see_bella

sure you can! just make sure its the right school for you and respectfully decline

college debt is not an easy and desirable feat. So, think wisely before you decide. Carrying around two years of debt (tuition, fees, books, room and board, etc) or doing a year program. It's up to you.

I agree with wine in coffee cups. If they're willing to bend over backwards to help you, I think its worth a shot on your end. All the best! I'll be praying and rooting for you!

Like Nike, just do it! :-). Since you have the profs response which is positive, then go ahead. You have nothing to lose; grab the opportunity before deadlines approach and pass you by. You'll do well in grad school, anxiety and all.

It is. But it would be better if you had research and or teaching experience even if you've had no publications. It helps a great deal. In my case I didn't have publications but I had lots of research and teaching experience.

Maryland is a great school! Especially if they're giving you money! You just hit the jackpot. They have a very large and strong alumni network and existing relationships with the policy big guns in the DMV area. I have first hand experience doing intercollegiate work with them so I know this plus A LOT of my friends and some family members went there and/or are still going there. Of course, it all boils down to your choice but I UMD is the best school in Maryland. Maryland is a great state and UMD is in a very diverse area in the state (a lot of international folks as you and I). However, Montgomery county, DC, and surrounding areas which includes College Park is expensive. It comes with the territory given the area (politically and economically) but there's a lot of good neighborhoods and wonderful connections (I know this first hand as well). What's important to you? I love Maryland; its not as rogue as New York but there's a lot to see and do. And if you don't have a car, the different metro and bus systems are great! Just my two cents...

Yes I do know what correlation means. I have a masters degree in Statistics and I work as a researcher. Thank you for the clarification on what you meant on your earlier post.

It depends if the tutor position is just gonna pay you a stipend or if they're gonna cover fees as well. You'd need to find out what the specifics of each award is. Also, working 30 hrs a week can be doable...I've seen folks, friends do it. It's all up to you, you know your temperament. My main advice would be not to fall behind in your studies...that's your primary reason for being there. You'll do well...I believe in you.

A phd is not just for teaching. There are other jobs outside of academia to be had with a phd. Besides, 5 plus years from now the economy could be back up and not as bad as it is now. It always pays off in the end. To get a lot of good things in life you may have to sacrifice ($1400 a month stipend and grad school woes). That being said, I'm sorry you did not get in anywhere. I'm still waiting to hear back myself. But I'm sure you'll do well and you can apply for spring or fall next year.

I was of the impression that the person who started the post was asking about hiring committees for jobs, not admissions committees for grad schools. I apologize. I was speaking based on my experience in grad school and working for the CDC and Department of Health where research experience and publications played the major role. That being said, look at the faculty at those prestigious schools...many of them DID NOT get their PhDs at prestigious universities but their quality of work (publications included) spoke for them. At the end of the day, the student would benefit more from a good one on one mentorship and quality of life in those PhD programs. I have seen posters on here wanting "to kill themselves" (according to their posts) because they are miserable in their programs. Make sure you love your cohort, advisor, and the research interests are aligned properly so the 5 yrs can be bearable (again speaking from experience).

Anybody got accepted to the Kansas State University's program?

I have to disagree about the correlation. Not highly correlated. Harvard and the like did not become prestigious out of number of publications. There are many non-prestigious schools with awesome faculty members who are top notch researchers in their respective fields and produce successful students. Prestige does not necessarily mean bright and productive. A lot of prestigious folks bs-ed their way to the top. You definitely have to look at the skeleton of the program and subfield at any one school. Look at their graduate placements, their current and past research, cross collaborations, number of grants received (NIH, NSF, NASA, Internationally-renowned?), support for their graduate students (you may want to ask current students about their experience), publications and where they are being published. You may want to go to the APA's website or the specific division website as well. I am not saying having Harvard or Princeton on your CV is not worth it but at the end of the day, hiring committees will want to see what you have done to bring to the table.

Check the dept of labor's website for more information on job outlook. Look under psychologists. If you like program evaluation you may want look into program evaluation phd programs at western michigan and usf (I actually did the one at usf, masters). I/O psychologists work in many different areas. Teaching, research, consulting, and working for a company. Like most research related fields it is is heavily quantitative so yes you would be able to do program evaluations, assessments, etc. as an I/O psychologist. It is a broad field, however and you will have to decide what YOUR interests are and where YOU would like to work. In general, I/O is the psychology of work and most efforts are aimed at creating a better work place/work solution for individuals. You may want to talk to your professors and a career counselor at your current school as well. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_and_organizational_psychology this link gives really good but broad information about some of the areas of interests. My friend has a phd in I/O and she works for Raymond James which is a huge, multinational financial company as a measurement and analysis manager.

Yes you can. I did it for my masters (not federal though) and I know of others who have done it.

Agreed. Stipend is like your salary for being a TA, RA or both (GA). And yes taxes are taken off just like a 'normal' salary and you can get some back (or not) when you file your taxes. Also if they tell you tuition waiver it means you don't have to pay tuition BUT you may or may not be responsible for university fees. Some schools make it clear by telling you tuition and fees waiver. Others will say tuition waiver which could mean fees are also waived OR tuition only is waived and you pay fees once every semester (usually per credit hour).

As far as I know (including personal experience, friends' experience, and from working at different universities) university fees can't be waived. Its all these fees that the entire student body carries like technology fee, library fee, transportation fee, etc to cover the cost of student services. Its not something you can negotiate. Its either you get tuition and fee waiver like at your last choice school or a tuition waver only (and pay university fees) which is most common in grad school. When I did my masters I had the tuition waiver and had to pay the university fees, per credit hour as you said. So you may have to decide whats most important to you: going to your first choice and carrying a loan to pay the fees OR going to your last choice.

Its very good based on what my friend tells me. She's a 2nd year PhD student in this program and by all reports her experience is good! I will ask her for more details and report back.

I think your GRE scores are good. If you got accepted into Whitehead, do you not want to go there? Why or why not? If you applied for a masters at Whitehead, you can always boost your chances of getting into a PhD program into a top school by getting god grades/gpa during the masters, and more research experience. You gotta start somewhere.

Same boat...

Awesome! COngrats!

I agree with splitends comments/advice on this one as well. So you need to go that route; call around to the administration and find out. About that deposit, I think its unethical to ask that of a student. I mean, are you renting an apartment from them? Of course not. Asking for a deposit in order for you to be accepted? That sounds unethical to me. Basically, they're saying if you dont pay the money then you wont get in. Your acceptance shouldnt be based on your ability to pay but on your application, educational qualifications, LORs, etc. But thats just my opinion. I really hope you'd be able to work out the extension so that you can have time to visit the other schools and make an informed decision. This school asking for 500.00 to secure your acceptance sounds too shady to me.

I got mine from an undergrad professor, a grad professor, and Research Scientist I worked with/for. Your letters should come from people who can attest to/vouch for you ability to be a graduate student and prospective scholar in your field and could be professors and people you've worked with or for. At best, if you know someone's not going to write positive/good/compelling stuff about you then I'd say don't even think of asking them.

They're making you pay $500 for what?

Its your right to ask. The worst they can say is no and if they do that, then you can decide to accept their offer. You can always decline later should you get a better offer or you prefer somewhere else. Its a iffy situation but it never hurts to ask. They know that they're not the only school you've applied to. So go ahead and CALL them and ask I'd say.