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

I am also from West MI and it is suppose to be a cold (mid to upper 20s) and snowy weekend so make sure you come prepared for that. I am not sure how bad it will be through out the entire state but where I live is suppose to be getting 5-8 inches on Friday night. I moved to Michigan from Texas so it can be quite the adjustment. Layers are important but remember whatever you wear in you will have to take off and then put back on every time you go outside. Make sure you bring warm, water proof shoes!

This may have already been discussed but how are girls wearing their hair? I prefer to wear mine down but I’ve been told that is not as professional looking. Plus my hair can get out of control after a long day.

Old navy is an excellent option but I strongly recommend Torrid. It can be expensive but I find the clothes to be a good quality and last a long time. Also they always have some kind of buy one get one deal and they have a clearance section. I also got clothes from Forever 21 ( if they have a plus section as most of their clothes are smaller) and Maurices (I’ve only seen this store in Michigan)

I’m wearing dress pants, a nice shirt, and a more casual styled blazer. It’s professional enough that I would wear it to work when I have an important court hearing but comfortable and moveable incase we are walking a lot. I’m going to wear flat dress shoes so my feet don’t hurt and I don’t face plant trying to walk on heels. I’m debating on how to do my hair though. I’m going to get it cut this weekend so it is neater. My hair is long, thick, and wavy. I normally wear it down but it can be a little out of control unless I really straighten it. I don’t mind getting up early to fully straighten it but some interviews I’m driving to on the day of so I’m worried it’ll get ruined in the car. When I put it in a bun my little wisps are all over the place. How are y’all wearing your hair?

Does anyone have any experience with school psych interviews for PhD programs? I know for clinical psych interviews they are generally very focused on research. Is that the same for school psych? Or is it more experience and education based? I want to start preparing for interviews and was wondering what I should be focused on. Currently my plan is to look into the research of the professors that I will be meeting with and also doing a more detailed look into the program and school itself. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!!

You should talk to someone at the schools you have interviews for. I’ve heard of some schools being able to offer financial assistance with flights. It never hurts to ask. I wouldn’t open a credit card unless you are absolutely sure you want it as most of the airline cards you have to spend a certain about of money before getting the miles. Consider flying on the smaller airlines (Spirit, Frontier,etc) the planes are worse than the bigger airlines but cheaper. Also make sure you clear your cookies/history on your browser because people say prices go up when you have been looking at multiple sites. Hope this helps!

I've received two invites so far and one rejection. I am anxiously waiting to hear back from five other schools. One of the invites I received was from one of my top schools. The interview is at the end of the month. It is the same time as this really important court hearing for work so I just do not expect to sleep much that week with all the nerves. I check this site way more than I should be during the work day but I am just so anxious to hear. My significant other is applying for Ph.D. programs in music theory so his anxiety adds to mine and now we are both just big balls of anxiety. I have been trying to throw myself into work to distract me. I have an app on my phone has helped easy some of my stress and anxiety. It also helps me wind down at night. I strongly recommended it to anyone who has trouble shutting down at night or just needs some midday relaxation. It is called "Calm".

If the office said you are good than I would take their word for it. It is possible with the end of the semester that they were busy and have not been able to upload all of the material but I am sure it was put in with your file. I had issues uploading my transcript and GRE as well. It kept telling me the document was password protected. I had to go in and save it in a weird way. You could always call over there and just ask to check on your application. That way it does not look like you are following up on the same issue.

Like most of y'all I want to check the results page all day long in case someone hears back from one of my schools. This is my second round of applications. My first round was two years ago in clinical psychology but I did not get accepted. No surprise though as I did not have a research background at all and my GPA was average. This time I am applying to school psych programs. I am feeling more confident as I am finishing my masters in educational psych, with a 4.0 GPA, and I had a year of experience as a foster care worker under my belt when I started to apply. I finished my applications in October so I have been patiently waiting since then. Now that most of my deadlines have passed I am way more anxious. I find that the school psych forums are not as popular as the clinical psych ones. I presume do to the smaller amount of applicants which makes me more optimistic but is frustrating because I am not receiving as much information as I could find during my clinical psych round. To keep myself calm outside of work, I play a lot of video games to keep my hands busy and away from my phone and I watch TV. I have to leave my phone in my coat to keep me from checking it all day during work. Luckily I am pretty busy at work so I do not usually have much down time but with the holidays coming up I will have more time off of work and more time to stress about applications. Any tips for distracting myself or stress relieving would be greatly appreciated as I can only sit in front of the TV for so long without going crazy.

Did anyone else receive an email from Ohio State's PhD program today? I received one from a Graduate Associate Manager suggesting I apply for a GA position and the link to apply. The GA position applications are due by 1/19. Do you guys think this is a good sign?