PsyDuck90

Many people go to grad school straight out of undergrad, so I wouldn't assume that your classmates will be primarily non-traditional students. Is there any specific reason you think your program-mates will be older? There is no law that says undergrads and grad students can't fraternize, but people are often in different stages of their lives in grad school than undergrad. So there tends to be some separation, especially if you are TAing.

Master's programs (at least in my experience) are far less rigid than PhD, but still more rigorous and heavy on the reading/ writing than undergrad. I maybe had 1 traditional exam during my master's. Pretty much every class was a lot of reading to prepare for discussions in class and writing papers. Very little of your class time will be spent on lectures. In my experience, grad school classes are more focused on engaging the students in nuanced discussion. Depending on your field, you'll probably also be spending a significant amount of time doing research. Some schools have graduate student clubs. My MA had a master's student club which would put on presentations about various topics of interest for our field. Grad school is also different from undergrad in that most grad students don't usually live on campus. That typically live off campus, possibly working a part/full time job and don't necessarily engage in many of the undergrad on-campus activities. That's not to say that it isn't allowed, but I've just seen very little co-mingling of undergrads and grad students in both the universities I've been at (I did my BA and MA at the same school). Then again, I also worked full time as an 18 year old to pay rent while in college so I wasn't really the typical undergrad to begin with. What kind of on-campus clubs and events are you interested in? Also, if you provide your field of study, people may be able to tell you what the more typical experience may be for your field. For instance, my experience is based in psychology departments, while I'm sure a chemistry person may have a different experience.

I'm not sure, but I think it's the cumulative. Also, remember that it's an average, so one person with a perfect 4.0 can bring up the whole thing.

APA accredited programs usually report stats on their incoming classes in the "student admissions and outcomes data" page. You will see number of applicants, number of accepted offers, and the average GPA and GRE scores of the incoming class. In all honesty, research fit with the POI is really the biggest factor that will separate out which programs you have a better shot at.

In my experience, that you as 1st author does the bulk of the work and then your advisor provides feedback on editing/structure and such for your revisions.

I don't see anything wrong with asking the faculty who runs one of the old labs. As long as you left on good terms, you not currently working with them doesn't negate all the work you have done with them or their ability to speak to the quality of your research skills. For PhD programs, I think LORs from research mentors may be more valued than letters from psych-adjacent clinical work.

I think that's a good sign in that they see a potential for working with you and are interested in talking further, but I'm not sure if that's a significant boost in chances.

If you are hesitant and money is a factor, you may want to not apply this cycle and instead focus on the technical specialist position or finding a research coordinator position and find some way to maybe at least get a poster submitted to a conference. Many of them are online lately due to COVID like EPA, and that will strengthen your application. Would you be able to use some data from 1 of the labs you've been working in? PhDs like to see research products since a big part of doing research is disseminating it to the scientific community. All 4 of them are R1 research universities, so they're all ranked pretty highly. Research fit is 1 of the biggest factors faculty look at during admissions, so if you want to expand the list, it would more so be based on where the people are doing research you want to do. I'm not familiar with your area of interest so I wouldn't really be able to give you suggestions. One way to find more potential programs is to look at journal articles (the more recent, the better) and see where the authors are based out of, and then checking to see if those faculty are still involved in that line of research.

Do you have any posters/pubs? Overall, your profile looks pretty good. However, only applying to 4 schools (and pretty prestigious programs to boot) is partially shooting yourself in the foot just due to statistical odds. If you are serious about trying to get in somewhere this cycle, I would definitely add more programs to that list. The average applicant applies to 10-15 programs.

It really depends on the program. My university-based PsyD is pretty research heavy and the vast majority of students have extensive research experience, including pubs and/or research coordinator positions at pretty prestigious AMCs. Other PsyD programs don't really care about research experience too much.

I would interpret this as meaning it is optional. If they were not accepting it at all, I would assume they would use language such as "the GRE will not be accepted" rather than "not be required." However, as @justacigar said above, there's really no way nf knowing how admissions committees at schools where it is optional will use them to make any sort of decisions. Even during regular application seasons, it's never 100% clear which programs/committees/PIs put a lot of stock in GRE scores over other aspects of applications. This year is going to be a whole new can of worms.

I would just basically say what you wrote here: "I'm ready to apply for PhD programs, and the time I have spent working in this lab have solidified my interest in X, and while I intend to apply to several programs, I feel that your research and mentorship style provide the best fit for my future training/goals."

I second what Sigaba said. Also, even successful faculty get their work edited. I am currently working on a manuscript with my advisor, and she sends drafts to her colleagues all the time for feedback, and they deliver. Writing is always a process, and people will always see things that you don't in your own writing. Even when you submit to journals, readers are providing feedback.

I don't think there is any harm in asking.

Very quick. I feel like I just started but I'm already about to start 3rd year and studying for comps.

It's not about being re-licensed. You would most likely have to go through another doctorate in the US in order to get licensed, or a masters to get licensed as an LPC or LCSW. Also, there are funded PsyDs in the US, and balanced PhD programs are typically funded as well and have the same balance of research and clinical as solid, university-based PsyDs. Just some things to consider when making your decisions.

It depends on the program. Some have hard GPA minimum requirements. Others are more lenient, especially given the high GREs.

Yeah, it's fine. In fact, it may give you a leg up depending on how much individual control faculty have vs a committee in making admissions decisions. I would maybe just inform the faculty member that he is your top choice and ask if he still feels comfortable with writing a letter.

Just FYI, a DClinPsy from the UK will not be an equivalent degree to a PhD/PsyD in clinical or counseling psychology in the US. If you intend to return to the US to practice, you will more than likely not be able to be licensed as a doctoral level psychologist. There have been a few threads about this on StudentDoctorNetwork, and that has been the consistent answer.

Journals will not publish 170 pages. You will need to cut it down to about 25-30 max with references and tables/figures.

As long as you graduated, I don't think the length of time matters. I have US colleagues in my program (also US) who graduated in 3 years instead of the standard 4.

Research productivity usually refers to posters/papers, so that can be seen elsewhere. You are still honing your analytical and research skills by engaging in these discussions and critiques.

I've heard that the research opportunities are limited for the masters students except for the few "favorites" and there is a lot of favoritism within the student-faculty interactions and therefore animosity among all the students. The program is absurdly expensive and people don't walk out feeling like they got their money's worth. Those who do not get into the New School's PhD program (which is only accessible for the "favorite" masters students) have a difficult time getting accepted to other PhDs because the research opportunities were kinda stale and they didn't get to push out posters and projects. It also isn't necessarily aptitude and skill that leads a student to become one of the "favorites." Again, these are all things I've heard through the grapevine. I have never actually step foot into the school so it is not personal experience and I can't claim the veracity. Also, I just looked up tuition for the program and it said "N/A" in that part but for funding says that all incoming students are considered for fellowships, not that they all get them. So it's a little sketchy to me that the university is not up front about the potential costs.

I have heard plenty of negatives and no positives about this program (and I live in the area). I would look up the research being published and see where those people are at. Just off the top of my head I know that Dr. Chitra Raghavan does research with sex trafficking survivors at CUNY-John Jay. Dr. Sumi Raghavan at William Paterson in NJ does research with trauma and refugees. I am sure there are plenty of other people as well. You don't need a program to specialize in "global mental health." You just need to find a research lab that looks at your area of interest, and there are definitely plenty of people in universities all over the country who do this type of work. You can also look into MSW programs, which would also allow you to practice and get involved in research. Rutgers has a Violence Against Women and Children Institute within their MSW program that may interest you.

I would strongly encourage you to talk to your supervisor about this. They should be able to help you navigate this difficult circumstance.