sassyyetclassy

I just got my first interview invitation today!! so excited

hey all! i wanted to get the opinions of people who have lived in Knoxville/Tennessee/the South/Midwest (see i don’t even know what category Tennessee falls under haha) about my situation because i am feeling kind of conflicted. a little bit about me: i am an asian, non-binary individual who at times presents in a “gender non conforming” way. i grew up in California and did my undergrad in California. however, i have experience living in/traveling to other states and have spent 2 summers in Austin, Texas and have briefly been in different states like Iowa, Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Georgia. i liked my time in all of these locations. i wanted to ask if y’all think that someone with my background would have a hard time liking/adjusting to life in Tennessee. i do recognize the importance of dialogue and meeting people where they are at, but some of my friends have told me the first question you get asked in red states is what church you attend. i also have fairly “radical” and far left political views so i wonder if that will be an area of contention when it comes to interacting with peers/students/the general population. Also, I don’t have a car and folks have told me getting around in some states like Tennessee is hard without one, and I just wanted to confirm that. i know i sound completely ignorant of how living in Tennessee must be, so I’d really appreciate anyone’s perspective for someone who has lived there before! I say this all because I am applying to UTK and their program sounds like an amazing fit, but it is the city and state itself I am worried about.

just submitted my second and third apps! I feel a little sad about the toll this is taking on my wallet especially because I don’t have a job, but hopefully it proves to be worth it

I’m assuming it just means your applicant pool is smaller than compared to the regular deadline, so maybe your app is being compared to less people?

I believe people are referring to this thread: https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/99713-data-on-grad-cafe-psychology-results/

does anyone want to exchange comments on SOPs over email? my first deadlines are in two weeks and I am worried if my SOPs are up to par or not...

When you were doing literature reviews or work on language and emotion perception, did you find any studies on how either of those relate to trauma? I would try to frame it as "my work doing X in X research lab made me aware of these studies on trauma, which informs my decision to study...."

Is anyone else getting increasingly listless and anxious as application deadlines creep closer? I keep questioning whether I am doing enough to improve my application in comparison to last year and have been waking up from nightmares lately about not receiving any acceptances, or worse not receiving interview invites to begin with. I can’t tell if it’s imposter syndrome or what but it’s starting to make me reconsider whether or not I’m good enough for grad school and deserve to even fight for a spot

That makes sense, thank you so much!

I agree about checking out counseling psychology programs, in particular, take a look at Oklahoma University's program! A lot of the people there are doing LGBT related research (from what I gathered when I was researching schools). Also, I think there may be terminal masters programs in divinity counseling that may be related to your interests as well. I know that Harvard has a masters in divinity counseling program that is more focused on the counseling aspect of things rather than Biblical scholarship. I think that you can choose from a wide variety of religions to focus on as well and it includes a foreign language learning requirement.

Just curious since I have to do this for some of my schools and wanted to know if others had to do it for their programs as well: Do y'all have to write a statement of purpose/letter of intent in addition to a personal statement/diversity statement? I think I am fine in terms of the statement of purpose and what direction I want to take it, but I am unclear what direction I should go in terms of my personal statement/diversity statement without sounding repetitive. I read in other blog posts that the personal statement is supposed to be more about the life experiences that inform your field of study, so should I focus exclusively on that if I am already writing about my research experience and professional experience in my statement of purpose/letter of intent?

I would say the third option is probably your best bet! I think the first one may be a little on the shorter side, and they may find it harder to gauge your writing capabilities in a group paper. The second one could potentially work too, but I have heard people say mixed things about using material from other disciplines. The third one also shows that you are taking initiative to actually explore your interests too instead of just stating that they are your interests, so I would go with that one.

I thought I should introduce myself on this thread along with everyone else: I did my undergrad at a large public institution in CA where I graduated with a degree in psychology and a degree in literature. I was involved in 2 research labs and two student affairs type internships where I got to supervise interns and facilitate workshops on various issues related to oppression, identity, and diversity. My research interests include oppression's effect on queer and transgender people of color (QTPOC) individuals, the interplay of religiousity and sexuality (particularly in non-Abrahamic religions), intersectionality studies, community-collaborative research methodologies, and interdisciplinary work in ethnic studies, queer theory, and feminist studies. I know that is all over the place, but hopefully I will have something more coherent and concise when it comes to my final statement of purpose. I am predominately applying to Counseling Psychology doctorates with one Clinical PsyD program. I am so grateful I found this page and I wish everyone all the very best with applications because I know how stressful they can be (I had an unsuccessful app cycle during my senior year of undergrad) ❤️

Yes it’s so conflicting because people keep telling me as long as the sum is 310, then I am fine but I still am second guessing myself. My gpa is ok but not great (3.86). I have some non research related conference presentations (they were a part of my internships) and 2 years of experience in 2 different research labs but they were both with graduate students and not faculty.

Hi all! I was wondering if you all think based upon this I should retake the GRE and when I should retake it. I am planning on applying to counseling psychology phd programs and some clinical psychology psyds. The first time, I got 158V (80th percentile), 152Q (46th percentile), and 5W (92nd percentile). The quantitative score is what I am most worried about because it is below 50th percentile. I am thinking of retaking it in October, but am wondering whether it is worth it to pay $200 again to retake it. Thank you in advance!