MyDogHasAPhD

Hi everyone, Figured I'd start a thread for those of us applying to Social Psychology Ph.D. programs for Fall 2017 admission. When I went through this process two years ago, there was a thread that was definitely helpful for me. I couldn't find another already started so I figured I'd get one going. Where is everyone planning to apply? I have a rather long list but my top choices are Portland State, SUNY Albany, Clark, and Penn State. Good luck, everyone! I hope we all end up in a great spot so we can continue this madness!

Thank you so much for the help and pointing me toward some more resources. I have been hitting the GRE studying pretty hard for the last month (minimum 2 hours a day). I am getting better, or at least it is all becoming a bit more intuitive than it was before so, progress! I will retake mid-October so I am hoping the next 6 weeks of studying prove to be fruitful. Thanks again!

I have talked to a few of my POIs via email and one phone call. I am getting a bit of mixed feedback. A couple of them have said that they personally do not care about the GRE compared to other experience (mostly research and fit) but their overall department and graduate school's administrative end requires GRE to be at a certain percentage, mostly due to funding. My top choice, however, did say that he believes my other experience would be sufficient to offset a questionable quant GRE. But another top school said they rarely admit applicants with under a 60th percentile in the quant section (Penn State, one of the top social psych doctoral programs currently). I have used Magoosh, private tutors, Kaplan courses, just about every resource available to me to prep in the past. I am currently using Magoosh again, as it has proven to increase my score the most in the past. I am not a great standardized test taker-- I have a math learning disability which doesn't really help.

Applying for the second time to doctoral programs this Fall. So terrified of not getting in again. Currently getting a Masters in Experimental Psych. Applying to Social/Social-Personality/Applied Social programs. Here is what I look like on paper: Undergrad GPA: 3.91/ Grad GPA: 4.0 B.A. in Psychology, will have an M.A. in Experimental Psych. Four years of research experience, two undergrad (independent studies/honor's thesis) and two grad (worked in two labs, multiple studies, process of completing my Master's thesis). Three poster presentations, Accepted to present a poster at SPSP, and two paper presentations. Two pubs under review, one accepted pub. Here's the kicker (and thorn in my side). My GRE scores. Verbal is fine (78%). Writing is fine (5). Quant...42%. I want to strongly believe my other accolades will carry me through but gosh.. I am terrified. I am retaking my GRE but honestly, it will be 6th time taking it over the course of my lifetime and I have raised it a total of 10 points over that period of time. I just don't see myself breaking the 50th percentile, but I am trying to be optimistic. So what do you guys think? Think I am screwed because of that dang quant score?

Yay!! Congrats. You give me hope!!

Oh no! I guess whoever down voted me can't find humor in a bunch of pretentious PoliSci people self destructing or maybe it was due to the fact that they feel bad for my awful sleep patterns.

Entertainment for daaays...Thanks for fueling my insomnia!

Yes! I won't complain. Only would have been happier with a funded PhD but that goes without saying! Hopefully my luck improves in two years.

It looks like I'll be going to Western Carolina MA in experimental psych. No PhD admissions for me this year and kind of hard to turn down a funded Masters...

Anyone wanna help me make a decision? I was offered admission to a small, but still solid, Masters program with faculty doing research within the realms of my interests. I also was awarded an assistantship that will pay my tuition in full. I'll still end up taking out loans to have money to live on though. I did not get into any PhD programs this time around. I also applied to few lab manager positions and research assistant positions, and have not gotten any of those. This is probably due to my lack of experience working in a large scale lab (I have only conducted my own independent studies and honor's thesis projects). I have received some feedback that I should not get my Masters but try to get a job in a lab while trying to get my GRE Q score higher (basically the reason, according to two of my POIs anyway, that I did not get into PhD programs this time around) and reapply. However, at this rate, reapplying next season doesn't seem feasible. I won't be able to start working in a lab until June, if I did get a lab job, so I'd really only have about 5 full months working in a lab by the time applications were due again. I am starting to think taking the offer at the Masters program is the best option but I still have the words of a few and some of my own words in my mind about trying to get a lab position and try this again without the Masters. Does it matter if the Masters program isn't a top program? I have heard from some people that unless that Masters has a PhD program too, then going to get a Masters is sometimes useless. But if it's funded, what do I have to lose? Thoughts, feelings, opinions, always welcomed as I try to decipher life.

Saw someone got into Social psych at SUNY Albany. If you're reading this, would you mind sharing your POI with me via message? Applied and haven't heard a peep! Thanks.

Thank you! It does help

Hey guys, So I am pretty much all but rejected to all of the PhD programs I applied to this year. After a lot of debate and opinions from professors and friends (thanks grad cafe!), I have decided that pursuing a Masters may be a pretty solid route for my specific situation. Before I make a definite decision, I was wondering how much of a difference it truly makes in your ability to gain acceptance into a PhD program. For those of you who applied to PhD programs prior to attending a Masters program, did you see a significant difference in the amount of interview invites and acceptances when applying again with your Masters? Thanks!

Had a well respected faculty member who had wrote many books on getting into PhD programs tell me to view my older age (28..jeez! Not THAT old) as a positive thing.. Most faculty take it that you're more mature, more serious about your long term career goals, and are more willing to invest in you as a student. Not to bash any young 20s applicants out there at all..but when I was 21, I didn't know who I was or what I was doing. Props to those who do! But being older is a positive thing and I have heard that from many people across the board.

This! I also have a Math LD. I feel your pain.

I also wonder if at the ripe old age of 28, I'd be considered an "older female." I suppose relative to those fresh out of undergrad, I would be.

Anyone apply to SUNY Albany for Social/Personality? Just wondering if anyone has heard anything yet. Haven't been able to find anyone else who has applied to this school for this particular program yet.

Ah yes. I really need to take a look at this data as it really irks me. How can one predict that the test truly predicts "graduate school success" when those who score poorly are often times not given the chance to show that it actually doesn't? Does anyone know if they look at, for instance, someone who scored in the 80th percentile and someone who scored in the 50th percentile and compare their graduate school performance? Does the 80th percentile outperform? I really am wondering how they can come to this conclusion if often the only people allowed in to graduate school score high?

I was in the final cuts for a PhD program this cycle and my Quant score was below the 50th. My verbal and analytical were well above the 50th. My POI told me she wanted to accept me but had to petition to the grad school to secure my funding since one portion of my GRE was below the 50th percentile. She was unsuccessful at convincing that I was worth "the risk." So it definitely does hold a negative weight at certain schools and this wasn't even an ultra competitive program in comparison to others. She said it was the only reason I could not be admitted I had high grades in stats and methods and a good amount of quantitative based research. It's a total crappy reality but with as competitive as these programs are, it may be a pretty substantial ding in an otherwise very strong application. I speak from experience.

Anyone hear from SUNY Albany? It's the last nail in my acceptance coffin so I'm debating whether or not to lose total hope for this season.

Just to offer my opinion... While my situation is not identical, I didn't get into the PhD programs this time around that I fit best with. I haven't heard back from my last program yet but my POI there has made some promising contact but I found a master's program with faculty doing research that is more similar to what I want to do. So I'm highly considering an MA in Experimental Psych there just to better my chances of getting into a PhD program that I really want because my masters research would be heavily focused on what my top two choices are focused on. The funding issue is also my only qualm but there seems to be opportunities for funding at this paticular university. My thoughts are this. A PhD program is a long hard commitment and if you don't absolutely love the program, I feel like it's going to be a long road. If you have an option that is likely to ultimately result in you being accepted to your dream program, researching exactly what you want, and you're not in some mad rush to finish schooling and can incur a bit more debt if you even have any at this point, I'd say it's worth it

I simply cannot.

Exactly! I am just trying to take this as a sign that it wasn't meant to be at this point in my life for whatever reason and as long as I still want it, which I totally do, then life will find a way of putting it in my path. Tough pill to swallow but I've worked too hard to just accept defeat at this point. If you don't mind me asking, where did you get your Masters?

Thanks everyone for their input. The GRE really is so problematic for so many people and I know the argument is that it is supposedly predictive of graduate school success but I'd say that is a statement derived from, in my opinion, a pretty skewed set of data. How can it be said that the GRE is predictive of success if those who don't perform as well don't even get a chance to get accepted and show otherwise?! Boils my blood. I am pretty much geographically open to just about anywhere. I actually was excited to get out of my current city so I am willing to expand my horizons for both graduate and lab opportunities. I guess I put too many eggs in the PhD program basket and should have been prepared in case it didn't come to fruition. I applied to three research assistant positions that I found postings for yesterday but I think I might also apply to some Masters programs as well and see what happens. For someone who is a self-proclaimed control freak, this whole "I have no idea where I'm going to be in four months" thing is really unnerving. Not to mention, this whole process has taken such an emotional and financially toll on me. The thought of doing this all over again is pretty much making me want to run for the hills but I guess redundancy is the name of the game here in prospective PhD student land.

It seems as if I have been rejected from all but one of my schools, officially. This was my first attempt at getting into a PhD program, and I have learned so much about what to do in this process and what NOT to do. First off, I should have definitely applied for more than 6 programs, but money is not always easy to come by so that's just the unfortunate reality of the situation. I did make it to final interview rounds for one of my programs and was lucky enough to get some really honest feedback as to why I did not get accepted. My verbal and analytical GRE scores were great, my quantitative was not so much. It was under the 50th percentile. This particularly POI did tell me that it made it really difficult for her to secure funding for me with a quant score less than 50% and that ultimately, that was why I was rejected from their program. Obviously, retaking my GRE and beefing up that score is going to be crucial if I do apply again next year. So now I find myself at a bit of a cross-roads. I have two solid years of research, no publications, one conference. My research experience is all independent studies and honor's thesis work, so it was basically me doing everything from full scale literature research, recruitment, and analyses. I had one professor tell me that going to get my Master's in experimental psych (I want to go to either community or social programs--eventually want to do prevention and intervention program research/development) would at least show that I can do coursework, including stats, at a graduate level which could make up for my lackluster quant score. Then I had two other professors tell me that I should work in a lab for a year while I keep trying to raise my quant score and that going to get my Master's should be my last case scenario. My GPA is a 3.91, so not much to worry about in that department. I suppose going to a Master's program might give me more opportunities for research and publications but I also don't want to go deeper into debt that I already am in student loans. So my question for anyone with input is: Does it make a whole lot of sense for me to go to get my Master's at this point or would I fare better trying to get my GRE up and try to get in with a lab and apply again next season? Thanks everyone!