3point14

I'm not in your field, but I'll be attending my top choice school this fall, and my undergrad GPA was a 3.147. Everyone else has already said it, but a 3.5 is definitely not "unacceptable." Your GPA will not be a negative mark on your application, but a higher one would be a slight positive. That said, your research experience and letters of recommendation are going to be way more important in the decision-making process

It probably won't hurt you, but you should definitely try to get some psych research experience too. They like to see that you're capable of doing research in general and if you do well you'll probably get a nice letter of recommendation out of it. I'm in behavioral neuroscience, and I did two summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates in chemistry (one was doing plant cell wall research and one was doing drug delivery research) and both the PI's I did the summer programs with wrote letters of recommendation for me. However, I also did two semesters of behavioral neuro research, and my PI in that lab wrote my third letter.

I have been doing P90X. I didn't pass the fit test (couldn't do the pull-up), but started anyway since that was the only thing I failed. If you can't do the weights and/or pull-ups, you can start with resistance bands until you're strong enough.

Same for me. Though like pheonixx I got headphones. Personally, I think the whole computer-based test system is awful. Taking it on the computer with all those random people walking around, and having zero desk space for my scratch paper really threw me off too. I'm surprised they didn't give you headphones. I think that's supposed to be part of the standardization

In all likelihood you will still have to submit GRE scores. GRE scores are not the most important part of your application. LoR's and SoP are much more important. Since you already have an MA, you've proven that you are already capable of performing well in graduate level work. That being said, it certainly wouldn't hurt your application to have really good GRE scores and it's one of the easier parts of your application to improve upon.

Most people who apply are not going to have publications. Three conference presentations is very good. Retake the GRE and you'll be a really strong applicant. Even if you didn't retake it, it might not be a dealbreaker with your other credentials (but I would definitely still retake it). Also, check and see if the programs you're applying to require the psych subject test. None of mine did. I plug this program every chance I get, but the NIH postbac program is really awesome (https://www.training...ms/postbac_irta) Edit: I hate college confidential. I hated it when I applied to undergrad, and I hated when I browsed there during this grad school app season. I found it very condescending and not very helpful. Maybe I just had a bad experience though.

This may not be helpful at all, but my boyfriend had a very similar undergrad CV. His overall GPA was around a 3.9, GRE ~1400 on the old scale (800 quant, can't remember exact verbal score) and he had a few publications. Of the schools on your list, he applied to Carnegie Mellon, Hopkins, Yale, and NC State. He was accepted to NC State, and rejected by the others (not 100% sure about Hopkins, but definitely the other 2). I'm not in your field, but my adviser suggested applying to about 10 schools to maximize chances of an acceptance without driving yourself completely insane, so the size of your list seems pretty doable. Of course, you should apply to schools where your and the program's/faculty's research interests mesh, and not just randomly add more in order to have more schools to apply to. Personally, I applied to all my schools in waves since they didn't all have the same application deadline. Fortunately, I was accepted before I had finished my final wave, so I just stopped.

Hi, I applied twice. Personally, I just started all over with new schools, new SoP, etc. I did consider re-applying to the one school I had been waitlisted at. In the end, I just felt like the programs I had originally applied to and I didn't have enough common research interests. I don't think it's bad to apply to the same schools (especially those at which you had an interview) particularly if you do something to improve your application between now and next fall (retake GRE if needed, get more research experience, etc). Since you definitely should do things to improve your application, this will probably change your SoP a little as well. Good luck!

This...this is disheartening, though not really surprising. I'm not sure what my boyfriend wants to do with his degree, but maybe he'll decide to stay out of academia.

I'll be starting my program this fall at the same institution my boyfriend is attending (though we're in different fields). I guess it's a little different though since we'll have been dating for over 1.5 years by the time I start.

I was accepted to my top choice with tuition waiver + TAship after being waitlisted

Wow, that's amazing, congrats!

The first time I applied (during my senior year of undergrad), I think I applied to any random school that had a behavioral neuroscience program. After being rejected from every program, I did a second summer research program (though not in my field) which brought my total research experience to about 2 years. This also replaced my one fair letter of recommendation with a strong one. I also spent a lot more time tailoring my statement of purpose and researching schools and applying places where my research interests and the faculty's meshed. After striking out last year, I interviewed at all three PhD programs I applied to, and got accepted to my top choice, so coming back after a bad year can be done!

I'm sure there are other sources (craigslist maybe?), but the university housing website has some postings (https://www.utexas.edu/provost/housing/listing/). Personally, I've been hesitant to do the random roommate thing my first year, though I'm also not sure I want to pay for a single either...meh.

50% overall ~33% PhD (1 acceptance, 2 rejections) ~67% Masters (2 acceptances, 1 decision not made) I consider this a vast improvement from last year (0%)

Can schools see how many times you've taken the test? And you can't send separate verbal and quant scores from different test days can you?

This happened to me last year! I would suggest looking for RA positions. If you can find any, you could work part-time and volunteer in a lab (if you can afford to do that). Even if there's not an official "volunteer position" listed, most professors are happy to have extra (free) help. Just shoot them an email. I don't know what field of psych you're into, but you could also check out the NIH Postbaccalaureate IRTA program (https://www.training...ms/postbac_irta). There are potentially positions in both NIDA and NIMH.

I have a close friend who is on an admissions committee, and this is pretty accurate. With regard to low GRE, if you have other redeeming qualities (lots of research experience, spectacular LoRs, etc) things like low GRE or GPA (as was my case) can be overlooked. I was invited to interview several places, and the whole interview process is what seems to be the most random and subjective to me.

Also, for the record, your starting salary in industry is not your permanent salary. If you stay with a company and do well, you're likely to get promotions and salary increases.

One of my dad's students just graduated and got a job in industry, and I believe his salary will be ~$60k

Then leave?

My GPA was low for the same reasons you mentioned. I asked about including it in my SoP, but was told that, since I didn't really have a good reason, I shouldn't mention it in my SoP, but should focus on my good qualities (research experience, etc). As for bringing up your GPA, did you apply to PhD programs? If so, you could look into Masters programs--their GPA requirements are usually lower than PhD programs. Many graduate programs also give you the option of taking classes as a non degree-seeking student--it's usually listed in the department's FAQ page, or you could just contact the program director.

Hey, no worries! Like I said, you know way more about the programs you applied to than I do (especially as my field is not marketing). I really didn't interpret your original post as belittling to foreign students, I just didn't want you to think that a majority of foreign grad students definitely meant the program preferred foreign students (even thought that appears to be true in your case). Obviously it's different in every field--in my dad's program it's grant money funding his students (foreign or domestic), so they'd really like to get a few more American students in who, after completion of their degree, are more likely to stay in the country and contribute to American science. Good luck next round!

You may be/probably are entirely right in saying that the programs you applied to prefer foreign students. I'm not disputing that, you would certainly know better than me. However, it's unfair to look at the profile of current students and, just because the majority are foreign, claim that the program prefers foreign students. My dad is a professor, and currently the entirety of his lab (7 grad students) is foreign and the majority of the students in his particular program are foreign. This is certainly not because they prefer foreign. Quite the opposite in fact. They would prefer to have more American students, and given two candidates with identical qualifications, would choose the American student over the foreign student. The fact is (again, in his program) there are simply not enough qualified American students applying.

Oh, I agree with you completely. I mostly just wanted to point out that the option of a funded Masters is there. The only reason I was considering it was because I've spent the time from August-January applying, interviewing, and being rejected from RA positions, but I did get a Masters acceptance (and thankfully a PhD acceptance). Also, I'm not sure exactly what area of psych you're in OP, but the NIH offers a nice post-baccalaureate training program (https://www.training...ms/postbac_irta). You send them your application, then you can contact PI's from the branch you're interested in (NIDA, NIMH), and if they haven't filled their postbacc spots (and/or have money to take one) they'll get back to you.