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.

@schizometric & @lumscjhu Congratulations to you both on your interviews from UMB! I've been checking the TGC results page and it looks like you're the only two who have heard back so far, would you mind PMing me your POIs? UMB's my top school and now I'm really nervous that I won't even be interviewed. ; A ; Also, your GRE/GPA stats if you wouldn't mind!! Also, for anyone else who is concerned about their app at UMass Boston, the semester here starts back up on the 24th of this month, but admins & staff are usually still working even though it's winter break. So it might be worth a shot to call/email now rather than waiting.

@bquinnThanks so much!! I really appreciate it!

I think doing thesis-based programs will help you to become more confident in doing research, but if that's not something you plan on focusing on after you graduate and you don't intend on getting a PhD, it's not as much of an issue. If you do a non-thesis based program it won't be the end of the world if you later decide to do the PhD, especially if you're spending time working in between. Another option in non-thesis based programs would be to pursue some research opportunities with professors in your program instead. Getting publications and a broad base of experiences never hurt anyone, and who knows, you might find that you enjoy it!

There's a website called glassdoor that will give you pay estimates from people working for specific companies in your area, so try plugging in your state & dream company with your degree and see what you come up with. Getting the LICSW will definitely help to raise your pay grade, as will getting certificates of training in specialized fields (i.e. youth and families, LGBTQ folks, etc).

@Shrivi27Thanks a bunch and good luck with the rest of your apps!

@|SDH|-|PhD| Thank you!! I've reached out to both and got an auto-response from Harvard essentially saying they know SOPHAS is trash and will review candidates even if they haven't been verified as long as the rest of the app is in before the Dec 1 deadline -- they sent an email not too long ago saying their grace period was until Dec 15 so that's why I was panicking. As long as SOPHAS has decent turnaround time I should be verified for BU's Jan 5 deadline but I'm still waiting to hear back about whether or not they review unverified apps.

@bynOooh I didn't know that they had a feature to look for last year's as well! I looked earlier to see if anyone had mentioned those schools but I figured I'd post in here just to see if anyone had heard but that page had not yet been updated. Thanks for the tip! @schizometric Thanks a bunch! Even though it's my undergrad institution they didn't send my rejection letter until APRIL of last year so I wasn't sure when interview invites went out since the profs I work with are in the clinical program. >___<;;

I honestly don't think schools are going to care a ton about your undergrad GPA since your grad one is much better and you have good reasons for your undergad one being lower. If some of your deadlines haven't passed, the only other thing I'd recommend is framing your medical condition as a problem that's been taken care of/overcome so that they're not concerned about dropout risk. (But that'll also be mitigated by the fact that you got through a grad program already so no sweat if you can't alter your app). GREs are mostly used as an imperfect tool of predicting whether or not you'll be able to handle grad level work, but because you've already demonstrated that you can from your grad GPA, I wouldn't worry too much about them being average. Research experience is definitely a plus as that will be the main focus of a PhD program, but the fact that you have a lot of clinical experience too is definitely going to help your case. It seems like you have a lot of great mentors and if they're checking over your SOP and writing sample and approving of them, I think you'll be fine (particularly since some of those profs sit on adcomms at your school). Good luck!

I'm only applying to a few programs (Bridgewater State & Simmons, and the other one is a combo MSW/PhD so I'd be fully funded there) but I'm just curious about what other folks' experiences with funding have been like. I know most programs say that you can't feasibly work because your clinical hours eat up all the time that you're not in class so...how does one live for two years without working? I know some unis offer opportunities for TAships that give you some cash but it doesn't seem like it's enough to cover living expenses. I know most MSW programs are more about practical experience rather than research but being an RA is how I made my money during undergrad, lol. Also, for folks in Massachusetts, do you know if it's against state regs to be paid for an internship that you're getting course credit for, or does it vary from school to school?

Hey there! I'm only applying to BC's MSW/PhD 5 year combo program but was wondering if anyone would be willing to chance me on odds of getting in! The good: 3.986 GPA undergradHonors College Membership contingent upon maintaining 3.2 all semesters; extra classes required for graduation Chancellor's Scholarship undergrad - contingent upon maintaining 3.5, full ride to (public) uni Dean's List at summa cum laude every semester enrolled Provost's Certificate -- for maintaining 3.9 GPA every semester enrolled Independent Honors Thesis -- aka new research and not secondary data analysis/offshoot of main project in the lab 2 pubs, one out, one under review, on a couple of presentations and have more projects coming down the pike Worked 20-40 hours a week between two research labs as an undergrad (one paid, one volunteer/one semester of credit) for two years, continue to volunteer in side lab1 year of "full-time" research experience as lab manager (not like I was already doing full time hours between the two labs during undergrad but w/e...)180 hour clinical internship working in a crisis stabilization unit + 8 months per diem work Gonna get three absolutely stellar letters of recommendation Have connections to two of my POIs from my labs The Meh: Went to public uni that's not always well-regarded I'm a baby by some people's standards (22) which my side-lab director mentioned was a huge turn-off for him because people fresh from undergrad don't know what they want to do with their lives and waste grant money if/when they drop out -- addressing this directly because aside from changing my mind on BS vs BA I haven't at all wavered in what I've wanted to do with my life since senior year of high school - if nothing else I'm stubborn as hell and won't stop until I do what I came to do. Have a rare disability that manifested in middle school that wasn't treated properly until late HS (highlighted this in my personal statement/statement of purpose because it's part of the reason why I'm so interested in adolescence & health psych). The Ugly: GRE scores... I did much worse this year than last (144 vs 142 Q, 158 vs 156 V, 4.5 vs 5.5A) but hit "send all scores" the day of. Likely the result of: a) extreme test anxiety because I know the GRE is really make-it-or-break-it for a lot of schools, b ) My math skills outside of stats are absolutely abysmal because I had to literally teach myself math in high school (still managed to get nothing less than C's-- mostly A's and B's then) -- I'd miss months of school at a time and would get "home tutoring" from people who were just as lost as I was, c) I had the flu the day I took it and didn't have the $$$ or time to retake it. Got a B+ in stats during undergrad -- because our prof gave everyone in the class the wrong directions for how to run SPSS so all of our labs were incorrect; half the class withdrew before the deadline and half of the remaining folks just stopped showing up; prof was an adjunct and was fired after that semester because of that class, but combined with the perception of "[insert uni]'s so easy you'd have to be really dumb to get less than an A" I can see why PIs would see this as a red flag combined with abysmal GRE scores. Most of my work has been with qual projects but I'm doing more quant stuff now that I can talk about IF I get an interview. Thanks in advance for the help!