jk616

I think ankle dress pants are totally fine! The outfit you proposed sounds totally professional.

Your other scores are so high that I don't think it will matter! If it were me, I would just send the second scores and not worry about it. They'll get a sense for your writing in your personal statement, plus if you have any posters/publications/honors thesis type projects they'll know that you can write. Also, the difference between a 3.5 and a 4 isn't huge - I think it might be different if you got a 4 the first time and a 1 the second time or something like that. Best of luck!

I applied with 4.0 writing score last year and had no problems, none of my letter writers ever mentioned anything to me about it. I feel like as long as you don't completely bomb the writing section it doesn't matter!

Hey! I just gave it a quick read over, and it looks pretty good! I would just make a few suggestions. - Maybe mention your POI earlier in the SOP, it could fit in the first paragraph and be something like "specifically, I am interested in the work of Dr. XXX" - I would take out mentions of how you couldn't find or obtain the types of experiences you were looking for. It seems like you've had some pretty relevant experiences so you want to focus on the positive! I think it's good to mention that you went out of your way to get research experience because your school was small but I'd leave it to one sentence maximum. - I would also describe your honors thesis in a little more detail and take out some of the procedural stuff like doing stats in SPSS and IRB stuff. I think if you give a quick few sentences about your project and findings, it is just assumed that you are able to do those things. I was told to include some details about the findings of my projects when I was doing my SOP because it shows the POI that your are able to talk about your work clearly and that you understand it. -I also think it would be good to connect your research interests with your POIs work a little more explicitly; maybe mention a few specific things they research. I also think it can be good to talk about the topics you're interested in looking into in the future which are different than what you've already done. Hope that was helpful!

Sounds like you have a lot of great things going for you! If you have the time and money I would recommend taking the GRE again to try and get your verbal score up. It's also a good idea to look into the average GRE scores for the programs you're interested in. Having GREs that are below the averages isn't a deal breaker but, if you're way off from the average you might consider taking it again. If you end up not taking it again, you can always ask your letter writers address it in your LORs. Apart from that, though, you seem really competitive! It will also be to your advantage if the previous research you've done is similar-ish to the research of the advisers you apply to work with.

I second the above! I sent my first round of emails in September and kept a log of when I sent the emails and when/if I heard back. If I didn't hear back from them within a few weeks, I emailed them again in October. That seemed to work pretty well for me, there were a decent amount of professors who didn't get back to me on the first try but did after the second (which is understandable bc they get tons of emails every day).

My advice would be to try to get a job that will give you some more relevant experience for graduate school. If you're wanting to pursue a career in clinical psych research you could try to find a paid job or volunteer position in a lab at a nearby university. If you are more interested in being a practicing psychologist, it is usually pretty easy to get a full time job as a case manager or mental health technician somewhere. If you just want to practice, a clinical psych PhD might not be the best fit for you - you might want to look into MSW or clinical mental health counseling programs. If you do decide to go the clinical psych PhD route, I'd definitely try to find a job before doing a masters since those tend to be expensive!

I am headed to UK as well, for clinical psych!

The general advice I've gotten on this topic is that, as far as rankings go, they don't really matter unless you're on the far end of the spectrum. If you're choosing between a program ranked 10th and a significantly lower ranked program it would be better to go with the higher ranked program unless you have a really compelling reason not to. If you're choosing between a program ranked 25th and a program ranked 45th it really doesn't matter as much. As others have mentioned, the rank of the program might not be representative of the prestige of the POI. I was also advised to choose fit over a slightly better ranked program because it's much easier to be productive when you're working on projects you are super excited about. I think the idea is that the excitement about the topic will help push you through the hard times. I was concerned about career prospects as well and was told by a few people that your success has more to do with how productive you are as an individual, rather than the prestige of the program. Hope that helps!

I'll be going to the University of Kentucky for clinical psych. Feel free to message me if you're going as well, I'd love to connect with people!

I second all of the above! I also found it really helpful (especially if you're trying to choose between programs) to set up a time to talk with the PI again on the phone to talk more in depth about their projects and how you would fit in with them. It also gives you a chance to talk about projects or research topics you'd like to pursue in grad school that you might not have gotten the chance to/thought you shouldn't talk about during the interview day. Mentor fit was also super important to me so it was nice to chat with them again in a more casual setting with less pressure. Best of luck!

Has anyone who applied to UKs regular standing program heard anything yet? I haven't found much in the forums or results page for past years.

It sounds like you have a really strong academic background which is great! From my understanding, the only way you can really do your own research is through whatever lab you end up working in. I ended up taking two years off after undergrad and working full time as a lab coordinator which helped me immensely ( I graduated 2016 and applied for Fall 2018). I was really hesitant to take time off but I am so thankful that I did, so I would probably recommend something like that. Spending more time in a lab allows you to do more posters and hopefully get some publications. You really need a mentor to walk you through the publication process because it's confusing and can take a really long time. You can always start volunteering in a lab and try to apply this coming Fall and see what happens! More research experience just makes you more competitive and gives you a lot more flexibility in terms of choosing programs. Assuming you're talking about clinical psych PhD programs.

I've just done a very nice email and mentioned how hard the decision was and how grateful I was for the opportunity. I thought about doing it over the phone but email is a little more concrete.

I've worked an RA job for the past few years and I've found that my payment is pretty set and based on the amount allotted for employees in the grant. I do get a yearly raise ( maybe ~ 50 cents an hour, probably less) based on standards set by the university I work at. I have personally never asked for a raise but I have inquired about potential reimbursement for traveling to conferences. This could also be a time to talk with your PI about the kind of things you'd like to work on or get more experience in during the next year. I've heard it looks really good if you stick with a project for a while. It's also easier to get posters/papers that way if that's something you're interested in!

I'm also struggling with this. I think research/faculty fit is probably the most important thing. I think if you have to sacrifice something, it shouldn't be that. Ultimately it depends on what's most important to you for your quality of life over the next 6 years and beyond. Along with the things you mentioned, I've been told it's important to think about TA workload, overall lab productivity, potential for collaboration, and where your potential PI is in their career (beginning vs end). Its really stressful, but it's a good problem to have!

I've had this experience at two interviews so far and I think you would only get an offer from one or the other. I'm guessing they meet and talk about which lab you would be a better fit for/which lab is most interested in you. I don't think you need to indicate a stronger interest in one of them unless they ask and you do feel really strongly about one vs the other. There is also the possibility that the two POIs are looking to co-mentor someone which they would likely tell you about during the interview!

I think you are fine to wear whatever tights you have just as long as they aren't a super funky color. Additionally, I would go with the pumps if they aren't too high (just a little more professional looking). As for the suit jacket, I've been to a few interviews so far and have seen a mix of both buttoned and unbuttoned (I've always gone unbuttoned). I've also just been wearing whatever winter coat is warmest, which is usually my semi-bulky ankle length coat. I don't think it matters what coat you wear as long as it's clean! At the end of the day, I don't think what you wear matters all that much. I have been surprised at the diversity of outfits I've seen. You really can't go wrong with a black suit and a neutral shirt/accessories!

I know they've started contacting people (at least for clinical). It seems like each PI sends out their own invites. I heard from my POI via phone last week but haven't received anything formal.

Unfortunately I think it varies widely from program to program. For the most part though, programs probably won't grill you on how well you know their stuff. Just make sure you can talk about their work and how it relates to your interests. I think professors want to see that you can think critically and have an intelligent discussion about what you're interested in. They also want to see if you're someone they could get along well with for the next 5 or so years. One great tip I've gotten is to bring a small notebook to the interview and write down a list of questions (as many as you can think of) to ask your PI. A big part of interviews is you asking them questions to see if it is a good fit for you as well and I have been told it's totally okay to pull out a list and jot down notes during your interview.

I just went to my first interview last week and I actually flew in leggings and a sweatshirt and then changed/made myself less gross in the bathroom before I got picked up. Flying just makes me feel really sweaty (plus added interview nerves), so if you have extra time at the airport I'd recommend changing there!

I am leaving for my first interview this week and I'm starting to get pretty nervous . I have prepared for all of the things that are within my control, but I was wondering if anyone had tips or tricks they used to stay calm-ish during the formal interview days? Any other general tips are appreciated as well!

I had a similar situation come up for me, I got an interview at a school that was low on my list on a prime interview weekend. I was advised to go ahead and say yes to the interview but wait to buy a plane ticket or anything like that; it was going to cost me a ton of money to make it to the interview. I ended up getting interviews at other schools that were a better fit and canceled the first one. The PI was very understanding, from what I hear this is super common. I felt horrible about canceling (felt like I was being presumptuous and ungrateful) but was assured by many people that it's an ok thing to do as long as you're nice about it. You have to do what's best for you!

I am really curious about FSU as well. Additionally does anyone know if Nebraska has sent any invites out yet, or just rejections?