iPsych

I'm a big fan of the Longchamp bags. I used one for my last two years of undergrad and its survived carrying my laptop and textbooks everyday. I use it for work now and it holds my lunchbag and work materials perfectly. I've even stuffed my jacket in there a few times! And it does all this while surviving the wear and tear associated with using the NYC public transportation system everyday. I also find that the material of the back better endures rain/snow than other totes I've had (Victoria's Secret, Michael Kors). Aside from the durability I feel that they go with every outfit outfit since there's no huge conspicuous logo or patterns. The only complaint I have is that it puts all my weight on one side so if that's already posing a problem, it's definitely not the way to go.

Well said, proflorax!

I agree: both having a dog and going to grad school are two huge commitments that are hard enough to adjust to by themselves, let alone together. Obviously before getting a dog I'd want to have a good idea of what my schedule would look like week to week to make sure I can commit to having one. I think waiting until second semester/second year to see how you adjust to grad school then deciding on whether or not to get a dog is a good idea! However, I've had a dog in the past (for 14 years) and once he was housebroken and "crate trained" (it was more like a big penned off area of our basement) he was perfectly fine being home for hours while I went to school and my parents went to work. He was a small dog so maybe that made a difference. Also, all dogs have different personalities so we were lucky he was a good dog

Hey everyone, I'll be joining Lehigh's School Psych PhD program in the fall! I'm looking at Bethlehem Towers and Waters Edge apartments for next year. I visited apartments in both buildings during my visit to campus and the grad students seemed to really enjoy living there! I also thought the space was great. Does anybody have any info regarding/experience with these places? I've checked them out online and they seem ok

I think that the RA is a better choice professionally. Money is important but you also want to consider building up your CV! In the long run the RA will provide better professional experience (doing research and getting a publication v. teaching two random courses).

If money isn't an issue then I would look at each school's practicum and internship placements and see which program offers placements in locations that are most similar to the type of environment you want to work in throughout your career! I'd imagine (but don't know for sure since I haven't read through their curriculum) that Columbia would be able to provide a lot of experience working in urban environments with culturally and economically diverse students while Albany would provide a mix of urban, suburban and rural environments to work in Also, I'm not sure how crucial this is for EdS programs since the focus is not research but I think faculty fit would also be important. These people will be your teachers and your advisors so it's important to consider how professional/friendly/competent they seemed during the interview process And, also consider the area. Would you rather live in/around NYC or Albany for 3 years? Some things to consider may be cost of living, similarities/differences between where you live now and these two locations, and how far are you comfortable moving

Hello! I'll be joining Lehigh's School Psych (PhD) program in the fall!

I also LOVEEE making (what I call) fancy ramen. I throw everything in there: obviously siracha and lime juice, cilantro, any sort of protein, green onions...I'm getting hungry just thinking about it

Did the director say why they need to wait until June? Or how likely it would be that you would receive funding? Or what their history of funding students has been in the past? And most of all, do you believe them?

that's kind of selfish of the school! haha My POI said that their university recommends students take 6 years so that they can complete the 4 years of coursework, dedicate 5th year to their dissertation and go on internship in the 6th year. But she also said it is possible (and challenging) to propose, data collect and defend the dissertation while doing coursework then complete the internship in the 5th year. I'm hoping to do this because I want to be in and out as fast as possible!

YUM I'll have to try that one!!

Thanks iphi! I called my POI who very kindly explained that typically students finish in 5-6 years but they had some outliers in past years who really brought that average up. I'm so glad I asked

One of the schools I'm considering attending has a significantly longer average time to completion than the others (8 years v. 5ish). Anyone have any idea why this might be? Aside from this stat, everything else seems awesome! The school has a 100% internship match rate (all of which are paid), a good faculty to student ratio, high scholarly productivity, subspecialization opportunities and great practica locations. I know I could email the program and ask, but I feel weird asking a school why it's taking them so long to graduate their students. Any ideas or suggestions would be really helpful! Thanks guys

thank you! and good luck making your final decision

I don't think it's too early to let the schools that you are sure you will not be attending that you want to decline their offer. This way, they can free up the spot for someone on the waitlist! I have formally declined a few offers but have yet to accept one. Since I don't know where I'm going yet, my emails usually consist of me thanking them for the time they took to tell me about their program, telling them that I've been accepted to other programs with better faculty match, more funding, etc. and that though I do not know which university I will be attending in the fall, I would like to respectfully decline their offer of admission.

Do you think that the job that you get after graduating will have a starting salary larger than the debt you would incur funding yourself through this program? If not, it is probably a better idea to wait and try again next year

Perhaps instead of "as much as you desire" I should have said "to taste" and I agree that leaving out the corn would make it healthier!

The same thing happened to me when I went to visit!

ahhh gotcha! I was wondering if that was the case but I figured school psych would have some sort of similar rule since there is funding involved haha thanks for clearing that up!

Since everyone's talking about chickpeas.... I loveeee making this chickpea salad. It's super delicious, filling and requires zero cooking. The most labor required is cutting up tomatoes and onions. 1 can chickpeas 2 tomatoes 1 small red onion 1 can black beans 1 can of corn the juice from 2 limes as much cilantro, salt and pepper as you desire (to taste) Just chop up the onion, tomato and cilantro and combine in a large bowl with the drained chickpeas, black beans and corn. Tastes great alone and sometimes I'll have some at breakfast time with egg whites

That's odd, none of my letters have mentioned that one week suggestion!

Definitely find out about the likelihood that funding will be there in August! I've also been accepted to a school that can't guarantee funding until July because that is when they will know if their grants are approved. That's possibly what is going on at your university as well! I spoke with my POI and she gave me information about how likely it is that they will receive the funds this year, how much it would be if they did receive the funds and how successful they've been funding past students. It was really very helpful!

Oh I'm sorry! You mentioned that before; my mistake!

Thank you for your response! they did not mention any sort of "just in case" back up funding plan but my POI did say that in the event that her own grant is not approved, if even 50% of the grants that another faculty member has submitted gets approved (he has quite a few large ones in the works) then they will have more funding than they have students to fund so that was reassuring! In speaking with students during interviews I also learned that there are ways to make a little extra money (outside of your stipend) throughout the semester by working with professors who need some extra assistants during very busy weeks. None of the currently enrolled students who I spoke to mentioned any major difficulties as far as finances go so that is also a good indicator that things will probably work out