meep95

anyone else feeling this way? its my first quarter in grad school, and holy cow the work load. idk how i am going to get everything done. within the next week i have 4 tests/finals, 3 papers (all 15-20 pages worth), 2 presentations and an in person verbal final thing. is anyone else freaking out/cracking under all the pressure? come sympathize with me, i am so stressed. idk how i am going to manage all of this.

i think this depends on the program. my program has emphasized repeatedly that they consider grad school to be like a job, and except an email prior to missing class.

my first year (quarter) has been rough (for me and my cohort as a whole). I had to move several states away, and on the 2nd day of class my grandmother died. One of the people in my cohort was very toxic and created a bad environment (she would tell professors they were wrong in class, be rude when people were sharing something emotionally vulnerable, etc.). she has since been kicked out, but it still started things off badly. Other cohort members have also had family members die or get diagnosed with terminal cancer this quarter, someone else dropped out, and the work load in general is just crazy. also i am being a terrible procrastinator and have huge amounts of projects piling up, and am struggling with doing long distance with my boyfriend of 3 years for the first time. i am counting the days until winter break for sure

join an undergraduate club in a topic that interests you. When I was in undergrad I was in the Doctor Who Club and the Psychology Club, and made friends in each.

It sounds like you have some stuff to work through....I would maybe recommend Counseling to help learn new ways to interact and socialize, since it sounds like thats what you think you are lacking. you've said some things that contradict in this thread, I also think counseling could help you sort out how you actually feel with some of that.

Haha i doubt we are in the same program, the nearest ED clinic is 2 hours from me so i think its outside of internship range. but thats awesome that there is one near by you could use for your internship! And thats exactly the same thing that happens to me! I almost wonder if you know any undergrad professors there you could talk to. Most undergrad professors have PhD's in psych/clinical stuff it seems like, or more of them do. I definitely feel you about being unsupported from professors, i went to one who i thought I related to pretty well to try and talk over potential future plans and whether a PhD is the right option for me (i'm super bad at stats and math, so idk if i could handle however many stats classes are needed), and she said basically the same thing as the rest of the professors did, which frustrates me because i want them to at least entertain the option of my getting a PhD in Counseling Psych, rather than immediately shut it down. My undergrad professors were so supportive and willing to talk over my goals (even if they were brutally honest about if they thought i couldnt do something or get into a certain school, they would help make sure i knew all my options).

We have incredibly similar research interests! I am about to submit an article for publication about disordered eating habits in a college population, focusing on athletes (particularly wrestlers). I think the population in terms of demographics might change, but I want to research in the ED area. I am in a CMHC Masters right now, in my first year. I am wanting to continue to PhD as well, but I am finding a lot of my professors at my program are very discouraging about that and keep trying to emphasize how counseling and psychology are different, and if we want to do clinical phd later why are we in this program now (although i may go a counseling psych route, who knows). We have an optional thesis as part of our program, and a lot of the professors keep saying "i recommend that you don't do the thesis" in class. When they talk about getting PhD its almost always in the context of a Counselor Education and Supervision, which is not the path I think I want to take. How did you manage to get experience in an ED clinic? That sounds so interesting to me! Honestly, it sounds like you have a ton of research experience to me (although since you did a dual MA in experimental maybe it seems like less compared to your experimental cohort?) Yeah not having any publications could be a mark against you, but if your theses are well done and you can explain them and answer questions about them, I think you will be okay. I also doubt that your first GPA will be significant, considering how much you have proved yourself as a capable researcher and clinician. You likely will have quite a lot more experience due to your multiple degrees than other candidates (although there is always someone better, but focus on being the best you can be and yada yada). I agree with fuzzy that you might need to explain some of your decisions and why you have multiple degrees in different areas, but i don't think it will hurt you long run. Can you submit the rejected manuscript to another journal? or is there a professors research you could help with and get your name on in time before you have to apply?

has no one else mentioned looking outside of craigslist? I read through everything and didn't see it. When finding my apartment (and i was looking from several states away so I couldnt visit anywhere), I googled "apartment complexes in City, State" and then narrowed down my list by cost, floor plans, utilities provided, and how close it was to campus. I asked my future advisor to put me in contact with current students to see if they had suggestions on what the better places to live were or if they knew of anything lower cost. Also, apartmentlist.com is nice because you fill in what things you want and it lists all apartments that have those things. (For anyone still looking for apartments i would definitely recommend apartment list, its the only website I found that factors in commute time different ways (bus, bike, car, etc.) and you can select amenities you do/dont care about. ) My stipend is pretty small as well (although my assistantship covers health insurance so that helps), and even with finding the lowest cost apartment in the area that wouldn't put me in an unsafe neighborhood, it will be about 2/3 of my monthly stipend before utilities. However, I don't have a car (I bike everywhere) and will have low costs otherwise. I hope its not too late, but maybe some of my suggestions for finding a cheaper place will help ?

Turns out it is HireRight...I am really hoping it is the same experience you had. I would be devastated if I lost this assistantship because of this horrible company. Additionally, I already rejected all my other offers so if something does go wrong I have no other options.

So I posted this a bit ago: I thought I would give an update for how things worked out! I 100% recommend emailing your future professor/advisor and asking them to put you in contact with some grad students. I did this, even though I didn't want to because I felt uncomfortable asking people I don't know to help me find apartments. However, one of the students I spoke to lived in the complex I was looking at previously and could tell me about it in great detail. Another student who is graduating told me about her apartment that will be available in Fall which is way cheaper and better quality than anything I was finding, and I never would have learned about this place if I had not reached out. If you don't do this, you will probably miss out on some great places. How is everyone else's apartment hunt going?

Thank you for your advice! I bit the bullet and asked my future advisor to connect me with some grad students. Also, for the town I am going to it actually is time to start finding an apartment because basically the only thing in this town other than farms is the college, so all the leases end in july/august, and people are notifying now that they are moving out. So I am getting on wait list's because it is super competitive, although I have already been accepted to once place. What kind of shipping containers did you use? They ship them to your new place?

oh wow thats crazy! I don't think that will happen, seeing as the town I am in is literally entirely green for crime rate--meaning there is basically none. I looked around to see the good and bad area's of town when I went for my interview, but since I wasn't sure I was going there yet I didn't look at any apartments since doing that at every interview would be an nightmare. I may see if anyone is subleasing for a semester or something though. I am trying to do this as well, but I have been unable to find any Facebook pages for this school. Thats a great idea! How would you suggest making friends with current students who you have not met yet that live several states away? I don't want to come across as overbearing or whatnot. Additionally, I have no idea how to find these people, especially because my profession (counseling) keeps identifying info very private on Facebook so clients can't find out things about us.

My university only allows that if you are married, and you have to provide a marriage certificate unfortunately :/ I looked into it already

thanks! I probably should have mentioned that my boyfriend will be moving out with me, but unfortunately not until December (he has an extra semester of undergrad). Because of this, I am trying to get a place by myself so that he can move in, and it can't be university housing since its a one year contract and he wouldn't be able to live there since he isn't a student. I'll see if I can find any complexes though, seems like my best bet.

I officially accepted my offer and am super excited! However, I have never moved apartments this far away without being able to look at the apartment in person or meet rental agencies or landlords. I am worried I will not be able to find a place online because they will want to meet me in person, or that if i do the apartment will be shitty. I really can't afford to stay in a hotel for the first bit while I find a place, and I do not have a car so getting to campus would be hard since no reasonably priced hotels are near campus in the town I am moving to. What are your suggestions? How are you all going about finding a place? I have contacted a few places already but they all said they are looking to fill their open apartments now and to check back closer to the time I will be moving.