clinicallyindependent

I think more than just the research, it has to be sustainable for 5 years. Its great that you have savings, but is it sustainable for the 5+ years of the commitment? With the budget, will you be willing to room with someone? ( As I'm hitting my late 20s, I can't imagine having a roommate) Having a car in the city is tough, with alt parking, unless you are willing to pay for a garage (that will cost as much as rent in some places) you'll be amassing parking tickets. Unless it was your top program of choice, and really exited you might be stuck in a limbo after a year or two and it'll become really hard. I do know someone in the program (not developmental) with affiliation with Brooklyn that doesn't place the program too highly & the commute is really really bad, so staten island can't be that great either. If your interested, send me a PM and I can help get you in touch. Just remember, although it is a very important and tough decision, its not the end of the world. It's pretty clear from what you shared that the program, fit, budget, lifestyle isn't going to be good for you. Just don't settle on a program just of an acceptance! Good luck!!

Stipend/teaching/aid is all taxable. Must pay uncle sam at the end of the year!

It took me 4 tries while keeping myself busy over the years with relevant research/job experiences to build my CV and improve upon my chances. Just so that you are aware, esp in Clinical field, Masters is more of a stepping stone to achieve an phd and are more geared towards people who come from more general psychology background who wants to get into Clinical. Since a lot of state does not grant you a license and practice with just a Masters degree, if you want to pursue a clinical phd I would advise you to get relevant work experience instead of Masters. If you are coming from a general psychology background, then maybe Masters might be a good stepping stone for you to pursue a Clinical phd/psyd!

Non-Clinical path ie: Dev isn't a licensure track in a lot of states. Dev will most likely land you in a research or teaching setting. As for Clinical, you have both options and you can focus in research or teaching if thats your calling after getting licensed but also have the option to be in a clinical setting. Getting into Clinical programs are tough. I'm not saying one is good or bad, but my perspective is that within a clinical program there are more areas you can expand/mold into as you carry out your phd career. Hopefully this helps!!

In a similar boat. The living costs are way to high for me to justify a commitment... most grad students I talked to had LOs that was abled to support them through. Has anyone seen or heard of others who successfully held a part time job throughout their phd careers?

Although there are some general overlap between those two, Non-Clinical and Clinical psychology and the sub-fields within those area are two distinctive paths. My two cents would be is to really think about what you want to do/pursue with the phd and figure out what path you want to take. Don't feel like you have to settle just because you've been accepted. Good luck!!

I think where you will be living is a lifestyle change, so factor that in as well. I'm also deciding between a place in a major city (my top choice) or a place nearby where I'm at (which I can commute from home). I'm looking through craigslist for roommates, zillow for housings and different forums to figuring out what my living expenses will be and it really isn't adding up. I'm factoring in this will be my full time job for the next 5 years and the stipend I'll be receiving is generous, but for me to be independently living outside of my home by myself for the next 5 years is daunting me...