quick1

I finished an M.A. in clinical psych about 2 years ago. It started off more coursework heavy then shifted more towards research and clinical practice towards the end. I chose to do a voluntary research thesis to boost my application for doctoral programs so that took time. If your degree is practice based expect coursework, readings, and tests early on followed by clinical practice experience at practicums and internships combined with presenting cases, supervision sessions, and possibly working in multiple locations. If you're more research based you'll be spending even more time on reading, writing, researching, studying and depending on your area of study less time on actually working with patients, supervisors, and case presentations. Back in that program I probably spent about 9 hours a week in class and depending on the classes/semesters about 10 hours a week on "homework." When doing my thesis I dedicated at least 8 hours a week to working on it, more when it came towards the end. Starting a Psy.D. in the fall and the way my program works is classes always on the same two days of the week in afternoons/evenings to leave time on other days for part time work (I do intakes and see clients right now and will continue to do so a bit during school), practicum/internship placements, and general doing schoolwork. And some socializing and hobbies of course! This particular program advises that people shouldn't work full time during the program and should strongly consider working less than 20 hrs a week if not less. They estimate with classes, studying, assignments, internships, dissertation work that the average student is spending at least 25 hrs a week on their studies. I need to get more structured in my time scheduling. I have rough schedule in place for the Fall to fit everything in and have time for exercising, socializing, and relaxing but overall I tend to do my schoolwork better in the evenings with more mundane tasks, exercising, and such in the late morning and afternoon. For my Fall schedule Mondays will remain free and open for schoolwork, Tuesdays and Wednesdays will be classes and time spent at school doing schoolwork, Thursdays and Fridays will be for seeing my patients and intakes, Saturdays and Sundays will be a mix of schoolwork, hobbies, and socializing.

Congrats, it's exciting for sure. My program offers some assistantships which works out to little less than half tuition if I get one. I'm also hoping to continue seeing some patients while I'm in school (already have a Master of Arts in Clinical Psych).

Looking forward to starting in a Psy.D. program this fall with advanced standing at a university here. Anyone else gearing up for their doctorate in clinical and/or counseling psychology? How are you mentally, physically, socially, and financially planning for what is going to essentially be your life for the next 4-6 years?

Most PhD programs are clinical research oriented. Sure they train people to be academics but as long as it's clinical psychology or counseling psychology you can usually get licensed with that education. As a bonus many PhD programs offer partial or full funding for tuition and stipends. Compared to a Psy.D they are similar in terms of practice oriented jobs you might do after graduating and becoming licensed. Psy.D's may offer some funding in terms of assistantships but often do not come with full funding/stipends. Ph.D. programs tend to be extremely competitive , you're talking hundreds of applications for maybe 6-8 slots. Psy.D. programs tend to be slightly less competitive due to somewhat larger class sizes and an assumption Psy.D.s will go into work outside academia and thus possibly earn more. Now looking at Master's programs vs Psy.D. and Ph.D. and what you can do with each after graduation/licensure the biggest difference is testing and assessment which licensed psychologists can do . Masters level licensed clinicians can not do the full array of testing/assessment items. I'm somewhat interested in testing/assessement and I have experience in the field with a Masters doing intakes and therapy so I chose a Psy.D. program that fit those interests. Basically if you have no intention of doing testing and assessment and don't see yourself ever wanting to supervise doctoral students in your field than a master's may be sufficient for your needs.

Ask the new adviser or better yet skip the trip. I once planned a short international trip over what I assumed was a short school break. Trip was booked about 3 months before school started. Schedule shifted and I had finals that week in my M.A. program at the time. The professors cut me some slack me but one turned around and said "You need to check your schedule and not go away when there are classes and tests. Not everyone will let you take the test early, they'll just tell you to take the test when they give it or miss it and fail." She let me test early but what she said stuck with me a lot. Also I believe the first week usually also has orientations, mandatory meetings, and presentations. At least my doctoral program I'm starting in the fall does.

I used to highly recommend Macbook Pros (used one through most of my Masters program and work after) but recently upgraded to a Lenovo Thinkpad T430. As other have said Asus and Lenovo tend to have decent quality laptops at a price a lot lower than Macbook Pros (my loaded T430 cost less than the base Macbook Pro). But since I'm a new fan of Lenovo I'll say a Lenovo Thinkpad (mainly the T series or if you need a bigger screen and extra video processing the W series). I've also heard good things about the X Series. But speaking for the T series, this is the iconic line with water resistant keyboard, internal roll cage, steel hinges, and has passed 8 of 9 military spec tests for durability and operation in many conditions. And it's the only laptop approved for use on the International Space Station. That's damn cool. Just upgrade to the higher screen resolution and keep Windows 7, trust me on this one. Lenovo has a new T431i line coming out soon as well.

They do have a high expectation at both the Masters level and Doctoral level. In fact many schools use the statement of purpose as a way to also gauge writing abilities when a writing sample isn't requested. That said my writing itself is pretty good but I've always struggled with certain areas of grammar. When I was working on a M.A. thesis my thesis committee helped me with these issues and I also used the school's writing center to improve further. Basically I could clearly convey ideas and write at a high level but grammar was a weak spot I'm still working on. However, I did successfully complete a thesis and a masters program and got accepted to two doctoral programs.

This is common in many fields. my undergrad degree isn't in anything close to what my Masters is in or what I'll be doing in my doctoral program come fall. Take a look at some of the programs (I'm assuming you're wanting a doctoral degree?) and see what their coursework requirements are. Then take them at your current school or any other school where the credits can be transferred. Others may be right though, a Masters in your chosen interest will show more background in the new area of interest and maybe make you more competitive for a doctoral program down the line. It'll also give you a chance to find your true interests in the field, test the graduate world waters, and prepare for your journey. But either way (Masters or doctorate) you will need a base core of required classes and that may vary from program to program.

A good thing to keep in mind for everyone for sure. From the other end of the perspective (accepted at at least one school and waiting on other offers) know that many people are sitting on offers as they wait to hear about unofficial acceptances turning into official acceptances, waiting to hear anything from a top choice, or even waiting on their own waitlists at top choices. I do agree it's good etiquette to notify a school that's accepted or waitlisted you as soon as you've made a decision to go elsewhere but the timeline can vary from school to school and program to program.

I've gotten most rejections through email, although one went to my permanent address. I got one acceptance officially through email (although they later sent a paper copy to my permanent address) and got an unofficial acceptance through the phone with an official one apparently being sent by postal mail (likely to permanent address because I don't think they have current mailing address). Most of them had my mailing current address.

You'd be surprised. Especially in my field. Everything from dress/grooming and mannerisms to prepping answers to interview questions in your head and being able to take concise examples of an experience and being able to utilize that no matter the questions. And so much more.

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I wonder if there's a difference between those who want to work in academia and those who want to work out in the world? I'm gearing up for a doctoral degree with the desire to go out and work in various roles instead of academia. Granted my chosen field involves an expectation to obtain license to practice. I can't see how getting your degrees from the same school matters in most fields.

I also vote to wait and see.

I recently got accepted to Psy.D. programs for Fall 2013, feel free to PM me if you want some tips or info on what seemed to work for my SOPs I took tips from current Psy.D. students on tweaking my SOPs and I'm very certain some of their tips were a big factor. One thing I will say that helped me out with the SOP and then with the interviews is discuss in some way why the particular school and why specifically a Psy.D. You need good reasons or at least an understanding of what a Psy.D. means for your career and why you actually need it. You show you understand time and commitment to the Psy.D. training but you WILL get grilled in interviews on "why do you need a Psy.D. and why from here?" Know that they will challenge your answers "well an MFT can do that, or there are plenty of LPCs out there doing what you want to do without a doctoral degree." You need to know key differences between a Psy.D. and masters level degrees. Many school will expect you to become a licensed psychologist after you graduate and it would be a kiss of death to even suggest "possibly not getting the highest licensure possible" or having at least some shown interest in key things a licensed psycholgist can do that masters level clinicians can't do (hint: testing and assessment is one). But just PM me if you have any questions, specific details needed, or more info.

I'm thinking a few weeks. I got a phone call from one department saying I was accepted but needed to wait for official letter. They asked I not disclose the call or information to other students applying or anyone who might speak with them because it was early in the process.

I applied there as well and heard nothing. I have a colleague that goes there, I'm not sure what his process getting in was like. It's possible you were waitlisted but not sure how the process works. If you're feeling daring you could email them to follow up on your application. Sometimes they'll come right out and tell you. Also I got an acceptance a week after an interview but know someone who didn't get their acceptance until over 2 months after the interview for the same program a few years back (not Widener obviously). So the process can be staggered. And timelines tend to be different for Psy.D. than Ph.D. it seems.

That's somewhat incorrect. I'm starting a Psy.D. in the fall and often get asked why I "need" the higher degree, often asked by MFTs, MS/MAs, LPCs, and social workers. A huge difference between the Psy.D. (or even a clinical or counseling Ph.D.) and the MFT is the testing and psychological assessment component. You need a clinical or counseling Psy.D. or Ph.D. in most if not all states to do testing and psychological assessments. Also there's a slight edge for doctorate holders in terms of teaching in the field, supervising doctoral level students, and higher rates of reimbursement (although not a huge amount). Besides testing and some slightly higher payments it's a personal choice. Part of this is because at the Masters level in our field there isn't really much focus or coursework on testing and assessment. For me I want to go beyond a Masters because I want complete flexibility in my career, I want the freedom to do multiple things in the field and not be limited. I also currently do intakes in addition to individual therapy and intakes got me interesting in testing and assessment. But if you don't see yourself doing testing/assessment and don't mind the limits that are placed on master's level clinicians and just want to do straight counseling the MFT is more than sufficient.

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I'm a guy and went to two interviews so far. The first interview all of us guys there were in suits (There was about 5-6 males). This seemed to be standard as all the professors present were also wearing suits. Some of the admissions office staff weren't wearing suits and the students on hand for questions weren't wearing suits either (of course it's like a job interview, dress to impress but once you're in dress how the job/setting dictates). The second interview there was only one other guy there with me. I was in my suit, he was in dress khakis (a dark color), a dress shit two buttons unbuttoned with no tie. To me it was a bit underdressed. However at this interview at least 2 professors were dressed the same way (although slightly dressier). And the students were dressed very casual. For my M.A. interview I just wore khaki pants, dress shirt, and tie. And same for the associated internship interviews. Got both. As for women, I went to one of the above interviews and there was a wide range of dress attire although most of the women had professional suits on. One woman who appeared really young was dressed very quirky with Doc Marten like boots on with leggings, heavy skirt, and some sort of turtleneck shirt. She looked more casual but she was extremely outgoing with the faculty and very relaxed so I doubt her attire mattered too much. If it helps I was advised to dress business professional with a suit and only add a little bit of personal touch (i.e. - choose a color that stands out a bit in the shirt and tie but keep it clean, sleek and professional). So I chose a gray suit with a light blue shirt and a tie with a basic blue/gray pattern.

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I'm in a different field but from what I understand, a phone interview or in person interview means they are interested in you and you've risen above other applicants to stand out. However, the interview is still a part of the selection process and nearly every school will interview more students than they plan to accept. Being waitlisted isn't a bad thing but it's a weird feeling I'd imagine. Basically the school has decided you're a good candidate but there's a few others they want to make offers to first. Depending on their policy you're either waitlsted for an interview slot or better yet you're waitlisted for an offer of admission. If someone ranked higher than you declines the interview/acceptance (whatever the waitlist is for) then you move up on the waitlist. If you're next in line and the person above you declines, to me that's a good sign you'll hear good news.

I had a 2.9 overall UG GPA. I actually nearly failed basic biology and math (alegrbra II !) twice at two different schools. Also the first time I took my GREs (old test) I did worse than 80% of test takers on the quant. sections. I improved the GREs, did better in statistics classes, got a 3.84 M.A. GPA and did a research based thesis. Finally got some acceptances on my second attempt applying.

The best is people saying "it's who you know there that counts." Like if they or I know someone who works there they should just unroll the red carpet. Or getting rejected "why can't they see how much you want this? need this? deserve this? etc etc" People often mean well but have no idea how it works.