Scared StringBean

I might add to this that many HDFS programs do strive for their graduates to obtain tenure-track positions, from what I have heard. I've heard HDFS sometimes gets a little bit of a bad rap from psych people due to this assumption. Again, I know very little, but it was my understanding when speaking with professors in HDFS programs that they work to prepare their graduates to become faculty, and many have great success with their alumni obtaining tenure-track positions in both HD and psych. Of course, this likely varies by program and research specialty. That said, if I am ready to commit to a HDFS program I will absolutely do my research on the likelihood that I can achieve my career goals in the program. But depending on the program, it don't think HDFS means you will struggle to find a career in academia more than the large struggle that already exists for anyone to find one.

Me! I also have a psych background. My mentor said the differences aren't major, and many people with HDFS PhDs become psych profs and vice versa. Only differences I've noticed (as a fellow applicant with no real experience as a student in either program lol) so far is: -psych programs have in-person interview and the HDFS programs I applied to have an admitted students weekend instead -The psych mentors I applied to work with do more correlational research using large, diverse datasets that seek to understand developmental processes (and this may be specific to my own research interests). The HDFS mentors also do this but some of them also do more intervention/prevention research that I haven't really seen in the research of the psych mentors (or at least as much). Some HDFS research (at least of what I've looked into) might be more applied, but I think that really depends on the mentor. -In psych, you major in developmental and also take some psych classes in other areas of psychology. In HDFS, some programs have certain specializations, but all of your coursework is human development-centered Of course, I'm only an applicant so I can't say much but for me, if I get accepted into a psych program following interview, I will largely base the decision off of what research I want to do and obviously the vibes I get from the program as a whole. I think my research interests are focused enough that I don't necessarily care to get a slightly more comprehensive psych education that I'd get in a dev psych program, but I'm really open to both. In the end, from what I've heard, career options are rather similar.

I'll chime in and agree with this. I went to a small lib arts college for undergrad that generally has a good reputation but is not at all highly-ranked and has a high acceptance rate. This didn't seem to matter with my applications (2 acceptances so far, interviews at the rest, though I did not apply to ivy leagues), since my GRE/GPA was pretty good. I also don't have any pubs (though I have one in review and one in progress), nor presentations. I think post-bacc is particularly useful for clinical applicants, because programs do look for people a little older (as in, older than like 21), and these programs get so many more applicants that you have to have extensive research experience to stand out. Since you excelled in undergrad, I don't think the mere fact that your school isn't well-ranked will hurt your chances (it might if you fell middle of the pack there).Often, our achievement in high school (and financial situation as well!) determines where we go to college, and I honestly doubt that PhD programs care about that. As people said, you may need to gain a bit more research experience to stand out more, but I don't think all hope is lost as others have insinuated. If your recommenders make a strong case for you, and you write a convincing statement that shows focused research interests, an overall passion for the subfield/research, and knowledge about the program and what getting a PhD entails, I think you have a shot. That said, most of the programs you're applying to are top-top tier programs. Perhaps find one or two that's still highly ranked (top 25) but isn't you know, Harvard. Best of luck!

I don't have any publications yet, but I have one in review following revise and resubmit, and I'm working on a second one. These will also be presented at national conferences as posters, I found it easiest to just convert data analyses for papers into posters or vice versa. It sounds like you have data available (or almost available) to you, so that's great! I think it's unrealistic to expect a first author pub before next cycle. Rather, having one submitted and in review, and potentially, already revised, would help. That can also bolster your references, as I think my mentor admired the work I put into writing my manuscript. I think it's not just the fact that one can create published articles that is attractive to programs, but rather is the experience of receiving feedback from reviewers and responding to them, and writing multiple drafts as my writing improved so much through the process. It also made for a strong writing sample since I received feedback not only from my mentor but 3 scholars in the field (reviewers lol). I wrote mine over the course of a semester then submitted it in July, heard back in September, then sent in the revision in November. I heard expecting/hoping for a paper to be accepted without major revision is unrealistic these days. I was accepted into two programs already, and was invited to interview at all my other programs. Of course, this was not clinical, which is inevitably more competitive. I might also add that for my manuscript in progress, I am using data collected by my prof years ago, and she wanted something more to come out of the dataset without having to write another paper herself. Perhaps you can talk to your mentors about possibilities like this, as generating new data now to have a pub by next cycle I think may just create a lot more stress than needed. If they care about you pursuing a PhD, they might help make it possible like that. Also, it helps if your mentor has connections or is affiliated with journals and conferences (e.g., a member of the Society for Research on Child Development if your interest is child psych). That's how I am able to present at larger conferences, and some journals only let you submit if one of the authors reviews manuscripts or does editing for the journal. I know this is hard and comparison is real, but I don't think all hope is gone if you don't have a first author pub by the time you apply, from my understanding not many people actually do, especially those who apply within a couple of years after finishing undergrad. Wishing you all the best!

What a mood! Thanks, I did exactly that but was second guessing everything lol.

Okay y'all I need help! I was admitted to a program this past week that has an admit weekend in Feb. Two potential advisors from this program already emailed me, and I responded saying I will be at this admit weekend. However, I woke up this morning to an email from a professor at another school (kind of like dream school and possibly dream advisor) to come to an interview the same weekend. I would hate to tell the profs at the school I already got accepted into that I can't make it after all, but I also worry that asking for another day for the interview school will look bad. My current mentor said to tell the professor at the dream school that I have a conflict, but if there is no other time to interview, that I can make arrangements to come to their interview weekend. Anyone else got thoughts on what to do?

Thanks to everyone who responded! I ended up emailing one, as this school is important to me and it follows the apprenticeship model. Response was the typical "look forward to reading your application." If anyone is grappling with the same dilemma I faced, know that I don't regret sending this email but I don't think it was necessary. I emailed the coordinator at another program asking what she thought about emailing PI's, and she said to do so only to ask if they were taking new students if it did not already indicate that on the faculty webpage. Ultimately, it seems like for my schools, not emailing is not life-or-death (though of course we shall see about that!!). If I don't get in this cycle, you betcha I'll be emailing people in August/September. But on that note, I'm gonna take a break from looking at this website. While helpful for some things, I think it just got me comparing myself way too much to people who are essentially in the same boat as I am. I think it elicited more anxiety than I need for right now, just gotta trust myself and my current mentors. Best of luck to everyone!

Ok this is exactly what I thought! It's so tricky because none of the lab pages of faculty I'm interested in have explicitly stated for prospective students to contact them (with the exception of one who I'm not sure if she's even taking on new students--really a mistake not contacting her earlier but now I'm just going to submit the app without being too attached to those results). One faculty has on their page "contact me if you have any questions." And others just say "I will be reviewing applications for fall of 2020." I figure that because I don't have questions, sending a cliche email stating my research interests when they are going to read that in a few weeks on my SoP is pointless. But then again, my personality is very much "do everything to not be a burden." I was also told that it's a complete mistake to go on forums like these because it's a bunch of people sharing information that they think they know, but here I am. ? I feel like I'm a strong applicant and I wasn't questioning anything until two days ago when I got on here!

Thanks, I'm considering it, though I really don't want to. I feel like my application will make me stand out much more than a typical prospective grad student email, especially when developmental programs get much fewer applicants than clinical programs. Question: some programs there are multiple faculty that I can see myself happily working under, but I notice it's bad to contact multiple faculty from the same program. I'm listing all three potential mentors in my SoP, which I thought may increase my chances of admission if I name multiple people who could accept me. I feel like if I contact one whom I want to work with, then that would deter other mentors from wanting to take me on when I would be just as happy working with them. These are for programs in which the research focus of faculty may be slightly different, but similar enough that two or three faculty have research with large overlap with my current interests (and it says specifically to list 2-3 faculty whom I want to work with in the SoP). What should I do with these programs--email them all, email one, email none? I have no idea what I'm doing right now lol. I'll just feel really sad if I don't get in just because I didn't send an email... ?

Hey fam, I just got on here yesterday and it really freaked me out by making me feel like I am much less prepared for PhD apps compared to everyone else! Here's what I have done/am doing: -Almost done polishing all of my SoPs -GRE done and scores are sent to the 6 schools I'm applying to (320; 5AW I'll take it) -Requests for letters of recommendation sent weeks ago from 2 profs I've done research with and 1 that was my undergrad advisor and I was a TA for her class. I'm confident that one will be amazing and the other 2 will be strong -Finished my major revision of a manuscript so I can say it's "in review" when I submit my apps (and it's a strong writing sample to submit) -Finalized list of the 6 programs I'm applying to: 3 have POIs who indicate on their website that they are taking new grad students for fall of 2020, 1 is not an apprenticeship model, 1 you get assigned a temporary advisor first (potentially do rotations? not really sure but there are like 4 faculty whose research is really interesting to me) and 1 does not say anything on the website but I'm too scared to ask Here's what I'm afraid about: I haven't emailed any POI's! Particularly at the school that doesn't indicate if profs are taking on new grad students, but I don't want to ask because I'm really interested in her research and want to apply so I would rather just take the rejection than freak out about finding another program to replace it. The other schools it says on the websites and most of the lab sites are well updated such that I can see their current grants and projects so I don't have any questions. My mentor told me that you should only email POIs if you have a concrete question but everyone here talks as if it's life-or-death. I'm shy (with people I don't know) and personally don't want to come off as pushy, arrogant, or entitled. Also it's mid-November so I feel like there is no point now... Another thing: I experienced health issues at the beginning of my senior year of college (fall 2018), so I medically withdrew, came back in the spring, wrote my thesis and submitted it to a journal, and still graduated on-time. Is this something I should mention on my app? I really don't want to bring attention to it because I don't want to share the details of the health condition and I don't want admissions/faculty to think it means I'm "unstable" (I'm perfectly healthy now!). If this makes a difference, I'm applying to developmental psych/human development programs. :) Thanks!