[Fall 2019 Psychology PhD Applicants!]

12 minutes ago, checkingmyemail said:

Need to “be on?” Can you clarify this?

Also who would be impolite or unprofessional in their conversations with a potential advisor/lab mates? Is common sense not that common.. lol ?

You would be surprised. 

 

What I mean is seeming interested, asking lots of questions, not being on your phone, professional/polite, appropriate attire, etc. 

 

My PI likes to have people come in for unofficial interviews first because it is more laid-back but it should still be treated as a formal interview. 

[Fall 2019 Psychology PhD Applicants!]

Also, please know that any communication with the PI or anyone in their lab is fair game for us to be making assumptions of how you would fit into our lab. As unfortunate as it is, it really means that you need to be on for any contact whether it’s an email/unofficial interview/interview/etc. My best advice is to be professional/polite through this entire process. Like I said earlier, I am happy to answer questions.

[Fall 2019 Psychology PhD Applicants!]

There is a lot of variability in when PIs start to look at applications. For example, I talked to my PI yesterday and he hadn’t even gotten the applications from the administrator yet. So don’t start worrying too much yet!

[Fall 2019 Psychology PhD Applicants!]

18 hours ago, psychxgeekx said:

This may sound really dumb, and I am just super anxious. I am currently really sick right now, and I have lost my voice. I am awaiting for application responses, and I am worried if I get a skype interview or phone interview I will not be able to talk. Any recommendations?

Just be honest with them. It isn’t something you can control and they will be understanding. They will likely try to set something up after you feel better. 

[Fall 2019 Psychology PhD Applicants!]

5 hours ago, higaisha said:

Anyone sending their POIs an email after they submit? Last time I was in contact with most was in August, think it'd be nice to remind them to keep an eye out for my app.

I would reccommend this. A lot can change since you’ve talked to them last, so my PI usually wants to hear from applicants then forwards the email to us. We usually thank the applicant as a lab for their interest and offer to answer any questions they have.

[Fall 2019 Psychology PhD Applicants!]

43 minutes ago, justacigar said:

Thank you for the reassurance! I swear the more I look at my submitted materials the more anxious I get. I should probably stop ?

Definitely. Already submitted, nothing you can do about it now. 

[Fall 2019 Psychology PhD Applicants!]

15 minutes ago, justacigar said:

Just realized I accidentally misidentified a program as clinical psychology when it is really a clinical health psychology. Argh! I think that might be a kiss of death on my SOP! I hate that even proofreading doesn't seem to catch every mistake ?

Don’t worry, mistakes happen. Technically not even incorrect as health psych is a type of clinical psych. Truthfully probably don’t want to go to a site that would reject based on that. Plus a lot of people read through SOP so quickly that they probably won’t notice. You’ll be fine.

[Fall 2019 Psychology PhD Applicants!]

Hi All,

First of all, congratulations on getting to this point. I see that many of you are nervous, but try to take time for self care and make sure that you aren’t too fixated on this process. It is truly the first step of many (believe me, I’m currently a clinical student waiting for internship interview invitations). Try to take everything in but don’t focus too much on any one thing, there will be rejection and frustration, but eventually everything will work out. 

I am happy to answer any questions to the best of my ability. I have interviewed a lot of grad students for our program. Please feel free to message me or reply to this post. I wish you all the best of luck.