MarineBluePsy

There's also the possibility that having co-supervisors will be way more work for you. Assuming each professor is willing to help you toward your goals, that doesn't mean they won't each have different approaches to doing that. That may mean you doing more lab work, writing, or coursework to develop the skills each thinks you need.

Well it would help if they clarify what they mean. That could mean your GPA is low or it could mean they don't feel you've taken enough (or the right) foundation courses for your field. Either could lead to them not wanting to co-supervise which isn't the end of the world since that isn't the norm. At that point you'd go back to the initial supervisor and ask their thoughts on how you should proceed. You could be a stellar student and still find that this professor doesn't want to co-supervise, its extra work they may not have the time or energy for.

I'm wondering if a better first step would be to actually become acquainted and familiar with each other's work and interests before jumping to "lets collaborate on project x!" A collaboration is a relationship that will require a lot of communication and that's going to be easier if you actually like each other, have similar work styles, and balance each others strengths/weaknesses. If you keep in contact after the conference with the occasional question about their work, to bounce ideas, etc then you'll get a sense of how you both might work on a project together and their openness to even doing that.

Well a transcript would indicate what type of coursework you've taken so they have a sense of knowledge you have and still need. Co-supervision can be great if both professors get along well and the focus is on the students goals and needs. Co-supervision would likely be miserable if the professors had constant conflict or provided opposing directions. It might be helpful for you to think about what it is you hope to gain from co-supervision and discuss how those needs might be met with each supervisor. Is there anyone in your program that has done this or that can act as a neutral party for you to bounce ideas/thoughts/questions off of?

I always interpreted this as projects that I developed. Meaning I had the idea, created the proposal, did most of the data collection/analysis, etc. This doesn't have to be a huge federally funded study, but could be exploring a question using a current or archival data set in your lab.

Does anyone else in your department need an RA and the ability to fund you for the summer? If not maybe the faculty in your department have some connections that may yield some opportunities.

Well you aren't required to disclose where else you applied. Many programs ask this on applications, but you can leave it blank. In interviews you can say that you've applied to Clinical Psychology programs that offer training in whatever area you wish to focus on and not specify if they're PhD or PsyD. The you can shift the conversation to what you hope to do in your career.

Well when you apply to graduate programs they will require that you send official transcripts of every college and grad school you've previously attended. Your best bet is to use your personal statement to address this and also explain why now you're certain that this program is right for you and that you intend to finish it. It isn't common for applications to require a cover letter with your CV, but if you're asked for one you can use it to address the education issue. If a cover letter is not requested then on your CV you can list all the schools in the order you attended them and for those you didn't earn degrees just state the number of units or credit hours you completed that way it is consistent with your transcripts. After you finish your program you can revise your CV to only mention where you actually earned a degree since that is what employers will be more interested in.

Good grief this is why I never go to faculty's homes ever! Glad you're ok and it may be better just to keep it super professional and just ask whatever questions about your program you need to, get forms signed, and then say you've got a pile of reading/writing and get the hell out of his office.

I think it also helps to have something that you love to do outside of school. Maybe its a community service gig, going to the gym, wine night, etc. Just something to have on your calendar that you look forward to and takes your mind off of school completely.

I also agree that resting needs to be your top priority. You won't get anything done if you're already burnt out and try to keep going at warp speed. Regarding the coursework you need to cover in order to get up to speed with the rest of your cohort I would talk with your advisor. Perhaps the two of you can create an action plan of what you absolutely must familiarize yourself with this summer and what can wait with the understanding being that 1) you can't do everything and 2) you also need to make relaxation and self care a priority. Also its important to stop worrying about what the rest of your cohort knows or doesn't know. You're all there to learn and will have various backgrounds, strengths, and weaknesses and the faculty were fully aware of this when they put you all together. If you keep focusing on them that is energy that would be better used addressing what you need to be doing.

While it isn't easy, stop panicking because it won't help anything. This sounds like an error that resulted from someone forgetting to cc someone else regarding your paperwork being completed and sometimes those things happen. They shouldn't and it sucks, but sometimes people make mistakes. You said you wrote them a check, have you checked your bank account to see if it has been cashed? If so then you can provide documentation of that (along with the emails with the assistant regarding your upcoming admission) and they can look around on their end to figure out where the error happened and resolve the matter.

While it isn't easy, stop panicking because it won't help anything. This sounds like an error that resulted from someone forgetting to cc someone else regarding your paperwork being completed and sometimes those things happen. They shouldn't and it sucks, but sometimes people make mistakes. You said you wrote them a check, have you checked your bank account to see if it has been cashed? If so then you can provide documentation of that (along with the emails with the assistant regarding your upcoming admission) and they can look around on their end to figure out where the error happened and resolve the matter.

I doubt this will make you feel better, but during my application season the programs that offered any reimbursement for expenses took a year to process those checks. I sent everything to them a week after my visit, confirmed 2 weeks later that they got everything and didn't need anything else, and then heard nothing for months. Then I got an email saying my receipts had finished being reviewed by whoever handles such things and a request for a reimbursement check was being sent to yet another department. I had already started my first year in the program I chose when I got an email saying my check was in the mail. So my thought is sure you can keep emailing them to follow up, but it is unlikely to speed things up. Reimbursement checks are likely not the top priority and there are probably multiple people/departments involved in the process.

If you're into films I would look for a film festival. You can quietly immerse yourself in movies, join the discussions after or not, dine out or not, do other site seeing if you want or not, etc. Ultimately no one will think its strange if you don't feel very social and prefer to do your own thing.

I think it is also important to point out two things: 1) Neither path is "better" than the other, so it is just fine for some students to prefer the clinical route while others prefer the academic route and 2) The goals that you and your classmates have now could change and that is ok to. As others have said it is not a competition. Your advisor would be busy regardless of how many students were being taken so you'll have to maximize the time you do have with them. Your advisor's challenge will be making sure each of you is supported based upon your varying needs all while making sure each of you meets the programs standards and finishes on time.

It is really unfortunate that formal training in management/teaching/etc is viewed as being "too corporate" and therefore unwelcome because there are huge advantages to allowing some of those elements. It seems the for profit schools have readily embraced this, but of course they have a whole host of other problems. So essentially neither extreme is working and neither camp is willing to head toward the middle to improve things. The clearer this all becomes the less I see myself here. Thank heavens I can do other things with the degree I'm working toward.

Yes we students have gathered to discuss the lack of communication and the unclear expectations. A summary of our concerns have been taken to the faculty and we're all discussing them one on one with our advisors which should cover all angles. Hopefully that will lead to changes we can all work with. It is really sad that across fields this lack of communication or unclear standards exists and yet we're expected to be the next generation of academics. How can you really excel at something if there is no standard for you to meet or exceed?

Thanks for the responses. I think a huge part of the problem is my department has never had a firm stance on what is considered "enough" so incoming students just aimed for what other students were doing and that seemed to work well. Past graduates who followed the 1-3 projects at a time pace finished on time, went off to internship, and many went on to post doc after that. So something has clearly changed (not sure what this would be) if now this is viewed as not good enough. In thinking about the way fuzzy and Take are working it seems I'm doing a scaled down version of that. I have 2 projects I have a major role in and am in the data collection stages for both, a 3rd project I have a major role in that is in the proposal stage, and 2 projects that are in the kernel stage that I add bits and pieces to when I get an idea but may not be launched for awhile. I'm comfortable with this, but this is the first time I've had this many projects going so I'm not sure what my actual ceiling is. Many more things to think about.....

If you're currently in a program or recall your research project load when you were I'm interested in knowing how many projects you had going at a time? I know the type of research will affect the volume so I'm also curious if they were survey research (in person or online), experiments, developing an intervention or assessment, etc. I thought I was doing fine managing 2 projects (both long in person surveys) and am developing a 3rd (another long in person survey), but according to my department this isn't enough. The other students in my department are handling anywhere from 1-3 projects at a time which are either in person surveys or developing an intervention so comparatively I'm doing ok, but our department has decided we're all not doing enough and need to add more projects to our plates. I should also add that half of us don't have undergrads to help with anything and those that do spend more time correcting their mistakes which just adds more time. After chatting with my classmates it seems most of us feel its already difficult to manage 1-3 projects, classes, and clinical work while not neglecting self care so adding more projects seems impossible. Just curious what others are doing or have done to gain a wider perspective.

I agree that there is no right answer. Your first priority should be your health regardless of what you decide. Depending on how many programs you plan to apply to (12-15 is common because its competitive) and where they are located (geographically open is strongly recommended) keep in mind that interviews can be anywhere from late November to mid February, which would overlap the last semester of your MS. Finishing your program, going on interviews, and whatever other responsibilities you have is a lot to manage on top of a chronic illness. I also would tell anyone applying to Clinical Psych PhD's to have a backup plan regardless of what their application looks like because there's just no way to predict how the application cycle will go. I'm sure you've seen the threads on here about people applying multiple times despite having publications, years of research experience, and great LORs.

One of the most helpful things I did before starting my Master's was increase my reading volume. I've always liked to read, but grad school requires so much more reading than what I was doing for fun. As for what to read it couldn't hurt to read some of the articles published by professors in the program you'll be attending. It also wouldn't hurt to read articles in community psych or any other area that intrigues you. Broadly reading in this way lead me to my research questions because my focus was on what have I been curious about rather than what should I research.

Ultimately it is up to you how patient you're willing to be, but keep in mind the other school that gave you a funded offer may not be willing to wait too much longer.

A quick google search turned up this link that may be helpful to you. It seems that such a program could be in a variety of departments such as business, psychology, or economics. Not sure how these programs are ranked specifically, but you could probably contact these programs directly and find out if their programs are ranked and if so where you'd find that what the standards are for ranking.