alexis

FYI employees (I.e. TA/RA stipends) who are full-time students at the university they are employed at are exempt from paying social security (and Medicare). This is a federal tax perk; the university doesn't foot the bill. I don't know about tuition though, I didn't get a 1098, just a W-2. And yup, it you don't make over a certain threshold, it's likely you won't owe any federal taxes or at least owe very little.

I agree with what everyone has said. I have a slightly different take on a couple topics, so here is a couple things I've learned (probably have posted something along these lines in the past)... - While I agree with others that it's good not to gossip, it's also good to learn who you can trust and vent to. I have someone in the department who is a good friend of mine (not in my cohort) and I can just completely vent to her, and she vents to me. She's never betrayed my trust, and sometimes it helps just to have someone to do this with. Frankly, I get annoyed easily, and I'm also a complainer, and if it doesn't get out of my system, it just festers. An objective party (my husband) + someone in the situation (a colleague & good friend) is the perfect pair for me to vent to. - Find out the unwritten rules. I'm so used to being told "this is mandatory" or "highly encouraged" and "this is optional" that it was new to me to learn that "optional" really means "mandatory" in some cases, and others are truly optional things. There will be events that seem like a waste of your time (e.g. not in your research area), but if you are expected to go, you better go. You want the faculty to view you in a favorable light. They do not look kindly on students that they see as not being involved. Also, you will be told things last minute, or not at all. Building good relationships with others allows you to be on the "in" with events going on. Okay, one academic/research-y thing...be proactive! Get involved in research projects. It seems obvious, but you would be surprised how many students just wait for things to come to them. They figure they're in their first year, it's all still learning, and they should focus on classes. Get involved in research and your name as a co-author on conferences and papers if you can. It will pay off.

Also, if you want any informal info about the program, I have heard quite a few things from previous prospective students and professors who are familiar with the management department.

Ah okay, that makes sense.

Just out of curiosity, was this for the OB/HR PhD program in the business school at Temple? I was under the impression they were closed to PhD applications this year (I had wanted to apply last year but they weren't accepting applications, and the prof I spoke to wasn't sure when they were re-opening the program. The strategic management dept is very different, and I've heard some not-so-great things about it, but that's a different story).

Just wanted to pop in and say good luck to everybody!! I don't have anything helpful to add, just happy to see some OB/management folks on here this year

So just my experience with the grades thing...(as others said, probably very program and discipline specific) In my master's program, it mattered; I wasn't going to get into a good PhD program without top grades. However, now that I'm in the PhD program, I care the least amount about grades than I ever have before. We have to keep a 3.0, so my motto is "B to a PhD." So far I've gotten A or A- in my classes, but I wouldn't stress too much over a B. While some others in my cohort *Freak Out* about grades & classes, it's not my focus. What's going to get me a job is my research and the number of good publications I have, not that I had a 3.5 versus a 4.0 in my PhD program. So while I care about classes, they are 2nd priority, and as long as I don't start bombing things, I'm really just not that worried. Plus our professors seem to go relatively easy on us; while classes are hard, if you put in the effort & do decently, we usually get at least a B or B+. Grade inflation is alive and well at the graduate level, I suppose.

This is probably a good exercise for me right now due to my being in the throes of writing a massive paper this weekend. I love the research part. The program is a great fit for me and the flexibility of scheduling things on my own time is awesome (even though that often means working through the weekends). I am already looking forward to classes being over after my second year, but I figure it's better to be into the research anyway--I'll be teaching and doing research the rest of my career, not taking classes, so I try to look at it that way The people in my program are very nice and supportive so I can't complain.

From what I understand if you are just a student on a student visa your wife can't work. But if you are an employee of the school and being funded by them, I think there is a way. A quick google search revealed this, the answer about halfway down looks pretty helpful about F1/F2 and J1/J2 visas: http://ask.metafilter.com/144492/Can-a-Canadian-work-legally-in-the-US-if-their-spouse-goes-to-grad-school-thereand-how When I was going through the visa process with my spouse, I relied heavily on this site & forum: http://visajourney.com/ Good luck!

Some other wedding tips: try for the off season (Oct- March), keep the guest list small, and get married on a Friday or Sunday for even more discounts. I saved a ton of money doing this. Many were shocked at the low price I paid for my wedding based on the venue, etc. Also, if you do use vendors, shop around! I also saved a lot of money by doing research; the one vendor I booked last minute ended up being WAY more than I should have paid. But there are so many ways to cut down on a budget. It's not worth going into debt for a wedding. Another option is to have a civil ceremony now and then a bigger wedding when you can afford it. I know a lot of couples who have done this. Now when it comes to the rest of the marriage part, I don't see a problem in getting married in grad school. Some people act like getting married changes everything. It doesn't. If you are already a committed couple (especially if you're living together) your life stays pretty much the same (assuming no kids). You don't have less time to do your work or anything, you can still have a social life- it's the same as when you were a couple. Financially, things usually can improve somewhat because you're combining your finances.

Yes, I would recommend specifically talking to an I/O professor if you can, not just a psychology one (though I find it interesting that the professor who teaches I/O psych isn't from that background at all--it's a pretty big area, not just a "sub-research interest," really a whole different field of psychology, though is related to social). Yeah if there are any OB professors in the business school (management department) they could also be good to get in touch with. Some OB professors have a PhD in I/O psych and the fields are similar enough that they should be able to offer you some good advice. I really can't say what schools you should apply to or what your chances are based on grades/GREs, but I think it's worth applying to top 10 schools if you want to. FYI UPenn doesn't have an I/O psych program, they have a social psychology program (<--they are not super keen on us "organizational" folks) and an OB track in the business school. But yes, if you do well on your GREs, no reason not to go for it (but make sure to not just apply to top 10 schools and have a range). There have been previous threads on I/O programs, in fact I'm surprised fellow I/O students/applicants haven't chimed in on this thread, maybe they were more active last year. They would know better about programs than me since I'm on the OB/business side, but here is one ranking of programs on SIOP: http://www.siop.org/tip/backissues/TIPApr02/02gibby.aspx

While I have to preface this by saying I'm not expert and this is just my opinion, I do think your research experience is more than adequate. While it's not directly related to I/O, it is psych related (and deals with social interactions), and a great deal of the methods/etc are going to be similar to I/O psych. For example, you're probably familiar with APA, SPSS, maybe you have experience with coding, etc. This is awesome! Professors that I know LOVE it when potential PhD students know what research in the I/O area entails. As long as you can relate your research experience to I/O, I think it will be great. And the fact that you will be taking I/O classes will show that you do have some knowledge in that area, even if your research experience isn't directly related. 2 semesters of independent research where you designed & carried out research yourself is awesome; definitely highlight that in your statement of purpose. First author on a poster is also great. The key part is going to be showing how you link that to I/O and how you can be successful performing research in I/O. It's really your decision whether you decide to apply now or not. I don't think having real-world work experience is really going to make a difference in your application; the only thing that could strengthen it more is to have I/O research experience. But I really don't think that's necessary, I think your application is strong as it is. It may not seem this way now, but it is a long wait between applying & attending a school...if you know what you want now and are competitive now, I say go for it. Do you know any I/O professors? It might be helpful to talk to one and see what they think--they could offer a much more informed answer than I can.

Based on what I know about I/O programs I really don't see how this will hurt you. Many students go into I/O (both master's and PhD) without any work experience. They are going to care way more about your research experience. There might be a few applied I/O programs that want you to have work experience, but most of the academic ones are going to be more focused on your research. If you do well on the GRE and get good LORs, combined with the profile you presented, I think you have a great shot. I don't think there is a need to wait and work before applying, unless it's something you want to do.

If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me this My parents each kept their names and hyphenated mine and my brother's. I did, and still do, respect my mom for keeping her name and giving it equal weight to my dad's, even though I can't say I ever loved my last name. Everyone always asked me, "so, when you get married, will you be Alexis Smith-Jones-Edwards?" etc. Well, I did get married, and dropped my maiden name for my husband's. His was just simpler and nicer. My brother, on the other hand, has kept his hyphenated name, and his wife changed her name to his (so they are Mr. and Mrs. Smith-Jones). I'm definitely an advocate of "to each their own" when it comes to the name thing. I've heard of the invented name thing before, and I think it's a great idea. It's a difficult decision regarding publications; there are many different approaches, but I think a woman should do whatever she is most comfortable with. Maybe I'm wrong on this, but I find the whole "no one will be able to find your publications" argument not the most convincing. When you are going up for jobs, they will see your whole CV (including pubs in your maiden name), you can list those in your CV on your website, etc. If someone is really interested in finding out everything you've published, they'll look at your website. At least, that's what I do when looking for a list of an individual's publications--I don't just rely on a database search. Maybe there is a crucial situation where you would really be at a disadvantage to have different names, but I can't see how it would truly adversely impact your career. And nothing wrong with keeping a maiden name either--if I had liked my last name, it's highly likely I would have kept it (yeah, I'm superficial that way).

Definitely not! Sorry for jumping to that conclusion-- it sounds like you have a tough master's program with a similar level of difficulty to the start of a PhD program. It certainly doesn't diminish any of your concerns or struggles.