repatriate

Because of the seriousness and the immediacy of your anxiety-related issues (bleeding is bad!), I strongly encourage you to seek out a behavioral, cognitive-behavioral, or cognitive therapist. Have you told anyone else--friends, family--about what you are experiencing? Do you need medical attention for your bleeding?

What kind of therapist are you seeing? Not all therapies (or therapists) are equal. It, very unfortunately, is not too uncommon to spend years (and lots of money) before finding a therapist/therapy that actually helps. For the problems you are describing, it sounds like behavioral therapy is probably the best bet. Your therapist should be giving you "homework" and also working on exposure in therapy sessions. Is s/he doing anything like this?

Many social faculty use SPSP as a chance to discuss applicants with recommenders and other POIs, so it is not uncommon for social programs to make admissions decisions after the conference.

In my cohort of 15 people, only myself and one other person used GradCafe, so that's 13% here. But, of course, it would be silly to generalize.

Thanks, emmmm and starmaker! My spouse and I had a serious conversation yesterday based on your comments about the type of program that is appropriate for him, and we've agreed that he should apply to a range of programs, some more academic and some more industry-oriented, since I think that he might find the more academic programs more stimulating and rewarding (and who knows, find inspiration for even further study). JHU and Columbia have both made our list, now. (As far as expense, we've seen everything from $300/credit to $1,200/credit. Obviously, that will be a factor, but I think that is something we consider at the end, in eliminating programs from our list.) His GPA is still well below the listed cutoffs from many of the schools (which are around 3.2). I am hoping that once he takes the GRE, he can write inquiries to some schools, asking if his application would be reviewed despite not meeting the stated cutoff. /sigh I am glad to hear that his industry experience will count.

What is your recently finished master's degree in? Some schools (mine, for example) will not award a degree that is similar to another degree already awarded, so that is something to consider when choosing MA programs. A. sesquipedale posted a list of funded masters psych programs here:

Thanks so much, fangsout! I had suggested taking classes as non-degree student (it's what I did, too), but his employer won't pay for non-degree classes. We could afford to foot the bill for a couple of classes, but it seems like my school is in general unfriendly towards non-degree students, and my spouse is so down on his chances he is reluctant to even inquire about it. I like the idea of his attending here not because of the ranking (ok, a little for the ranking) but mostly because, since he works from home, he could attend daytime in-person classes here, which would give all the benefits of a physical learning community and a social environment. Working from home isn't the best way to meet people, and my friends and I bore him with psych-speak. We're not in a major city, so there aren't tons of schools around to pick from, unfortunately. So far, the distance programs we've identified are Drexel, Illinois Institute of Technology, and University of Illinois-Springfield.

I am not doing what I wrote in my SOP. I working in the same general specialization but looking at different, not-overlapping questions--both my own ideas and my advisor's. My adivisor never asked me to do what I wrote in my SOP, and I decided to pursue other topics. Like juror#1, I have a very supportive and flexible advisor, so I am content with my research questions.

My loving and dear spouse has moved across the country with me so that I may work on my PhD while he works from home at his job as a programmer for a contractor. He and his employer would like him to a masters degree in CS (more money for both of them) and he has come to me for advice. Now, I, dear GradCafe, have come to you. My darling spouse has a 2.7 undergrad GPA and even withdrew from undergrad in the middle of a semester and took a year off. Before withdrawing, he was a CS major, but during his time off, the department (a top 15 CS school) switched from C++ to Java and were going to make him retake the entire intro series in Java. It was quicker to finish a degree in math, so that's what he did, and he earned a 3.1 for his final 60 credits. He didn't form any relationships with his professors, so LORs from school are not likely. Since graduating, he has worked for 3 years at this contractor (where he was an intern during undergrad). He gets good performance reviews and is well-liked by the clients he has worked for. He would likely get very strong professional LORs. I think he could get an awesome GRE score; his SAT scores were very good, he has a great vocab, and he could knock out any of the problems in the math section. My school has a Top 5 CS department that offers MS and MCS degrees, and it would just be perfect in my mind if he could get his degree there, but he doubts that he has any kind of chance of getting into such a program with his undergrad performance. I have no idea what CS grad schools are interested in. I think, realistically, we are looking for accredited, online, part-time master's programs, since we will not be moving again until I am finished my program. Via Googling, we've found some such programs, but I have no idea how to evaluate the quality of these programs or to advise him about which ones to consider as appropriate for his background and goals. Any advice on these points (i.e., what makes a good CS master's degree or what schools might be good options) would be greatly appreciated!

For the GRFP, they convene the panelists in February to review the applications. http://www.nsfgrfp.org/for_educators/panelist_information They've stated this year's announcements will be made in April. http://www.nsfgrfp.org/applicant_resources/frequently_asked_questions#notified%20of%20decision

This sounds a lot like the h-index: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-index There are some tools (Scopus, Web of Science) that automatically calculate the h-indices for different fields. The linked Wikipedia article includes some of these.

In terms of courses, I think the best action you can take is to contact the departments you are interested in individually. As you've noted, the required prerequisites differ. Write a very brief email to the graduate secretary or the admissions secretary explaining that your school offered very little in terms of psychology coursework but you are very interested in the cognitive psychology program there; are there certain courses that they require? Overall, though, I think psychology courses are more forgiving about a lack of certain classes. You may also want to apply to a few MA/MS programs as backups just in case, if you feel that your coursework is really lacking. There is a thread on here somewhere on funded MA programs. I ended up doing a 1-year MA before entering my PhD program, but I was not only and English major but also had a terrible undergrad transcript (plenty of Fs and Ws) and only 1 year of academic research experience, so I was a lot farther behind you. In terms of your research experience, the best answer I can give is, "it depends." I'd focus on trying to tie the experiences together into a narrative in your SOP or stressing how you have sampled a variety of techniques and topics and how this has enabled you to develop flexibility or to decide which approaches you would like to use. Funding is more difficult for international students, but there is generally at least a handful of international students in most large psych departments. The finances involved in funding international students differ from school to school, but as a general rule, the bar is higher for international students. I definitely recommend contacting potential advisors no matter what. I don't know how much this affects admissions/funding; perhaps if you get an advisor really excited about you ahead of time, they can find internal or external support for you more easily, but I don't know.

Your stats actually sound very good. It is common for psychology programs to take people from non-psychology backgrounds, and I'd think your background in biology (and computer science) would be seen as preferable to most other non-psychology backgrounds. Cognitive psychology, especially, involves collaboration with other fields. Graduate seminars in cognitive psychology will often have students from computer science, education, and other fields. It also sounds like you have taken advantage of just about every psychology-related opportunity you have found at your school and beyond, which is to your credit. Bear in mind that, in the US, an undergraduate minor is typically about 5 classes worth of credits, so after you finish your courses at UW-Madison, you would be just one class short of a sort of unofficial minor. Although relevant research experience is preferred, the professors I have spoken with are generally very understanding of the fact that not everyone has equal access to such opportunities. The fact that you have 2 years of psychology research experience at a school with such a small psychology program will look good. Also, that you have continued to work on research, even in another field, is in your favor. You may want to emphasize in your SOP that even though your school did not offer much in the way of psychology opportunities to undergraduates, you sought out every opportunity you could, including at a foreign institution. That will make you appear to be a dedicated candidate.

I can't help very much with the statistics, but I wouldn't recommend viewing social psychology as a "back up." In general, social psychology programs are highly competitive for admissions. On the other hand, if you have an idea of the research you want to do and there are social psychologists doing that kind of research, then you should definitely apply to their social psychology programs. You might find organizational behavior (generally in business schools) or social decision sciences (I think generally housed in psychology or in interdisciplinary departments) programs to be good alternatives, depending on your research interests. I have very little knowledge of Canadian schools, so I can't point to specific programs.

The assistant professor (roughly lecturer) interviewees at my current US institution had 5-6 first author JPSP or Psych Science publications in addition to any second-tier, second+ author, or book chapter publications, so 10 or more publications each. It would be very difficult for someone from a 3-year program to be competitive with these applicants.

A friend in my program got one by email about a week and a half ago.

I studied in the UK for my MA and noticed that the shorter degree there (3 years) did not give the students time to get (enough) publications finished. None of the PhD students from my program went on to faculty positions. Those who were successful in the academic job hunt found postdocs (at least one in the US). There also was very little funding available compared to US psychology PhD programs and the funding situation was especially dire for overseas students.

Haha, nice! I had a similar experience with a book called "Mindreading" (psychology speak for thinking about what other people are thinking).

Just for clarification: What I meant was not that one or another section of the test would be weighted more heavily (I don't know about this). Rather, I am speculating that knowledge and acceptance of things like item response theory and test validation would make an admissions committee in a department like mine more apt to trust the GRE than a department where such things are not well-known or accepted. There are general problems with both forms of assessment (e.g., GPAs from different institutions reflect different levels of achievement, and the GRE is not an equal assessment for all demographic groups). How these assessments are weighted very likely differs across programs. However, I cannot speak to what I do not know.

I do not know about those attitudes here or elsewhere, but I would guess that, since I am enrolled at a department with a strong quantitative psychology program, psychometric assessments such as the GRE are viewed more favorably here than elsewhere.

I had a conversation with my advisor yesterday about admissions to our program and the relative weight our committee places on GPA versus GRE. My advisor complemented my own narrative for explaining my less than stellar GPA. Since this is a common question on the forum, I figured I would share my own experience. Of course, different committees will have different values and each applicant has a unique narrative, but knowing what others had done helped me when I was applying, so I hope that I can return the favor a little. Basically, the committee here sees GRE as the best indicator of future success. I also learned that GPA is not weighted as strongly here because it is seen as possible for very intelligent people to mess up during undergrad, so long as there is an explanation. Here is something like what I wrote in my SOP to explain my grades: So basically, I said, "Yes, my GPA is not what you are looking for, but that's because of some stuff that happened a long time ago, and now I am as awesome as anyone else you might admit." And it worked for me.

I had another of these moments recently.... Neighbor: What do you study? Me: Psychology of religion Neighbor: Oh, then my prayer came true! I prayed for a good Christian neighbor. I didn't want to lie or to disappoint her (I'm an atheist), so I just stared blankly until the topic changed. Probably could have handled it better, but I was totally not expecting that response.

Number 5. The professors you meet are your future colleagues. Better to begin your professional relationships with courtesy, forthrightness, and graciousness.

Damien, that sounds like a truly difficult and painful situation. You mentioned that you are in treatment. Does this mean that you are seeing a PhD psychologist? If so, you have the perfect resource to ask about this issue. As someone who both knows about getting a PhD and about mental illness, such a person can advise you both about the risks of talking to your program members and help you seek the support and accommodations you may need. An alternative to disclosing your actual condition is to seek accommodations through the disability support office at your school (with the help of your clinician). Such services generally cannot disclose your specific condition--only your need for accommodations. This won't change much in terms of general disability stigma or prevent your advisor and others from guessing about the nature of your disability, but it does provide you with a campus advocate-of-sorts, gives legal force to your requests for understanding, and allows you to avoid the specific stigma of bipolar disorder. I wish you the best in finishing your degree.

Mine was in the range you give. Passed over for PhD on first round, started a 1-year MA, applied to PhD programs before nay grades were in, and had great PhD offers for second round.