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PsyDuck90

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Everything posted by PsyDuck90

  1. I know a few places have reported how to cite a canceled conference. Here is one for APA style: https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/canceled-conferences Here is one for MLA style: https://style.mla.org/presentation-canceled-conference/ If your discipline uses a different method, I would do Google search for an example for that one.
  2. I would probably lean towards school A. The outcome data, to me, is really important. It's safer to assume you will be the rule and not the exception in terms of how students fair for internship/licensure/etc. Also, while you don't get full tuition remission in School A, the funding is guaranteed and, while $6k is nothing to sneeze at, it also isn't a terrible amount, especially given the stipend coupled with your husband's salary for living expenses. It also sounds like it would be easier on your husband to not have to relocate and change jobs.
  3. It's great that you are asking these questions early on. There are definitely certain things I would have loved to know at your stage. In clinical psychology PhD and PsyD programs, one of the final requirements for degree completion is a pre-doctoral internship. During the course of the program, you will have clinical experiences that will help you narrow down the specific populations/settings you would like to eventually work in, as well as let you develop your clinical skills. This all culminates into a final, year-long paid internship (which you want to be APA-accredited as well). These internships are unaffiliated with your program, and you must apply through a process run by APPIC. This process is similar to the med school residency match. You apply towards the end of the program and then interview at places. An algorithm than matches you to a site based on your rankings and the site's rankings. The hours of clinical experience you gain in this internship are your pre-doctoral hours. If you go to an APA-accredited or PCSAS-accredited clinical psychology program, you will be fine. There is some wiggle room in going to a non-APA and non-PCSAS accredited program, but you have to jump through more hoops and will not be able to work in many major hospital systems, such as the VA, or apply to the APPIC match and therefore not get an APA-accredited internship. You can find a list of all the APA-accredited sites here: https://www.accreditation.apa.org/accredited-programs PCSAS is a newer accreditation, and as of now, most programs with that accreditation still have APA-accreditation, but some, like UC Berkeley, are intending to let their APA-accreditation lapse when the current status expires. At the doctoral level, an internship refers to that formal process I discussed in my response to question 1. At the undergraduate level, that is still a training experience you get outside of your institution, but it is far less formal. A fellowship is a form of funding. Research is...research. It is the process by which scientists (psychologists included) try to answer questions related to their topic of interest. Research typically falls into 2 categories: basic and applied. Basis research is finding answers for the sake of finding answers, while applied research aims to answer questions within the context of a real-world application. Ideally, you would want to get involved in a research lab ASAP when in undergrad to gain more experience in the process. There's an app for that. Some people may use Excel spreadsheets and such, but many use a website called Time2Track. You basically just input what you did on certain days. This will all be explained in the doctoral program. Yes, you typically get help from multiple people. First off, there is a directory that lists all of the internships available and explains all the specific training opportunities. All clinical programs have a Director of Clinical Training who oversees the clinical training of students in the program. Your advisor/mentor will also assist you. If your program is a 4+1 (4 years on campus and 1 year of internship), you will be applying in the beginning of 4th year, so you have a long way to go before thinking about internship. Not all, but most. Also, not all funded programs mean fully funded, where you get tuition remission and a stipend in exchange for being a TA, RA, or working in some sort of administrative capacity (such as admin in the psych department). You will have to look at the specific programs to see what they offer. It's a safe bet that you will be fully funded at an R1 institution. and a pretty fair bet at an R2. You really have to look at the program to see the specifics. This is going to be based significantly on research fit. While in undergrad, try to get a sense of what you are really interested in studying further within the realm of clinical psychology. If you can gain research experience in that particular niche while in undergrad, that's awesome. If not, that's ok. You just need to be able to explain how what you have done connects to what you want to do. Also, it's ok if you change your mind halfway through undergrad. Additionally, while you want to practice in California, I highly suggest you do not limit yourself geographically to California-based schools. A. programs can tell if you are just applying because you want to be in the area vs. you have an actual interest in the school. B. Programs in desirable areas (such as California or NYC) have the most applicants, so they are even more competitive due to the geographic desirability. Also, your graduate stipend will go a lot further for living expenses elsewhere, so your quality of life will probably actually be better. You can always come back to California after you finish. Get involved in research and get good grades. When doing research, try to get products (posters, maybe even publications). Graduate schools like to see that you've presented research at a conference (local/regional are ok, national are better). This shows them that you were able to see a project through from start to finish and were more involved than just doing data entry. However, when you join a lab, you will be doing a lot of the grunt work from the start. Be reliable and show initiative, then you may get more complicated tasks. Also, working with a faculty member in research will help you get much stronger letters of recommendation. If you can do an undergraduate thesis, I would also do that. The last part is doing well on the GREs. Research. Research. Research. Maybe work at a crisis line for a bit. The types of clinical experiences available to undergraduates aren't really that clinical. The closest is the crisis line (suicide, domestic violence, at-risk youth, etc.). Hopefully I've answered all of your questions. Also, this is a great resource to read: http://mitch.web.unc.edu/files/2017/02/MitchGradSchoolAdvice.pdf Also, take this time to explore your interests. It's great that you have this goal now, and work towards it, but don't put the blinders on to other potential career paths as well. Think about why you want to be a clinical psychologist and think about other potential careers that also may offer similar benefits to what you want your day to day to look like.
  4. That is an insane amount of money for a masters program. I would go with either shooting for funded programs or go for the cheapest option possible that requires a thesis to graduate. If you want to stay in the NYC area, check out CUNY programs. They are high quality will a cheap price tag. You don't want to be saddled with tons of debt for a stepping stone degree. Better yet, try to find a paid research assistant position.
  5. Do you think this information will drastically change their admission decision? I'm in a different field, so it may vary, but my instinct would be that it wouldn't really have an impact. If you're applying for Fall 2020, it's unlikely for you to have that much more experience from this job before you start the program.
  6. This is a possibility depending on how long it takes. I'm in my 2nd year. My university just moved to online distance learning. We meet via a Zoom-type thing through Blackboard. It sucks, but it is what it is. If you're an international student, I would plan for this 14 day quarantine just in case. Better safe than sorry.
  7. Both can practice independently. On a clinical level, psychologists have a wider scope in that they can conduct assessments (outside of measures like the Beck Depression Inventory, which masters level clinicians can use). I think there may be more psychologists working with severe and persistent mentally ill than masters level clinicians, but that door isn't entirely closed either. Overall, a PhD is a more versatile degree, but if you know you just want to do therapy, the MA will get you out of school faster so you can do your thing.
  8. The distinction between the two is minimal unless you're aiming for TT faculty positions after graduation. If so, R1 may give you the better edge.
  9. Most of the time it is loans and/or support from family/spouse. The debt-load is a very real thing to consider, especially in a high cost of living area such as NYC.
  10. 12-15 credits is the standard number of credits that people take. To stand out, most students do outside activities such as research relevant to the field.
  11. One question I have is what you intend to do job-wise with the degree after you complete it. Unless it is forensic mental health counseling, there are not many jobs available for a masters in forensic psychology (I have one from a pretty well-known school, so I'm speaking from my own experience lol). Also, the year the program was started isn't always a great indicator of reputation. The faculty teaching and opportunities are a larger factor. For instance, 1 draw from my program was that you can do research affiliated with the FBI through a connection the university had with the FBI. Also, numerous faculty have been called as expert witnesses for high profile cases. If you want to private message me, maybe I can help you better, as I understand the hesitation to post more specifics on a public message board.
  12. This is going to vary significantly based on location. The best thing to do is look at what rents look like ($25k in a rural part of the midwest will get you a lot further than $25k in California or NYC for instance). Look up cost of living calculators online for your region. Reach out to some current grad students and ask them how they make it work. They will usually be pretty honest in telling you that they have a roommate or 2, a part time job, take out loans, etc. to make the stipend work if necessary.
  13. Looking at the outcome data, Indiana state looks like it has a smaller cohort size and slightly better match rates, plus cheaper tuition.
  14. If that's the case, then it isn't as much of a gamble, but it is still a gamble. Do you mind sharing which 2 programs you are between? That may also help us give more feedback on factors to consider. Honestly, there's some pretty crummy programs out there that have been consistently accredited.
  15. Rankings don't really mean much in clinical/counseling psych. Look at the student outcomes data. Schools are required to report APA internship match rates.
  16. My question would be the reason for probationary status. Programs can be put on probation for a variety of things, some related to serious programmatic concerns and others related to record-keeping for instance.
  17. I'm in a different field, so this may vary. However, the question I would ask is what do you think you may need your laptop for during the visit day? My assumption is that you will most likely not be pulling it out for any reason during the visit. The only reason I could think of is if you don't have anywhere you feel comfortable leaving it (like if staying with a student host instead of a hotel or something).
  18. Is the maternity leave policy going to impact your decision to accept this offer? If yes, I would reach out to the DCT or program director. If not, I would wait until you get on campus and build relationships/get a better feel for the program to find out how to talk to about this. I'm a bit older to, and my plan is to wait until final on-site year or internship year depending on how far along my dissertation is. But I am prioritizing finishing and getting into the job market with a real salary over growing my family, and my husband is on board.
  19. Maternity leave may very well push back your graduation simply for that fact you may not accrue enough clinical hours to be competitive for internship. Legally, you have certain rights. However, that doesn't always mean that the program will be the most supportive. One woman in my program had a baby during and was able to Skype into classes while out on leave (however, practicum hours were something she was nervous about because you can't Skype into that). So, I've seen my program be accommodating, but that doesn't mean that every program will be.
  20. This is tough. However, I would actually be more inclined to go with option 2. While you can hope to gain these experiences on internship, you often have a better chance of getting more competitive internships if you have some similar experiences in externship. When you say that school 1 is more research heavy, do they identify as a clinical science model or still a scientist-practitioner model? If scientist-practitioner, then you'll probably get solid clinical training. Also, think about what kind of mentorship you thrive in. It's 1 thing to say you have to have more initiative. It's another to know you'll do it.
  21. So I'm not a mom (husband and I are holding off on kids until I finish), but I am considered an older student compared to the vast majority of my program-mates (30 and in my 2nd year). I also have a classmate who is a mom and I know she finds it very difficult to balance everything, and she is fortunate enough to have a lot of help. I think the main thing for you to consider is what is your ultimate career goal. You said that you applied to PhD programs at the behest of your professor. Does your professional goal require a PhD or is the masters level licensure enough? Yes, you can get paid more as a doctorate level clinician. However, once you factor in the cost of tuition (it sounds like you were awarded some assistance but it isn't a full ride) and time spent out of the workforce and therefore not earning anything, you may just break even (or not even). Add in that you will likely not be contributing to retirement funds during your time in the program, so that can increase the amount of time you have to work before you can afford retirement. These are just some things I would consider when factoring in the decision. I know I thought about a lot of these types of things prior to applying because I was in a good and psych-adjacent career with a master's before I decided to quit to pursue clinical psychology.
  22. Haha enjoy this free time while it lasts. Once you start up in the fall, you will be back to the grind.
  23. I was interested in psychology as a field of science starting in high school when I took it as an elective. Then, that interest continued and I also enjoy helping people. I liked the idea of therapy and assessment, as well as research in the realm of trauma in survivors of interpersonal violence. I liked it enough to study it in school for 10+ years lol.
  24. Surviving Your Stupid, Stupid Decision to Go to Grad School by Adam Ruben is a funny book I got as a gift. It's short and light-hearted.
  25. One way to go about is to steer into the orientation of the program (most will have a preference for something). What I did when I applied was say I am interested in becoming an evidence-based practitioner and I am not yet familiar enough with the intricacies to be able to confidently say I have a theoretical orientation. The program I am attending Bill's itself on evidence based practice and skews a little more towards CBT than psychodynamic and third-wave. This question will follow you by the way. I get asked at almost every externship interview, and one of the internship essays asks this question. It is basically the basis of your identity as a psychologist.
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