PsychGirl1

Oh, sorry, I was a bit confused. I guess my point is, if you want to teach at a 4-year college, then you should go for your PhD. You can always drop out with your Masters if it comes to that and teach in a community college. I don't think you should worry about numbers or acceptance rates, just work super hard in the next 1-2 years and then apply for the PhD. And if you don't get in, apply again. And I'd probably cold email some professors at your undergrad or wherever and ask for advice. I've heard that mostly you just want to pick a narrow specific interest and just start publishing within that area. Basically at 4-year schools they just care about publications and having your PhD. And if you don't get in anywhere, do more stuff and apply again. I guess I just feel like you should do anything to make your life dream happen. And I would definitely not go for your masters unless it is funded with a stipend. Even then, a lot of professors have recommended that I skip the masters, get more research experience and apply to PhDs.

Thanks!

Thanks, I'll look around!

Do you need any advanced degrees or certificates for that? I only have a B.S., with some clinical research and general research experience.

Honestly, I feel like we can analyze a lot of life decisions as far as risk/cost/probability and the like... but I think what it comes down to is what you really want. 33% of PhD students drop out... but if you take the time to think about it and be confident that this will get you where you want in life, you won't be one of those 33%. And if your goal is to teach at a community college and that's why you are doing your masters and that's what your passionate about, it's very likely you will find a job, especially because that passion will probably show through. Obviously I think it's good to be somewhat realistic about job markets, etc., but the fact is that if you're great at your job and passionate about it, you will most likely always find some sort of position somewhere, regardless of everything else. Would you be content to work in a community college as a professor? Would you prefer the students in community college vs a 4 year college? Would you be content with only a masters degree and not going back for your PhD? You could also do the MA and go directly to the PhD from there. Is your end goal teaching, or would you want to do research as well? I couldn't really tell any of this from your 2 posts. I think maybe instead of thinking short-term to long-term, you should figure out what you want long-term and work your way backwards.

So I'm trying to make a difficult decision. Basically it looks like right now I have 3 choices: (1) Relocate to a new city & go to an M.S. program with tuition remission and a small stipend. Has a fairly good reputation, research-based, but no PhD program. Will most likely need to either live at home or take out student loans to support myself, since stipend is quite small. (2) Relocate to a new city & go to an M.S program with (possibly- still unknown) tuition remission and a decent stipend. Has a good rep, research-based, and a PhD program. I like one of the professors a lot. (3) Stay in Boston & revamp life (i.e. find new job(s), take classes, volunteer some places, etc.) and apply to PhD programs in 1-2 years. I have a somewhat strong background but not fantastic- no publications. My GRE scores were very good on writing & analytical, okay on verbal. I currently work as a research coordinator/data manager at a great hospital in Boston. I've also worked as a business analyst. Have also worked as volunteer RAs in college and post-college, some in psych, some in unrelated fields. My long-term goal is to become a Professor with a heavy focus on research. Any thoughts or opinions?

So in addition to working as a research assistant, etc., I was wondering what are some ideas for part-time jobs with some form of clinical experience. Some ideas I've had are working at a suicide hotline, or in a rape crisis clinic. What other sorts of part-time jobs hire people with only bachelors degrees?

I'm going through the same decision- I got into a few MA programs and I'm trying to decide if it makes sense to go that route or work some more and apply to PhD in a year or two. :-/

Oops, *my interview day with Drexel on April 8th

Congrats to both of you! I'm still undecided if I'm going to take it. The stipend was a half stipend, I think, and significantly less than I was expecting. And I have my interview day with April 8th, so I want to see how that will go as well. I talked to a Professor where I live who was pretty against me going into a Masters program- she thinks it would be better to get work research experience and take some night classes instead of doing the full-time masters program. So between that and the fact that I'd have to move from Boston to Philly, I'm a bit undecided about what to do. I'm from the Villanova area, and I don't think living at home is a good option for me, but I can't really afford much on the stipend. Are you guys definitely going?

Congrats! I got accepted to Nova with a tiny stipend so I'm relatively happy. Does anyone have any knowledge of BU's masters program? It is a bit skimpy on their website and I am wondering about its quality. It said about 52% of graduates who respond to their survey go on to get a PhD, and I think it's only 1 year with no thesis/research? Can anyone confirm that? I also couldn't tell if funding was available, but it seems like it's not. Thanks!

I mean, I guess it's personal preference as far as the city. I worked there, and didn't go to school there. Keep in mind that I moved there from Boston, and then moved back to Boston relatively quickly. People from other backgrounds might like it a lot better. Culturally, I'm not the biggest fan of the South- some cities I love to visit, but living there, not so much. Richmond is more of a big town, and everybody kinda knows each other. The nightlife was mostly either white preppy kids with khaki shorts and polo shirts, with very little diversity (i.e. black finn, sine), or areas where black people hung out and the white people didn't go (i.e. all the dance clubs on main street downtown). Coming from a big city, I just found it very backwards. People I met in the working world were (1) from richmond and had lived there forever and didn't have any motivation to do much with their life, (2) there temporarily for a few years working and making decent money and didn't give a crap about anything and played lots of beer pong, or (3) hated it and their life and wanted to leave but hadn't yet for whatever reason. That being said... it is very possible that the college or grad school environment would be a lot different. I volunteered in a lab on VCU's campus and I met some students who seemed to really enjoy VCU and Richmond. And I did make a few really close friends while living there, who I am still close with, and some actually liked Richmond. So even though I personally hated it, go in with an open mind. You can probably still find people and places you enjoy. My experience of the fan was a bit like frat boy parties and peeing in the alley. However, there are nicer areas of the fan- I don't really remember which areas where a bit nicer, maybe someone who lives in the fan now (if you are meeting other grad students) can give you better advice. They do have a good number of bars/cute restaurants in the fan area. If you want to check out the city, I'd spend 1-2 days there. For entertainment, there is the museum of fine arts (was really tiny when I was there, but I heard they recently did a big expansion), and carytown (a street with cute restaurants/shops, and also a cool older theater that shows movies- byrd theater). There's a really nice park called Belle Isle- you can run or walk there. There's an Edgar Allen Poe museum and some other unique things (Holocaust museum), but there's not as much to explore like a bigger city. You might want to rent a car while you're there or look up some taxi numbers and bring cash... there's not much in the way of public transportation if you want to explore. For restaurants.... I have a few. (1) Julep's- nicer, downtown (Shockoe bottom area). I discovered this restaurant right before I left and my mom was sad we hadn't discovered it earlier. It's more of a family or date place, though, but I vaguely remember they MIGHT have a bar on the 1st floor. Might. :-) (2) Sette- pizza downtown (shockoe bottom). I loved this place, especially their outdoor patio. People always talk about Bottoms Up pizza in Richmond, but I liked Sette more. It's casual but also have great cocktails. (3) Kuba Kuba- this is one of the only restaurants I actively miss in Richmond. It's Cuban food and has great brunch. Best Cuban sandwich I've ever had. (4) Millie's, shockoe bottom- everyone raves about this diner. I found it to be okay/good. But I was also usually hungover when I went, so maybe it is actually amazing like everybody says it is. There's also a bunch of places to get really good BBQ, but I don't eat BBQ so I never did. Also, if you love fried chicken, it's everywhere in Richmond- even in the grocery store. Another thing I don't eat, so you should ask other people for advice if you want it! Also, my friend loved Pho So 1 for Vietnamese food (in the suburbs), but I've only been there once. There are tons of littler places, especially in the Fan, and I also heard there are some new places since I left. So I'd just walk around the fan with Yelp open on your phone and decide where you want to go! This is also from my memory, so I'm sure I'm missing a lot on this list. I remember Acacia and The Black Sheep as being really delicious, too. As far as bars, Capital Ale House and Commercial Taphouse & Grill were popular for beer, and when I was there, people really liked Black Finn and Bandito's for night life. (Go to Bandito's once you're already drunk, as it's one of those places with a sticky floor, drunk girls and douches). People in Richmond don't really dance that much (and when they do, it's usually just girls), which I found awkward, but they dance at both of those bars. Also, Tobacoo Company (upstairs) is good for some tobacco and nicer drinks, and Tobacco Company (downstairs) is good for dancing and $1 drinks from 8-9 on Fridays. Sine does karaoke. Good luck! PM me if you have any more specific questions.

I lived in Richmond for almost 2 years and completely hated it. But, if you're definitely moving there, there is basically 3 areas of the city to live: downtown, the fan and short pump. Don't live in Short Pump- it's the suburbs, home of food chains and crappy shopping. But they do have lots of newer apartment complexes and is relatively cheap. Also you'll find things like complexes with pools, hot tubs, gyms and parking spots and the like. But you would have to drive to VCU, it's about a 15 minute drive away. The fan is street parking, and mostly older houses that have been converted into apartments. The upkeep isn't amazing since mostly students live there. You can definitely find apartments near VCU in the fan. It's the more "college-y" area of the city. You would want to look on CL to live here- there aren't many big apartment complexes and the like, mostly just single apartments in a home with 4-8 other apartments. Nobody I knew used brokers or anything like that (as opposed to Boston, where I live now, and everybody goes through brokers). It sounds like you would definitely want to live in the fan, just check google maps as you look at apartments and make sure it's close to where you want to be. Downtown is a bit sketchier but also has some really nice apartments. I lived downtown, LOVED my apartment, and liked the bars/restaurants I was near, but there aren't as many young people and it's not as "quaint". I lived in a larger building (Pohlig Box Factory) and just emailed them directly. It would be about a 10 minute drive to the fan from downtown. If you do decide to go for a more apartment building thing (as opposed to craigslist), this site helped me a lot: http://www.apartmentratings.com/

I got rejected from BC today :-(. Boo! I thought I had a good chance because I went to a strong undergrad institution (MIT), did relatively well on my GREs (800 quant, 5.5 writing, 620 verbal) and have a pretty unique background (worked in the corporate world as an analyst, now in research doing coordinator/data work). And it's a Masters program, geesh! Not even a PhD :-). But I'm okay with it, because to be honest, their research interests didn't match mine too well (not that they knew that, hopefully) and I know I'll have a good number of other options. Good luck to everyone else applying! People who get in must be superstars! :-)

Congrats on the scholarship, though! I'm still waiting on BC and Nova as well... good luck!

I applied to 4 schools- 2 do interviews and 2 do not. So I'd visit the website for each program (or contact them) and ask about interviews. You should be able to find out if American does funding for Masters students on their website.

PS I called BC yesterday and they said they send out offers out through May, although some decisions (both ways) are slowly going out.

Congrats on Claremont & Wake Forest! Villanova is rolling, so I think they do give (and have given) some acceptances along the way but make all financial decisions mid-March. BC was February 1st and I haven't heard from them either (I was nervous about that, so I'm glad you haven't either! They are slow.). BU and Drexel were also March 1st, but I've already heard back from Drexel about their interview day.

Congrats! I'm still waiting on the other 3 schools I applied for. :-/

I use hopstop for everything! Oftentimes they give you a lot of different choices for transportation though, so I guess it does help to know the area. But google maps has been pretty good, too!

Thanks

I'd check hopstop.com when you're trying to judge commutes from various areas of Boston. It shows all the different public transportation options around different areas of the city!

Allston pros: cheaper, yummy vegan restaurants, some good bars, overall kinda a fun quirky hipster area Cons: students, crappy apartments, bedbugs Doesn't really sound like the place you're looking for.

So... new question! I am interviewing at Drexel and strongly considering their Masters program in Psychology for the fall (if I get accepted). I am originally from the suburbs of Philly- I went to high school right near Villanova University. My parents live closer to Delaware and my sister lives in Villanova. My parents used to live downtown, about 30ish years ago, and they have a pretty bad impression of downtown Philly. They're pretty opposed to me moving from safe, fun Cambridge/Boston to downtown Philly. And I haven't spent much time in downtown Philly besides shows and dinners and the like. Any thoughts on: - safety in the area around Drexel - great areas around Drexel for housing & approx cost - public transportation in general - nightlife Or, anyone who goes to Drexel currently have pros/cons about relocating there?

If you're still looking for Cambridge... I default to the Marriott in Kendall Square if you're going to be staying there on the weekends. It is literally on the red line (the T stop is outside the hotel door). However, during the week it gets quite pricey from all the conferences and such. The hotel @ MIT and the kendall hotel both sometimes have specials too. I'd say, stay at the cheapest place you can in Boston/Cambridge/Somerville as long as it is near a T. You can buy a week or weekend T pass (bus and subway) and you'll be more than set- our transportation is pretty awesome.