Psychological Yam

i go to depaul if anyone has any questions! just dm me also, i applied to FIU during my round of apps, and never heard from them, and no one on my thread / in the results did either, so don't be surprised if they never get back to you lol

I would eliminate Columbia, NYU, UMN Duluth and add MSU Mankato to your list. Get rid of the first three because they have terrible and/or poor track records of success for their graduates and add MSU Mankato because their program is well-rounded and affordable. Not sure about the other programs but I know that UTC Chattanooga and George Mason are definitely well-regarded in the field. SDSU isn't exactly affordable but is a great program as well. TAMU has a great PhD program so I would assume the masters is good too. As far as FIT, UT Arlington, Hofstra, Illinois Tech, Missouri S&T, Akron, Elmhurst, Middle TN, Missouri State, UWF, ECU, and Purdue go, I'd look at the research productivity of their current faculty and track down recent grad students on LinkedIn to see if they're "successful" post-grad.

i dropped two classes while in undergrad - one unrelated to my major (dropped macroecon as a psych major) and one directly related to my degree (io psychology), for very different reasons. i still got into a phd program. do well overall, your dropped class is literally a drop in the bucket.

What type of PhD programs did you apply to? Cognitive, developmental, IO, social?

My university expects us to be able to be on campus, regardless of if classes are online or in-person. They expect that even if classes are online, we would be able to get approval to use lab spaces. While starting a PhD program online is... less than ideal, moving in the dead of winter with less time to get settled in before starting your next semester / quarter is also not ideal.

I would attempt to live off your stipend and then decide to take out a loan later on, if truly necessary. I'll be living with my boyfriend and I'll have to live off of $20k in Chicago. We're setting our rent budget as 30% of my stipend + 30% of his income - that way we're both paying an amount proportionate to what we're making, rather than splitting it down the middle, when he makes 2x as much as me. Could be something that works for y'all as well.

my university is in chicago and they're waiting to make any decisions about fall quarter until late june.

i'll be starting this fall, regardless of if it's online or in-person. there's no point in trying to defer. while it would certainly be difficult to start my phd program online, it's "easier" than trying to figure out an alternative plan for the next year.

since you have experience in music, maybe also look into music/art therapy programs!

i work for a university and having some of the graduate students start a semester later is certainly on the table. while a lot of classes can be done online, there are pros and cons to that experience. edit: however, i'm sure universities will go to great length to avoid this. but, it would still be difficult for me to move and spend thousands on rent in a HCOL area when i don't technically need to physically be there. understandably, universities won't be able to make those decisions until june, maybe even july, about how to conduct classes. the waiting game is difficult and anxiety inducing.

in general, neither of these programs have a great reputation in the io psychology field.

i'm definitely concerned that my school might push back us starting until winter quarter (jan 2021)! anxiously waiting to hear any solid information before i uproot and move my life this summer.

I'm struggling with this too! My partner and I currently live in MN with his parents and were hoping to look at apartments in Chicago in early July to move in August 1st. I'm supposed to start my PhD program at DePaul in early September. However, if the first quarter is online, there's no need for me to waste thousands on Chicago rent bc I wouldn't need to live there until early January. We were planning on selling our car in June/July as well but are waiting because we may need it if we decide to stay with his parents. Time will tell. I'm hoping that universities make decisions in June but I know it will be difficult for them to predict 3+ months in advance so who knows.

Dr. Lander's site has a good resource for IO "rankings" but it's aimed more towards PhD than MA (you didn't mention which one you were accepted to and Akron has both). It's from 2017 but might still be of use http://neoacademic.com/2014/09/17/sortable-io-psychology-ph-d-program-rankings/ Akron is pretty highly ranked in general for its PhD program so I would think their MA program would be well received.

Officially going to DePaul for my Ph.D. starting this fall! Can't wait!