cashewmilk

Pros and cons both to both. Early = more productive and ambitious because they need to secure tenure, but less known in the field. Late = more well known, but may be less intrinsically productive because they’ve been tenured for a while. 

Hey!
So I recently left an interview and I made sure to ask career trajectories and what current grad students hope to do with their PhD. Many of them said academia/tenure track professor route. While others are involved in consultation, research firm, corporate, program development... it seems rather limitless! My background is clinical counseling so if push comes to shove for me, being involved in practice or applied  is always an option .. the field appears open!

I’m curious to know, too. I just had an interview with an Adult Development and Aging program, and they said their graduates tend to go on to academia due to a lack of available jobs in applied settings. As someone who was hoping to also work in applied settings, I’d be grateful to hear more about what others’ career goals/experiences are in this field. I would have thought there would be plenty of jobs for those wishing to specialize in the older adult population, but perhaps I’m mistaken! 

Hi there! 
I'm applying to a mix of clinical, neuroscience, and developmental psych programs, but throughout the process, I've realized that I'm much more interested in research than practice, so my top choices are in neuroscience and developmental psych.  I have a strong interest in autism research, so right now my end goal is to work in an Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities Research Center.

Had 'the talk' today with boyfriend about what happens if I don't get accepted to the history program.  Law school apps for the U aren't due until July, so that's plan B. I would be perfectly happy doing sports contract law and sports player management. I took the LSATs last year and scored very high, enough that I meet all the requirements to get into law school with no problems.
I'm much less stressed with having a logical backup plan.

I'm a literal ball of nerves at this point. Every time my phone buzzes my stomach drops. This cant be healthy!

Im interviewing at CUNY that same day but for Developmental Psych! Good luck all! 

Can we talk about how ridiculously expensive this whole process is? $205+ for GRE, $300+ for application fees, $50+ for travel expenses... and more... the process is so limiting for people with low income or those of us living independently. 

I really hate this whole waiting thing... 

Same  I am still waiting to hear from most of the schools I applied to. I'd like to at least have options in case I screw up my only interview.

I know someone asked this already, but I did not see a response; has anyone received an interview invitation from Depaul's Clinical PhD (child track) program? 

Me too!  I only applied to a couple of schools this year and everything I've read says invites should be going out this week. I am obsessively refreshing the results page, but terrified to see that they have already been sent.  I feel anxious all of the time.   Not knowing if it is safe to keep imagining a life with my dream career in it is so stressful.  Sometimes, I convince myself that checking my email every two minutes and browsing forums all day will not change the outcome of my circumstance, but then I realize that is stupid.

Received my first admissions offer! Excited about the opportunity and my POI at the school sent a very enthusiastic email about the teaching assistantship funding I will be receiving. 

This must be extremely difficult/frustrating, and I hate that you are encountering these emotions simultaneously.  Sometimes we enter seasons in life that we just don't understand, when all is said and done, I hope you receive some clarity in all of this. I wish you the best, and please don't call it quits forever. You have a lot to offer the field. Take some time, take care of you, get clarity, and if it feels right, get back in the game. Thanks for all you have attributed to the grad cafe community!

Anyone else nervous for the next two weeks. I feel like there's going to be a lot of interview invites going out...

Hi!
Currently waiting it out... I applied to 7 PhD programs and 2 MA programs through IRT (Institute for Recruitment of Teachers). I applied to no schools outside their consortium.
Waiting to hear back from: Harvard, Yale [Africana and English joint], Brown, Penn, Northwestern, Cornell, Berkeley (PhD) + Columbia and NYU (MA)
Still tyrna figure out my "elevator pitch" for my research interests, but definitely heavy interdisciplinary work w AAVE, dialect, and literature/expressive art.
Uh.. Asé?

I received a letter of acceptance via email from University of Nebraska - Lincoln this morning, pending funding. I will fly in to visit in February. Y'all, I was so scared I would not get in anywhere I have been scream-crying happy for an hour. 

re: @lpulicefarrow's  comment, the final approved version of the tax bill actually maintains graduate students' current status, so our tuition will not be taxed. (Source)
Some good questions to ask would be: 
What is your mentorship style?  What has been the career trajectory of graduates from the program/your past graduate students specifically? What are your authorship policies?  What qualities or experiences make a student successful in the program? In your lab?  What kinds of supports are available in the program/department/university for graduate students wanting to learn how to apply for funding? Any questions about the funding package that you may have, e.g., will you be provided with summer funding Any specific research-related questions about one of their papers you have read Contact information of current graduate students in the lab Some questions that were relevant for me, that may not be for you: 
For my Master's thesis and/or dissertation, will I be able to collect my own data or will I primarily be doing secondary data analysis? (many POIs already  had large longitudinal data sets) Are there opportunities to collaborate with other faculty members and/or graduate students? How about with faculty outside of the program/department?  
Keep in mind that interviews are all about information gathering. You want to get a good feel of the program and what your experience in it will be like just as much as they are wanting to get to know you and your strengths/weaknesses. It is always better to err on the side of caution and ask questions about things you may not even consider to be relevant at this point in time, because down the line you may have several programs to choose from and making the final decision will require you to look at those kinds of details.
Also, if you don't get enough time to ask all the questions you have, don't worry about it. You can always email your POI to set up a phone or Skype call to ask any lingering questions.

I feel this 100%, This is my second time applying, as my first time was unsuccessful. The first time I made this mistake of letting a bunch of people know what my intentions and plans were, mostly because I was so confident that I was going to get in...somewhere! When those rejections started to roll in, all the questions were unbearable. I had to deal with my own disappointment and the disappointment of others, it was a lot to manage.  If at all possible have a frank conversation with your mom, that you prefer to keep this part of your life on the low/private for now until you know what the outcomes will be, hopefully she respects that. Best of luck to you!

WOW, that sounds like an amazing opportunity. If I was you, and that was offered in a city near me I would definitely take advantage, especially if being a professor is something you see yourself doing.
To answer your questions, in short I'm not sure. Some PhD programs really focus on training scholars to be professors and offer opportunities for students to learn their teaching philosophy, TA, teach undergrad courses, etc. However, not all. If the microprogram is feasible, I say do it! It seems like it would be a niche and information-filled experience. If teaching is what you want to do in the long run having this microprogram on your CV will help with getting potential assistantships, teaching experiences, etc in grad school and the culmination of all of that would be amazing when you are in the field applying to tenure track positions. Hope that made sense!

Still no word from HGSE. This erratic snowstorm in the northeast probably is not helping matters as well. I anticipate a delay, but that may just be wishful thinking on my part.

An acceptance by HGSE would give me a chance to help my ancestors shine and bring glory and honor to my family.
Ah, but alas, rejection is seemingly becoming more and more of a possibility. No matter what, I hope that HGSE keeps in mind that people who are going to bring about change in our urban schools are not necessarily going to be those who come from
privileged backgrounds or those who had access to a decent education, test prep materials, and a gamut of other resources.

It would be interesting to get a synopsis of the typical applicant to this program.

As the time ticketh away, keep hope alive! The right news will come to you.

W

Can I just say, I love this thread! Feels like therapy for hopeful doctoral candidates, and im so here for it! 

It’d be weird if I made this post and never shared my own feelings during this process, so I’ll share. For short, I have a lot of mixed feelings. This is my second round applying to PhD programs. I’ve watched my friends whom said they only wanted to get their PhD “for the title” get into PhD programs. I’ve had friends state that they wanted to get into the easiest program they could (one of them is flunking out rn) and get into programs. Despite the fact I felt my intentions were pure, motivated and shared the same educational background as them, I’ve failed to get into a program. In the past yr I’ve felt so embarrassed by it as countless people would ask “Why didn’t you get in??” and I have no good answer. But despite being left speechless by the question, it also hurts. Going into this round of applications felt more meaningful for me. I started to realize how EXPENSIVE it’s become. I’ve become more invested in the programs, POIs and the application process. This round would hurt even more than the last if I strike out, again. I’ve put so much effort and time in and I know I’m up against a million great applicants but *GOD* all I need is one shot. Just one interview and I have faith I could make into a Program. But I’m almost positive my GRE scores are the sole reason most schools would pass me up, despite all the great accomplishments I could bring to the table. So far this round, I have been rejected by one School and waitlisted by my top choice (which is a miracle in comparison to last yr’s turnout). I was heartbroken to not receive an invite but then I realized how lucky I was that they even considered to put me on their waiting list, which helped me stop crying and moping around about it.... So basically I’m super emotionally involved. I spend most of my work day worrying about it, hoping and praying I hear good news back but it really sucks when the odds are stacked disgustingly high against you. That’s all.

Hello everyone! I applied to an assortment of clinical and developmental programs but I am patiently waiting to hear back from my top choice, DePaul (clinical-child) program! Thankfully the holidays are a good excuse to stay off email, and spend time with family, lol!