EileanDonan

This is a topic I've been considering lately. Is volunteering for a crisis text line something that is realistically likely to make a difference on your CV, or is it just going to be looked upon as worthless by ad coms? Re: what dancedementia was saying - I just started an internship at a local clinic, and so far my time has been largely spent between scoring assessments, doing basic phone intakes, and even calling insurance companies (so fun). Hopefully as time moves on I'll have the opportunity to observe testing or assist with group therapy sessions. Clearly I don't have constant face-to-face contact with patients, but is this experience going to be worth much by the end? FYI, I'm in my gap year.

99.99% sure I'm going to be laid off from my part-time, flexible, decent-paying job. Going to be quite difficult replacing that one. I could use a boost right now.

Does anyone know if Drexel has finished extending invites?

I feel for this...my spouse and I both intend to pursue doctoral programs, albeit in very different fields. It's made selecting schools/areas that align with our individual AND mutual goals...difficult. Inevitably, we both end up having to sacrifice something, namely potential programs.

To those who have been invited/accepted - do you believe that relevant clinical experience or relevant research experience holds more sway over the other? (i.e. if you had to pick).

...? My condolences.

Just thought I'd say that I appreciated your post as well. At the current rate, if I ever get accepted, I will likely be a bit older than my peers as well. Weighs on me sometimes as I try to figure out at what point I'll be too old to bother with 5-6 more years of school. Anyway, good luck to you!

Has anybody heard anything from Fordham?

I would appreciate this as well!

Ballroom dancing! Such a fun skill to learn and a great way to socialize. I used to be in lyric/songwriting as well, hoping to get back into that...

Happy birthday! I hope you hear back from your schools soon.

I joined a new lab yesterday! The lab supervisor demonstrated a willingness to work with me on helping me design a project that was more relevant to my interests, so I'm excited about the possibilities.

Relevant to the recent discussion on joining labs - if the only research projects I could join were non-paid at my alma mater, would this experience look less "official" or worthwhile to admissions folks as opposed to experience gained through a paid assistant position? Advice appreciated!

I'll throw mine in! Worries: I'm coming straight out of undergrad, and I don't nearly as much experience as some already do - I've only done a couple semesters' worth of research, and I have no presentation experience. I have one authorship credit...but I'm seventh in line, so not exactly going to knock any socks off. My GRE definitely could have been better (anyone else find that their Powerpreps didn't give an accurate expectation for the real thing?). I only applied to three programs due to narrow interests and familial restrictions; this won't change much, if at all, for future admissions cycles. I'm concerned that I did not articulate well enough why I chose my particular interests and goals. It's basically guaranteed that I'll get rejected this cycle, and due to my narrow range of possible schools and the competitiveness of my chosen programs, I'm concerned I'll ultimately never make it into a program.. Excitements: My GPA is actually pretty decent, especially my major GPA. I'm also graduating in a week and a half! 2/3 of my letter writers actually volunteered to write my recommendations, and the third was more than happy to oblige. I'm looking forward to focusing on getting practical experience next year - I have an internship lined up starting next month, and I'm looking to join another lab (interviewing for one tomorrow!). I'm genuinely interested in my field (clinical psych), I've heard encouraging things from professors, and feel that I actually have the potential to do well. So...time will tell.

Freaking same

Thanks for the word of encouragement. I have a promising lab position interview this coming week, and I'm hoping for the best. I'm planning to enter a clinical program in the future, and while I'm not sure this lab could be considered more clinically-focused per se, it does look like it offers the chance to learn different skills. As you say, hopefully future POI's will look kindly on that! Good luck to you as well! ?‍?

Makes sense. Having really specific interests has its pros and cons it seems! I'm basically just focusing on gaining generalizeable skills at this point.

Thanks for responding. Sounds like your schedule is insanely busy! I hope you're able to find some time to rest here and there. I'm not sure yet what project I'd be joining, but I don't expect to have issues with time management. Although, I am somewhat concerned that having research experience that is unrelated to the interests I'll be pursuing might count against me. Has this ever been the case with anyone?

Anyone else in the process of figuring out their plan B? I'm inquiring about some labs for next year. Related question for you kind folks - is there any particular reason I should be cautious about working two projects at once? My current supervisor is super nice, but heckin' busy and my work has been historically feast or famine, and I'm concerned that this project alone won't make much of a difference to my CV in the upcoming year. Thoughts?

I'm also applying to John Jay! I would appreciate your POIs' initials too if you don't mind. ?

Honestly, I'm probably more jealous of you, haha. I'd love to have stayed on to do a honors thesis, but school is expensive, so.... I'll be staying in the area to do research in the dept. though. The grind never really stops with psychology it seems! I don't really mind, it's rewarding to see projects come together and know that I'm moving a little bit closer to my goal every day. Let's hope I can keep the spirit up once the rejections start coming in...applying right out of undergrad is feeling more and more like a disadvantage nowadays. ?

Same, but I honestly feel like the most anxiety-inducing part of the semester is over. And I'm graduating this December. ?

SO ready for Christmas break...but I have the next three weeks of school left. Anyone else been juggling grad apps while still being in undergrad?

Regarding the GPA, I might if my research experience, PS, and research fit were enough to compensate for it. I feel like GRE and GPA are weighed differently between schools, but perhaps that's just me?

I feel you on the Steam kick. I love a good mystery game myself, it's a great way to (try and) take your mind off things!