hd397

Hello! As someone who is interested in sleep (not dreaming specifically) I can tell you from looking through labs and applying twice that there are not too many labs in clinical psychology departments doing sleep or dream research. I've found that sleep labs tend to be more common in medical school settings, so you may want to consider a PhD in neuroscience. I can't speak for other areas of psychology (behavioral, experimental, etc), since I only applied to clinical psych and neuroscience, so I'll let someone else weigh in on those. Offhand, I know that Robert Stickgold at Harvard has done some pretty interesting research on dreaming, and I believe he takes grad students through their neuroscience program. That being said, look up some recently published papers that you really like and check out the authors to get a feel for where this research is being done, and what type of students the PIs are advising. I hope this helps!

School: Temple UniversityProgram: Clinical Psychology PhDDate of Notification: 03/18/17Method of Notification: Phone call from DCTThoughts: Thrilled and relieved! I was first alternate on the waitlist. I accepted on the spot. I loved everything about this program--the lab, the faculty, the students.

To inspire a little hope, I was just accepted off the waitlist at Temple! I am so shocked, I thought for sure the person holding it was going to accept at this point. Good luck to everyone else waiting! I hope it all works out

I've had both happen! I've had schools tell me right away, and last year at one school I had to reach out and essentially infer from what my POI said (they were really weird about telling me I was on the waitlist) that I was waitlisted. And it's not like I was far down the waitlist--I was next in line! Super frustrating.

I will second this! A handful of the RAs in my lab got here because they sent a brief email to my PI with their CV attached.

I don't think it's overkill at all! I would advise it. When I went on interviews last year, all the male applicants wore suits.

I'm also interested to hear what PIs from FSU have contacted people! I applied there as well, so please let me know!

I recognize your username from last cycle--I am reapplying as well! This time, I am still sticking to research focused programs, but I'm definitely casting a broader net; I've noticed from the interviews I did last time that research interests don't have to match 100% for someone to be interested in your application (also, I learned that I need to be more flexible and not so focused on a very specific research interest!). I decided on my list of schools based on ranking, honestly. I focused on top 50 schools, since those tend to be the most research intensive, then looked more in depth at the labs. In terms of alternatives, I might apply to a neuroscience programs or two; they tend to have less applicants, and have more available spots. I'm also just applying to a lot more schools in general (17 this year vs 12 last year).

I think if you can just make your statement sound clear and focused, and have a thoughtful answer prepared in case you get asked about it in interviews, you should be ok. Just try to think of some good things that came out of those experiences that you can talk about, and how they may have shaped your trajectory.

This is exactly what you want to do! Just be very professional, come up with a few good questions about their poster/presentation, tell them you're interested in their work and ask if they're accepting students. I'm planning to attend at least one conference this year specifically for this purpose. It gets you on their radar, and if you get an interview, you'll be less nervous because you've met them already Good luck!

That is great to hear about the person from your lab! And I sincerely hope everything works out for you this round too!

Thank you for sharing this! I am so happy to hear it all worked out for you! I also definitely appreciate you sharing what you did to improve. My CV is thankfully already stronger than it was back in December--I had a paper that was in review get accepted, and I'm on a few more posters. I am considering retaking the GRE, but one of my letter writers offered to teach me how to analyze fMRI data, and given that there is only so much time left until the next cycle, he suggested that the latter would be a more effective thing to focus on. Taking the psych GRE is a good idea, though! I didn't apply to 2 schools because they required it, and it would be nice to not have to worry about it. Despite all this, I do worry that I'll end up in the same position next year, since clinical psych programs are ultra-competitive. Stories like yours definitely help with my post-rejection pessimism! I wish you all the best, and I hope you love whichever program you choose!

This was my first year applying, and unfortunately it has ended rather unsuccessfully. I know it is pretty common for people to have to apply twice, and I only applied to very competitive research-oriented programs, because that's what I'm interested in. I applied to 12, got interviews at 2, was waitlisted as a high alternate at both, and was officially rejected this week at my top choice (the other is still pending, but honestly, not a great fit). I'm in an ideal situation--I am a research assistant at a very prestigious university at a productive lab, and I have strong letter writers. I'll probably be in great shape next Fall, but right now, I'm pretty bummed about this application cycle not working out. I'm sure there are people who didn't make it this year who are feeling the same way, so I was hoping those of you who reapplied this year and had awesome results could share their success stories to cheer us all up, and remind everyone that there's always next year!

I have officially been rejected from the waitlist at my top choice, but I hope all of you have much better luck! Despite how massively disappointing this is, I think I'll have a really good shot at this school next year--my POI emailed me directly and seemed genuinely bummed to not be able to offer me a spot.

I also wanted to chime in and say this thread has been super encouraging! My coworkers try to empathize, but I feel like they don't really get it, so reading posts from people who are in the same boat as me is really helping me get through to April 15th. You're all great and I hope we all get off the waitlist and into great programs!