Rose Tyler

Wow that's awful. I'd say it's time to write them off as a lost cause and take another offer. Even if they did respond, interview you, and make an offer, do you really want to go to a school like that?

I love school, I'm not burnt out, and I'm really looking forward to graduate studies. And there isn't much within my field that I can do with just an undergrad degree, so I don't really see the point of waiting. Being able to defer my student loans is a nice bonus too let's be honest.

I agree, you'll have two years to prepare and take the test. Depending on the experiences that you amass during your master's it might be enough to override a poor score (assuming you get in past any cut-offs for your preferred programs), but why risk it?

1. Took the GRE more seriously. My quantitative score was not good. I had to scratch a few programs off my list because of cut-offs and I think it really hurt my chances with the ones I did apply to. 2. Applied to more programs. I didn't really have a choice because finances played a major part in my decision to only apply to seven programs, but I think I could have figured something out. I also wish that I hadn't restricted my search geographically. 3. My SOP. I wish I'd spent more time discussing why I was a good fit for each program, been clearer about my research interests, and clarified my future goals. All that being said, this cycle was really an eye-opener for me and I think I'll be much better prepared the next time around, whether that's this fall or after my masters.

I'm in a similar situation, rejected from all doctoral programs and now interviewing at two masters. I'm kind of surprised that schools with clinical PhD programs are admitting students to terminal masters. I agree with above, ask about acceptance rates to the PhD program, especially if she hopes to attend that school. Acceptance rates to doctoral programs would probably be a good question to ask of any potential program. Funding is definitely also something to ask about and keep in mind. Personally I think the experiences that you'll gain at a particular program and how well you fit there based on research interests and just personal fit are far more important than any arbitrary ranking.

Keeping myself as busy as possible. I'm taking 13 credits, plus I work three jobs, and most of my free time is spent in the lab. I'm even spending my afternoons there through all of spring break. Otherwise, reading books and watching a lot of TV. I should finish season ten of Stargate SG-1 tonight.

I know the feeling. I had a long list of schools and I was only able to pick a few because of limited finances. A part of me can't help but wonder if things would be different had I picked one school over another. I've had a lot of challenges this application cycle. There's one common theme: I wish I'd started everything earlier. I procrastinated so much and ended up doing a lot of things last-minute that I wish I hadn't. In particular, I should have contacted my letter-writers earlier and stayed in contact more often. I had a bunch of letters go out on the deadline or after. One of my letter-writers got all of his in on the deadline. My applications were mostly due on December 1st which, of course, meant that Thanksgiving break was the week before. The week before that he was at a conference. I didn't study for the GRE as much as I should have, only getting started a couple weeks before my test date. I've always been good at standardized tests so I wasn't all that worried until the date of the test when I turned into a nervous wreck. I didn't perform well and retaking was not an option. I had to take a couple of schools from my list because of percentile cut-offs. Figuring out my interests has been one of the hardest things. I have a number of things I'm interested in, all related, but it's hard for me to explore in order to narrow them down because there aren't any prolific researchers in clinical psychology at my school. This really complicated writing my SOP, where I was trying to explain my interests for graduate study while also discussing my research experience in another (related) field.

Wow. Must say I'm glad. P.S. Ann Arbor is not Detroit. Not even a little bit.

I just got an interview with a masters program and I'm waiting on another one. While, obviously, an in-person interview would be preferred, I live in a relatively remote location and plane tickets are very expensive. I want to be able to put my best foot forward without having to completely drain my bank account. Does anyone have any stories about getting an acceptance with a phone interview? What can I expect from the interview? How much of a disadvantage will I have?

“Where are you going to grad school?” - my personal least favorite because I always have to bite back "I don't know it's not my choice right now." “When are you going to hear back?” “Don’t worry, you’ll get in.” "It's still early. Don't lose hope." - Mom when I told her that I wasn't feeling as optimistic about my chances...until I explained to her that all invites had already been sent out “What’s your back-up plan?” “I’m glad I decided not to apply to grad school.”

You seem like an incredibly solid applicant. It's possible you may not have done anything wrong; there were just applicants with different profiles that caught the eye of your programs, perhaps with a better research fit. Clinical psychology is extremely competitive. The only thing that caught my eye is that your quantitative score is low.

Cry. Then go home for the summer. Get a job. See if I can find a research position. Retake the GRE. Reapply next cycle. My SO is applying to teach English overseas, but if she doesn't get in I might ask her to run away with me. Followed by above: job, research position, GRE, next cycle.

I've gotten two emails inviting me to "information sessions" in the last week. It's killing me, especially because one of those schools I expect if I don't get an interview invite this week I'm not going to get one at all.

Just clinical please.

Can those with invites from UNC-Greensboro please PM me your POIs? The silence is getting deafening over here. Thanks!

I haven't heard a peep from UW-Milwaukee, but at this point I'm writing them off.

I applied to five, which the expectation to apply to four more that are masters. I had a whole bunch more that I wanted to apply to, but that's all I could afford. Plus I had to drop a couple top choices because of GRE cut-offs. There's no point in applying to schools that you have no intention of attending just to "have more." Way too much time, money, and effort for absolutely no reward. If I have to go another cycle, my intention is to apply to a much larger range of schools, from all over the country rather than limiting myself geographically (even though my limit was just "East") as long as there's a potential fit.

It's looking increasingly likely that I'm going to be falling on a back-up plan. My SO is applying to teach English overseas so my plans are also contingent on how that goes. Plan A is to get into a master's program. My GPA is solid, but I would be looking to gain independent research experience in an area actually related to my interests. Plan B is to go home for the summer, try to get a lab assistant position at a nearby university, volunteer extensively, study my butt off to retake the GRE, and work as much as possible to save up for the next application cycle. I am open to the idea of moving somewhere else for a paid lab position or a job, but I'm not sure how to go about it.

What CogPsych said. For programs where the POI sends invites/acceptances, it helps to know whether its yours or not. If it is and you don't hear around the same time, then it's probably a no. If it's not, then there's still hope that your POI just hasn't gotten to that point yet. For me, it gives me some semblance of knowledge about how things are going. As for why they are secret, I don't think there's any reason other than personal preference and privacy. Some people don't feel comfortable publicly sharing their POIs and some are okay with it.

Me too please! It's my top choice program and I'd be very grateful.

Agreed. Some programs in my field don't send official rejections until April, though by then it's obvious. Why can't they just say no?

I'm right there with you. Most of my friends aren't applying to grad school at all and one of them decided to wait a year. Every other conversation about grad school with her involves "I'm so glad I decided to wait" which isn't particularly helpful. My SO also decided not to apply to grad school, though she is applying to teach English overseas so she does at least understand the stress of waiting. I'm trying to stop venting to her because she doesn't really have much to say. Just basically "Okay" and "I'm sorry." I told my mom about the presumed rejections. She just told me not to lose hope and reminded me that if all else fails I can stay at my undergrad institution (though the more that I think about it, the more I realize that would be a bad move). Venting just turns out to be more exhausting then it's worth.