justacigar

Yep! And I got very positive responses from almost all of them. I think only one failed to email me back. They are usually happy to answer any questions about the program or the mentor you might be interested in.

Just FYI, it might be hard to connect with current graduate students from a specific university on here. Are current graduate students listed on the website anywhere? That's how I've found contact information for grad students.

I usually send a polite follow-up after two weeks have passed - PI inboxes are nuts and it's really easy for an email to get lost. I have pretty good success with follow-up emails, but there are some professors that just won't reply.

I second this - would look like you don't know how to follow directions. I think if they want to be GRE blind, they'll be frustrated that you tried to give yourself an advantage.

My master's program emphasized using assessments as a way to track progress over time for clients, and I personally think they are useful not just for the therapist for the client as well. I'm a study therapist in a research study right now, so not pure clinical, but we use assessments throughout their time in treatment and beyond to see if the treatment was effective for certain symptoms. I think if you are addressing a very specific problem that is associated with very specific symptoms, using assessments is an evidence-based way to track progress. I personally can't imagine engaging in therapy without tracking something, though that was my specific training/experience as a graduate student. I think another important note is that while standardized assessments are preferred, if there isn't a specific assessment that tracks what you need it's simple to create a brief assessment of your own. Not sure if that is helpful or addressing your question!

Yeah, my mentor even brought up the idea of not expending energy on applications this cycle and waiting until next year, especially if the trend continues and more of the programs I'm interested in decide to not take students. I just can't imagine not trying at all this year. What are other people thinking of doing because of the uncertainty?

Nooo! That was one of my top choices. Dang. It is still so early in the application season I am scared to see how many I have to take off my list ?

I think one way to determine competitiveness of your own application package is to look at mean GPA/GRE score, though that doesn't always tell the whole story. However, I can probably bet that if my GRE and GPA aren't at least in the general vicinity of previous cohorts I won't be a great fit for the program. Another thing I want to mention is that competitiveness is relative...sometimes people apply to both higher ranked and lower ranked programs and get an offer for the higher ranked program but not the lower. So much boils down to research fit and you can overcompensate for a less than stellar GPA or GRE scores in lots of ways.

Man, I am getting increasingly more nervous as the year drags on waiting to see if any of the programs I'm interested in are not taking students. So far, I haven't heard that about any of the programs on my list but it seems like more and more are deciding to not take a cohort. Big yikes

Yes! I am really happy to hear that. I think not accepting scores at all is the only way to keep this year equitable.

I currently have 18 on my list but plan to get it down to 10-12. I just feel like it's unlikely I have a good enough research match with all 18. I also don't have that much money to blow on programs that aren't great fits!

Awesome!! Congrats! I also finally was successful scheduling a meeting with a PI but she had to schedule it for October...so much down time to worry about it ?

Got it! Thanks for clarifying. Re-reading it now I understand...I think I skimmed which made "social" and "sociology" the same in my brain ? It's interesting that you are switching. Your stats are very good, and UCI is a highly respected university. I think the one detriment is that you aren't able to take the Psych GRE to demonstrate mastery of the discipline. Did you get your bachelors in sociology as well? Although they are two very different disciplines, I do think there is some overlap between sociology and psychology, especially social psychology. I'm interested to hear what other folks think!

I'm confused, you are in the UCI PhD program but are exiting with a masters...but can apply to continue with UCI to earn the PhD?

I had a video chat with a faculty member last cycle! It was definitely a little scary but overall she made the meeting feel super casual and it flowed well. I would recommend writing up an agenda and having a clear list of questions to ask before the call, and sending the agenda to the faculty member as well. Good luck!

lol same, it definitely snuck up! I still have 18 programs on my list that I need to somehow whittle down to around 10 ?

I don't know if this will always be the case, though. Some programs very explicitly say they are not accepting scores vs waived vs optional. I would rather be careful and get clarification before assuming for each individual program, personally

You might need to get clarification if it is waived meaning they aren't accepting scores, or if it is waived meaning it's not required but they are accepting scores. Personally if schools are still accepting scores but they are optional, I'm sending mine

I would start doing some reflective journaling about what you hope to accomplish as a researcher or scientist or clinician. Who do you want to help? What do you think is the most important question to ask? What do you envision yourself doing in 10, 15, 20 years? Also - do you have a good mentor that you could talk to about this? I definitely agree that all of psychology is fascinating, and there are a lot of areas I could probably be happy researching. BUT there is only one area that I am fired up about, that I feel compelled to research to better the world, and that I never get tired of learning about. Also keep in mind that fit is probably one of the most important parts of PhD applications. If you are wishy-washy or too general, it might show in your statements.

Instead of it feeling scary, use it as a chance to learn more about them and determine if you want to work with them or not. Also, consistent feedback I've heard is that sending/not sending an email isn't going to influence your chances of getting an offer. So the best thing you can do is use it as a way to gather information about them and their lab!

The only reason it wouldn't look good was if the PIs had totally different research interests. Otherwise, it's completely normal to list multiple!

No OP, but I just express interest in their work, draw parallels between my interests and theirs, and make my intention for the meeting clear. I say that if possible, I would like to schedule a Skype or phone call to determine if our interests are as aligned as I hope. Just a note...some people have a lot of success with scheduling meetings, but some PIs don't meeting with prospective applicants at all. Last year I was successful in scheduling a meeting with 2/10 PIs. The others did not meet with applicants but provided information over email. So I wouldn't get too discouraged if you aren't able to schedule meetings with PIs.

Definitely list submitted or under review pubs, but I'm not sure about in-prep. Curious what other people think.

Trying to revive this thread because there have been a handful of folks that have started posts about this topic, so it might be useful to put it at the top of the forum ?

You might want to ask for clarification because that wording could be interpreted either way in my opinion. It seems like there is fairly equal division on whether or not to submit. I would hope that because they are making it optional, they wouldn't give an unfair advantage to applicants that do submit scores. However it could be used to differentiate between two equally qualified applicants? It's so hard to say how it will play out.