PsychPhdBound

Oh bummer about UVA (not bummer for you, but bummer for me)! It was the only school I was still waiting to hear back from, but was still one of my top choices. I have received one offer and two other visit invites (ASU, Kentucky, Michigan), so I'll try to move on and focus on those. Thanks for the update!

Has anyone heard from UVA Community Psych? I know social has sent out invites but havent seen anything about community.....this.is.brutal.

Oh bummer! Virgina was my top choice and I hadn't heard anything :(. I applied to Community Psych and thought the fit with the professor was perfectly aligned. I have offers/interviews from other programs, but was really holding out hope for Virgina. Ugh, so disappointing.

You've heard from them?

@Psychtime I didn't apply to PSU, but I'm a psych undergrad and I've heard from professors that they just got the applicant info this week and most are still reviewing.

I applied to UVA's Community Psych program. Definitely my top choice but haven't heard anything yet. I've heard from three of the other programs I've applied to, but none of them are formally Community Psych programs.

I ended up emailing the PI again, but still no response, and had to email the department twice before getting an email back. They ended up being no help and just said they don't keep a list of who is/isn't accepting students and I should contact the PI directly (sad trombone). In the end I decided to not apply to that program. I've gotten such wonderful and supportive emails from other PIs and even had some great phone calls, so I'm not chasing after this program if they can't even confirm the application status. Maybe I'll regret the decision later, but I think how people (departments, PIs) act during the application process says something about how they value the time and energy of those applying.

This may be a really stupid question, but this application process has made me feel like I'm losing my mind a bit, so it's fitting. Am I supposed to include a heading/title on the statement of purpose? And does that count as part of the word count? Is it included in the header or as part of the body? Do you use a running header? Include your name? I have been so focused on content that I havent considered formatting.

One of my programs is Human Development and it's actually one of my top choices. But I didn't find any Ed Psych programs that were looking at gender, internalized sexism, and media, mostly they seemed to be pretty exclusively focused on academic achievement (which of course makes sense)

What does everyone think of applying to a program if your desired PI won't respond to emails confirming their acceptance status? I'm really interested in the program and their lab, but don't want to waste the money or mental energy if it's a guaranteed rejection.

If your applications allow more than three I don't see the harm if it's a strong letter. I have two schools that say three of more letters, so for those I'm submitting four. But at the end of the day none of us really know what the "right" thing to do is

Were you really able to find 18 programs that are amazing fits for your research interest? No matter where you are in the process it seems like a mistake to apply to programs that you aren't excited about. That doesn't improve your chances of getting into the BEST program for you, just your chances of getting into ANY program. For a commitment of this magnitude it's probably not the best plan to just throw spaghetti at the wall :). As far as applying or waiting, I say why not apply to your top 2-3 schools and see what happens? Not just the "top ranked" schools on your list, but the ones you are most excited about. You never know who might think you're a great fit this round, but doesn't next round? (this assumes you have the resources for 2-3 applications)

I'm also interested in gender and identity development and the influence of sociocultural factors (e.g., media, peers, family), specifically using an intersectional framework. UC Santa Cruz and Michigan are also on my list, but none of the others. I have also been considering some Communication programs, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to give up having my "home" in Psych. Are you at all concerned about that? Are any of the other programs Comm?

Oh, I assumed they were all expecting double spaced, Times New Roman, 12pt, since that's APA. I definitely will check will the programs I'm unsure about then, since there is a big difference between two pages single spaced vs. double spaced.

You're better off searching Google Scholar for articles that relate to your area of interest and then looking at who the authors are. Then you can visit their faculty profiles, instead of just searching through entire departments.

I have been told by potential advisors that posters and articles that have been submitted (even if they haven't been accepted or published yet) are still valuable and demonstrate important experience milestones. So I guess it depends on what you mean by "competitive programs". If you're applying to work with professors who are a great fit for the work you're interested in doing and you have the grades, test scores, LOR's, solid research statement, and pubs/posters in the pipeline, I don't see why you wouldn't have a shot. On the other hand if you're just going after 'top' programs, regardless of goodness of fit, then I don't think it's a matter of how many publications you have.

I'm also applying to UT Knoxville (tied for my top choice). Who are you interested in advisor wise?

Thanks @PsyDGrad90 ! That's what I assumed was going to be the case, I was just hoping there was some alternative solution that I hadnt realized

Would be curious what we have discovered in the meantime! I do am interested mostly in teaching after I (hopefully) complete a PhD program. So if you have any guidance to pass along it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Thanks! I have found a few that seem to have more formal teacher training in place, but (of course) those schools arent the ones that line up with my research interedts

Hello! I'm working to narrow down my target list of PhD programs (mix of social and developmental) with plans to apply this coming Fall. I've identified a number of professors at various schools (UK, UT Austin, UBC, Cornell, UCSC, UW Madison) conducting research in areas that align with my interests, however my true (long-term) passion is for teaching and I can't figure out how to evaluate programs' commitments to training in that area. I know all schools have some kind of teaching component, but I'd really love to end up at a program that is dedicated to teacher training excellence. I realize that research will always be a big part of any program, and that's totally fine, but I want to come out of my PhD ready to be an amazing teacher (either at Community College or small colleges, I don't need the high profile universities or research tenure positions). I would really love to hear any thoughts on this subject. I know I could just go after a Masters and technically get a teaching position, but it seems like it's so competitive now that even at the "lower" levels a PhD is needed, even if not technically required. Thanks in advance!!