JoePianist
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Posts posted by JoePianist
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10 hours ago, MaybeMaybe2020 said:
The R1 I interviewed at last year booked all the flights the people interviewing, and provided a hotel room for those uncomfortable staying with grad students. I can't speak to whether that's the norm though.
In general, that’s the norm for large R1 research programs generating a lot of research grant money across all disciplines, though that’s a bit of a rarity for doctoral psychology programs.
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5 hours ago, teenygreeny said:
Can someone help? For one of the clinical psych grad programs I am applying to, I noticed in the application that there is a box for a "Statement of Interest" (4000 characters max) as well as a box that says "Please tell us about your previous research and how it matches the faculty you have chosen to work with" (2000 characters max). The latter question is already incorporated into my personal statement/statement of interest. Am I perhaps misinterpreting what the "Statement of Interest" should include? Is it totally different from the average PS/LOI? Any insight would be appreciated!
I’d recommend just emailing the graduate psychology department and ask them directly about what exactly they’re asking for in the “Statement of Interest” – I never had to answer anything like that when I had applied to PhD Clinical Psychology programs a few years ago, so I can’t offer much more insight
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Send both
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7 hours ago, Macykid said:
I'm taking it as a sign that maybe not as many people are applying.
Nope, don’t kid yourself on that.
- xChrisx, Vanilla Bean and Jkid
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50 minutes ago, Clinapp2017 said:
When people chime in saying that your scores are below certain suggested cutoffs, they are stating a fact.
This is true, @Psychcat23
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Unless there’s a contracted agreement in writing for your acceptance at this dream program, never place all your eggs in one basket. You need to apply to a few more.
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yes
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2 hours ago, Shivani513 said:
Thank you for that advice. I have actually decided I am going to retake as I saw on the percentiles it is quite low..
Quite a few programs have just replied to me saying they take the whole application in to consideration.. no one has actually told me what score the cut off is? But by forums I see roughly 150 - would you say that is right for clinical?
Kind regardsShivani
Speaking for my own PhD Clinical Psychology program, they actually have a secret cut-off score they’ve decided ahead of time but won’t tell prospective applicants. If I recall correctly, their GRE cut-off score last year was around 310, so roughly 305 each on Verbal and Quantitative. For the GRE Writing section, you need to score at least a 4/6 in general for most programs.
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1 hour ago, Ink-nut said:
Are there any schools I should omit due to my stats or just in general? Thanks for any advice! I greatly appreciate it!
Nah, you solid.
- Ink-nut and humanisticPOV
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11 hours ago, Clinapp2017 said:
18 is too many. I would narrow down to 10-12 where your match with mentors is highest. Any chance any of those posters can turn into a pub in progress or submitted? Posters by themselves aren’t great when papers are the gold standard.
Your GRE could also be improved by ~9 points cumulatively to help you cross the 320 threshold that is often recommended for absolutely certainty that people who care about the GRE (which I’ll add is shrinking) don’t discount your application. The difficult thing is the only “objective” measurement of performance across applicants is GRE and (maybe) pubs, as GPA can vary widely in meaning between universities, as can volunteering and other stuff.
In other words, to answer the OP’s topic question: yes.
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On 9/23/2019 at 6:53 PM, clinicalp2020 said:
Any advice or suggestions would be great! Thank you in advance!
Honestly, you’ll need to network with psychology researchers who know professors in doctoral clinical psychology programs. From there, you’ll want to build a relationship with a professor who may be willing to advocate for you with the admissions committee despite your GRE scores. Another way to directly network with clinical psychology professors is to attend research conferences where they will speak or present research — don’t be afraid to walk up to them after their talk, introduce yourself, and then discuss your interest in their work.
- Vanilla Bean and xxxxxxxxxx
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Honestly, many students who get accepted into an APA-accredited PhD Clinical Psychology program haven’t had any research publications. Have you done any research posters to present at any research conferences? In the very least, you’ll want 2-3 first author posters before applying. The liberal arts college where you work may have some local research conferences where you can present a first-author poster. Perhaps you can also contact a trusted professor leading one of the psychology studies you assist and ask them for guidance on your career goal.
For the GRE, you should be okay as long as your quantitative and verbal scores are in the 50th percentile. You’ll need to score at least a 4 on the writing section. I know some programs will be a little lenient on the verbal and writing scores for students whose first language is not English.
What are your specific research interests in terms of career goal? You don’t need to necessarily have experience working in a “clinical psychology lab” but you do need experience working on projects related to the research labs you plan to apply for in doctorate Clinical Psychology programs.
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On 9/22/2019 at 7:57 PM, psycstudent2018 said:
Hi all,
For about the past 7-8 years, I have been active in the Miss America Organization. I held two titles as a teen and three as a miss. During my time, I raised money for children's miracle network, served as a spokesperson of two organizations, attended charity events, conducted toy drives, wrote articles about healthy dating, etc. Basically, I did a LOT of community service.
I'm going back and forth, though, about if I want to include this on my CV. I have a friend who chose to include her titles when she applied and she did get in. However, in the past I did have a professor made a negative comment about my competing in pageantry.
Does anyone have any thoughts on what I should do?
If this is something personally important to you, seriously include it in your CV and briefly mention it in your personal statement if it relates to your interest in mental health. Mental health clinicians advocate for pursuing personal passions – if you come across a professor who holds your participation in Miss America against you, then they aren’t worth your time.
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The GRE is your entry ticket for the admission committee to even look at your application. The first step in their evaluation process is throwing out applications that don’t make the 50th percentile for both the Quantitative and Qualitative sections. For the Writing section, you need to score a 4 or better.
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That quant score is pretty rough — for a Counseling Psychology PhD program you need to be around 50th percentile
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10 minutes ago, ventiamericano said:
This one (aside from the first) was probably the biggest lesson I learned - just because you know your POI personally, does not mean they owe you anything. At a few of the schools I applied to, I had already worked with the POI previously and developed a good working (and personal) relationship. I interviewed with some of them (ended up being rejected) and wasn't even given an interview opportunity by one of them. This was really hard for me to swallow at first, and made me doubt everything. If someone who knew me didn't want me, how would I get in with anyone else? But the thing is, just because you dedicated some volunteer time at a POI's lab doesn't mean they owe you anything - not even a second glance at your application. With an application process as competitive as this, that's literally just not possible to expect them to forfeit spots from other capable applicants to you, just because you already have a working relationship. Again, with the rejection piece, so many factors roll into this. They've already mentored you, so it's possible that they think there's nothing else to teach you. Or, simply, they just vibed with another applicant better. At the end of the day, each of these supervisors wrote and edited my SOPs as well as my funding applications, and all my references. They wouldn't have done that if they didn't think I was capable. As soon as I realized that, I stopped beating myself up. However, this was a really important piece to helping me re-conceptualize the entire application process.
Honestly, I do find it strange that the POI’s you had applied for and worked under previously treated you that way with the process, assuming that you felt that you had a close relationship with them ? If the POI felt the same way, there should have been a biased preference for you – that’s largely how this process works but nobody talks about.
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1 hour ago, whatdonow? said:
I'm currently debating between 2 clinical psych Ph.D. offers, however, the situation is a tad irregular and I'm having trouble weighing the pros and cons.
Here's the deal:
School 1) I've been offered a spot at a good program where I felt accepted as my genuine self, made a great connection with my POI, have the option to collaborate with another PI in my field, and have been nominated for a scholarship that would increase my stipend to a decent amount. It's a well-respected program, but the location is less than ideal and my POI is more of a junior person in the field.
School 2) I was offered deferred admission (a spot in 2020's cohort) at a great program that's ranked much higher than School 1. The stipend is larger, I would not have to take out loans and would still be able to live comfortably within my means. The school is located in a major city and my POI is a very prominent member of the field. I've confirmed I could get the deferred offer in writing. The program is designed to be completed in 5 years.
Also, I have a job in my field that is secure for the next year.
Is this an easy decision and I'm just overcomplicating things? Halp ?
1. Will you also receive substantial funding from School 1, or will you need to take out any loans if you attend there?
2. For School 2, have you discussed how long your POI there is planning to stay at that institution? In the case that POI doesn't work out (he/she leaves the institution suddenly, you don't get along with them), are there any other professors in the program whose research area generally match with yours?
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Like @EileanDonan said, graduate school loans are no joke, and the debt accumulated from those PsyD programs honestly isn’t worth the pay potential you’ll have as a doctorate psychologist. If you still have your heart set on a doctorate, saving up money by working in a full-time position for a few years (whether it’s research or clinical) is your best bet.
- brainwrangler and dancedementia
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1 hour ago, 1|]010ls10o said:
Do you mind listing your institutions (2 degrees, research experience) and also the schools you applied to? Or minimally, the prestige/reputation of the PIs you worked with or of the programs? How much networking you did beforehand?
I’m shocked you had 9 interviews with those scores. Many schools would’ve cut you round 1. If you managed to be invited so many times, there hypothetically should be something excellent with your application, so what made you stand out?
They had a mentor with good connections.
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10 hours ago, 1|]010ls10o said:
Same. Doesn't matter how well you think it went. All of my interviews went extremely well. You're pre-ranked and there's often very little you can do to jump ranks unless you're charming af and your swagger is on a hundred thousand trillion
I think that’s actually a good point, from what I know of faculty now
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4 hours ago, Sosorider said:
Thank you, darn I thought they did waves... hopefully I can find a good masters program this late...
Yes, most programs send invites in waves, but they're completely done sending invites at this point unfortunately.
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3 hours ago, Sosorider said:
So I'm kinda freaking out right now.... its February and I haven't heard anything from John Jay, U of A, texas tech or Drexel. I applied to clinical psychology PhD. Should I start applying for my masters instead? My GRE was average, 3.91 GPA and 8 publications.
Unfortunately, that seems to be the case — all of those programs have already extended their interview invites by this point.
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Yes, expect these many interviews from any type of doctoral psychology program
Is anyone else worried that they won't be cut out for grad school?
in Psychology Forum
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Yes