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My husband prefers not to move, but he has agreed to do it. He also said that if I cannot find a job afterward back here, then he will be alright with living somewhere else for a while. Personally, I'm excited about moving and have always wanted to move somewhere else. However, it's not about me. The kids are prepared if we have to move and both of them are very supportive. They're good kids and said they would adapt. I love them! The two schools I applied to closeby at least were interesting to me. My research can be extended in those directions and it makes sense. It would also help expand their programs into other areas that they probably would not get from some other students because there aren't very many who want to study aesthetics (my area). However, the distant school is a pretty perfect fit in my opinion. I say that because the POI (Is that Professor of Interest? I hope I am using that correctly!) might disagree I suppose. Many of the schools I have looked at applying (including all three I applied to) required 50th percentile and above. There were a few I did see that required 80th percentile, but they were top-notch schools and I'm not sure I'd fit in at one of those places. Am I mistaken to think that it is usually only top-notch schools that require 80th and above? I would still be willing to retake the GRE though if I need to! I kept all of my study materials just in case I am rejected.

Thank you all for your replies! I really appreciate the encouraging words. I'm actually about to turn 34...my kids are 13 and 9, so they are pretty self-sufficient for many things. I am not having more kids, so that's a plus. There are a few things I have to consider before accepting any offers. My oldest son has Hemophilia, so we would have to know there is a Hemophilia center within driving distance. My husband will have to have routine tests done over the next few years to make sure the cancer hasn't returned for a third time. Luckily, they said his cancer will always be treatable, but...Oh my goodness! Our family is drained after two times. The programs I applied to close by actually do not even offer a terminal Master's option, so I had to go that route for those schools. The distant school has a Master's option and I checked the box indicating that I would like to be considered for Master's entrance if I was rejected for Ph.D. I hope that wasn't a mistake. I really hate to uproot the family for a Master's program only, but I guess we have to do what we have to do! I definitely need a Ph.D. for my goals. I would like to teach and do research. In my undergrad, luckily, I did gain a lifelong research partner with the chair of the department. That's a plus! I guess it is all about waiting now.... If I am rejected from the three schools, would you all think that I should retake the GRE for stronger scores? I got 84th percentile in verbal, 60th in Quantitative, and 93rd in writing. The quantitative when compared to other social science students was above the 80th percentile though. However, I would be willing to study harder and retake it. I didn't have a lot of study time this time because I was busy working on my capstone paper along with other classes, doing TA and tutoring work, working on projects with the club, the chemotherapy, and spending time helping my kids with all of their stuff, too. Now, I have graduated so I will have ample study time to retake it if I need to.... For what it is worth, on all of my practice tests I always scored higher on quantitative (158-161 on tests from Manhattan Prep, Magoosh, PowerPrep, Kaplan, Princeton Review). Thank you all again for the replies!

I recently graduated with a B. S. in Psychology (seeking a Ph.D. in Social Psychology). I also graduated with highest distinction (4.0 GPA) and Honors because I completed the Honors Program requirements. My GRE scores were okay, I would have liked better. 160V 155Q 5.0AWA. I know I have a strong transcript. 73% of my grades on my transcript show an A+. I have two years of TA experience in statistics. I have also tutored for probably 10 different courses with people of different skill levels and backgrounds. I was also the president of psychology club and we did several outreach events this semester including sending gift boxes to soldiers, helping needy families on campus, and gathering about $2,000 worth of toys for a children's hospital. I don't know how important the club events were to my CV, but we did accomplish several goals this semester! I was also the vice president of our school's Psi Chi chapter. I have presented research four times including two presentations at Honors conferences, one at the MPA, and one, recently, in NYC at the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics conference. I am currently researching with a faculty member and this is my second year with him. I'm in the process of writing my first manuscript as second author, but I have no publications. While my grades are good, I'm not sure what "competitive research experience" actually means. Does anyone have any information on that? It's not important to me to get into a top 10 school. I would rather have a school where I'm comfortable with the researcher that is a pretty good school. I am in panic mode right now. I am a nontraditional student and my husband prefers if we do not move. We have two children, so if we moved it would be uprooting the whole clan. It's about more than my dreams right now. Anyway, I applied to only three schools this year. Two of them are within driving distance and the other is with the researcher that I think is my best fit. The thing is, my husband just beat cancer for the second time this year. He literally finished chemo about five months ago. It has been one awful year! I'm not as confident with the two schools nearby because I know the fit is better at the distant school. I might get in, but I'm not holding my breath. I am planning right now for three rejections simply because I like to be prepared. There is another school within driving distance that offers a Master's in Social Psychology, but not a Ph.D. The other three programs I applied to were Ph.D. because they were combined. The fit is not that great with the Master's at that school, but the researcher said that students are basically free to explore various areas of research and work with many faculty members. I can still apply to that program if I don't get in the other three. If I get rejected, would it be better to apply to this school for the Master's program that I think I can get into, or should I focus more on doing as much research as possible and finding more schools to apply to for the following year? I see so many people with Master's degrees that are applying to Ph.D. programs that it makes me wonder if I should look for separate programs rather than combined. Any thoughts or advice?