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_angua

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  • Location
    Canada
  • Application Season
    2019 Fall
  • Program
    Clinical Psychology

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  1. It's definitely normal to feel this way! As someone who struggled with anxiety growing up I sometimes have these thoughts too. I try to keep things in perspective: the fact that you made it into a very competitive program means that your supervisor recognized your skills, work ethic and ability to succeed! Many students also come from different places with different skill sets, so it's okay that you might not share the same knowledge that other grad students or RAs might have. I try to remind myself that being a grad student is about learning the skills that will be important to my career, and I don't need to know them already. If there are topics or skills that seem to be important to have in your area, now is the perfect time to learn them, and to get help from those students in doing so, there's nothing wrong with this! I know it can definitely be hard not to doubt yourself or compare yourself to others. It's important to have people in your life that you can talk to openly about these feelings. But always remember that you deserve to be here.
  2. I did my first real cognitive assessment as a practicum student yesterday and didn't completely bungle it!
  3. I've done research on Fitspo where I literally pulled screenshots and coded manually but unless you have some RAs to help I wouldn't really recommend this! Social media is a hot topic in Psychology right now so you might want to check out some of the lit there. I've seen some studies use Netlytic (https://socialmedialab.ca/apps/netlytic/) to do network analysis with large data sets but I don't know if there are other options.
  4. Only you can make this decision, but I will say that taking a year off can be super helpful if it increases your motivation and gives you time to really think about why you want to go to grad school and prepare your applications. I definitely did not regret taking the extra time (and also I was able to work and save up money for my move!)
  5. I haven't been able to furnish or really settle into my apartment in my new city because my partner had to stay behind and work for a few more weeks after I started my program, and also three weeks in I discovered I had bedbugs! It is being dealt with but I'm in a large building dealing with a distant, pretty lazy management company and it's causing me so much stress and distraction from getting used to being a grad student. I also feel very alone and homesick without my partner or family to help me cope with this situation. I've just been going to campus every day pretending everything is fine but whenever someone asks how I'm adjusting to my program I immediately freeze and then have to lie out of it. It sucks folks!!
  6. I'm starting in the Fall as one of the first students of a new faculty in my program. So far I feel really good about it! When I interviewed with other faculty during the interview day they were very upfront about their opinions of them (all very positive) and so far I've seen a benefit in that they are very responsive and are also open to my involvement in the development of their lab. It seems like newer faculty also tend have broader research areas so you might have more room in developing your thesis. Cons would probably be that they are likely to have less access to funding than more experienced faculty. They also may not know very much about the program itself, required courses, etc. so you'll need to speak to other students/faculty/staff to get that information.
  7. I have an apartment secured in my new city and my final flight booked! Figuring everything out has been so stressful but I'm happy things are falling in line and excited to get started!
  8. I totally feel this! I'm feeling pretty anxious about leaving the city I was raised in and moving across the country to a smaller college town. I love how diverse my city is and how easy it is to get around on transit.
  9. I also hope Adelaide is okay and is getting support offline with revising her thesis. And just to reiterate and maybe clarify my point for people who seem confused or think I am arguing for universal praise (though I think that's a pretty bad faith response to what I said), in general I think it's better to think about how we can respond in helpful ways based on what we actually know about how people experience crises or distress, rather than moralizing about how we think they ought to respond.
  10. If you have people in mind for your recommendation letters, I would reach out sooner rather than later to make sure they are willing to provide a strong letter. I think reaching out to POIs directly would be better. I looked at programs and listed potential POIs and then emailed them directly. Doing this earlier is good since they will be getting loads of similar emails later on.
  11. As someone preparing to start a Masters in the fall this thread has left me feeling pretty disgusted. It makes me think that I should not expect any empathy or appropriate support from colleagues if I ever face a crisis. When someone is in a state of crisis, barraging them with criticism and advice is actually incredibly unhelpful. It can put the person in more distress and make it even harder for them to think and problem solve the crisis. It's not suprising that it would produce an emotional response or 'lashing out'. Do we really think telling someone in crisis that based on reading their posts on a forum we can diagnose all of their character flaws and declare that they actually aren't cut out for their position is appropriate advice?? It may make you feel self-righteous but you're not actually giving someone the harsh reality, you're just being a jerk. Just because someone vents their personal frustrations on a forum doesn't mean you're obligated to respond. You should all reflect on whether you are really the best person to respond when someone is in distress on this forum and you are unable to provide a nonjudgmental response.
  12. I got all rejects in my first round applying last year. I was not really surprised though because I was still so burned out from undergrad and didn't put as much effort into preparing applications as I could have. I took a year off and was lucky to get a really good one-year contract working at a nonprofit. I also kept doing some research so that I ended up having a publication and some presentation experience by the time I reapplied. I am also in a much better situation personally and financially so that I feel ready to move and start the program, so it was all for the best. Even if you decide not to apply again, that might not be a bad thing. Take some time to reflect on why you are doing this, and be kind to yourself!
  13. I can only speak to Canadian schools but I would not be too worried about quant. I was accepted even with a Q slightly below 50th percentile (tbf my V and W were in the high 90s). It's more important to have strong letters and research experience.
  14. The grad school I'm attending received my official transcripts so I am now fully admitted, and this is really happening! It's a bit surreal to think that I'm actually moving across the country and doing this soon.
  15. To add to the point folks have made about making sure you really want it, I will say that two rounds of applications have taught me that it's definitely okay and probably even a benefit to take time off after you graduate and really think about what you want to do. Finishing my undergraduate thesis was so stressful and I can't imagine how I would have survived if I was applying at the same time. I first applied in the first round after I graduated and I was still so exhausted and jaded and just was not excited about the prospect of going back to school. Even though I didn't feel good about it, I submitted applications because I thought it was what I was supposed to be doing, but I didn't put my best effort in and didn't apply for funding and was unsurprised when I got all rejections. It was demoralizing and a huge waste of my time and money. But, taking a second year off allowed me to rest and have some free time again. I was also able to keep working on some research from undergrad and eventually get them published and present at conferences, which were huge strengths on this round of applications. I also got a good job at a nonprofit on a contract, so I've been able to save and prepare for moving to my new school and I had experience in a professional environment which many fresh undergrads don't have. By the second round I was ready to go to school and found myself distracted at work thinking about research! Taking some time off can allow you to present yourself as more mature and committed to the program. Also, apply to as many (relevant) schools as you have energy for and can afford. I only applied to three because I was also working full time while preparing applications, but it became clear pretty quickly that all my hopes were riding on one school. That's a super stressful position to be in (I was accepted thankfully), and I didn't realize how much the process came down to luck and how much I had stacked the odds against me. I wish I had applied to a few more schools and maybe branched out a little bit from my specific topic of interest.
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