Psyhopeful

I should’ve clarified that I was asking in terms of academia. That was why I was interested in reading the actual article.

Curious if this is specific to grad school or prestige in general somehow? If it’s specific to where you get your PhD, does it say anything about the prestige of the school versus the prestige of the program. For example a prestigious school that is not known for or top ranked a particular program. In the field of study, maybe program tops school, but outside of that field, saying you went to the prestigious school could carry more weight? I’m struggling with this, so I’d love to read the article if you have a link!

Does prestige matter in MSW programs? What is it that you want to do with your degree? If you're planning to be a social worker and not go on for a doctorate I think you should take the best program that you can afford. I don't see a reason to increase your debt and stress if once you're working where you got your degree won't factor in at all.

I got my official offer from UCSB with a surprise competitive fellowship and had my last two prospective weekend visits and now it’s decision time! I did not expect to be in this position, or for the decision process to be so hard. I think it’s probably going to come down to finances for me, which is a shame, because I really liked everything about the programs I’m choosing between. Would any of you consider less financial stability (and therefore stress) to go somewhere where a POI really wants you and you think it’d be a good experience if your other option was much better financially and you also felt like it would be a good fit?

With your work experience, how important is prestige of the program for getting a job afterward? I’m not familiar with your industry, but if it’s relatively easy to get work in it with a master’s and work experience, I would save the money and life interruption and go to UCI. Also, Seattle is considerably more expensive than Ann Arbor, so I would take the cost of living into account when looking at your cost of attendance. Congrats on having options!

So you weren’t rejected from Fordham, but offered a funded Master’s there instead of the PhD program? I’m a bit confused, you say already have a clinical research degree, do you mean a master’s? Did Fordham say anything about the offer, like whether there was potential or not to move on to the PhD when you finish? It’s sort of strange they would offer you a master’s when you already have one, but the fact that it’s funded and with someone you wanted to work with is a good thing. I would ask what does the potential for continuing on look like if you enrolled. If you can’t continue on there, I think you’d be better served by getting more research experience working in a lab. If you did a second master’s and then got in to a PhD program, that would mean essentially getting a third master’s on your way to your doctorate, since most of your credits won’t transfer and most schools want you to follow their program plan. If Fordham would let you continue on to their PhD, that wouldn’t be so bad, but to get another one just to try to get into a program is a lot.

I really think it varies. I went to one interview weekend and almost everyone there had multiple offers and seemed to be leaning elsewhere. At another, most had other offers, but seemed to be leaning toward that school. Also, some get waitlisted purely for funding reasons, so they might be the top choice, perfect fit, but their POI is waiting find out if they will be able to take a student or more than one, so they might end up definitely taking the spot when offered despite it coming late. I would think that schools where the stipend doesn’t meet the cost of living get more turndowns than those that do, or schools that have less funding overall, so it might be more school centered than anything else in terms of your chance of getting bumped up.

I applied to two programs in different departments at the same school, but where a couple of the professors have postings in both. I was asked on the application if I had applied to any others at the school. I got into one and now I have the opportunity to work with people from the other, so it was a win for me. But yeah, some schools, like Wisconsin, only let you apply to one program at a time.

I think it varies from program to program. Some have official waitlists where they notify people, others are internal and they don’t inform students until a decision is made. I’m waiting on one program that my POI explained works this way. The offers trickle out as they move down the list and wait for responses. I can only assume I’m near the bottom of the list since I haven’t gotten a rejection or any other response. I hope you hear soon. It seems like March 15th, which is one month before the commitment deadline, is the day a lot of places finally put people out of their misery with some info!

I’ve been told it was my perfect research fit, and the fact that I demonstrated my abilities by doing my own research project.

@emilymstar I don’t know about SLP programs, but I would think that since it’s a master’s and it’s applied, there’s not so much of a need to diversify your contacts by switching schools. Especially not for one that did not impress you. Is your current school respected in the field? What would your reason for changing schools, is UNT higher ranked? I think if you like where you are, are already doing research, and can save money, there’s no reason not to stay. Why go into debt for a program you already don’t like? Unless there is something I don’t know about why changing schools in your field is important.

Since you’re in Psi Chi, you should present a poster at the Midwestern Psychological Association’s annual meeting. Before I had my own study, the professor in the lab I’m in let me analyze some of the data they’d collected and present it on a poster. You might ask about doing something like this. Even if the work is done, presenting data that you helped collect is worthwhile. You can do the same thing if your school as a research conference for undergrad.

Resurrecting this thread! So I’m seriously considering attending UCSB for my PhD. I am a single mom of a 3 year old. I know I can live in family housing which is fairly affordable, but they are only two bedrooms and my mom is considering moving out too. I’m wondering if living out there is really doable. Are there any single parents at UCSB with insight? I will take any insight really, on the affordable everything out there. Thanks!

I wouldn’t worry about that the school’s reputation as much as I would be concerned about being able to do something he research I want to do which will then lead me to the kind of PhD program I want. Since you don’t appear to have East Asian Studies in your undergrad education, do you think you could get enough at Columbia to propel you into a PhD in that area? And at UCLA, do you feel that you can get enough film experience? Is there faculty at one school that is more focused on your interests? And in terms of your PhD plans, is there a program that you have your eye on? What sort of backgrounds do incoming students there have. That’s what I would look at more than if Columbia is easy to get into. It’s an Ivy League school anyway, so I doubt it’s “easy”.

I will be older than both of you when I finish! But to me, that’s kind of a bonus, because now that I’m a mom, the idea of settling down in some nice college town and doing research that I love sounds good. It didn’t at all when I was younger. I actually met a professor at my last interview who didn’t start her master’s until she was 37 and then didn’t go for her doctorate until later. I found her inspiring.

First of all, I’m sorry this is how it’s going for you! This whole process is so stressful and feels so much more momentous than it probably is. You are more than your acceptance rate and funding levels! I think that if you know you want to do research, even if it turns out to be only a partial interest and you do counseling, I think you will be very unhappy in an unfunded PsyD program. And with your fiancé in med school, that is a TON of debt to take on. If you’re already able to do counseling, have you considered looking into other areas of psychology that are doing research in your area of interest? With your background and experience, you could probably apply to non-clinical phd programs after a year as a research coordinator and do really well with a focused and well written statement and contact prior to application season. Also, I really love research, so in my case, if I knew I was going to die I would be happy careerwise, spending that time doing it, and making a lasting mark on academia. If you are more interested in what you get to do after you finish the research portion of your career path and get your PhD, then that’s something to think about too. Maybe you don’t want to do research after all.

While I’m neither of those things, I have been able to get along pretty well with people like this. I think it depends on your personality type. I also think blunt and abrasive is different from abusive or malicious. I’m just saying it might not be that bad. I like to consider the source and form my own opinions. Also, would you be forced to work with this person? Good luck on your other school!

I did not interview or have any contact with anyone at Michigan before I was admitted with a fellowship. I didn’t interview at Michigan State before acceptance and I don’t believe they do them, although I’m undergrad there so my situation is different. From what I understand Amherst doesn’t interview and I don’t think Penn does either. At UCSB interviews seem to be sort of a formality. If you’re invited to their weekend I think they have pretty much made up their mind and just want to make sure you fit. I think in general though interviews only happen if a school is strongly considering you. Also, some schools that don’t interview still do English proficiency chats with international students sometimes.

Good luck! That’s terrible that you don’t have any info on your interviews yet. Try not to stress, not having info makes them look bad, not you! I have two prospective visinext weekend and I haven’t heard a peep from either on schedule or arrangements, including the one that I’m driving to that is putting me up in a hotel and I have no idea what hotel or where it is!

I can’t speak for everyone, but my actual scheduled interviews were more like chats. The department held a get together the night before where we were able to meet informally and talk research and things, so the interviews themselves were much more relaxed and less stressful, which I thought was a great way to do it. We also heard from a lot of grad students about the program and living there. All around it was really well done. I will definitely be comparing them to my other visits!

What others have said, my admitted students weekends for two programs aren’t until next week which is like 6 weeks after I was admitted. I won’t be making a decision until I’ve had the visits and it’s probably the same at a lot of places. Hopefully you’ll hear soon!

UCSB is awesome! I loved the faculty, the program, and the grad students. They really put together a great, fully scheduled and informative weekend. Lots of really interesting research going on there too. If only the area wasn’t so expensive!

I think they’re saying that if you want to do the master’s, you can. This is pretty standard in some fields where they offer applicants the option for (usually) unfunded master’s programs. Although I would definitely look into it if you’re interested, because I have seen people get offers like this that turn out to be funded.

I would, yes, if I liked the program and the people there. I figure between the stipend and the work there’s not a ton of going out anyway. Location is a factor for me, but more in regards to cost of living. What does it matter if there’s stuff to do if I can’t afford to do it?

Did you interview? If not, I would say it’s not looking good. (Sorry!) Usually clinical psych programs interview prospective before they offer admission. If you did interview, it’s possible that the department rolls out admissions, like maybe each POI contacts their students, or they are working on funding before everyone gets a formal offer. The person who posted could have a fellowship or outside funding that means they could be admitted without extra work. Or you could be waitlisted. Good luck, I hope you get some good news soon!