HAC

I came to my field (Ed Psych) after a career in an unrelated field and found it was a real benefit. I agree with all that PsyDGrad90 said. Also, you will have a better idea of your path once you have specific research questions you are interested in. A Masters can help give you time and exposure to come up with these questions, but it is expensive. For me, personally, I would love a student with a CS background (but I do work in ed tech). There may be other PIs who feel similarly in developmental and clinical (even outside of computational neuroscience).

Check potential labs you want to work in. Do you think you NEED a master's/post-bac or would lab experience be enough to give you that push to a PhD?

I agree— it's so hard to squish everything into 500 words. That being said, I wrote one 500 word letter and one two page letter and I think the shorter one reads better. The word limit really forces a concise, focused letter.

I so feel this! I started apps the minute they opened and I would have them all in if it weren't for the SOP stress. I have one that is limited to 650 words and UCK. If you ever want to trade SOPs and give each other advice, I'd be happy to!

I actually can’t see your signature for some reason, maybe because I’m on my phone. Anyway, yeah last year was incredibly disappointing but I think it actually taught me a lot about the process. I am sure my applications have vastly improved since then and I have learned to be easier on myself. You are wise for prioritizing mental health over all else.
My finalized list includes:
UNC, UCSB, UVA, U of T, UCB, UMass Amherst, and UChicago.
 

Yeah I am also panicking a bit as well. This process has got to be the most stressful experience of my life. Which places are you applying to in the end? 

Nice ? 
I am mildly panicking over how little time I've left for my statements: I only have drafts written for two of my seven schools, and I still need to edit them based on feedback. That being said, I've sorted out basically everything else for my applications, so I'm hoping I will have enough time to finish everything.

I am currently working on the final drafts of my statements. What about everyone else?

Not sure if I agree with this. Recent papers are good yes, but I certainly have lines of research from > 5 years ago that I haven't recently published on, but are still part of my world. If a smart and interesting student came around who wanted to work on that line of work, it would be exciting to me. If you email them noting you want to work on something they are no longer pursuing, that's good information for you to know too.

Bumping this thread to ask how everyone is doing ?

Yes. As others stated, some may require you to list up to 3 AND explain why they would be a good mentor for you/how their research interests align. I created an excel that outlined the specific requirements of each SOP. They ranged from 500 word limits to 1500 word limits so it’s nice to have it all in one place. Also, if you don’t mention the school by name and make it clear why THAT program over the others, you’re looking at an application in the trash. For example, my current PhD program has a diversity minor and a quantitative methods minor so I mentioned the diversity minor in mine and why that’s appealing to me, etc. It should be clear you did your research on the program. It’s tedious but necessary. 

Agreed with the above.
Your SOP can have similar elements across applications but should absolutely be tailored to each program. Something else to keep in mind is that each program might specify something different that they want in a SOP (some have strict word lengths, some have a detailed outline, some are very general). You want to make sure your SOP for each program fits what they are expecting.  

Your SOP should do a few things:
1. Outline your specific research interests 
2. Explain what skills you have to make you successful in graduate school 
3. What experiences you have that make you a good fit for this program
4. What about this program specifically stands out as being a good fit for your interests. 
1 and 2 are pretty standard, 3 requires some tweaking per essay, and 4 should be unique to each essay. You can essentially create an SOP where certain paragraphs are the same and others need some adjustments or need to be swapped out entirely. 

I think I got really unlucky, one of the programs I applied to last year actually closed and didn’t take any students. One of my POIs got very ill last year and didn’t take students. One didn’t have funding for international students. It was super disappointing and the faculty from my alma mater was shocked that I didn’t get accepted last cycle. Anyway I recommend applying to several schools.

I think I got really unlucky, one of the programs I applied to last year actually closed and didn’t take any students. One of my POIs got very ill last year and didn’t take students. One didn’t have funding for international students. It was super disappointing and the faculty from my alma mater was shocked that I didn’t get accepted last cycle. Anyway I recommend applying to several schools.

Ok so I think I narrowed my list to:
NYU
UCSB
Amherst
Chapel Hill
U of Virginia 
U of T
 
I would love to exchange SOPs at some point with someone ?

Hi all.
I see at least some of you are interested in social cognition and/or emotion. If you have any applied interest at all, you may want to look beyond social psych programs into Ed Psych or Learning Sciences programs. Lots of work in social cognition in that field.
Best of luck on your applications!

Well, I struggle with this too. I only replied back to the professors I was most interested in working with.. but I have no idea whether that's the best way to go.
Logically I think it wouldn't matter either way- they probably receive so much email that an extra 'thank you' email from one student is no big deal. Thanking the ones who are nice to you sounds like a great idea ?

Hey everyone! I am reapplying this year after being rejected from 6 places and then denied after being waitlisted at 2 other places. Last year was pretty disappointing but also very eye opening. I have spent the year gaining more experience and have been trying to reconsider where I should apply. 

I would like to share a few very helpful links for anyone applying this year:
http://psychgradsearch.wikidot.com/
https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2018/09/applying-phd-these-10-tips-can-help-you-succeed
 
 

Thats also a big deal, some programs don't accept internationals because they'd likely have to fund them themselves for at least a portion of their graduate schooling. This is also the case at the doctoral level for federal funding, but some provincial awards are open to internationals. External funding seems like more of a cherry on the cake rather than a necessity in the US, because some schools do have endowments or more money set aside to guarantee funding, and stuff like NSF is pretty rare (from what I've seen). It seems to be easier to be an international in a phd program in the states than in canada, but I could be wrong. 

I'm new to psychology as a profession. With previous grad school applications, when I was on a watilist, it was perfectly acceptable to ask for updates about status and, often, schools would offer updates without me asking. From what people are saying here, this seems like it's different in psychology. As I'm sure you all can sympathize with, I'm getting really anxious as April 15th approaches. I would love to get an update on my chances, but that seem uncouth in this field. So, 1. am I right? 2. who else is currently at the mercy of one or more waitlists?

Hi all,
I wanted to start a thread to allow us all to share our thoughts and reflect on this application cycle now that it is almost over. This was my second time applying to Counseling Psychology programs, and I know that I have learned a lot about myself (and the ridiculous admissions game) through this process. 
To give you a bit of background, my first application cycle, I applied to 6 programs (all CounPsy) and though I had a mix of preliminary and in-person interviews for 4 of them, I was eventually rejected from all. I was devastated, and literally had mental breakdowns every few days. So, I really understand the struggle of having to wait, but never getting the news you want. 
This time, I applied to 17 programs (yeah I know, it is a lot!). I interviewed at 9 - one of them being a School Psychology Ph.D. program - and out of those, ultimately was rejected from 1, waitlisted at 1, and received offers from 7.
Based on my experience, I want to share a few thoughts and pieces of advice: 
Rejections do not determine your self-worth. Please do not feel like you are not qualified/smart/unique enough if you did not get in. I say this because my first time applying was last year, and I have not really gained any more relevant experience since then. I didn’t even change my personal statement besides 2-3 sentences. I improved my interview skills a little bit, but the big difference was where I applied. Which brings me to #2. Last time, I was picky about location/perfect fit. This time, I chose to apply to places where I would actually bring something new to the lab/POI, and I was flexible about location as well. You might think “I would never go here”, but sometimes the interview will change your mind. That happened to me with multiple programs this time. So my advice for both new applicants and applicants who are applying again, is that do not be stuck to one area if it’s possible. Of course, family/partner relocation and finance might be something you have to consider with this. Submit apps early! I submitted materials a month in advance in case I missed anything. Of course, if this is not financially possible for you, then try to review the checklist of materials for each school multiple times. This will give you enough of an idea to fix something if needed.  If you can’t afford to interview in person, don’t. Out of my 9 interviews, I did 6 over Skype/phone (although one of them didn’t have in person interviews). I was accepted to 5/6 of the programs I interviewed at on Skype, and 2/3 for the ones in-person. In fact, one of the programs strongly discouraged Skype interviews, and still ended up accepting me in the first round. This goes to show that your interviewing skills can sometimes matter more than your in-person presence. And if you do get in, you can always visit during dates that are more convenient/cost-effective as well. Be proud of yourself for completing and submitting your applications. That is a difficult task in itself. If you got to the interview stage, congratulations on that as well. No matter what the result, don’t give up on your dream of getting a Ph.D. I hope this reflection can be insightful to folks in some way. If you would like to ask any questions, I’d be happy to answer! 
It would be awesome if all of the wonderful Ph.D. applicants out here could share their reflections as well I’m sure you all could bring much more to this conversation! 

an ode to 2019 applicants
- it's okay to cry, but don't lose hope
- it's okay to feel hopeless, but never let go of your dreams
- it's okay to question your dreams, however, don't lose sight of the vision

Sorry for multiple posts but just checked the portal for my top choice and noticed that it has been switched from "Pending" to "Admitted" and I'm freaking out trying not to get too excited until it's email-official.  For all I know somebody checked the wrong box in some system...!