EastCoasting

Far West is great. Myself and many others I know live there now, and intend to continue living there for the remainder of our studies/post docs

I suppose the RAship will depend on your adviser, but as someone who has been an RA for the past 2 years (and also have up a 5 year fellowship for it), I don't think I've done anything different from what I would have done had I received a fellowship.

I think that if you conducted some research and took the require psychology courses (probably about 5) you would even been a good doctoral program candidate with your experience

After meeting people who completed NYUS masters, I would never personally want to do it myself. I would rather reapply next year if I were to reject the PhD offer.

An international student in my department first worked as a lab manager in the lab that she is now a student at. You might be able to look into lab manager positions in the US as well, but it might be hard if you have no experience in the area that you are interested in studying. Just a thought.

Someone posted a while back that they interviewed there. Not sure about whether they heard back or not.

NA

If your adviser has a grant than it is probably negotiable. Even if not, you can always ask. I don't think I would phrase it as asking them to make their offer as more interesting to you. Rather, I would mention that although they are your first choice (only say this if true!), you are forced to contemplate an offer from a school you prefer less due to financial concerns. They should be able to pick up the elephant hint, or you could ask if there are any fellowships you may be able to receive or whatever (I did this and received more money as well as a small fellowship).

It depends on the professor. Some will only accept masters students, some prefer it, and others don't care.

I think CUNY recently opened a clinical psychology masters. You could be done with schooling in 2 years, and CUNY grad tuition is usually about $7,000 a year, which is cheaper than anywhere else...

At my institution a few students completed their undergrad their as well. To my knowledge, the only stigma there is, is against getting a tenure track position as your doctoral institute. I don't know who the prof would choose, but the student may not necessarily want to go there. Also, recruits don't always apply to study under faculty they've priviously worked with, and often undergrads don't really cultivate meaningfull relationships with the lab's PI.

You should also have a professor who you did research with address the grade in their letter, and explain that it was a fluke and that you really are good at stats.

I was really stressed. I am usually really stressed. There was a nice article on stress a while back in the NYT, that spoke about how stress can be a great motivator for preparedness. I just tried to channel the stress to feel more prepared. Because of stress I woke up really really early every interview weekend, and just used the time to read more about the faculty. I didn't actually need to know nearly that much for the interviews, but it did make me feel more confident. I got into most of the programs I interviewed at. Give your stress meaning, if you can. At least part of the weekend will be enjoyable, so try and make the most of that. Good luck!

I wore flate, and jumped over puddles and mounds. It retrospect should have gone with the nice boots approach...

I wore nice dresses with either tights or leggings underneath all three days (3 different dresses). I took the same thing for interviews so u wouldn't have to think about it. I don't think I had any pocketbook. I think I just used my backpack at all times, but it is possible I am misremembering.

That's a great response

You are being compared to other psychology students--those who are applying to the same programs as you. Maybe most of psychology majors score terrible, but they are not the ones being considered for funded grad school slots, because there are enough applicants with good scores. I studied for months and took a course. English is my second language, I was 29 and pregnant with my second child, and I too had to relearn all the math stuff that I hadn't thought about in years. At the end of the day, it's about remembering the information--both verbal and quant--until it is reflexive, and you need to be able to analyze what is in front for you in order to be able to utilize that information correctly. I agree that higher level stats classes should trump quant grades, but I also think this test can demonstrate the ability to work hard and think quick. I took at least 9 practice tests, and went through countless questions. The hard work paid off and I scored in the 90th+ percentiles.

For those worried about admitting that they didn't interview elsewhere--2/3 of our incoming students this year admitted that they were not interviewing elsewhere, and they were still accepted into our highly ranked program.

2 years ago I sort of enjoyed them, but I agree that I was mostly just stressed. What I liked about them was how quickly I could tell if I fit or not, and I am in the program where I felt I fit best.

Yeah I know the feeling. I came from a really no name small place. Faculty and POIS would be far more qualified than I to answer what the worthwhile threshold is.

I don't know if it would have helped. Obviously there is always the chance, but it's only a piece of the puzzle, and probably the least important one. it is, however, another way to get noticed, and you need to get a foot in the door to be considered. I think 85the percentile is good. I actually have no idea what the average "good" program scores are. For what it's worth, I don't know of any of my peers who bothered taking it. When I said my score was really high I meant in the 98th percentile. in my opinion the most important pieces are recs and fit, but you really need at least 70th percentile scores as well--higher for the higher ranking programs.

My understanding is that attending the Stanford weekend does not mean that you are necessarily in.

My 2c as a grad student in a good school: volunteer in a lab where you can get a stellar rec from someone really known in your field, and get your GRES up. Also, consider taking the psych GRE. I took it even though it was not required, and my advisor said that it really did stand out the fact that I did so well on both the tests. Also, maybe see about publishing your thesis in like the Psi Chi journal or something. Then you can say you have a manuscript submitted or in prep, and you're the first author. Almost no one will ask what journal you submitted to...

all the programs I got into were top 50 programs (up to top 13), and I am in my 30s. No cared. I even have kids. My opinion is that the two most important elements of application are fit with the advisor and their research interests, and your records letters (who the writer was and what they say)

Even interview days are a sort of recruitment day. Recruits do need to impress, but departments are definitely trying to impress as well. After all they are only interviewing you because you're impressive, so they assume you will likely be interviewing and getting accepted elsewhere as well.