Zencarrot

It's funny that you mention this. My significant other is from El Salvador and she grew up drinking coffee from a young age as well (they actually put a splash of coffee in her milk bottle when she was a baby). She also says that coffee doesn't give her a pick me up, but instead makes her sleepy. Her family often drinks coffee late at night, maybe a few hours before bed. The coffee they brew is VERY mild though and has only a fraction of the caffeine content you would get in a coffee from a place like Starbucks.

So based on some conversations I've had with people over the past few days and the subsequent responses to this thread, I recant my previous statement (quoted above). Hahaha - apparently Lenovo laptops are only quasi-reliable. Not much better than the HP laptop I currently have (which has failed twice, and is currently in the shop for a third repair). And yes, one thing I forgot to mention was that Lenovos are full of bloatware. Apparently once you reformat them they run better, but only sometimes! Bleh. I am looking to buy a new laptop soon as well, and I suppose I will discontinue my subscription to the Lenovo newsletter

I've heard that Lenovo makes some very solid and reliable laptops. They are reasonably priced and everyone I know who uses one swears by it. You can sign up for their newsletter on their website, and they frequently send out codes with discounts for purchasing online (a month ago select models were like 32% off or something... pretty decent deal).

Hahaha, you wouldn't be the only one who isn't familiar with this subdiscipline of Psychology. I am studying at Western, but the student I/O community is pretty tight knit in the southwestern ontario area (Western, Waterloo, Guelph, etc).

Thank you for the great answer to my question, wrenochka. I probably should have done a bit of investigating first! Sure, my stats at time of application were: - 1 publication - 3 refereed conference presentations - 4 non-refereed conference presentations - no previous external awards (happy I'm FINALLY externally funded now...) - 2 medium-sized (~$5000) competitive internal awards from the school where I completed my M.Sc. - 93% average from M.Sc. and PhD so far. ilovebooks - I was notified by the Faculty of Graduate Studies. They sent me an email indicating that SSHRC contacted them directly with the results. The competition results have been integrated into the online student interface already, so I was able to accept my award with the university simply by pointing and clicking (instead of filling out Form 1). As a side note - are you in I/O at Waterloo? I may actually know you if you are

I think you're taking the right approach. In my opinion, keeping an open mind about research and not overcommitting to a particular discipline is the best way to conduct research that is relevant; at least in the social sciences. The social sciences are so heavily interrelated that researchers who take the most myopic view of research are the most likely to become overspecialized and consequently less relevant. Some of the best research I have seen in I/O psychology, for instance, has drawn heavily from theory in other related disciplines such as social psychology, economics, management science, and even clincial psychology (not all at once though ). No worries - your post didn't come across as arrogant to me. If you are really set on a particular journal, I wouldn't worry about spacing out the time between submission as long as what you submit is of high quality. I do not think that submission freqeuncy has much bearing on acceptance. The only individual who knows the author(s) of the submitted paper is the editor. Provided you do not receive a desk rejection due to some fatal flaw in your paper, it makes no difference to the reviewers how frequently you submit because they won't know who wrote the papers That being said, the creation of sound theory and rigorous research takes time, and so time will inevitably elapse regardless between submissions (perhaps more than you would sometimes want...!).

Notified yesterday that I was awarded CGS as well! I'm wondering, when specifying a start date, can you change it from what you indicated in your application? I originally included the start date at Sept 2013, but I would like the start date to be May 1st instead. Anyone know if this is an issue or not? Congrats to all who also received good news this week

I'm going to sum this thread up with a resoundingly definitive: it depends.

Thanks for sharing this link. It cleared a lot of things up for me. Odds don't look that great for my department either. I received a note today that I was waitlisted. The procedure says that the waitlist is a minimum of 2x the number of allocated awards, but no larger that 3x. So if the department allocates 30 awards to doctoral students, the waitlist could be anywhere from 60 to 90 students. It looks like I am somewhere in that big cluster of uncertainty.

I think that for most scholars, publishing in the same journal repeatedly isn't necessarily even a choice. Most researchers default to publishing in multiple journals simply because a particular high impact journal that they were aiming for does not always accept their work (or in fact, rarely does!). I recently read a very good article from a respected methodologist in my field. He said that oftentimes papers are rejected not because they are of low quality but because certain journals cannot find the appropriate reviewers or the article simply does not align with the mission of the journal as well as other submissions do. Thus, the most ideal strategy (at least in my field) is to publish in the highest impact journals that you can, but do not be preoccupied with publishing in the same journal. Find the most suitable outlet for your work, and keep trying other journals until you find a suitable match (the reviewer feedback should also strengthen your manuscript along the way).

This. You are much more likely to be accepted into a program if your research interests match the faculty members you are applying to work with. Your GPA and GRE scores need to be at a high level, but these are something that every other applicant will have. If you want a better shot at admission (there is no such thing as "guaranteed" admission to a Master's or PhD program as far as I know!), you need to customize your application to the school and the faculty member you want to work with. So in short, step 1 is to clearly define your research interests. Read literature, keep your eyes open on a daily basis for potential research questions, and keep working as an RA if you can. The more research experience you have going into a program the better. If that research experience is related to the research interests you outline in your statment of intent/purpose, then all the better. But do not let the topics you have pursued in the past (as an RA) restrict your future interests. Hope this is of some help to you.

This comment has received a bit of a negative reception so maybe I should clarify. I am generalizing, but most undergrad students come to class like they just rolled out of bed or finished a workout at the gym. I'm essentially saying don't come to class wearing ultra-casual clothing a hoodie, sweatpants, or flip flops. Like you, I am also a very young TA and it was not long ago (in undergrad) that I did dress like that in class. For some people (like me) it will take a concious effort to purchase a new wardrobe and stop using the aforementioned clothing (unless you're at the gym). If anything, I suggest this as a bare minimum requirement for anyone who is TAing, and I think it is a perfectly realistic and practical standard. Hope that clears things up.

I received the same email a while ago. What I am wondering is if OGS is now a two stage competition within Western. I was initially pretty happy when I opened the email but upon closer inspection it just looks like we have been forwarded on to Stage 2.

Just ask University A to delay the deadline for you if possible because you do not have all of the information you require to make an informed decision. You don't need to tell them they're not your first choice. Oftentimes applicants need to consult with their partner or family members before choosing. Asking for an extension to decide won't work at all schools, but they won't revoke your offer simply for asking (just make sure you ask in advance).

Probably depends on the deadline each university has set. My university had a deadline of Feb, so I'm not counting on hearing back any time soon.

When I read the subject of your post, what immediately came to mind is "this individual should not take a break because s/he would lose a lot of momentum in her/his program of research". However, after reading your post, I don't think my knee-jerk really applies to your situation. Because you will remain immersed in doing research and you are in a transition phase (not only between programs but also between research streams) it may be helpful to take some time off. You will have the opportunity to build your CV and as long as you maintain a good connection with your potential referees, you could very well be in a much better position to apply to PhD programs later on. I don't know how old you are, but you likely have quite a few years ahead and there is probably no rush to get your PhD. What I would emphasize again is that if you take some time off, be sure to keep your research momentum going. Admission comittees will see how active you were during your "downtime" and recognize that you are a candidate that is serious about pursuing a career in research. Personally, I went straight from a terminal M.Sc. into a PhD program and switched research topics (defended thesis in late August, moved cities and started PhD in early September - not recommended!) - as a result I lost about a year of productivity because I had to get my bearings again in a new stream of literature that I was unfamiliar with. A part of me would have really appreciated some time off to relax and reassess my goals. Lastly, regarding applications: consider that if you really really want to get into a school, you need to have a very solid application in order to have some hope of being accepted. I'm not referring to grades or GRE. Carefully drafting a statement of purpose that is customized to each school is going to be your most helpful tool to get in. This takes a lot of time (and a fair bit of money). If you feel that you will not get in for other reasons, it is perhaps better to hold off until you are in a more advantageous position to apply. Hope this helps a bit. It is a tough decision and I wish you the best in making it.

After looking over the thread I realized I haven't even attempted to offer a response to OP: No a master's program is not a bad idea. Given the rate of educational inflation present in our society (particularly in North America, but I know it is happening in other parts of the world as well), having a specialized degree in a field that you are interested in will either a) give you a better chance of landing a job after you graduate, or help you in your studies once you decide to pursue a PhD - and it is not uncommon for schools to acknowledge full credit for your master's degree. Much of the salary census data (at least in North America) supports the former statement - your return on investment starts to decrease after you have a PhD (PhD salaries are not much higher than master's salaries given the time it takes to acquire one). That being said, if you plan on applying to PhD programs in North America afterwards (I don't want to make this assumption, but I want to mention this just in case), be certain to check the transferability of your degree to other countries if you plan on getting it outside of North America - this applies to both working and studying.

Yeah, I definitely agree with you. I've found that it is mostly business schools that require a master's degree in order to be admitted to their PhD programs. They often only admit MBA and M.Sc. graduates with backgrounds in business or economics. This requirement is in place likely because business schools only offer terminal masters programs which are largely separated from the PhD side of things. Most I/O programs actually have more in common with other disciplines of psychology: they are typically offered as joint MA/MSc.-PhD programs. However, it is definitely not uncommon for students to stop their studies after completing their master's and leave to get a job in industry somewhere. Faculty in I/O programs know this and they are (typically) more tolerant of accepting students who do not wish to stay for the long haul.

I am not familiar with the new GRE score conversions either, so I can't really judge how suitable they are, but I know that programs differ in their cutoffs a little bit (e.g., UofT's OB program has an extremely high GRE/GMAT cutoff score - likely because they receive so many applicants so they can afford to discriminate). Like Quader said, your can easily draw on your clinical background in I/O psychology. In fact, many clinical psychologists go into I/O-related practice. Interviews have somewhat of a clinical element to them (although they are much more structured and standardized in the workplace --- ideally), and leadership development has much to do with clinical as well. Increasing worker motivation and well-being have strong ties to clinical and abnormal psychology. Research on these topics can be at the individual or group level (or both). I could go on, but as you can see there are a lot of parallels here. Since you have a year off, acquiring volunteer (or paid, if you can) research experience relating to I/O psychology would strengthen your applications.

My rule of thumb: Don't look like an undergrad student. If they can't tell you apart from one of your own, you are not dressed to teach.

I've gotta add a caveat to your comment here: having to go through a work sample as part of an interview for a TA position is only likely to happen if you will actually be lecturing to students. Second, I have only heard of this happening in business schools. I don't think you will need to worry about something like this for a TAship in the humanities - that being said, it does not hurt to be prepared.

I completed a terminal master's program and subsequently enrolled directly into first year PhD at another university with a combined ma/phd program in a related field. I am certain that program policies vary, but rest assured that you are not wasting your time pursuing a master's first. If anything, you will be better prepared for any other graduate studies you pursue in the future and this may assist you in finishing another PhD program faster (because you already know the drill, already have focus research interests, etc.).

Sneha - I would recommend that if you are interested in pursuing graduate studies that you make sure you are motivated intrinsically by a genuine interest in the subject matter as opposed to an extrinsic motivation concerned with ROI. That being said, in terms of maximizing your job prospects and future salary, industrial/organizational psychology is probably your best bet (other specializations are also on the rise, however, such as geriatric psychology). Considering your background at Deloitte, it would also be the most relevant of the subdisciplines within psychology to pursue. I know that Deloitte encourages collaboration between its different departments, and having a degree in information science engineering and I/O psychology would put you in a unique position to contribute to cross-disciplinary projects. Hope that helps a bit.

Just to add a caveat to what MaxiJaz has mentioned regarding the accelerated Masters-PhD stream: If you are planning on going into academia after you graduate, this can actually be very disadvantageous to you when you are looking for a job later on. The second year that you "skip" in your Master's prevents you from getting as many conference presentations and, more importantly, publications as your competition will have. As the job market is tightening and will continue to tighten (thankfully I/O psychology has not experienced this quite as much because we have more choice about where to go after graduation), it is essential to ensure that you come out of a graduate program as the most competitive candidate you can possibly be; this means maximizing publications, and in some cases, teaching experience (I know that some business schools here in Canada place a high premium on candidates who have teaching experience).

Hi there. There really is no hard and fast rule for how many schools you should apply to. What it really boils down to is how much time (and money) you are willing to spend on applications, and how confident you are about getting in. I found it very helpful to reach out personally to faculty at each university you plan on applying to; by email at first and try and set up a phone call if possible (some programs will receive you warmly - others not so much). It is also very important to thoroughly customize your statement of purpose to each university. You need to provide a compelling rationale as to why you want to work with specific faculty members at each university and provide evidence in each case that you have done your homework and know what each I/O department is known for. If you do not provide the selection committee with enough information to evaluate how you would fit with the program (or if you are evaluated as not fitting) then no matter how impressive your grades or GRE scores are, you will not be accepted. It goes without saying that this is a very time consuming process and for some students who are in their final year of study, it can be quite challenging applying to a large number of schools. In my personal experience, I completed a terminal M.Sc. program at one university, and applied to 6 PhD programs during the final year of my master's (it was hell, haha). I was accepted to 4 of the 6 schools (they were all in Canada - a mix of I/O and OB programs). I would say that 6 is PLENTY. It was a very long process and I honestly believe that the quality of some of my applications suffered because I went through so many during such a busy period in my life. I hope this helps somewhat - if you want to provide more details on your background then I could perhaps offer more advice (e.g., based on your research interests I might be able to direct you to programs that would fit well with your goals) - either by PM or just reply to this post. Cheers