TiredOfApps

It might not hurt to reach out to one of your professors in stats and ask them what they think. They could probably give you the best insight into it. That said, my coworker has a masters in biostatistics after being a neurologist in from another country. He mentioned there are a lot of international students and was under the impression that Americans aren't often drawn to apply for the programs. He could be totally mistaken, but I think getting the application requirements done and having a minor in statistics is totally acceptable if not normal.

I tend to re-read my statement of purpose before interviews so I can remember pivot points. They may ask you point blank why you applied if your interests don't align - I'd try to somehow weave it together or have a reasonable explanation as to why you still do belong at the program and fit with the research, and would love to expand upon it in xyz (not leaps and bounds away, but something that builds off of their current research easily), or would love to learn more about abc because, while you don't have a background in it, you find it fascinating. That said, try hard to be honest, because it just hurts both of you if you're stuck at a program that you don't have any interests in. But at the end of the day, if you're not interested, you're not interested. It's a two-way street and sometimes it just doesn't work out!

Thanks! Best of luck to you too

Haha sorry, MS are the initials, I just realized that looks like I'm talking about a masters

First, congrats!! Honestly, this seems like a really personal question on how much you feel like you could handle it if you can't get additional funding beyond what they laid out, and how badly you want to be in that program or have other offers. There are plenty of grad students who manage to scrape by and make ends meet, but it can mean a lot of debt if things fall through. There are, however, a number of grants out there if you're feeling ambitious. Also, potentially consider the cost of living in that area - cities can be very expensive, but there are a lot of ways to make it work. Moving and high cost of living are valid factors if that's a concern. Also what exactly does it mean to say that it will depend on your progress to get additional funding? Is there a high attrition rate? Are you applying for your own funding? Probably your best source for all of this is current and former grad students from that program. They often know the tips, tricks, and regrets of working at their program more thoroughly than anyone else. Whatever you decide, good luck!!

This highly depends on what type of program you're applying for. I applied for clinical psychology PhD programs where it's pretty much a standard requirement. I have a friend who applied for a masters in social work where that's not the norm for most of her programs. Honestly, a program's FAQ might be the best bet for figuring this out. The clinical psych PhD ones almost always have some question related to interviews (almost always, can I make my own one if I'm not invited? Answer: No. Please stop bothering us. There are too many of you.) that make the process pretty clear. I'd double check the program's website, but if you'd like to know more about that program (congrats, by the way!) it may not hurt to ask if you can visit/tour the program.

I wouldn't say so - I actually had a call for another reason with my POI (consults with my nonprofit), and, the more I read up on it, the more it seems like every prof has their own method.

Waitlisted for MS. I'm really curious about the acceptances and where Suffolk falls for them - if they're going to accept or not.

I'm going for clinical psych, so I can't speak to all of the specifics, but the information you've provided looks like you've laid the right groundwork. Worth noting, at least for clinical, this is only half of the battle - PhDs can be quite competitive and the essay, recommendations, and other aspects can play just as much a role as a decent GPA. For context, honest professors will tell you they only have funding for one spot in their lab, and everyone they invite for interview already is very qualified. They may be able to eliminate a few at interview, but are then stuck with a hard decision. An RA that I used to work with - the professor she was interested in called her references to see if they "liked her." (She wound up getting in.) It's a tough process - good luck!!!

I don't have a background in Middle Eastern studies - I have a coworker who does, including a masters. Based on our discussions of requirements for getting in to our respective programs, what you described, your scores and GPA would not make you lack competativeness. I'm phrasing it oddly because grad school is a different ball game than undergrad, in my experience. They don't really just judge you on GPA and scores unless you are well below a cutoff (which doesn't seem relevant based on what you've given). That said, it's very hard to know exactly why programs choose candidates and what makes someone a good candidate. You mentioned you're still in undergrad - do you have an academic adviser or a professor in Middle Eastern studies that you could talk to about it? They are probably going to be the most helpful with sorting all of this out, and finding out more about programs. (You'll probably also need recommendations from them, anyway.) Most professors are glad to get students who are interested in their field and want their opinion!

A few quick notes, it stands out to me that English may not be your first language - totally fine, but, if possible, you may want to have native English speaker read it over more thoroughly for grammar and sentence structure. Also was your "bachelor paper" a thesis paper / capstone-type project? If so, using those buzzwords could help highlight your abilities all the more for the programs.

Good luck!!

I'd honestly say it's worth checking with Suffolk. From the look of it, they actually sent out three types of emails: invites, waitlist invites, and rejections. If you didn't receive an email, then there might be a genuine mix-up. Good luck!!

Congrats!! Good luck Worth noting, there may be interviews on the 1st, too per the email Not sure about you but I'm slowly feeling the intense email-checking anxiety roll off for this one haha

In my experience it varies a lot by program. I've interviewed at one program where they said they take a long time (4-6 weeks, maybe longer) and not to expect to hear from them for a while. The same school - the professor said I should be hearing from them in a few weeks. I wound up waitlisted at most schools I didn't hear back from (including that school). I wouldn't stress if they don't immediately get back to you - there's no way of knowing if it actually means anything and highly depends on the school and department in my experience.

Ohh sorry! Definitely didn't look close enough. ...I'm secretly hoping Suffolk blew their deadline. My POI had no idea there was one when we talked a couple weeks ago.

Hi there, It sounds like you have a lot going on! I have a background more in psychology research, so my knowledge may a bit more limited, but there's something that immediately strikes me when reading this. From my understanding, PhD programs differ from undergrad mostly in that they're no longer "umbrella." They want to see that you have focus, drive, and can come up with and examine your own research questions. While having a vast amount of intellectual curiosity and ambition is exactly what a program is looking for in some respects, in grad school, the point is less about acquiring knowledge and skills on a broad spectrum, and more about focusing on an area of research. You can always expand this area later, if you'd like, you're definitely not stuck with that research topic forever. (One of my old supervisors started out researching menopause. He's a child psychiatrist now.) At least in the field of psychology, it's almost required to take 1-2 years working as a research assistant, potentially doing seemingly menial things. It sounds like you have a lot of excellent experience in undergrad, but if you definitely want to go the PhD route, it's not a bad option to find a research job in the meantime, even if the tasks don't sound super interesting. I promise you, you still learn valuable information and real-world experience. All that said, here's my stab at your questions: 1. What can I do better if I apply to PhD programs in the future? (Umbrella programs aiming for computation-based track). Are there any not famous but good phd programs that I can still apply for? I know WPI is still rolling and have a lab that may fit my interest according to a professor I talked to. I think the above speaks to part of that. There are also a lot of good resources on the web or books to help better applications. If you feel comfortable, you could potentially reach out to one of the professors you were interested in working with (not sure if it's quite the same, but in clinical psych, most programs have a mentorship model where you apply to work with a professor) after the application process is over. 2. (A) Is it worth it going for a master in biostats? (B) Is a thesis helpful if it won't be ready as a submitted paper? (C) How much help would it give to a future PhD application (systems bio/computational bio)? (D) What specific programs that are still available? (E) Would I be competitive for such programs? Yes, yes, not sure if you can quantify, don't know, definitely don't know, don't know. (A) Having worked at Mass General, in my experience, biostatistics knowledge is always helpful. It's quite common to pull in a statistician, or someone who at least is more knowledgeable about stats, on a research project. It may not be a directly helpful side-step, but it definitely shouldn't detract from anything. (B) Usually a thesis is always a benefit - it shows you took that extra initiative - and getting it published is an added benefit. (Not really a detraction not to publish a thesis, it happens) Especially since you're already publishing and presenting posters, it's not a make or break thing not to publish your thesis. It does add a lot of value if you do though. (C) It depends on the program and what they're looking for. (D&E) Sorry, not my field - I have no clue! 3. Are there any worthy bio-based (i.e. mcb) master programs still open? Sorry! I don't know. 4. Guidelines for looking for jobs as an international undergrad. Is it possible that I can learn how to do more complicated computational analysis even if I had little experience with it before? (Although I can learn from colleagues, I imagine companies will want me to do things that I'm already good at.) So.... are you asking if a job will hire you to learn on the job? That really depends, and the point for the person hiring is to hire the best qualified candidate. It sounds like getting an RAship under someone whose studies use complex computational analyses in their projects would probably be the best route to do this? If you're good at teaching yourself, and can show this in your cover letter/resume, a company may hire you to learn on the job, but you really have to sell it, and beat the resume scanner looking for those keywords. 5. Where can I find possible funding for grad school as an international student? The search engines don't really help much before one is admitted to a program. I could be wrong, but most STEM PhD programs waive tuition and pay a stipend. That's about the extent of my knowledge (sorry! I'm not international). Psychology has the APA, which also requires programs to disclose student funding on average, and has a wealth of resources. Maybe looking into associations in your field of study would help? 6. Any other advice or question? Good luck!! It sounds like you have a lot of excellent experience and qualifications! There's OPT for a reason, please don't feel like it's not a good idea to use it - that's how we hired my coworker - there was actually a dearth of qualified applicants and he and another international person both stood out as our best (and honestly the only viable) candidates.

I thought Rutgers had already finished sending out invites: https://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php?q=Clinical+Psychology+rutgers&t=m&o= Still no news from Suffolk?

Not yet! There are at least three others of us waiting:

I'd say yes - but be cautious since academia can be petty, and they'd likely turn you down if you apply again. I would entirely blame it on the cost of travel and tight finances, maybe saying something like, "Thank you so much for reaching out to me. While I would love to interview with your program, after looking more deeply at my current finances, I cannot afford the cost of travel at this time. I am grateful for your time and consideration, and I sincerely apologize for any difficulties this may have caused."

I haven't heard either (I've been monitoring my email and the results tab for the past several days). The last I heard from my POI, there were a record number of applications, but many for a professor who isn't accepting students (I don't remember the name, sorry! Pretty sure it's a female prof though? Maybe Dr. DiBiase since she's only accepting for the new developmental track?).