PumaDuty
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Posts posted by PumaDuty
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8 minutes ago, PsyDuck90 said:
I would probably lean towards school A. The outcome data, to me, is really important. It's safer to assume you will be the rule and not the exception in terms of how students fair for internship/licensure/etc. Also, while you don't get full tuition remission in School A, the funding is guaranteed and, while $6k is nothing to sneeze at, it also isn't a terrible amount, especially given the stipend coupled with your husband's salary for living expenses. It also sounds like it would be easier on your husband to not have to relocate and change jobs.
I appreciate this perspective. Thanks for weighing in!
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6 minutes ago, Itzik said:
Sounds like your in a pickle. I can’t decide and I have nothing invested in this lol.
seems strange that a program only covers 80% of tuition and not full Tuition remission When they give that large of a stipend. Honestly, the more I look, I think the positives of School A match some of my preferences when I looked for a program. Are they both R1 programs?
Yes. Both are R1. It is my understanding that the tuition offer (21 credits) is consistent across programs. I'm not sure why this is the case. I wonder if other programs typically take 21 credits/yr?
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I am currently in the process of deciding between 2 School Psychology PhD programs. I'm having a hard time deciding which is my top choice, so I'd like to hear from others about how you would choose. Also to be considered, I am in my early 30s. I am a woman of color. I'm married. We have no children. My husband and I haven't lived near family in a very long time, so either program would not keep us close to family.
School A
- In the current city in which we reside.
- Offered up to 5 years of guaranteed funding (tuition and 18,000 stipend)
- Assistantship will cover 21 credits (students typically take 27 credits/year). There is possibility of waiving some coursework because I completed a Masters program with some similar coursework. If I can't waive credits, I may have to pay about 6K out of pocket/yr.
- Required summer coursework
- Strong research match with faculty
- Closer to family, but not really driving distance
- Loooong winters
- Took time to warm up with faculty and students. The general vibe during interview day was not super welcoming at the beginning, but shifted throughout the day.
- Student population did not appear to be racially diverse, but there was a lot of diversity in applicants during interview day. I wonder if that will carry over into the cohort?
- Much better outcome data (APA internships and licensure)
School B
- Requires a move across the country
- We would not live in the same city as the program since my husband would likely find work in the nearby big city and traffic into the city would be horrible. I would commute about an hour. There are other students who do this and say that it works fine for them.
- Guaranteed fellowship for the first year (full tuition and 18K stipend)
- Guaranteed Assistantship years 2 and 3 (full tuition and less than 15K stipend). Was told that the stipend can be greater based on the assistantship, but that is the guaranteed min.
- Additional years not guaranteed, but potential advisor suggests most students are funded in the same way as Years 2 and 3, but it is not guaranteed. I confirmed with a current 3rd year student who suggests that all students in the program are funded, regardless of year in the program.
- No required summer course work
- Research match is good, but not as strong at School A
- Very far from family
- Much better weather
- Faculty and students were very welcoming and interview day felt very comfortable.
- Student population appeared to be racially diverse
- Outcome data is not great
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1 hour ago, jonliu said:
So I was offered admission to the PhD program in political science at a large public “R1” university in the Midwest. The DGS has arranged a WebEx meeting for me and my faculty of interest (2 of them) plus a current PhD student (potentially). The meeting will happen in a few days. It’s supposed to be help me learn more about the program and for them to answer questions I have.
I’m feeling very nervous about this meeting, and am not sure what exactly I should be talking to them about... I assume post-offer meetings like this should be pretty common, so I’d really appreciate some tips/suggestions/advice on what to expect and how to prepare for it.
And in case they pressure me, how should I go about telling them that I’m still in the process of deciding whether or not I’ll accept the offer (to not come across as impolite)? Though I’m quite interested in attending this school, I do have one other offer and am on 3 waitlists at the moment.
Also, the amount of stipend offered is not that great (the other program offered more funding), but is it not a good idea to ask for more funding unless I’m certain I will accept the offer?
Apologize if similar questions have been asked before. Thanks in advance!
I just had one this week. It was very laid back. The faculty just asked what questions I had. There was no discussion about when I would make a decision. I would suggest having a few questions prepared.
I also had follow up questions about funding but didn’t ask on the call since another student was on. I just emailed after. I would want to know full details regarding funding before making a decision. Unless, you know that you’d accept the offer with no increase.
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Also starting a Phd program in the fall at 33. No children, but married. I’m feeling excited about having more direction and knowing exactly what I want to accomplish.
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On 3/2/2020 at 9:13 PM, LitScript said:
That's the right assumption as you're generally going against the flow of traffic, at least until you get closer to Riverside. Where you live is probably pretty dependent on where your partner ends up working because a drive from the eastern side of the city to West LA can take an hour and a half each way.
There really isn't an ideal place in between the two cities, unfortunately. One or both of you will end up doing a lot of driving. My best recommendation would probably be to find something near a Metro line and commute via taking the Metro to the Metrolink Riverside Line. At least that way your commute time can be more productive. Most people in LA tend to forget about our public transit infrastructure if they don't live very close to it. Good luck and feel free to PM me with any questions. I've lived in the LA area my entire life (until grad school starts in August!)
Thanks for the input! I didn't consider public transportation. I'll definitely look into that!
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19 minutes ago, Itzik said:
This is strange to think about when you don’t have multiple offers but for me it depends.
if the POI called or emailed me, I focused on a compassionate email.
if the head of the program sent out a cookie cutter email, I was more straight to the point “thank you so much” “ I thought about this very hard” “while this program was one of my top choice, I actually was lucky enough to obtain an offer from my top choice”
stuff like that. I feel like the phone call is the hardest. If a POI Calls you don’t reject the offer at that moment. Even if you made your decision, take a day or two to triple check your decision is the right one for you. Give the POI respect
I don't think it's strange to think about all possible outcomes.
All of my offers came through email, so I responded in email. I thanked them for considering me and the offer to join the program. Followed by " I must respectfully decline because I will be
accepting an offer elsewhere." I received very kind and positive responses from the POI and DCT. -
I don’t see why not? The best thing to do is apply and see where it takes you.
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14 hours ago, stressssed said:
Created just an account just to post this: I had an interview this weekend for my top school and there were SEVEN people being interviewed to work with my desired PI, including myself. This isn't taking into consideration that they had a second interview day, so there were likely more potential students that were interviewed the day I didn't attend. I have faith in my abilities and how I presented myself, but it also sucked knowing that I still had so many people to compete against. It's my first year applying, and I'm not too familiar with how the process works, but from scouring these forums I'm led to believe that this situation isn't typical.
Any chance they’re planning to accept more than 1 student?
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52 minutes ago, sparrow123 said:
Yes! My husband is also applying for PhDs, although in a different field. We applied to the same schools or schools that were close to each other. By some frigging miracle, it looks like it might work out for us. He got accepted to the school I *just* interviewed at.
That's awesome. I hope it works out for you!
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36 minutes ago, Ppkitty said:
Yes the double pressure is incredible! Fortunately of the places left to hear from we would still be in the same state or region but it’s still nerve wracking. Congratulations on the acceptances though!
Thank you and that's great! We aren't necessarily tied down to any area, so I applied all over the country!
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1 hour ago, Itzik said:
I’m on the same boat as you, got accepted at all locations I interviewed and haven’t received funding information. I made the choice with my wife that we will take my top choice based on fit and location. The funding is there so whether one place gives +100 or w/e on the stipend, I still want to choose my top choice. Now, I don’t mind accepting prior funding info because this is a top R1 program and guarantees full funding so i guess I’m in a unique position
It's great that you all made that decision. I'm in a place where I'm offered full-funding at 2 programs, but I am waiting to learn about funding from my top choice. My husband will be supporting us financially since I'll no longer be working. We want to make sure that we are in a location that also makes sense for his field of work. I want to make sure that we are making the right choice so that neither of us holds any resentment, since we'll be there for quite some time. Quality of life is so important these days! Lol
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This is not my first go at this and I am super grateful to have been accepted to the 4 programs that I interviewed for. I’m still waiting for funding information so I haven’t made a decision yet, but I am surprised at how stressful this is! I thought I would feel relieved at this point. Anyone else married or in a committed relationship during this process? I feel so much more pressure because we need to choose a place that works for the both of us. I can’t wait until we know for sure!
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I am considering a move to attend UC-Riverside. My partner would work in LA, so given traffic patterns, we're thinking that it may make the most sense to live in LA and I would commute to Riverside (vs. my parter commuting into LA). Am I making the correct assumption? If we were to live in LA, I would want to be closer to Riverside. I have only visited LA a few times. Google maps suggests to me that I should be looking on the eastern side of the city. Is that true? What areas would you consider for a young married couple, no children?
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Does anyone know about funding at Yeshiva’s Clinical-School PsyD program?
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I am considering a move to CA to attend UC-Riverside. My partner would work in LA, so given traffic patterns, we're thinking that it may make the most sense to live in LA and I would commute to Riverside (vs. my parter commuting into LA). Am I making the correct assumption? If we were to live in LA, I would want to be closer to Riverside. I have only visited LA a few times. Google maps suggests to me that I should be looking on the eastern side of the city. Is that true? What areas would you consider for a young married couple, no children?
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19 hours ago, webbz_world93 said:
So, someone posted an acceptance for my top program (phone call from director) today. Am I out of the running for this school?
Your chances probably depend on if people accept the offers and if/where you stand on the waiting list. (That's assuming all offers went out). Good luck! This process can be so frustrating.
Which Would You Choose?
in Psychology Forum
Posted
I meant across programs within this particular school. Thanks for weighing in.