FinallyAccepted

At least it wasn't an e-mail to your accountant friend on how best to cook the books to get admissions to give you more money than you'd really need.

Now that I've gotten an interview, my family is talking about me moving there like its a foregone conclusion. Stop jinxing me, people!

It's a minor mistake that others didn't notice, and you're not the only one who makes small errors.

Oh no. Snail mail should be resolved for good or bad news, not basic info.

Are you a single parent?

This would definitely be helpful if you can't participate in the more social aspects of the weekend (ex: dinner, informal get-together, etc.)

I'd be interested too. I'm in the same boat. JessePinkman, Did you specifically mention having applied before in your SOP? (I didn't, but was honest on applications where there was specifically a question about having applied before.)

It's frustrating, but they'll take care of it. Send a calmly worded e-mail just to be sure, but it should be alright. You can't be the first student for whom this has been a concern.

It does seem that more people have posted stuff for clinical than social on the Results Search so far. I don't know if it's a general rule, though. You can always check the Results Search for previous years for each program you applied to in order to see if the Clinical tended to send out info earlier than the Social programs.

PhD programs SHOULD provide funding, but you have to double check with each program just to make sure. When I was doing searches, it seemed like they provided funding for tuition, but the differences were really in (1) how much of a stipend a student could expect per year and (2) how long funding would be provided (4 or 5 years is what I generally saw in my programs). Here is an old thread from last year that could show you what different programs provided for students in the last application cycle:

Me too. Where it was offered, I expressed interest in the quantitative minor available at the schools I applied to. For this reason. It intimidates me, but I think it makes one more marketable.

Congrats on the interview. You could use the Results Search link at the top to post it for all to see (it would be anonymous). Additionally, if you're comfortable, would you please PM me your POI? Thanks!

The interview invite I got included dress code info. Professional for the interview, casual for the dinner after. I wouldn't wear your holey jeans, though. Smart casual or business casual maybe?

I haven't actually interviewed yet, but next month when I go for the interview weekend (the only one I've heard about so far), it'll be nice from the standpoint that I can visit the campus and meet the other graduate students. Does it make me nervous? Am I shy and introverted and worried about how I come across? Yep. Yep. But ultimately, I think it'll be good. It's the hypothetical phone or Skype interview that I'm more worried about. No benefit of seeing the campus, but all the nervousness of how I come across to the POI. I'm less excited about that prospect, to be honest.

Is it possible your LOR writer saved the letter he/she wrote for you? I wrote LORs for high school students, and I save a copy of them generally.

Well, you know what gets them to stop being SO sure you'll get in? Applying and getting completely shut out. I'm applying for the second time, and coworkers and family have tempered their optimism and have a more realistic view this time around. It's more relaxing because I don't have to keep adding "possibly..." to the end of everything they lay at my feet. I love them, but it was a bit of pressure. This year is definitely more mellow.

This post is so timely. I had to go to a faculty meeting (high school) where our digital footprint was the subject. The person speaking asked if we had googled ourselves before. I was thinking "Yep, yesterday after reading that thread on GradCafe." Funny.

I keep doing that to. I applied at a nearby school (where I did my undergrad) that has a different area code. Today I got a call from an unfamiliar number with that area code and they left a voicemail. Turns out the glasses I ordered with my FSA money are ready to be picked up. Groan.

I contacted graduate students prior to applying especially in departments that had websites that didn't provide as much information about the current directions of that POI's lab. It can give you a sense of what that POI is like as an advisor. Hands-on, hands-off, etc. Some POIs provided contact info for graduate students when I e-mailed them last semester since some sites don't provide which students work with which professors.

Because of my classroom website, I was going to be an internet presence anyway. Links related to that are the first few things that pop up online if you search for me. My LinkedIn and legit twitter are next (I have a personal one which doesn't use my name specifically) where I follow a few of my POIs who themselves have a social network presence. Then there's actually another person with my same unique first and last name (minus middle initial) who has a PsyD and working on a PhD. She's a research analyst. Maybe they'll be confused and think that's me.

Well, I don't know if it helps, but I got rejected from all the schools I applied to last year (which I learned was not uncommon for my discipline), and I didn't die. It really sucked, but I feel more confident this year and feel like I better understand how the process works and what I needed to do. If I don't get in again, it won't be the end of the world, even if it momentarily feels like it.

I'm a lot like you in that I'm married in my 30s. No kids, though. Just not for us. My undergrad is in social studies education with a minor in psychology education. So I'm on year 8 of being a high school AP Psychology teacher. My husband was first to further his education, getting an MBA. After he was done I enrolled in a General Psychology masters program at a small university nearby. It wasn't my first choice, but I could complete it while also teaching and without moving. It made sense for us financially. I wasn't going to be a competitive applicant for PhD programs as it was. So now, I've applied across the country for PhD programs, and my husband is flexible enough to find a job wherever I get accepted... and wherever I get a postdoc after that... and where I can find an job after that... (assuming of course that I get accepted at all- I didn't last year). It actually works out that I applied at 2 of the schools you did, but I did so based on fit rather than geographic location (though I applied to a different school that did meet that criterion). I think the reality is that it could be difficult to find a program with perfect fit without moving, but not impossible. If you do not make it in this year, your research experience is already pretty good, but I would retake the GRE. The threshold seems to be the 80th percentile for social psychology programs. That would be a smaller thing that could help. Now for whether you should go for the masters, there are many PhD programs that won't transfer credits or will only transfer a certain number of credits toward a PhD at that university. I knew that going in, but knew I had NO chance without the masters. Like EastCoasting said, if what you do requires a PhD, you'll have to go through this again anyway, so a masters may not make sense for you. If a masters is all you need, then your solution may be just that.

Last year, I tried to get cool things that I knew my LOR writers would like. Scarves for two of them who wear a lot of scarves and an adorable onesie and jacket for the other who was on maternity leave by the time applications were due. I was rejected last year, so they edited their letters for this year. I sent them notes this year, but no gift. I may still get them something gift-wise, but I'm not sure.