Love3

I did not end up going to Lehigh. It was a close choice but I liked my current program better for various reasons.

Hi, I heard back from Lehigh within a week and a half last year. Staying with students is very informative and a good way to bond with a current student. I felt as though I really understood what it was like to be a student at the schools that I stayed with students. It is a great way to get the overall student experience. Good luck with everything!

My advice would be to stay and explore the town/school. It will allow you to get a better feel of the place you may be spending your next 4-7 years. When I interviewed, I stayed at all but one school past the interview time. I regret not staying at the one school because I did not get a feel of the area and city as much as I wanted to.

School psychology also gives you the flexibility to do what you want plus more. If you know you just want to work in a school as a psychologist, then Ed.S. school psych programs are the best fit. As a PhD student in school psychology, I can give you a little insight into the day and the life of a PhD school psychology student. We work in schools, clinics, do research and classes of course. Ultimately, a PhD in school psychology will allow you to work in schools as a psychologist, a supervisor of a special education/education program, as a a clinican in a hospital or clinic setting with children and so one. If you want specific information, feel free to PM me.

You might want to proceed with caution if the doctoral program is not APA accredited especially depending on your future goals. The accreditation does not usually carry over between programs. You can always ask about it during your interviews. Congrats!

Congrats!

My advice would be to make sure your top schools get priority no matter. When changing your arrangements, be honest because most schools already know why you are suddenly asking for a change of date. Some schools don't mind fighting for a competitive candidate and others will give you a hard time and make you decide which interview you'd prefer. Always go with your top schools and where you would fit when prioritizing interviews. The other ones can be Skyped and honestly depending how many schools you applied to/get interviews for you may have to reject some interviews.

NASP approved is equally as important as APA accredited. It limits your options if you graduate from a school that does not have both. I'm a first year in a school psychology doctoral program btw so I was just in this position last year. If anyone has questions, please feel free to ask. I've been through the application process twice so I have a lot of information.

I was in the same predicament but I chose to have a roommate. I wanted to save money and I didn't want to move far away and live by myself (knowing no one). My hopes is that my roommate and I will get along and be friends and help each other through our 1st year in the program which I'm sure we will. Go with your gut. Don't overthink the decision.

Hi I'm from Philadelphia so I wanted to give you some insight! $1400 is not the average price of apartments. Living around UPenn will definitely cost you. You can find some for cheaper that are still in decent neighborhoods (Mt. Airy, West Oak Lane) as stated above. I just want to caution you about living in the suburbs for two reasons. Philadelphia has horrible traffic and you may have to pay double taxes (taxes for where you work-Philadelphia and taxes where you live. Let me know if you have any questions!

I'm technically first generation but not really. My mom started her associates a year after I started undergrad. My grandparents worked straight out of high school. My uncle just got his PhD two years ago and my aunt has her MBA. Although all of my family is extremely supportive, my aunt and uncle are my go-to for anything grad school related. My aunt didn't get me into school but she's expanded my network and connected me with other professionals who have gone through the school psychology phD process. In a way, I had assistance because I knew how to prepare for the process and have insight of the field and program but I still had to do most of the work and get myself into school.

Just be honest in the most sincere way possible. If the program's intentions are pure and they really want your opinion to improve their program, then your honesty shouldn't burn any bridges. I recently had a university ask me why I didn't chose to attend their program. I was honest yet respectful. The program director actually asked me to go in-depth with one of the reason, we talked about it and she said thank you and wished me luck on my future endeavors. Take the politics out of it and be honest. If your sincere honesty burns a bridge, then the program probably isn't a program that you want to have connections with anyway.

I'd say get the work experience and apply next year. I took a few years off before applying again and it was the best experience ever. Also, don't worry about the recommendation. I'm sure that he will remember you. I had the same hesitations with my recommendation writers but I told them that I wouldn't be applying until X year (as a reminder to not forget about me lol). Maybe you can tell him your plan once you decide and he should support your decision.

You have great things to say about the safety school in terms of faculty, placement and location so I would say go for it. Did you receive funding from the school?

At least I'm not the only one who feels this way. I haven't heard anything from anyone since early March and the registration opened last week. I'm sure they will make the seats based on incoming students since my program is small. Still, I'm too excited to not be occupied by tons of grad school preparation stuff!

I would suggest GRE prep by Nova through bench prep. It's an online program: I had the app and the computer software. Out of all my study materials (Kaplan book and ETS book), I considered it the most helpful. It gave me a study plan based on how long I had until my test. I took an initial test when I first started and it showed me a detailed review of my strengths and weaknesses based on the test. It tailored your study plan based on your weaknesses. Every time you take a practice test, it would update your strengths and weaknesses to ensure you were improving in all areas. I didn't have that much time to study working two jobs but I improved my score 12 points. I could imagine that it would be higher if I went through the whole plan and didn't work a second job. Excellent program overall because it has everything you need in 1 program!

Okay great! Thank you for the advice! I would prefer a roommate but I am looking for 1 bedroom just in case.

I know they won't be out until like July/August but I feel like most places should know who is renewing their lease by then. At least that's how it worked at my undergrad. We had to let our complex know if we were renewing our lease by April. I just don't want to wait too long. That'll be nerve wrecking for me. Do you attend LSU?

I'm in the same boat of trying to figure out where to live. I just accepted my offer to LSU a couple weeks ago but I have a habit of planning ahead. I've talked to people that said you don't have to start looking for places to live until the May/June for August move in dates. Do you guys agree? I was planning on making an apartment visit at the end of June.

I agree with number 4. Don't stress about the field so much. It's more about a person who can speak to your ability to succeed in school. I'm going for school psych: one of my recommenders was my psych thesis advisor, one of my recommenders was my supervisor when I worked in an autistic support classroom and my last was my sociology professor. Although sociology has little to do with school psych, I chose her because I took her for two classes in which I did extremely well in and I was actively involved in the classes. I trusted her to write a solid recommendation over other professors or supervisors that were closer to my field of choice.

I don't know about your program but I know the programs I applied to prefer recommenders who can vouch for your academic ability and know you personally. Choose professors who you took multiple classes with, an advisor that you took a class with or a professor that you took once but knows you well enough to write a decent recommendation. Then, you can choose from a boss from an internship or related job or volunteer experience or an advisor from an organization that you were in or held a leadership position in. Make sure it's someone you trust that is organized!! The first time I applied I only had one solid recommender out of three. One professor turned in half of my applications very late and the other was a personal reference of a child that I babysat (very bad idea). So don't pick just for the sake of needing someone to do it. Pick a professional that will write a solid recommendation for you.

I understand @Emely Moreta's point but I don't agree. I think it's based on your goals and the mission of the program. I would check to see if the program has a big emphasis on research. I think most schools that are research based are supposed to have the research-scientist model but I've came across some programs that have a scientist-practioner model and focus more on the scientist part. Like you said a scientist-practitioner model is supposed to be a balance of research and applied experiences so I don't think it's anything wrong with maintaining that balance if you want it. Also, a PhD in clinical psych doesn't always lead to a research career. A good percentage of people with those degrees don't end up doing much research at all after graduation. Research is important so you should have the experience and know how to do it well but I think it's more important to tailor what you emphasize the most based on your future career. Your advisor should be supportive in helping you create the path that will best suite your needs while helping you fulfill the requirements of the program as well. I'm going into my PhD program hoping to get an even balance of research and clinical/school training as well but in school psych. My advisor is very supportive of this. The PhD vs. PsyD comparison isn't always as clear cut as people make it. PhD's aren't just for research and you can have PhD and want a research or clinical career. That's the beauty of having a degree that'll train you for multiple careers vs. having a PsyD that mainly focus on the applied experiences.

It's great that you guys are going to somewhere familiar. I guess I'm a bit of a rebel because staying in my home city was not an option for me. Good luck to the both of you! ?

Congrats! Glad you got into your top choice @estrella!!

Although you received a scholarship from Columbia, you should consider cost of living and tuition cost. New York is very expensive so that $9,000 scholarship may be equivalent to no money from Penn. I'm not too sure about the cost of living in LA. I live in Philadelphia now and I looked into moving to NYC a few years ago so I know for sure Philly is considerably cheaper than NYC. Just something to think about.