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dancedementia

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Posts posted by dancedementia

  1. Hey all! I'm in a masters program (clinical mental health counseling, CACREP) with the option to complete a thesis. I've opted to do so as a way to show that I'm capable of graduate-level writing. The research faculty at my institution do not have any interest in the area(s) I want to focus on in my doctoral studies (tl;dr - eating disorders / body dysmorphia, although a bit more nuanced than that).

    However, I have recently been given a very plum opportunity with a well-known lab that studies co-morbidity of drug use and anxiety disorders (they have active grants from NIMH and NIDA). They've said I'm welcome to collect data through their lab and utilize the facilities for my thesis work. Authorship on posters are a guarantee, and publication is likely.

    Should I take this opportunity, even though it's not exactly in my area of interest? Obvious pros are financial support and authorship, but I don't want to seem all over the place with my research topics when it comes to applying for doctoral programs. Would I be better off trying to find another lab that at least is somewhat related to eating disorders or body image?

  2. On 4/30/2017 at 1:01 PM, clinpsych55 said:

    they'll be using a centralized application website this year (akin to the Common App for undergrad) called PsyCas

    A few schools were already using PsyCAS last year, but I'm glad that they're finally making it standard. At least, I hope it will be standard across the board. I am tired of having to order my GRE scores 10 times at $30 a pop......

    EDIT: Just popped on PsyCAS to check. The only schools taking apps via that platform thus far for 2018 matriculation are Mercer, Stanford/PGSP, PCOM, and a ton of Argosy's. Definitely not standard yet.

  3. 19 hours ago, wrighna said:

    I ended up publishing my thesis work, both as conference posters and as first author in a peer reviewed journal.

    That's awesome! I'm constantly astonished by individuals who are able to publish undergrad work in a journal. Did you get a ton of help from your PI or were you largely left to your own devices re: publishing?

  4. I personally didn't like Magoosh that much. Felt way too simplistic. I used Gruber for math and then just bought the Manhattan 5lb book of GRE practice problems. Just grind problems until you understand the structure and types of problems you'll likely see.

  5. On 3/2/2017 at 7:14 PM, fritolay said:

    School: Yeshiva - Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology
    Program: School-Clinical Child Psychology, PsyD
    Date of Notification: 3/2/17
    Method of Notification: Email
    Thoughts: That was fast.... I just had my interview this morning haha 

    Do you mind if I ask what your financial aid/funding offer was from Ferkauf? I'm interested in their program for the future but the high cost of tuition has me wary :(

  6. Obviously we all know the major pubs that people want to get into - Science, Nature, Psych Bulletin, Am Journal of Psych, etc.

    But when evaluating a PhD applicant's CV for "publications", how significant does a publication have to be to "count"?

    So for example: I was published in the journal of a professional organization that I am part of (honor society). It is a very small journal and emphasizes graduate student research. I was also published in a small, state-wide journal. Obviously, these are "easier" journals to get published in than huge national ones, but they are still peer-reviewed and have a selection process. Do adcoms frown upon things like this? Can I still claim that I've been "published" even though they are in small journals?

  7. Hey! I was in your same boat. I ended up going for a post-bac program in psychology (online courses) and then the masters degree. First off, a secret: masters degrees are the cash cows of schools. There's not as much government grant funding for them, which means the school gets more $$$ out of you. They don't have to pay you a PhD stipend. They don't need to cater undergraduate student life projects to you.

    tl;dr - schools WANT you for their masters programs. It is surprisingly easy to get in.

    Because of this, however, I would caution you against pursuing an expensive masters program. I made that mistake - went to Boston University (cost of living comparable to NYC - slightly less actually, tuition comparable to NYU), and the financial burden sucked. I took out $50k in private loans before I realized this was not sustainable, so I jumped ship and am now attending a program in my home state which is 5x cheaper. 

    Columbia's post-bac program is great but also harder to get in, unfortunately. I would really push you to consider Hunter or another CUNY campus. Research match doesn't matter *too* much at the masters level, so don't put too much salt in thinking, "Oh, but there's only one professor I really want to work with." Also, what I ended up doing while at Boston University was applying for labs at MIT and Harvard, and they were very willing to let me collaborate cross-campus. So even if you attend a school like Hunter or Queens, there's no one stopping you from volunteering at an NYU lab :)

    > Is it possible to work at a research lab without experience and without enrolling in a college? 

    Yes, although you'll probably have to do it on a volunteer basis.

    Also keep in mind I'm gunning for clinical/counseling psychology; the social psych world might be a little different, so if anyone can offer more insight, please do!

  8. There's just so many myths flying around. I've heard people tell me that if I didn't have a publication, good luck getting in anywhere. I've had people tell me that with my 2 national conference presentations + 3 regional conference presentations, that I'm a shoe-in. I've had people tell me to do research work only in my area of interest; I've had people tell me to broaden my horizons and get lots of different experiences. I would reach out to grad students at specific institutions you're looking at and ask if you can ask them a few questions. Most of them have been happy to help me out with the nuances of their particular school.

  9. Hi there. Some PhD programs that I'm looking into offer a general GRE waiver if the applicant has already obtained a masters degree (with a sufficiently high GPA). If these cases, is it a good idea to take the waiver? Or is it better to CYA and submit the GRE scores anyways (I guess to prove that you don't have anything to hide)?

  10. On 2/28/2017 at 6:23 PM, Clinapp2017 said:

    School: Boston University 
    Program: Clinical Psychology
    Date of Notification: 2/28/17
    Method of Notification: Phone call from POI (official email of admission to follow from the graduate school)
    Thoughts: I am so honored to receive an offer of admission at BU. I will be accepting the offer because this is my top choice school! :-)

    Best wishes to everyone as the season goes on! I am rooting for all of you because we need more clinicians and researchers to answer the world's biggest problems. 

    Congrats!! Super tough program to get in. You'll love Boston!

  11. School: Texas State University
    Program: MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling
    Date of Notification: 03/09/2017
    Method of Notification: Email. At 10pm, no less!
    Thoughts: Overwhelming relief! As some of you may know, I had to withdraw from my other masters program (at BU School of Medicine) due to financial hardship. I was so terrified I couldn't get in anywhere to complete my studies, haha. This is a very well respected program in the state. Still waiting to hear back from Univ of Houston (my top choice) but still overjoyed I have at least one acceptance. 

  12. On 2/21/2017 at 10:42 AM, JacobW83 said:

    School: University of Houston
    Program: Counseling Psychology
    Date of Notification: 2/21/17
    Method of Notification: Website
    Thoughts: I'm really surprised. I didn't feel confident at all after the interview and was fully expecting a mid waitlist position at best. The funding is better than I expected as well! Interestingly I never got an email notification about the offer, I was just checking the website for updates and saw "Decision Released" with no notification letter anywhere; after a few minutes of panic the letter popped up!

    Congrats!! UH has so many great research centers and groups, I'm jealous! Who was your POI?

  13. On 1/18/2017 at 3:41 PM, JacobW83 said:

    School: UT Austin
    Area/Degree: Counseling Psychology
    Rationalization: Unfortunately, the POIs I was interested in were retiring (this was not indicated on the website and I only found out by emailing the POIs)...

    Can you PM or post your POI? I ask because there are a few faculty members I am very interested in working under (they match my research interests to a T), but I also wouldn't be applying for PhD for another 1-2 years. I need to be let down gently lol.

  14. 8 hours ago, abnumber5 said:

    Also, I have 2 changes to my Master's applications-

    M.S. In Clinical Psychology UT Tyler

    M.S. Psychological Sciences UT Dallas

    UTD takes forever to send out results. I didn't get my rejection from them last year until June lol.

    UT Tyler tends to be more responsive and I've heard good things about their program, so good luck!

    If you're looking at an experimental/research based masters, have you considered UTSA's M.S. Psychology program? It's very similar to UTD's but they make no attempt to hide that it is basically a PhD prep program haha.

  15. On 1/7/2017 at 6:23 PM, LindsayM said:

    @dancedementia   I'm applying to 10 masters programs, all out of state, one of which is University of Houston's M.Ed in Counseling! It's awesome because the Ph.D is in the same department and really reasonably priced! Also, it would be great to smooze into the Ph.D program!! That's my plan. I'm curious how difficult it is to get into the program?!

    I wish I could tell you! There are some stats on Peterson's (see here) but it includes all of the department, not just the M.Ed Counseling program. Fingers crossed for both of us, maybe we'll be classmates next fall :)

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