FeelTheBern

Hey guys, my SO will be purchasing MATLAB in the very near future to start getting comfortable with it before the Fall (he has never used it before). He will be purchasing the Student License, which comes with the following items: MATLAB, Simulink, Control System Toolbox, Simulink Control Design, Image Processing Toolbox, Optimization Toolbox, Signal Processing Toolbox, DSP System Toolbox, Statistics and Machine Learning Toolbox, Symbolic Math Toolbox, Data Acquisition Toolbox and Instrument Control Toolbox. Is there anything that he should purchase in addition to the Toolboxes above that you have found useful when using this system? I would appreciate any insight from people with experience using MATLAB in the context of Psychology (Cognitive Neuroscience, in particular, if that makes a difference). Thank you

That is a lot! I think getting teaching experience in grad school is really important, but I don't think it should be a 4 year, mandatory requirement. I would be very concerned that TAing would affect my productivity and concentration on research. That just seems like it would be really overwhelming, especially because as @Plasticity said, you aren't going to realize how huge the time commitment is until you are actually in the midst of doing it. In my mind, it would definitely affect your research and stamina during the program. Also, just another thing to consider, how much are you actually going to be making from the TAship? The program that my SO is attending offers a fellowship/RAship every semester, and if students choose to TA a semester, the income they receive from that is a nice supplementary income to their fellowship/RAship, but it would by no means be enough to live off of. Of course, this could differ from program to program, but it's just another thing to keep in mind.

Thank you!! Congratulations to the both of you on your acceptances! @didion10 it's always great to hear positive things about the school and the program! Did you complete your Master's there? @vislabgirlx that's really awesome that you know someone in the program! I am glad to hear that she likes it. Congrats on UW! Seattle seems like it would be a wonderful and exciting place to live. So much natural beauty too! I have always wanted to visit/live in the Pacific Northwest!

It sounds like you would be more comfortable and happy in Program B just reading your post a couple times over. However, the job market is a beast of its own, and to me "reasonably good" is a lot better than "mixed/average" placements. FWIW, I know that if my SO was in your position he would pick Program A, but that's because him and his advisors are extremely "gung ho", if you will, about the whole life after grad school/job market thing. Maybe a question to marinate on is: can I see myself holding one of the same mixed or average positions/placements that you say Program B students have (and being happy/satisfied with it)? If the answer is yes, definitely, then Program B sounds like it would be a great program for you. If your answer is no, or you feel wishy-washy about it, I would say, in the long run, you might be happier having chosen Program A. I also want to second this! This is HUGE, and should be considered an important factor in your decision-making process! I think, for my SO at least, when comparing programs, it was pretty obvious which programs are getting their students to the press early and often and those who, well, aren't....There is a huge difference between programs who have students publishing in their last year or two, and programs who have students getting papers into high impact journals in their first or second year.

My SO will be joining the Cognition and Perception program at NYU! It was his top choice program, so we are both still in a bit of shock considering we had no expectations for anything to come of this particular application going in. I hope that everything works out for you! I can't wait to hear the good news very soon

@WillComeTrue@psyched55@mindreader@aebh615@emhopefulme I just wanted to let all of you know that reading this conversation exchange and seeing all of the up-vote support for one another made me really happy! You guys are all wonderful, supportive people and I think the good vibes that you guys are spreading on this thread are awesome. Anyway, just wanted to drop in to say keep it up, and that you are all super deserving of the good karma that is hopefully coming your way

Hey everyone! I just wanted to post to see if there is anyone on here looking for roommates who are planning on moving to the city this summer. My boyfriend and I are looking for a cool person/people to share a 2 bedroom/1 bathroom apartment with in NYC (preferably near Greenwich Village or in Brooklyn). If interested please private message me

My SO just released the offer he received from Tufts (Joint Cognitive Science/Psychology PhD). It's a relief to say that he accepted an offer and we know where we are heading this summer! Good luck to the rest of you still making tough decisions. Once everything is finalized you will feel amazing and happy

The signature says it all! Is anyone else planning on accepting their offer to NYU for the Fall 2016 semester?? My SO and I are really, really excited as this was his top choice program! If anyone wants to talk about moving to the city, housing, etc. please feel free to message me or post here, as we can use all the advice we can get before we make the big move!

Great point @Central Perk! The idea that there are no guarantees of acceptance, even if your application has improved substantially, would make me really, really nervous!! In fact, there have been a couple users on here who have claimed that they were less successful this time around compared to their first application cycle, even though virtually every aspect of their application improved!

I guess I am a little confused, did you visit the school(s) that you applied to/meet your POI and the grad students and decide that you wouldn't be happy there? Or are you worried that the school will not set you up for your future career as you would like it to? As @Tahlain mentions, your happiness in the program and at the school are both important, but there is also the question of whether the school will benefit you, and, in the end, lead to where you hope to be in 10 years. The decision-making process is an extremely personal one, so it's hard to say what would be best for you, but my SO looked at the following factors when making his decision (and he is also interested in pursuing academia): 1) Overall rank and reputation of program in question. 2) How often students in the program are publishing papers, in which journals are they publishing, and what do the citation rates look like (look particularly at your POI's current/past students). 3) Where are these students completing their post-docs? 4) Most importantly (at least for my SO), where are your POI's grad students working after they graduate? If they are tenured faculty at a university, how long did it take for them to land that position after they graduated with their PhD? Looking at these things made the decision relatively easy. However, tbh, I am not sure that my SO would have turned down a funded offer from any of the schools that he applied to because he looked at each school he was applying to and made sure that he would be happy there and that it was a program he wanted to attend before he applied. Due to the competitive nature of clinical programs, I would imagine it rare for people to turn down a funded offer and reapply the next year, unless something happened at the school they were accepted to that made them think they would be miserable and unhappy.

@Bubandis Randy!!! That's awesome.....

@Ignis was trying to help you interpret the situation, which is exactly what you asked for in your original post. Instead of listening to his/her interpretation you became argumentative and went on to say that you have, "pretty much made up your mind". Why bother posting, if you aren't willing to listen to other people's advice and you have already made up your mind?

My SO just declined his offer from Northeastern University (Cognitive Psychology PhD). His POI said that the offer would go to another deserving student if he released it, so good luck to those who applied! I hope that everyone (on the east coast at least) is enjoying this beautiful day (in early March no less! ) Take a break and go outside for a bit, if you can!

From what I understand, most stipends are taxed, so expect it to shrink. I would recommend looking at the tax table for the city/state that you are planning on moving to and subtracting whatever amount is indicated from your total stipend. This will help you to create a realistic budget for yourself.

rainbow road

Hi @DJS! I was going to post this question on here for anyone to answer, but you seem to really know your stuff, given that you have lived in NYC for over 20 years (wow!). So I'm freaking out just a little because my SO is planning on accepting an offer from NYU for the Fall. We would really like to live in Brooklyn and have heard great things from people who live there currently and have to commute to Manhattan on a daily basis. Our budget is $1500 per month and I have been able to find some great 1 bedroom/studio apartments for well under that price on Craigslist, which is awesome! My question is, when do you advise we start looking at apartments and sign a lease?? Ideally, we would like to start looking in July and move-in in August (preferably early to mid). Is this too late?? Should we really start looking in May and sign a lease in May or June (we will be out of the country June 7-July 7). I am just really nervous about looking for apartments too late and August rolling around without anywhere to live! Your help is much appreciated and please ANYONE feel free to chime in as well!

Unfortunately, I can't answer most of your questions, however, I thought that you might be interested to know that a student who was studying for her MA in Psychology from NYU (graduating in Spring 2016) was invited to the NYU interview day for Prospective PhD students. So, I think this shows that some of the MA students are definitely receiving experience that makes them competitive at the PhD level. How many MA students apply to PhD programs and are admitted? I'm not sure. Their website gives a great deal of info, so definitely check that out if you haven't yet, also, you can try and contact the Psychology department and see if they will release the outcomes of their students after they graduate with their MA (they may not have this information though). Below is also a thread from 2010 with basically this exact same question that you might be interested in looking through! There's some good info on it! ps...if you do decide to attend, my SO will most likely see you there! http://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/11824-nyu-general-psychology-ma-program/#comment-141695

@lovemc You were accepted to the MA program?? Congratulations! Do you plan on attending? @passenger47, lovemc is correct, they provide the statistics on their website. Below is a quote directly from the MA General Psych page: "The General MA program typically receives more than 400 applications each year, of which fewer than half are accepted as matriculants and less than 5% are accepted with non-degree status. Of the students accepted each year, about half actually enroll. At any one time, there are usually more than 200 students active in the General MA Program. Our students come from across the United States as well as from several foreign countries (especially India, Turkey, Korea, China, Taiwan, Lebanon, Israel, Brazil, Mexico, Russia, and Greece). They range in age from 22 to over 50, with a mean age of around 25; many have academic backgrounds and/or work experiences in fields other than psychology. At least half of the students in the general MA program share a strong motivation to become mental health professionals as their ultimate career goal, and nearly all aspire to continue for their doctorate. A large percentage of our MA students seeking admission to doctoral programs do eventually succeed, but due to the extreme competition, very few gain admission to a doctoral-level program in our own department."

@MarineBluePsy thank you for mentioning this, you make an excellent (and really funny) point! (Now I want to know your name!) I do agree that for those who do not share in the excitement of being from the same state (or having the same name, same birthday, whatever it may be), this type of behavior could be overwhelming and unwarranted. I am just unsure whether it's appropriate to label someone who acts this way a "suck up", a "show off", and a "jerk" and then going on to say, "Uh, duh I like it here or else I would have left?" When you are in a new atmosphere and nerves are at an all-time high, sometimes silly things come out of your mouth to fill the void or to try to start a conversation. Was the applicant nervous? Most likely...Was he/she trying to be noticed and remembered during the interview? Probably...Does this make them a jerk? No, I don't believe it does.

After looking at the Graduate Study in Psychology Reference Guide for 2015 that's in my library, it looks like approx. 50% (maybe a little more) are accepted to the MA program and of those accepted, approx. 50% accept. If you would like exact numbers for the program @passenger47 I would be happy to pass them along to you. If you don't mind me asking, when did you receive the MA acceptance? It seems early for that program. Congrats on your acceptances by the way! Do you know where you will be accepting yet? Or where you're leaning towards?

That's a really awesome thing to say @communityhopeful, I didn't think about it like that, but you are completely right! I found this part of your comment really offensive due the fact that I get super excited when I meet someone from my state on the east coast, (let's just say there aren't very many New Mexicans living in New Jersey) and I am in no way trying to suck up to someone or just make "small talk" with them. So I would imagine that someone living in Texas may be excited to meet someone from Texas living in Boston as well. Also, just because you left Texas and moved to Boston does not mean that you like it there. Many people move to new states/cities due to jobs, school, etc. every single day, but that doesn't mean that they like it there. Lastly, just because someone said they were from the same state as you doesn't mean they are implying that they are like you. I sincerely hope that this candidate was not spoken poorly of or labeled a "suck up" for mentioning that he/she was from the same state as you. If they really shoved past three other applicants, I could understand how that may be too forthcoming and seem desperate, but during interview days, applicants are extremely nervous and under so much pressure that it is really unfair to judge them on something like this, especially since they are most likely looking up to you and trying to impress you because you are a current student.

Just gonna leave this here...

Based on Results Search, those acceptances usually go out in late March and into April. Are you planning on attending if you are accepted into the MA program? I know that people say that NYU does the whole PhD rejection, MA acceptance thing, however, I would be curious to know if ALL PhD applicants are accepted to the MA program, and if not what percentage are accepted...