[Gre and magoosh]

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!

[Philadelphia, PA]

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

[POST UPENN INTERVIEW]

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!!!

[Should I contact POI?]

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.

[What were you doing when you received your acceptance?]

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!

[Fall2018 PhD Psychology (NONE-PSYCH Undergrad Applicants)]

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?

 

[Fall 2018 Social Psych PhD/Master applicants]

3 hours ago, Nut-ella said:

I'm going to play the devil's advocate here for the sake of introducing diverse perspectives. I drafted my applications list according to my overall fit with the program - not according to the school or location. I'm an international student as well, and what I experienced thus far in my life was that I can live anywhere as long as I like my job, like the people, and have a semi-decent social circle. Midwest vs. Deep South vs. East Coast vs. West Coast, it really doesn't matter. Or better put, it matters, but as a student in a very competitive field, I don't get to dictate where I live. The universe does. Wherever the best program is, I'll go and live there. 

Last year, my criterion for application was that I applied to a school only if I imagined myself living there (e.g., New York, Seattle)...Big mistake! You'll be so busy with your program and commitments that you don't have the time to enjoy the city. Even as a Master's student I had so many days when I literally didn't leave my building. 

So this year, I applied all across the U.S. if I saw fit with the program, and honestly I can say it worked. It's very early to tally up the numbers, but the number of schools I am shortlisted at doubled compared to last year. My recommendation for next year's applicants, prioritize the program instead of the location. Your social life may suffer for 5 years, but your degree worth it.

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. 

 

[Structured Phone Interview]

Hello! 

Congratulations on your interview! I've recently had an interview with a professor, and here are my thoughts on your questions:

1 hour ago, letssee said:

Am I missing any critical step that helped you prep for a phone interview?

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.

1 hour ago, letssee said:

How formal have phone interviews been for you? Are they more standard questions about your qualifications/experience, or did it seem more intended to determine personal fit?

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.

1 hour ago, letssee said:

What types of questions did you ask/wish you had asked/would recommend asking as a current student? Right now I'm planning on asking about summer opportunities (internships, continuing to work on a professor's research, working on independent projects, etc.), and what types of projects might be coming up in this POI's lab soon.

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!

[Fall 2018 Social Psych PhD/Master applicants]

19 minutes ago, Psygeek said:

 

 

Although I heard this a bunch of time, I did consider it - but decided not to apply to schools I didn't 'really' feel like going or that wouldn't seem to fit my long-term career goals. I simply don't see the point of forgoing a decent paycheck in Europe + a top school here for any other school I'm not excited to work at in a different country. Applications work differently here - spots are available through the year as staff gets funding and the applications are more like applying for a job. If I don't get in - me and my current supervisor will start applying for funding together and I'll apply to anything exciting that comes across.

I've applied to these specific schools as there are people there who do extremely exciting stuff - like it really excites me and I've basically read every paper they published haha. It excites me more than any other opportunities I have now (which include continuing to work with my current supervisor, an offer from a PhD with a different person, etc.). That said, I don't think for example Singapore management is a very high ranking school - but their stuff on multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism is right up my alley and this school is in a great location to pursue this type of work. I also crossed off all schools in locations I don't like (rather go to a nice European city) or who didn't fund international students (there were actually quite some). 

I think we learned different lessons from our Master's. Having been involved in a lot of projects with a lot of people - my biggest lesson was to do a topic I really love with a person I really like. I've worked with far too many difficult profs (ego's, disorganized, etc.) or topics I didn't 'really' like. I'm serious about a PhD but I'm not just gonna go anywhere. Besides, thinking long term, and given the fact that a small number of universities fill up the majority of staff positions after the PhD (can't find the exact paper), I don't want to apply to 'safe' schools. I'm perfectly capable now of finding a research job outside of academics with my current degree - which is plan B.

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!!!