Psyhopeful

I sent you a pm.

I officially accepted my offer at the University of Michigan where I will get to study both media psychology and developmental psychology. Whew! Glad that's over.

Sadly no. I officially accepted my offer at University of Michigan. Wish I could see you at UCSB, but financially, this was the better choice. See you at ICA!

I don’t have any personal knowledge on this, but I wanted to say that I have a friend who is an SLP and she opened her own business. She previously worked in the school system, but now she has her own clients and is pretty successful. So maybe there are other options, like being part of a clinic or ENT office? My son saw an audiologist in an ENT’s office in a hospital recently and he was great, but I got the impression that all he did was test hearing all day which it sounds like you want something a bit more interactive. But what do I know, maybe he does lots of other stuff too!

I would say yes. having fellowship money can make a big difference in terms of being able to take on a student. At the very least, they will say no again, but at least you will have tried. I saw a post once of someone else in this situation who was able to get into a program that they had not originally applied for because they had a grant and that meant the school could afford to take them. I would start contacting POIs that you applied to, especially if you interviewed with any of them and it went well, and maybe some others that you are interested in working with that you didn't apply to before. Hopefully someone can give you better info on how to go about this. Congrats on your fellowship!

Honestly the most important thing you can do is do lots of research, which is something you will have a lot of opportunity to do at MSU if you're proactive. Join a lab or two, work there a couple years and then join a couple others if there's an area that you find interests you most. MSU is a high level research institute with a lot of output. If it makes you feel better, I'm about to graduate from MSU and I have gotten into top programs in my area of interest despite not getting an undergraduate degree in that discipline. In addition, if you get in to UMich, that school is essentially a public Ivy, no one is going to consider you less for attending. I think anything you can do to save money is good. And with your intended course load, being close to home (I'm assuming you're from Michigan?) will be a good thing too for your mental health. Like @goosejuicesaid, it's all about your experience and your fit in grad school Also, also, no one cares too much about your minor. You can take courses that interest you without going full out to get the minor. If it will be useful to you in terms of your research focus when you apply to graduate school, it's useful to say you minored but otherwise I have never had it come up.

One thing I wish I had done was started much earlier, and really spent time researching programs and figuring out exactly what I wanted to study. I was late to the party in understanding that sometimes the people doing the research you want to do aren't in the department you think they're in. It was in the process of writing my statement that I started to see more clearly what I wanted to focus on and then I realized that some of my initial application choices weren't the best fit, and I needed to look elsewhere. It was near the end of the application season when I found that many of the people studying media effects on children were psychologists in communication departments. I'm so glad I discovered this because I was very successful with those applications, but I see all of the programs I could've applied to that might have also been great opportunities if I'd had more time.

First of all, if the person said this to you in a way that was obviously meant to be negative then that person is a) an asshole, and b) probably has some issues of their own that makes them take issue with your silence. I think most people in general say things like this because they genuinely want to know what you think about something. People who don't speak up a lot tend to seem "mysterious" and for many people that allows them to project their own ideas onto what is behind the mystery. Sometimes, they associate negative things that are entirely unrelated to you. It's hard, but unless these negative things are actually detrimental to your career, you should try to let them roll off you. I am personally a sort of weird hybrid of socially anxious introvert who is also not afraid to speak up for myself. I think the second part comes with age. One thing that I find helps me to speak up when necessary is being really prepared. I don't get (very) anxious doing public speaking if I know what I'm talking about, but when I have to speak off the cuff I have issues. Even when off the cuff is like doing that horrible "introduce yourself to the group" thing. So, I guess my advice as far as academic stuff goes is to practice, practice, practice. I'm not in grad school yet, so take this for what its worth, but I would say even when it comes to lab meetings or seminars, maybe think ahead and make some notes for yourself about things you might speak about, practice saying them before you go. I think the more you do speak up and people appreciate what you have to say, the more that will build your confidence as well.

So we're getting down to the wire. Where is everyone going? I'm still trying to decide, but hoping to finalize my choice this weekend.

This is such a weird question, because it sounds like you just want a PhD, any PhD, and like, why? Getting a PhD is so specialized, and in the social sciences, there’s not a lot you can do with it really. There a lot of non-academic jobs you could get without one. I would highly recommend thinking about what it is you actually want to do with your life rather than which program will accept you and get you a job. That said, one area of social science that is often overlooked is Communication. The social science focused comm programs tie strongly with social psychology, experimental psychology and other areas, are quant heavy, and have excellent job prospects. My interests straddle the lines between comm and psych, and I have learned that comm doctorates face a better job market. Also I have found as an applicant that my psychology background and research experience makes me competitive and desirable. So it’s an area to consider. Comm programs get far less applicants than psych too, if that’s really all you care about.

Once you’ve been recommended, the graduate school has to verify your transcripts and application and make sure that you meet the requirements for admission. This can take awhile. Then they have to draft the formal offer letter which shouldn’t take a long time you’d think, but it does. The holdup could be because you’re international (if your records are) or working out the funding, or they could just be really busy what with the deadline being so close.

I would email them all immediately and ask the status of funding. You can’t be expected to make an informed decision without it.

I would take this to mean that they recommended you for admission because if they aren't going to admit you, they don't need to tell the graduate school anything about you. The graduate school has to vet you and make sure that you actually qualify for admission once you've been recommended, they don't need to do anything if you aren't recommended to them for admission. The department/program usually sends out rejections, not the graduate school. Hopefully this is good news. Good luck!

Just based on what you’ve said, including “very excited” vs “excited” I would pick Western. I know nothing about the schools and programs though. But you seem more excited about Western, and the waiver plus a house you can afford to rent seems a no brained to me.

There’s an app called Sign Now that will let you write your name with your finger on your tablet. I had to use it to sign a reimbursement form, I haven’t looked through it, but I think you can download PDFs and use it to sign them.

Is a moving bonus not part of your package? You should ask if they have funds for this.

Oh man, ouch! I hope that means it's good news that's coming!

I applied to communications programs late, after doing much research on psychology programs, so I didn't reach out to all but one of the communications programs I applied to, and so far I've been accepted to every program except the one I reached out to! (And Penn, but they don't count because they're Penn and I knew I wasn't going to get in.) Two of the programs accepted me without interview because they don't do interviews. The other invited me to an interview weekend where it was inferred that I was accepted, and the interviews were more like chats about the program. So, I do think that it can only help to reach out. In fact I wish I had, because it's strange to be accepted and not really know much about the program or your assigned advisor, although it does make the visit weekends much less stressful! But it does seem that unlike psychology programs, many comm programs make their decisions without interview and based on the strength of your SOP and your experience. So while reaching out is good, since many comm programs seem to be committee based, and your POI might not be on the committee (none of mine were at any of my schools), it's also important to have an SOP that is clear about what you want to research and why the school is a good fit for you. The one program I reached out to, the POI told me they were very enthusiastic about working with me, but they weren't on the committee this year and could only let them know that if selected, they would be willing to advise me. I would also suggest that you do some research on your area of interest in comm and choose a couple more schools that are a really good fit to apply to because your list is small and highly competitive. (Also, Cornell seems to be quite low on funds all around lately and are hardly admitting anyone to any of their programs.) I believe that I got accepted to most of the comm schools I applied to not because I'm phenomenal, but because I picked the schools with the people who were doing the work my interests best fit with, and my interests were very clearly defined. Good luck!

I guess the bigger question is how do you feel about carrying all that debt as you try to build your life and particularly with the thought that maybe if you had just waited a year, you wouldn't be in those circumstances. Which is scarier to you? The lifelong debt or the time spent better preparing to apply again and not actually being in a program? It might not even be so much about improving everything as it is about choosing better programs, and specifically, only fully funded ones. You could spend this year better honing what it is you want to research, and finding people that are the perfect fit for that while working at the lab. You can also be upfront with your lab about wanting and needing to be more involved so that your applications look better, or look for another lab. This could be a (frustrating) blessing in disguise. I personally wouldn't take on debt at a place I already felt I was settling for.

I agree, but mainly because if you apply again hopefully you can get a funded program. 80-90k in student loans is essentially debt for life.

Congratulations! I love doing audiobooks, it’s the only chance I get to read for pleasure. Also I know there are apps that can read text to you. I have heard of people using the to listen to journal articles in the shower and such, and I’m pretty sure the kindle app will read books to you. I’m going to look into it when I start my PhD in the fall although I will hopefully, finally no longer have a long drive.

So sorry! But at least you really like your second choice, too. You’re going to grad school! Congratulations!

I’m not familiar with the programs, but the most important thing I would consider is what is it you want to study and which program has the faculty that will help you achieve your research and career goals. What area of research lead you to apply to those two programs, and who is there that you want to work with. Also do their research methods vary? Which method is a better fit for you interests, career goals, and the way you like to work. Since they’re at the same school, you’ll be able to take classes from both programs, so I would pick the one that aligns most closely with your future goals, or which has the faculty that you think you will work best with.

Yes, this. I had a distinguished professor drill me on where else I applied and then put them all down hen I finally, reluctantly, told her. I felt I had to defend and justify my choices. I had others ask where I applied, but usually with a much nicer, “if you feel comfortable sharing”.

I personally would not accept an offer with no funding. Are there any options for you to get funding there? Some schools offer other jobs, like say, at the library that include tuition remission. Could you TA or RA in another department? Will there ever be funding for you in the future or is this a totally no funding ever offer. I currently commute an hour to school each way every day. It’s not that bad, but then it’s a pretty nice mostly rural drive. I listen to podcasts, audiobooks I’m reading for class and stuff. The hardest part is not being able to go home if I have a long break between classes. I have a meal plan and eat there a lot. A fully funded offer is a great opportunity. I would do everything I could to see if I could make it work. Maybe there would be work for your spouse after all. Possibly something at the university? Or maybe you could live in the midpoint between the two towns and at least have a shorter commute. I would not be thrilled to spend 5 years doing stuff I’m not really interested in, but I guess it depends on why you want the degree and what you intend to do with it. It’s also possible that once there, you will find your interests broadening and more faculty who you want to work with. If you feel good about the school and the department as a whole, and they give you funding, staying home might be a good option.