PsychGirl1

I'm remembering a post where someone talked about a website where they completed online surveys to earn a few extra bucks each month (might have been Amazon's Mechanical Turk- not sure). I can't find it anywhere- does anybody remember which website it was?

What do you want to be doing day-to-day when you graduate? What are your interests, ignoring which specialty you want to approach it from (ex. assessment, depression, PTSD, etc.)? The fields you listed are monstrously different- I'd recommend starting with figuring out what you want to be doing and then figure out the best way to get there. Honestly, if you're look for job and financial security above ALL else, I'm not sure I'd recommend a psychology PhD in the first place. I made more in my first job out of college when I was 21 (in a non-psych job) than I will for the foreseeable future (aka I might start to hit the same income around my late 30s). Grad school isn't fun, post-docs aren't fun, even academia as a whole isn't really that fun- unless you love what you're doing. If you aren't sure at this point what you want to be doing and you really want to apply to grad school NOW, it might make more sense to apply for a master's (ex. biostats or stats). It will take 1/3 as long, you will be earning money faster, you will have good job security, and you will have a range of places you can work (ex. academic medical centers, universities, industry). Honestly, nobody ever likes this advice- but don't rush this. Where you decide to apply now will possibly determine the next 10+ years of your life. Better to do it right than to do it fast.

Agree re: master's. It is a nice way to dip your toe in it, get research experience, and figure out exactly what your career goals are :-)

I have time set up with my adviser once a week, but I have to confirm it by the Sunday before. Therefore, we have standing time but only meet when we need to. But she is really good with email, so prefers easy things be done that way as opposed to face-to-face (while my old adviser was the opposite). I usually meet with her 2-3x/month in person. My old adviser, I met every other week, and would never cancel, because it was much more efficient to get things done face-to-face.

NOPE. I like my apartment to be clean and my own personal chores to be on time. This term, I've barely managed to feed and cloth myself . I haven't dusted my apartment in probably 2 months, and my kitchen is stacked with things I need to wash. Sometimes finding time to get to the grocery store is a struggle! To be honest, most of the time it might be doable... but there are some stages - like a handful of tough terms, the months leading up to your quals, etc.- where this added stress will probably just be too much. And as mentioned previously, it sounds like boundaries will be an issue. Leaving work to go home to work is not something I would want to do. You can always get a job babysitting or dog walking if you want to.

Well, even if someone on gradcafe came up with another word, you will still have everybody else in academia using the word "plagiarism", and you would still get the same repercussions from doing so.

Plagiarism includes incorrect citations. This was also intentional- not like they had one or two citations that were off, but they just decided to put in all the wrong citations for everything. Ethically, it is probably less severe than other forms of plagiarism, which is why the OP should fess up to it, but it's still plagiarism.

If you tell him the truth, you will look lazy and it will be embarrassing. If you lie, you will look like you purposefully plagiarized and then lied. Lose-lose, but I'm betting the repercussions from the first option will be significantly better than the second option. Next time, get EndNote and don't be lazy.

I stick everything in EndNote and organize them into groups/categories!

Some journals will do that for "special reports" or special types of articles- read through the author instructions for the various journals you are considering.

You can also work on getting referrals now to people in the area, so you can check out therapists first thing and keep your treatment continuous

Agree. There are a handful of funded programs, so those should be prioritized. I actually chose an unfunded program over a program I was accepted to with full funding and a stipend, because the other program seemed like a MUCH better fit for me (and it was). People in my program minimized cost by getting paid to do things that were great additions to our CVs (working as assessors for studies, TA'ing, paid part-time RA positions at our university or universities/hospitals nearby, etc) or working within the department (great way to get to know the faculty and admissions process for grad programs). I also lived at home and commuted. And my program also gave a handful of scholarships when they extended offers which helped a lot. Overall, I graduated with less debt than a year's worth of college, and I felt it was a solid investment. Also, if I had decided that a PhD wasn't the best decision for me, then I had more career options with my master's when re-entering the work force. If I had to decide again, I'd make the same choice. Again, tough decision, and it really comes down to what is best for each person.

You definitely do NOT need a master's degree. But as someone switching into the field, I found it very useful. First, it gives you a taste of what a PhD program and a career will be like in Psychology. Second, you can start getting strong LORs and networking within your subfield, so that when it's time to apply to PhD programs, you have a strong sense of who is who, what programs do what, and where you want to end up (and with who). All subfields have political drama, cliques, and crazies, and applying blindly isn't necessarily the smartest way to approach it. Third, you get to design your own thesis and go through the whole defense process. Fourth, you get exposures to different areas of Psychology- I didn't even know about Health Psychology until my master's program, and now I'm in a Clinical/Health PhD program. There are plenty of people who switch into the field without doing a master's, but I found it invaluable- it helped me get into my top choice PhD program, and made me a lot more comfortable and confident coming in. In a PhD program, you're expected to be fairly independent and know your stuff. Without that experience, I would be pretty lost right now. At the end of the day, it's best to consider all the options and decide what is best for you!

I switched into Psychology from a different career. This is what I did: - Emailed professors at nearby universities and asked if I could volunteer with them PT (nights/weekends). Surprisingly, this worked for a few labs- I got some cool opportunities. At a minimum, you may be able to get experience with phone screenings and data entry outside of hours, although depending on the studies going on, you might get some more interesting things! - Took a night class (and later an online class) in Psychology. You'll need a few basic courses depending on what area of Psychology you're in. - Aced the GREs - Got a tiny bit of clinical work (ex. rape crisis intervention, suicide hotlines, homeless shelters, etc.) - Applied to FT 2-years master's with thesis and a mentor using the LOR from the volunteer lab as well as work references (while not psych, you can have them stress other strengths you have, like data and quantitative skills) Then ended up in a PhD program! It's a bit of a long route, but I'm glad I went through all the steps or else I would have been SEVERELY overwhelmed in my PhD program. Good luck!

The program with the most research opportunities, where you will be matched with a professor who can write you a fabulous LOR and fight for you during the admissions process to a PhD program. Talk to current students- figure out what they like/don't like about the program, what opportunities you will have, and what people tend to do after the program. Edit: If it wasn't clear, none of the variables you listed are particularly helpful in the decision process.

Every organization is different, but they usually are open to everyone. Do some leg work yourself- google it, contact organizations, ask people in the field, etc.

It's not hard, but it just might not be things you want to do . Some things I'm aware of where people can easily independently sign up to do: - Suicide hotlines - Rape crisis intervention - Women's shelters, like for domestic violence victims - Depending on your research interest, look for non-profit companies to volunteer with, for example, if you study eating disorders, you can find an ED awareness organization, or if you're interested in autism, there are companies like ACEing Autism that teach tennis to children with autism. If you volunteer in a lab that does clinical research and actively has research going on, you may also get the chance to co-lead groups or the equivalent (even if they are the control group!). For your career, you can also work as an RC- some positions have a very high amount of clinical experience and working with patients, and others have none, so be careful to pick a position that matches your interests and your gaps on your CV (ex. do you want to be some place where you get max clinical experience? do you want to be somewhere where you can get research pubs? etc.).

"I'm too broke to fly east"- my best advice is: suck it up and get out to the East Coast. This is too important of a decision, and long-term will be worth the investment. You will want to meet people in person, see the campus, see the lab's, and get the HONEST info from the current students that would be hard to obtain in other ways. Alternatively, ask if you can speak to 1-2 people at the current program over the phone, and speak to your future mentor(s) if you know who you want to work with. Do it over the phone, so that you can get a sense of tone/personality/etc. But honestly, it's worth the money to come see them in person, in my opinion.

My program is 6-7 years, which includes a year-long internship. We are longer than most other (clinical) programs, which are typically 4+1 or 5+1. I got my 2-year master's degree before entering the program, as did almost my entire class. When I interviewed, programs significantly varied on how they handled master's. Some would let you waive classes, some would let you waive your thesis IF you submitted your master's thesis and it was approved by a committee as being quality enough, some would allow both, and some neither. I ended up choosing a program that didn't allow either, which I was okay with, because I wanted to ensure I had a great foundation, got to know the faculty, and I had no interest in making my program shorter. My opinion: I know it's easy to get short-sighted and just want your degree ASAP, but you really have to think about what is best for your career. You aren't from the states, so you probably haven't networked much here. Yes, your PhD program is about your degree, but it's also about developing solid research skills, solid writing and presenting skills, and clinical skills (if you're clinical). It's about networking, developing a relationship with your mentor, cohort, and people in your field. It's about getting as many publications, presentations, and posters as possible in the time that you're there. Staying in your program longer will let you do more interesting research projects- grad school is one of the few times you will have such a fantastic support network (your lab, mentor, committee, etc.) who is willing to help you learn, apply for more competitive grants (such as F31), and be prepared upon graduation to get a highly competitive post-doc (and internship, if you're clinical) and then faculty position. Rushing the process will possibly/likely put you at a disadvantage throughout the beginning of your actual career. Just my point of view

What about the world of eating and obesity within Psychology? :-)

A 1-year MA is riskier than 2-year master's with a thesis option. That being said, if you get an RA/RC job, they often carry 2-year commitments. I think you'll just have to weigh the opportunities in the program versus the opportunities you can get outside of it, if you maximize your time/volunteer in labs/etc.

Clinical psych programs interview, almost always. For other areas, such as educational or quant or I/O psych, it seems much more program-dependent. As in, the program either interviews or it doesn't (not usually candidate-dependent, unless like someone said above, something funky happens with the waitlist- although in clinical psych, they usually interview 2-5 people for a spot, so even people who end up on the waitlist were interviewed). Sometimes these programs do have admitted students weekends, though.

It is worthwhile... if your GPA is the actual reason you didn't get any interviews, or if you have any major gaps/issues in the classes you took (ex. you have never taken stats or research methods, or did really badly in those classes). You can also look into online classes- I took Abnormal Psych through Harvard Extension School while I was working FT and I would strongly recommend it to others. You probably also want to get research experience (even if there aren't universities, there may be hospitals and research centers with RA/RC positions) and a poster or two, at a minimum. You may also want to consider MA/MS programs. You might want to get some real-life experience related to community psych, if anything is available in your area. Not sure if a clinical experience or two would help you or not- probably would depend on your area of research/interest. Retake your GREs if you can get higher, practice your interviewing skills, and start having people review and edit your SoPs now. There is also no harm in reaching out to schools and asking them if they can identify some weaknesses for you. In summary: there are a lot of things you can be working on over your gap year(s). Do as much as you can and whatever is possible to help your odds. Good luck!

Rule of thumb: if a program interviews and have already have their interview day, that's basically a rejection. If the program doesn't interview, then who knows. Follow up with the admins of each department to check on the status of your application.

I think it's also more formal for Clinical interviews than for other areas of Psych, so that's also something to keep in mind- I just noticed you're I/O.