SarahSocPsy

I'm trying to get in social psychology too, and i'm beginning to think of which programs I will apply to in the fall after being rejected from many this application season. I havent received official rejections from every school I applied to, but I am expecting them considering the schools already had interview weekends. I'll probably get into my undergraduate university, but I really dont want to go there. It seems like most of the good social psych programs are extremely competitive. I'm sure the extra time off will give me more time to read and find some programs with better fit.

Hello, I was wondering if any of you could help me figure out which statistical program(s) is typically used for psychology research whether at the graduate or professional level. I'm familiar with SPSS and excel and I have not heard of any other common stats software, yet I have no idea what psychology students at other universities are using.

I heard from my POI at the University of Denver about 3 weeks ago. He told me he was interested in potentially interviewing me, but he had to wait to hear more about funding issues before extending interview invites. He recently informed me that he would not be able to conduct any interviews with students because the department had to prioritize other faculty members who were building their labs due to funding issues.

Hello Ubuntu, I had a similar verbal score my first time taking the test (520) and I was able to raise it to a 650 after studying vocabulary words and taking practice tests. I recommend buying the Kaplan: GRE Exam Advanced Verbal book. During my practice tests, I had been scoring about a 700, so I was surprised to get a 650 on the test. However, I had answered nearly half of the reading comp questions wrong because I was running low on time. My best advice is just to practice, learn LOTS of new words, and remain calm during the exam.

I had a similar experience because I did not feel that I was well prepared for graduate school in social psychology because I didn't delve into my research interests enough. I took a year off and used this time to finish up my thesis project and retake the GRE. In retrospect, I'm glad I took a year off to feel more confident about what I want to study, but I think I would be happy taking even another year off. My undergraduate career was very hurried—I completed three bachelors degrees with a high GPA in just three years after graduating high school. While I gained a lot from my classes, I became so stressed about getting top grades, doing well on the GRE, and getting into graduate school that I managed to lose my ability to focus intently on things I was interested in. I thought I would focus well without the structure, but it didn't work as planned. If you have a good idea of what you want to study in your discipline and have adequate time to prepare applications, I would consider applying. If not, I think you could really benefit from taking a break and deciding what areas of research interest you.

I got 680 on the quantitative section and 520 on verbal and retook it & got the same quantitative score (DAMN!) and a 650 on verbal. Studying vocabulary is very important. I must have learned about 300-400 new words. Also, practice with difficult reading comprehension passages, as you will likely see one if your doing well on the test.

Hello, I'm applying to social psych phd programs right now, and I'm wondering if a 680 quantitative score will hurt my chances of admissions into top programs. I know it's below the average for a lot of the programs I am applying to. I got a 650 on verbal and a 5 on AW (6 first time I took it), which seems to be okay. However, both times I took the test I got a 680 on the quant section because I got nervous and couldn't solve the questions quick enough and ended up guessing on too many. I took precalculus, finite mathematics, and trigonometry in college as well as three statistics courses, and I earned A's in all of them. The statistics courses were all about the same level, but because I have three majors I had to take one in each college and I couldn't petition out. I would hope a 4.0 in 20 credits of math related classes would count for something. I have a cumulative 3.89 GPA (3.97 psych GPA) with a rather rigorous course schedule, considering all my majors. Do you think the math score will hurt my chances, or am I just stressing unnecessarily?

My first time taking it I got a 6 AW and 520 verbal. I would have definitely preferred a high verbal score instead!

If schools don't specify length requirements, then about how long do you think it should be? I have a 70 page thesis document, and I don't know if I should include part of it or just submit another research paper.

I did use "passion" towards the end of the statement (2nd to last paragraph). I made sure to change it Thanks!

Hello! I'm applying to social psychology phd programs right now, and I'm in the process of finishing my essays. I've read advice about writing the SOP from the Donald Asher book Graduate Admissions Essays and also looked up advice online, but I am having a challenging time writing the first paragraph of my SOP. Currently it begins with a question relating to my research interests and an explanation of my passion for social psychology. While it leads to the next paragraph about my research interests effectively, It just sounds so trite. Does anyone have advice for writing the first paragraph? I seem to be fine with writing the rest of my essay, but I can't help but feel that the intro paragraphs I attempt to write seem boring. Thank you for your help