MarineBluePsy

Yeah you want to list the organization where you worked with him. People move on all the time so schools/employers won't find this bizarre. If you're asked about it you can just say he later left the company for a new opportunity.

You could list it in the education history section and just state how many units (or credit hours) were completed. So it might look something like this: University of School City, State Major: Related Field 60 units completed

I don't know if its normal to feel bored in a Master's program or even a PhD program, but I've certainly experienced it. I experienced boredom in Undergrad too though. The difference I have found is that in Undergrad it seemed like there was less flexibility to explore my interests in some ways. There were so many general education requirements and even though I could choose which class to take to fulfill a requirement sometimes there weren't many choices and I disliked all of them. My psych classes were more interesting because that was my major, but there wasn't always time to focus on what I was actually interested in because broad content had to be covered. In my Master's and now in my PhD I find that even though I'm bored at times there is more flexibility to focus on my actual interests. I can pick a presentation or paper topic that fits my interests rather than being assigned a random topic like many of my Undergrad classes did. I also have more flexibility to learn beyond the classroom and often attend community lectures/talks, read research articles/books independently, and can obtain hands on experience through research or clinical work.

If you have not already, it might help to ask students in your department who are TAing what it is like and how they're balancing the workload. TAing means different things to different professors. Sometimes it might mean you hold study groups and guest lecture regularly and other times it might mean you make copies and maybe do a little grading. You also want to find out what sort of training/support is available if you need help or a student comes to you with a crisis.

I know they also make cream of wheat and cream of rice cups if you prefer that to oatmeal, so several options if you have a little time to look.

I'd suggest being open to going out to dinner because you may meet others from the conference that may be great connections and chats about how they can help you (and vice versa) could be done over dinner. Its not required for you to do this, but if the opportunity presents itself and you'd like to then go for it. In a situation like this its ok to make a joke about hoping there's student budget friendly options on the menu and the other party will get the clue and not suggest some place too expensive. As far as food in your hotel room I am a big fan of oatmeal cups. I guess these could be for dinner, but I prefer to have them for breakfast and then treat whatever the conference provides for breakfast as a midmorning snack. I make these using the coffee pot.....just put plain water in it, no filter needed, and put the oatmeal cup where the coffee cup would go. It's a good idea to run a cycle of plain water that you discard to get rid of any coffee bits first. I suppose you could also make cup of noodles or similar items in this same fashion. Otherwise I keep protein bars, cheese sticks, or cups of yogurt in the fridge in addition to bottled water and something with electrolytes (gatorade, vitamin water, etc). Now if you really want a hot option check out the following link. I haven't tried this, but I know this kind of thing is popular in college dorms where you often can't have hot plates, toaster ovens, etc. You can use an ironing board in place of a cutting board. https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/hot-iron-grilled-cheese-sandwich-514164

Well if they're providing stuff, make sure you hit that table early and grab a few things to stuff in your purse for later. They will run out and you will get busy networking, going to talks, etc. Not all conferences have a designated lunch break and often there are lunch hour talks or workshops, so its great to have a snack on hand so you don't have to miss anything.

1) I wouldn't make firm plans for after the conference in case you're invited to a networking happy hour or you meet people you'd like to chat further with and you decide to grab dinner. You're not required to use your time this way, but the option may present itself. Otherwise have a list of things of interest in the city so you don't just go back to the hotel. 2) For footwear you can't go wrong with boots. Not like hiking boots, but a nicer pair that doesn't have a heel (like riding boots) can be comfortable for all kinds of feet and are good for lots of walking. They work with jeans, skinny pants, or skirts so its less to pack in a suitcase. It is ok to wear dressy sandals if the weather is warm. Bring a light sweater because the conference rooms will likely be cold. 3) Find out if the conference will be publishing the abstracts/powerpoints of all the presentations on their website or in a special journal issue after the conference. If they are then you can just carry a small notebook to jot the occasional thought or question. I just did this and it was wonderful. I only carried my purse instead of that and lugging my laptop bag around. Other tips.....have some business cards. They don't need to be fancy, just something with your name, contact info, and the field you're in. Also carry a bottle of water, a few small snacks (trail mix, cheese sticks, a protein bar, etc), hand sanitizer, and something for headaches.

If you feel comfortable disclosing then you can. I'm not sure how you plan to work with older adults, but there are a ton of unanswered questions regarding LGBT aging that you may or may not have a unique perspective on. If being trans has given you any insight into the struggles of other minority groups or a way of finding common ground you could discuss that.

Is your Master's thesis really that bad or are you just feeling less confident? If it really wasn't good then perhaps one of your class papers will suffice as a writing sample. You can talk with your advisor about their thoughts on selecting your best piece of work.

I would not go over the word limit. Yes its hard to stick to the limit set, but your SOP is not the only time you'll encounter a word limit. Class papers can have them, essay questions on exams can have them, and journals have them for articles submitted so now is the time to get used to it. On the one hand adcoms may allow some wiggle room, but on the other hand they may assume you can't follow directions and truthfully you won't know which camp they fell in until you get a positive or negative response from them. Given how much work goes into the application process I wouldn't risk the latter.

For schools that require them or say they are optional you can find out if they'll accept an unofficial report now while the official one is on its way. During my application season I had a few programs explicitly state this was ok and applicants would not be penalized and other programs I asked if this was a possibility and had no issues.

Sure you can have your LOR writer state that you had an illness during that time, but then the adcom will wonder.....what kind of illness, is it chronic, will it be a problem in the future, etc etc. It would be very strange to have an LOR writer mention it and then you don't, so it's probably easier if you just briefly address it and move on.

All of this can be addressed in 2 or 3 sentences. Any more and what adcoms will remember from your SOP is that you were or are sick when you want them to remember your research interests. You can say something like........While I was always a motivated student and took school seriously I became unexpectedly ill during sophomore year, which meant having to switch to part time status. My GPA suffered a bit at that time, but thankfully, my illness was temporary and once recovered I resumed school full time and my GPA significantly improved. I do not anticipate any health related challenges in graduate school and am looking forward to...........transition to your research interests. I also want to point out that many people go to school part time for a variety of reasons (not all of them negative) for part or even all of undergrad so its becoming less of a shock to adcoms. More of your SOP needs to focus on how you have prepared for graduate school and what you will do once you're there.

You do not have to specify what illness. You can simply say you unexpectedly became ill, how you were set back, how you overcame it, and that you are now in excellent health and are grateful the illness was temporary and not chronic.

For Clinical Psych your writing is evaluated in your application by more than just your GRE writing score. Programs are also looking at your SOP and if you have the option of submitting a writing sample then do it. The 3 of those things combined tells programs way more about your writing ability than just a GRE score where they don't actually see what you wrote. Your LOR writers may also comment on your writing abilities.

Well I'd say it depends on what you hope to accomplish by sharing this information. If you had an illness that led to you taking time off from school and reevaluating how you wanted to live your life then that experience can be viewed as defining. Whatever motivated you to get through it could be viewed as a strength and if this experience prepared you for other tough times then that is resiliency. So if your goal is to demonstrate that this illness taught you how to handle difficulties and this will help you in grad school then it could enhance your SOP. On the other hand if your illness has led to ongoing challenges that make functioning difficult and you will require accommodations throughout your program then your SOP is not the appropriate place to discuss this. If you are applying to programs in the US then look for something called a Disability Services department and chat with them about the program you're interested in and the type of accommodations you will need. They will walk you through the documentation you need to provide and whatever options are available to meet your needs.

It seems the best person for you to talk to is your current advisor. Chances are she has thought about how her tenure status will affect you and will have some input regarding your options. If you're nearly done it really doesn't make sense for you to move, but perhaps there is a way for her to stay on in some capacity to continue supervising you or involve a co-supervisor.

Most of the programs I applied to required students to name at least 3 potential supervisors so that's what I did. Usually there were 2 out of the 3 that I really wanted to work with and the third was more of a last resort.

If you're classified as full time and your school participates in federal student aid programs then full time for graduate students is usually 9 credit hours in the Fall, 9 credit hours in the Spring, and 6 credit hours in the Summer (if your program requires Summer). Exceptions are often made for students that are only doing their thesis/dissertation or are required to do a full time internship offsite. If you are paying out of pocket or through an outside funding source (employer, scholarship, etc) then the number of credit hours to be considered full time may be different. So it seems to me that a few things need to happen. 1) Connect with the dean of your departments school/college to find out who is in fact the head of your department, where you can access a graduate student handbook, and if your department is even going to continue to exist given the difficulty in accessing basic information. 2) Contact the registrar to find out how many credit hours are considered full time for your department and if you are currently classified as full time or part time. 3) If you are receiving any federal funding or are funded as a TA or RA through your University then contact the Financial Aid department to make sure you are registered for the correct number of credit hours to receive the amount of funding you are getting.

Has this school recently filed for bankruptcy or something? All of this is very concerning.

Well if you were listed as one of the principle investigators then I would say that title would indicate the level of responsibility you were given. If you were not I think its better to leave your title as undergraduate research assistant and sell how much responsibility you had in your list of job duties. You might say something like "solely responsible for all analyses using theoretical framework of specific field" rather than "data analysis." You might also say "proposal development included serving as a consultant regarding theoretical framework of specific field" rather than "assisted with the literature review." It would also be a good idea to check with your advisor about how to showcase your responsibilities and include field specific phrases and norms.

It seems odd that a department wouldn't make the head of the department's name widely available. Your advisor doesn't even know who that is? If you're 3 semesters into a 2 year Master's program then I'm unclear of how you can be on track to graduate if you you still have so many remaining credit hours, are only currently taking one class, and haven't started your thesis. Is your program actually 3 years? Regardless it seems appropriate for you to be reaching out to the dean (or their assistant) of the college/school your department is a part of and explain your situation and ask who the appropriate person is for you to have ongoing guidance.

@miss-prufrock I think your best bet is to have an informal chat with your classmate about how they think such a collaboration might work, what exactly the 2 of you would be doing, and why they want to do it with you. Then if you're intrigued enough to consider it more seriously you should have a chat with your mentor about how to go about such a collaboration. There are likely a lot of things to consider, many of which you won't be thinking about until it's too late so your mentor's could be a tremendous help.

It is entirely possible that something got lost in translation if English is not your first language, what exactly did he say? If his exact words were "I can write you a general LOR" then that means he'll write you one, but it won't be glowing and state that he strongly recommends you for graduate study. Instead he'll say general things like "Jess Q performed well in my classes," "Jess Q is interested in the field and intends to pursue a PhD at your school," or "Jess Q is suitable for graduate study." None of those say anything bad, but they aren't amazing either. Ideally you want your LORs written by someone who is going to rave about you, so if there is someone else who can do that then consider asking them instead.