Psych.dsd

I used magoosh to study for the GRE in the last application cycle and I definitely recommend it. I used it for 6 months, studying about 1 ~ 2 hours everyday. My scores in the first practice tests that I took were in the mid 150, and I ended up scoring 166 (quant), 165 (verbal), and 5.0 (writing). I also recommend doing a lot of practice tests - Manhattan sells 6 practice tests for 39 dollars; it is probably the best you can find (excluding the ones from ETS) and definitely worth it. EDIT: the material in magoosh is all updated for the new GRE. There are classes that cover all content of the GRE, and many exercises with video explanations. The vocabulary flashcards are also really useful (especially for those who have english as a second language). Good luck!

Hello Everyone! I will probably be moving to Upenn in the next Fall (2018), and I was wondering if someone had more up-to-date advice about housing. I want to live somewhere close to campus, so I am thinking about living in University City. Are there areas to avoid there? Does Anyone know about International House Philadelphia? It seems to be a good option to live, has anyone lived there? Is it a good place for grad students, or is it more for undergraduates? Any advice would be very much appreciated! Thank you

Hi! I don't know about this particular program. I applied to another department at Upenn and I had my response 13 days after the interview. However, things may be different across departments. I suggest you wait a little more and, if they do not get back to you, send them an email to tell your situation. Good luck!!!

I wouldn't do that. They know you are interested in the program - if you weren't, you wouldn't have invested time and money in your application. Contacting your POI will only show impacience. It is hard to wait, especially when the program is one of your top choices, but I see no benefits in contacting your POI.

I was at the interview day at another school! Five minutes before the first interview, I went to the restroom, and got my phone to turn it off. There was a unread email; it was the acceptance from one of my dream programs!

My undergraduate major was in business administration and I'm applying to social psychology too, in addition to marketing (CB). I took some courses in social psychology as an undergraduate and I've recently finished a research master's in a business school, but followed a behavioral sciences research track (which gave me a good background in social psych research). I am an international applicant from Brazil. During my application, I felt that some departments are very welcoming of non-psych major applicants, while others are the complete opposite. Did you have this feeling too?

I agree with you. Perhaps my point was not very clear in my previous post, I didn't mean that location was more important than the program. In fact, i believe location is a minor (if relevant at all) consideration fo a PhD applicant. The department, and the research being conducted by the faculty, is a far more relevant consideration. People usually overestimate how important location is to their well-being. To me, what matters most is having a group of friends that you can rely on - especially during a PhD, when loneliness is (unfortunately) an issue. You can find that anywhere, be it in a small or big city, west/east coast or midwest, small or big department, etc. In fact, one of the happiest times in my life was when I was an exchange student in the American midwest. There wasn't much to do in the city, but there was always someone to hang out with. Being connected to people is what really matters! On top of that, as you said, relying on research fit when applying may maximize the chances of admission.

Hello! Congratulations on your interview! I've recently had an interview with a professor, and here are my thoughts on your questions: I think your preparation is good! In my preparation, I re-read my SOP and read the professor's website carefully. I didn't have the time to read his publications, but it would definitely have been helpful, because most of our talk was about research. In my case, the interview was very informal and largely unstructured. In the beginning I was asked the following questions: Why pursuing a PhD in social psychology? Why that program specifically? What kind of research do I want to conduct during my PhD? After that, it the interview became more like a conversation and the professor answered some of the questions I had. In addition to the questions you mentioned, I asked about what the professor's mentoring style was and what he expected from his students, both in terms of long-term goals (e.g. publications) and more routine-like aspects of work. His answers were very useful to determine fit in terms of work style. However, I am not sure if I would be comfortable asking this in a more formal interview. I hope this helps!

Your strategy is exactly like mine - I am only applying to programs I am very excited about, most of which are very competitive. As a Brazilian, I don't see the point in moving to another country to do a PhD in a department I am not very excited about. Although this strategy is certainly risky, it is the one that makes the most sense to me as an international applicant. Best luck with your application!!!