heard interviews were in January-February; I figured we wouldn't get emails until right around then. How fast do they go through these applications??

Not to be "that guy", but I'd like know what you guys think about stats and being realistic. My stats are below. I'd like to get into a top-30 school, if possible. Is this being realistic? GPA: 3.67 psychology GPA: 3.88 GREs: 165V, 165Q, 4.5W Psychology GRE: 700 research background: 3 labs, 4 presentations (2 national), 1 peer-reviewed journal article, 1 undergraduate journal article Thoughts?

I'm getting a little worried about my chances for a PhD program in social psychology. On paper, I think I'm a pretty good applicant. GREs 165-V, 165-Q, 4.5W, and a 3.65 GPA. I have a good amount of research experience, with two published papers (one peer-reviewed journal, one university undergraduate journal), multiple conference presentations (three national, one local), and strong letters of rec from 5 professors I know fairly well, some of whom are very well-known in their subfields. THE PROBLEM IS: none of this is related to social psychology at all. To be honest, I didn't realize until recently that social psych. was what really interested me. I had to try out a few clinical and behavioral labs before I came to that realization, so all my research is in clinical and behavioral analysis. I have letters of rec from biology professors, psychology professors, even a lit professor - just no social psychologists. To add to this, I'm not even a psychology major. I'm a double major in cognitive science and anthropology. Worst of all, I have no class experience in social psychology. TL;DR - Will schools shaft me because I so little experience in my subfield? Or will my extensive experience in general sciences and cultural studies (anthropology) be enough?

Hi, all. I'm a current undergraduate senior at the University of Georgia, graduating shortly. I eventually want a career in academia, so I know I need to get a PhD. I was planning on applying to social psychology PhD programs for the Fall 2014 season, but I've recently heard some advice that made me reconsider. Several senior professors have recently told me that they typically recommend students wait at least one year between completing their Bachelor's and starting a graduate program. This hit me totally by surprise, as I haven't even thought about this possibility. These professors explained that students that take time off are usually happier, more focused, and more lucid about exactly what they want in a graduate experience. For those that have gone straight into grad from undergrad, how has the experience been? Have you experience any burnout? Have you felt rushed or unprepared for the graduate life? For those that have taken some time off before grad school, what did you do drug this gap? How has this affected your career and mental outlook? Was the gap overall a positive experience?