dherres
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Posts posted by dherres
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Industrial/organizational psychology at the University of Connecticut.
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When I visited the school whose offer I'm about to accept (have the email window open and everything!), it didn't knock me off my feet or anything like that. As the OP phrased it, empirically it's the "right" choice, but I just don't have an overwhelming love for the idea of moving to CT.
But then I remind myself that feelings aren't facts: just because it doesn't feel the way I think it should feel doesn't mean it's a bad decision.
I think I'm not letting myself get as excited as I should/could be because it's not exactly what I had in mind for myself. Don't get me wrong, I was simply beside myself when I got the email of acceptance, but as for actually going there, although I know it's a good move for me, I'm not jumping in my car and saying to hell with Atlanta this minute.
But I'll get over that and be happy with the choice I made. What else can I do?
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Only 59 results posted to day so far...activity is slowing. 2 days before the deadline.
Want some activity on here, at least?
I'm still waitlisted at my (now) top choice (1st choice put me in their MA program). As of last Thursday, they were still waiting to hear back from one last girl -- she was off visiting another school for a different program and would have a decision over the weekend. If she turned down their offer, the department would reconvene today (Monday) to decide who to draw from the waitlist pool (apparently it's not a ranked list, although I was told otherwise two months ago by one of the faculty).
I haven't heard anything. Maybe she did accept their offer? Maybe they sent out an offer to someone else on the list and there's still the possibility that that person will turn it down as well, forcing them to reexamine the waitlist and (hopefully) me?
It's not yet time to start counting down to the 15th by hours..... is it?
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Isn't pursuing a higher degree for the purposes of advancing -- or even changing -- one's career pretty common and acceptable?
I'm waiting tables right now, so hell yeah I'm trying to get out of that!
Although my "real" goal in getting a PhD isn't to land a golden ticket to Academia-Land but to work in a psychological corporate consulting setting...... I think that I'd enjoy teaching at Berkeley on the side, though. 
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I'm finding myself in a similar situation.
MA program: The school itself is a big name, although the specific program in question holds less distinction in the field (so sayeth an inside source). The program itself, however, gets me all excited inside: from the degree requirements, the faculty interests, coursework, experience opportunities, location.... downside is, it'd put me at least $100k in debt. And of course, it's still not an absolute guarantee that I'll get accepted into a top-tier PhD program upon completion.
PhD program: Although it's not really found on any rankings list, it apparently has a greater presence in the field than aforementioned MA (appearance at conferences, etc.). I went to visit this past weekend and on paper, it's impressive: it's also well-structured to fit with my own objectives, although the research the faculty does isn't as exciting to me as at the MA school. They are, however, offering the standard PhD financial package plus benefits. Herein lies the problem: even still, something inside of me is holding back from leaping with enthusiasm.
I think I'm going to go with the PhD option -- rationally, it makes more sense -- and hope that my emotions catch up with my head as I get more into it. Bad move?
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When I was trying to find an RA position as undergrad, I just emailed professors about it. I realize my situation's different from yours as I was merely looking to volunteer and wasn't worried about funding, but.... I emailed people at both my school and some others in the area, introducing myself, where I was in school, and why I was contacting them. I then proceeded to mention what I'm interested in and what I intended to do in grad school, followed by what lab experience I already had. It was very professional, and I got a LOT of people turning me down as they already had enough people in their lab. But I still had a decent amount ask for a C.V. or request that I email again in a month once the regular semester ended, and then got an interview.
I don't know exactly how it works in your situation, if the funding comes out of the individual PI's budget or whatnot, but as TKassis said, I'd be surprised if you ran into many problems since you're already accepted to the program.
And TKassis, it sounds like you're going about it more or less the same way I did.... but also don't forget about the PhD students who always need assistants for their own work as well.
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Congratulations!!
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I normally date older (not a lot older, just a few years) people so undergrads are definitely out of the question. Plus, they seem so immature.
Ditto!!
I find myself crushing on professors, which obviously is not going to go anywhere.I don't know..... ever read PhD comics?
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Does anyone else get the feeling that the SIOP convention is slowing down the remaining bit of the process? Maybe I'm just sick of waiting...
Yes.
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Eh? Lesse...
Stanford University: Named after Leland Stanford Jr.
Harvard University: Named after John Harvard
Yale University: Named after Elihu Yale
Cornell University: Named after Ezra Cornell
Johns Hopkins University: Named after (surprise, surprise) Johns Hopkins
I could go on...
Emory University: Named after (Bishop) John Emory. (Sorry, I had to chime in with this one!
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Sure..... you might also want to try http://www.moveforfree.com. They were pretty helpful in giving me a list with some more options when I was looking for places, and I think theirs tend to run more towards the cheaper side. I'm not sure if the free moving bit is applicable when crossing state lines, though.....
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So there's this group on Facebook advocating that the government forgive student loan debt as a more effective solution to the recession: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=46657437878&ref=mf
If you don't have FB, then 1) join the rest of the world and sign up, or 2) read the articles below:
http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/mar2009/bs20090323_558993.htm
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/mar/30/financial-pinch-stifles-college-ambitions/
(Disclaimer: Starting this thread in no way implies any opinion about Applebaum's cause one way or another; I just thought I'd spark up some discussion over an issue that's highly relevant to most of us here. :wink: )
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How would you commute to Gatech from your place? Could one walk (is it too dangerous) or does one have to use MARTA?
Could you also list out safe, not very expensive, areas that are near Gatech where a graduate student who intends to stay with his wife could look for apartments in? Also to be kept in mind is that the wife wouldn't be allowed to work due to restrictions on her F2 visa and would have to stay home all by herself for most part of the day. So safety is our first priority (but I simply cannot afford the graduate family housing). Any suggestions/advice?
My area is definitely safe enough to walk to GA Tech -- I wouldn't suggest it otherwise, don't worry. :wink: I was an assistant at the I/O psych lab there last year and several of the grad students lived only a couple blocks away (and blocks, while scarce here since the city's not on a grid, are pretty small). They told me that they walked to campus regularly.
You might want to check out Archstone Virginia Highlands apartment homes. The Archstone company as a whole tends to be well-regarded, and that location in particular would be good for commuting to GA Tech.
Have you seen MARTA's website? http://www.itsmarta.com. It's the public transport here, and their site should allow you to search for specific routes to take between points -- could be useful as a starting point.
You also might want to use Promove. They're a professional apartment-finding service -- http://www.promove.com. They're free; you just tell the leasing offices that they sent you when you go to look at a place. It's the apartment companies that pay the service.
This is probably an obvious suggestion, but if you don't have a car, at least get a bike. The biking community here is pretty strong.
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I wanted to bump this one up in case anyone does have experience with the town, since now it's a good likelihood for me (at UConn.... ugh, I keep waffling over the two options).
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DUDE!!!!! That is MEEEE!!!
I swear I did the same thing. Went to a posh, top Liberal Arts College but dropped out because I became gravely ill and my grades suffered for it. Got into a state school with low admissions expectations for transfers, that isn't even the flagship university, and have to endure condescending or confused looks when I tell people my story. Hey, it's not my fault I got sick. :cry: I just wish I at least tried for the flagship university--but my gpa was so atrocious that I didn't even bother. Oh well. I ended up graduating with high honors from my TTT but it's still embarrassing. I won't even hang my diploma up.
I am unbelievaby grateful that I still had the opportunity to graduate from my 1st school given the circumstances (severe depression with alcoholism and addiction, resulting in two suspensions and a near-expulsion because of grades). When I spoke with the lady in charge of academic audits prior to deciding, she told me I only had my major classes and a PE to finish -- I cried for a good 45 minutes afterwards. Even though it put me several K more in debt, I NEVER would have forgiven myself had I stayed at State School..... I had decided while I was there that I wouldn't even walk at graduation.
Sorry it didn't work out for you...... High honors isn't something to be scoffed at though, anywhere. And look -- now you're on to bigger and better things, right?
P.S. Old Nick was SOOOO much better than that junk they play now! "Whenever my life gets me so down, I know I can go down....." Roundhouse, Clarissa, Are You Afraid.... Ahh, happy times!
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Is anyone thinking about not going with a funded offer? I am into a program fully funded and wondering if my interests will actually fully line up. I went for the program not a specific professor when I applied. I figure they accepted me knowing my interests, so I must fit in somewhere.
I'm in the same position. I don't know how stupid it would be, and how much I'd regret it later on, to turn down a funded for a non-funded offer that's a better fit for my interests and goals.
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If you do the Fulbright, you will have no problem reapplying successfully, from what I understand
I'm not so sure about this. A good friend of mine worked in the admissions office of the school where she got her Ed.M. We were discussing applications one afternoon (since I applied to a PhD there as well) and she said that they've turned away plenty of Fulbright scholars.
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Hi everyone!
I also have been admitted to the Social-Organizational program at TC and I am pretty sure I will be going there. The only thing I am worried about is funding, but that's an issue anywhere I guess. I'm eligible for work study but I want to look for a job off campus that will pay more and give me more hours. Any suggestions? Also, I'm from Arizona so how would I go about finding a place to live?
Liz
I've been seeing lots of places listed on craigslist. Also, Columbia has an off-campus housing program to assist students in finding a place: http://www.tc.columbia.edu/housing/deta ... +Resources
I'm concerned about finding a job as well. During the fall semesters, I believe the Consulting Club at the school (led by students in the Org Psych program) hosts a recruitment fair. I don't know if they offer any assistance for those who move up during the summer and want to seek employment then.
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Heh so very true... that sort of stuff happens to me too.
I started my undergrad at a pretty good school, then took some time off and went to the local state school for a couple of semesters (biiiiig drop in the level of expectations, type of student body, workload, etc). For a while, when people asked me where I transferred from I would tell them, and hear them exclaim, "Wow.... why on earth did you come here?" (Long story, that one.) After a while, I just stopped telling people.... "just some private school," I'd say. Midway through fall semester, I had decided to go back to my old school the upcoming spring; when I mentioned this to the people in my Methods class, they asked, "where's that?" I tell them. "Oooh, I didn't know I was sitting next to a smarty pants!" "Let's watch what this guy's doing for our class project, he's smart and you know he's gonna do some good work!" Dude. I'm still the same person. Nothing's changed. Stop it.
Ugh. And outside of the region, it's not even that well-known of a school.
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I live in Atlanta now and have since 2000 (ugh..... ready to go elsewhere!). I have a one-bedroom in Midtown, in a very quiet neighborhood between Piedmont Park and Ponce de Leon Ave. I'm paying $762/month (it's higher because I renewed for only 6 months instead of 12), with utilities being around $60/month. I've seen a lot of places nearby that are going for a steal, though, because of the economy! There's Grady High School within the neighborhood, as well as a private elementary school. I love the area-- it's about 10 minutes to GA State, and a little less to GA Tech (and I can walk to the Krispy Kreme -- dangerous!), and very convenient to a lot of things due to its central location. I've heard reports of petty crime, though -- cars being broken into, etc -- but I've never had nor seen any problems first-hand, and I've been here for about a year and a half. I think if you don't do stupid things like leaving an iPod or laptop on the front seat, you'll be perfectly fine.
Also, another area that's close to GSU is Cabbagetown; it's pretty up-and-coming. I would avoid downtown for the most part; unlike a lot of major cities, Atlanta's downtown is kind of dodgy. (For that matter, I think it's pretty easy to fall into the bad neighborhoods here -- they kind of sneak up on you, Old 4th Ward being one of them.) Also, Virginia Highlands is a great area-- it borders where I live on the east and is probably a bit safer, but it's a bit farther away from the 2 schools and somewhat more expensive (it wouldn't be a bad commute at all if you're at Emory, however). A bit south of GSU is Grant Park, which has also grown exponentially in the past few years to become very popular, yet still remaining pretty affordable. You might want to look into the Inman Park area as well.
One thing about Atlanta that I don't like is that it's not the most pedestrian-friendly city. Within the different neighborhoods it might not be bad, but it can be challenging -- and tiring -- to travel between them. The public transportation system, MARTA, could use a lot of improvement as well. If you can, I'd suggest getting a car.... although even then, the traffic in some areas at certain times of the day can be frustrating (I've heard Atlanta has some of the worst, but I don't feel I'm knowledgeable enough of other cities to offer an accurate comparison).
A lot of the better schools are on the north side of the city, OTP (outside the perimeter -- an acronym you will come to know well!). I wouldn't necessarily recommend living there as a grad student, because the commute to the midtown/downtown areas where GSU and GA Tech are would be a nightmare because of traffic, especially on the I-75/85 connector that runs through the middle of the city.
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I couldn't begin to tell you how many classes I've misses this semester...... which sucks, because a couple have an attendance policy. :x :x
Now, if I take the MA offer, I might be screwed when I reapply to PhD after completion and they want my undergrad transcripts..... but if I take the PhD offer, then grades REALLY don't matter so long as I pass!
A part of me wants the latter just so I don't have to worry so much about doing well this semester!
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It just reaffirms that it's the original and not a photocopy.
I'm probably just being dramatic.
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I actually had a discussion last night that started with how I don't think of tomatoes as fruit and ended with my personal definition of fruit: If you can't eat it with whipped cream, it's not a fruit.
I find it difficult to imagine eating coconut with whipped cream.... coconut-flavoured ice cream with whipped, definitely. I'd be hard-pressed to try a papaya/whipped cream combo as well. :shock:
Looking back, this process wasn't as bad as I thought it felt at the time. Which is good, because chances are I'll be doing it again in a couple of years, albeit to only 2 schools instead of 6, and with a much stronger application.
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I received a rejection letter from the department of School X well over a month ago -- they were the first school to get to me. Today, I received ANOTHER rejection letter, this time from the Office of Admissions itself. It ALSO included the "Recommended Action Form" used by the department, where the chair had checked off the box marked "DENY" and hand-signed it, in blue ink.
This is sadistic.
University of Connecticut.
in 2009 Archive
Posted
I'll be there! For I/O psych.