COGSCI

I bet you got a perfect score on your GRE with your sound arguments good for you!

My thoughts exactly. Also, seeing a post would not influence/pressure accepted students to decline offers earlier so I think the entire argument is only stressing people out. Now its time for the high school musical theme song: We are all in this together? (oh childhood LOL)

One thing I would like to add is that you are lacking research experience (at least you did not mention it in your post). Even if you are applying for a PhD in social sciences/education, it would be helpful for you to gain some research experience. Perhaps you could reach out to your POI again and see if she has anything available for you. Many profs in sociology and educational psychology might be doing something similar to your research goal. I would also look into those programs! You have done so well for yourself. Just because you didn't get into the only program that you applied to this year does not mean anything. You have a strong drive and you will succeed in the end! I applied to 6 doctoral program this year and only got into one. Thankfully it was my top 3 and is fully funded hope you can get some good news next year !

Judging from your points, it's definitely between UCR and UCSD. I don't really know what social life you are looking to have, but graduate experience is very different than undergrad. Since UCR is funded, I would consider UCR. You might want to continue and get your PhD after a year, you never know!

I agree with the post above. UCLA is an amazing school but if funding is not guaranteed, I would really consider going to UCI. See if UCLA can secure funding for the first 2 years, it would give you enough time to apply for various grants. PhD is definitely going to take you 4+ years so you need to be careful with your decision here. Although UCLA ranks higher than UCI, UCI is still a good institution. Even though this is a stressful situation, just remember that you got into 2 awesome programs! Enjoy the decision process because you've earned it

Good luck HJin,UCSF is a great school and I am sure people would turn down their offers soon enough if they have a better offer! Waiting is always hard (especially on the waitlist) and frustrating. However, it DOES make that final acceptance so much sweeter when you get it Trust me, I just went through it this month LOL

There are lots of doubts going on in this forum! You all have stellar stats so do not worry too much, it is not healthy Many qualified applicants get rejected each year because schools assess students differently (UT puts a lot of emphasis on research capacity) Also, I noticed that not a lot of people are talking about west coast schools. UBC Okanagan has a good clinical social work program and it seems to be less competitive than others. Just wanted to throw that out there!

That is awesome! Guess I did not make the cut oh well! At least I have an offer from my third choice, that's good enough for me haha

I would not trust the ranking stuffs online. The first link that you provided does not even list MIT as one of their top 10 institutions, their cognitive science program is one of the best in the world. Also, I find it troubling to see UCSD ranked lower than Iowa. As for US news rankings, Dartmouth would be ranked lower because the ranking system is looking at each institution's strength in psychology in general. Dartmouth has a strong background in neuro and cognitive psychology but it does not have a strong background in social or health psychology. This could be a good thing if you are only looking into do neuro psyc research. However, if you want to take a multidisciplinary approach, Dartmouth is probably not a suitable school for you. Since the institution is very small, it actually gets ranked pretty poorly when it comes to overall ranking each year. I guess this would be something that you would also consider. I focused my undergrad studies in cognitive psychology and that's why I did some research on Dartmouth, I ended up staying in Canada for my graduate training though. This is definitely a great dilemma to have because you have a CHOICE Congrats!

Congrats! How did you find out? My application status is still 'under review'

I would still go with Dartmouth. Not because of the institution's Ivy league status, but the department is highly regarded in the field of cognitive science. Also, I know that Dartmouth provides a generous funding package for their doctoral students so I would definitely compare the financial aspect of each program. Above all, research fit is the most important factor to consider! (and $$)

How did you find out about your wait list status ?? I didn't hear anything from them yet

U C L A U C L A

I think you have a high enough GPA to compensate for your GRE scores. However, it is always good to have a plan B !

I think it depends on whether the institution is private or public

I applied to the Behavioral and Social Health Sciences stream but I didn't receive an invitation yet

I definitely think that MPH would be right for you. For the programs that require courses like virology might have heavier focus on clinical side of public health (i.e. clinical epidemiology). I am more interested in social behavior and mental health so I am in a similar situation. You can definitely look at schools that focuses on social health (i.e. health inequality). I would also suggest social work as your second option because many social work programs focus on public health and policy.

Bonny, There are thousands of people graduating with MPH from Canada, US, and other countries. Your chances of getting into the field of your interest does not depend on where you get your degree from but it depends on WHAT YOU DID or DO during your undergrad and grad training. Instead of working as a temp here and there, I suggest getting a research position (paid or volunteer) at one of the research facilities in Toronto before you apply to schools again. If you decide to go to HK for your MPH, I would suggest working or volunteering part-time at one of the organizations that are recognized internationally (e.g. Red Cross or Institutions that are affiliated with WHO)

University of Toronto's faculty of education (OISE), UCL, and Teachers College (Columbia) are some of the top education research institutions in the world UPenn is a good school too!

I would recommend pursuing a master's degree before you apply to PhD programs since you have a limited background in psychology. You can still volunteer or work as a research assistant at the same time. This would provide you with sufficient academic background in psychology and research experience that you need.

It depends on the institution and the nature of the programs that you are accepted into but generally clinical psychology is focused on individual intervention and social work is focused on community intervention. So you should think about what you would like to do AFTER you get your PhD.

You might have some hard time getting into thesis-based programs since you have a different background. However, there are many programs that accept students from various backgrounds so you would do some research and see which schools that you can apply to. As kaykaykay said, you already have an undergrad degree so you do not need to get a field specific undegrad degree. I would recommend you to start engaging in research in your field of interest as soon as possible and seek out thesis-based master's programs. FYI, course-based programs are easier to get accepted to but if your intention is to work in academia or research, then I would encourage you to get into a thesis-based program.

Hello Walker888, I would actually try to get into a graduate program in humanities field rather than pursuing another undergrad degree. Many masters programs are only for like a year and students from different fields can apply and get accepted. If you are thinking about pursuing a doctoral degree after, I would definitely look into different masters programs first (and maybe apply to the online program as a back-up)

Got my formal acceptance letter through uApp and just accepted it! See ya'll in September

yeah my uApply status is still "in review" LOL