academicbirb

Update time! Rejected from Harvard but accepted to BU! How's everyone else doing?

Anyone heard from BC's PhD program? I checked the results tracker but I know sometimes people don't always post in there...

So Simmons pulled the same "an admissions decision has been made and mailed to you" with me yesterday, but sent me an invite to an accepted students thing today, so I got in! Re: peeps who are moving to Boston from other places: suburbs are your friends, but you can still be expecting to pay at least $1300/mo for a one bedroom, utilities may or may not be included. Pretty much everywhere at least has a bus that will get you to the T and most colleges in Boston are close to the train or have bus stops, and most schools can get you discount monthly passes (usually like 12% off but better than nothing). Further out you have the commuter rail which is expensive as heckie. So essentially, find something in suburbs or expect to be sharing a house with like 3-4 other roommates.

School: Boston CollegeArea/Degree: Counseling PhDRationalization: "we're scared about you being young" will be dressed up as "lack of experience" in my formal rejection letter Comment: No official rejection but given that people have already received interview invites I'm assuming I've been rejected as well. Coping tactics: Hunting for jobs with insurance benefits, reminding myself that the last five years of my life have been a complete and total waste of time and to stop trying to make fetch/PhD happen.

@whatsanameHey there, would you mind if I sent you my POI's initials for BC and let me know if the one who invited you matches mine?

Nah, it's all good! It said I was an independent student since I no longer live with them, but because I'm also applying to MPH programs (which do want your parents' info) I had to list them. But IIRC they still base aid decisions on your parents' expected financial contribution even if you don't live with them -- one of my friends basically had to get her parents to sign a letter saying they wouldn't give her money for college in order for them to bump up their loan amount to her. As an undergrad I was still offered some loans from the fed, but not enough to cover full tuition + fees, and that's really not the boat I want to be in if I can't work during an MSW, lol.

Jeeze Louise I am *not* liking my chances for getting in now, haha. This year might be a wash of even my safety schools OTL They're basing it off of the previous year's tax returns instead of the upcoming one (so this year they're looking at 2015 for the 2017/18 school year) and since I was still a dependent of my parents the fed probably isn't going to be very generous even though that's no longer the case.

Anyone heard anything from BC? Either the combo MSW/PhD or just the PhD since we're all in the same pool?

I'm wondering if schools don't send out decisions without you first completing the FAFSA... my app at Simmons has been sitting for WEEKS but I haven't heard a peep out of them. Only submitted my FAFSA today so maybe that's what the holdup is... (also, is anyone else annoyed that they changed how they offer aid?)

@LLsApps Nope, not upset with you at all! I am super sorry if it came off that way! This is just a garbage situation to be in; my mentors have known this was my plan for a solid three years and haven't tried at all to direct me off of what will likely be a dead-end path for me.

School: UMass BostonArea/Degree: Counseling PhDRationalization: I'm not "mature" enough for a PhD until I've done a Master's, apparently. They said they wanted someone w/ an MA in a related field or "more post BA clinical experience" but honestly I think it just boils down to "you're 22 and we're scared you'll burn out and cost us grant money"... it seems like they put more emphasis on clinical work over research (because, hey, I was actually employed part time in a clinical setting for a year in addition to doing full time work for research). Their loss. Comment: Offered a spot in the MA program, idk if I'll take it. I'd rather not spend two years doing unpaid clinical work when I could just earn more money doing research/clinical stuff for pay. Coping tactics: Focusing on achieving my final form: a bird comprised totally of salt and hatred. Gonna email POIs to see if the lack of clinical experience is what killed it for them or what.

I also applied to BC's Counseling program, if you check results from last year it looks like people got invites at the end of NEXT month, with final decisions around March-ish. In other news, my dear old alma mater (UMass Boston) rejected me today! But at least they didn't wait until May to notify me this year. I was offered a spot in their MA program though, so there's that. If you're still waiting on decisions for them, I wouldn't hold your breath unless you've been notified that you've been wait-listed. Also, the clinical psych department just got funding cut, so odds are the counseling program did too, just BTW for those of you interviewing there.

So essentially, sucks to suck, I'm never getting into a counseling psych PhD because money/health. So I guess I'll do the MSW first and then developmental or public health. Thanks y'all.

@socrate4se I've heard a lot of mixed things on whether it's fine/not, and I think it varies by PI too. Both of my PIs told me not to before the app cycle started, but that it was fine to do so afterwards. I know two of my POIs from last year personally from either the volunteer or paid labs, so after I was rejected, I went to them for advice, and didn't email anyone else because I took them for their word. I'm applying to the same school that I currently work at, and I know the clinical program just had funding cut so odds are the counseling PhD program has as well -- so even fewer spots open than last year. @stereopticons Thank you, I really appreciate it! Ahh, sorry, I should have clarified, I'm technically part time in my paid lab because they can't afford to give me employee benefits (and since I'm still young I'm on my parents' insurance so I'm not salty) but I'm working the max number of hours that can still be considered "part time." so just under 40/week, and when combined with the volunteer lab I'm working more than that. I might try to find another position just to diversify my interests further (which is why I started working for a second lab in the first place) if master's programs aren't forthcoming with funds. @periwinkle27 Yup! I'm not making a ton of money so I really tried to be prudent about where I applied for that reason and to boost my chances of getting in. All of my POIs have heavy overlap with what I've already done in terms of topics and methods (and some are collaborators with my current PIs) and I have a pretty diverse research skill set. I am limited to the Boston area because of my health -- the one specialist who studies my condition is here and I'd feel really uncomfortable leaving the state in case something went wrong. I know Boston's VERY competitive in general but I was hoping since I was a lot more careful in where I picked this year that I'd have better chances.

I want to teach, do research, and do clinical work, and a clinical/counseling PhD is the fastest and cheapest way for me to reach that goal. I'm not a prideful person, but it's really burning me that I'm failing at what I've literally spent the last five years preparing for. Where should I go from here? It's looking more and more likely that I'll be rejected across the board, and while I did apply to MSW/MPH programs as a fallback/safety I really don't want to get into a crazy amount of debt for a non-terminal degree. I've been working for two labs (volunteer, then part-time paid and volunteer, then for credit, then back to volunteer) since I was a junior in undergrad. I've been working for the PI who supervised my thesis as a lab manager since I graduated last year and have continued on as a volunteer in the other lab. I've done a clinical internship, have banked well over 3,000 hours in both labs, got stellar LORs, 3.986 GPA, one completed publication and one out for review when I applied and will have more soon, along with a few presentations. Both of my PIs are pretty well known/respected in their fields/within psych in general, and I have connections to most of my POIs through the PIs I currently work for. The advice I've received from the people I trust from last year's (failed) app cycle is that I was 1) too young 2) too inexperienced -- one specifically said that some people only want folks 2 years out of undergrad and/or a master's with a thesis, 3) GRE scores but I've been stalking the results tracker and folks with lower scores than me are getting interviews. While I do plan on emailing my POIs from this year to see what they're looking for, I'm not sure what my best course of action would be from here assuming that I get into at least one MSW & one MPH. I know a lot of this is just a numbers game, too, and it might not be anything wrong with me personally, but it seems like the best thing I can do to help my PhD chances is just... age? My thought process is: Option 1) do the MPH, then apply for clinical/counseling PhDs Option 2) do the MSW, then apply for an easier psych degree [developmental] and public health PhDs Option 3) work another year, apply again, cry about how much money I'm wasting on apps.