VulpesZerda

Can you please stop posting about "reverse discrimination" in the psychology forums? Last time you did this you received nothing but a negative response.

If you don't get into grad school, please don't tell us it's because you're a white male.

The fact that you, and probably most of the people here, have assumed I'm a white male, or a male at all, probably from my choice of avatar, just goes to prove my point: you're stupid AND biased. Your judgments are made from incredibly stupid assumptions that have no basis in fact whatsoever. I don't mind pretending I'm a man in order to point out how biased you are against men. It's absolutely disgusting. You people need to open your eyes about your own personal problems. The reason I'm against bias is because I've been victimized by it in the workplace. But unlike most people, I don't think that reverse bias is any better. It's just as ugly. Peoople in a psychology forum should be a little more aware of their ignorant biases. I guess that's my own stupid assumption at work.

Can you please stop posting about "reverse discrimination" in the psychology forums? Last time you did this you received nothing but a negative response.

If you don't get into grad school, please don't tell us it's because you're a white male.

Can you please stop posting about "reverse discrimination" in the psychology forums? Last time you did this you received nothing but a negative response.

If you don't get into grad school, please don't tell us it's because you're a white male.

Can you please stop posting about "reverse discrimination" in the psychology forums? Last time you did this you received nothing but a negative response.

If you don't get into grad school, please don't tell us it's because you're a white male.

"So you're getting a Master's, then?"

"No, a Ph.D."

"But you don't have a Master's!"

"You can earn a Master's while you're in a Ph.D. program after a couple of years."

"So you ARE applying for Master's programs."

"...No."

"...Wait, so what type of program are you applying to again?"

"Psychology Ph.D. programs."

"Oh, got it, so you want to be a therapist or something, huh?"

"--I give up."

That reminds me of the common "so, you'll be a psychiatrist?" saying. For some reason, everyone seems to believe that a degree in psychology means "mind-reading" and therapy.

Oh yeah, the scrunched up faces or the mouths agape when you tell someone it is going to take 5-6. You would think I told them I am going to jail.

I get this one ALL THE TIME. It's always somewhere that doesn't even have a quantitative psych program, and when I mention this to said person or persons, they will shoot back, "Well, is it really THAT important that it's in quantitative psychology? I mean, there are other types of psychology, right?"

Right, because devoting 5+ years to a psychological subfield that I'm not as interested in would be TOTALLY worthwhile... NOT!!

I hear the "you're definitely going to get in somewhere" phrase all the time. It just stresses me out more! Then it's the, "don't worry, things will work out in the end" or "just get a job!" "what's the point of wasting 5 years of school? 4 years of undergrad was enough!"

There's also that incessant commenting on how psychology is "useless"

when you're in the middle of a skype interview and your dogs decide to start running everywhere and basically fighting to the death

Okay, time out.
 
I after watching this forum for a while and after seeing two pages of messages added over the course of today, I need to interject.
 
Regarding everyone who is upset about not getting in / thinking that they are incapable / not good enough / etc., I have a story to tell. I graduated from a decent university, had a decent GPA (<3.6, though I had two majors), and a meh GRE score (at the time, 153V, 158Q, 3.0V; retook, 151V, 154Q, 4.5W). I had worked in a lab for about a year and a half while in school before I applied for the first time for graduate school. After meeting a professor at a conference, I made a good impression, applied to their program, got an interview, and was not admitted (I repeat not). Although I did get accepted into a master's program, I declined the offer because I didn't want to pay, and after months of despairing, I redirected my motivation and attention into getting a job during research.
 
After working for over a year at the lab, I applied to graduate school again in conjuction with taking the GREs again. I did much better (V155, 161Q, 4.5W) and managed to get an interview and an acceptance from two schools.
 
When it comes to applying to graduate school, this is what I think matters:
1 - Credentials (Decent GPA, Decent GRE - if not decent, a damn good explaination as to why)
2 - Research Experience (which really should be #1 in my book, because graduate schools like that kind of stuff)
3 - Networking (Trust me, I don't like the game, as I sometimes find it superficial, but at the end of the day, it is a skill that will only help you).
4 - Best of fit (making damn sure that you actually fit in the program).
5 - Luck. Plan and simple.
 
So the point of this by no means is to gloat or anything like that, but rather to illustrate that if you didn't get in the school that you wanted, then try again, only the next time, become better at any aspect that can be improved. In my case, I increased my research experience, gained many technical skills, and slightly improved my GRE score.
 
And if you think money is an issue, I'll be frank (Super Frank): I have been poor all of my life. After I got a job, I was able to pay off for things like grad apps, retaking the GRE, etc.
 
*exhale*
 
I hope this helps.
 
Oh, and regarding pubs, I don't have any. I did present a handful of poster presentations all over the country.

No, you don't.
 
Source: Am in grad school (PhD @ R1 university), did not have any publications at time of admission. Also know/know of students who were admitted before and after me w/o publications.
 
Remember, graduate school is still, well, school. You're not expected to come in with a record as strong as someone who has been in the program for awhile, just as you weren't expected to know everything about psychology (or whatever) when you picked it as your undergrad major. Publications are a product of your research training, and grad school is where you get the vast majority of that training in the first place.
 
Furthermore, graduate programs want students who will benefit from the program, and vice-versa, meaning they're not concerned with what you have done so much as with what you can do. So it's true that having publications will help your case, because it clearly demonstrates that you're capable of executing the research process from start to finish--but NOT having any pubs doesn't imply that you are incapable of executing the research process from start to finish, and there are other things that might also reflect your ability to succeed in grad school (e.g., your academic record, your letters of rec, the quality of your personal statement, and whatever research experience you DO have*).
 
If you have the chance to get a publication, or publications, before starting grad school, by all means go for it. But don't assume that getting published is a prerequisite for getting accepted. I speak from firsthand experience when I say that anyone who tells you otherwise is full of crap.
 
(P.S.: if you still don't believe me, don't forget that getting published is f***ing hard. If grad schools only accepted applicants who had already been published, they'd quickly run out of grad students.
 
P.P.S.: For the record, I went to an obscure public liberal arts college--not an Ivy or some other "prestigious" school--and I still got in.)
 
*Listed in no particular order.

The only pattern in responses I've seen so far is that there is no pattern! I've gotten interview invites the Sunday before Christmas, on a Wednesday evening, a Thursday night, the morning of a holiday, a Saturday night, and only one during a time that "makes sense", on a Wednesday morning. They always catch me totally by surprise! (In a good way of course.) 

I know this doesn't really answer your question, but I think you have a good chance of getting in to grad school based on your qualifications!
 
I am in the same boat as you, though, as far as thinking of a back-up plan with just a measly BA in psychology. I'm stumped too, but I think that I would basically apply to as many lab manager positions as I could find. One friend of mine became a mental health counselor at an in-patient clinic for teens, and another friend worked as a mental health counselor for the state hospital, which was a bad enough experience that it made her completely changed careers, lol. Tough degree!

I can't work up the courage to send any emails to POIs even though the silence is driving me insane.

My boyfriend and I take things one step at a time... Try not to worry about post docs, jobs, and relocating until we know exactly what we're dealing with.

I'm the same way. I tend to be a highly motivated and productive person but only in random bursts. Oh well, it's gotten me this far...

I just talked with a current grad student at a relatively good university, and they gave me some really good pointers. First of all, everyone is going to be pretty nervous, and is going to be worried about their chances. This leads to a lot of posturing, and people tend to compete with their fellow prospective applicants by saying what their own amazing research experiences entailed. He told me that is a real turn off to anyone listening, and told me to try and not brag or even really discuss my previous research experience in group settings. Another great piece of advice is treat EVERYONE with the same respect you would give to your POI, at EVERY moment. He told me that he had someone pull out their cell phone while he was interviewing them. That person was great to the professors, but was awful to someone he didn't see as his superior. Needless to say, he did not get an offer. Also: if you're offered a drink at a social event, have a beer--no more, no less (unless you don't drink). You don't want to come off as someone that can't socialize (won't drink), or someone who has no boundaries (drinks way too much). 
 
As for my own (novice) advice, answer questions in ways that reveal a lot about you in subtle ways. For example, a common question is "why are you interested in the research you're interested in?" My answer would be: I have known I have wanted to research depression for a really long time, but I particularly became recently interested in genetics associated with genetics. This is because so many other biological markers, such as cortisol, or fMRI activation can be bi-directional. It's hard to tell if the depression causes the biological dysregulation or if the dysregulation causes the depression. With genetics the direction is clear and causality can be inferred: genes cause things, the environment doesn't change your genes (barring gene expression). It's a great way to have something concrete that can be translated into intervention methods." With that, I have showed that I understand the biology (something of particular importance to the places I've applied), know something about interpreting data, and can see the big picture of research (intervention methods).
 
Finally, I echo the sentiment to ask a lot of questions; it shows you are interested in the program. Just remember, if you're there, then they think you're an awesome candidate. They don't have all the power, think of it more as a first date than an interview: do they seem like a good fit for you?
 
Finally, finally, there's a LOT of good information on this website: https://clinicalpsychgradapp.wordpress.com/ and there's a FANTASTIC document from a clinical psych prof offering advice from applying to interview tips here: http://www.unc.edu/~mjp1970/Mitch%27s%20Grad%20School%20Advice.pdf

I'm the same way. I tend to be a highly motivated and productive person but only in random bursts. Oh well, it's gotten me this far...

I've refrained from posting POI information publicly because a) it's really easy to take things online the wrong way and I don't want that to happen with any of my grad cafe posts (especially if I've shown preferences for certain schools, etc.) just incase schools are lurking & the privacy thing somebody else mentioned, the school/POI doesn't post a list of interviewing applicants for everyone to see so I feel it's proper to give the same privacy in return, yenno?

Posting POIs is probably harmless in the long run but you never know! Plus I have a feeling we've all had it beaten into us that everything online is public & will be seen by people like future employers, so we might be hesitant to post identifiable things to begin with.

If anyone contacts a department and learns that all Social invites have gone out, please let us know

I know it's too late for HPB but maybe this will be of use for someone else in the future. I've had 4 of these informal phone chats / interviews so far. For each one, I prepped extensively about the profs work (which no one asked me about) and about my work (useful).
 
Here's what people asked me:
Prof A: No questions for me. Just wanted my questions for him.
Prof B: (1) Tell me about the research you've been doing. (2) Are you sure you want to do this as opposed to working?
Prof C: Tell me why you want to study this.
Prof D: Tell me about yourself.
 
I was surprised that no one asked very much. All only asked 1 or 2 questions at most and then let me ask them questions for the rest of the time. If I had to do it again, I'd probably spend less time prepping on their work, since no one asked about it. Though it was nice to be able to throw in a reference to it here and there (for example in talking about how my own work connected to it).

I've discussed this in a lot of other threads so this might sound familiar to some...

My SO is not an academic and in fact probably will not even pursue a bachelor's degree. He just graduated with his associate's degree and is sort of looking for a new job, but also sort of waiting to see if I hear admissions results. He doesn't really want to move away for a number of reasons so I applied to programs within 5 hours driving plus one that would mean flying. We talked about it for months on end, now all we have to do is wait and see if I even get in! We've been dating for almost 6 years so he really matters a lot to me and my future. Good luck to everyone here!

I've discussed this in a lot of other threads so this might sound familiar to some...

My SO is not an academic and in fact probably will not even pursue a bachelor's degree. He just graduated with his associate's degree and is sort of looking for a new job, but also sort of waiting to see if I hear admissions results. He doesn't really want to move away for a number of reasons so I applied to programs within 5 hours driving plus one that would mean flying. We talked about it for months on end, now all we have to do is wait and see if I even get in! We've been dating for almost 6 years so he really matters a lot to me and my future. Good luck to everyone here!