PsychGirl1

Agreed with above- but I'd still lean towards business casual as much as possible, as the other applicants may dress up and you still want to look professional, even if it's just other applicants and students. For example, I'd do something like a pencil skirt, nice black fitted tshirt, and a black cardigan with casual pumps. Comfortable, and pretty casual if you take off the cardigan, but if professors are unexpectedly there, you won't look like a slob. But when in doubt, dress up .

Your career, if you plan to do research, will be on a much better path if you work with someone well-known in your field who supports and advocates for you than if you work at a "top 10 school" without that. Figure out your subfield first, then figure out the people within your subfield who you want to work with. Go from there.

As mentioned above- don't aim for a "top 10 program", aim for a great program with a great research fit. A POI who really wants to work with you will fight for you, even if your GPA is slightly low. Keep in mind that POI names within your psychology specialty are often times just as, if not more, important than the school you go to.

I went the master's route (I applied directly to the master's program), and about half our class were PhD applicants who were invited to the the MS program. It was a fantastic choice for me and I am really happy I chose to do it. I'd take a close look at the master's program- visit the campus if possible and also ask to speak to current 1st and 2nd year students- and if it is mentor-based, if that mentor is a really great research fit, if there is a way to minimize costs (ex. commuting from the burbs, scholarships, TA'ing, graduate assistantships within the department, PT RA/RC jobs in the department, etc.), if it's two years, and if you get to do a thesis, then I'd strongly recommend it . If there are things missing from that list, then you'd have to weigh the pros and cons. Good luck!

I'd also suggest Drexel, which has a deadline sometime around Feb/March.

.... i have no idea what just happened on this thread.

PS I definitely recommend MA/MS programs for certain people (including myself- I went the MS route first), but in this situation, it almost seems like you don't need it. Why can't you take the next year, spend part of your time researching in your lab, and then get a clinical volunteer position in whatever your area of interest is, and reapply next year? The professor you're working with now, who does the same research you want to do, can probably help connect you to places in the area where you can give some clinical experience. You could also take one or two night classes at the grad-school level (I highly recommend Harvard Extension online) to show that you can handle grad-school level coursework. It sounds like you have almost all the pieces you need to get into a PhD program, which is why I wouldn't recommend an MA program. I think in your situation, it would be a waste of time and money. (Although I'm sure others may disagree and jump in!).

I would probably email him and thank him for his advocacy throughout the process (or whatever you want to call it), and tell him that you were highly interested in working with him. And you will be addressing some of the weaknesses in your application by doing xyz, and plan to reapply in 2 years and hope he will be taking students then. After that, I wouldn't keep in touch until you start the application process in a year or two, unless he specifically requests it.

Do it. Generally, interviews are about 15-30 minutes long. I wouldn't trust my impression of the POI or their impression of me after only that long. These social events- whether or not your POI is there, but especially if they are- are usually one of the most informative parts of the day! Everybody is more relaxed, you get to see each others personality, and sometimes the equivalent of a second interview takes places (happened to me at one school, basically I got pulled aside at the social and quizzed for about 30 minutes). If the POI's grad students are going, you get to spend more time with them and see how you get along. Basically, keep in mind that if you are accepted and decide to go, you will spend spending 4-6 years with these people. It's worth taking the night off of work to see how well you fit with each other.

I think that it's far too variable to say. Since I think the BC master's program is small (I think the year I applied, they took 2 students), it would really depend on whether or not those 2 people accept or decline, which is impossible to put a probability on! Good luck!

Would you consider moving the hour away to pay very cheap rent, getting a car, and commuting to campus? Unless "very cheap rent" is code for "very bad neighborhood". I commuted 45 minutes each way by driving (1.5 hours by train!) when I did my master's to save money, and it really wasn't bad. It also encouraged me to make a flexible schedule each term, to try to work from home once a week- which is when I got all my actual work done, the other days were packed with classes and meetings and whatnot. You might end up saving money even when the added cost of a car, and it sounds like you and your dog would be happier.

Are you sure that's not a euphemism for something worse?

It's important to realize that nothing is a "safety" for clinical programs, in the sense that nobody is ever "overqualified" to work with a certain professor. I also don't think the admissions process is a "crapshoot". I just feel like we all need to step out of that high school/undergrad view and realize this is an entirely different ballgame. Yes, the programs are ranked, but that probably means way less than undergrad rankings, and even those are questionable. And some of the objective "qualifications" used for admissions, such as GRE and GPA, matter significantly less than people expect. Even if your "qualifications" were above average, that doesn't mean you were a strong applicant for that program/professor aside from those objective qualifications. It's also entirely possible that the professor you applied to work with gets the strongest applicants in the program because he/she is most well-known... so while you had stronger "qualifications" than the general applicant pool, maybe they weren't strong compared to his/her applicants. I got an interview at a top psych program and rejected for a lower ranking one, but it was probably because my research interest EXACTLY matched the professor at the high ranking program, while the lower ranking program was more heavily focused on clinical, and I was more interested in research- and my research didn't perfectly align with the professor. That doesn't mean I think I was overqualified for the other program- clearly I would have gotten an interview if the prof/program was interested in having me- and at the end of the day, the program/POI rejected me. I just think this is an important- and very different- mindset than what people are used to. I also think programs/POIs/students can pick up any sense of "this program isn't good enough for me", and that sometimes, that is what does people in.

This is why you should be monitoring the LORs at all the schools to make sure everything is on time. You should have been on the phone with this person a day after the deadline when it was confirmed that the letter was not submitted. Not to be rude, but it's really important to do this. Even if you send an email with deadlines in it, you should not have just assumed it would be submitted by then. If your application is strong without the third LOR, you may still get some interviews depending on department policy and procedure. Regardless, your first priority should be expediting that letter into the hands of whoever needs it- for example, paying to overnight it, having them scan or fax a copy of the letter, etc.

Congrats!!! Hope you're celebrating tonight!

You need the prereq courses to be considered, but you'll get accepted because of your research experience. So research is much more important than courses, but you need both to some degree. Courses will not balance out lack of research experience. You can try emailing professors whose research interest you and volunteer while taking courses and working (I did it! So it can be done). You don't necessarily have to be a formal, FT RC/RA in order to get research experience, although it will help.

Try: master's, MA, MS, funded, masters, MA/MS. Also just try flipping through the past 5-10 pages of the forum and reading the titles.

There are tons of threads on here with lists of MA/MS programs, funded or not. Search the boards (normally I'd repeat, but literally there has been about 10 threads in recent memory on this).

You should take the classes you need, either online (at a reputable place, like Harvard Extension School) or at a local community college. You should also consider doing your MA or MS in psych, even though you already have another master's- strongly recommend a mentor-based program that requires a thesis. Most PhD programs (not all) will let you waive your thesis if it is a quality thesis, and sometimes some classes as well, so you won't be losing as much time as you would expect. You will also need excellent GRE and GRE psych scores, research experience in the area you want to go to, and if you want to go clinical, 1-2 clinical experiences.

That happened to me at one school- I had a formal interview with a student (not in the lab I was applying to), and he asked some really obnoxious questions... like the type of people I don't like to work with, my biggest faults, my most embarrassing moment- while smirking at me. Just random crap that really wasn't really appropriate. It did NOT give me a good impression of the school. That was my only formal interview with a student- the rest of the time, they were friendly, and very helpful resources (especially the ones who hosted me). They asked more questions like where else are you applying, what are you looking for, what are you doing now, do you have any questions for me... just normal questions that you would ask someone in the same circumstances :-)

I'm guessing this will actually help you, especially if the psych degree was second. I would also stress this path in your essay, so they know how to interpret all the different transcripts. I would see this as being significantly more favorable than in the original situation you presented. However, if they do ask you to calculate GPAs on your applications (many do), you'll have to talk to each school individually. Averaging them is not doing you any favors.

Most programs only do so for 3 or 4 years. The best way to judge how much this is a problem is during your interview. For example, my program is set up that way, but 100% of people in my lab have received funding. It's actually kinda nice because it forces us to apply for competitive external funding, and we have a very successful track record in obtaining it! That being said, sometimes this is lab/PI specific, and it vary across programs and across labs. If you like the program, go ahead and apply, and you'll get a good sense of it during interview day.

Actually, it's not officially funded, but they offer a decent number of tuition remissions and full- and half-stipends to the incoming class. But not to everybody. Also check out Drexel, and BC.

Didn't apply- but what is your area of research? I'm curious who you applied to work with (you can PM me if you want).

Agreed- decline. It's inappropriate for her to try to connect with you, she won't know that you rejected her (they don't get a notification), and it's possible that her address book did it by accident (however that happened). That said, if you have a great LinkedIn profile, then maybe you want to accept. I'd err on the side of no.