spider-man

Has anyone heard anything from Hofstra's MA program? They told me they would be getting back to people as in late December/early January, but I haven't seen any updates.

Has anyone heard anything from University of Minnesota or University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign?

Has anyone heard back from Minnesota or UIUC for the Social programs?

Does anyone know if Ohio State University and University of Colorado Boulder are done sending out interviews for social psychology?

If you didn't get an unofficial interview, is it unlikely to get an on-campus interview?

Does anyone have any suggestions for someone who isn't going the clinical route? Is there a site like that for general lab positions, or should I just stick to cold emailing?

UPenn, UChicago, Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Penn State, UCSB, UCLA, Colorado Boulder, OSU, and Minnesota. I'm a pretty average applicant in general (probably slightly below average for most of these) and I have no publications or posters yet, although I'm doing an honors thesis. I'm hoping my SOP and research fit were strong enough to at least get me some interviews. It'll feel so bad getting flat out rejected without knowing why.

I am so terrified I won't get into any of my programs, and I applied to 9...

After reading more about grad student experiences, I'm getting worried that I won't be cut out for it. It doesn't help that I'm procrastinating on an essay right now when I have two other ones due in the next few days. I'm worried that I'm just not cut out for such an intense workload, and I'll end up failing. Kind of hoping I'm not alone in this. I applied for a bunch of PhD programs and now I'm having doubts.

I'm doing social psychology, so I'm hoping that's slightly less competitive.

I got a 163V/150Q/5.0W and I'm applying to schools like UCLA, UChicago, and University of Colorado. My quant score is definitely below average, and isn't even 50th percentile. I'm wondering if that will prevent them from even viewing my application. I'm not worried about it being a dealbreaker for my application since I doubt it'll get to that point, but I'd like my application to at least get checked out.

So do you have to pay for those flights out of pocket? That’s really unfortunate. What kind of research experience did you have?

I see a lot of people applying with a Master's or after doing some post-bacc work, but I'm curious about how many of you are coming straight out of undergrad. I'm going to be applying for this election cycle, but I'm not sure I have enough research experience and I don't want to settle for a program. Bonus: For people who got into a program straight out of undergrad, how was the application process, and how was the adjustment to PhD life?

My other two letters are from PIs. I conducted my own experiment in one lab, and created one in another, so those letters will be pretty strong. Unfortunately, I don’t have any professors I could ask in the Psychology department.

I’m an undergrad senior and I can’t decide who to pick as my third LOR. I’m going to have two other LORs that should be pretty strong if that makes a difference. I’m applying to grad schools for Psychology, likely in social or cognitive. Here are my two options, both of which may be weak. 1. I volunteered in a lab over the summer through cold emailing. I pretty much just did administrative tasks like literature reviews and organizing files. I only met and talked to the lab manager, not the PI. I’m honestly not even sure if I would be able to get a letter from them. 2. Two summers ago, I volunteered at a psychiatric hospital. I sat in on therapy groups and meetings, organized files, read books, and shadowed a clinical psychology. He actually already gave me a letter of reference, I would just have to ask him if he would be willing to upload it for me. My issue with the second one is that I didn’t do any research there (does that matter?) & it pretty much just says that I did a good job at everything I did there, while complimenting my character. Also, I’m not on the clinical route anymore. What do you guys think?

They won't be submitted until after I apply, so I don't even have that going for me unfortunately. I have a few professors with whom I have very similar interests with, and they happen to be at some of the better programs, so I know how competitive it'll be anyway. Thanks.

As an undergrad with no publications, what do you guys think the chances are that I get into a program when applying this round? I have a poster and publication in the pipeline (not coming until next year, though), I'm working on an honor's thesis, and I've been part of 3 labs, so disregarding grades, does my research experience preclude me from competitive programs?

I started at the beginning of the summer, but fell off the track and I'm not prepared at all. I'm going to try and take it a month from now, and then right before Halloween. How screwed am I? Anyone in the same boat?

If you don't want to work with any of the other faculty at the program you were accepted to, I think you should drop it and apply elsewhere during the next round of admissions. It's a tough choice, but spending 5 years on something you hate could make you miserable. You can use the year to bolster your resume and try to improve your chances of getting into your number one program, or save up some money so that you're slightly less broke during your PhD.

I agree that you should go for a Master's program to boost your credentials. You'll also need a very high GRE score to make up for the low GPA. Did you at least have an upward trend? If you had a rough start, it's something you could address in your personal statement. If you don't think your credentials are up to snuff after that, you could also try applying for a PsyD, but those don't receive nearly as much funding (I believe). The clinical route is very difficult - it's as competitive as med school, but with less spots. If you're considering other branches of Psychology for a PhD, you should still bring up your GPA and get as much research experience as you can.