MarineBluePsy

My responses are from the perspective of an applicant researching POIs to apply to..... 1) Is this a Canadian or a US program? I ask only because there may be a difference in the "usual" time to gain full professorship. Also did this professor take some time off.....maternity/paternity leave, illness, sabbatical to work on a project outside of academia, caring for child/parent/spouse, etc? Does this professor also run a private practice? If so maybe they don't want full professorship and like the balance they currently have. It is very appropriate for you to ask a POI where they see their career going in the next 5-10 years. 2) This would be a huge negative for me, probably bigger than the other concerns you've expressed. If you won't be going on internship until your 7th or 8th year that's a lot of years you're not out establishing your career, paying into retirement, etc. If clinical hours are being sited as a reason for the lengthy stay then what is the program doing to remedy this? Are they working to create additional opportunities for students to earn hours? Are they modifying the existing curriculum so that students can start their hours in their 1st year rather than waiting until a later year? Regarding the funding, I'd also want to know what's being done to remedy this. Are the professors not applying to enough grants or just not earning enough grants? Are students expected to apply for some grants on their own and might be struggling with this process? Are there outside fellowships or externships that aren't being taken advantage of? Is the department open to establishing externships in the community since those could provide both hours and funding? 3) If the POI has no current grants, doesn't appear to have done much publishing recently, and their most recent students haven't published much then what exactly have they been doing? Were they funded to write a book? Did they take on a heavier courseload? Were they consulting in the community? Your primary question here should be how will this POI fund you?

Now there may be some states or employment contracts that require a person to give more notice, but that doesn't apply to my situation. For me 2 weeks is a professional courtesy and I wouldn't feel right with anything less since I'm not being treated horribly. I also took into consideration that if things were different and management were to do layoffs its likely I wouldn't be given any notice let alone 2 whole weeks. Leaving on my terms means not only that I control when my last paycheck comes, but also how long I have access to my benefits.

My employer doesn't know that I've applied for graduate school and I won't be saying anything until its time to put in notice that I'm leaving. The job I'm in is a dead end and management knows this, yet they don't want to hire people that don't plan to stay forever. I get that it costs money to hire and train, but if there's no incentive for people to stick around for more than 1-2 years then either accept that this is a stepping stone job or create incentives. So here's how I've handled the time off. I didn't take a single vacation day that way I'd have plenty of time for interviews and to deal with relocation stuff. I did not explain why I wanted to take time off, just put in the request in advance and did my job otherwise. Should I get an offer this season then I'll give my employer 2 weeks notice and nothing more. My job will be wrapped up properly so that anyone needing to cover for me until someone is hired won't be overwhelmed.

Marine Blue is a type of butterfly that I think is pretty and I dig Psychology lol.

I think another question to consider is if you can actually transfer and finish your Master's elsewhere. Not all graduate programs will take credits from other programs and let you pick up where you left off. If that is the case then you may have to start all over or repeat a portion of your training and would that added time in a lower cost area outweigh staying put and finishing on time?

Dried beans are also cheaper so that's a plus. Because dried beans take way longer to cook regardless I find that sometimes I need to let the beans slow cook for a bit first and then add everything else, so you'll have to experiment until you find the right method. I've heard some people soak them overnight first and then add them to slow cooker recipes, which is something I haven't tried but doesn't seem too inconvenient.

This site has some good ones: http://ohmyveggies.com/50-vegetarian-slow-cooker-recipes/ I'm also not a vegetarian, but sometimes I like to mix it up. I've also found that most meat included crockpot recipes can easily be substituted for your choice of non-meat protein.

In my Master's program I used federal loans to cover tuition, books, and fees. I worked a full time job with health insurance and used that money for living expenses and transportation. When applying to PhD's this round I only chose programs that offered full funding....meaning stipend, health insurance, tuition waiver, etc. My hope is to not have to take out much more in federal loans.

Thanks for all the financial tips everyone. Yes I agree short term debt is always a bigger priority and if I continue on my current plan I will have wiped out 90% of mine this summer. That means if I get in this round my stipend will be focused on current needs rather than past life lessons. The income boost in Clinical Psychology largely depends on where you choose to work and the cost of living there. So sure there are new grads making just under 6 figures starting out, but then there are also plenty making much less than that.

I didn't realize you could make a smaller contribution and yeah $50 is pretty reasonable. Hmmm I'll have to look into this further.

How are you saving for retirement on a grad student stipend? I'll admit my knowledge of retirement savings is limited. As I'm currently not in school and just working full time my job takes a huge chunk of my money (*grumble* darn union *grumble*) and puts it into a retirement account. I know you can set up an account at most financial institutions, but aren't the minimum monthly contributions kind of high?

I'd add getting a crockpot and actually using it. I'm amazed at all the meals I'm able to create and the leftovers really come in handy during busier weeks. Also casserole dishes that are freezer/oven/microwave safe. You can throw in all the raw ingredients to be frozen until you need it, then defrost and straight into the oven for dinner. I also saved a ton of money switching to natural cleaners. Vinegar and baking soda make my house much cleaner than any of those commercial products I spent tons on and they leave a clean smell rather than a chemical one. An unexpected bonus was that I got sick less which meant not spending money on over the counter meds or extra doctor visits. Hmmm what else....I don't pay for tv service. I find plenty of free stuff online and don't care if I have to wait a week after the episode aired to see it.

It might help to think of it like a preview of what traveling with your classmates to conferences will be like. Often students split hotel rooms and may end up having meals or socializing together by default. You don't have to do this of course, but you may be assumed antisocial or odd if you're adamant about not doing it. Even though you are local and likely familiar with the area I'd recommend staying with a student. As others have said it cuts down on your costs, saves you time, and you get more informal opportunities to learn about the program and see how you can live on your stipend. With that said, don't be shy about expressing you're tired and need to call it a night.

Yeah there's likely plenty of time on FAFSA deadlines and since I only applied to funded programs I'll just wait until I know for sure I'm going somewhere before bothering. By then my taxes will be done and I won't have to bother with a revised FAFSA. Funny you mentioned Turbo Tax, I just got some discount coupon for them so I figure why not. And I'm definitely getting my money's worth and asking them how to prevent this mess in the future.

I was thinking this too. This way you get to boost your application, land another letter writer, skip the debt, and only delay one more year instead of two. Sure your current job isn't great, but you can suck it up for another year if you're spending your free time boosting your application and increasing your savings right?

LOL I completely forgot about the FAFSA I'm so busy cringing at filing taxes. You know what no one tells you when you finally land a well paying job? How horrifying taxes are, that most deductions are for poor people, and that if you make a mess of things you really do need to hire someone to help you. Oh how I miss my poor student days when all I needed was the 1040EZ and my beat up old calculator to do all the figuring myself....wait if I get into a program this round I can go back to that for a few years!

Impossible! Watch all the Oscar noms, start hitting the indie and foreign films.......

Now I'm no science whiz nor am I saying whatever science involved in what I'm about to say is correct or that anyone should have this mindset. I think the people who stand firm on this belief may be looking at things very simply, especially when you consider that we live in the parts of earth that are considered livable. In that sense what they see is that dryness leads to rain, fire/earthquake/tornado lets to regrowth, etc. So maybe to them the earth is like the human body in the sense that in certain circumstances it can heal itself.

@beyondnervous I'm confused....according to your signature it looks like you got accepted somewhere. Maybe I missed the thread where you explained that's a terrible offer you're not taking? Otherwise I'm not sure I get the rationale for retaking the GRE and doing another application cycle.

I'd say if you take any prescription meds then have a watch or timer set for whatever time in your timezone you take them so you don't get off track. It is very easy to overdose because the time change confuses you. Things I did include...... Hydrating the night before flying to prevent majorly dry skin and fatigue Cutting back on sodium because flying also can make you bloated and puffy. Plus interview days may mean lots of hotel/airport food which can be high in salt. Stayed on my time zone whenever possible. The way my interviews were structured I had no problem attending all activities without disrupting the sleep schedule I have for my time zone. Eating was a little more challenging, but it helped to have snacks in my purse. I took extra vitamins each day I flew, had hand sanitizer, and didn't go anywhere near those plane bathrooms I also had fiber supplements if I couldn't go or needed to stop going so much, a stomach ache supplement, and something for gas just in case Brought a neck pillow and blanket on the plane and wore compression socks Minimal caffeine and ate extra servings of fruits and veggies whenever possible I also stretched and walked often to ease my muscles after being cramped in airline seats or the constant sitting on interview days The day after it was all over I sat in my house on my rear refusing to do much of anything and didn't care who was peeved by my selfishness

What is terrible was the rude behavior that graduate student displayed in front of you and everyone else. If no one felt that he/she was out of line and changed the subject then perhaps that isn't the kind of environment you want to be in. Plenty of applicants have no idea what their dissertation will be on and even if they do know that doesn't mean it's original, can get past IRB, or can be done in a reasonable amount of time. I think knowing where your interests lie and what you want to explore next is a good start and you want to be in a program that sees that potential in you to do more with the training they can offer you.

I just answered honestly with how I take notes, how I do background research, how I develop different sections of my papers, how I stay on task and meet deadlines, what I do when I get writer's block, when and why I ask for help, etc. On the one hand I get that writing is a huge part of a Clinical Psych PhD, but on the other hand I was required to submit so many documents evidencing my ability to write it sort of seemed like overkill to ask this. Does it really matter how I get it done as long as the end product is my own and meets the criteria and deadline of the assignment? I also don't think my method (or anyone's) can easily be copied because each person really has to find their own groove.

This is more about the interview day process as I've experienced it so far....but I wasn't expecting to interview with faculty that I expressed no interest in working with. Apparently the purpose of this is so they can give the professor you are applying to work with their input, but this was not clear to me beforehand and I did not experience this in prior application cycles. I really did try to prepare by pulling these unknown professors CVs, some of their recent research articles, and skimming their University webpage. This turned out not to be a bad thing because it gave me question opportunities so there weren't awkward pauses. As for questions I asked students, POIs, and faculty....strengths and weaknesses of the program and what is the next big thing for their research or career. Surprising questions I was asked.....what is my writing style. As in how do I literally organize my thoughts, is there anything unique I do during the process, and how I create a finished product. Also....when thinking about dealbreakers in deciding to choose our program or not what comes to mind right away? I figured this question would come up after an offer was made, but I can see how it might help rule out less committed candidates early on.

This is very well said. I also think that the extra pressure or work put on female or minority professors to mentor female or minority students is unfair. Sure mentoring is a part of academia, but that doesn't mean they want to be singled out in this way or be expected to relate to every student that appears to be like them when the view is only from the surface.

I agree its better to think of the weekend as an interview and you should stay in the lodging they're providing so you don't miss anything. All of the activities planned are an opportunity for you to see what it would be like working with the students and faculty for the next several years and they'll be similarly evaluating you. Go, have fun, and learn everything you can.