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Quantitative_Psychology

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  1. Quantitative_Psychology
    I won't go to a program that doesn't offer a tuition waiver and some kind of stipend whether it be from TA/RA/fellowship. Financially, it just wouldn't be worth it to me. However, everywhere I applied says they offer the tuition waiver and stipend. I think they just won't make offers if they can't afford to do that or it will limit the number of offers they make. My research interests are primarily in missing data and mediation/moderation analysis. I'd like to work with someone who does both, but I'm also applying to people who either do all missing data or all mediation/moderation. Bayesian seems to be very hot right now. That's not a bad approach to take!
  2. Quantitative_Psychology
    UGPA stands for undergraduate GPA and GGPA stands for graduate GPA. I'm not entirely certain what your second question is asking.
  3. Quantitative_Psychology
    OSU was the first one I applied to because you had to submit the application in order to send LOR requests (annoying as could be). I'm not surprised they are slow to update the portal though. I emailed UCLA about their portal not showing my GRE score, and the person informed me that the portal was not accurate and that they would be personally reaching out to any applicants missing transcripts or GRE scores. It definitely put me at ease. I did reach out to a majority of my POIs (mostly the ones I really wanted to work with). The responses were all good, but they were a little concerning. Several of them referenced uncertainty about how many grad students would be taken this year based on funding. I was a little surprised, and it makes me even more nervous. A lot of people told me to apply to some ed psych programs, but I couldn't quite find one that meshed with my interests and got me excited. You picked some good ones though!
  4. Quantitative_Psychology
    I'm very much in the obsessed stage. I only had a few due December 1st. Many of them are due today. I'm really trying to focus on my school work considering finals are next week, but it is hard when I have so much anxiety!
  5. Quantitative_Psychology
    In undergraduate studies, I ended up crying an office maybe 2 times. Typically, this occurred with professors I'm very close with, and I don't want to disappoint. Each time the professors were very kind about it, and I was given the impression it wasn't entirely unusual. They often offered excellent support by relieving some of the burden of the situation. I graduate school, I ended up crying once in front of a professor. It actually really improved the relationship. The professor hadn't realized that the way he was communicating with me was coming across mean and dissatisfied, and we came to an understanding. I do find it embarrassing that I couldn't keep it totally professional, but I'm certain they recognize the stress we are under during graduate school (especially when we are first adjusting).
  6. Quantitative_Psychology
    I do find it somewhat amusing that our interests aren't terribly similar, but we still managed to match programs. It truly is a small quant world! Can we mention how nightmarish some these applications were? Between ASU having two and UCLA doing a complete application overhaul in November, I honestly thought it would never end. I'm not even sure what to do with my time anymore. I'm certain tomorrow I'll be extremely nervous though with several apps being due (although I've already submitted them). I might pick up a hobby in December to make this whole waiting game more tolerable. X)
  7. Quantitative_Psychology
    I think I consistently had about 156/157 on Magoosh (lower on some other practice tests), but I ended up getting 161. It really is hard to judge. Sometimes you luck out on the test, and it primarily covers the topics you were stronger at. Other times, it seems like you can't escape the concepts you were worst at.
  8. Quantitative_Psychology
    I still have to get the UNC application in, but I'm about to enter the waiting stage. It sucks having no idea when you'll hear back. Did you narrow down your research interests @schenar ? We're applying to almost the same schools
  9. Quantitative_Psychology
    How are applications going for everyone?
  10. Quantitative_Psychology
    What an odd situation! My first question would be, do you actually talk to this person online or in person often? If not, then I probably wouldn't bother responding. If you aren't close, it wouldn't be too burdensome to follow her wishes (Despite how odd these wishes may be). On the other hand, if you are close/talk often, I would probably try to engage her by message or maybe ask a mutual friend what is going on. As a friend, I would be highly concerned by her behavior. It could be an indicator of something seriously wrong.
  11. Quantitative_Psychology
    CV's definitely can be both field dependent and career stage dependent. For example, a graduate student could talk about relevant courses and research projects that have not resulted in a publication, whereas an individual with a Ph.D. is more limited in what he or she can put on a CV. Similarly, in STEM and research fields, it is appropriate to put your technical skills (e.g., stats, programs, l assays, etc.), whereas the skills wouldn't be appropriate on the CV for an individual in the humanities. It sounds like you have the right categories, and you are welcome to put relevant courses on. It is really a matter of personal preference.
  12. Quantitative_Psychology
    I'm applying to those schools too! Will you also apply to UC Merced? Who are you applying to at UCLA (you can PM me if you want)? It's hard to tell how much the GRE matters in quantitative psychology. There aren't really any statistics out there because there are so few of us. I dug through the admission results on this website for quant programs once, and I saw a wide variety of GRE scores. It isn't a terribly large/good sample. However, your coursework sounds exceptional. I would think you have a very good chance.
  13. Quantitative_Psychology
    @Dave Mumby First, I would like to start off saying I am genuinely sorry if you feel your quote was taken out of context. That was never my intent. I was simply trying to create a conversation on the matter of contacting different POI's because it is an area of contention within the Master's program I am currently in. (Truly my cohort and I had a debate on the matter just yesterday). My selection of that quote was just to emphasize how different the perspectives on this matter are. I like your reasons for contacting a POI. They do make sense. It's just unfortunate that I've received extremely generic responses almost every time I've intitiated contact with a POI. Typically they've made it fairly clear they do not want to initiate a conversation. I still contact anyway just incase, but I have had little success in that realm. However, I think (and correct me if I'm wrong) what you're saying is that this is ONE way of standing out instead of just turning in yourself on paper. Would you say that a very stand out letter of recommendation or a few publications would also be a way to stand out? (I've had very good luck with one of my letter writers being well known to the POIs I apply to). I could see how this email interaction could be one method of standing out if you don't have something else specific to your application that makes you stand out from the crowd. I certainly agree that no one explicitly discourages anyone from contacting a POI. I think I have always been stuck on whether it actually helps as much or as little as some professors have told me. Which leads me into your last statement.... I would LOVE for you to elaborate on this topic if you don't mind. I was certainly alluding to the fact there is so much conflicting advice out there on everything from personal statements to letters of recommendation. That's really an important issue here and primarily why I made this post.
  14. Quantitative_Psychology
    Has anyone else noticed the wildly conflicting advice given about different parts of the application process? I've heard extremely different accounts on how important it is to contact POI. On one hand, I've heard it is really important to determine if the individual is taking grad students and still doing research in that area (I can see the logic here although sometimes it is obvious the POI is taking students and will be continuing in that area). On the other hand, I've heard that contacting a POI has absolutely no impact on whether you get into a graduate program, especially in psychology (I can get behind this). In general, we receive fairly generic responses anyway; therefore, I find it hard to imagine that a POI holds that initial contact at such a high esteem. I think that's why I was so surprised to see this website have such a conflicting account to what I've previously been told. What do you guys think about this quote? Is contacting your POI prior to submitting an application this important? I wouldn't think so, but I could be wrong. "Some faculty members, myself included, will never accept a new graduate student who has not made some kind of pre-application contact, and the in-person visit is the best type of contact. It shows a lot about the student’s good judgment, among other things. You might be surprised to hear this, but most grad-school applicants do not bother making that visit! Most applicants just send in their application materials and hope for the best. They have zero chance with some of those applications, but they don’t even realize it!" Website: https://mygraduateschool.wordpress.com/2017/02/22/getting-into-graduate-school-with-or-without-excellent-grades/
  15. Quantitative_Psychology
    You mentioned 5 advisors. Are they each at different programs? Five programs isn't that small of a number in quant honestly. This is especially true if you're a strong applicant (good GRE, good grades, research experience, etc.). There aren't that many people applying to these programs, and your odds could be very good if all your potential advisors are taking applicants. On the other hand, you don't actually need to have done research in the specific areas you apply to. It's not really an expectation considering there are very few opportunities for undergraduates to do quantitative research; therefore if it doesn't show up in any substantive research you've done, you won't be exposed to it. However, I would certainly make sure you are interested in it prior to applying by reading up on the literature and major concepts. Ultimately, your approach is up to you. If you are super into meta-analyses, only apply to those 5 advisors. If you are interested in other areas, but you haven't had the opportunity to do research, still consider applying to other advisors that match those interests.
  16. Quantitative_Psychology
    Hmm I can certainly see your points @TakeruK. It hadn't occurred to me previously to start off talking about the school applying to first instead of concluding on that note. Perhaps some restructuring is in order and that would clear up the weirdness of my first paragraph. I would like to note, and perhaps I should have been clear in my initial post, that I received wildly conflicting advice from both my advisors on whether to address my initial interests prior to wanting to do quantitative. This was, in part, because I had been interested in doing clinical psychology, and I don't want to come off as a rejected clinical applicant. That's why I decided to ask some strangers. @Sigaba I can certainly appreciate your point about asking strangers being odd and to a large extent, I agree with you. It's just I've received so much conflicting advice on SOP from my two main advisors that I'm having trouble making any choices regarding it. Thanks for the advice on restructuring and making it more concise @hats. Although I do thoroughly describe my research experiences later on in the statement, I can see how this might not be a very good setup to do this.
  17. Quantitative_Psychology
    One backup plan that I feel is underutilized is applying for research assistant/coordinator positions in Clinical labs. The thing about clinical is that it really helps if you know someone prior to applications. One way to swing this is to apply to work in a lab as a coordinator for someone who has a good rep in the field. That way you can use them as a letter writer and maybe even apply to them after a year. The pay for these positions isn't great, but it would be cheaper than a master's degree. On the flip side, a master's degree is also helpful. One suggestion I would make is applying for Masters programs at universities that do not have Ph.D. programs. I've found that Masters students are treated as more valuable when there aren't Ph.D. students around. By taking this route, I actually had a stipend in a terminal Masters programs and got way more research experience because of it.
  18. Quantitative_Psychology
    Here is the first paragraph of my SOP (with identifying info removed). I bolded the sentence I'm concerned about. "When I emerged from my undergraduate studies at [Undergraduate University], I knew I wanted to pursue a career in research. However, at that time, I was far less certain about the area of research I wanted to focus in. For this reason, I found it beneficial to take an intermediary step prior to attending a Ph.D. program. That’s why I chose to pursue a terminal master’s degree in [degree] at [Graduate School]. While at [Graduate School], I participated in a wide variety of research experiences. It was a culmination of these experiences that made me realize I wanted to pursue a Ph.D. in Quantitative Psychology and focus my research on [redacted]." I was describing my SOP to one of my professors, and she said not to make it sound like I wasn't sure what I wanted to research. Instead, she suggested that I say I was picking between areas. However, I honestly had never heard of Quantitative Psychology until I got to graduate school. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Am I over thinking it or is she right?
  19. Quantitative_Psychology
    Yeah, they should be fine. I could go for higher, but I don't really think it will make a big difference for my application. I'm focusing my time on other stuff like research and publications instead of studying for the GRE.
  20. Quantitative_Psychology
    Yeah sure. I originally had (V155, Q154) and the second time I had (V157, Q161). Between the first time and the second time, I did Magoosh and only focused on the quant section.
  21. Quantitative_Psychology
    I'll admit I did study more than 15-16 hours a week. I was probably topping 30-40 hours a week, but I only did that for about 6 weeks or so. It is certainly a consideration to make another attempt in which you dedicate larger chunks of time towards studying. It just depends on whether you think it will be effective for you or not. You could also just try to take it again very soon and see if maybe it was anxiety or a bad day.
  22. Quantitative_Psychology
    If you typically do that much better on practice tests, I can't help but wonder if it is some kind of testing anxiety. When you took the GRE, how did you feel during it? Did you know how to answer the questions? Or were you really anxious and lost? Did your score surprise you at the end or had you known the test was going badly?
  23. Quantitative_Psychology
    Options wise it kind of depends on what you actually want to do. If you want to do research, not practice then you can always pursue a PhD in general psychology and focus on clinical topics. These programs aren't quite as competitive and could be a good option. In addition, some health psychology programs could achieve this end as well. As far as practicing, there are Masters programs that prepare people to be counselors/clinicians rather than researchers. As far as improvement on the GRE, I had great success with Magoosh. I firmly believe that if you review all the math videos and take their practice tests you can see improvements in your quantitative scores. I'm less knowledgeable on improving verbal scores. How much time have you put studying in? Have you improved your scores at all since your first time?
  24. Quantitative_Psychology
    If you signed an agreement with your undergraduate university that you'll take the F and there will be no official paperwork attached to your transcript associated with it, then I would avoid disclosing it at all costs. Definitely do not write an essay in reference to it unless you are specifically asked. Did your academics show improvement once you got to upper levels? They'll probably assume it was just a general Freshman mistake instead of cheating.
  25. Quantitative_Psychology
    That's really awesome. I wish I could work in a Quant lab, but I've pretty much been stuck in a data analyst role. There is one Quant professor at my University (she taught me R), but she now mostly does substantive research. Your whole shadowing experience sounds pretty standard for undergrad/new researcher. Pretty much all the undergrads in the labs I've worked for just get to do lit reviews and run participants. It is pretty interesting to look at how many quant people actually get picked up, but you have to look at in perspective. I actually managed to find out how many applicants there were for quantitative psych at one university. There was only 18 I believe for the entire quant area next to 400 in clincial. In all likelihood, those same 18 people were probably applying almost everywhere. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense that most programs have hardly any incoming grad students. I would definitely believe Notre Dame only picked up 2. I know the University of Washington hasn't had one in a couple years.
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