StudiestStudy

First off, I am so happy to see this thread doing well. Things are so different this year so I am happy so many of you are still applying to programs. I just wanted to say something that I think everyone should be aware of: Make sure you are aware of the school's current funding situation if funding is a deciding factor. A lot of schools are being up front about not offering any funding to new students but I have heard of some programs who are not telling prospective students until interview days or even at all. A lot of schools are using phrases like "we are still determining funding for the next year". As a current PhD student, I've been hearing that schools are prioritizing current students when it comes to funding and might ask incoming PhD students to pay their own way for at least the first year (if not longer). This is especially true for schools that are not R1. Just something to keep in mind as you guys start making admission decisions. I would be hesitant to accept an offer without clear guidelines of the funding. As always I am happy to answer any questions you guys may have! Good luck with the rest of the application season!

If you have the opportunity I would try and talk to current students because they’ll probably be more honest about funding and how they are living in terms of their finances (like if it easy/hard to live on the stipend, how many credits are actually covered, etc). It might be helpful to say you want a really honest answer. If you know your POI well then you could ask them. I’m sure professors know how much funding new students will get but they might not be able to fully disclose that info. Overall I found that answers from current students were more honest and helpful to me than what I heard from professors.

My school is public but not R1. When I interviewed they told us that majority of their students (both PhD and Eds) received full funding throughout the program but no guarantees were made. When they told me I wouldn’t get full funding they said it was due to the pandemic which was true. When I started school and talked to some of the older students they told me only first years generally received full funding and then it is a toss up for the next three years. The Specialist students barely had any funding this year which seem to be a trend over the last few years.

Hey guys, current school psych PhD student here. Just wanted to hope on and answer any application questions you guys might have. I obviously don’t have all the answers but could provide some insight based on my application experience. I applied to several schools and had a couple of interviews last year. I don’t want to disclose my program name in case professors check this forum. Let me know if you have any questions!! One thing to make sure you are very clear about is what funding they have. This is for PhD and EdS students. My program boasted about full time funding for all PhD students for the entire program but that ended up not being the case. In part due to the pandemic but also older students (3rd/4th years) said they were not guaranteed funding after the first year. Most of our EdS students barely have funding (like 1/4 time) if they have any. I’ve heard whispers that funding may be even more limited next year and will be focused on first year students. My program and school are smaller so we are probably struggling more than some of the bigger programs but according to the professors funding is an issue across all the programs. Finally, I think it would be helpful to ask how the program has been handling remote learning and the pandemic. Ask the professors and the current students. In my opinion my school/program has not done the best job in this area. One of my classes was especially hectic because the professor didn’t communicate expectations and deadlines clearly to us so everyone was confused on what needed to be done.

I am in a tricky spot right now with deciding on a school to attend in the fall. I currently have a half time offer from one school. I was originally told it was highly likely I would be offered another half time or one full time position by the fall but yesterday the program director told me that due to the Coronavirus the overall enrollment was down and he was told there would be no full time assistantships for the first year. My half time is safe because it federally funding. To attend I would have to take out loans for at least the first year. I would have to accept this offer by April 15. I like this program a lot and the location is more ideal but I would not necessarily be doing the research I was interested in right away. I am currently waiting to hear back from one school about setting up an interview (the school has later deadlines) but they don't think the interview will be until after April 15th due to everything with the virus (having to move to remote learning for the rest of the semester). This school has a history of fully funding students. My significant other is also going to be attending this school as well. The location is less ideal but still not bad. My mom and significant other think I should accept the offer from the first school and do an interview with the second school and see what they offer me (I have been in constant communication with the second school and the director is optimistic about my application but of course I know I am not guaranteed admission) What is everyone's thoughts on accepting an offer and then possibly rescinding my acceptance to accept a better offer? Things are so tricky now with the Coronavirus and it would be ideal for me to attend a fully funded program. My mom thinks that with everything going on, it would not reflect poorly on me to cancel my half time acceptance in favor of a full time offer. Thank you in advance for any advice you can offer!

I talked to two program coordinators and they told me that admissions has been put on the back burner while they focus on transitioning to online classes for the rest of the semester. That may not be the same for every school thought. You could always email your schools and ask.

I was talking to a program coordinator yesterday and he said that the acceptance/reject decisions have been put on the back burner while they work through the transition to online courses. That’s probably not the same at every school. You should call the admissions office to see if they have any information. It can be hard for professors to focus on the fall incoming class when they are just trying to finish this semester

You could always ask how their waitlist process works. For example, how do you determine who gets pulled from the waitlist? Is it one general list or does each professor have a list? You could also ask the professor to explain the waitlist process. Instead of saying this school is your only option I would say something along the lines of this is my top choice program and I’m very interested in attending. I mentioned that to a program director and he said it was helpful to know I was very interested in their program. I’m on a waitlist right now and I check in with the program coordinator every two weeks or so to ask for an update. With a lot of universities moving to online classes acceptances may be put on the back burner while courses make the transition so I think it is helpful to check in so they know I’m still interested

I was offered admission into a program today and the letter does not explicitly discuss funding. It encourages me to apply for assistanceship and provides the application. What is the best way to format an email asking about funding? Should I wait for an official acceptance letter from the college before emailing? I don’t want to come off rude but realistically I can’t attend the program without tuition coverage and a stipend. The NASP website says the program offers 100% to PhD students.

I emailed the admissions director for my program last week to inquire about my spot on the waitlist. I want to continue to email them to show my continued interest in their program but I also do not want to appear pushy. How often is too often to email about my position on the waitilist? This program is my top choice.

I am currently on one waitlist for a program I really want to attend. I think I am unofficially on a waitlist for another program but have not heard anything either way. I emailed the program who told me I was waitlisted and they told me I was 2nd on the list. The admission coordinator told me he thinks they will be offering admission to at least one person from the list so my chances depend on that other applicant. This is very nerve wracking to me because now I feel like my future is in some other applicant's hands. He did say that knowing I was very interested in the program is very helpful to know so I took that as a good sign. I basically check my email 24/7. Luckily my job keeps me pretty busy during the week but weekends are long and anxiety ridden. I am starting to think being waitlisted is worse than being flat out rejected in terms of the stress and anxiety it causes. I wish everyone luck on getting off the waitlist!

So I am feeling a bit discourage as I was rejected from a school today and now I am waiting to hear back from two schools I interviewed at. I have been doing some research and found two programs in the geographical area I want to be in that have later application due dates. One program states they have rolling admission dates with preference given to applications completed by January and the other program has a June deadline for a fall enrollment although they prefer students to start in the summer. I am just wondering if it is worth it to send in these extra applications or should I wait to hear from the two schools? Any thoughts would be appreciated!

I did not. Was the email an interview invite?

Today I had my first interview day of the application season and I was nervous but excited. I really liked the program and the students spoke very well of the faculty. I had individual interviews with three of the faculty members. The first faculty I met with I was very interested in their research, it closely mirrored my own research interests. I had the worst interview of my life with him (let it be known that I cried in an interview once from stress). The interview started off rocky because he immediately started grilling me about my interest in the program. Like I barely had time to sit down. Then he proceeded to tell me that one of my letter writers did not write a good letter for me (this is a whole separate issue) and that because of that he did not have enough information about me to think I would be a good fit for his lab. Then he proceeded to what felt like interrogate me on why I was even qualified to apply for PhD programs. He cut me off multiple times as I was trying to answer him. I was so flustered by the whole letter writer thing that I could barely fumble together answers for his questions. I felt like a bumbling idiot. I felt so stressed out and depressed after this interview but I still had two more faculty interviews after this one. I managed to pull myself together and do well in the other two interviews and I liked the other faculty. Now I feel like I ruined my chances at this school that I really liked and would want to go to. Has anyone every experienced something like this? What do you say when someone is just grilling you about your qualifications/ability to work in a lab but does not give you anytime to answer? Now I am worried that the letter writer may have negatively impacted my chances at other schools. I am annoyed because when I asked the person I made sure to stress that if they felt they could not write a good letter I would be happy to find someone else. I had an extra writer who wrote this really amazing letter for me that I could have used instead. I am stressed about my two interviews next week now. Should I ask the professor who wrote the "bad" letter if I can read what he wrote? I know who it is as I have read the letters by the other professors. If anyone needs me I am going to be drowning my sorrows in a tub of ice cream and cheesy romance movies.

I haven’t heard back from them either. I’m also getting pretty nervous