AvatarPsych
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Posts posted by AvatarPsych
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I can say that Quant scores are used and sometimes schools will reject based on them out of concern that the candidate will not do well with statistics. Statistics are huge.
That being said, I received a 151 on my quant score and am currently attending my top choice program (not sure what percentile that is anymore). However, I had other things to compensate for that.
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Fit is a much more compelling aspect to of the decision than ranking. In terms of ranking, there are no rankings you can really trust for graduate schools. People aren't really going to care about ranking as much as they will about the overall reputation in your field. Reputation overall will matter, for example, for internship matching, etc. if you're in clinical.
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I myself prefer to send handwritten thank you cards, however given the quick turn-around of decisions after interviews, you should probably drop an e-mail. A little less professional, but could still be important.
My interview was done on Monday. Tuesday I e-mailed a thank you and was told they were making decisions at that moment. Received my acceptance on Wednesday.
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I found this to be really helpful, thanks!
But I always have a hard time thinking of questions to ask during interviews. Is it appropriate to ask POIs about the overall program, or should those types of questions be saved for the director of the program? What kinds of questions did you ask, for example, in the first interview?
Totally appropriate. Each person I interviewed with (Profs and students) I asked them to tell me, in their view, the greatest strength and greatest weakness of the program. They were all impressed with the question and happy to answer.
This brings up an important point. Remember that YOU are interviewing THEM as much as they are interviewing you, which is why professors want to hear your questions. Are you just desperate to get into a PhD program, or are you really interested in each program on a personal level? Remember that certain things like mentor/mentee style play a major role in how you are going to do in the program, and you do not want to go to a school you get a bad vibe from from day one. Your working relationship with these people will last longer than most marriages. They need to know you can work well together, and that goes both ways.
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For the actual interview, wear a suit. If you do not wear a suit you will be sorely under-dressed, even if the program is a "casual" program. My program is now VERY casual but during the actual interview, every single person wore a suit.
For any of the social functions, I wore business casual but on the dressier end. Remember: you're constantly being interviewed during interview weekend. You need to make a good first impression.
Also take into consideration things like weather. If you're interviewing somewhere that's normally snowy, dress appropriately. This includes (for ladies) wearing heels that have good traction on them. Before I interviewed, I went out and bought a good purse that could hold my portfolio and other interview essentials, a nice wool coat, and some nice blouses to go under my suit jacket. Even if you don't want to fork over the money right now, these are all worthwhile investments.
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I'm thinking that I would try to put some money together for non-degree courses at one of my top choice schools, then re-apply there. Or if that proves to be unrealistic I would use my minor in public health to network and hopefully find a job in that field for a while - doctoral degrees in public health require work experience and I know I'd like it a lot more than my current job!
Careful about taking courses. One of the schools I got rejected from specifically stated that it's their policy that those who do not get in/are not enrolled may not take classes at the school.
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For the love of all things holy, only use the "this is my top choice program" line at one place: your legitimate top choice. Do not tell multiple schools that because it will get you into a pickle, and it's not cute.
Also, in terms of dress, definitely sway toward the more formal end, even at the graduate school potluck/happy hour/etc if they have one. Last year the grad students hosted a potluck and the invitation said "dress up casual." Could have sworn they said that just to see what people would wear. The term "casual" during interview weekends does not mean casual. One girl showed up wearing a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. That's a no-no.
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When I interviewed I did so with three different faculty members and graduate students. In between I was in the bathroom, breathing and trying to remain calm and composed, because it's a longggg day. I suggest watching this:
http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are?language=en
I did power poses in between and it helped keep my sanity. Good luck!
- BuzzinAround, Owlet and Gvh
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Generally it's not a good idea to contact admin at this point about interviews unless you have something like the post above me that you absolutely have to change on your app (excepting changes to SOP, including update on if you have, say, a published paper). I've seen posts on here and other forums indicating that it may be a detriment to keep asking about your status and contacting the admin, as it's quite the burden to keep getting inundated with requests for updates when there are so many applicants.
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I think once you get to the interview and get past it, that's what will weigh more and like others have posted you should avoid bringing attention to it. Just accept it for what it is and move forward.
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If this thread is any evidence (along with the results search), some people will know sooner rather than later! That said, I still find the time to work my 40+ hours a week, just got back from a week in Cuba with my significant other after completing the majority of my applications, and manage to get to the gym nearly every day. It would kill me to just sit by my computer non-stop, but nevertheless, the push notifications on my phone have a calming effect
That's true, but a good number of programs won't come through until January. My program's deadline was 12/1 and we haven't even discussed applications in lab meeting yet and won't look at them until after break.
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Guys you should really take up a new hobby or something because it'll be a while. I got really into yoga around this time last year and started focusing on getting healthy. Trust me, you'll need it if/when you get back to school.
- Applemiu, JoePianist and Garyon
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I just realized there are 2 errors in an already submitted letter. Cited a poster presentation as "to be presented", but I mentioned earlier it has been presented at blabla place..., and I mentioned a prof as Dr. firstname lastname, even though I introduced him as such before and used Dr. Lastname afterwards. Omg the next 3 months of waiting will be fun.
Hahaha, it won't make that much of a difference.
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I know some of my programs have interview dates posted already and some don't, but does anyone know about how long in advance programs contact with interview offers? I'm just curious about how much warning I'll have to set my affairs in order.
Depending on the application deadline and program it varies. Even within the program it varies from POI to POI, and all depends on when they sit down to look at applications. Generally, however, I don't think some places look at apps until after the holidays, send out invites mid-late January for interview weekends in February. Hope that helps.
I think I mentioned this earlier but one way to gauge and tell if you have a "soft rejection" (you deduce from activity here, results page, etc. that you likely did not get an interview) when, for the schools who have their interview weekends posted, the interview is in a week or two and you haven't gotten an invite.
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If you're concerned about GPA graduate school tends to be a GPA booster, and will demonstrate that despite your undergrad GPA you can handle graduate work if you do well in your masters. I personally wouldn't do a masters purely for the financial aspect. Another option would be to get a research oriented-job for a year.
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As someone who just went through the application process, I know that words and feelings get extremely heated. It's a stressful process, and everyone wants to feel as though they are given their fair shot during the application process.
However, as a graduate student, your first post, albeit fueled by emotion, is really quite offensive. I am not a "little shit." I am no one's "minion." In fact, I came to graduate school so that I could have my own work recognized. I went through the process just like you, and I think that the characterization of the field as one that is "dog eat dog" and "egotistical" is a little out of context.
When I went on visits to schools, students were nothing but pleasant. You have to realize that after your application process, there is a whole other world on the side here. You're in a lab. You're working together. Your POIs didn't build their reputations themselves, and the people doing the work with them (notice I didn't say FOR them, but WITH them) are graduate students who were qualified enough to beat 600+ other applicants to be there.
This is not a field where you can fight past and make it on your own. You need to collaborate and work with people.
Graduate students are in no way deciding your fate. However, if you have someone who applied for a POI who isn't even taking students that year, do you think it's right that a professor, who has 1 million other things to do, take their time to figure that out when it will automatically disqualify them? Someone needs to screen. Emphasis: screen. That doesn't mean throw the application away. If the professor doubts the applicant pool, they will go through and look at it for themselves and see if someone's application should be resurrected.
You should also understand that students have a huge incentive to themselves look for and pick the best candidate, as they will not only be working with these potential future students, but that these students will work to build the lab's reputation after they're gone.
Now I'm not saying that graduate students are the most important part of the process, I get it. But was I upset last year when I was applying and found out grad students were looking at my application? No. Because I had confidence in my application that if I was really meant in that lab, I would make it through, and rightfully on my credentials. Not my own irrational perception that there was automatically a bias against me.
This is a process that has been working for a while and has been crafted to fit each program's needs, interests, and the demands of an increasingly competitive applicant pool.
*Edited to add:* Grad school is not the hunger games. Granted, it may feel like it at times, but mostly everyone makes it out alive.
- BuzzinAround, Taeyers, smg and 6 others
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Thanks AvatarPsych!
I'm wondering how long it would take to get an interview offer? When is the offer usually made?
Hey!
I'm sure each program is different, and depends on the deadline. I don't think my program even starts looking until January. That being said, I received my interview invite pretty early within the first two weeks of January. Even within the program differed though, because some people didn't receive their invites for a few weeks after that. Some POIs here, for example, call themselves, and some let the admin call for them which would take longer.
A lot of programs post their interview weekends on their websites. Definitely check that out. If it's a week or two before the interview weekend and you haven't heard a peep, it's likely you didn't receive an interview.
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It is normal when you have a very high volume of applications. Professors are busy people.
I want to chime in here to note that one thing I didn't fully realize and I think people take for granted is that grad students are very much so part of the process. Yes, you're applying to work with a POI but you're in the lab as a grad student, and you have to be able to work well with and mesh with the grad students.
Furthermore, when a program gets 600+ applicants (I'm in clinical psych), that's a LOT to ask professors to do.
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i feel neglecting to include "i was accepted my first application season" as an option in the poll makes the concern look worse than it is
^ This.
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Good luck today, everyone!
I applied to programs last year and am currently attending my top choice as a first year. Feel free to ask any questions!
As for making mistakes on your applications... last year I accidentally submitted a personal statement with the wrong school name in it. They were super nice and let me replace the writing after I had submitted it, and I still got in! I wouldn't suggest amending your statement for mistakes such as a conjugated verb, but just a little anecdote to hopefully lighten the stress load
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Hey All,
As tomorrow is the 12/1 deadline, just wanted to say good luck to everyone! My advice when you submit is to try your best to take up some hobbies and other distracting things to not think about it. It can be a while before you hear back about interviews, and I was totally blindsided by the anxiety of waiting so long - it's not something anyone warned me about.
I applied last year to clinical psych programs and am now a first year at my top choice. Feel free to ask me any questions, and I'll try my best to answer.
Good luck!!
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I ordered a North Face Surge II. It has good reviews, and below the laptop sleeve a tube so that when you set your backpack down, it's cushioned.
I looked around online a LOT until I found "the One" and that one seemed to hold a lot of books as well as distribute the weight evenly on the back. We shall see!
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I would have tried harder to get fee waivers for the GRE and for grad school application. It really exhausted my savings, and neither I nor my family are rich. I didn't take time to look at the fine print to see if I could have qualified for any fee waivers, and I know several of my friends who were successful in getting them after a little bit of extra research.
Agreed. After $2500+ in applications and traveling, the one school I got into was my top choice and the school that didn't even require application fees. Could have saved a ton of $$ if I did this. My gap year was there to fund my application cycle pretty much.
Psychology Funding Packages
in Psychology Forum
Posted
Sometimes the funding does not include tuition remission, so tuition will be paid from the funding. I suspect that's what's going on with them.