LJK

My first deadline was today and one of my two (!) professors who hadn't sent in a recommendation by this morning basically told me that the deadlines are more important for me than for him. Ahhh! The other professor did all the ones he could this evening (I have 2 that won't send him an email until I submit my application and one that is hard-copy). Its probably the case that it isn't a hard deadline for recommenders with the deadline being just before Thanksgiving break, suggesting no one will touch any of it until Monday, but why must he do this to me?!? Its just mean to basically intentionally miss a deadline. (And the killer is he just truly thinks it doesn't matter. I know he likes me and will give me a great letter once he gets around to it). When I am a professor someday holding my own student's hopes and dreams in my hands I hope I never forget what it feels like to be obsessed and petrified that the smallest thing will get in the way of admission.

Doing a summer research program would never be a bad thing: You get more research experience, which may turn into presentations/publications down the road, and you have more professors who know you well (aka LOR writers). At the same time, if the summer institute costs rather than is funded, I don't know if it would make enough of a difference to be worth it if paying for it is at all a struggle.

One thing you might look at is whether there are other developmentalists and other psycholinguists in a department. Especially if they have been in the same department as this psycholinguistic developmental researcher for a while they are likely to be well versed in what they are doing and thorough proximity stayed some what knowledgeable about the sub-field. If a program has other developmental professors and other psycholinguistic professors you will have additional people to challenge you on both aspects that you want to specialize in and have ready made committee members. Even if you are mostly focusing on language, you will want to know broadly about development especially at the age range(s) that you will be using as your sample. And even if you are focusing on developmental research, you will want to know about the major psycholinguistic theories and how your work fits into the debates. I hesitate to say it, but what if your perfect POI who would never abandon their students by their own choice has a severe health issue (car accident, heart attack, mental health from death of a child, etc.) during your time in their lab? Hopefully this does not happen, but planning to avoid situations like that is not always possible. Having other options is the only real recourse. The way I am structuring my fit paragraph is: Ibelieve that I will be able to continue to follow my research interests in the{concentration} in the {department} at the {university}. Dr. XXXX’s research {here I put in details about the main professor's research that interest me and questions I would like to build off that research with} Additionally,I believe there is a fit between my interests and Dr. YYYY’s work in {brief keywords}. At schools where I would be interested in more than one professor as a potential advisor, I go into detail and pose specific questions building of each of their work. At schools where I see connections multiple connections with professors that I'm not necessarily interested in as my main advisor I put them into the brief mention category. The brief keywords should be enough for those professors to see why I think there is a link between our research interests - I also think its kind of 'cheap' but I don't have room to go on and on about everyone's work and I want my main choice to stand out anyway. I also start my SOP with: I am interested in working with: Dr. XXXX, Dr. YYYY which includes both the professors I go on about and the brief mentions. Stanford requests this and I decided to leave it for the rest of the schools. My thought there is all of those professors are likely to take a look at the essay if their name is prominent.

I would carefully look at the admissions websites of your departments/schools that you are applying to. I know that one of my schools in particular only wants online submissions (they say it like 80 times all over the place that that is all they accept) but that there are others that give an option (often with a preference for online but an option is an option) while one only wants paper. The information on what is acceptable is usually there on the websites, but if they don't explicitly say that paper LORs are prohibited and don't say they are allowed, I would email to ask.

It really depends where you are mentally in your preparation for graduate school. If you know what you want to do, I would say apply to phd programs and the MA program at your undergraduate institution. Maybe you will get into the phd programs with your current level of experience based on fit and directed-ness if you can clearly communicate your resolve and focus. Your lack of experience will work against you, but many people do move straight from undergrad to phd programs so its not necessarily a fatal flaw. In terms of presentations and articles etc. unless you have something that is ready to get written up now, you probably won't get a publication within 10 months. If you are able to get data collected early that show a result (which you don't always get the first time) you may be able to do a presentation at a conference in time to put it on your CV. You will definitely develop your research interests in the time it takes to get an MA, and you will be able to show that you know what graduate school is really about and that you want to actively remain on that path. There is this 'urban legend' (I like that characterization!) that MA or MS degrees are harmful in the admissions process but I can't really understand why: if the admissions process is a gamble for the school, knowing that a student has moved beyond thinking like an undergraduate student to thinking like a graduate student should be beneficial not a deterrent. The departments you are applying to want to know that you will finish, that they aren't 'wasting' funding on you, etc. If you have experience being a graduate student and are looking to sign up to continue to be one, you should be less of a gamble. You would also come in with a clearer understanding of what research is about and would be able to jump in rather than needing a lot of time to get your footing. If you don't apply for the MA and don't get into the phd programs you apply to, what would you do with the time before the next application round? If it was something like getting a job unrelated to your interests, I think that would be considerably more harmful to your prospects than being actively involved in the field and continuing your education. If you had an alternate plan to the MA that would make you a more qualified applicant, I could understand not going for the MA. But at this point don't you want that option?

Are you interested in clinical? Or is that an assumption the above poster is making? I am currently pursuing a terminal masters at my undergraduate university. I majored in anthropology and other than knowing that I am interested in 'cognitive psychology', moving from 'cognitive anthropology' I didn't really know much about psychology. Regardless of whether it looks good in the admissions process, doing the MS was a great move for me to locate what I'm most interested in and from there figure out where and with whom I want to get my phd. Now I am applying to the 10 programs in the country where there are professors do the research I am most passionate about. If I had just applied out of undergrad, I don't think I would have been able to get into 'top' programs, and if I got in anywhere I probably would have more fallen into a research focus than centered in and chosen it myself. If you don't have a formal background in psychology, have you done lots of reading? Do you know what sort of research you would like to be doing? The phd research forms the basis of what research you will be doing in your career, should you be going in an academic direction. I know less about clinical if that is the direction you are going, but presumably you are still going to become an expert in something that will guide your career. Do you know what something you want your expertise to be in? As for whether it will be helpful in the admissions process we shall see! I am applying to programs that I would not have any confidence in being qualified for before my MS, but now I know that I have a great fit with one or more professors at each school. My current advisor suggested I do the MS on my first meeting with her. I didn't have psychology research experience and was pretty clueless on how psychology in general works. At that point I had just graduated undergrad but had a scholarship to stay for an extra year, and if I had been applying to phd programs I would have needed to get started right then on applications. She, as a professor who accepts students into a phd program in cognitive psychology, thought that I should get the research experience and the exposure to a greater range of cognitive psychology. A year and a bit later, I do know where I want to be going and what I need to do to get there. If the MS somehow counts against me, I know now what I love to do and I am determined about being able to do what I love and will keep trying if I don't get this cycle. To sum up: regardless of its admissions utility, the MS was helpful for me in and of itself. Mine was funded so that may be a consideration.

I don't *know* the answer to this question, but my guess would be that being able to claim residency would be, if anything, a benefit rather than a negative, but mostly if you were being offered funding. I believe somewhere in the forum (I couldn't find the thread, sorry) it has been said that the UT schools can't give tuition waviers, that it is against Texas state law. Therefore, if tuition is being paid for you it would be coming out of the department coffers. This is how tuition payment works at my current institution though it is not in TX. You costing less than another student who does not have Texas residency might tip a scale, but I would think it would only matter in the case where it came down to you and another equally qualified student. The lower cost would only be for a short time since they would likely want graduate students to establish residency as quickly as possible. So to sum up, I don't think it will matter all that much, but I would claim residency.

Relatedly, do we need to send in transcripts from Study Abroad programs? I'm thinking yes, but its going to cost a spare $7 a school... grumble grumble

I was not having luck with my own scanner at home. Luckily I am currently an MS student and have access to the department's copier. The copier is able to make PDFs and email them to you. I didn't even need to make photocopies to get the file size as low as 1mb for 2 pages. My guess is that at a place like FedEx or Staples etc. you will be able to do something similar. Unfortunately using the copier also showed the true background on my official transcript as having giant: "XXX UNIVERSITY XXX UNIVERSITY COPY COPY COPY COPY COPY COPY" repeated across the whole things so its pretty hard to read but I have to send official transcripts anyway so its not too big of a deal.

My Header: Name of University | Name of Department | Statement of Purpose | My Name I center it and make it 12 point font if it fits or make it smaller to stay on one line.

http://bcs.mit.edu/academics/grad.html Admission Requirements Students should be adequately grounded in the basic academic disciplines that will provide the foundation for their graduate work. Relevant background varies across different areas of the department, but entering students will typically have taken at least one year of college-level work in several of these areas: biology, chemistry, cognitive science, computer science, linguistics, mathematics, neuroscience, physics, and psychology. For some students, make- up courses may be required during the first year. Relevant research experience, either in college or post-college, is also highly desirable. I actually have 3 potential people at MIT that I would be interested in working with. One is more interesting than the others... There isn't any cognitive neuroscience research at my current school and I didn't try to pursue anything through the biology department, so nope, only a low level undergraduate course for neuro background :/

MIT listed a bunch of disciplines: bio, physics, math, chem, linguistics, psych, cog sci, and neuroscience, that they say many of their students have at least a year of coursework in a number of them. I have a year of stats, not calculus or anything (which maybe more of a its MIT stereotype that calc is more what they are looking for), and psychology, including psycholinguistics. I do have at least a semester in each of the listed disciplines. My weakness is neuroscience, which the department is more of a neuroscience department than a psychology one... I think my degree choices would be cognitive science or neuroscience. Objectively, I probably am not too weak coursework wise but I'm nervous that if I'm too average I just won't stand out as someone to be excited about. Application nerves I guess ! I don't have a background in cog neuro, just cog psyc, but a lot of the work being done on the questions I am interested in is in cog neuro, so that might be where I am going next.... I am feeling unprepared without any neuro experience. Anyway, I'm going to apply anyway and see, I guess thats all any of us can do at this point.

Hello! I'm applying to a combination of cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience programs. I am wondering what sort of science/math background you other cognitive neuroscience applicants have. I only have AP Bio (which my university gave me credit for as environmental science), 1 semester Chem, 1 semester Physics, withdrew passing from calculus my freshman year, Basic stats, 1 semester human evolution (anthro class), a year of graduate stats for psychology, a semester of cognitive science, an intro cog neuro class (lower-level undergrad) and a semester of computer science. There is a range of As and Bs on these classes, with an upward trend. I am also currently TAing undergrad stats for psych. I used most of my undergraduate credits for anthropology classes, and now almost done with my MS in cognitive psychology. I am confident that I am qualified for the cognitive psychology programs I am applying to and it will come down to fit and how qualified other applicants are, but reading the MIT admissions page, I realized that I might not have the coursework background that cog neuro programs are looking for (or at least that MIT is looking for). I think I am still going to apply, but I am now wondering if I should be addressing my lack of full years of science, or if I should be taking a class next semester that will fill in the most important gap (though I'm already taking a psych class and finishing running/writing up my MS thesis project). What do you guys think?

I would check in with the professors from your undergrad. Maybe none of them do remember you, but maybe they do. If you are in the area of your undergrad, I would offer to come see the professor(s) at the school because it is easier to remember a face & name than a name by itself. Did you write papers for any of the classes? If you have some sort of substantial work, that will likely refresh their memory even more. If you can, doing as your POI wants by getting the recommendation from your undergrad is the way to go. In most cases (though I don't know how it works at the particular school you are applying to), convincing the POI that he wants you is more than half the battle. I would not disregard his suggestion unless absolutely necessary. You don't want to come off as thinking you know better than him.

The schools that won't send out the recommendation emails to my professors until I submit my application are the ones driving me crazy! Why oh, why? I thought it was just one school that did that and it turns out to be 3 or 4 of my 9 apps! Grrrr! It moves up my whole SoP time table considerably. I have been piecemeal filling in applications. When I finalized my list I opened an application at each school and went through to look for unique questions/documents that I would need to prepare for. When I couldn't stand to stare at my SoP any longer, I would go through and fill out the basic application info. At this point all I have left is to finalize my SoPs, create transcript documents (attempt 1: utter fail of humongous file... attempt 2 today I believe), and deal with a few extra questions. Oh and the personal history essay for Merced... seriously why? I think my biggest struggle is to deal with my odd enrollment in the standard forms... I was an undergrad, graduated, continued on scholarship as a continuing undergrad for a summer and fall term, then was admitted to my MS program (at the same school). I decided to list the continuing undergrad as part of my undergraduate attendance, even though I was taking MS classes, because that is how my transcript is divided. As for passwords, I have a spreadsheet that has the schools, their document requirements, dates, fees, GRE codes, and username/passwords all in one place for easy reference. And yes, I am doing this while dealing with my Master's thesis, a graduate class and a TA-ship.... in the past few weeks I have seen my friends less and less...

My final list is 9. I was at one point as low as 6, partly out of expense, partly out of wanting to make sure that I was in love/had a great fit with each of the programs I was applying to. My current advisor and a good friend who went through two rounds of applications before coming to my current school (she's phd track, I'm terminal masters) both told me I was crazy not to be applying to more just for better overall odds. At the time I didn't know if I would get funded for the Spring so I thought that I might be using my rent money on applications. That isn't a concern any longer but even before finding out, I had decided to add back in all of my cusp schools except for the $125 app fee one, which I added back in once I learned I would be funded. Some of the cusp schools have a slightly more strained fit and I am probably going to end up spending more time on them than the schools that are my core choices to draw fit connections and be sure that I am sounding intelligent about things that are not currently my specialty.

If the image is well motivated, I don't see why not. Make sure to take time to make the image as carefully crafted and clear as the rest of your essay. It sounds like you know what you are doing with it since you have successfully used an image to explain your research in the past. I feel like it would be more risky for someone who isn't experienced as skillfully augmenting their writing with an image. Also, check how large your statement upload is allowed to be and compress the image accordingly.

Since you don't like labwork, I won't be too concerned about re-entering a phd program, at least in your current field... why would you eventually want to go back to something you currently hate? But ending with a Master's is the 'classiest' way to leave a program. If what you really like is the ideas end of science, maybe you can get a job where you are involved in those ideas without having to do lab work. This could be at a grant giving institution like NSF or as an adjunct, or as a consultant for an industry that wants to keep up with the latest research coming out of your field but wants the highlights and wants them translated out of science speak. Regardless, having the Masters should be sufficient to allow you to stay involved in the ideas end of your field without having to continue to be miserable. I can't know your professors, but they are likely to realize that research isn't for everyone and maybe they have some contacts that will allow you to have a leg up on pursuing one of these related lines of work. I would go talk to your advisor, being as positive about the things you like as possible, honest about your dislike of lab work, but avoid being specifically critical of her lab... if you really believe it is a problem with you in this type of work, rather than the lab dynamic entirely, glossing over grievances with the specific lab may help you to get job connections and maybe even a future recommendation that highlights your maturity and self-knowledge while choosing to leave the program - some programs in my area specify that a recommendation should come from your last academic advisor. I mean your advisor could be unreasonable and un-understanding (I hope not!), but if she is professional and willing to listen than you can probably spin this to be a positive move for yourself rather than a negative 'quitting' situation. And coming to her soon, before this season's application review begins will allow her to give your spot to a new student next year rather than having it sit empty (maybe mentioning this will show her your concern for her work, not just yourself). Were you to decide later to try again, if would be from an experienced position where you would have (hopefully) grown, realized why you didn't like the work you were doing before, found what you want to do that you won't hate and be passionate about what you need a phd for at the other end. Right now it seems like you are dreading the future post-doc as much as your current work. I would think adcomms would like that kind of self-knowledge and directed-ness. I agree with the above poster that you don't really need to dwell on leaving this program when applying for another, but the benefit of experience will need to shine through. One more thought: if you are getting a masters as you are leaving, there is no real reason why you have to mention having started the program as a phd student at all if your department grants terminal masters (well unless your recommendation writers are likely to mention it).

If there is a professor you are interested in working with, you should mention them. How else will your application land in front of them to look over? Personally I have contacted one or two professors at each school I am applying to, but have found additional connections to other professors in order to highlight that I will have numerous professors to draw upon in my research, to fill committees, etc. If one of these professors was interested in being my advisor, I would be delighted to have the option in this uncertain application season. Really mentioning as many professors as you have a legitimate connection with interest-wise is the way to go: Scenario 1: Say at Dream School X the professor I contacted ends up having another potential student they are more excited about ( ) then I might have a chance to still attend Dream School X working with my second or third choice professor if they know I am interested in them too. Scenario 2: I could imagine a situation where Professor X is getting priority to accept a student and Professor Y is currently grantless, got a student last year, has a student who didn't graduate as scheduled, etc. and is therefore low on the priority list. If you want to work with Professor Y, and also mention Professor X, maybe you could get accepted as a joint advisee. Maybe they are always talking about collaborating but haven't gotten around to it and you can be their catalyst. That would not happen if you didn't mention Professor X at all. Finally, naming more professors will potentially get your application looked at by more people with a vote if the department has any sort of communality to their acceptance decisions. My guess is that professors like to have people who are interested in their work, even if they are not directly working with them. Don't put in names just because, but also don't hesitate to put in any professor's name who you believe you have a research connection with. I don't know much about how engineering programs work, so maybe my scenarios don't apply as well as they would to psychology but I can't see a downside to mentioning professors that you are truly interested in.

Are you applying for a Master's? Will you be writing a thesis? Or will it be 100% coursework based? If you are writing a thesis, you should explain how your interests fit with professors' research, as you will be undertaking a substantial research project with one/some of them. If the program is 100% coursework, I would suggest still focusing on particular professors, but rather than their research, focus on what courses they offer. Syllabi are often available on professors website, and presumably you want to attend the specific school because you will be excited to take classes with the professors there--express that. Why would reading particular material be augmented by being in the room with a particular professor? If you pick out some particular professors, those people are more likely to pull for you in the admissions process and the extra work of looking into classes will convey to the adcomm more generally that you know what you are getting into by pursuing a degree at the particular school.

I realize this is a post from a while ago and that the original poster has decided what to do but I wanted to comment on references in the SoP more generally for people who are wandering the forum looking for advise/ideas: I am using two references in my SoP: one that has a title that succulently explains the article's theoretical claim and one that is a direct motivation for an improvement in my current research design as I moved from first year project to my Master's thesis. The first saves space in my SoP by using the author's words to write out their position rather than me paraphrasing it as my first year project was directly motivated by said claim. The second is showing how I am capable of integrating the latest ideas and research into my own work (and allows me to directly cite two POIs!). I am including the in text citation, but I am not including the full reference at the end of my SoP. The work I am citing is recent work that my POI's will most likely be aware of. If for some reason they are not, the in text citation will be enough for them to find the papers should they want to know more beyond what I say about them in the SoP. If citing research does work for you, I would say definitely cite. Like in a research article, superfluous citations should not be included - they are distracting rather than helpful. But a well placed reference/citation can augment your writing and convey the the adcomm/POI that you know what you are talking about while showing that you have some scientific writing skill.

Hi Everyone, I have a beautifully, well-crafted SoP that I have gotten to the point where I send it around and mostly just get minor comments (word choice, clarify this sentence) back. (More looks are always welcome though!) However, I was on the Stanford Graduate Admissions site last night and discovered a limit: 2 pgs. It is only on 'Are you ready to apply?' pages, not the actual application instructions. My SoP that I am getting to the point of content with is 2.33 pages, 1362 words. The Department of Psychology website does not say anything about a limit, and the actual application has a upload size limit of 5mb (my document is 188kb). Also, Carnegie Mellon does not have a hard limit, just a rough guideline of ~1000 words. I feel like I am talking about substantial things for the whole 1300+ words. Would you leave in the bit of 'extra' length? Or cut it down to be safe?

I read somewhere that not explaining something that is obviously an issue such as failing grades can be a tipping point to the rejection pile for some adcom members. You don't have to 'cheapen' your depression or write a sop story. Always try to turn apparent weaknesses into strengths where you can. I would put in a sentence or two, something along the lines of: Despite a bout of depression junior year due to a personal tragedy, I was still able to (whatever you did manage to accomplish at that time, did you have 2 or 3 classes that you passed that semester? Did you strategically focus on your major classes?) and was able to rebound to get (average grades or senior GPA here) my senior year, participate in research and write a thesis (or whatever it is that you did). You overcame a personal struggle, pointing that out isn't shameful or cheap in my opinion. I don't think a long drawn out story is needed, just a nod at the obvious 'blemish' on your transcript without apology, just facts. Coming back from that, not having let yourself get completely derailed shows fortitude and dedication, things that profs want in potential grad students.

I just emailed some potential advisors yesterday. I had been meaning to for a while now but didn't want to start a conversation when I didn't know all that much about each person yet. (In case anything turned into a conversation rather than just that introductory email). I have already received 5 out of 8 responses, all reasonably favorable: 2 wow you sound cool 1 looking forward to your app 1 you sound cool but I'm on sabbatical... but you should apply to work with this other person in my department 1 sure apply but my lab is going in a direction that seems to be different from your interests So already I have eliminated all the work of applying to one school where they aren't continuing a line of research I'm interested in, and when applying to one particular school I know to tailor it to a specific faculty member that I may have had as backup rather than primary. Also, the 2 wow you sound cool professors are people that were not at the top of my list but now I will probably concentrate on a bit harder on the apps for those schools since they are interested in me, giving me a better shot of having more options come decision time. You can get useful information out of the brief emails and perhaps even start up a email exchange that will make you stand out as an applicant (I will probably keep talking to the 2 wow you sound cool profs). Email! Its a bit nerve-racking to send a paragraph or two to make a first impression but it can be very helpful.

I got in through a "back door." I was an undergraduate in a different department at the same university as my current MS program. I got a scholarship for a fifth-year (based on my undergraduate GPA, not department based) and decided that I wanted to switch to psychology over the summer. Towards the end of the summer I emailed the professor I wanted to work with about doing a research project and she invited me to come speak with her. She mentioned the MS right off the bat. That first semester she made sure that I got into the classes that the 'true' first-year students were taking even thought I had continuing undergraduate status and was unsure about whether I would want to commit to the MA if I had to pay my own way. I applied to the program for the spring semester and was admitted with funding, though not guaranteed for every semester as is policy in the department for MS students as opposed to PhD students. Being there and being interested helps a lot. But if you *need* funding, and it is in short supply, you should definitely not assume that you will be accepted. Now as a full-fledged grad student in the department, I would not assume that they would accept me into the PhD program were I to apply. It comes down to which professors have external funding, who has priority for new graduate students, and who else is applying to work with that particular professor. My department is much more strict about 'back doors' for PhD students than for Master's students as they are committing to reserving a funding slot for the student for 5 years.