peffy1962

Hello! I am in the beginning processes of considering graduate study in psychology. (The very beginning stages, so please forgive any naivete... ). For background, I attended a top-20 university and graduated three years ago. My degree was a B.A. in Film and Television, though I took a number of psychology courses (I came in with AP credit for introductory psych, took a statistics course (it was business stats, but the psych department said they'd accept it), abnormal psych, developmental psych, cross-cultural psych, and a 1-credit "careers in psychology"-type class). I graduated summa cum laude (3.95 GPA, all As in the psych classes) and scored well on the GRE (710 verbal, 750 math). Last year, I was accepted, fully-funded, to a top Ph.D. program in film/tv studies. However, when I went to visit the program in depth, I realized that it was ultimately not a fit, and I turned down the offer. Since then, I've spent a lot of time reflecting on what I'd truly like to do, and I feel like psychology may offer me a good fit. So my ultimate question, I suppose, is what can I do to make myself appealing to graduate programs in psychology, not having majored in it and realizing how competitive the field is? Because I feel like I'm in the initial stages of considering a career in psych and feel under-prepared, I find myself gravitating towards M.A./M.S. programs that seem to offer a good foundation of knowledge in the field, which could then be utilized to continue on in a Ph.D. or Psy.D. program. Are these Master's level programs beneficial in that manner? I'm particularly interested in programs in Chicago, and so have found myself drawn to DePaul's program. Financial aid would certainly be a consideration, and from my experience with applying to graduate programs in media, it seems like terminal Master's level funding is an issue. I realize I'd likely need to take the psychology subject GRE (any tips for preparing?), and perhaps take a course in research methods, as this seems to be a common requirement for admission that I'm lacking. But are there other actions I can take? Other programs or routes I should consider? It's all very inchoate at the moment, but I believe I am most drawn to a career in clincal/counseling psychology at the moment. This also makes me wonder if perhaps an MSW would be a better fit. I do see a Master's as a way to narrow my focus to a particular field of interest. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

I empathize completely. :/

Hi everyone, I'm in the midst of a unique situation and could use some advice. This year marked my second go-round at the application process, and it was much more successful than my first attempt last year. I got in everywhere I applied, including my top choice with full funding + a fellowship. However, when I went to visit this school and sat in on a few classes, I realized that I don't really think the Ph.D. thing is for me. I love my subject, and I loved everyone I met in the program, but sitting in on these high-level classes reawakened a lot of the feelings I had as an undergraduate -- that studying the media in such depth ruins the fun of it for me. I don't think I'd be happy approaching it academically for 7+ years, let alone the rest of my life. I was also discouraged my the lack of a practical application for the material, and I've always been disturbed by the notion of having to follow the job wherever it may be in the humanities. So, I think I'm ready to bid it adieu. When I got back to town, I visited my alma mater's law school and sat in on a class, and really felt engaged with the material in a way that surprised me in light of my lack of engagement with the Ph.D. class. I am presently exploring the prospect of attending law school, and find myself much more excited about that path (with the large exception of the expense!). At this point, I'm confident in saying that I'll be applying for the Fall 2011 entering class. So, long story short, how do I go about declining the Ph.D. program's offer? Do I give them a reason, or do I just say "no"? It feels kind of crazy to turn down such a great offer. And, of perhaps greater concern, how do I inform my recommenders of my decision? All three of the undergraduate professors who wrote for me again this year were very involved in the application process, and I spent a great deal of time convincing them of how much I wanted to begin a Ph.D. program. Surely they're sensible people, but I fear that I'm going to offend them in my decision, and that they will certainly not write again for me for law school. I also happen to work at the university I attended as an undergraduate, and so I run into them frequently. Awkward. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

Hello! So I have my first phone interview tomorrow for a Ph.D. program -- my top choice, actually, and I'm kind of freaking out. I've read everything I could find on the forum about phone interview tips and tricks and the like, but I have a couple of specific questions remaining. 1) When people say to "ask intelligent questions," should such questions be geared more towards the program itself, or the professor doing the interviewing? I.e., should I ask theoretical questions about his/her work, or stick to asking questions about departmental requirements and pedagogy, faculty interests and the like (beyond what is included on the program website, of course). 2) How do these interviews generally wind down? What sorts of parting words should I use? "I look forward to hearing from you... thank you for your consideration?" I'm probably over-thinking everything, as I tend to do, but I'm really stressed about how the call should wind down, and what sort of final impression I should make. Thanks in advance for any input. I'm excited the next step in the application process has arrived, at least!

I have a GRE question. I am re-applying to a few schools that I'd applied to last year and have received conflicting information about whether or not I need to send my scores to them again. One school has said every school keeps them on file for five years, they are no exception, and that I don't need to send them again, while other schools have said that each year is a completely new application that will require me to send my test scores again. I'm planning on just going with the individual school's policies, but has it been anyone's experience that they haven't had to send their scores again? I'm really trying to keep application costs down, so I'd be curious to hear anyone's experience with this. Thanks!

I have a quick question about CVs. For schools that require a hard copy, should the CV be printed on fancy resume paper, or is plain printer paper okay? I'm not sure what the norm is on that. Thanks!

Having epically failed in my applications to media studies programs last year, I can speak from experience and offer some advice on what not to do! Last year, I applied to four schools (Northwestern, Wisconsin-Madison, IU, and NYU's Tisch School) with a 3.95 GPA and a 1460 GRE. I only got into Tisch, and it was completely unfunded. Needless to say, I'm trying again, but last year really opened up my eyes to just how selective these programs are. Most of the schools you've identified here are *extremely* competitive. From what I understand, U of Chicago only admitted two Ph.D. students last year, and Brown was somewhere in the neighborhood of 3. UC Berkeley (and all of the UCs for that matter) seemed especially selective last year as well, presumably owing to funding problems stemming from California's economy. Additionally, I'd be careful with the NYU programs, as while they are larger programs (and hence a bit less competitive), if admitted to them you could easily end up with $100,000 in student loans, as neither of these programs fund their M.A. students. (The M.A. programs themselves raise the funding to support the Ph.D. candidates, from what I understand). Your GPA and Verbal/Quantitative GRE scores are pretty strong, but your analytical writing score might be a cause for concern. I too tested at a 4.0 on my first attempt, and several of the grad schools to which I was applying told me that that score was too low for a native speaker. I took the GRE again (it's too bad you can't just retake the writing!) and managed to raise it to a 5.0 which, while not my goal, did seem to mollify the programs. I think soft factors are also of crucial importance, so you might indeed have a leg up with your LOR writers' connections. I'd also put a great deal of effort into your personal statement, being sure to convey a match between yourself in the program. A couple of my programs from last year told me it was my statement that lost me admittance, so I've definitely been putting a ton of time and consideration into it this year. Contacting professors at the programs your interested in also seems to be a great thing to do -- I've had a good deal of success with this approach this time around and, in addition to hoping it will pay off come February, the professors have provided me with a great deal of knowledge about the programs that I might not otherwise have received. Ultimately, I would recommend adding in some back-up or safety schools. (Not doing so was a big mistake I made last year!) Depending on your medium of focus and critical approach (film, TV, digital media/history, theory, cultural studies, etc.), you might want to consider applying to Syracuse University's Newhouse School (they have fairly large programs)or DePaul University's Cinema and Media Studies program (which I understand has good funding). Good luck!!

Back with another question - shock! Ha. I apparently need some serious hand-holding this time around. Anyway, when should you let an e-mail correspondence with a professor end? For instance, I wrote a professor, he wrote back, I asked for a reading list, he provided one. Do I leave it at that, or do I respond with a thank you? I don't want to flood his e-mail, obviously, but I feel weird just letting it break off. So I guess what I'm asking is, should I have the last word in the correspondence, or should the professor? Any insight would be great. Things are coming along!

Great idea! I'm definitely going to ask for a reading list. Thanks so much -- I was completely spacing!

I got a response too and don't know what to do! Haha. (I'm currently 1 for 4, but that's unimportant at the moment. ) Anyway, the professor basically outlined his upcoming research agenda for me and it all sounds really great and like he has a lot of interests that mirror mine beyond what I included in my introductory e-mail. I feel like I have to respond back with something like "I'm interested in all that too! Yay!" but I want to keep it professional. His response is seriously inclusive of everything I want to study in graduate school. I'm like, really ecstatic about this and have identified him as my top choice advisor. So what would be an appropriate response? "Your work sounds so interesting, please please please let me help?" Hahaha. No. But really, any insight into this would be great. I'm drawing a complete blank.

Hi everyone, I know this probably overlaps with the thread on e-mailing professors, but I wanted to get some advice. I was planning on reaching out to various professors via e-mail with a note that basically covers stuff like, "this is me, these are my research interests, I enjoyed your work on X topic and am applying to your school for next fall, is your research continuing along these lines and are you currently accepting new students?" After I'd crafted a draft of these e-mails, I met with one of my undergraduate professors who suggested that instead of posing questions at the end of the e-mail, I should request to speak with them on the phone. I feel like I'm a better writer than speaker, so I'm a bit hesitant to do this, though I know that I will likely leave more of an impression on the professors if I speak with them on the phone. That being said, I think I am going to go ahead and request phone appointments (unless anyone thinks I can get away with the strictly e-mail approach! ). Before I do that, however, I want to make sure that I have a general idea of how these types of calls typically go. I assume I should have some questions prepared to ask about their research and the program itself, but how many should I have ready? How long do these calls generally last? Is it better to have more questions about their research, or about the program itself? Do I talk about my background at all, or should I really aim to make it more about them? And is there any room for casual conversation, or should I jump right into the formal stuff? I think that about covers my questions -- any insight or advice would be great!

Does anyone have an idea of how long these statements typically should be? I have a similar prompt for Northwestern (Diversity presents itself in many different forms such as: socio-economic status, race or ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, nationality or place of origin, disability, unique work or life experience, etc. We invite you to use this space to tell us how you may contribute to the diversification of, The Graduate School, your program and Northwestern University), and I'm not sure what kind of detail they're looking for. There's no character limit -- just a link to upload a document. I'm going the "unique life experience" route, so I'm not sure if that makes any sort of a difference. Any insight would be great! Thanks so much.

Oh, man. This is exactly what happened to me the first time I took the GRE! I also got a 4.0, despite winning awards for writing and the like, and at that point a 4.0 was at the 33rd percentile. Not great. I contacted several of the programs to which I was planning on applying to see how detrimental this would be to my chances at admission, and nearly all of them came back and that said while it wouldn't be a reason to deny admission outright, the score was extremely low for a native speaker and that I should retake the GRE, even though I had 700+ scores in both verbal and math. So, that sucked. I did end up retaking it and managed to raise the writing to a 5.0 which, while not my goal, did seem to satisfy the programs. So, long story short, I'd reach out to the departments to which you're planning on applying to see what they recommend. And as for the accuracy of the writing section, I think it's total bull!

Right now, I'm thinking 7 with the possibility of 2-3 more being added. I'm really trying to save my money on this, but last year I don't feel like I applied to enough schools. This year, I'm trying to incorporate safety schools, which was a dumb omission on my part last year. We shall see!

Ah, my answer probably won't help either -- I waited about a year to take it again. But it worked for me, as my score went up by 160 points. My major strategy in between tests was to memorize as much vocabulary as possible.. just a crazy amount. I also got a couple of different review books in between, to give myself as many practice exams as possible. Good luck!

I am in the process of giving mine a complete overhaul. It was such an epic fail last year, and I think I've identified why. I made it entirely too "personal." I pretty much completely neglected to articulate my present research interests (which were vague to begin with) and fit with the schools in favor of relaying a life narrative that while important -- and crucial to my interest in the field -- did little to paint me as a potential scholar. My attempts in this regard consisted of little more than relaying the information contained in my C.V. and awkwardly name-dropping professors I'd be interested in working with, but had done little to research. All personal statement no-no's, basically! This year will be a different story. I've diligently researched the departments I'm applying to, including various faculty members, by reading journal articles, books, and the like so I am able to appropriately (and more intelligently!) reference them. I've made a flow chart of my interests in the field to help me articulate what exactly I am interested in pursuing, I have reduced my lengthy personal narrative to an interesting introductory hook, and most importantly, I have reconnected with one of my undergraduate professors to give me feedback in the process. I've also read tons of sample personal statements (online, in books, and those of friends) to help get me on the right track. I hope that helps! I'm not planning on addressing my additional year off, as I've unfortunately done very little relevant to my field of interest. Good luck!

I wish I had seen this thread last year! Quick question: I am planning on reapplying to several schools that I was rejected from last year. I'm hoping to enhance my chances of admission by reaching out to some faculty members ahead of time via e-mail, but are my prior rejections something I should address in my initial e-mails to them? Or should I just act like nothing happened? Any input would be great - thanks!

Thanks so much to everyone who replied -- I really think your advice will be invaluable as I begin to prepare my applications. I'm definitely going to broaden the list of schools I'll apply to, and I'm also going to work on refining my personal statement. I do have one more question I thought of over the weekend -- I graduated in May of 2008 and have taken some time off to work. I've stayed on at my undergraduate school in a more or less administrative capacity that has little to do with academia (besides the setting, obviously) or my field of interest. Should I address the reasons I took time off in my personal statement? The real reasons I took the time off are because I was unsure of what I wanted to pursue long-term, and needed an influx of cash. I only anticipated taking one year off, but after last year's disastrous application cycle, I decided to stay on for one more year. Any insight into this matter would be greatly appreciated. And thanks again everyone for the advice! Good luck all around.

I can't believe it's already application season again! I'm back, because I failed epically last year, haha. For that reason, I am looking for all of the advice I can get. Last year, I applied to Wisconsin-Madison (MA/PhD), NYU - Tisch (MA), IU (MA), and Northwestern (MA/PhD), and was only accepted to NYU. I had strong numbers (3.95 GPA in a Film/TV program at a top-20 national university, and a 1460 on the GRE (710 Verbal, 750 Math, 5.0 Writing), so I'm assuming something went wrong with the "soft" components of my application -- my writing sample, letters of recommendation, my CV, personal statement, etc. I also feel like a 5.0 on the writing component of the GRE is fairly weak, but I don't want to jeopardize my other scores by trying again. I'm primarily interested in television and cultural studies -- stardom, fandom, the work of Henry Jenkins, television aesthetics and narration, etc. (I would probably do well to refine those and present them coherently, ha.) I'm also fairly particular about where I'd like to live, though I know that my chances of having control over that aspect of my life upon graduation are infinitesimally small. That being said, I've narrowed my list of schools for this year to the following: - Reach schools: Brown, UMASS, Michigan, Northwestern (I'm determined to get into Northwestern at some point in my life! Haha). - Schools I'm reasonably sure I could get into: Syracuse - Backups: UW - Milwaukee, DePaul University Does anyone have any kind of numerical data on how many students any of those programs accepted last year? Anyway, I'm looking for any and all suggestions on how to strengthen my applications for this cycle. I'm meeting with my undergraduate professors in the upcoming weeks to brainstorm, but I'm antsy to get started. Would anyone be willing to share their personal statement with me, or give me an overview of what was covered in it? I really feel like my statement last year tanked my applications. I'm also planning on refining my writing sample(s), or perhaps writing a new paper or two. I was also thinking about releasing my letters of recommendation to a professor, to make sure they're working to my favor! Beyond that, I have some more specific questions. 1) Is it worth it to reapply to schools you've been previously rejected from? 2) Should I be applying to terminal MA programs, or MA/PhD programs? (i.e., is there a type of program I'm more likely to be accepted into?) 3) Do MA/PhD programs generally require interviews? 4) Are there any other schools I should be applying to? That should do it! Haha. Any insight any of you could provide would be great. Thanks so much!

Thanks, curiousgeorge, for all of this advice. I'm definitely going to work on my personal statement and will seek the counsel of some professors this time around. In terms of conferences and publications, though, am I able to submit proposals and whatnot even though I'm not enrolled at a university at this time? I'm pretty naive when it comes to that sort of thing! But in terms of heeding everyone's advice about grad school in the humanities, I did want to pose a couple of questions to anyone who wants to answer them. One of my largest concerns about pursuing an academic career is whether or not I am willing to move anywhere for a job. At this point, I don't think I am. There are only a few regions of this country that I could see myself living in (and liking) for a long period of time. My hesitation in this regard makes me wonder if I'm right for an academic job (and for graduate school, in turn), as I'm well aware of the reality of the market we all face. At this point, I figure I'll hedge my bets, reapply (and hopefully get in!), complete my degree, and pray for a position in an area I'd like. But to be honest, at this point I can totally see myself completing my degree and leaving academia if I can't find such a job. (Yes, this is all way down the line and hypothetical, but I like to think ahead. ) So that brings to my next (downer!) question: if you couldn't get a job in academia, what would you do with a Ph.D. in media studies? I suppose there's always freelance journalism or lower-level teaching, but are there any other alternative career paths that you would consider (or find rewarding?). I don't mean to be a downer, I'm just genuinely curious. Thanks again!

So I doubt I'm the first to bring this topic up, but I can't seem to find it any other threads, so I thought I'd resurrect it. I am a 23-year-old female debating at the moment between pursuing a Ph.D. or a J.D. One of my biggest concerns about pursuing a Ph.D. involves the work/life balance, especially when it comes to children. Of the 8 female tenured/tenure-track professors I had as an undergraduate, only 2 had children, and it was apparent that one waited until she'd achieved tenure before having kids. What are everyone's thoughts on this? Is it feasible/wise to have kids before earning tenure (assuming you can get a tenure-track job in the first place?). I've heard that most universities give female professors the option to "stop the tenure clock" to have kids, but as I'd be enrolling during the fall 2010 semester, I'd be roughly 31 or 32 when completing my dissertation and who knows how old by the time I nail down a position/achieve tenure (40??). I'm definitely looking to have kids before age 40. I know this is far down the line (it's not like I've found a husband yet! ), but I do think it's an important fact to take into consideration when deciding between graduate and professional degrees. How do people manage this? I'd be interested in hearing anybody's insights!

Like hornedfrog, I'd be curious to hear what advice anyone has for reapplying. I applied this year to four schools, and was only accepted to NYU (M.A. in Cinema Studies). Because of the insane expense (and at faculty's urging), I declined the offer. I thought I was a pretty strong candidate for the other schools I applied to, though I realize it was a crazy tough market this year. I have a 3.95 GPA from a top-20 university, and I got a 1460 on the GRE (710 V/750 M/5.0 W). The first time I took the GRE, however, (one year prior) I got a 1300 (610 V/690 M/4.0 W), and I do now wonder if that could be holding me back. I suppose I could wait another three years until it drops off the score report, but that seems silly, and I do think I managed to make a significant improvement the second time around. I tend to think my second score is high enough, and I don't realistically think I can improve upon it. So what else can I do? I can certainly improve upon my personal statements. Upon rereading them, I believe they were a bit too focused on restating my C.V. than on conveying my research interests and compatibility with certain schools. Additionally, I applied directly to two Ph.D. programs, and to two M.A. programs -- does one or the other enhance one's chances of being admitted? Should I reapply to the same schools, or apply to totally different programs? I'm considering this all very tentatively at the moment... Once I was rejected from so many schools, I really started to talk myself into other career paths. But now that some time has passed, there's a little inkling in my mind that tells me I should try again. So yes... any thoughts on the matter would be greatly appreciated!

So, Tisch has spoken! And I've finally got my lone acceptance, haha. Anyone else thinking of doing the M.A. in Cinema Studies at NYU?

Anyone heard from NYU's M.A. in Cinema Studies? I've seen some waitlisted results come through, and some indicated that they were received via the NYU website, but I haven't seen anything change on my page. Anyone else? I've gotten the impression that they tend to notify people via mail, but who knows.

Still waiting on Cinema Studies M.A., but judging by their website, I guess it's normal to hear within the mid-March - mid-April timeframe. We'll see...