[I'm in. Now what? (PhD Experimental/Social Psychology)]

After a long application season, I am thankful to be starting my PhD in Experimental Social Psychology this fall. I was wondering if anyone can provide me with some insight on how they wouild recommend I spend my summer before the program.  

I am taking research methods and stats grad courses for my first semester.  I have heard those are some of the harder classes you will take in your PhD program.  Any advice for prepping for these?  Is it recommended to do some pre-studying in the summer?  

Any other just general advice for first-year grad students is welcome.  

Thanks. 

[GPA and Admission to Grad School]

3 hours ago, eternallyephemeral said:

Do those MA programs have a thesis and do you work with a supervisor directly? Because if that's the case and you want to do a masters first, then you could go for that. However, if they aren't funded and if they make you take longer, when you could get into a PhD program, then I wouldnt go the longer route.

What I would do to see what kinds of chances you have for these programs, is to look at the current students on the school website and maybe even email them to ask which parts of the applicaiton are more important. I wouldn't ask them to tell you if you'll get in or not, but they will probably be more honest than the people working there, because the students have no vested interest of trying to get you to apply.

Then I would make a connection with as many potential supervisors as you can, because things like this can help you if you meet the GPA cutoff (which you most likely would) and if your stronger aspects are research and interviews. So maybe you could have one of the Masters programs as a backup? Not that you are guaranteed to get in, but if the deadlines are late enough for the MA, you could potentially hear back from some schools and then apply to the MA. My boyfriend did this, but he didn't plan it out before (he just didn't get into any of his PhD programs), and now he's probably going to the same place I am!

So I think it'll work out. You're being realistic which is good, however keep in mind that mid tier programs can still have lots of applicants and they can be very competitive.

Thanks for the advice.  Yeah, I would apply to funded thesis MA programs.  The current professor that I work for thinks I have a good shot at mid/low level PhD programs so I am hoping he is right but what I will probably end up doing is applying to MA programs as a backup and then also apply to lower level PhD programs as well as a backup.  And yeah, I meet the GPA cutoff at pretty much every school.  3.55 isn't great but I acknowledge it isn't horrible either.  And did your boyfriend do clinical psych PhD?  If so, what was the reason why he didn't get in first time around?

[GPA and Admission to Grad School]

On March 1, 2016 at 0:11 PM, eternallyephemeral said:

That should be good. Competitive GREs differ by school, but you should aim to be in the 80 percentile range, but if you're below that it's okay.

Which type of psych are you interested in? If it's clinical, then I would say it's going to be extremely difficult to get into a PhD program. If it's cognitive or physiological psych/neuroscience, you should be alright.

It also depends if you're applying internationally (I'm from Canada and I applied to the US, it can be very difficult as you can cost a lot more for them). But if you're applying to your own country and it's in a less competitive field of psychology, you shouldn't worry about a 3.55 with research if you can write a good statement and you make meaningful connections with the professors youre interested in before the application.

PM me if you don't want to write that info out here!

Sorry for the late reply.  Been real busy!  I am applying for social psych/experimental programs.  I plan on staying away from top ranked PhD schools and I am pretty realistic as to what I have a chance for.  I will probably be applying to mid tier programs.  I do have very good recommendations.  One is from a long time faculty member that runs a lab that I am a TA for and have a great connection with (I also work in his lab).  Another is a professor that I also TA for that asked me to TA based on my success in his class.  The third is from a professional writing professor.  I know social psych/experimental is still hard to get into but I think it is less than clinical.

I guess my biggest dilemma is debating whether I should focus solely on PhD programs or if I should also apply to higher level masters programs.  My GPA seems to be a bit lower for some of these higher level MA programs (Wake Forest, Nova, William and Mary) but I am hoping my research and recs would help me on that one.  I know that if I did an MA programs I would do phenomenal.  I had a lot of crazy stuff happen to me in my undergrad that just drew my focus away from academics (deaths in family, breakups, breaking bones, mono).  The semesters that I wasn't really affected by these things I got 4.0's.  It was like 1 bad semester my first semester of freshman year (2.75) that is bringing me down a lot.

[MA/MS General Psych Fall 2016 Admissions]

What are some of the stats of these people that are getting accepted into these upper level MA programs?

[What are my chances?]

We have some pretty similar backgrounds (in terms of GPA and research experience) except I am applying to social psych programs.  All I know about clinical psych from my friends that applied to PhD programs is that they really value experience and research in the field.  Good luck!

[Do UG Courses after Graduation get Factored into GPA?]

I was wondering if UG Psych courses taken after graduation would be counted toward the GPA that PhD schools would consider.  Thanks!

[GPA and Admission to Grad School]

306 GRE 4.5 Writing on my first try.  I know I can get that up though because I did that with no preparation.  Yeah, I have 1 conference (2 at end of this semester and 1 pub by end).

[GPA and Admission to Grad School]

I have a 3.55 GPA with great recs, 2 years research, conference presentation and 2 teaching assistantships.  Do you think I should try for straight low level PhD programs in psych or go for the masters?

[Chance at MA programs in general psychology]

I am going to apply to MA general psychology programs this fall.  I have been focusing my research mostly on social psychology topics, such as human aggression.  I want to eventually get a PhD in psychology because I am interested in ultimately teaching at the university level but I am not sure if I would be competitive enough at the moment.  I am also really young (I graduated at 20) and I don't mind spending some more time doing a masters.  Here are my stats:

Psychology major/Pre med (took all the pre-med classes)

3.55 Cumulative GPA (upward trend, 4.0 in last semester) at top university.

306 GRE 4.5 writing

2 years research experience (1 year training and working directly with professor)

2 teaching assistant positions in psychology

1 conference presentation

1 publication (hopefully) by end of semester.

I have excellent letters of recommendation.  All from faculty members at the R1 school that I go to.  What do you guys think?  I had a faculty member tell me that I had a chance at lower level PhD programs but I think I would rather do a masters to improve my chances.  Does anyone have any experience with that?