PsyDuck90

It is awkward. That said, make sure you treat fellow applicants nicely and with respect (although I suppose if the program has a cut-throat environment, this may be slightly different). The current students will be looking at who looks like "a team player" and who looks like they're out for themselves. If a program tries to foster a supportive student environment, they are also going to be looking for students who fit that culture.

This is depends on the program and the field. Masters interviews are less common, especially if they are larger cohorts (30+ compared to like 5).

These are both great things to talk about in an interview, but I would not contact the program to provide a 1 line addition to a CV.

I think you're fine. Schools understand that typos in letters of recommendation aren't within your control.

Yeah, having a partner makes it far more difficult. I tried to include my fiance on program choices in terms of climate. We live on the northeast, and he didn't want anything colder than what we experience now. I kinda wasn't hearing up to apply to anything like that anyway, so that was fine. I did stress to him about how research fit is important and how competitive it is (like 1% chance for any 1 program). I ended up only getting 1 offer, which happened to be in our home area so it didn't require any moving at all, so it probably worked out for the best lol. But I also made it very clear that there is still internship and postdoc that can require moves as well. This is a very transient field, especially early on. It's a lot to ask of a partner, so I feel like providing them some input is so important as the decision to go to grad school requires so much sacrifice on their part as well. Definitely making sure they feel that their opinions and wants are being validated, even if you ultimately choose a program that isn't in their top choice city.

Wear whatever weather-proof shoes you have and bring your nice dress shoes. Swap out once you get into the building.

Outer boroughs (Queens, Bronx, Brooklyn, and Staten Island) are usually cheaper, but there are some neighborhoods in Manhattan (Inwood, Washington Heights, etc) that are also reasonable (well, reasonable by NYC standards). At your interviews, maybe you can ask about student housing options. Do they have a way that grad students can connect as potential roommates or anything, even across departments? It's also not uncommon for like 4 people to share a 2 bedroom apartment, etc. Good luck!

You can adjunct with a master's. Even adjunct jobs are sometimes competitive, especially if you don't have any experience. You gotta just keep trying. Also, you can try to apply for jobs at university tutoring centers. That may at least get your foot in the door in terms of academic experience.

Club sandwich

Is it possible to ask for an extension? I would phrase it something like, "I am thrilled by your offer and excited about your program. However, I also have an interview for another program in March, and I would like to make the most informed choice I can. Is it possible to extend the deadline?"

Get another letter. A. It kind of sounds like the program's name is in the letter you have. B. If the school contacts your letter writer and they are not aware you used the letter for something else, they may not be too happy about it. I would just email the letter writer stating you need another letter. It will most likely take them about 2 minutes of their time to adjust anything minor and send a new version.

As long as it is a professional dress. I would also still wear a blazer. Something like this is a good option.

Gray, black, and navy are all classic conservative suit colors, so you should be fine with a dark gray suit.

If you are applying to clinical psych, I would swap the purple blazer for black. The pop of color would come from the blouse. Clinical psych programs are typically far more conservative. If it's a different sub-speciality you may be able to get away with it.

I would give them a call just to confirm. I would say call because you'll probably get an answer quicker than emailing. Just state that you confirmed on x date and heard no response so you just wanted to confirm before you book the flight.

I know it's stressful, but just try to wait. You know they have your applications. They are being flooded by people asking the same thing. If anything, go to the results page and see when these programs have sent out invites historically, so you can get a sense of when to expect to hear something. Emailing the programs and POIs runs the risk of you aggravating them, which wouldn't work in your favor.

I would advise against reaching out now that applications are in. It can be interpreted as a desperate attempt to try and snag an interview.

I would have to disagree with some of your points. I agree that student evals can be problematic, but grades is only one part of it. Negative evals can signify that the students feel the information wasn't related as effectively as they think it should be. I taught for the 1st time last semester (because I have a master's, my program let's us be the professor of record rather than TA). I definitely did not give easy A's. Actually, very few students got A's and my evals were very positive. This is similar to the experience of several of my program-mates, and this is a diverse state school. If you really want to improve your evaluations, you need to examine where your weak points are. Usually evals have multiple questions covering specific topic areas and you want to focus on those that have the lowest ratings. Also, you can create your own eval. I like to give my own short (like 3 questions) evaluation in the middle of the semester that asks what they like about the class, what they don't like, and anything they'd like to see more of. I think your view of "students only like you if you give them an A" is simplistic and, as you stated, cynical. There will always be a few students who don't want to be there, but there are plenty of other students who do want to be there and want to learn. Aside from certain circumstances, most students are there of their own volition and made the choice to go to school and to pick this major/class/etc. I try to appeal to their sense of why they are there and how the subject I'm teaching is relevant to their interests. Of course, everyone's experiences with teaching/TAing can vary, and that is especially dependent on the college/department culture as well. But making a blanket statement of "the only way to get good evals is to give easy A's" can be a dangerous viewpoint for people to take away from a public forum.

It shouldn't reflect poorly. Staying may give you more information as an applicant and allow you to get valuable information about the program from a student perspective (there will probably be opportunities during the interview day, so this is additional).

Not every POI/program will do informal interviews. Often times, they are done when the POI needs to narrow the applicants down and is having a hard time. Let's say they can only extend formal interview invites to 3 people and they have 4 or 5 pretty evenly matched applicants, they may do an informal skype/phone interview to make that decision. If you know the POI has done informal interviews and you didn't get one, it's (unfortunately) likely you won't get a formal invite. Technically you're always in the game until you get the official rejection, but some schools don't send those out until March-May. Good luck! This process is stressful and pretty crappy. Just try to remember: rejections are not representative of your worth. There are so many amazing applicants for too few spots, and it often takes multiple cycles before people get acceptances.

Either a. It could have been an automated message that was generated or b. They probably want you to give them an answer so they can either move down the list or not. Don't feel pressure though to give them a response one way or the other.

I don't believe you have to do anything before April 15th. They won't want your official transcripts unless you accept the offer. I would hold off until you know you want to go to that program.

Boston is a huge college town. You have Boston University, Boston College, Harvard, Tufts, Emerson College, MIT, Suffolk, UMASS-Boston, and probably others that I'm missing. Statistically speaking, you're probably pretty good.

You need to be honest. POIs are usually not interested in working with clones of themselves. I'm assuming your interests align with both of them, so just be open about what it is you hope to study and why you think each POI could serve as a good mentor for you. Reflect back on what you wrote in your SOP. I imagine you addressed this idea somehow in there about why you selected each POI. Also, connect your interests to their current projects. Is one doing work with the exact population you want to work with? Are they using a methodology you'd really like to learn? Etc. You made it to the interview round, so they liked what they saw on paper. Reflect on your application materials and build on them.

Schools sometimes have alternate dates. I would suggest informing the 2nd program that you already have a conflict that weekend and would love to interview, but you already have a prior commitment and if the interview can be on a different date.