justacigar

I definitely understand the anxiety of the first cycle, heck really any cycle lol. I would try to approach it with a learning mindset. I've seriously learned so much in my previous two cycles that there is no way I would have known unless I just tried and applied! Just be authentic to yourself and your goals. that's really all you can do - so much of applications are out of our hands. No matter the outcome, I promise you will come out the other side of the application process better than you went into it. You've got this!

Awesome idea, I just joined! Thanks for getting it started!

If you go to this page: https://psych.ufl.edu/graduate/prospective-grads/admissions/ they list the GRE as one of the admissions requirements. It doesn't look like they have waived the requirement yet.

Yes! This is exactly the way to do it. I really hope more schools follow suit...mostly so I can save some $$$ haha

I think Gregmat has been around for a while, he's really popular on Reddit which is the way I know of him. @Schy good luck with the GRE!! No need to be embarrassed at all - the GRE sucks. How do you feel about taking it at home? I'm feeling the pressure this round as it'll be my third year of applying. To be fair, my first round was sort of a shot in the dark and I did not have a chance in hell of getting in anywhere haha. I feel prepared and ready but also nervous and incompetent. Ah, imposter syndrome is so so fun. Last year I was an alternate and on the waitlist for a program...it really sucked to ALMOST make it but that makes me even more confident that this year I'll hopefully be successful. I'm not sure if I have another round in me, and I really want to get into a program before I'm 30 (turning 30 next August). Any other second or third rounders out there?

PSA to all program websites: make it easier to find faculty research interests and streamline your content! I am tired of having to scour sites for information about research interests, having to open a million tabs to sort through faculty, and finding faculty webpages with minimal to no information about their current research. It seems like it would be super easy to have one central webpage that has a brief research bio for each faculty member, right? Right?? Ugh. Anyways, end rant lol.

Ah, thanks for clarifying that. I definitely misinterpreted the verbatim!

I'm assuming a lower writing score would be a bit of a red flag, but once you reach 4.5 - 6 I can't see it making a huge difference compared to actual writing samples/experience. Who knows though, I feel like some faculty are very particular about cutoff scores/using the GRE as guidance for admissions decisions

the requirements for international students to stay in the US are ridiculous...if you are attending a hybrid model university, only ONE of your courses can be online? The university I teach at is technically a hybrid for Fall semester but we aren't offering that many in person classes because of the freaking pandemic! WTF? this is just a cover for the administration to do what they've wanted to do all along.

I definitely can't imagine they would totally remove the Psych GRE as an optional submission for exactly that reason. It would be really cool if programs that usually require the Psych GRE move to having it as optional! I wonder how much more competitive programs like UCSD/SDSU will be this year as people take advantage of the fact the Psych GRE is optional this year. The pool of applicants could be huge!

I definitely agree with your points, and I'm right there with you. Studying for the GRE was the bane of my existence, and I don't think the quant section is relevant for psych except for the teeny tiny portion of statistics questions. It's just a lot more complicated than I originally thought. I'm concerned that leaving it as optional might still have negative consequences like we've been contemplating on this thread if faculty end up favoring applicants that submit scores. UGH it's just a clusterfuck.

Not accepting vs not required is such a huge difference. Would be so great if more programs followed suit this cycle!

I posted about #GRExit over at Student Doctor Network to gauge faculty reactions to the GRE no longer being a requirement and I have to say, I've changed my tune a bit about the usefulness of the GRE. One person had a really great point that the GRE can be a way to offset other areas where resources were low, i.e. attendance at a small undergraduate university with little opportunity for lab positions or posters/pubs. I always saw the GRE as a barrier to folks with low resources, which I still believe is the case, but now have an additional perspective about when the GRE shows utility. Opportunities to engage in research look vastly different dependent on location. The GRE could help show evidence of academic fitness to offset low opportunities elsewhere. Other people mentioned that the GRE does in fact predict grad school outcomes, contrary to what I've heard before. I think the real problem lies within the price gouging of ETS, and the ridiculous amount of money applicants have to spend on application materials (not just the GRE but also app fees, transcripts, interview costs, etc.) - it makes me wonder, if the GRE wasn't so damn expensive, would we still have the same visceral hatred for it?

That's one concern I have re: schools waiving but still accepting GRE scores. I do think until schools are completely blind to GRE scores it's in applicant's best interest to submit scores. However, I don't think that is realistically something that will happen this cycle.

Thats a good tip! I'm also wondering if since it is an optional requirement now, schools will accept unofficial score reports rather than official reports from ETS? That would save soooo much money! Sending official reports last year was the most expensive application cost after actual application fees.

I'm taking the opportunity to apply to programs that would normally require the subject test this year, with the hope my extensive psych background demonstrates mastery. I think it would really depend on your educational history - if your degree(s) are in psychology, if you have research/clinical experience related to psychology, the subject test seems unnecessary. But if you have a degree in something else you might need it to beef up your application package ya know? I think I'm also taking the waiving of standardized tests with a grain of salt...I don't think they won't care, I think they are trying to give themselves more options knowing that the pandemic has influenced testing. If someone had stellar subject test GRE scores AND similar experience as me, I have to think they would still take the GRE scores into account, but maybe I'm being pessimistic lol.

Done! I hope you share the results eventually - it would be really interesting to hear other responses.

While I agree that the GRE is useless in that it's not very predictive of performance in graduate school, especially in psychology, I would be wary of choosing not to take the GRE just because schools are waiving the requirement. GRE scores can help offset a lackluster GPA, and they may use submitted GRE scores as a final determinate of interview decisions if applicants are similar in other ways. I'm hoping that waiving the requirement this year translates into more programs removing the requirement completely, but only time will tell. I think it will end up being a personal choice whether to submit or not, and it could affect applicants differently depending on the programs you are applying to. It's so difficult to say what the weight of importance will be as schools aren't always forthcoming with that information. Personally, I've already taken the GRE and have acceptable scores, so I'll be submitting mine. I am using this as an opportunity to apply to schools that normally require the subject GRE but are waiving the requirement this year, as I've had terrible luck trying to schedule the subject test, and I already have a masters in clinical psych so I hope that provides evidence of mastery.

Okay, I'm back to shamelessly self-promote, but only because I created something that I hope some of you could use! Last cycle I started to organize myself by using a spreadsheet for all application related materials. I put quite a bit of time into it, and thought it would be best if other people were able to get some use out of it as well. If you want to see my reasoning for including the tabs and columns you can read that here: https://www.thedailypsych.com/blog/organizing-yourself If you prefer to skip the post and just make yourself a copy to see if you want to use it, you can go here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Tf77N8CTAS_S1VufvL5DqtZnOEqngJHyYid_QVPM6yc/copy?usp=sharing Also let me know if you have a different way of organizing - I'm always looking for more tips on how to store program info!

I def agree with this - I would think super critically about not taking the GRE, even if programs are waiving it. I'm not necessarily a huge believer that the GRE is necessary or helpful, but unfortunately it can still hold a lot of weight in certain admissions decisions.

Just wanted to chime in here and say that although the schools might be removing the GRE from required materials, it sounds like it's still preferred that applicants include scores. So, if any of you are on the fence about taking/retaking the GRE, I might err on the side of caution. But it's hard to know how each individual program will approach the GRE this year. Also, best of luck! My advice is to consistently be noting lessons learned and how you can improve if a second cycle becomes necessary, but I hope you find success! I'm on my third round and it's insane how much I've improved my application package from year to year. Even if you aren't accepted, you will learn valuable things that will be super helpful for next year. I think waiting to email faculty is smart. I've had the best luck around September, and even then not everyone has finalized plans for admissions yet. With the pandemic it's likely to be even more impacted.

For folks that are trying to find programs, this past week I found out the APA has a new premium search tool you can access for a fee. It might be helpful for some of you if you are still searching! I created a little graphic that tells you how it's different from the free APA search tool before you take the plunge. It is $19.99 for 3 months - you can also access the tool for 6 or 12 months if necessary but I'm assuming 3 months would be plenty of time. hope it's helpful for someone! Here's the link for the comparison table (it's huge if I try to directly attach it ?) https://www.canva.com/design/DAD-yWCEK78/jXPKF4pduEgzeLN7qvrhKg/view?utm_content=DAD-yWCEK78&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=publishsharelink

Not sure if it's frowned upon to shamelessly self-promote here, but I ended up starting a blog focused mainly on clinical psychology PhD admissions. I'm using it to organize helpful information I've been given and have stumbled upon, while also sharing resources I've created over the past few years. I'm by no means an expert, but I have some unique insight because I've been through this process a few times, and have grown exponentially each cycle. I've also been fortunate to have exceptional mentorship along the way, which I know not everyone has. I'm hoping what I post is helpful for at least one other person. First timers, it might be especially relevant for you! Check it out if you're interested: www.thedailypsych.com

Hi everyone! Hope you are all enjoying a bit of a break before we jump back into the application process again. I've been contemplating starting a blog or podcast for quite a while now to discuss grad school admissions, various topics in psychology, and just generally start to refine my communication of ideas and information to a wide range of audiences. I always enjoy the discussions that take place on grad cafe and wish I could provide help and support on a wider scale while also having a platform to discuss issues that are important to me. I think I'm ready to take the plunge with a blog and was hoping to get some feedback from the community here. What sorts of topics or information would you like to see in a psychology blog? Do you feel like there is already a saturation in this area? I'm really doing it for mostly my personal benefit and experience, but would love to know what would be useful for folks. Thanks! ?

Hi - it sounds like you were a strong enough applicant because you received 5 interviews - that is nothing to scoff at! Getting any amount of interviews is a good sign that you were a competitive applicant. Do you feel like the interviews went well? How could they have gone better? I would focus on being a stellar interviewee, because it seems like thats where the discrepancy was. On paper it seems like you rocked it.