Mike C

Hmmmm, I guess that's better than a flat out rejection! Hahahahahaha! Thanks for your input Behavioral. As always I'll make sure to keep this group and the results page posted if I hear anything...

I'd welcome anyone's take on this: It's March 28 and I still haven't heard anything from three of the six schools I applied to. I emailed the programs last week (assuming they are rejects) and asked if it was possible to get an ETA. They all replied back saying something to the effect of we will contact you with a decision by April 15th... Am I on waiting lists or something? Do they even conduct interviews this late in the cycle? Is it good that I haven't been rejected this late? Your thoughts?

Berkeley rejection today via email...3 down 3 to go...

Rejected via website today from Stanford today...along with a whole bunch of others =( One down, five to go!

TOO TRUE!!!!

Yeah, I'm there with you BlueCamel. Definitely a worthy cause though, and there's still the small chance that we might get wait listed. I know I was asking for it with only applying to 6 schools and all except one being Top 10 B-schools...

Behavioral, Was your friend interviewed?

What is going on??? I did see someone posted an interview for Berkeley last week... Seems like some pretty knowledgeable people following this thread and commenting (btw thanks), so here's the question: Is no news good news? My friend and I (both I-O psych) have talked about a theory of how being contacted later in the game for jobs, specifically, means that you're a backup in case the top candidate doesn't accept an offer. This supposed theory can obviously be completely incorrect depending on situational factors of course, but is there anyone who thinks there's a time frame where, if you haven't been contacted whatsoever, you're dead in the water (when would that be, e.g., 1-2 weeks into March)? Love to hear some insight, and maybe one of us will be contacted while we over-analyze every angle of applying for PhD programs! -Mike

Good luck! I'm looking to forecast several options in case this doesn't pan out for me. So, I'm applying to several jobs and working in two jobs that I really need to get out of! This helps pass the time a little, I think... But, yeah I'm still also running through the different hypotheticals for my floating applications too - so if anyone does have some benzos, please share!

The suspense is kinda killing me~!!!! I really just applied to throw it out there and see if I get any offers. However, I do want to teach and I'm having a hell of a time finding any CC adjunct positions as a master's level I-O psychologist... I've read that these programs may request an interview, does anyone know what that entails? I guess getting into one of these programs is a big deal. Best of luck to everyone! I'll be sure to let you all know as soon as I hear anything. It is strangely quiet now...when I was applying three years ago there seemed to be more going on? Regards, Mike

This is the type of thinking I need right now!

Hi Blue Camel, If I got in at Hass I would like to work with Barry Staw, Jennifer Chatman, and Charlan Nemeth (Psych) - Char replied back to me saying that I did a great job of selecting them to further my research agenda - and advised me to apply to Haas. But we'll see... My thesis studied the relationship between employee perceptions of Org climates that support creativity and demonstrations of Org Citizenship Behavior. So I'd like to look more into how the relationship between these constructs interacts with personality, etc. I'll go ahead and update my list here while I'm at it...I decided to avoid the midwest too! I may be missing out on a lot of amazing schools, but I'm limited in my budget for applications and want to keep my options open to staying on the west coast and to schools where I've received some feedback from POIs. Indiana University is an exception because of a POI there who explicitly asked my advisor to have me apply (so it might be a back up)... Berkeley Haas Stanford GSB Portland State (I/O Psych) - transfers a Masters degree! U Washington Foster School of Business UC Irvine Merage School of Business Indiana U Kelley School of Business It definitely sounds like things are going to be very competitive out there this year! Glad I started this thread so we can all scare the crap out of each other! Hahahaha, just kidding!

Yeah, Both Kellogg and Booth (right?) at Chicago are schools I'm considering. And I'm totally aware that they are amazing, I see a lot of faculty come from Silicon Valley to there and vice versa, so I'm sure it would be as competitive as my local "Top 5"ers. I'm just worried that because my GREs are bad, it's going to be the same everywhere. So I figured I'd just throw caution into the wind, and apply at the ones here to see if my MS and LORs hold enough weight to bypass soft cutoffs. Do you think a lot of applicants come in with prior grad degrees? The stats at Haas say 43% "in the program" have previous grad degrees, so I'm optimistic. Plus I've had some positive feedback from a POI in the Psych department who works jointly with Haas. Oh, and I was looking at some of the Faculty there who study Org Innovation and Creativity, and there are definitely some heavy hitters too at Kellogg! I wasn't aware of the cross-enlistment relationship with Chicago either. They have an A-list of Org Creativity faculty too, in both Booth and Psych...thanks for that info Regarding the etiquette of contacting POIs, I didn't know there was one! So, I may be going against the grain. Like you, I was under the impression that it's best to contact them with a short intro and to ask if they're accepting PhD advisees for the next year??? That's what I've been doing, and it worked well for Berkeley. Behavioral's thoughts on the possibility of Profs paying attention to applicants of interest (AOI?) during the admins makes me even more optimistic!!!!!! Plus, I had a very heavy hitter POI at Stanford write me back swing he is taking a long overdue 2-year sabbatical in 2012!!! Now I know to stress my 2nd choice POI more in my SOP to GSB...hehehehe! God this is so stressful! I spoke with a friend in a Neuroanatomy PhD program (3rd year) who finished undergrad with me, and she loves it. I'm just wondering if I'm giving up too easily on the job hunt instead??? It's just EXTREMELY competitive and expensive out here in the Bay area! Maybe a move is the right idea??? I guess here's a 2nd part of my question... Now that I'm thinking of adding some more schools to the list (just have to find more Org Creativity experts!), what are your thoughts on best locales? I've only lived in Florida and California. My wife and I have talked about Chicago, and she'd rather head there than Indiana...hahaha! Thanks for commenting in this thread too btw! I didn't think anyone would respond... -Mike

Behavioral, Thanks for your comment! Regarding the GRE vs GMAT - the Org Behavior/Mgmt programs require GREs, so I guess I'm out of luck. Safety may be IU Kelley due to a Prof there who is prolific in my thesis topic, and happened to reach out to my advisor looking to recruit Fall 2012 OB applicants. I didn't want to apply to any other schools because I dread moving my family across the country again! But with your comments regarding the GRE scores as a massive hindrance, I might have to reconsider looking to other schools with faculty interests that align with mine. Actually, one of the POIs at Stanford GSB suggested I apply to Kellogg, do you enjoy it there? Was also thinking about trying Chicago, but I don't know? I know that both Stanford and Berkeley state "no minimum cutoff" for test scores, but I was actually wondering if the Admissions Committee sees a low score and says, "well we can't let someone with that score in"... I guess we'll see. Crazy that a dumb standardized test, which seems somewhat unreliable (at least in my case) would be a major determinant. I mean I scored just above "failing" and I've been very successful in my program (there are students who haven't finished their theses in over four years)! Soupful, Sounds like you've got me beat! Have you received any feedback from POIs at any of the schools you're applying to? What are your research interests if you don't mind me asking? Mine are organizational cultures for innovation and pro-social employee behaviors... -Mike C

Hello Grad Cafe-ers! I'm starting a new thread for OB PhDs for the Fall 2012 application season! (the other thread seemed dead) I'm interested in seeing what the overall volume of people going for this is like, and which programs are hot! I remember using this site like crazy 2 years ago when I was applying for a Masters! So, I'm finishing that MS in I-O Psychology right now, and I'm going to apply to a couple of amazing schools because I happen to live very close to them. I had a VERY bad GRE in 2008 (before the changes - not that it made anything better), but I'm thinking with my completion of an 80 page thesis and about 2.5 years of various research and professional experience, I'll be able to compensate. Plus, I'm lucky that these schools have profs that have similar research interests to the work I've done for my thesis! So what does anyone think? I could really use the support, but I'm also pretty good at receiving constructive feedback - so feel free to let it rip... 2008 GRE: 960 TOTAL!!!!! (Ahhhhhh)...hey at least it got me into a Master's program! Low-tier BA in Psych: 3.85 GPA Mid-tier MS in I-O Psy: 3.86 GPA GREAT LETTERS: VP at Fortune 500 company (PhD), Associate Dean in College of Business, and my thesis advisor (I-O) 2.5 Years of paid research experience in academic and organizational settings + 1.5 years of independent research for thesis Schools: Berkeley Haas Berkeley Social-Personality Psych Stanford GSB Indiana University (safety)? I'm feeling especially nervous because these are some crazy schools. But I already started reaching out to some of these profs and surprisingly I've had some encouragement (I think they just tell everyone that stuff)! What do you all think? Looking forward to responses to my questions, but also to hear about everyone else's plans =D -Mike