neuropsych76

Thank you all for the helpful replies!! It seems like the more I know about housing, the more things I have to consider and the harder it is to make a decision

I would think so. I know one kid in a lab I worked in knew some computer programming and it was very useful. Having computer programming skills seems to be a big plus for any lab. Especially if your doing neuroimaging stuff, the more computer knowledge you have, the better. Linear alebra might not be that useful though

I know you asked LJK about liberal arts colleges but I feel obligated to stand up for liberal arts colleges and research experience. I go to a very small (approx 1600 students) private liberal arts school in the middle of no where and have recieved outstanding research experience. Since there are no grad students here, professors use undergrads to help their research all the time and there is a plethora of projects to work on. I might be the exception here, but I feel that my small liberal arts school has given me many more research opportunites than big time research schools. I also used my summers to gain research experience elsewhere but was able to get good summer research positions because of my solid school research experience. So don't exclude a college just because its liberal arts. You could find that the research experiences there are plentiful. As for being a psych major, yes its tough if you don't get into grad school. But its not all doom and gloom, you can find a job. But if you really want to be a psychologist, you'll make it happen.

Hello, welcome to the forum!! It's great you are planning ahead for grad school but please remember things can quickly change so try not to be dead set on something before you even start college. A) yes, phd programs are very competitive. It is much much harder than undergraduate (the school name matters less in grad school also). Keep in mind that PhD programs in the sciences also pay tuition and pay you a decent stipend to live off of. That is why they are so competitive, they pay YOU. B ) this is more of a tricky question because of the variability and i'm sure others can answer it better. yes, you can make 50k as an assistant professor but the professor track is very competitive (if that's what your into) you could probably find an industry job where you'd be making 50k with a phd. as a side note, it's important that you realize there really isn't a "cognitive neuropsychology" phd. there is clinical neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience but those are completely different programs. just search around the forum and you'll find tons more info, good luck!

I had intro to bio and behavioral neuroscience (so one less class than you) and i still got an interview from a biomedical PhD program as well as 3 interviews from cognitive neuroscience PhD programs. These programs were about as science focused as you can be for psych programs and my lack of science coursework wasn't a problem. I'd still recommend taking as many science courses as you can (calculus, physics) because it is a positive aspect of your application no matter what area of psych you go into. But, it's not a crucial part of your application; I'm proof!

driving fast

You will find all the information you seek in previous posts across the forum, so some quick searching/browsing will help a lot Short advice from me though: research fit is super important so that's great you know what you want to do. for clinical PhD's you'll need a GRE around 1300 and a GPA 3.8 or higher on top of outstanding LOR's and lots of research experience. Do you want to do clinical work at all? You can go into academia with a clinical degree but you also are trained as a clinician.

pop fly

I just want to echo what nessa said because I feel it's spot on. Getting into grad school is tough, and just applying to one school makes it much more difficult. You have to ask yourself if you really want to go to graduate school? Going to grad school means you have to sacrifice some things. If you really want to go to grad school, I would strongly consider applying to more programs.

Totally agree here. I'm sick of undergrad life, I've accepted that the change will be huge but I'm ready to get started. I'll hate working a lame summer job while counting down the days til grad school.

The word maudlin makes me feel depressed because of the nostalgic feelings from the GRE.

I might have a decent chance for May because of the decrease of postings. We'll see!

thank you all for the helpful replies!!! i wanted to bump this up because I have one more question..for now what are the biggest pros and cons of getting a condo vs an apartment?? from my understanding it seems like getting a condo is a much better option (assuming you find one you like) because you can sell it back and get some or all of your money back. why don't more people do this? is it just because the down payment makes it hard to afford a condo? i heard the monthly payments of condo mortgages and apartment rent is about the same (if the apartment and condo are comparable)

Thank you for all of your replies!! I'm glad i'm not the only one who shares these concerns! I don't think I'd like living with another person in my cohort, especially before I even know them that well. I'm having a hard time finding an apartment so I just wanted to keep my options open, but rooming with another student in my cohort seems to be a last resort at this point.

I'm going into cog neuro but I know there are tons of opportunites for behavioral neuro for pharmacheutical companies. Basically, you would do the research for whatever pharmacheutical company hired you. You could be the PI research on a new Alzhemier's drug or something. BUT, you would not have freedom on what specific project you worked on. My understanding is the big difference between doing research at a college compared to in industry is there is a lot more academic freedom when one works at a college. So you could do all the behavioral neuro stuff you like but the specific research would be defined for you by the company.

i think i'm always in the 11-15 range every month!! it's one of my goals to make it at least once!!

So my school just sent out everyone's email for the incoming cohort (with their permission) to try us to get to know each other and maybe find a roommate. At first it sounds like a great idea as we are all making a major transition. But is it risky to live with someone in your cohort? What if it doesn't work out? I've had some pretty bad roommates so I was just wondering about it. Anyone have any horror stories or constructive advice? thank you!

I think you could list the poster presentations under "presentations" on your cv. Many people who plan to go on to grad school have poster presentations so while it won't make you stand out much, its nice to have. I wouldn't bring up the acknowledgment itself in an interview but you could mention the work you did to get the acknowledgment.

It would be really tough to be accepted into a PhD program with minimal research experience. You could take time off and work in a lab for a few years. But if you want to do clinical work, do you want/need to get a PhD? There are some social work masters programs that are funded and I think that may be a better option for you.

I agree with nessa. You have to be persistent with the people you contacted and keep your options open. Last summer I was in a similar position. I ended up having 3 offers (one was an REU) but it was great to have options looking back (even though it was a tough call at the time!).

i'm facing a similar problem. the place i'm moving too has most of their housing up only a month before i can move it. i love to plan things out way in advance so its driving my nuts not knowing where im going to live for awhile. however, i tried craigslist and already got a few responses for apartments starting in August. that seems to be a decent place to start good luck!

I don't understand... yes, they could strongly encourage you to apply but that doesn't mean you will be accepted. They could say yes you seem like a good applicant and you might be. But applicant X might apply also who has much better credentials. The whole process is tough and it's impossible to predict what's going to happen based off previous POI email correspondence.

i'm bumping this up because i wanted to ask what you guys think is a reasonable pay for people with bachelors degrees applying to work at retail stores. i'll probably end up working at some department store like target and i wasn't sure what i should put for my preferred wage. i know most places i'd be making minimum wage but i feel like since i have a bachelors i should make a little more. is that reasonable? should i ask for like .75 more than minimum wage? i'd only be working here for the summer so i wasn't sure. thanks for any feedback

Hi welcome to the forum! Here are my answers! 1. Nope 2. yes! 3. they are all summer research programs for undergraduate to obtain research experience. don't worry about which one looks best, they all look good! you could also work in a lab instead of doing a summer program. i hear mixed results about them 4. its unlikely they would accept you twice to the same program. i wouldn't worry about that stronger vs weaker relationships 5. doesn't really matter as long as you obtain quality research experience 6. they are nice but not that important unless directly related to research best of luck! great job starting early but remember, plans can change

I'm not sure I understand your concerns... Why is the new GRE going to negatively affect your score? How do you know it won't help you? Does the new GRE take longer to send out scores?