PsyDuck90

Research fit is one the biggest factors. Look at papers of research within your interest area and see where those faculty are. Also, check out this thread:

First, try to arrange a visit to School B. Hating something in high school is so different than looking at a program now as an adult. Visit and then see if that helps to make your choice easier. If you still hate it, then there's your answer. Also, I'm confused how the research-oriented project is not a dissertation, but the practice-oriented one is. A dissertation is traditionally a research-oriented document. Granted I don't know much about school psych, but several school psych people in my area are in the same practicums as clinical psych folks.

Yes, research fit is one of the biggest factors, as you are rarely applying to the program as a whole and more so applying to work with a specific faculty member. You can start by going onto the APA website that lists all of the accredited programs. Go to the individual websites of different programs and peruse faculty. One of the easier ways that I found when I was making my list was to look at publications in my area of interest and seeing where those faculty are located and then looking at those programs. A lot of people also recommend buying The Insider's Guide Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology. This book describes all programs and ranks them on a scale of research vs clinical emphasis. I personally did not use it and just went off of information from school websites, but a huge number of people find it very beneficial. APA accredited programs are required to report student outcome data, so many have a page or PDF that described outcome data in regards to internship match rate and licensure rate. The majority of them also include data on how many applications they receive, how many students they accept each year, and the Quant, Verbal, and Writing GRE scores and GPA. This can give you a sense of how you stack up to the average accepted student for that program. Most people apply to between 10-15 programs given the low acceptance rate. The stats are that you have about a 1-2% chance of being accepted to any one program, and about a 10% chance overall. Having a mix of R1s, R2s, and even R3s is recommended. R1s are usually the most competitive.

I'm not sure if your question is related to campus housing or regular apartment hunting, but if it's regular apartment hunting, the price of a 1-bedroom is about $1200-1600, possibly a little less if you go further out. Also, I peeked through a few of the messages and while Princeton is kind of a sleepy town, there is plenty to do. The university has an art museum on campus and there are a bunch of great restaurants. Grounds for Sculpture is a few minutes from there too, which is also pretty cool. I've lived about 30 minutes away from Princeton most of my life (the rest was spent living in NYC), and I was kind of surprised by the comments that there isn't much to do. Many people from the surrounding area will go there for events and stuff, same as they do to NYC.

You're already accepted, so some of the pressure is definitely off. I have only been to pre-acceptance interviews where they are figuring out if you're a good fit. However, I imagine this is the 1st step in developing relationships with potential mentors. Did you get accepted to a specific faculty or do you choose a mentor later on? If the latter, this may be how everyone figures out who you want to work with next fall. I would prepare as if I'm going to interview just to be on the safe side (be ready to speak about your research interests, career goals, etc), but you're already in so unless you do something really inappropriate (illegal?) that outcome won't change. From others I've talked to, it is a time for them to really sell you on the program in the event you haven't accepted yet.

Yes, waitlists are a thing, but that's why there's a (more or less) universally held deadline of April 15th, so that people have time to get all decisions in. The way students get off waitlists is when someone holding multiple offers releases one. Typically those are not accepted offers someone pulls but an offer someone holds and then rejects. Once you accept an offer and commit to a school, you are expected to keep that commitment. Same thing as in the real job market. If you sign paperwork formally accepting a job offer and pull it, that can definitely have negative backlash. It's not guaranteed, but some fields are a small world and taking that chance can come back to bite you later. It may vary in different fields, but my field definetely takes these guidelines seriously and reaffirms (and extends) them within it's own professional network of graduate training programs. Maybe other fields don't care as much. I also don't see how the CGS resolution does not apply: " In those instances in which a student accepts an offer before April 15 and subsequently desires to withdraw that acceptance, the student may submit in writing a resignation of the appointment at any time through April 15. However, an acceptance given or left in force after April 15 commits the student not to accept another offer without first obtaining a written release from the institution to which a commitment has been made." https://cgsnet.org/april-15-resolution If OP did not formally withdraw that acceptance prior to April 15th, they would need to be formally released from their prior commitment (and there is no guarantee they will provide that release). There is the caveat that OP wasn't guaranteed funding in the offer, but if that funding does come through before the April 15th deadline, then these guidelines definitely apply And absolutely, I would hope that anyone posting for advice on these forums would be using information recieved here as an addition to advice they get from mentors in real life.

1. It is strongly discouraged to accept an offer and then pull it. This will burn many bridges within that school/department and may trickle into other potential professional relationships down the line. You don't want to be seen as someone unreliable. 2. I don't think there is really a way to get off the waitlist. There are often plenty of very strong candidates but a faculty may only be able to take on 1 student but may have 3 amazing candidates and therefore 2 may be on a waitlist. Sometimes someone can be a faculty's 1st choice but they don't get 1st dibs on students and have to wait for a different faculty to run through their candidates before they can offer a position. Since it is getting close to the deadline, you can send a polite e-mail stating they are your 1st choice but you need to make a decision and if you can know your place on the waitlist (maybe knowing if you're next in line vs further down the list may make the decision easier). 3. There isn't really a right answer here. Basically, the question boils down to taking a gamble on funding this year or taking a gamble on getting accepted by school B next year. 4. I personally have not, but I have multiple friends who have, including friends who did med school in separate places and residency in separate states and got married during all of it and are living apart as a married couple. It sucks, but daily Skype dates and the like make it doable. While long, a 7 hour drive isn't the worst (could be way worse in that it isn't a fathomable drive at all). Take this for what it is though, as every relationship is different. Good luck!

I wouldn't do it. As a PhD student, your time will be limited and you will be spending 3 hours a day commuting. Since you are driving, that is time out of your day thrown down the drain because you cannot be productive. I currently have a commute that takes me about the same amount of time during rush hour traffic and it is miserable (although I didn't move for the program and can't due to my spouse's job), and it's only 40 miles but traffic in my area is the worst, even on the highway. I have to get up so much earlier than my cohort to get up and out the door for class and go to sleep early so that I can get up in time.

If the local school option is a reputable state school, I would go with that option. That amount of debt is really hard to justify unless you have a career path that will make you tons of money, such as a doctor. Social Work isn't necessarily an area where prestige matters so much unless you plan to go into academia or you want to try and work in specific prestigious places like the UN or something. Even then, I would question the cost vs benefit of that much debt.

Not a specific fellowship, but https://www.apa.org/apf/funding/scholarships has a huge list of tons of different scholarships for psych grad students.

Try to push for more posters, maybe even a paper. Those are some competitive programs and research experience is going to be the key. If you get a few more research products and get a good score on the GREs, you should be in good shape.

It's very understandable why you want to take the position. However, you need to talk to your wife and come to a mutual decision. Is there some sort of compromise? Do you have to move into that city or can you guys possibly move in between (2 hours is still a crap commute but better than 4 and a half)? Would it be possible to live separately for the time you complete your program (not ideal, but I have married friends who have done this for their respective educational goals). To be blunt, yes, you are selfish to take a position that will benefit only you but affect your spouse as well. However, compromise can also be about each person being selfish at different times. Overall, you're probably not going to find the answer on an internet forum. You need to talk to your wife, and you two need to agree on a decision, whatever it is. Good luck! This is definitely a tough decision!

https://www.ets.org/gre/subject/scores/how You add up the number correct and that's your raw score. They changed the scoring in the 2017-2018 cycle, so that may be the reason for conflicting info.

I feel like this will be very dependent on your field.

Yeah, clinical psych PhDs/PsyDs are some of the most competitive doctoral programs to get into in the US. A lot of it goes into research fit. Strong PsyD programs (such as Baylor) will also require a research component. The best thing to do is to look for programs where you have a good research fit with at least 1 faculty in the program. The average applicant will apply to 10+ programs and take approximately 2 cycles to get accepted somewhere. Also, be mindful of rankings and geographic location. A school like UC-Berkeley is both highly ranked (and very, very research heavy) and also in a desirable (albeit incredibly expensive) area. They get a lot of applicants for their few spots. Schools in the California and NYC area are typically going to get even more applicants just because they are "desirable" areas to live. This is not to say that it's easier to get into a school in the midwest or something, but the applicant numbers are significantly less. Overall, I think the stats are that an applicant has about a 10% chance of getting into any program and about a 1-2% to get into any 1 program (hence applying to min. 10). Good luck! It's a long and difficult process, but you can't lose hope!

If you can get your research experience without paying for an MA, then that would be the better option. Can you ask the PI in the depression lab if there is a possibility that you would be able to stay on past the summer and be involved in products, like posters and stuff?

Can you ask to get an earlier formal acceptance? July seems very late for a formal acceptance to be issued. I personally wouldn't consider anything official until it's official. I've heard of programs issuing a formal acceptance a week or so later, but months is a little strange.

It's more difficult to start somewhere and transfer than it is to boost your application and apply to other places. The question is always "why did you leave?" and something like cost is a known factor ahead of time, so it won't be a satisfactory answer. Plus, it will be very unlikely that any credits transfer, so it would still be wasted time. Why are you only looking at unfunded PsyDs? There are several PsyDs that provide funding, as well as tons of balanced PhDs that guarantee full funding.

Doing research within the general area of interest and reading more about certain topics that I thought sounded cool. I don't think there's a surefire way to find your niche. It just comes with exposure. You start more broad and just keep following the paths that interest you.

Staying for your MS/MA isn't a big deal. A lot of people do. There's also many programs that gave combined BA/MA programs where students earn both simultaneously. You don't know want to stay for your PhD though.

It definitely sucks. I was in a similar situation where I thought I was a shoe in for my top choice program, and then I got the rejection. I got an offer from another program that I applied to which was originally lower on my list, but I am so happy at the program I'm in. The rejection is tough, but you also have to look at the positives. Again, you're situation may be different, but you have to look past the disappointment of rejection and look at the program you have an offer from and consider it by itself, without the sting of rejection.

Even if you beef up your application, that is not a guarantee that you would get into Option 2, or anywhere, the following year. Especially if you are geographically limited, it may be better to go with the offer you have since it's a good offer, as long as you can see yourself being there for 4+ years. I know you said they were your 3rd choice out of 4. Some people apply to anything viable and others only apply to schools they would he happy to attend. If you are in the former category, hedging your bets next round may be an option. If you're in the latter category, you may be in a better position by taking the offer on the table.

I've heard the University of Denver PsyD is a good program, but incredibly expensive. Same with Palo Alto. The stats for the Michigan Professional School look horrendous. No one has ever placed in an APA accredited internship and the licensure rate is at about 50%, so only half of graduates of the program are actually able to be licensed as a clinical psychologist (it's a professional degree, so they should be producing significantly more licensed professionals). If you look at the EPPP pass rate, they have about 56% of students passing it, which is also incredibly low. I know you are an international student. However, those are really poor outcomes, so I would stay away from that one. Numbers like that usually point to poor training within the program itself.

I use the free version of Avast and have for years without issue.

Yeah, it's not uncommon. They wanted to give you the informal acceptance, but nothing's official until it's in writing.