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Everything posted by svh
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Does anyone not feel 100% about their final decision?
svh replied to gurlsaved's topic in Decisions, Decisions
I am dealing with the exact same thing. For two years, one of my schools was my top choice. When I applied I found a great school that was a good second choice. I would've been happy getting in to either one of these. Then, I got into both, and now I'm just not sure what to do. Both are great fits, but the funding is different, and that's where the issue is. To make it worse, it's my second choice (not my top one) that is offering more funding. So... do I go to my top choice with less funding (significantly less after factoring cost of living), or do I go to my second choice with great funding? -
Help make my decision (or completely confuse me)!
svh replied to obrera's topic in Decisions, Decisions
Seems like you already want to go to school A... I say go with your gut.- 18 replies
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- wine and bubble baths
- kitty cats
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Looks good, but I hear that many top econ programs want a solid real analysis background. Complex analysis and topology also seem like must-haves for top 10 programs. Looks like you have solid stats training with econometrics though.
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Honestly, I think what did it for me was my GRE score (1530) and the fact that I'm a statistics double major. I feel like more weight was put on the GREs this year than normal for some reason... Your research experience is way better than mine. However, with that being said, I must say that I got into the schools that I thought were great fits (multiple faculty whose interests overlapped with mine) but rejected from all the ones that weren't as great. In my personal statement, I pointed out the fact that the school was a great fit and mentioned all the faculty and their research that I was interested in. But it was done in a coherent manner where I backed up and explained my interest in a certain faculty's research (rather than just saying, "I'm interested in [research] by [faculty]") and linked their research with the research of other faculty in a way that interested me.
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How important is school prestige in psychology?
svh replied to gradconfused's topic in Psychology Forum
So this is just a general psych ranking, right? UVa is ranked number 10 in social psych and Minnesota isn't even listed for social psych. I feel like if you're even going to look at rankings, you should look for your subfield. And yeah, you do want to surround yourself with hardworking people. I visited UVa, and everyone there is a very hard worker. They love what they do, and they're successful. UVa has a good reputation for placing grad students in good jobs. And yes, UVa is ranked lower in the general psych rankings, but I don't really think that matters. -
How important is school prestige in psychology?
svh replied to gradconfused's topic in Psychology Forum
You'll come out with the same job opportunities, AND you'll have a much happier time! -
How important is school prestige in psychology?
svh replied to gradconfused's topic in Psychology Forum
Yeah, I feel like publications is the most important thing for getting a job. Also, I come from a cheap state school (about $6000 a year for tuition=no debt!), and I've ran into some ivy leaguers (we were interviewing for the same spot at top schools). So yeah, I'm going to say school prestige probably doesn't help THAT much when applying for grad school, too... -
Including you, there are four people on this forum who have offers.
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How important is school prestige in psychology?
svh replied to gradconfused's topic in Psychology Forum
I think what matters is the quality and quantity of publications over all else. -
I think you need to decide what's more important to you. Chances are, you'll come out just as prepared in both programs for the job market.
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Send a thank you email to all the people you met and your host. If you do that, you might stand out when they make their decisions (recency effect, anyone?). You don't have to sound desperate. Just say thanks for the opportunity, I look forward to hearing from you.
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Sh*t people say when you are applying to grad school
svh replied to Clou12's topic in Waiting it Out
People talk to me about going into debt. Then, I have to explain to them that PhD programs pay you to go. And they just don't get the concept... -
I agree. There is a huuuge difference between sharing a room and sharing an apartment with more than one room. I, personally, enjoy the three-bedroom situation. It's a little more difficult to find three bedrooms, but I feel like three is a crowd and four is overdoing it. The rent on multiple bedroom apartments is also a lot better (split between all of you) than a one bedroom. I think a one bedroom would not be worth it (the high rent and going home to nobody every night...).
- 27 replies
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- california
- ucsb
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Waiting for other admits while accepting an offer
svh replied to sb29's topic in Decisions, Decisions
You should be straightforward with them and tell them your situation. I feel like grad schools are, by law, supposed to let you make your decision by April 15th... I don't know what's up with your school. -
How to decide- money vs interests vs everythingelse
svh replied to 123far's topic in Decisions, Decisions
I'm having a somewhat similar situation. Perhaps people can weigh in on this to help me out? I'm looking closely at two schools. School A has a better research fit than School B; however, the stipend is a lot lower. When I do the cost of living calculator, I find that School A's stipend is about $10,000 (my hometown's dollars) and School B's stipend is about $30,000 (my hometown's dollars). That's a huge difference... What do you all think? -
To email or not to email? Still waiting on one school
svh replied to ZoSo 4's topic in Decisions, Decisions
I had a similar situation, where I just asked other schools I was waiting for about when I could expect to hear from them because I might have scheduling conflicts with them regarding interviews and visits. I don't know if it helped my case, but it gave me information. I phrased it like this: This is xxx from the xxx. I just had a quick question regarding the status of admissions at xxx. When can applicants expect to hear back? I'm just wondering because xxx is one of my more preferred programs, but I've been contacted my multiple places and am having a difficult time scheduling interviews and visits. If am lucky enough to obtain an interview from xxx, I wouldn't want to miss the visiting weekend simply because I've already booked a different trip for that date. -
Accepted Early to a backup school -- Best way to handle it?
svh replied to beepbeep's topic in Psychology Forum
Tell them thank you for the great news. Grad schools are required to wait till April 15th for your answer, so they aren't anticipating a response from you for awhile. -
You should most definitely visit. You won't know what it's really like at either school until you do, and both schools really want to meet you to get to know you. You should visit school A even if you're not considering going there so as to not burn any bridges and to build connections (you'll probably be seeing them again in the future for whatever reason, maybe for a job). Anyways, don't be stressed about this. This is good news and a good problem to have. Just go to the visits and be yourself. You've already been accepted, so there's no use stressing about the visits. And I hear most first year grad students get imposter syndrome (I'm sure I will feel it, too).
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Which dept in columbia are you interviewing for? I don't have any info regarding columbia, whatsoever...
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You can ask the grad students about the pros and cons of the program. You can also ask your potential advisors what they expect out of you. And if you're absolutely certain that you'll go to this program, you could probably ask the profs for some suggested reading to get you caught up on the research going on in their labs.
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honestly, how difficult is it to live in ny on a grad stipend? i hear people say that it's doable, but i can't imagine it being at all comfortable. i put the stipend amount into a cost of living calculator and found out that i'd be able to live the exact same lifestyle that i live now as an undergrad. i don't really want to live like an undergrad for the next five years of my life... right now, i can't save any money and i eat crappy food, and i don't think i can take this much longer. i have great stipend offers at other programs, and i just don't know if it would be worth it to give them up for a chance to live in ny.
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You can ask about the stipend, what your potential advisor's mentoring style is, what they like/dislike about the program or the city, what kinds of jobs graduates get, what they'll expect your role in their lab will be, etc. Think about what your everyday life in this person's lab might be and ask questions that will pertain to that (because that's what will matter: everyday life).
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How to answer the "are we your topic choice" question in interview?
svh replied to lindali's topic in Psychology Forum
Say something nondescript like, there are several schools near the top of my list and I really won't know which one fits best with me until I visit them all.