lowShoulder

As of late I've been looking around for internship opportunities, and as a result, I asked a professor (1/3 of the professors in my tiny program) if I could use her as a reference on a job application. Here is what she wrote: Yes, my final paper for her class was a couple minutes late, and yes, I haven't been known for being the most timely individual (I have been a few minutes late handing in projects pretty consistently) and my first semester was kind of rocky. However, I maintained a 3.7 GPA this semester, which I would hope indicates I've at least been producing quality work. I think she is entirely justified in telling prospective employers about my lack of timeliness, though. I suppose that my main concern here is that I don't see the point in continuing this program if I can't get references from my professors. I can see myself completing all the coursework with a high GPA, but if I won't be able to get an internship (I likely won't be able to get any references if the rest of the professors think the same way about me), then I won't be able to finish requirements for getting my MS.

Well, looks like my FSU POI can't take anybody due to lack of funding and inheritance of two graduate students from a faculty member that left the university. No word on Merced yet. However, I did get an interview.

Hey guys, I'm curious if anybody has heard anything from FSU or UC, Merced's cognitive psych/sci programs yet? Since it's this late in the game and I've received no admissions decision from either, I'm assuming they've both rejected me. Has anybody received a decision from either of these schools? Thanks, lowShoulder

About two weeks ago, my Florida State POI told me that the application review process was ongoing over the next couple weeks. This means that they should be arriving at their interview invitation decisions around now. Some departments are probably less punctual than others when arriving at this decision, so I wouldn't consider yourself rejected until next Friday.

Has anybody heard back from Florida State yet?

Well, ASU rejected me, but Merced is going to do a phone interview with me soon. I haven't heard back from FSU yet.

Eh, I already took a year off after graduation. I don't really feel like letting another year of my life go by without moving forward. I'd love to do academia, but perhaps having a non-verbal learning disability is going to hold me back. I should be happy I even got this far. They had me placed in entirely special ed classes in high school and it's probably a miracle I could even comprehend scientific literature at the level needed to create independent research. My IQ is somewhere between 95 and 100. The first time I took the GRE, I received a 660 combined, haha. This was delusional thinking at best, I probably shouldn't have even gone to college considering how useless a liberal arts degree is if you don't go on to academia. It's actually prevented me from getting jobs. At least, instead of not having a social life and studying until my eyes fell out, I could've enjoyed the social life college affords people and partied hard like everybody else around my IQ. Oh well.

I got an exceedingly low GRE score (1060 combined) after studying pretty hard for about a month last year. I have a solid GPA (3.66 overall/3.89 cog sci), 3 glowing recommendation letters from respected researchers, 3 semesters of RA experience, and an independent research project that culminated in a senior thesis. While everything else besides the GRE score may be decent, the fact of the matter is that GRE scores are used to screen out applicants in the initial stages and they may have not even seen the other components of my application. I applied to schools that were almost all a step down from my undergraduate institution. I am a minority, but I feel like this doesn't carry as much weight as it used to. By this point, I don't think I'm going to be receiving any interview invitations, so I think I'm done worrying about this. So, what's my plan B? I'll probably look into doing some kind of trade because we all know how worthless a liberal arts bachelor's is in this day and age, haha. In the meantime, I'll just continue working as a package handler at FedEx.

Aw, damn. Oh well, it wasn't my first choice anyways.

Emphasis: Cognitive Science/Cognitive Psychology: Embodiment and Language Comprehension Your background and rough grades: Studied Cognitive Science at UConn; GRE: 1100; GPA: 3.66 (overall)/3.89 (major); 3 semesters of RA experience; 1 independent research project/senior thesis Programs applied to: FSU (cognitive psych), ASU (cognitive psych), and UC, Merced (cognitive science). Interview invitations, method of delivery, and date received: Nothing so far. Rejection notifications, method of delivery, and date received: Nothing so far. Have any of your programs sent other people invites: Not to my knowledge.

I applied to the following cognitive science/cognitive psychology PhD programs: FSU (cognitive psychology) ASU (cognitive psychology) UC, Merced (cognitive science) I haven't heard anything back from anybody yet. Is this not a good sign at this point? All of the schools I applied to did have early to mid-January application deadlines, though. However, I have been in correspondence with a professor at ASU, which I suppose is good.