Jump to content

COGSCI

Members
  • Posts

    186
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Reputation Activity

  1. Upvote
    COGSCI got a reaction from _kita in Applying to an MPH program with a Humanities Undergrad   
    If you have 3 semesters left, try to take courses in health psychology, medical sociology, or social anthropology. 
    When the time comes, sell your global health minor on your personal statement along with your extra curricular activities. I would also look into getting applied public health experience by volunteering at the local public health unit or at your school's health psychology lab. By doing so, you can get a good recommendation letters from the professors in related field.
    Bottom line is, your major and the courses you take do not matter as much as you think. It's about how you present your undergrad/work experience through your CV and personal statement. 
  2. Upvote
    COGSCI got a reaction from freakaleke in Top Program Low GPA   
    Your GPA is not horrible and you certainly have good amount of experience. However, I would apply to more than those two institutions because many experienced professionals apply to MPA or MPP. This was my strategy: apply to 3 dream schools/programs, 2 schools at your current level, and 1 or 2 safety schools. 
    Good luck!! 
  3. Upvote
    COGSCI got a reaction from Dfghjk in Love vs Grad School   
    If MA is not necessary for your PhD (because you were just trying to increase your chance), you could defer your MA program for a year and apply to PhD programs. I wouldn't recommend just applying to schools around your SO's area, but I am sure you have a list of dream schools for your PhD. 
    In academia, though it may not be always true, more opportunities can be available for you if you are more flexible with you locations. I would have a conversation with your SO and see how that person feel about moving or doing long distance. This would be an important conversation to have whether you decide to pursue MA or PhD. 
  4. Upvote
    COGSCI got a reaction from Lauren A. in Struggling between Macro MSW & MPA   
    If admin within the non-profit field is your goal, I would recommend MPA because you already have professional credential as a social worker with your BSW. It is great that you already have some field experience too because your experience would definitely help when it comes to policy development and implementation. 
    Some MSW schools have administrative focused concentration so I would apply to MPA and MSW programs to see which ones you get accepted to. Maybe some schools offer you scholarship and that would sway your decision (you never know!). It is always good to have options  
  5. Upvote
    COGSCI got a reaction from ExponentialDecay in Over-educated and Unhappy   
    I am really sorry to hear that your situation is not getting better despite you continuous efforts. After reading your post, I just wanted to point out few things that I've noticed. Since I do not your full story, please ignore the points that might not be relevant:
    1) You have a huge pride on your previous degrees (top 20 unis, top 5 programs and etc...). While these are great achievements, people would like to see WHAT you did rather than WHERE you received your training. Don't get too fixated on your awesome academic history, focus on building your awesome practical/research/professional experiences that you can talk about in the interviews. Maybe one of the reasons why you were not successful in getting into PhD programs is because you are aiming for "top schools" or "top institutions." 
    2) School, program, and GPA do NOT define a person outside of academic world (mostly). You have teaching and social work credentials so working with inner city schools as a teacher or a social worker would allow you to get the field experience you need to get to the director or middle management role that you want. Just having Master's and PhD alone will not qualify you for middle management jobs. 
    3) PhD requires evidence of research efforts. Looks like your Master's degrees were professional degrees without research components. I would urge you to work as a research assistant or research coordinator under social work or educational psychology profs for 2 years before you apply for PhD programs again. Building your relationship with profs in the field is a good way to get awesome reference letters. 
    4) There is no ONE job or opportunity that will set you for a successful career path. You need to get your hands dirty and look for lower level positions. Most importantly, you need to commit to a field of work (educational policy? history? mental health? child welfare? homelessness ????? what is your interest????). 
    As others said, I think more schooling is not a solution for you at this point. I really do hope this help! 
  6. Upvote
    COGSCI got a reaction from c.dizzle in NEW Canadian universities M.S.W thread (2017)   
    If your original goal was to become a clinical social worker, I would stick with MSW. 
    If you are planning on staying in Toronto (or in GTA area) getting a full time teaching position is nearly impossible unless you have a contact at one of the private schools in town. Many OISE graduates are either going oversea or heading up north to teach. Those are good options, but supply teaching at TDSB or YDSB is better because you are in the system at least. 
    With MSW, it is more flexible for you to actually work upon graduation. You could work at schools, hospitals, government agencies, and so on. There are many MSWs being produced from Ryerson, UT, and York in Toronto so the job market is competitive for social workers as well. However, I feel as though teaching job would be even harder to get (full-time). 
    Feel free to send me a PM if you would like to talk about this a bit further. Ultimately, stick with your passion! 
  7. Upvote
    COGSCI got a reaction from JohnSGrad95 in NYU MPH vs. BU MPH   
    Seems like you are more interested in exploring the public health field. BU has a better reputation (for now anyways) because NYU's global health department is very new. If you are thinking about working in New York upon graduation, I would go to NYU so that you can do you practicum at one of the agencies and network there. You can also do practicum in NY if you choose to go to BU. I am sure BU will let you because some of my friends went to different countries for their practicum. 
    Community health itself is a very broad term. So you need to think about which population you would like to work with or what kind of job you want (epi, policy, biostat, health promotion, and so on). 
  8. Upvote
    COGSCI got a reaction from JohnSGrad95 in NYU MPH vs. BU MPH   
    Congrats on getting into two awesome schools! BU has a better reputation for public health but if you want to do community health, NYC is a great place for it. 
    You would also need to think about where you want to work after you graduate. If you are interested in working or pursuing your PhD in NY or Mass, you could make a decision based on that. 
    Lastly, cost of living & degree can also be an important factor to consider. 
  9. Upvote
    COGSCI got a reaction from HigherEdPsych in Accepted! ..But lack of funding?   
    Congrats on your acceptance! I would talk to your POI and department about getting one year deferral for you to search for funding. You can work with your POI and apply for grants for a year so that secure some funding before you start the program. Usually schools only grant deferrals for health concerns and other complications but it would be great if they can grant you a year. 
    If you are wait-listed for other programs that come with funding, I am sure you will hear back from at least one of them! List DOES move  I was on it for my current program (not clinical psyc though)! 
  10. Upvote
    COGSCI got a reaction from EasterInTheBatcave in Should I Do the PhD?   
    Can you defer for a year and try to gain journalism experience through an internship? After doing that for few months, you should be able to decide whether that is even a right path for you. If not, you can always go back to PhD and continue with your studies. At this point, I do not think going into PhD program is right move for you.
  11. Upvote
    COGSCI got a reaction from That Research Lady in Accepted! ..But lack of funding?   
    Congrats on your acceptance! I would talk to your POI and department about getting one year deferral for you to search for funding. You can work with your POI and apply for grants for a year so that secure some funding before you start the program. Usually schools only grant deferrals for health concerns and other complications but it would be great if they can grant you a year. 
    If you are wait-listed for other programs that come with funding, I am sure you will hear back from at least one of them! List DOES move  I was on it for my current program (not clinical psyc though)! 
  12. Upvote
    COGSCI got a reaction from xyzpsych in Potential ethical dilemma in need of help by end of Feb: rolling-admission program asks me to respond much earlier than 415   
    If you do not have a better offer at the moment, accept it for now. It is not uncommon for students to withdraw after receiving a better offer. 
    Better safe than sorry right!? 
     
  13. Upvote
    COGSCI got a reaction from GradGirl90 in Considering MPH from GSU - advice on job outlook?   
    If you are pursuing MPH for job purposes, I think biostats would give you a higher chance of employment. Epi is still great, but all MPH programs have basic epi as part of the curriculum anyways. Epidemiological criminology is not a widely known stream of public health. Also, mental health is being talked about but rarely applied in practical settings (i.e. local public health branches or CDC) so I would look into building your experience on something like disease surveillance.
    It is also helpful to see what kind of jobs are out there. Look at what kind of degree/experiences that they want from applicants. Most of the public health obs that I've seen is very much focused on epi or biostats with little emphasis on mental health. This is MY "blunt" opinion and other people would have a very different idea. 
  14. Upvote
    COGSCI got a reaction from Mallory in MPH Canada Applicant Fall 2017-KIND OF LOW GPA   
    UT requires mid-B, which is where you are at right now but there are just too many applicants each year. Since you only have few months of public health related work experience (many have years), it might be difficult for you to get accepted. Western MPH program is relatively new and less competitive so you should be able to get accepted with your current status. Memorial MPH program's application deadline is March 1st so if you would like to have that as a backup, apply.
    If you don't get into any of them, I would urge you to graduate and build research or practical public health experience instead of double majoring. 5th year is not necessary unless you really need to complete your degree. I would also advise you to apply to more schools next year.
  15. Upvote
    COGSCI got a reaction from pdf58 in MPH Canada Applicant Fall 2017-KIND OF LOW GPA   
    UT requires mid-B, which is where you are at right now but there are just too many applicants each year. Since you only have few months of public health related work experience (many have years), it might be difficult for you to get accepted. Western MPH program is relatively new and less competitive so you should be able to get accepted with your current status. Memorial MPH program's application deadline is March 1st so if you would like to have that as a backup, apply.
    If you don't get into any of them, I would urge you to graduate and build research or practical public health experience instead of double majoring. 5th year is not necessary unless you really need to complete your degree. I would also advise you to apply to more schools next year.
  16. Upvote
    COGSCI got a reaction from 2017SN in Any help or advice for my situation   
    I don't know if you were planning on taking GRE already but you need it for most US schools. I don't know about the GPA situation but I think they put emphasis on your cGPA. 
    Register for a stats course this semester before the add/drop deadline because you would need it for MPH, especially if you want to do epi 
  17. Upvote
    COGSCI got a reaction from I_mix in Overwhelmed with College, Graduate School, and a Low GPA   
    Are you only considering US institutions? If not, you can consider Canadian schools. You don't really need to worry about your GPA since they usually look at the last 2 years of your undgrad (or 10 senior level courses). 
    If you have some experience with research and other health related stuff through volunteer work, I would urge you to apply to at least 2 schools this year and see if you get in. While you are waiting for the results, you can find an internship or a research position that is related to public health. 
    If you do not get in after your first try, you can apply to more schools the year after. I have no information on your previous experiences, but I am sure you have some. It is good to go through grad school application process more than once (although it is definitely better to get in after your first try) because you actually learn a lot. Of course, this also depends on your financial capacity so do what is best for you!
    Applications are still open for some Canadian schools: McMaster U(Jan 25th), Queen's U, University of Alberta (Jan 30th), Dalhousie U (Jan 31st) and Western U(Feb 15th) 
    Lastly, you don't need to worry about your GPA for jobs because most people do not ask for your GPA during the hiring process! 
  18. Upvote
    COGSCI got a reaction from ImHis in Geology programs that either don't require the GRE or allow you to waiver it   
    Look into Canadian and UK schools (if you are open to it) many programs have full funded programs and do not require GRE 
  19. Upvote
    COGSCI got a reaction from onthovary in Preparing for MPH applications, while in undergrad   
    I would just email a prof that you are interested in working with and see if that person could use a volunteer research assistant. If you want to get paid, you can also look into work-study research position. My school used to post them at the beginning of each semester. 
  20. Upvote
    COGSCI got a reaction from sjoh197 in Geology programs that either don't require the GRE or allow you to waiver it   
    If you are planning on studying at a reputable institution in US, I do not recommend looking for schools that do not require GRE. I think you already know that since you have applied to schools like Stanford and UMass. 
  21. Upvote
    COGSCI got a reaction from ray164 in Sociology of Education PhD advice   
    PhD program is more about your research goals and fit with your supervisor. TC is a great school for education and if you publish in sociology journals while you are studying at TC , you should be just as competitive as other sociology graduates. You can also have a faculty member from Columbia sociology department in your committee so that you can make that connection. 
    I would urge you to apply to sociology phd programs as well as education phd programs because it is difficult to get a fully funded PhD offer from TC.
  22. Upvote
    COGSCI got a reaction from cherchezlaghost in Low undergraduate gpa fairly high masters gpa   
    Your grad GPA is strong so the deciding factor would be your GRE score and research fit. 
    You probably won't get into your top 3, but I think you will get some offers for sure because you have publications. Good luck! 
     
  23. Upvote
    COGSCI got a reaction from RCtheSS in Need help deciding if I should accept.   
    I don't think one year MA would be all that helpful if you are planning on applying to MSW programs for 2017 intake. I would rather start working/volunteering in social service organizations and save your money (I'm assuming MA is not funded?) 
    There are 1 year BSW programs that might still be open for 2016 fall start. I would look into that as well 
  24. Upvote
    COGSCI got a reaction from mschanandlerbong in UPenn PhD v. Harvard MS   
    PENN PHD NOW ! 
  25. Upvote
    COGSCI got a reaction from Tee Ell in Neuroscience or Clinical Psychology   
    I think it comes down to what you would like to do after. If you want to work as a clinical psychologist, you would definitely need to put in the years of course work in order to acquire those skills.
    if you are just interested in research however, 5 year funded neuro program sounds amazing.
    in terms of research rigor, I wouldn't say neuro is higher than clinical psyc. It is really about the distinction between professional or research degree.
    Also, keep in mind that you can conduct neuro research through your clinical psychology degree and still become and academic researcher, you just need to have a supervisor who is doing that sort of work.
    Congrats on getting into two great programs !!
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use