aurlito

After having received 5 rejections and waiting for one more university decision.All I can say this process is tough.Wishing everyone all the best.

NYU Neural Science says most invites are out, but they have a waitlist.
Baylor CM Neuro says apps still under review, but some intl rejections are out already

I made the switch from a business/sales career to psychology in my early 30s. I ended up having to go back and get a second undergrad degree in psychology, but this only took 4 semesters. I then applied for PhD programs, but did not receive a single interview, and so applied to and was accepted into a master's program. It took 2 more tries to gain admission to a PhD program after completing my master's degree. I'm currently 37 and a first year student in a clinical psychology PhD program.
Here are some things I learned (often the hard way!). I hope you find them helpful.
1. Research experience is the great equalizer. If you want to get into a PhD program in Psychology, get involved in a research lab, and preferably multiple labs, right now. Publications and posters count for quite a lot. Sure, GPA and GRE are important, but research is what gets you interviews and, subsequently, offers. Start thinking about questions that are interesting and meaningful to you. If you are having trouble with specific questions, then start with broad concepts. Read recent research papers with those keywords. As a general rule, you want to be included on at least one publication and have a few poster presentations when you apply for PhD programs. Again, this is a general rule. I got into a PhD program without a publication, for example.  I'll say more about this in point 4.
2. Do not place too much weight on your age. This one cuts both ways. I often worried that I was too old, wouldn't fit in, or graduate programs would be hesitant to accept a "old" person. I found, over the course of 3 application and interview phases, that programs valued my business background with respect to time management, leadership, and "big picture" approach to research and grants. However, I did feel that I spent more time during the interview process answering the "Why now?" question (when compared against my PhD interview peers; I made it a point to ask about their experiences).  My advice? Go out of your way to completely answer why you are making a career change in your personal statement. The more you can root this in recent academic experience, the better.
3. Don't expect your past academic history/performance to count for much. My first degree was in math. I was in the honors college and completed a senior thesis that was presented at a national conference. This essentially added nothing to my current PhD applications. Recent academic work, including GRE scores, are valued much more highly than past (<5 years) academic work. Many graduate programs required a psychology degree, so my math degree was not helpful. However, this provided me the opportunity to "prove" that I was every bit as good academically in my 30s as when I was 20.
4. Be ready to relocate. I understand wanting to stay in an area, but the reality of graduate work in psychology is you apply to a person more than to a program; this is especially true at the PhD level. I had to decide whether staying in one place was more important than chasing my goals/dreams. Your specific research interests may not be represented in New York City. Ultimately, if you have to stay put, then look up the faculty of local universities, catalog their research interests, and get involved in their research area. The potential problem here is that you may not be passionate/motivated in the research areas that are close to you.
5. Be prepared to get rejected. Psychology is competitive. Over the 5 years I applied to graduate programs (and got rejected 4 times), I felt that I kept getting older, but the other applicants stayed the same age. To translate, I was getting older and always competing against folks in their early-to-mid 20s. I followed-up with every single rejected application, asking for feedback and ways that I can improve. Then, over the subsequent year, I went out and improved that part of my application. I knew that a PhD program was the right thing for me and I was unwilling to accept some other kind of career. Use that as motivation and not frustration.
6. What is the specific job that you want? Now that you have read my novella, make sure that the degree you are seeking is consistent with the job you want. I was not sure from your post what field in psychology interests you and/or what specific job you want. You can then work your way backward and lay out a 5-7 year plan to make it happen.
I know this was quite long, but I hope it has helpful information. Best of luck!

Welcome to the club bud. How are you counting those pubs? Are they actually accepted into international peer-reviewed journals? Are they research and not reviews?
I've got 5 publications, 4 years full-time exp. 3 years of undergrad exp., 3.7 in my MS, 3.1 undergrad, strong letters, GRE V/Q/W at 98%/83%/99%, and I'm currently batting 3 for 11 (pending 2 apps still in review). I only got asked to interview for schools not in the top 100 . One of them is actually my top choice though it's just in a different department although you won't find it in the top-20 because it has a weird inter-institutional structure. If I don't end up getting in/liking the schools, I'm taking two years off to work with a big-name and birthing these two first-author projects I'm on. Those two things are the only things that can save you/I.
It's a fairly unfair notion (given I was working a job to pay off loans) but I've been told that, having taken time off, I should have maintained or exceeded the same upward trajectory as if I had been admitted to a top school which means high-authored pubs, posters at conferences like COSYNE, etc.
Pretty sure it's the undergrad GPA which is a shame. I had/have a medical condition that didn't get addressed until later after which my grades jumped to straight-A's.

I was rejected (yesterday) after a preliminary interview via skype/phone on Monday. And I thought my interview was splendid, we connected, and they told me I asked the right questions, had relevant research/clinical experience, and had a top application plus great LoR's... but they don't have the funding to take on another student. I have trouble believing they didn't already know their funding game before my interview, but thats the game of it all, its a big percentage of luck/time/who you know, so: I feel you, I thought I was in the bag with them, and then rugs pulled completely. It stings a ton, but honestly, everything happens for a reason. Humans adapt.

i got rejected from a thing today, not a grad school but pretty similar app process
boy it stings! feeling pretty discouraged about everything everywhere now but i imagine the feeling will pass

Here's another opportunity, app open until end of month
https://jobs.hr.upenn.edu/postings/42437

This is my third round of applications so I understand how easy it is to get down on yourself when those invites/acceptances aren't rolling in. For me, it is a constant process of reminding myself how competitive these programs are and reminding myself to be proud of my accomplishments up to this point. Even just following through to submit 18 applications is a HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT! I barely survived doing 10 this year... Your value is NOT dependent on your acceptance into a program or your recognition by a school. Every single one of us applying to these programs shows a tremendous amount of commitment and dedication to bettering the quality of life in our society and that is something to be proud of in itself. Each time you go through these application cycles you become smarter, stronger, and a better person by learning patience, how to manage anxiety, and how to process rejection. Most of all, I just remind myself that rejection is a universal experience, one that is felt by EVERYONE at some point in their life. Knowing there are others out there, in the exact same position, experiencing the same wave of emotions as I, gives me confidence that we will all come out on the other side as better people. Be your own #1 cheerleader and remember to also build yourself up and not just your applications. Confidence will naturally follow, even in the face of self-doubt and rejection. ❤️ 

@aurlito
on the off chance this helps, I recently came across this position in a computational lab:
https://t.co/t7kBn9xvbF
lab website:
https://www.shenhavlab.org/
also see:
https://sites.google.com/view/mattnassar/positions?authuser=0
 
 
 

Hi Guys,
So this is a summary of my application:
International student
Degree: Medical Degree (MD) - ( not in north america)
medschool GPA = 3.25
Toefl ibt = 112/120
GRE: Q=163(83%) - V=159(83%) - W=4
3 poster presentation in cognitive neuroscience ( I was the single only author of all)
My MD thesis is in cognitive neuroscience under publication.
Applied to :
BU ( psychology BBC)
NYU ( psychology)
albert einstein ( biomed)
uni of rochester (Brain and cognitive science)
Dartmouth (PBS)
Uni of Washington (psychology)
my only factor for choosing schools/program was faculty research fit.
Result:
Rejected from all of them with no interviews.
.....So any ideas for what was wrong with my application? What can I do next year to avoid the same tragic result?
 
PS. I am freaking out because in 2020 I will be 29 and old af to start a phd. Also I feel a bit unlucky because in the past 5 years or so the field of Cog Neuro has become dominated by computer scientists , theoretical physicist and all that ML / deep learning stuff and that's not fair !

@wrongpathos I think that is good advice.
Although I do wish that I had known way sooner, it is really exciting to see the modeling and computational methods in our field. 

@aurlito if you can handle waiting another round, maybe it's worth networking your heart out for the next year and tapping those connections? You have more experience than me so I can't presume to know more about the process, but did you rewrite each app knowing that those particular PIs were your audience? I honestly feel like I beat my own odds, given my stats, by knowing each of the PIs I applied to, talking via skype and in person to 11 individual people before even writing my application.

In a way I agree with you, and probably a few years ago that would have been the case but the popularity of AI and its investigation from a cognitive perspective had made the playing field more competitive. My formal schooling is in psychology but if I get into graduate school this go around I would have 3 years of machine learning / computational cognitive modeling experience before starting.

I guess my advice would be to try and join a computational cognitive science lab full time. And if the school the lab is part of offers employees the opportunity to take courses for free then perhaps take some math classes?

Me too. I've applied to 6 schools not a word from any of them . I emailed about ten of my favorite professors discussing my research background, NONE responded. I have just finished Medical School in my home country with above average numbers, so I know I'm not that dumb .....but still......?

Me too. I've applied to 6 schools not a word from any of them . I emailed about ten of my favorite professors discussing my research background, NONE responded. I have just finished Medical School in my home country with above average numbers, so I know I'm not that dumb .....but still......?

Been reading this thread and freaking out so decided to create an account. I applied to 6, been officially rejected from 2 and I think silently rejected from 3 more. Been a tough month. Sounds like everyone else is doing quite well with their apps though so congrats to those of you getting interviews

I am in the same boat. I applied to around 6-7 and so far didn't get any interviews. I believe there are a lot of people like us and it might seem like everyone else is doing great but the only people posting here are the ones getting interviews. The ones not getting anything are silently watching in sadness so don't beat yourself up too much on it. We will come back stronger next year!

Einstein hasn't sent out all their invites yet so don't lose all hope for them yet!