aml149

@AspiringScholar17 Wow, that's an amazing writing score! Way to go!! Also happy to hear that you found Cincy & MSU to be very caring, that was the vibe I've gotten from them in my conversations with faculty. As far as financial packages go, I know both of them fully fund all of their doctoral students, so I'm hoping to get into at least one of them as well! I didn't attend ASC, my thesis defense is today (*fingers crossed it goes well*) so it would have been just too much to go to the conference the week before. @OmarComin' I'm so sorry to hear about your dog, both of my cats have given me scares like that and it's so difficult. But I'm very happy to hear that she is doing better! Please keep us posted, I'll be keeping you in my thoughts.

@AspiringScholar17 Wow! I can't even tell you how much relief I am feeling! Thank you so much for that information! To clarify, when you say he essentially said don't bother, do you mean don't bother to even do it? I know it said it wasn't actually required, just recommended. When I initially talked to Dr. Sullivan, I asked about GRE scores and he said if your scores are at the 50th percentile or above, they don't really care how much over that mark they are since everyone is fully funded, and really it's more of a suggestion than a cut off point (Cincinnati was the only place I asked about this). Schools where not all students are fully funded may care more about the score, though. If you can afford to retake it, I would suggest doing so. It's also very possible that since you've done it once and know exactly what to expect, you won't be as nervous the second time around. Whatever you decide to do, remember that GREs are one small piece of your overall application, and you've proven yourself already with your publications and Master's GPA.

I hear you! I'm hoping to be done with everything by the beginning of December. Only thing I think I'll have left to do is upload my writing sample, which I can't do until I defend my thesis at the end of November. Has anyone done the video essay for Cincinnati yet? I'm so stressed out about it! (To be clear, I am not asking what the question is, just what your experience was like if you have done it.)

I met with Dr. Sullivan over the summer - he's probably one of the nicest people I have ever spoken to, so don't be nervous! He gave me a lot of excellent advice, and he seemed to truly want to help students be successful in applying there. Here's hoping your conversation goes well!

@AspiringScholarPhD Thanks for that reassurance! Definitely something I needed to hear. I think your publications will definitely make you stand out from other applicants and show that even if some of your scores aren't as high as you'd like them, you are obviously capable of succeeding in the research world. (I won't be attending ASC, unfortunately.) @OmarComin' That's good to hear, I think it's just intimidating when you see other applicants have publications. I voiced my concerns to my thesis chair and her response was, "you're not expected to have publications yet!" So I think we'll be okay in that realm @RoadtoPhD We'll have to keep in touch throughout the application/decision season! It would be fun to meet up during the campus visit weekend if we are both accepted! I met a few of the PhD students there when I visited over the summer and they seemed to love the program, although their focus was also in corrections.

Hi all! Wondering how everyone's application process is going - I have not made nearly as much progress as I'd hoped to by now! I have to admit, I'm quite nervous about all of this... I have no clue what I'll be doing if I don't get in to a PhD program! I'm applying for Fall 2017 as well, and I'm applying to: (1) University of Cincinnati, (2) Michigan State, (3) University of Nebraska at Omaha, (4) SUNY Albany. My area of interest is Corrections, so I'm really pushing for Cincy. The decision to apply to only four schools is part of what's making me so nervous, but I can't really afford to apply to any more. I have a BA in CJ, GPA: 3.66, Major GPA: 3.72. I also have an MEd in Counseling and Development, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, GPA: 3.979, and I'll be receiving my MS in CJ in December (fingers crossed I finish my thesis!), GPA: 4.0. GRE scores were okay, but I took them 4 years ago, so I'm hoping that how old they are won't hurt me - V: 157 (75th percentile), Q: 159 (73rd percentile), A: 5.0 (93%). Unfortunately, I won't have any publications under my belt before I apply. I will eventually be publishing my thesis (according to my thesis chair), but it won't even be under review by the time applications are due. I also don't have any conference presentations other than poster presentations, but I do have experience as a graduate teaching assistant and as a research assistant. I was also a counseling intern in a local jail for a year and a half during my previous master's program. Luckily, two of my recommendations will be coming from Cincy alumnae. Do you guys think I'll be severely hindered by lack of publications? I'm really hoping my other experience and recommendations will make up for it. I'm really excited to see others that are applying to the same places as me, and I'm very glad I found this thread - we will get through this together! Best of luck to everyone