MarineBluePsy

I'm in my first year of a Clinical Psych PhD and just curious if my program is doing something unusual or not. I've just learned that two of my core classes will be taught by other students (either a second or third year) in my program. There will be a faculty member overseeing both classes, but students farther in the program have said the faculty member never shows up and leaves everything to the students who are teaching. This seems really odd to me. I'm familiar with students guest lecturing for graduate classes or teaching undergraduate classes, but teaching a core graduate class largely unsupervised? I don't assume I can dictate how the program runs, but I don't think it is unreasonable to be concerned about whether or not I will learn everything I need to. Our program isn't experiencing a shortage of available and highly qualified faculty either. Has anyone else experienced this in their program?

*bouncing off the walls* I found navy pumps! NAVY pumps!!!! Oh the outfits I can make! Don't get me wrong... there's still tons of other colors I need, but navy in a high quality brand has been a huge pain in the ass to find. Hmmm I wonder if it would seem crazy to hire someone to carry me around when I wear them so they won't get dirty.........

Organizing bookmarks is on my to do list, but I think I'm going to go shopping instead. My credit card misses me hehehe.

That's exactly how I was feeling about episode one! I don't mind weirdness, but on top of being weird it was too predictable and I was bored. I don't want to watch the seasons out of order in case it all ties together later (like American Horror Story), but hopefully season one gets more interesting.

Hmmm just watched the first episode of Black Mirror. Are they all that weird and set in the UK?

@nevermind I know right?! The thing is if the department has been doing things incorrectly then my current grade is passing. The bigger issue isn't me so much as its how many students were unfairly penalized in the past by having to do additional work, ending up on academic probation, losing funding, etc. Like you I just accepted what I earned, no matter how ridiculous a half a point shortage seemed. I didn't ask for any of this drama, but yeah I'm all up in the middle lol.

You guys are not going to believe this......the shit storm that I did not intend to create with the faculty over that half a point I am failing that class by just got worse for the whole department and that half a point may be completely irrelevant. Why? Because my department may not be interpreting the University guidelines correctly. Apparently over the holidays the professor in question consulted the guidelines which indicate it is the cumulative GPA that matters, not the individual course grades and shared this info with my advisor. My cumulative GPA for the semester is high enough to meet the University requirements and maintain my funding, so the question my advisor raised is where is the guideline backing up the requirement for specific grades in individual classes that our department has been citing all this time? Good question, because I haven't seen that written anywhere either. This was brought to the attention of the dean who agrees that perhaps our department has been doing something very wrong for who knows how long lol. So now there is going to be some kind of meeting to review the matter and the extra exam I am supposed to take to earn half a point is on hold until further notice.

And now I have finished Sons of Anarchy. Hmmm. I can't quite explain it, but I got tired maybe a third into season 6 and by season 7 I was like oh just please end already. The finale made sense, but is somehow not satisfying.

I'm going to add another bookshelf and a filing cabinet to my office so that the piles on the floor can disappear. I'm also going to try one of those online favorites storage sites because I switch browsers and computers so often its really annoying when something I bookmarked is elsewhere.

I'm confused. If you're funded by this fellowship, then why do they want you to apply for additional funding? Does it not cover all of your expenses or do they just want you to get practice applying for things? Also what happens if you don't get the additional funding you apply for, is there a penalty with this fellowship? Even though I maybe spent about 6 hours of the weekend studying it still sucked up so much of the weekend that it didn't feel like a weekend. Instead I've shifted my schedule so I have a full weekday to study in addition to the studying I do before or after class. I'm also going to spend less time in my department because I can't stand those people. Outside of school I've joined a women's social group to hopefully make some friends or just have an excuse to get out of the house. I'm also going to try exercising in the morning, because trying to do it in the evening did not work at all last semester. This kind of thing gets on my last nerve. Professors know students have lean budgets, textbooks are expensive, and the stock isn't always endless. All required textbooks should be listed 2 months in advance and there is no excuse for this not to happen.

The obsession some people have with the classics makes me laugh. Romeo and Juliet is one I greatly despise. A love story? Oh please. They were two horny teenagers that got pissed their parents wouldn't give them permission to screw and ended up dying in a foolish attempt to teach them a lesson.

Our preliminary exam tests us on basic concepts that we should have mastered early in our program so that can include some things learned in undergrad (depending on where you went and classes taken), but mostly things learned in the first 2 years of the PhD. It seems odd that your programs goal is to assess what you know less well. I mean honestly, who actually needs an exam to say "yeah I don't know how to do that" rather than just being asked?

@Pink Fuzzy Bunny My mom just stuffs hers in a box all put together to avoid the take apart struggle. And how do you have a preliminary exam already? I thought those were done about halfway through a program?!

I can't believe Zsa Zsa Gabor was 99 when she died! She looked great for 99. Then her adopted son dies shortly after....anyone else having Anna Nicole Smith flashbacks?

If its going to be cold, don't forget your winter tights.

Ok so now that I've watched 3 seasons of Sons of Anarchy I really like the show, but despise Tara. I mean could the writers make her anymore of a helpless whiner? Even when she is standing up for herself she looks ridiculous, like a kid imitating a grown up. I also just don't find it very believable that a talented surgeon would be slumming it in a no name town with I guess well meaning criminals. I get that the shows focus is the men, but it would be nice to see stronger female characters other than Gemma. That was something I never understood about the show. The designs they praised were often terrible or really boring and the winner rarely made sense to me. I liked the season that Chloe Dao won and felt that she really deserved it. She made stuff I actually wanted to wear and made stuff I never considered wearing look flattering and unique. Of course she has a successful clothing line now in some far away part of the world. Did Christian Siriano win his season? I like seeing what he is doing now, which is dressing people that most designers won't go near because they aren't 5'10 size zeros. The range and creativity he has seem like a good recipe for a lengthy career.

If a grad student is hosting you then you'll either be on the couch, an air mattress, or a cot. It probably isn't the norm for them to have a proper guest room. Your mode of transportation will likely influence what is provided for you. Last year I had to fly everywhere so the students that hosted me knew I couldn't just lug blankets and pillows on board with my carry on and had all of that waiting for me. If I had been able to drive I would have brought my own bedding. Some do and some do not. If you do this then keep whatever you give around $5 so it is very clear that it is just a thank you and nothing more. You could always just do a thank you card with a personalized note.

Yes! Always be gracious and professional. Just reply saying something like "thank you for the update, sincerely nervous nellie." It is still early in the application season and just because you're not being invited to interview now doesn't mean you won't later. I've even met people that were not invited for an interview, received an official rejection, and then months later were offered a place in the same program. That isn't the norm, but my point is you never know.

Things I asked included: 1) Are you able to live comfortably on the stipend that is provided or are you forced to seek out other sources of income or make sacrifices you would prefer not to make in order to have the basics (food, shelter, clothing, medical care, transportation)? 2) What is the POIs communication style? Hands on or hands off? Constructive criticism? Only points out mistakes, never successes? 3) What is a typical week like for you in terms of how much time is in class, in lab, doing clinical hours, doing homework, etc? 4) Are students supported if they wish to collaborate with other labs or different departments? 5) If students are interested in gaining clinical experience with a population that is not included in the current practicum choices, is the department open to creating an opportunity? 6) What are you expected to do during summers and are you provided a stipend and medical care for that time?

Not sure if it is only small institutes that offer this type of closeness (I'm guessing you mean getting to know each other personally, not just professionally), but my guess is it will vary with what the students desire and faculty availability. My guess is that you could contact the two programs you mentioned (or any other of interest) and ask if any of their current students are willing to be contacted by prospective students. In addition to this forum you might be able to connect with current students or recent graduates via LinkedIn or FB.

What happened? I haven't watched this show in years because Heidi Klum seriously bugs me.

This is a good point and I too did not expect this question in my interviews especially when most of my SOP prompts asked this. I just discussed what I had proposed in my SOP, but in a little more detail. I also made it clear I was interested in working on other projects as they came up in the lab not just to be a team player, but to broaden my knowledge base. That's another tip actually. Review the application materials you submitted before your interview. I actually had one POI pull out my CV and grill me on random pieces of it. I'm not sure if they were trying to rattle me, catch me in a lie, or genuinely interested but either way I more than knew my stuff.

What is hilarious about this is I very rarely wear makeup, but am blessed with such great skin I have trouble convincing others I'm not wearing makeup. I've even had job interviews where the hiring managers complimented my wearing tasteful and professional looking makeup. Nope, its just my face lol. On the flip side of this it makes me wonder if women with not so great skin (acne, scars, etc) are viewed as less professional when trying to cover that with makeup often just makes it worse. I do remember a guy during my interviews that wore a bow tie during each day of the interview weekend. And not just a simple black bowtie, but bright colors and fun patterns. He definitely stood out compared to the other guys, but in a good way. It was clear the bowtie was just his thing so he came off as more relaxed (not at all like he was trying to get attention) compared to the guys who couldn't stop fidgeting in their suit jackets and ties. I'm not an expert on men's fashion, but I think there is room for flexibility with a dress shirt/blazer being just as professional as a vest/tie.

This was precisely what I settled on when interviewing last year. If my wearing a colorful dress, bright nail polish, a cardigan instead of a blazer, darker tights instead of sheer pantyhose, etc was going to lead the program to decide I wasn't professional then I didn't want to be there. All of those things were uniquely me and yet my hemline was still a respectable length, my cleavage was covered, nothing was wrinkled/stained/torn, and my behavior was professional.