JakiraJakira

Just rejected a spot on the waitlist (they said it was short) for UMass-Boston to hopefully open up a spot for someone else. My fiance was not accepted into one of the 2 MSW programs in Boston he applied to so I would be unable to attend. Best of luck to anyone currently waiting!

Honestly if you have the money for at least a basic laptop, I don't see why you wouldn't purchase something to do work on campus wherever you are, in the lab, on a prac site, or in class with flexibility. One of my roommates in undergrad opted to use a iPad pro instead of a laptop and struggled on certain assignments, accessing course materials and running programs. I had to let him borrow my laptop on a few occasions just to complete some of his assignments. And that was undergrad. With the workload increase and responsibilities I think that getting through your program without a laptop would be possible but stressful. The portability and flexibility of a laptop compared to a tablet will help you a ton in working when you are not at home (and you won't be at home most of the day) You don't have to get a $1500 Macbook but a quality mid-range laptop is a must.

That makes sense. The problem is that I was not accepted into any fully funded programs this round (I was rejected from a few). The choice I have currently (obviously I could find funding over the next month or so since fellowship and assistantships haven't been allocated) is between my out-of-state #2 Indiana (rejected from #1) program and my in-state #4 Ohio State and I was waitlisted at my #3 Buffalo. Other programs way down on my list I could not see myself attending I rejected interviews since I would rather pay in state for the first year at Ohio State than attend a program that did not fit my interests. Funding is a huge priority for me but I am lucky to have a partner to be moving with that will offset some of the living expenses if I cannot find funding. I have considered (briefly) taking another year off but from my research there is only 1 fully funded program that truly meets my career and research interests (UW-Madison). I applied to a couple fully funded ones this round that were in the general realm of my goals but they could tell that I had different interests and rejected me. I think with the loan forgiveness out there I might be able to make having 1 unfunded year work.

Ugh. It had been two weeks since I applied to an Indiana university wide graduate associateship that my POI felt was right up my alley. Just heard back from the director after I followed up that I was not selected to interview during the first round but that they sometimes circle back and invite people to interview if a candidate was not chosen. (They have multiple positions but still limited) I still have 2 School of Education associateships I applied to that I am waiting to hear back but it still sucks. I don't know if it makes financial sense to go to my dream school without funding the first year since it is out of state. Is anyone dealing with this too?

That is fair! A couple of other people I know decided to get their masters in psychology at an in-state public university rather than apply to private universities out of state. They will only have to take out like 30-40 k in loans for living and tuition. My fiancé was accepted into an out of state MSW program and with financial aid it will come out to 30-50k depending on how much loans he takes out for living expenses. With the Public service loan forgiveness program owing 50k in loans while not optimal is not a hopeless situation if you can afford it through federal loans. Other people in his psychology graduating class were able to do similar things in state (mainly at Ohio State and UC) going to MSW, mental health counseling and school counseling programs. I just wish it was easier for the people who do want to do clinical research, supervision, training and therapy to get a doctorate in psychology. That is why I wish psychology undergraduate programs would advocate more for other career options (my university pushes heavily towards clinical and counseling psych and does not address options that don't have psychology in the degree name). A professor of my fiancé who wrote them a letter of recommendation asked why they did not want to pursue a degree in psychology. He said "I want to be a therapist for children who have severe mental health issues and know that I can do that with a clinical social work degree". It just depends on what you want! Wishing everyone the best on their future endeavors.

I think many programs are inconsistent with funding. Both the schools I have offers with, it isnt unheard of for a student to go without funding for a year of their program (usually the first) At Ohio State it sounds like after the first year it is hard to not find funding but only about half the first years do. At Indiana University they work really hard to find funding for you and in the last few years only a few (they said students who only sought limited opportunities or chose not to get funding from a GA) students have not found funding their first year. Assistantships at IU are renewable if you like the position and do a satisfactory job. Plus, if they can't find you funding in one year you become a priority the next. If Montana is willing to work with you to find external funding (outside of the psych department) I would not be too worried about going there. It seems pretty common in school psychology and the more help you get from a department for funding the more the program will likely be willing to support you through other endeavors. This is the biggest reason I am likely (almost 100%) going to Indiana. The support they have given me has been so helpful and left me much less stressed.

It took over 4 weeks for me to hear back about a waitlist spot! It is better than being ghosted with a rejection but still stinks.

I am also waiting on funding for the School Psychology PhD program. I have not heard back about university or school of ed fellowships I was nominated for. I applied to three assistantships that I hope I get but interviews for those will be this month. If I get funding, I'll 100% be attending, it is just waiting time till April 15th. Do you know if all programs do a virtual visit? I had a ton of meet and greet activities during my interview week but I am unsure if my program offers one for admitted students.

Agreed! Thank you to everyone on this thread. You all have made this process much more bearable. I also want to add that if you have accepted an offer make sure to follow-up with any programs (even ones you have been offered an interview for) because that might open up an alternative interview spot for another applicant or help them offer a fellowship to another applicant! Don't feel obligated to rush if you haven't heard back about funding yet (I'm sure many of us are in that boat). Congratulations to everyone who has made it through this process. Regardless of whether you were accepted, waitlisted or rejected you should be proud that you applied during a super competitive cycle and gave it your best. I hope many of us end up at programs that are perfect for our career goals.

This is great advice! Agreed.

I got told that by my POI at UW-Madison and was ultimately rejected. It essentially means you are in the running for a spot but I wouldn't assume or take that to mean a guaranteed acceptance.

I think the biggest issue is that psychology is not a high demand field (in terms of job outlook which is 3% or average) whereas social work, mental health counseling and many adjacent fields related to mental health clinical work are in high demand. The Bureau of Labor Statistics put the job outlook of adjacent fields at 8% for school counselors, 22% for marriage and family therapists, 13% for social workers and 25% for Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors. All of these are well above average job outlooks. Schools are therefore focusing on fields that are in demand and desperately need practitioners whereas fields like clinical psych (which don’t have enough internship sites for many more PhD or PsyD students) are only growing slowly. The talent may be wasted but I think what the field of psychology needs to do a better job at is convincing applicants that they don’t need to get a PhD or PsyD to do what they want. There are so many other routes to be a mental health clinician and reducing our field to only a few options means that it will be so much more competitive and grueling.

Yep! Wasn’t trying to countermand what you said. I just know that the majority of programs in school psych don’t guarantee funding so it may be a little bit after our offer that we hear back with our financial package.

I feel that so much about holding it till April. Unfortunately, I may have to do that with my offers since I have yet to hear back from the assistantships I applied to or fellowships. My POI said we would definitely know by early april and I have a favorite so if anyone is waiting to hear back from a program that does not guarantee funding to all students, I would be patient if you are on the waitlist! You'll never know if a spot opens up.

It is probably because most applicants to School psychology programs do not have their masters and are mainly looking at programs in the united states.

Wow haha. I am turning 23 in a month and just finishing up undergrad.

Congrats!

I would reach out to your POI about departments on campus that might have assistantship openings or even look for a university job board. I think I know which university you are talking about and I am surprised they don't offer funding to students for the first year (I heard from a current student they offered funding to pretty much everyone for school psych)

I’m most likely accepting my offer from Indiana University if I land one of the assistantships I applied for. The opportunity to work with Dr Shriberg in his Social Justice lab (Plus he has been so nice and helpful during the entire admissions process) and work with Dr. Ormiston in her action based Trauma sensitive school mental health research is hard to pass up. Not to mention the opportunity to minor in Counseling Psychology or Educational Leadership within my studies or the vast array of practicum opportunities available in the program. I just really felt at home talking to them and all my interviews were super casual and informative. I even talked with Dr Shriberg for an hour (much longer than we were allotted) about social justice issues in education. The current students are super friendly and it just feels like one big family. I did not get that vibe from Ohio State. The faculty just seemed way too busy to have time to talk or help you get to know them (I want to make sure I find the right mentor). The students seemed nice for the most part though.

If I can’t get funding at another choice yes because it is in state for me. The faculty at OSU have been very distant and I only really had 15 minutes to interview with them since I couldn’t attend interview day. I asked about funding to my advisor and she just told me that I should contact the people I applied to work with and that only one student got a fellowship (I’m assuming not you or me). It took a week for her to get back to me and then she’s ghosted me since. I emailed the GA manager and they told me that interview invitations would be going out soon (not sure if it’s to my email or the OSU one) and that decisions on funding would be decided by April 15th. So essentially if you don’t get funding from the department you can’t get it around the university? Or at least I have no idea where to look. The GA stipends and tuition waivers are miles ahead of Indiana (If OSU gives me one) but honestly with my interactions with the faculty at OSU I’m not sure if it would be the best program for me. I don’t want to have to follow up 3 times to get an email response to a question. Best of luck on finding funding! I have other issues with OSU (about practicum, research and faculty involvement in student mentoring) that make it my #4 assuming all the schools I haven’t heard back from or are waitlisted at offer me a spot.

That’s awesome! I wish my POI was able to find me assistantships. For Ohio State I applied for positions with my graduate application (and I’ll get a notification for interviews and what not soon) At Indiana University I was nominated for fellowships but any assistantships (I’ve applied for 3 different ones) need to be completed by the applicant.

Did you end up finding funding at UGA? I remember you hesitating before since they did not offer it at the beginning.

Hope you get in! Wisconsin has a great program. Sad they are only accepting that small number of students. It was my top choice. I haven't heard anything yet but because my fiancé was not accepted into the full time MSW program I think I'll probably go with another offer if I get funding. He got into Buffalo, Ohio State and Indiana University (He actually got into 8/9 programs and was only rejected from our top choice...Wisconsin)

If UF is your top choice, I wouldn't give up yet that you won't get in. We still have a little under 2 months before the deadline and I am sure that at least a couple of people will reject their offers before then (unless you are admitted to a specific POI which might work differently). Almost every program has at least 1-2 acceptances reject their offers every year. Best of luck!

My fiancé was rejected from UW-Madison's full time MSW program and admitted to the part time one so even though it looks grim that I will get in there it is looking more and more likely that I will go to my #2 Indiana University. I don't think I could ask my fiancé to spend 4 years getting a MSW so I can go to Wisconsin when Indiana University is just as great of an opportunity for my goals. My fiancé has already been admitted there and I've applied to 3 separate assistantships that my POI thinks I am heavily competitive for (2 of which are currently held by school psych students going on internship). The assistantships only cover 10 credits out of 12 a semester so while I might have to take out some loans or ask for help from my parents it still sounds like a pretty good deal. The other options are taking two 37.5% FTE assistantships which is 30 hours a week at minimum, fellowships at the school of ed and university graduate school level or finding work on a professor's grant that would cover 2 credit hours a semester. It may be worth taking out a small amount of loans to attend my dream program if I can't find additional funding to make up that 20%. It would only be 7k in tuition fees a year to go (plus the stipend is smaller so I may have to do side jobs) but since we are eligible for loan forgiveness, I think it isn't the end of the world. Plus, if you look at how much PhD Psych students (surveyed by APPIC) took out in loans for graduate school only 41% of students took out less than 30k in loans for grad school.