constant_wanderer

Lady Grey, I'll give you an example. This fall will be my 3rd season of applications. Two undergraduate degrees, 2nd (psych) degree overall GPA 9.4/10 (Canadian), 1 sole-author publication (journal impact factor above), 1 conference presentation, 2.5 years of research experience in three labs (not counting the honours thesis), 3 years of clinical experience, GRE: 170V, 161Q, 6AW; 790Psych. Rejected from 10+ schools on first round, 4 on second round, having applied everywhere in terms of geography and rankings (as long as research interests were similar). Maybe I/O is less competitive than clinical, but I'm just giving you an idea.

Wow. A moderator trolling in a thread. The power to delete and reprimand users getting to you, rising_star? Or do you really think that this kind of communication is suddenly acceptable because you are a moderator, or because you have been to graduate school? Do you graduate student folks really think that an admission to graduate school makes you a superior human being, or something? Then don't bother talking to us lowly mortals, and go off to frolic in your ivory-walled gardens where there is no rabble like us challenging your claims to superior intelligence and ability.

Weisz is done interviewing.

Maybe because I'm not from the States, these rankings make no sense to me. How can Florida State rank higher than Notre Dame or Fordham in psychology?

Who are these lucky souls who got invited to UOttawa interviews next week? Is this a program-wide thing (I mean the clinical stream), or is it individual profs who extend invitations? Queen's and McGill also keep me mystified. Being competitive schools and all, you think they'd do things a bit faster… I emailed POIs there, and I presume/hope silence means they're still deciding. If I'm ever becoming a program coordinator for a clinical psych program, I swear I will send people prompt rejections instead of just ignoring them. Crushed hopes are better than the waiting anxiety.

After confirming with the department staff that no mass invites have been extended, I emailed my POI, who was generally incredibly friendly and responsive previously, and was met with silence. I presume he's still reviewing… My general strategy is to call the secretarial staff before emailing POIs, just to confirm the invitations haven't been sent before chasing after profs. This Harvard situation… Stressful is not the word.

Expect a 9-5 day with some formal interviews (abt 30-40 mins) with your POI and another prof or two, then an interview or two with a couple of graduate students. Also expect some activities in a group setting, e.g. some informal socializing time (e.g. a coffee break/lunch), a mini-tour of the psych building/campus, office spaces allotted for graduate students. Expect that you will be asking most of the questions; so, effectively, you are evaluated based on the quality of your questions. You should be evidently ready to talk about your proposed research project, your current work/research, and your future professional goals. Keep your interviewees talking, show an interest in the program, lab etc. you are applying to. Ask questions about funding, living costs, work ethic of the lab you're applying to. Depending on the school/professor, you will be invited to an informal dinner the night before or after the interviews.

Anyone heard anything from U of Victoria? Also, it seems that most interview invites for Western have already been made. The interview weekend is next week.

I think with your marks and scores you should have a solid chance at many experimental master's programs in the UK (e.g. Sussex, Kent, Leeds.) Mu question is: why not the MA programs in the US/Canada? Many psych programs on this side of the Atlantic continue to review apps for experimental psych even after the deadline (although they would never advertise it on their website. E.g. Ryerson in Toronto, McMaster, Dalhousie -- same with the MAs in the States. You have to call around and ask.) That way, you stand a better chance competing with North American students next time you apply for a doctorate in N. America). If you'd like to stick to the UK, I'd say go for the plan that gives you a more competitive CV. In the long run, an extra year will not seem that much more of a drag, if that's even the right word.

He wasn't my POI, thankfully, although in clinical psychology, where you often apply to 15 schools and get admitted to 1-2, you may not have a choice. One of my professors has been coaching me to just go wherever I'm admitted this year without thinking twice about it, but I can't help thinking -- what if I discover during interviews that the professor is just a really poor match for me, and he/she/they are the only person that admits me? Five nightmarish years vs. another year of applications, uncertainty, and dipping further into my pocket for all those application expenses with no stable income... That would be a difficult choice to make, wouldn't it?

If I may add my two cents to the earlier discussion in this thread (sorry, Syedahum): for the sake of my sanity, I would try not to think about external factors in admission decision-making that I have no control over (e.g. ethnicity, age, gender, funding factors and internal politics), and just work my hardest at improving the factors I can control (gain research experience, publish etc.). Otherwise, it's too discouraging. The intense competition and the huge number of folks competing for one spot is just the new reality of the labour market. A few years back after completing my first degree and straight out of uni, I applied for a secretarial job with a little marketing firm. Two rounds of interviews, 280+ applicants for a job that consisted mainly of booking appointments, answering the phone, and making coffee, complete with a fairly nasty boss. So, it's just the brave new post-recession world, not just psychology grad programs -- and it shouldn't get to us, shouldn't let us lose hope in ourselves. In a way it's a test of how badly you want to pursue the career/degree you are applying to, and a reason to examine why you are applying to this specific program/supervisor/grad studies.

I. am. so. confused.

Was the interview invite a generic one from the program coordinator, or from a professor?

They've just started to review applications.

Whoa, I'm a whole another bird compared to the earlier posters! I'm interested in the multifaceted aspects of early trauma (family conflict, abuse, forced or unplanned migration), the way it affects our personality, and its role in impulsivity, sensation-seeking, and criminality. There is a developmental twist to it too, because my two populations of interest are adolescents and young adults. My work and research experiences being mostly related to sexual violence, working with both offenders and survivors, I also have a sub-interest in human sexual behaviour, although I'm more broadly interested in forensics and trauma research. If anyone shares my interests, do get in touch: the only thing I like nearly as much as doing research is talking about research!