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PsyDuck90

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Everything posted by PsyDuck90

  1. PsyDuck90
    It's definitely good to reach out to your advisor to show them you're proactive. However, it sounds like you already did that and they said to relax (which is probably the nice way of saying they want to have some down time as well). If you still want to be productive, take the summer to refine those research ideas you already have. Starting the fall with 2 or 3 really well thought-out research ideas to show the PI out of the gate will show them the "go getter" attitude you clearly have. Emailing them again runs you the risk of them getting annoyed by you. Chances are, if they wanted you to start helping out, they'd tell you. I'm in a similar situation with Psygeek, where my PI emailed me for a data collection opportunity.
  2. PsyDuck90
    If you meet the pre-reqs and everything else in your application is strong, you should be ok. Just make sure to tie in the skills you bring with you from your undergrad major to your psych career in your SoP. A lot of skills from other disciplines can transfer to psych, so just make sure to address that.
  3. PsyDuck90
    Be careful with that. Clinical psychology MA programs are not usually license-eligible. Mental Health Counseling programs typically are. Psychology MAs typically do not lead to a practicing license. MHC programs are under CACREP and you are usually a licensed counselor (which is different from a counseling psychologist).
  4. PsyDuck90
    Research! Research! Research! That is one of the biggest things programs look at. You want to try to get conference poster presentations and even possibly a publication out of the research. This shows that you are academically productive and not just doing basic coding and menial lab tasks.
  5. PsyDuck90
    Yeah, that's definitely a specific niche. I would see if you can maybe reach out to someone in the departments, like a current student, and see if you can get an understanding of how heavily they look at undergrad science courses. A lot of times research experience and GREs really trump undergrad course work anyway. You definitely want to make sure your quant score is up there. I would stay away from online classes for the hard sciences anyway, as you miss the lab component of the class. Maybe look into a community college course?
  6. PsyDuck90
    A lot of it depends on what it is you want to do with the MA. Are you looking to get an MA level license and practice, or are you looking to get an MA to boost your research experience/psych GPA to be more competitive for PhD programs later down the line? For licensing, look at your specific state, but typically mental health counseling (CACREP accredited), MSW, and MFT programs are license-eligible. The MSW seems to be the most portable from state to state. For these, ask how many alumni are fully licensed and practicing. Also, look at cost. You don't want to be shelling out like $100k in student loans for a job that will pay anywhere between $40k and $60k a year on average. If you are more interested in an MA as a stepping stone, the key is research. Do they have faculty that match your research interests? Is there a formal thesis? Some MAs even provide funding. Ask about how many of their students go into fully funded doctoral programs, and what type of programs.
  7. PsyDuck90
    Have you taken the pre-req courses required for the programs you're interested in? There are plenty of people who go into psych grad school without majoring in psych as an undergrad. Did you major in something somewhat related to what you are interested in doing research-wise? If you are that worried about the lack of psych background, you can also apply to MA programs along with PhD programs. There are a few that provide funding as well. Search around this forum, as there have definitely been posts about that.
  8. PsyDuck90
    What kind of PhD programs are you applying to? The average clinical psych or counseling psych programs don't emphasize hard sciences that strongly.
  9. PsyDuck90
    If you have an MA, schools won't really care about your undergrad as long as you meet the pre-reqs.
  10. PsyDuck90
    Honestly, the biggest offense in this scenario is probably the fact you have a 72-word sentence.
  11. PsyDuck90
    What is it specifically that you envision yourself doing when you have your clinical license? I think what the previous poster was getting at is if you would be better served doing a license eligible masters instead of a PhD/PsyD.
  12. PsyDuck90
    There is really no right answer for this one. I took time off between my MA and applying to doctoral programs. That gave me time to publish my MA thesis and to work with my intended population, gaining valuable experience and also saving some money. I ended up taking 3 years off total and will start a program this fall. For me, it really helped solidify what exactly I wanted and gave me valuable research ideas (I work in the field of IPV, so I got to see first hand where more research is needed). Plus, I knew that after 3 years, that this was still what I wanted to do. The only thing I would do differently would be to continue actively doing research in that time. Plus, having a healthy savings account from a full time job is definitely a plus to supplement your stipend/invest and watch grow.
  13. PsyDuck90
    If your GPA is very low and your GREs don't offset it, then an MA may be a good idea. If you are set on being in the NYC area, I would look at the CUNY schools as they are significantly cheaper. Otherwise, I've seen posts that Wake Forest and William and Mary provide funding for MAs.
  14. PsyDuck90
    Assuming this is a stepping stone to a doctoral program, I would also consider research match and opportunities for products (posters and publications).
  15. PsyDuck90
    Also, any well-respected PsyD program will require research and a dissertation.
  16. PsyDuck90
    Asking for feedback is a pretty standard part of the process. Because of the competitive nature of the process, plenty of good candidates don't even get interviews, and programs and faculty are usually pretty willing to give you honest feedback about where you can improve your application from next time. Remember, they usually have about 200 applicants vying for 5 spots, with only about 15 or so being offered an interview. Just send a polite email to either the director or your POI (if you were in contact with them) asking how you can improve your application for next round. One professor I spoke with after not getting an invite told me that they encourage people to try again and can even waive the application fee for the next time.
  17. PsyDuck90
    One of the biggest factors is research experience with products (posters and publications). You could try and see if you can get either a paid RA position at a college in your area, or even volunteer if that's feasible. Also, look at the pre-reqs that the PhD programs require. Since none of your degrees are in psychology, you may not have the pre-req courses. You don't need an MA, so look to see if you can get the research and required coursework in other ways. Also, be mindful that you are looking at schools in a highly competitive and coveted area, which may make the process more difficult.
  18. PsyDuck90
    The biggest thing that programs care about is research experience. Try to get some stuff out there: present posters or talks at conferences (preferably national ones). The non-research experiences you've amassed are definitely a benefit as long as you discuss their value appropriately in your SOP. Based on my experiences applying this cycle and having read a lot of threads on here and SDN, make sure your GRE scores meet cut offs and that you have solid research experience. You have some clinical experience, which is good. I wouldn't worry too much about adding more. If you only focus on 2 things, I'd suggest they be research and GRE scores.
  19. PsyDuck90
    Licensed mental health counselors and LCSWs are both an important part of the mental health field. The majority of clinical practice is performed by MA level clinicians. Psychologists tend to focus more on assessments and the like. If this friend of yours wants to pursue a PhD down the line, he may consider choosing a different program or seek outside research opportunities. It's not a scam. It's just a different career in the same field. This may be regional, but if you look up affordable mental health providers, most providers will end up being MA level clinicians.
  20. PsyDuck90
    It depends on the program, but the PsyDs with a better reputation follow that model as well. Even if they don't, you will need to pick a mentor and research lab at some point in the program, so you still want to make sure people are doing what you're interested in. Otherwise, you may have a hard time when doing your dissertation.
  21. PsyDuck90
    One of the most important things to consider is research fit. Most schools work on a mentor model, meaning you are applying to work with a specific professor. Therefore, you want to look at programs individually and examine the research being done and how well it matches with your interests. That is how you pick schools. From there, you can look at their admissions outcomes: average GPA and GRE scores of incoming students and try to make sure you are within those ranges. Most programs look at your application as a whole, with research and publications and posters as the most important. Keep in mind, clinical psych programs are incredibly competitive, so even if everything is perfect, you may still not get into a program the 1st application cycle.
  22. PsyDuck90
    I agree with the other posters. Also, OP, it may be a good idea for you to check out your school's writing center. They can assist you to improve your understanding the finer nuances of citations and essay structure. They can also provide you with much better writing advice, as they can physically see the paper you're working on.
  23. PsyDuck90
    They are a top ranked program, but they are more heavily on the research/academic side. It depends on OP's goals. If they are looking for a balanced program, they may not be the happiest at Stony Brook. A lot of PCSAS schools can play that power move because manybgraduates do not pursue licensure and therefore do not care about APA accreditation status. This is evidenced by Stony Brook's 65% licensure rate. So its definitely a great program, but not necessarily the right type of program based on what OP's goals may be.
  24. PsyDuck90
    I don't know anyone currently going there, but I did hear that they are considering not renewing their APA accreditation in favor of PCSAS. I don't know when they're up for renewal, but that is something I'd look into because that may limit you if they are not APA accredited when you would potentially graduate.
  25. PsyDuck90
    I think they just send out mass rejections after the deadline. Very few schools, if any, will waitlist students who they did not interview. Often, enough students are invited to the interview weekends where they can create a waitlist from that pool. The programs are more focused on getting everything together for filling and funding the incoming cohort. Once that's done, they will probably send out all the rejections they didn't send yet. It sucks, but if you didn't interview for a program by this point, you can just assume you're getting a rejection at the end of the month.
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