i/o hopeful

Does anyone have experience with tablets other than iPads? I was looking at a Xoom tablet (uses Android OS) and a HTC one that seemed like good alternatives to an iPad, but I've been able to find very little information on people's experiences with them. My biggest use for a tablet would be reading pdfs and maybe having some functionality to take notes on the docs, and anything else I can use the device for would be icing on the cake. Does anyone have experience using Droid apps for pdfs or other academically useful tasks? I don't even have a smartphone at the moment, so the whole world of apps is very foreign to me....

For those waiting on DePaul, I just declined so a spot should be opening soon. Good luck!

Have you already been accepted? If so, it seems most people are casual-- jeans and a nice shirt. Sometimes people are more formal for when you speak with professors (maybe dress pants and/or button down), but you don't have to be. There's no need to impress them once you've already been accepted, so just be comfortable without looking disheveled. If there's still going to be more 'cuts' before offers are extended, then maybe go more business casual for the professor talk portion of the day.

Penn State has invited some people to a visiting weekend (this weekend), but no official decisions have been made at this point I don't think.

I've received an invite-- it's the first weekend of March, so there's definitely still time to hear back before then. I didn't have a phone interview though....who's your POI?

This was for their PhD program. Anyone out there apply to University of Maryland College Park and hear anything?

I didn't end up applying to Portland so don't know, but it seems they've been one of the later schools to get back to people in the past. GaTech has called with invitations to their visiting weekend (the first weekend in March).

I don't know if they're done with all notifications, but I do know initial acceptances have gone out.

I'm not sure if this even qualifies as cooking, but they're amazingly addictive. Oreo "Truffles" 1 package Oreo cookies 1 brick cream cheese, softened about 12 oz of whatever chocolate you like (milk, dark, white, etc) 1. Put cookies in large ziploc bag and beat with your favorite blunt instrument until finely crushed (or use a food processor if you're fancy) 2. Pour crumbs into a bowl; add cream cheese and mix until well combined 3. Roll into 1/2 -1in balls 4. Chill balls for approx 30 min in refrigerator (optional, but helpful) 5. Melt chocolate in bowl set above simmering water (or melt in the microwave, but be careful not to overheat chocolate or it will seize) 6. Dip balls in chocolate; let dry 7. Consume

From what I can tell from the results page, looks like the earliest people hear back from I/O programs is late January....which is next week! However, looks like it's more common to hear sometime in February.

Ah well, I figured as much-- thanks for the input everyone!

As I'm waiting to hear back from programs, I'm getting increasingly paranoid I won't get in anywhere, so am thinking about working on a resume to apply for analyst positions (like in consulting/ market research firms) this spring just in case all else fails. Do you think it's appropriate to include my GRE scores on the resume, or would that be weird? I want to include them because I have really high scores, so it could show potential employers I have good quantitative skills and am "smart". However, I feel like normally business resumes don't include stats like that, so wanted to see if anyone had opinions/experiences one way or the other. Thoughts?

Congrats on getting everything out the door! I've got all my Dec 1 apps in, and the rest are pretty much ready to go out as soon as I can convince myself to stop looking at my SOPs =) A lot of the schools I applied to say there's a several week lag between getting transcript/scores/etc and actually updating their statuses to "received", so don't contact them before then. However, it's hard for me to watch deadlines pass without getting confirmation that everything they need they have. Do you have this issue too? I'm contemplating following up by calling the schools right at the deadline to get someone to tell me my application is all there, but I'm wondering if that's just going to be pesky for them. Also, seems to be a quiet years for I/O people-- who else is out there? Where's everyone applying?

Thanks for the input, both of you-- I met with my old thesis advisor yesterday, and he sort of echoed what you are saying (and in fact strongly encouraged me to apply to Minnesota in particular). I guess I have a question of how much the school 'brand' matters in terms of options after the degree if I'm thinking that applied is where I'm headed at the moment (I'm not saying academia is out of the picture entirely, but I just can't envision it right now). My thinking was that being by a city would be really good in terms of getting exposure to internships and taking advantage of ties the schools may have with surrounding organizations. Is that right, or do you think people in industry actually care about name as well? Also, do any big 10 schools really encourage the option to go applied post-PhD, or are they pretty much gearing their students toward a professor's life?

Well, the main reason for the variety is because I'm limiting myself to programs that are by/in a decently sized city. I've been living in a great city for the past several years, and am having a hard time imagining myself stuck in a college town for the next 5-7 years. I know it's not the best reason to exclude/include programs, but so be it.

I figured I'd try to get this topic started, and hopefully get some feedback on my list as it stands now. I'm looking for PhD programs with an interest in personality (so p-e fit, personnel selection, etc), but I'm really trying to stay in a city, so my list at this point is: DePaul George Mason WashU Portland State UMaryland Georgia Tech NC State (maybe) UWashington (Social Psych) I'm kind of struggling for what to add in terms on "backups", so probably MA programs. There's one at Boston College and Portland State I could do, but not sure at this point. Also, does anyone have opinions on George Mason PhD vs MA in terms of likelihood of getting in? I'd ideally want to go straight for the PhD, but if the chances of that seem slim to none, then maybe I should just try for the MA. To give a sense of my qualifications, I have a good GRE score ( >1500), GPA (3.6 overall, 3.9 in psych), quant background (double major in psych and math/stats), but less stellar research perhaps (did a psych honors thesis but not published-- I do have my name on several papers to be published, but in an entirely unrelated field from psych). Thoughts? Is my list too ambitious?

As I'm putting together my CV/Resume to send out to schools (I'm applying for Social and I/O PhD programs), I'm wondering what sorts of things people emphasize, and if I'm supposed to stick to 1 page like a standard resume, or if it can be longer? The main reason I'm asking is that I've spent the last year working as a tech (then promoted to lab manager!) in a chemical engineering lab, and have been involved enough in several projects to have my name on a few papers. None are accepted yet, but most will at least be submitted by the time apps are due. Should I include these papers on my CV? On the one hand, they show I understand and have been involved with the research process, but on the other hand, they have no bearing whatsoever to topics I want to pursue! Unfortunately, aside from these papers, I don't have any other papers that are psych-related (though I did present a poster for my senior thesis at the undergraduate research conference for my school). Thoughts? Also, should I try to explain what I'm doing in this engineering lab in my SOP, or is it not that big a deal to be working somewhere completely unrelated?

From what I understand, a recommended subject test is only really necessary if you a)aren't a psych major or don't have a good psych GPA. Since it doesn't sound like either one of those cases apply to you, I think you're fine to forget about it and focus on the other much more important tasks that you mentioned!

The two people I mainly remember talking about I/O as a diminishing field were, admittedly, OB professors. One was newly minted (social psych background), and the other has been a professor for quite some time. The younger one pretty much said he had no experience or contact with anyone in I/O, and the more tenured professor said that nowadays, the bulk of the research was moving over into OB. Perhaps he meant that I/O is becoming more applied than research based (or maybe more masters program heavy vs phd level)? He also made it sound like there used to be a ton of places offering I/O programs, but now the number is decreasing. However, their opinion may well be just because they are in OB and so see themselves as the better option.....

Thanks so much for your detailed response! This isn't the first time I've heard I/O be called a "dying breed", so it's interesting that you make this point as well-- are there any I/O people out there that can speak to its defense? When I started looking into I/O programs, I was surprised that there really aren't all that many, so that was somewhat of a warning sign to me, but I figured it might also just mean it was a niche field. Good suggestion too with how to frame my lab manager job-- I figured I would try my best to use it as a way to show I really understand the research process. By application time, I think I should have 1 or 2 papers where I'll be listed as an author (probably 3rd author). Do you think this is something that will be really helpful for me on my application, or sort of just a neutral thing (they will be papers in the field of biomaterials)?

Hi all, I had initially thought I wanted to apply to I/O programs this upcoming cycle, but am starting to wonder if Organizational Behavior or Social psych programs might be a better fit. My interests mainly lie in decision making--- personality/other factors that influence decisions, and also the way working in groups influences individual behavior. I know it's up to me to really narrow down my interests and do my research of looking at the profs at different schools, but I'd really like to get a better understanding on how these 3 different kinds of PhD programs (I/O, OB, Social) vary at the most basic level. Specifically: 1) Are the three equally competitive, or are certain ones (I'm thinking Social since more people apply) harder than others? Along those lines, do they look for different strengths in their candidates? I have really strong test scores/grades/quant background, but am a little light on solid psych research experience. While I've worked in labs in undergrad during summers and did a honors senior thesis, that work was split among several labs, and I don't have papers or anything aside from my thesis (and the poster from it was presented at the undergrad research conference at my school). I'm two years out of school and my current job is as a lab manager, but in a completely unrelated field (I had thought I wanted to do med school, so I'm in a "hard science" lab). 2) Do the different degrees act differently in terms of positions post-grad school? Is one valued more highly than the others? I'm not dead-set on academia, so the way they translate to industry is somewhat important to me. If anyone has any input at all, I'd really appreciate it!

Hi, I'm hoping to apply for I/O PhD programs this winter, but I'm concerned I don't have enough relevant research experience to be a good applicant. Rather, I have done research things in the past, but they're not exactly focused on I/O subject material. From a numbers perspective though, I think I'm pretty strong, and I did work for a consulting firm my first year out of college (I've been out 2 years now)which I hope can count for something. Is proving my current interests are actually I/O focused something I can just make sure I bring out in my personal statement, or do you think I need to spend some time gaining relevant research experience? Basic Stats: Stats and Psych double major GPA: 3.6 (Psych GPA 3.95) GRE: 780V, 780Q 2 summers in undergrad working in psych labs (running subjects; no independent research) Senior Honors Psych Thesis (developed and ran my own experiment-- topic of validating personality measure and its predictive power in an economic game situation) 1 year business analyst at consulting firm Currently working for biological/chemical engineering lab as a lab tech (misguided thought that I wanted to do med school) Thoughts? If it seems like it'd be a tossup for me getting in somewhere or not as things stands now, then I'd probably want to try putting off applying for a year and try making myself a stronger applicant. Does anyone know of particular programs who give good GREs/grades a lot of weight compared to other places? Thanks!