MarineBluePsy

@derphilosoph It seems like you're asking 2 questions. The first, how can I be an RA in my 2nd or 3rd year? This generally happens by knowing who in your department needs an RA and how to apply for the gig. RA opportunities may not fit your specific research experiences, but they do give you an opportunity to gain research experience and be involved in posters/papers/conference presentations. The second, how can I be an RA in another department? First make sure this is something that exists within the culture of your University. At some it is very common to have RAs from other departments, while at others students stay in their own department. Assuming this is acceptable at your University then find out where RA positions are posted. This could be a graduate student listserv/email blast, it may be department websites, or faculty lab pages. If there are particular faculty you are interested in working with you could reach out to them directly to learn more about their work and inquire about possible opportunities.

I'm not in OT, but I do have to track clinical hours for Psychology and our field has websites (paid and free) as well as templates to help with this. Does OT have anything like that? A google search or an OT professional associations website may point you in the right direction. If you're able to, ask more senior students in your program or the faculty what they recommend.

At some Universities Spring Break is only a break for students while faculty and staff are expected to report to work unless they requested time off in advance. Because admissions is a hectic time for everyone it is likely someone(s) is handling matters related to applicants and it is entirely possible for applicants to receive communication during this time.

In regards to who is tracking your hours, yes the professor you are working for should be tracking what they are asking you to do and estimating how long they think that will take you. However, you are responsible for tracking how long TA tasks actually take and it is your responsibility to inform the professor if certain tasks are taking longer than anticipated. It could be they are asking you to do too much work or it could be that you need additional guidance. How many hours you spend working as a TA can vary week to week. On weeks where there is no grading and no assignments to prep you may work far less than 20 hours. The week before an exam you may see an increase in students coming to office hours and you may be asked to run additional study sessions in addition to preparing exam materials, which could end up being a little over 20 hours.

I think tips for a generic CV are a great place to start, but you also need to look at CVs specific to your field. Being in Clinical Psych I routinely look at CVs for grad students and professionals to learn how to incorporate field specific stuff (clinical training for example) and what keywords are frequently used. Professional associations for your field may have samples on their website or you can look at programs you want to apply to and see if professors or grad students post theirs.

If this had been an option before I applied I would have taken advantage of it (I applied to out of state programs so it wasn't). From that experience I would have decided not to apply to my POI's lab during application season and that would have been a good thing. Instead we are like oil and water and it has created a lot of tension and I've had to find alternatives to meet my needs. So while yes it is possible that the POI will decide a volunteer wouldn't be a good lab member it also may be that you decide you don't want to be there. Even if you do want to be there you should never put all of your eggs in one basket and apply to other programs. You might end up with drastically different funding offers and that could also significantly impact your decision in the end.

Depending on where in the world your program is and your specific financial needs, going to school full time may not be the best choice. Yes that would be ideal because you'd finished faster, get licensed faster, and be a full fledged professional faster. However there are plenty of MSW students who go 3/4 time or 1/2 time and things still work out for well for them in the end. I say this not to be discouraging, but more to say that this is also a great option if necessary. However, there are many MSW students who do attend full time and work part or full time. If you're able to find a job in the field that offers tuition reimbursement and/or funds for books that will reduce loans that you need. It may also help to look at where you can cut or reduce expenses. What can you live without for 2 years? Subscription tv service? Dining out? A gym membership? Can you switch to a cheaper auto insurance company? Maybe take a roommate?

Your school's financial aid department staff should be able to answer these questions for you and if not you can contact the Department of Education directly. These are all valid questions that will assist you in planning so the sooner you have accurate information the better.

Talking to current students is a good way to gauge your budgeting needs. Sometimes textbooks can be borrowed and some campuses provide free bus passes. Rent can be cheaper with roommates or some landlords are very student friendly. Best places to shop for day to day needs will also be something current students know.

I refuse to call professors by their first name, even if they allow it. We have a professional relationship and the formality is a reminder of that.

If you are in the US it is customary for employees to give an employer 2 weeks notice when vacating a position. That notice does not have to provide great detail about why you're leaving it could just say "leaving to pursue other opportunities." While there is rarely a convenient time to leave a job you need to prioritize your own needs. Announcing too early does increase the likelihood that you'll be asked to leave before you're financially prepared to. If the situation were reversed and your employer needed to let people go it is very unlikely they'd offer a few months notice because their priority is themselves. Often when employers let people go there is no notice, you're given some crappy excuse that day and escorted out. You're not alone in being in this situation when transitioning to graduate school. Others, including myself, have posted about this on the forum and things have turned out fine. When I left my job I made sure that all loose ends were wrapped up so my coworkers wouldn't be stuck with extra work and then provided 2 weeks notice. My employer wasn't happy to have to replace me, but they understood that I was leaving for an opportunity that was better for me.

This was not my experience as I couldn't wait to get away from my family, but others in my program echo your concerns. For those who's family are maybe 6-8 hours away by car they tend to go home on long weekends and breaks as others have suggested. They also discussed this with their families and their parents drive out to them and spend the weekend every 4-6 weeks. I don't know if this is feasible for your family, but it couldn't hurt to start exploring it as a possibility now. Scheduling Skype chats or phone calls can also help you stay connected, especially if the weather is a factor in driving conditions.

Though I'm not in Sociology, what excites me about my research is that I'm focusing on groups that are overlooked and shouldn't be given their extensive needs.

@21n14l If you're able to find publicly available information about their current work then no I don't think its strange to reach out with a couple of follow up questions. If you're not finding publicly available information about their work then it may increase your chances of a response if you went through the faculty member you're interviewing for or if there is a liaison you've been told to send your interview/application related questions to. You could simply state that you noticed the website hasn't been updated and you wondered if any of the students might be open to a quick email regarding their current work. The professor or liaison will likely just forward your request to the students and encourage them to respond. If you decide to email students directly I'd keep it short and sweet. Maybe something like......Hi Student, I'll be interviewing with Professor soon and I'd love to learn a bit about your recent work. I'm sure you're quite busy, but unfortunately the website doesn't mention any projects from the last few years. Care to share any info? Thanks for your time. This gives them the option of just whipping up a couple of lines, attaching a CV, pointing you to a publicly available source for up to date information, etc.

Did you try linkedin? Some of the students may be on there.

During my application season I directly asked faculty and students about strengths and weaknesses of the program. There is no such thing as a perfect program so places that refused to acknowledge that anything could be improved upon didn't sit well with me. There also needs to be some reading between the lines and basic observation when interacting with students that can give you a ton of information. If the students don't seem welcoming during your visit and instead seem exhausted and unhappy, then perhaps whatever is happening behind the scenes isn't great. If questions about certain aspects of the program are ignored or responded to with the same cookie cutter sounds good response then perhaps there is another side of the story that would significantly impact your decision.

It might be a good idea to contact a qualified tax professional and have them review your circumstances. If you have already done that and are still concerned there is nothing wrong with you getting a second opinion.

I think its wise to aim for business casual regardless of what types of programs you're applying for. I used to live in a warmer climate and opted not to spend money trying to find outfits for interviews in colder climates. Instead I just layered. So I'd wear a dress with a tank top (if you have a thermal one great) under, sweater tights, and a cardigan or blazer. Then I had mittens (a scarf would probably also help, but I didn't have one) and borrowed a full length heavy winter coat which kept me extremely warm so it didn't matter that I wasn't wearing 12 layers of things. For footwear I bought a pair of inexpensive rain boots to wear outside and then carried a pair of ballet flats in my purse. When we got to whatever destination I just changed my shoes and it was no problem, in fact several other women did this so apparently this is common.

Well first let me say that you do not have to stay with a student if you'd prefer not to. You can always contact the applicant interview coordinator and say that you appreciate the option to stay with a student, but you already have overnight accommodations. If you do decide to stay with a grad student think of it like crashing at a friends place. You might be on the couch or on an air mattress and privacy will be limited. If you have pet allergies, dislike cigarette smoke, or prefer a same gender host then definitely mention that to the applicant interview coordinator immediately. In my application season it was not uncommon for male and female students to host and applicants were not always matched by gender. I personally was not bothered by this, but everyone is different. Also keep in mind that you're on the students' schedule. Meaning expect that if they're leaving to go do something on campus then you'll be tagging along or another student will be taking you somewhere. Its unlikely to be like a hotel where you can chill solo for several hours to decompress. I personally found this very irritating and wouldn't do the student host thing again, but other people enjoy this.

I'm not sure how you go about growing a thicker skin since I've been lucky to always have one. I do think its important to remember that someone has to challenge traditional views with new perspectives and right now that person is you. If your perspective wasn't valuable then you wouldn't have gotten a journal to give you a revise and resubmit with what sounds like minimal feedback. Negative comments can also push you to make your work even better despite their initial sting.

When I reach this point I will not be using my primary advisor as a reference. I have compiled several others that will actually say positive things about my abilities, whereas my primary advisor won't do that. Sure some potential employers may find this odd and may reach out to my primary advisor on their own which I can't prevent. If my primary advisor chooses to be negative that will seem odd stacked against several positive references from others who worked closely with me.

In general programs that only accept students in the Fall start whenever the Fall semester or quarter begins, which could be August or September. Earlier start dates may be required depending on how the student is funded (for example a TA or RA position that starts in the summer) or there are mandatory classes or trainings in the summer.

Your community college GPA will be combined with the GPA from the University you transferred to in order to complete your Bachelor's. For fields that don't require a Master's degree to enter a PhD program, those degrees are usually viewed separately. In some cases a high GPA in a Master's program can help an applicant that didn't do well in undergrad.

You don't need to change your rank order of POIs for the form, just stick with the order you used in your SOP. Faculty know that applicants are asked to rank more than one POI and I doubt they take it personally. Sometimes its really hard to choose the order and you end up just picking a random rank order for POIs. I imagine this happens when they have to choose applicants at times so it isn't a huge deal. During my application cycle I was invited to interview with a POI that I ranked second and not who I ranked first and it was no big deal. My first choice decided at the last minute not to take a student and my second choice was. We never discussed it and the interview was fine.

It also may help to have a peer review it or use your University Writing Center. Sometimes a fresh set of eyes reveals several editing options.