philopsych

Woo! How many apps did you suffer through? (also, good luck!)

Did anyone contact their PIs saying that their applications were turned in? I didn't have a lot of correspondence with some of them, but one was super encouraging. I was wondering if I should email her.

I have a new hobby: obsessively checking the gradcafe results page (I had an application due on the 15th).

I finally finished my applications (9) today. Who else is in the same boat? Also, who else feels like they can't possibly wait any longer to hear some results?! I don't expect this to go well for me, but I look forward to learning from this experience and using it for next year's applications. Anyway, I thought it'd be nice to have a (mini) celebration thread to just be grateful that applications are done and now we move on to the next step. Good luck everyone!

Any suggestions of where to look? Someone posted a website, but it was 99% spam.

Just a story to share. I don't if it can be generalized, but I'm just demonstrating that it can happen. I contacted a POI who does has a lab for topic z for people with symptom x. I want to do work on topic z for people with illness y (where symptom x is a symptom of illness y). They sent me a nice email saying that while what I want to research is interesting, it's not closely related enough to their lab. Honestly, those topics seemed pretty closely related to me, but I think this exchange demonstrates that different professors require different levels of relatedness between your and their interests.

Hey everyone. I'm currently applying to Clinical Psych grad programs. I would like to do research on schizophrenia and psychosis. To find which schools to apply to I've been reading articles on the aspects of this which I'm interested in and seeing where the authors are from. This has led me to 8 programs (actually more, but the others weren't accepting students). Even so, I heard that, ideally, one should apply to more than that, so I'm looking for ideas. Who in the US can I work with who researches schizophrenia and psychosis at a school that has a clinical psych PhD program? Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated and I will continue my search in the meantime. Thank you!

Hey everyone. I'm taking the GRE in mid September. I'm doing fine with studying the material and getting practice problems right. Even so, when I take practice tests, I don't have the stamina to perform adequately on the test. On the last test I took I was so burned out by the time I got to the last section that I just didn't have the energy to accurately do the math. If the test was only 2 hours, then I think I'd be okay. I just can't keep my energy up for the full length of the exam. Do any of you have any tips on how to increase stamina to help with success on the test? I plan on taking at least one practice test a weekend leading up to the test, so hopefully that helps.

I've been seeking advice about applying from my psychologist (clinical psychology PhD). I told her I was worried about applying because I do not have a lot of research experience and I have no publications. She said she had no research experience and no publications when she applied (about 7 years ago) and she got into numerous places (and they were all quite good). So I guess that while it's common to have lots of research experience when you apply, it is still possible to get in without it if the rest of the application is strong...or at least that's what I'm telling myself.

Thanks for all of the advice everyone! I've started drafting emails to the professors I want to work with. Now, a followup: do I have to send my CV to them? It just seems so presumptuous to me. It feels like "I assume you want to get to know me" or "how's about you check out how great I am." Would it hurt my chances if I just reach out to them with the format of email that has been recommended without attaching a CV?

I just thought I'd ask if anyone knew of any off the top of their head. I'd definitely check if there was anyone I wanted to work with before I applied.

Hey all. So I know, in the fall, I should email the professors with which I'm interested in working. When I applied to grad school in other fields basically the worst things you could do were to email a specific professor about working with them or mentioning specific professors in a research statement. Because I was told in other fields that this was a horrible thing to do, I just want to make sure I approach this email correctly. I know I should succinctly explain my research interests, but then what? "I see our research interests match. Are you taking new students next year?" Just wondering how best to approach this. Thanks!

Hello everyone! Well, I'm someone who has very little direct psych experience. I have two bachelors in the humanities and three masters (some in science, one in humanities, but none in psych). I have a 4.0 in undergrad and grad school. I did human behavior experiments in grad school, but they weren't with the psych department. I've taught at the college level for 6 years in science and humanities courses (including some statistics classes). I've had a lot of presentations; but, again, none in psych. Basically, I'm woefully unqualified. Even so, I talked to someone in the psych department at my school and they were enthusiastic about my chances. They said my experiences are relevant to psychology even though I only took one psych course in undergrad. So here's my plan. This year I'm aiming high and trying to get into a clinical/counseling program with funding (masters, PhD, or PsyD). I probably won't get in, but I might as well try. Then the next year I'll apply to masters clinical/counseling programs whether funded or not. (I would do that this year, too; but I just can't afford to apply to that many programs). End of rant. So here's where I'm applying this year (doctorate unless otherwise specified): NIU, Northwestern (masters), Roosevelt (masters), UIC, USC, UW-Seattle, Marquette, UW-Madison, and UW-Milwaukee. One thing to mention is that I can only go to schools in Northern Illinois, Wisconsin (Madison and Milwaukee), Southern California, and Seattle because those are places where my husband can get a job. Does anyone have any other suggestions of schools in those places that are funded and don't have psych degree or course prereqs? Thanks for the help everyone, and sorry for the long post.