kara.spinney

As interview invites start rolling in. Make sure to utilize this site and post any invites here as well.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/2014-2015-official-psychology-ph-d-psyd-interview-invite-thread.1110113/

I started out with 4 schools and my advisor (Recommender) told me I should be going for 12-15 for a clinical Ph.D. Often they can write one letter and just send it out to all your schools. I call one of my professors Ninja Ref. Sometimes it seemed like I would click send to provide his email address as a recommender and my email would alter that the recommendation was received.

All in all, your profs know the process and if they agree to write for you they are agreeing to the whole process. The question for you is what is the competition like in your field and how much do you want to spend on applying. Each app plus transcripts and GRE costs a few pretty pennies!

There's a forum that is keeping tack of ongoing interview invites and interview dates. Make sure to post there as well! Congrats to thode who have already obtained one!

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/2014-2015-official-psychology-ph-d-psyd-interview-invite-thread.1110113/

I don't think that 10+ applications is uncommon for clinical psychology applicants.

Hi all,
 
 
I recently finished a PhD at Stanford, and I've compiled what I learned going through two rounds of the application and interview process (lessons learned from a first disastrous round, compared to my later successful attempt), as well as from serving as a student member of the admissions committee for my department. As a way of paying it forward to the gradcafe community, if you PM me I'd be glad to share a short PDF with you.
 
Cheers and good luck!
 
 

Don't even get me started on how not 'easy' this solution is. I think you know yourself it's not an easy solution. 
 
To answer your original question, I think your therapist has it right. Hang out with happily married/dating people and try to have fun with them in the moment. I think it's normal to sometimes want what someone else has, but you also need to learn to move past it. Unless we are talking about someone who constantly only talks about their SO, conversations will revolve around lots of things, including loved ones, and that's just a normal part of life. You have to get used to talking with people about their lives, if you want to have any friends at all. So, just get started, and soon enough you'll get used to it and it won't be a problem anymore. It might help to just stay in the moment and not constantly compare yourself to the person you're talking to. You're different people with different backgrounds so it doesn't make sense to expect that you'll be in the exact same place in life in every respect, and the fact that someone is married is just not relevant to the situation where you're just hanging out with them and having fun. You need to learn to not think about it all the time. 

Check the school's admission stats, but I think your scores are very competitive! From what I've heard, even schools that require the Psych GRE don't place a ton of emphasis on it, and just want to see that you were above the 50th percentile. I say just go for it! 

Oh boo freaking hoo, psych face. You are a student I would probably reject if you made it to our interview phase, because you're so freaking unpleasant to listen to. Your insecurities have sullied my good intentions. I have things to lose too, you know. Goodbye, you little shit.

I think a 690 is completely fine. Most doctoral programs I've seen waver around 700 as the average Psych GRE for Accepted Students. 

That really stinks!   I would be really upset, too. I wouldn't dwell on it too much, though. There's nothing that you can really do about it now, and in the end, I doubt that it will be the deciding factor in the committee's decision.

For the record, I appplied to 10 programs, got interviewed at 9 (withdrew from 1), and was subsequently admitted to 7 and waitlisted at 1. I won't say where I applied, but there were mostly all top 10 programs. I originally thought I would get in nowhere, so this was a nice surprise. Needless to say, I feel somewhat well qualified to give application advice.

1) Admissions, contrary to what many say, is NOT random. I did a ridiculous amount of interviews and saw many of the same candidates at multiple schools. Were they just overly lucky? I think not. If you're application is strong, you will be given the proper consideration. The hard part is gaging where in the pack you lie (I didn't know this until well into March).

2) I felt like I applied to too many programs. It's a good situation to be in, yes, but turning down people is very, very difficult. I think 5-6 is a good number. Like I said before, admissions is NOT like the lottery.

3) Focus on what you have to offer in terms of skills in your statement of purpose. Why should the grad school choose you? I was applying right out of undergrad and as sophisticated as I thought my research interests were then, I look back and realize how naive this portion of my statement must have sounded. I spent maybe three sentences on what I'd like to work on. The rest was focused on how my past helped shape those interests and provided me with the skills to pursue research in those interests.

4) I'm under the impression that schools already have a ranked list pre interviews, and that the order is unlikely to change except in extreme cases. So don't fret, and just be yourself.

5) It's not necessarily to contact professors beforehand. It's sometimes useful to do so however, to see if a professor's interest in a particular area not necessarily listed online. Also useful to see if prof is taking new students. Completely optional though, just make it clear who you want to work with in your ststament.

6) write down your thoughts after each day during interview weekend for each school. Make notes of first impressions of professors. You will be grateful come decision time

I think this thread is great! Such insightful, well thought-out advice. As someone who has been a student rep on the admissions committee for their university, I'd add the following common sense (or not so common sense) advice:

1) Learn how to edit! Spelling, grammar, context, everything. I'm shocked at the number of applications I've seen where a doctoral applicant has mixed up "their" and "they're" or used "it's" instead of "its" or used the (non-existent) word "alot." I honestly can't believe that someone would turn in an application without proper editing. It's painful for an admissions committee to read those kinds of errors. If you really aren't great with words, then enlist the help of someone who is!

2) Don't give a university any reason to automatically toss out your application. If they ask for three rec's, then send three not two. If they ask for original transcripts, then send originals not photocopies. If they ask you to contact potential supervisors well in advance, then don't e-mail someone the day before your application is due and think that this will be okay! Grad school entry is already competitive enough without you giving the admissions committee a reason to immediately toss you. They'll think one of two things: 1) that you can't read or follow directions; or 2) that you somehow think you're "above" the requirements.

3) Prioritize supervisory fit and the academic strength of the department over the level of prestige the school's name carries. I know many people will disagree with this, but in the end, if you and your supervisor are a bad match, your life will be hell and no amount of school-name-prestige will help you get published, or hired, or funded, or make you happy.

I still respectfully disagree. If someone is applying to those schools for the reasons you enumerated, yes, that would be a very bad idea. But if someone is applying in, say, particle physics and is interested in studying X particle under Y conditions, and it just so happens (I have no idea if it does or not) that the majority of people interested in studying X under Y are located at those schools. (Which does tend to happen frequently, at least in my own field -- there are certain topics that are 'hot' and complex, which are not being studied at the lower-tier universities which prefer to focus their energies on more "manageable" subjects.) Therefore, if our applicant is interested in X under Y and realizes that the prestige of her university will affect her ability to later attain a TT job, she may choose to apply only to the top n schools in her field. Not JUST because of prestige, but because that's where she has the best fit -- that's where people are studying what she's interested in. Prestige is a minor factor that only comes into play in her perception insofar as it affects her ability to get a TT job eventually.
Sure, she might not get in to these n schools, but she can then take time off and improve her application until she can.
tl;dr Fit >>>>> prestige in terms of importance. However, sometimes the two are correlated.
While these questions are optional, I feel you can answer them in such a way that will help your application. When I personally answered mine, I held two ideas in my mind:
1) Answer with schools of a similar tier (because I didn't want schools thinking they were my only reach or my only safety, and
2) Answer with schools that had the most similar research focus and theoretical foundation. For example, if applying to school B, and POI B went to grad school at C and collaborates frequently with D (both schools to which I'm applying), to answer that question I might list C and D for school B's application.
Just my personal approach to it, and the main thing I'm trying to emphasize by this is that there are a lot of different ways answers to that question could be perceived. When answering, it's best to decide how things are viewed in your own field and the sort of message you think it is most appropriate to transmit, and respond accordingly.

That is not necessarily true for all fields. Many people do that to maximize there chances. It is no different then someone only applying to a few. And reasons why some people apply to several are because many people are good in certain fields, there is not only 'one' distinguished person in that field, people would be honored to work with those people, and many schools can have a strong fit for a person depending on the field, most likely, the humanities.

As someone who is applying to grad school in psychology though my degree is in business, I can tell you (through searching for the relevant information for my own situation) that many programs require a minimum number of credit hours in psychology, and often the Psychology GRE for non-majors. Since you have neither of those things (and it's too late for the Psych GRE this year), as well as no research experience, I have a hard time believing you would be competitive. 

I hear you, but that's just the name of the game. it's up to you. If you have the resources to spend applying this year on the slim chance of an admit, then go for it. But note that  - depending on the caliber of the school - you will be competing with people with strong grades in the subject matter, years of research experience and defined research interests - potentially with publications. If you're willing to take your chances that's fine, but if you do I would also apply to a couple master's programs as well. You can always turn down the offer, but a master's (especially with a thesis) is one of the best ways to increase your competitiveness as an applicant if you have no previous background. I would also take the psychology GRE.

What kind of program are you thinking of applying to? I think if you were interested in a master's degree, there is a good chance of admission so long as you have a well developed focus in your SOP - though bear in mind this would probably be unfunded. If you are not interested in a master's and are aiming for a PhD instead, it is highly unlikely you would gain an admission without *some* kind of research experience. In this case, it would be in your best interests to gain some research experience by volunteering in a lab (potentially get hired after a while if you are good/are lucky), taking some psych classes at your local community/extension school and applying next year.