cy213

Hi everyone, I recently had an epiphany about wanting to switch my career to psychology, specifically developmental and/or social psychology. I am interested in obtaining a PhD in Psychology because I mainly want to teach and do research. However, I have a B.S. in Mathematics-Economics, so I have absolutely ZERO background in psychology. I don't know if I should get a 2nd bachelor's degree, do a post bacc, get a master's, or study psychology on my own somehow and jump straight to getting a PhD even though I have no knowledge in psychology. Also, I am already in debt from my undergrad, so I really, really would prefer it if I can avoid getting a 2nd bachelor's as much as possible since it would be a lot harder to get financial aid (grants and scholarships). I would just really like some feedback on what I should do, because I am honestly very lost right now. Thanks all.

Justsomeguy, where else did you get admitted if you don't mind me asking?

Great feedback guys! I think I'll stay on the waitlist and see if I get into Harris, but I'm going to treat it as if I didn't get in at all. I thought about reapplying next year, but you're right, chocolate and uncgrad. I already feel like one year is not enough time to make a huge difference on my application. I think I'll wait for fall 2016... We'll see. Thanks guys! Hopefully I do get into Harris though. The application process is just so horrible to redo everything.

Hi everyone, UC Berkeley Goldman was my dream school, but I got rejected. However, one of my top choices, University of Chicago Harris wait listed me. After looking at the tuition/fees/costs for UChicago, I am debating whether I should try for Goldman again next year (especially since it is so much cheaper) or try to take my name off the wait list and try to get accepted to Chicago. UC Berkeley Goldman costs roughly $12k per year according to their website, and University of Chicago Harris costs roughly $60k per year according to their website. Does anyone know a comparison between the Goldman and Harris program? What are its differences? Also, if it helps to know, I want to focus on social policy and both schools are great for this. One more thing! I also want to go to a program that is pretty quantitative-heavy. If anyone else can add in their 2 cents not only just for Goldman and Harris, but also USC Price, please feel free to comment below! I would really appreciate anything! Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone, I just found out that I am wait listed for UChicago. I know I am not guaranteed admission, but I absolutely CANNOT believe this. CANNOT. I had rejection letters flying everywhere, so I actually cannot believe that a prestigious school like UChicago actually CONSIDERED me. I was expecting a rejection letter so I was mentally prepared, but ahhh!!! Wait listed! Does anyone know the stats for wait listed students being admitted? What is the percentage/likelihood of people on the wait list is actually admitted? Thanks all!

They received my official transcript a while back, but I sent it to them in late November/early December.

Ugh he's not at work today! So frustrated. Yeah I even asked around for people's opinions and they also said to stop by his office and ask personally. Thanks fuzzy!

I am going through a similar situation myself right now. I had a deadline on 1/5, 1/6, two on 1/10, and 1/15. No rec letter was submitted from one of my LORs and I already emailed him twice. And before that, I emailed him all the deadlines in early October and he said he world definitely write me the letters. He works in the same building as me but he is very busy and I don't want to annoy/nag him. Ahhhhh I don't know what to do.

I received the same email and I am on the same boat--one of my recommenders have yet to send in his letter. So I emailed them back asking them about rec letters, and the director emailed me back saying that as long you submitted your application by today, you will be considered for finaid.

I just received an email from the Director again and he said I am admitted!!! I haven't gotten a formal letter of acceptance yet but he said he will be mailing it to me shortly. Ahhh!!! I cannot believe this. Did anyone else apply and hear back from them yet? I thought this was rather too soon since I sent in the application only 10 days ago.

Did your father have a speech/hearing impairment after being diagnosed with brain cancer? If so, you can definitely incorporate that into your SOP.

So you think it's a personal email from the director to me specifically? If so, I am glad, because I honestly didn't even think I was going to get into any MPP program (not that I did yet)--or even any graduate school program. Thanks, I feel a lot better!

What specific health-related fields are you applying to? 'Sob stories' are not okay, but if you are able to incorporate that into the reason why you wish to pursue graduate studies in something very closely related to brain cancer (neurological diseases, brain anatomy-based fields, cancer, etc. not a science/health major here so I don't really know what fields but you get the point), then yes you should add this onto your SOP. However, you shouldn't say something like "My father had brain cancer and so that's why I want to be a doctor." You need to be specific why your father having brain cancer triggered your motivation to pursue graduate studies. You need to be specific about why you chose your field and what your father's diagnosis had to do with it. Hope this helps.

Hi everyone--I applied to the UCI MPP program for Fall 2014 last night and I received an email from the UCI MPP director less than an hour ago. Here's the email that I received: Dear [my name], Quick introduction - my name is (faculty member/director) and in addition to be a faculty member in the Criminology, Law and Society Department here at UCI, I'm also the Director of our MMP (<--- was that a typo? Did he mean MPP?) Program. I was just spending a few moments reviewing some of the files and I just had to write - though I can not make admissions decisions unilaterally, I can tell you that my first reaction is "How do I get [my name] to come to UCI!?!?" You are EXACTLY the kind of applicant we are looking for - smart, energetic and with a clear policy focus. It would be my privilege to speak with you at your convenience to answer any questions you might have. Or perhaps there are some other faculty that you would like to speak with, including our Dean of Social Ecology, (the director included some names of some of the faculty members)? Please - if there is anything I can do, or anyone I can put you in touch with, do not hesitate to reach out to me! The Committee is reviewing files soon and I'm sure they will be equally impressed. If (when) you are offered admission into the MPP, I hope you will give us serious consideration! Most Sincerely, [Director's name] Does this mean I have a good chance of getting in? Or is this an automated message that everyone who applied received? I am also wondering about their MPP program and their reputation.

I ended up applying for UMD because of its location as well. I actually put that on my SOP! Plus I interned in DC for 3 months and loved it there, so I figured why not? DC is a great place to network and start off as a young professional. Thank you everyone for your responses!

Okay. Thanks for the info, I'll look into it. But I think we are diverting from my actual question of what are some of UMD's specialties. Since no one is responding to my question here, I'm guessing no one on gradcafe is applying (or went) to UMD for MPP.

Which field(s) do they rank Syracuse and IU above Harvard and Princeton? I don't see that on US News under Public Policy and Social Policy. It's actually the opposite (and it most likely is). I am not defending US News, but I don't know what you're talking about. I do know US News isn't 100% accurate in its rankings, but I just use it to see approximately where these schools rank.

I did more research for this school... and I am a little confused. I looked through every Public Policy faculty member for the school and none of them focus on social policy/immigration research (which is what I am interested in going into), yet US News says that they are #12 for social policy. I had to go through their History and Sociology departments to finally get some faculty members who researched social policy/inequality/immigration. Is it okay to say in my SOP that I would like to work with x faculty members who are not in the public policy school but are from other departments?

Hi everyone, I was wondering if there are any current University of Maryland MPP students right now, or even alumni who can help me out here. What are some special/unique features of this school and program? How does it differ from other MPP programs? I am looking on the websites and I feel like other than its location (it being eight miles away from DC), the curriculum and everything else seems very similar to other MPP programs. I just want to know what made you want to apply AND go to this school. Thanks!

I am still up for swapping if anyone is still interested--I want as much feedback as possible!

So you don't think it's even worth sending my SOP/PHS over to him right? Whew I am relieved. The problem is... I don't work directly with my boss. I directly work with my supervisor, and my supervisor's boss is the guy who is writing me a letter of rec. You might wonder why I didn't ask my supervisor instead for a letter, since he would have more concrete examples to write in a rec letter. But I have personal reasons why I didn't ask my supervisor. Anyway, thank you for your feedback. I will definitely take it into consideration as I am trying to advise him in what I would like in the letter (in addition to what he has already written about me).

Hi everyone, I am trying to receive a letter of recommendation from my boss at my current job, and he is willing to write me one. The problem is, I don't talk very positively about my current job (because I personally believe it is a shady business) on my Statement of Purpose and Personal History. He wrote me a very general letter, but I want to ask him if he can be more specific, such as addressing my motivations of pursuing graduate studies and this type of career path (I want to obtain a Masters in Public Policy). My motivation is that after working at my job and seeing how the underprivileged get manipulated by sales representatives to make poor financial decisions, I want to concentrate on Social Policy, particularly income inequality and socioeconomic policy. I want him to be a little more specific in his letter, but I am hesitant to send him my SOP and PHS. I don't want him to think I think completely negative about the business because I don't, and I don't want to get fired at my job because of what I truly think of my company. Do you guys think I should send him my SOP and PHS anyway and be frank about it? What should I do? I need advice please. Oh and my first deadline is on December 5th (coming up in 6 days, so very very soon!) Thanks in advance!

Thanks guys. Yeah I haven't even included anything about my low GPA on my SOP or PHS, so I figured the Addendum was the most appropriate place to put it. I am going to say that I had no direction at the time and so I wasn't motivated. But now that I have a clearer picture of what I want to do, I have matured and appreciated education. Is that too cheesy?

Hi everyone, sorry for spamming with all these UC Berkeley application questions, but I have another question about the Addendum section. Here is their prompt for this section: If you wish to address any specific issues that have adversely impacted your academic performance and/or any aspect of your application, please use the space below. I have a very low undergrad GPA (2.5), so I was wondering if I should tell them why I have a low GPA. The problem is, I don't have a specific reason why I got such low grades, other than having no direction, being conflicted between two main majors (Chemistry and Math), and taking education for granted. However, after I graduated, I have been working full-time for 2.5 years, took an extension class (which I got an A- in for a field I am interested in getting into), and believe that I have educationally matured. Is this worth talking about in this field? Or does it just sound like a typical college kid who slacked off (which I don't believe I did, but I chose to take challenging classes and was too stubborn to withdraw from classes I knew I was doing poorly in). Anyway, I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks in advance!

BTW, is the PHS prompt the same for every field? This is my prompt: Please describe how your personal background and experiences inform your decision to pursue a graduate degree. In this section, you may also include any relevant information on how you have overcome barriers to access higher education, evidence of how you have come to understand the barriers faced by others, evidence of your academic service to advance equitable access to higher education for women, racial minorities, and individuals from other groups that have been historically underrepresented in higher education, evidence of your research focusing on underserved populations or related issues of inequality, or evidence of your leadership among such groups.