yeeboi

I got accepted to a clinical psych program that guarantees full tuition and a stipend. The stipend is on the lower end--I've talked to people in the program who make do with it, but they said it's not uncommon for people to take out a small loan. I wanted to ask you guys about what you personally did to prepare for school financially. I don't want to take out unnecessary loans, but I also don't want to worry financially if something came up. I was thinking of taking out 10k in loans for the first year, just to give myself some padding. Ideally I won't take out any loans after this--it's really just for financial stability as I spend the next 5 or so years in school. What do you guys think? I've worried about finances all my life, so I need some advice as to whether this makes sense. To add, I don't have debt from undergrad and I will be splitting rent with my boyfriend (however, I don't want to base anything on him and his income at the moment). (Edit: this would be an unsubsidized FAFSA loan) Thanks guys

Hi guys, After months of stress and hard work, I got into a program I'm extremely excited about. Now I want to plan for the move and transition to grad school. Are there any resources or checklists you guys have found useful for this? And I mean the whole nine yards--apartment searching, what to pack (I'll be moving out of state for the first time), useful materials for classes, phone apps, etc. I'm so bored being quarantined and out of a job, so I want to work on something productive lol

Been scouring the forums for a post about it but couldn’t find anything. Has anyone got accepted from UMKC - University of Missouri Kansas City? Or simple know whether their cohort has been filled for Fall 2020?

As far as clinical settings go, is there a difference in the settings and populations you can work with if you get a PhD in counseling over a masters? Or does the difference between the two purely rely in research and academia?

If anyone here went to ETSU's interview day and is willing to DM me, please do! Just trying to see who has gotten acceptances on this forum and who is waiting to hear back. I'm in the latter group but am still vaguely holding on hope for good news.

To the person who got accepted to ETSU—could you please PM me with your PI initials? Thanks and congrats!

I agree with what joy66888 said--I feel like my relationships deepened with my family when I told them about my rejections. I don't want to explain too much, but applying for a clinical psych program this year for me was pretty risky and not a decision I believed my family supported in the beginning. When I finally broke down and told my mother about the outcome of my application process, we had such a good conversation that reminded me one super important thing: no matter what happens in my life, I'm surrounded by so much unconditional love. My family, my partner, and my friends have all shown me that over the past few months. As difficult as this process has been, it's also allowed me to realize that I'm cared for no matter what. Please don't underestimate how compassionate people can be and also how universal rejection and failure is. We all know what it's like. Especially your professors, who have all gone through their unique journeys to get their degree that's surely riddled with failures and difficulties. They'll understand more than you think, and I promise they won't think less of you. Good luck. I hope this next week brings you lots of joy.

I had previous correspondence with my POI for one of the schools and after not hearing back when others seemed to get invites she informed me about the waitlist. I decided to call the other school and they informed me I was on an alternate list. So for both scenarios, it didn’t seem like they were planning on informing me and I only found out after probing lol

That's awesome. If I could ask, were you asked any specific questions regarding the statistical methods used in your research? I've been practicing, but I trip over my words a LOT when talking about this. I probably have a much more limited stats background than others here honestly. I always feel like I'm relearning what everything means.

Any tips for a panel interview? How does this differentiate from one-on-ones in terms of questions?

It's definitely the lack of sleep I got last night but your sentence about the interviews being fun honestly made me emotional lol. I'm so nervous for my interview this weekend, and I'm really afraid I'll be drilled with questions intended to pressure me--I think it's because grad school seems so foreign and the people in it so intimidating. I'm really glad you had fun. It gives me a lot of hope that interview day will just be me talking about my favorite subject and making good connections with people.

Right? I'm trying to be optimistic, but I'm also terrified that they're going to ask me a question that I haven't anticipated or something wild will happen and just ruin everything. I really hope everything works out for the both of us. At the very, very least this interview will be a learning opportunity for us and will give us a lot of insight for next application season.

Officially ended this application season with only one interview. I'm proud of myself for getting one, but I'm also really nervous that I don't have anything to fall back on if this doesn't work out. Good news is that this was one of my top 3 schools. Bittersweet news is that I got waitlisted for interviews on my other two top slots. It gives me confidence if I have to apply next year--I know I have a good vision for where I belong. It also sucks, because I feel like I'm barely missing the mark.

Whoever posted that they were rejected from UMKC today--could you please PM me? I would like to know if this was a generic email or a PI-specific one. Alternatively, if you have any idea whether invites have been extended already, I would also like to know that. Thank you thank you thank you.

Just wanted to ask again if anyone has heard from their POI at the University if Missouri- Kansas City!! Editing to add interview invites too!

That’s amazing. I’m sure your children are incredibly proud and inspired by you!!

With the *I is stressed* venting thread being fairly active (which I appreciate greatly), I thought I'd start the antithesis of it: an "I feel capable and ready to go into my interview and I would like to share my positive thoughts to others" or "Things aren't working out exactly the way I want but it'll all be okay" or "I'm getting a ton of interviews and I just want to say I'm happy" thread. Me personally, I'm feeling pretty excited about my interview. Obviously the nerves are still intact, but I'm in a good mood and very aware of how lucky I am to be in this position and to have had such wonderful opportunities in my life. Whatever happens this year, I know I should be happy with the work I put in--I think we all should! If you're feeling positive, post some encouraging words here for others who may need a boost. The one rule is that I think we should refrain from bragging or trying to covertly one-up each other with our achievements. Post things you're proud of, obviously, but make sure it isn't to prove some sort of academic superiority.

Okay, thanks for the honesty! I definitely have some solid ones to mention if they ask, but I guess I was just worried if I tell them I'm not an avid reader, especially not enough to have a favorite author.

Can someone tell me whether or not I'll sound like the biggest dummy in the world during my interview if they pose this question and I say I don't read books? I probably read three novels a year outside of academic textbooks and articles, and if I'm gonna be honest, they're not always the most intellectual things on the planet. I'm really passionate about film and music, so I spend all of my time on that. I'm not ashamed of it and I wasn't planning on hiding this fact if they ask me about it, but I'm also struggling because I feel like I sound insanely immature if I say I don't read much outside of academia.

Thank you. Seriously. I’ve told my mentor about everything, but being vulnerable to people in my personal life about this terrifies me. I know it’s irrational, and that the people that care about me will never think less of me because of this. But I’m afraid of seeing the concern in people’s eyes. The pity that this isn’t working out the way we all thought it would. I’ll genuinely try tonight though. I have a couple good opportunities to tell people close to me. Thanks for giving me a boost.

I’ve only got a couple of schools left that I need to hear back from, and I’m afraid they’re both gonna end in no interview invites. Just like almost everything else has. I’ve been hiding the rejections from a lot of people in my life, afraid to face them and what they might think. It’s hard to even face myself with this sometimes, as optimistic as I try to be. Just wanted to send some good thoughts to everyone here who might be on the same boat.

That's a tough position to be in, and I'm sure you've already done plenty of self-reflection when it comes to what you should do. If I can say anything, it would be to make sure that you're not holding onto this dream out of a sense of obligation to the hard work you've put in over the years. What's best for you now? I say this because I was in a similar position, wanting to pursue another career that I wanted for much of my life. But as undergrad progressed, I changed as a person--in my priorities and in my interests. Switching to clinical was a hard decision because I felt like I was letting my past self down. In reality, what I want at the moment is more important than anything. Forgive yourself. Do what you're willing and wanting to do for this career, but also remember you are capable of succeeding in other avenues if that's what you want. There's genuinely no wrong choice you can make as long as you feel like you're doing right by yourself and your life.

Talked with my mentor the other day about back up plans if I don't get accepted this year, and she reminded me of something: so much of this process is out of our control and out of our realm of understanding. I've been spending the last week frustrated at myself for how my first application round has been going. But the only thing I should really be doing is forgiving myself, acknowledging that I've been working hard, and channeling all of those frustrations into having a successful interview process. I don't really believe in destiny or the idea that there's a reason for everything that happens to us. But I do believe that life will work out just fine. We're all driven enough to do well in undergrad, obtain relevant experiences, apply for one of the hardest grad school programs out there, and be so actively invested in the process that we post on this forum. That drive will get us somewhere. Will it be grad school for psych or something completely different? Will it be this year or in five years? I don't know, but I'm sure it'll all work out. We'll be fine.

Good luck to all of us then! Hopefully we'll all hear some good news on Friday.

Has anyone heard from St. Louis University? The calendar says that invites should be out by this Friday, but I was wondering if anyone has heard from their PI's at this point? Adding University of Missouri - Kansas City to my question too!