EyelandPychePhD

Yeah that's what I've started doing. Patiently awaiting 8 responses from schools which didn't specify the format on their site. Lol!

Dear Psychology PhD/PsyD Applicants, For the Statement of Purpose, some schools clarify length, for example "1,000-1,500 words", or 1-2 pages double spaced. However, other schools write something along the lines of "2-3 pages" for the SOP. Is there a standard for the format for the SOP in those instances where the format is not specified? Thank you!

Question for you all- Does it look bad to apply to multiple programs within one institution? For example, some schools have a Clinical Psychology PhD, a Counseling Psychology PhD, and a Clinical or Counseling Psychology PsyD. Would it look bad or work against me to apply to more than one or even all three programs? All comments are much appreciated. Thank you!

Hi All, I am thinking that if programs are accepting only 10 or so students for PhD programs, it makes sense that they would check references for every research experience/employment/internship each of the top picks has before offering them a spot.... I have 2.5 years of research experience. In the first lab I was working part time as a research assistant. Unfortunately, the PI running this study turned out to be a nightmare. To be very clear- this was a mutual opinion of everyone who worked for this PI. She would frequently scream at us over the phone when things went wrong (which is ridiculous because problem solving is an inherent part of the process of research on human subjects- problems are inevitable)-- This PI would text me in ALL CAPS at 6am, freaking out about the goings on in the lab. I was an excellent employee- and the RA's I worked with all considered me to be the unofficial research coordinator because I was the most on-the-ball and took point on organizing all of the moving parts and delegating tasks. This PI has a horrible reputation at the school she works at, and has lost her temper in public numerous times. This PI was paying us for part time hours per week but I would consistently put in 30-40 and she still was verbally abusive and had expectations that were just absolutely unfeasible and unrealistic. Also, prior to starting at the school which she was currently at and running the study we were conducting, this PI had recently left her previous institution due to being pushed out after numerous interpersonal conflicts with other faculty members. Not surprising at all. Toward the end of the intervention we were running, the president of the student government school (one of the best in the country) we all attended jumped on board as an RA. This new RA/Pres of student Government verified that this PI was the most abrasive, inappropriate, and downright manipulative people she has ever worked with. The RA/Pres of the student govt. ended up quitting after a few months, and told all of us that if we ever needed a letter to verify that this PI was for lack of a better term HORRIBLE, that she would be happy to write a letter to any of our future employers/schools we're applying to, and recommend all of the RA's who worked with this PI, stating in this hypothetical letter than any negative comments from this PI should not be taken as truth. She then asked me to be run for secretary of the student Govt stating that after seeing me work alongside her as an RA, I had exceptional organizational skills and should be on the student council. I turned this offer down because I needed to focus on gaining research experience. I include this just to show that A.) I was VERY good at my job B.) I was not the only one who had a terrible experience with this PI and C.) Other, credible sources could corroborate my side of the story if needed. Anyway, long story short, toward the end of this intervention things started to slow down and the PI couldn't pay us anymore. I started looking for other jobs and found one that was much more in alignment with my research interests. After 2 months of no pay and no work needed on the intervention, I let this awful PI know that I had found another job and would be terminating my employment. She went on a rant over text stating how unprofessional this was to leave her high and dry blah blah blah. I have a full 1.5 years of research experience at one other lab, the lab I currently work at. I have PHENOMENAL letters from the members of this lab, absolutely top notch letters and references. But I am afraid that I will be haunted by this PI, which was my first research experience. Does anyone have advice on how I can handle this situation? Is it highly likely that admissions officers will give this ex-PI a call or e-mail? I have absolutely no idea what she would or could say about me. But I fear that it would not be good. There was never any "blow up" on my part when I told her I got a new job and would be moving on. But she certainly did not take it well and I believe she may even have other negative things to say just based on how she treated me and everyone else. I thought about just taking this off my CV altogether but the problem is, I got valuable research experience there that I don't want to leave out... and I feel that 2.5 years of research experience is better than 1.5 If anyone has comments I would really appreciate it! I am pretty anxious. It's so unfair because I was such a good employee and did so much to help the intervention succeed. P.S.- The schools I am applying to are across the country from this Lab, and there is a very low likelihood that any of the schools I am applying to will have heard of of this PI or her work, since she is a researcher on certain diseases and how they affect well-being (wont mention the specific disease because I don't want to identify her) and my research interests have nothing to do with that.

Amen

Hey thanks for the great advice. I think I will include the Research Skills section and if anyone asks, I'm happy to talk at length about the skills I taught myself on YouTube- but just leave out the YouTube part. Maybe talk about how much I'd love to use those programs in a research study such as _____. Or even name a few well-known studies in the field who used those analytic methods. All that will require is a bit of homework prior to an interview. Okay cool, so I will add the EEG Device grant. Yes we collected data, it was interesting because it records the users response in real time. For example, while wearing it in front of the class to demonstrate, the line representing of the "excitement" component of my EEG data (displayed on a screen in front of everyone) would sky rocket when someone asked me a question, then as I answered you could see the EEG start to go down, and then spike again as I got to my main point with my answer. It was pretty cool. That's a relief about the undergrad GPA. I still don't know how to "calculate" it because some applications ask you to report your GPA aside from them already seeing the transcripts. Should I write the admissions saying, "Hey sorry but for undergrad a GPA is not possible and here's why?"

I'd rather not say on the thread but if you want to PM me I can send you the link

Have you noticed how seemingly personal the PsyD essays (equivalent to the PhD statement of purpose) are? They seem to be asking for autobiographical information which feels strange to me because I have read on so many occasions that self-disclosure about something personal is not appropriate in the context of applications. For example, some of the prompts might say something like, "Describe an ongoing conflict you've had with a person, or someone who you've had feelings of ambivalence toward. What is your understanding of your feelings toward this person. What has happened in your life which contributes to how you view this person?" (paraphrasing obviously)- but then they might even add the caveat, "this question requires a degree of self-disclosure". I have some ideas on how to balance the line between just enough self-disclosure, keeping the topic oriented toward how this situation made me shaped my perception and growth in a way that would make me a better clinician. It just feels so odd to self-disclose in this setting, but I am actually excited to tackle this challenging prompt given the strange ramifications. The perfect formula must be to divulge some hints about how you think and work through problems and how you experience yourself subjectively and intersubjectively, without getting too "wierd" with it. And, of course, only disclosing information to make a point about how it made you a better aspiring psychologist. Again, I have read in so many instances that disclosing personal information is not a good idea (to name some random examples, such as talking about an abusive romantic partner or substance-abusing parent) in the setting of an application. Sure, perhaps this factored into you're decision to pursue psychology, but I've been told not to self-disclose, unless the interviewer asks something like "tell me about yourself, what are your hobbies" and then you can proceed to tell them about how you are training for a marathon or taking up knitting. I was so thrown off when I saw that a lot of the PsyD programs are outwardly asking you to self-disclose.

I started a thread, "How Important is it to be Published" which got some feedback if you want to check that out. https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/125497-how-important-is-it-to-be-published/ Have you thought about adding some "safety schools" to your list? Although safety school isn't really a term that applies to Psychology PhD applications because they are so incredibly competitive and so many factors determine who is accepted, when they are accepted, and why they are accepted. But perhaps if you're already applying to so many schools and presumably preparing multiple Statements of Purpose already, would it add too much to your current workload to add a few more? You could probably tweak SOPs you already have to customize your application to some less competitive programs. Also, if you have any time, have you ever considered submitting a publication to an open-access journal? Some people on these threads have frowned upon that idea, stating that it will look strange to be the only author on a paper and that some PI's don't respect Low Impact journals, and that it could therefore hurt you more than help you. I honestly don't believe in that advice at all, because publishing more should almost always work for you not against you. Who cares if it's a low impact journal, as long as it's well written and you are proud of your work. It might look better than a big empty space under the "Publications" section on your CV if that's what you're concerned about. Open access journals generally require you to pay to publish, which can be anywhere from 1k-4k out of your own pocket. However, there are some free open access journals which are completely free of charge to submit and be published. Also, even Open access journals will usually want to see systematic reviews at the very least, but would prefer original research in many cases. Narrative reviews are harder to publish, even in the world of open access publishing. In most cases, review articles will only be accepted if they provide a novel contribution to the field under consideration, not just a regurgitation or summary of what's already been written about. In reviewing the open access journals, before getting too excited make sure you look at the "Aims and Scope" section on the journal's website to see what kinds of articles they will accept. Anyway- let's say you found an open access journal and submitted a decent paper to the Journal. You could at least put "submitted" or "in progress" or "under review" or, if time is on your side "accepted" if the editors end up accepting your manuscript on time, and put this on your CV. Journal of Wellness is one journal that is just starting out, so they're encouraging all kinds of publications. It only takes them 45 days to Peer Review it and publish it. However it's not yet featured on PubMed (they need to have 50 articles published before applying to be indexed on PubMed, however they are close to reaching that goal and once they do, all archived articles will then be featured on PubMed). Perhaps beggars can't be choosers. My PI at a lab I work at, when I said I wanted to publish to an open access journal, said "you don't need to stoop that low". Granted, he is a big shot in his field and has dozens of articles published, obviously. To be perfectly honest, I don't mind this option because I have no other publications, which I feel is even worse! At least this way, I can write a fantastic paper on a topic that relates to my Persons of Interests' research, and they will at least be able to go see the article if they're intereseted. The articles from J of Wellness are immediately featured on Google Scholar once reviewed, accepted, and published. And again, provided it is well written and few revisions are needed, they say there is only a 45 day turn around from submission to online publication. If you do choose an Open Access Journal option, just be aware that there are "predatory" journals out there, which will try to take your money but aren't peer reviewed or legitimate at all. Do some research on the journal before pursuing it. If people on this forum disagree with this advice, please do chime in. I am curious to hear what your thought process is. Good Luck! Having so many presentations should be really helpful for your application.

Under my "Research Experience" section on my CV, I am including two part-time (20 hour per week) positions as a research assistant at two separate labs, 2018-2019 year for the first lab and 2019-2020 year for the second lab. I am detailing all of my duties for those positions in brief descriptions, but I haven't been responsible for entering data. I've simply collected data as part of research procedures as a research assistant, but haven't used, for example, RedCap, Qualtrics, or SPSS while working at those labs. Unfortunately, I didn't really get the opportunity to take part in research design under those labs either. I simply carried out the research procedures and collected the data. I am wondering if it look good (or acceptable) to have a section beneath the "Research Experience" section, titled "Research Skills"- to outline some skills which I have acquired on my own time or through coursework, but just not during my experience with the research labs I've worked at. For example, I've done projects using SPSS during a Statistics course. And I have self-taught myself how to use various other data collection/analysis software - however have not actually implemented these within a work or volunteer position. Is that worthwhile to put on my CV? Also, I went to a Liberal Arts undergrad which doesn't calculate GPA and did a double-major in which both of my majors (neither of them were Psychology) required us to take credits Pass/Fail, not letter a grade. I have no idea how I am going to explain this, and can't really calculate an undergrad GPA if I tried. To make matters worse, for the few courses that I did take for a letter grade, outside of my major, I received a B in the course. At first glance, you see a handful of Bs and then "Pass, Pass, Pass, Pass, Pass" for the rest of the grades, so I am afraid that admissions might just assume that I passed those other courses with an equivalent of a B, just filling in the gaps. In reality I received a "Pass with Distinction" in those courses (since I was talented at the classes in my major)- which is my undergrad's version of an A. However, they don't include this "pass with distinction" feature on the transcript. I'm a bit concerned about how my undergrad transcript is going to look. I have an MA in Clinical Psychology, with a 4.0 GPA from the Masters program in which I took all the prereqs for Psychology PhD programs. To sort of "make up" for this undergrad transcript situation and add some interest to my CV, I thought about including the fact that during my undergrad I received a grant for an EEG device. The description of the project is as follows: As an undergraduate, received a grant in 2013 in the amount of $300 with a team of three other students which was used to purchase an EPOC EEG 14-channel Neuroheadset, manufactured by a company called Emotiv. The remaining cost for the EEG device was funded by _______ University's Digital Language Arts Department. The headset was used for a project, playfully titled “Telepathically Responsive Virtual Reality” for a course called Digital Language Art I. When placed on the user’s head the neuroheadset gathered EEG data which, when calibrated to a specific user using SDK Software to recognize thought patterns, could differentiate between cognitive commands for movement such as “move left, right, up, down, forward, back”, or making object disappear. In addition, the headset was capable of reading cognitive states in real time, such as excitement (arousal), engagement/boredom, stress (frustration), and meditation (relaxation). This EEG feedback was then programmed using software and computer game design, to correlate specific cognitive states with inputs for commands during a computer game simulation. The avatar for the computer game was designed to look like “Jesus”, and one of the tasks was to make Jesus walk on water by achieving a meditative state while “thinking” the command ‘move forward’. Failure by the user to maintain a meditative state resulted in the avatar sinking into the water and “dying”. While attached to the EEG headset, the user would use mind-control within the game simulation to navigate the Jesus avatar through the various levels of the game spatially. In addition, certain tasks required the user to achieve a certain cognitive state in order to accomplish small goals in order to proceed through the computer game’s levels. Ultimately the project was a creative art piece investigating computer game design, cognition, EEG feedback. Would that be ridiculous to put on my CV or is it worth mentioning because it's kind of cool and the EEG device is obviously psychology-related? Thank you to anyone who has advice. I can't wait until this stressful process is over! Good luck to everyone.

That's great! I think its so important to get clarity about what your strengths and weaknesses are. Part of why this forum is so helpful. Good luck this round!

I found this journal, the Journal of Wellness, which is a free (no fees!), open-access, peer-reviewed journal accepting submissions. They advertise a quick turn-around from submission to publication. https://journalofwellness.com/ https://journalofwellness.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/JWellness_Handout.pdf "JWellness will publish research and editorials to enhance resilience, physical strength, nutritional completeness, disease prevention, and mental health. The Journal of Wellness is indexed with Google Scholar and is pursuing indexing in the Directory of Open Access Journals, we will apply for indexing in PubMed after 50 publications". It is unclear whether or not they have reached their goal of being indexed on PubMed. I reached out to them by e-mail to inquire if articles submitted before the journals are featured through PubMed will be available there after they get approval. Anyhow, I think I will submit my manuscript here. Does this interest anyone else?

I found this journal, the Journal of Wellness, which is a free (no fees!), open-access, peer-reviewed journal accepting submissions. They advertise a quick turn-around from submission to publication. https://journalofwellness.com/ https://journalofwellness.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/JWellness_Handout.pdf "JWellness will publish research and editorials to enhance resilience, physical strength, nutritional completeness, disease prevention, and mental health. The Journal of Wellness is indexed with Google Scholar and is pursuing indexing in the Directory of Open Access Journals, we will apply for indexing in PubMed after 50 publications". It is unclear whether or not they have reached their goal of being indexed on PubMed. I reached out to them by e-mail to inquire if articles submitted before the journals are featured through PubMed will be available there after they get approval. Anyhow, I think I will submit my manuscript here. Does this interest anyone else?

I don’t have any poster presentations, unfortunately. Honestly, I’ve worked 40 hours or more per week throughout my academic career due to having to support myself financially while living in NYC where the cost of living is crazy expensive. So it’s made it hard to go above and beyond in terms of publications and poster presentations. I’m lucky to have what I have on my resume and CV as is... Its challenging to try to sound like a good fit for a POI without publications, no? Because in lieu of more papers, isn’t my only chance to really make a case for myself in my SOP and possibly interview? thanks!

Wow, funded Masters programs are a thing??? Are they relatively common or not so much? Can you name a few?

Okay this is a duplicate, just trying to place it on the right thread... My question is kind of tri-fold. 1.) What are my chances, as is (based on info below except lets pretend I raise my GRE scores because the score I have is sans studying) and 2.) Is it beneficial/worthy it/advisable to put the tremendous added stress of trying to submit a research paper to an open-access journal in the next few weeks... [see below]......... 3.) another option is instead of trying to publish another paper, I could see how I do on the Psyche GRE and study for it...... Thank you to any and all who read! How important is it to have a publication (accepted manuscript, published, etc.) on your CV prior to applying to a Clinical or Counseling PhD program. I've heard tons of conflicting information, and obviously there's no exact science to and we're basically all just speculating and going off of the luck of the draw... Clearly it's ideal to have a paper published, but how truly important is it.... I've worked in a schizophrenia research lab for the past year, and from that Lab, I was on a paper but my name is far down the list among 20 authors. The journal it was published in was the Journal of Psychiatry and Brain Science, which is a high-impact journal. Other than that, I do not have any papers or posters published. I am half-thinking about fixing up one of my papers from school and submitting it to an open-access journal (even though for open access journals you have to pay $2000-$4000 to be published!) just so that I have something else to put on my CV. Don't get me wrong, I love writing (why else would I want to go for a PhD) but I am currently working two jobs, trying to study for the GRE, manage all of these applications and learn about programs and POI's..... I am already busy and beyond stressed out. Wondering if spending a ton of time and effort trying to get a paper out in the next few weeks is worth it (it would be a literature review). You'll see below that my GRE scores need work... Lets say hypothetically I bring those scores up to 165 V 160 Q.... My research interests are schizophrenia (particularly newly emerging medications with, non-D2 receptor chemical mechanisms), and, separately, positive psychology interventions and the science of positive emotions. I am also interested in biomarkers of social anxiety disorder vs. paranoia in schizophrenia. It would be easiest to write the Literature Review for the open access journal on "positive psychology" since I already have good baseline of background research done on it that I could potentially make a paper with (in the 2-3 week timeframe that I would have if I started writing now). But at the same time, then it makes my research interest less clear. Is it positive psychology, or schizophrenia? On the other hand, is anything published a good thing, even if it makes your research interest seem less focused? This will be my first year applying because I just finished a Masters in Clinical Psychology in May 2020. I have also heard that due to budget cuts there will be fewer spots. That is definitely nerve-wracking, but also just something we all have to accept... If I don't get in this round, I definitely intend to apply again. Undergrad: I didn't major in Psyche as an undergrad (I studies Literary Arts [writing] and Modern Culture & Media [digital writing])—but also attended college from age 16-age 20 so I simply had no idea what I wanted to do as a career.... Once I decided on psychology 2 years post-undergrad, I applied and enrolled in a Masters degree program in Clinical Psychology. M.A.: I took all the prerequisites for PhD programs during my Masters program GPA: and finished my M.A. with a 3.9 GPA. Research Experience: I have 2 years of research experience: 2018-2019, asthma education intervention research (I took the position because I didn't have a lot of options but needed the research experience); 2019-present: The past year I have been working in schizophrenia research... From that Lab, I was on a paper but my name is far down the list among 20 authors. The journal it was published in was the Journal of Psychiatry and Brain Science, which is a high-impact journal. However, I don't have any other publications other than that and I don't have any poster presentations. Volunteer hours: I have 120 hours of volunteer experience in a psychiatric ER and hospital setting. Letter of Recommendation: My letters of recommendation will come from the PI at the schizophrenia lab, another administrator, associated with the lab, and 1 or 2 professors. GRE: I took the GRE completely blindly last weekend (meaning Zero studying or looking into the structure of the test, I just wanted to get a baseline)— and I got 155 V, 149 Q, 4.5 AW. I plan on bringing those scores up quite a bit in the next 3 months and am going to take the GRE 4 more times. Random other writing: In addition I'm almost done writing a book (it's structured more like a glossary)— of 700+ terms from the fields of "psychology and spirituality". Several sections in it function like a Lit Review. While it does contain strong writing samples, it won't be published in a peer-reviewed journal article obviously. I would feel a lot better if I had a few more papers out, but would my application be considered competitive in spite of this? I'm so stressed out about it that part of me wants to skip this cycle so I can actually enjoy writing papers in the meantime, while waiting for the next cycle. But then I feel like I mind as well try to apply this year regardless.

I'm wondering what you did in the past year that made you a better candidate this time around? Were you able to publish more?

How important is it to have a publication (accepted manuscript, published, etc.) on your CV prior to applying to a Clinical or Counseling PhD program. I've heard tons of conflicting information, and obviously there's no exact science to and we're basically all just speculating and going off of the luck of the draw... Clearly it's ideal to have a paper published, but how truly important is it.... I've worked in a schizophrenia research lab for the past year, and from that Lab, I was on a paper but my name is far down the list among 20 authors. The journal it was published in was the Journal of Psychiatry and Brain Science, which is a high-impact journal. Other than that, I do not have any papers or posters published. I am half-thinking about fixing up one of my papers from school and submitting it to an open-access journal (even though for open access journals you have to pay $2000-$4000 to be published!) just so that I have something else to put on my CV. Don't get me wrong, I love writing (why else would I want to go for a PhD) but I am currently working two jobs, trying to study for the GRE, manage all of these applications and learn about programs and POI's..... I am already busy and beyond stressed out. Wondering if spending a ton of time and effort trying to get a paper out in the next few weeks is worth it (it would be a literature review). You'll see below that my GRE scores need work... Lets say hypothetically I bring those scores up to 165 V 160 Q.... My research interests are schizophrenia (particularly newly emerging medications with, non-D2 receptor chemical mechanisms), and, separately, positive psychology interventions and the science of positive emotions. I am also interested in biomarkers of social anxiety disorder vs. paranoia in schizophrenia. It would be easiest to write the Literature Review for the open access journal on "positive psychology" since I already have good baseline of background research done on it that I could potentially make a paper with (in the 2-3 week timeframe that I would have if I started writing now). But at the same time, then it makes my research interest less clear. Is it positive psychology, or schizophrenia? On the other hand, is anything published a good thing, even if it makes your research interest seem less focused? This will be my first year applying because I just finished a Masters in Clinical Psychology in May 2020. I have also heard that due to budget cuts there will be fewer spots. That is definitely nerve-wracking, but also just something we all have to accept... If I don't get in this round, I definitely intend to apply again. Undergrad: I didn't major in Psyche as an undergrad (I studies Literary Arts [writing] and Modern Culture & Media [digital writing])—but also attended college from age 16-age 20 so I simply had no idea what I wanted to do as a career.... Once I decided on psychology 2 years post-undergrad, I applied and enrolled in a Masters degree program in Clinical Psychology. M.A.: I took all the prerequisites for PhD programs during my Masters program GPA: and finished my M.A. with a 3.9 GPA. Research Experience: I have 2 years of research experience: 2018-2019, asthma education intervention research (I took the position because I didn't have a lot of options but needed the research experience); 2019-present: The past year I have been working in schizophrenia research... From that Lab, I was on a paper but my name is far down the list among 20 authors. The journal it was published in was the Journal of Psychiatry and Brain Science, which is a high-impact journal. However, I don't have any other publications other than that and I don't have any poster presentations. Volunteer hours: I have 120 hours of volunteer experience in a psychiatric ER and hospital setting. Letter of Recommendation: My letters of recommendation will come from the PI at the schizophrenia lab, another administrator, associated with the lab, and 1 or 2 professors. GRE: I took the GRE completely blindly last weekend (meaning Zero studying or looking into the structure of the test, I just wanted to get a baseline)— and I got 155 V, 149 Q, 4.5 AW. I plan on bringing those scores up quite a bit in the next 3 months and am going to take the GRE 4 more times. Random other writing: In addition I'm almost done writing a book (it's structured more like a glossary)— of 700+ terms from the fields of "psychology and spirituality". Several sections in it function like a Lit Review. While it does contain strong writing samples, it won't be published in a peer-reviewed journal article obviously. I would feel a lot better if I had a few more papers out, but would my application be considered competitive in spite of this? I'm so stressed out about it that part of me wants to skip this cycle so I can actually enjoy writing papers in the meantime, while waiting for the next cycle. But then I feel like I mind as well try to apply this year regardless. Another option is that I could (instead of trying to publish a lit review) take and study for the psychology GRE instead.

This was my questions as well!!! I am thinking about writing a Literature Review and submitting it to an open-access journal (even though I'll have to pay for it!). If I submitted it by the end of this month and aim to apply to Clinical PhD programs in December, I am hoping that I will at least have something under review by the application deadline. Can the schools/POIs see the manuscript once it has been submitted, even though not published yet? (AKA, can I send them the copy unpublished?). Thanks!

Love the glass half full perspective and this is so true!

I'm applying this cycle! This will be my first year applying because I just finished a Masters in Clinical Psychology in May. I have also heard that due to budget cuts there will be fewer spots. That is definitely nerve-wracking, but also just something we all have to accept... If I don't get in this round, I definitely intend to apply again. I didn't major in Psyche as an undergrad (I studies Literary Arts [writing] and Modern Culture & Media [digital writing])—but also attended college from age 16-age 20 so I simply had no idea what I wanted to do as a career.... Once I decided on psychology 2 years post-undergrad, I applied and enrolled in a Masters degree program in Clinical Psychology. I took all the prerequisites for PhD programs during my Masters program and finished with a 3.9 GPA. I have 2 years of research experience. The past year I have been working in schizophrenia research... From that Lab, I was on a paper but my name is far down the list among 20 authors. The journal it was published in was the Journal of Psychiatry and Brain Science, which is a high-impact journal. However, I don't have any other publications other than that and I don't have any poster presentations. I have 120 hours of volunteer experience in a psychiatric ER and hospital setting. My letters of recommendation will come from the PI at the schizophrenia lab, another administrator, associated with the lab, and 1 or 2 professors. I took the GRE completely blindly last weekend (meaning Zero studying or looking into the structure of the test, I just wanted to get a baseline)— and I got 155 V, 149 Q, 4.5 AW. I plan on bringing those scores up quite a bit in the next 3 months and am going to take the GRE 4 more times. In addition I'm almost done writing a book (it's structured more like a glossary)— of 700+ terms from the fields of "psychology and spirituality". Several sections in it function like a Lit Review. While it does contain strong writing samples, it won't be published in a peer-reviewed journal article obviously. I would feel a lot better if I had a few more papers out, but would my application be considered competitive?

Thank you!^ ^I totally agree. I think including the "gap year" of backpacking could, if anything, hurt my application. I may discuss if it is brought up in an interview. I was traveling in South East Asia because I was interested in Buddhism. I also wanted some time off because I graduated high school early and felt like I needed to slow down after taking the fast track to college. ^^Yes, this is true! In fact, I've even heard that in some cases, "famous" of recommendations can hurt you because if you have no insight into their connections with whom they're writing to on your behalf, you could run into trouble. For example, a friend of mind had someone well-known write a letter of recommendation to a department with whom that person had had a falling out with nearly 20 years prior! It definitely rubbed their POI the wrong way, seeing a letter from an ex-colleague with whom they don't work with anymore due to some work-related conflict. The same thing could happen if you are applying within institutions where the networks are the same handful of big names who have been in the field in the same region for 20+ years. Anyone who has been in the field that long has probably worked at a dozen hospitals, labs, clinics, and had multiple affiliations with different schools. So it's probably best to investigate the relationships beforehand if possible. I can look into it, but I'm not sure this is possible before December. I am interested in spiritual concepts but I am VERY careful about who I disclose this to. In clinical settings, spirit-mind body medicine sometimes has the reputation for being "pseudo-science". I have changed the title of this book several times, to avoid sounding too "crunchy". I have also inserted tons of scientific Lit Review styled material so that if anything I can include some of the best sections as a writing sample, without disclosing the entire book. I think my background in schizophrenia research would help me match with a POI. I am definitely interested in schizophrenia research. At the same time, I wouldn't mind pursuing other areas. I am going to try to tweak my application for each school in order to best align with each POI from each institution. That's probably one of the hardest parts of the application process. Clearly defining your interests on the one hand gives you stronger compatibility with a POI in that field. On the other hand, it can narrow the scope of your compatibility those from other fields. It's a bit of a double-edged sword in my opinion. I'm hoping to increase my score by 20 points in the next 3 months, with a ton of studying. Great idea. Might be a stretch from NYC to the West, but I will check. Thank you. I am in the process of making a spreadsheet with all the POI's, schools and school focus, labs, requirements, deadlines, etc. Organized from best fit to most obscure. I should get started on that now I suppose! I can't tell you how much I appreciate your time and advice! It was so helpful and encouraging! Thank you!

I'd like to delete the names of the Professors but for some reason GradCafe won't let me edit my post.... Does the edit feature expire after some timeframe? I think I will keep the names schools though. I definitely don't believe that going to an "Ivy" is deserving of prestige... I fact I despise that premise, as I've been surrounded by people who totally buy into it. In most settings I've purposely not disclosed what schools I went to because I would rather not have the label. But in this case— discussing applications—I feel like it just gives some background.

Thank you all for your replies! I really appreciate it!