DarwinAG

The purpose of the study was to show the effects of social discrimination on physiology, not to examine the biological correlates of social discrimation. Those are two very different things. They did not specifically balanced men and women. That was an accidental feature of the the sampling method. They did not think there would be a gender difference that is why men and women were lumped together in the analysis. If they wanted to compare man and women, they could have easily done so. My suggestion was to drop the women from the overall cortison analysis because they did not control for onset of menstrual cycle which presumably has an effect on cortisol levels. If they controlled for it methodologically, then by all means conduct the analysis with both men and women. Of course, my suggestion assumed that the menstrual cycle does indeed significantly impact cortisol level. And to reiterate, my suggestion was based on a lack of methodological control on cortisol levels. I am not suggesting to not include women in studies altogether.

Keep your head up. It's not over yet. A cognitive psychology buddy of mine received an invitation for UCSD. He said they were only allowed to invite 3 people. PM me if you want to know the PI.

I was hoping someone would be able to help me understand the distinction between the two. Are they the same event but with different names? Or does a visiting weekend imply that you have an implict offer?

I can't speak on how important emailing professors are before submitting an application. At best, it really just introduces you to the professor I think. I actually contacted every single professor I applied to. Every single one replied to me with varying levels of encouragement, but each one replied to me. Some introductory emails actually resulted in lengthy exchanges and even an informal interview. Some suggested we meet at SPSP to chat. So I have had positive experiences emailing professors beforehand. In short, i dont think it harms your application. If any benefit results from it, it is a minor one I think. It was rather enjoyable exchanging emails with them though.

Smiley. You usually obtain the manuscripts from googlescholar, faculty websites, or some article database (e.g., psychinfo, etc). It is rare for POIs to send you manuscripts they're working on. If you know some of the students already, I'd email them. I actually don't know the etiquette for this. P.S. Expresso shot refers to a category that represents the number of post one has (I think). Their actual Username is above that in blue. I think you meant stereopticons.

O haha that's just an example from my own experience. I thought I removed that. I committed an academic faux paux when I suggested removing women from a cortisol analysis because there was no data on their menstrual cycle which I thought added noise to the data. Although my point was valid, I should have expressed it more tactfully. The RA incident was dealing with an assistant who was consistently late.

I said this elsewhere, but GPA is only one aspect of your application packet. It can be offset by other parts of your application like GRE scores, LORs, research experience, and a stellar CV. I think your lack of research experience may hurt you more than your GPA. Maintain or slowly increase your GPA and you will be fine. And I highly reccomend getting research experience through lab work. The senior thesis should be fine as well, but the more research experience the better. Extracurricular stuff is a plus, but it is not a big determinant in the application process as far as I have been told. I was actually discouraged from being a Psi Chi officer for a year because it would take away time from conducting research, but I did it anyways for funsies. In short, extracurricular won't really offset your GPA. Research experience, strong LORs, and GRE scores will do a better job of strenghtening your application packet. Also, case in point, I have a low undergraduate GPA at 3.39, but my advisers are still optimistic about my application packet. Hope that helps.

I have been collecting possible interview questions, and I thought it may be useful to share. Please feel free to add some of your own. The more questions we can generate the better off we are. Do note that some of these I lifted from other threads and websites. Some questions are obviously redundant. I also didn't get a chance to thematically group them yet. -Tell me about yourself -What are your research interests? -What are your goals? What are your future plans? -What do you know about my research? (This seems important) -How did you get into emotion research? -What is the most compelling study you have done?(figure this out) -Tell me about your research background? -Tell me about this aspect of your CV. -Tell me about the publication on your CV. -How did you deal with the revise & resubmits? -How do you approach the writing process? -Why do you want to go here? -Do you have any questions? (generate as many questions as possible) -Rank the research process you are most comfortable with 1 (not comfortable) and 10 (very comfortable). (Coming up with idea, generating the hypothesis, collecting data, data analysis, and publication). -Why should we take you and not someone else? -What do you think are the most important trait for researchers? -What theories/framework/models about emotion/well-being/stress excite you the most? -What authors have you read recently? -How would you manage deadlines? -If I came to your office what would I find on your desk? -Why do you have such a low GPA? (flaws in your application) -Why did it take you so long to graduate? -Tell me about Project X (be able to explain it in 2-5 sentences). -What are your strengths? -What are your weaknesses? -If you're accepted to graduate school, what are your plans? -Why did you choose an academic career? -What do you want to know about our program? -Why did you choose to apply to our program? -What other schools are you considering (mention comparative programs)? -In what ways have your previous experience prepared you for graduate study in our program? -Any questions? -What do you believe your greatest challenge will be if you are accepted into this program? -In college, what courses did you enjoy the most? The least? Why? -Describe any research project you've worked on. What was the purpose of the project and what was your role in the project? -How would your professor describe you? -How will you be able to make a contribution to this field? -What are your hobbies? -Explain a situation in which you had a conflict and how you resolved it. What would you do differently? Why? (Job talk and menstrual cycle incident. Handling an RA) -Describe your greatest accomplishment? What do you feel proud of the most? -What are your career goals? How will this program help you achieve your goals? -How do you intend to finance your education? -What skills do you bring to the program? How will you help your mentor in his or her research? -Are you motivated? Explain and provide examples? -Why should we take you and not someone else? -What do you plan to specialize in? -What do you do on your spare time? -What can be determined about an application at an interview?

Interview Weekends UCLA (Social): January 10-12 Notre Dame (CBB/Dev/Quant): February 7-9, 2013 UBC (Social): Feb 7-10 Vanderbilt (Quant): Feb 14-16 UNC (Quant): Feb 15 UT Austin (Social): Feb 22-23 Phone/Skype Notre Dame (CBB): December 7, 2012 Washington University in St. Louis (Social): December 12, 2012 Notre Dame (Dev): December 22, 2012 UNC, Chapel Hill (Social): November 1, 2012 (Unofficial chat) UT, Austin (Social): January 10, 2013 UC Berkeley (Social): January 4, 2013 UC Riverside (Social): January 7, 2013

Hey all. I was just perusing the waiting it out forum and saw the long thread on people "losing their mind" with the waiting. I stopped paying attention to people's field/program at some point. I thought it would be fun and more enjoyable to start one in the psychology forum. Admittedly, I had a moment of panic/worry or some unpleasant feeling yesterday (I am low on emotional granularity). Then I remembered my favorite Tibetan proverb on worrying, and I realized there was nothing I can do with my applications at this point and I felt relaxed and calm every since. At any rate, how is everyone holding up? What are some activities that help you worry less? What are everyone's plans for New Years? Speaking of, I should get ready for new years. Happy 2013 everyone.

Mine says incomplete as well. Has anyone tried contacting admissions recently?

haha thanks, I think. I value academic support. I did not have a lot of it early in my career, so I have experienced the stark difference in terms of academic motivation, performance, and success with its (support) presence and absence. I think most academics and would be academics are just inclined to help and support each other and the members in these forums is just an instance of that. I love that collaborative and supportive feel in academia. I have actually been slacking on the research and academic end. After turning in the second wave of applications, I decided to take a few days off and just do some for funsies reading on self-deception and positive illusions before I jump back into completing a few projects. Thanks for the kind words. I certainly need all the luck I can get these upcoming months.

Feel free to send me a copy of your CV as well for feedback. Since you're in I/O psychology work related awards might be helpful. I would wait feedback from other I/O psychologist, but you generally don't academically unrelated awards on your CV. I removed mine.

Wonderful idea. I want to echo one of my professors words: You are your CV. It is good to get a head start. The CV really helps identify the weaknesses in your candidate packet and it helps orient your personal resources. Let me know when you want a pair of eyes to review it. I'd be happy to share mine. http://darwinguevarra.weebly.com/curriculum-vitae.html

Haha I had not considered that before (misuse of time). That makes sense. I actually deactivated my facebook to focus on gradschool apps, but it seems That time has been spent here. Although I think I can make a case I have learned quite a bit in frequenting these forums regarding the grad app process and grad school in general. Not to mention Ive met interesting and very helpful people. I suppose these forums becomes more of a waste of time once you are already in grad school. Thats very true regarding people googling your name. I got lucky with not using my real name as my username. I also had not considered the consequences of using your real name as a username in terms of leaving that digital foot print.

There are two ways they can respond: 1) Wow, this person is thorough. She even included a personal statement. I will look at her application even though I was already going to do that (haha this is meant to be a satire, but you see the point). 2) Wow, this person does not know how to follow simple directions. I won't even bother looking at her application. My point is there is a chance they will respond the first way, in which case you only benefit slightly more than the average applicant. It is a negligible benefit in my opinion. If they see it the other way, they may not even consider your application at all. I think it is more detrimental than helpful. Thus, follow instructions and don't send one in.

I still haven't decided if that was full blown sarcasm or at least a hint of sarcasm or a genuine compliment haha. haha I am leaning towards the sarcasm considering I don't think I have a brilliant academic record. I have a really low overall GPA that I really can't make up for. At any rate, I think my candidness is just a result of being more of a cognitive miser than the average person. In real life or online interactions, I just find it exhausting to be indirect or be constantly vigilant in monitoring social dynamics (interestingly enough, I coordinate a study that examines the origins of indirect speech). I have been told I am a low self-monitor, and admittedly, it has gotten me in trouble a few times. I am making an effort to be more aware of social dynamics and adjust my presentation accordingly.

-There are often 6-10 faculty in a particulary program. You do not need to send every single one an email. It is not considered impolite. -The reason you mention 2-3 faculty is because you aren't sure what the future directions are. Get more information. If you can't assume their latest publication as a representation of their current research and research within the next two years. -Usually it is best to look at the future directions of the empriical articles or review articles they have written. Researchers often summarize what they think will be an interesting line of research in the future for them.

For Ph.D. programs, it is vital to tailor your interest to those of faculty. Ideally, you want your interest to extend an aspect of their research program or propose an interesting direction that they may have not considered. For MA, programs, I think it is less critical, but you should still try to tailor your interest to a particular faculty. -It goes without saying, that your interst should sound genuine. If they're genuine, even better. If you can't find a faculty that do not have overlapping interest with you, then you probably shouldnt apply there. For example, I would have loved to apply to UC San Diego because I like the city, but there was no one there I wanted to work with. I tried to make it fit, but the difference between my interest and that of the faculty is just too large a gap to overcome with scenery and location. -I don't know about mentioning interest that is "completely" unrelated to any of the faculty. It should be really connected to one of the faculty. If you can't see the connection, then they won't either. Every interest you have, in my opinion, should be traced back to one of the potential advisors in the department. I'd really like to stress that if you can't see yourself working with anyoone in the department then you shouldn't apply there. You do not want to be that graduate student that is advisorless or is in their second year and still can't find someone who would sponsor their master's thesis. For example, I worked with someone who wanted to enter the program to the really study the psychology of religion, but since she had psycholinguistics background, she emphasized that as her interest. No one in the department studies the psychology of religion, so she was advisorless for awhile and is now forced to do a master's thesis on something she is minimally interested in. In short, don't apply to programs where there is no one you can see yourself working with. It will be unenjoyable for you and for the department and most likely a waste of your time.

Just to echo RiseofthePhoenix post, I contacted a POI in every single program I applied to. In fact, I did not apply to any program in which the POI did not get back to me (except for one, and I am still on the fence if I will be applying there).

It doesn't matter as much in terms of how your application is evaluated. It matters a lot in terms of how it prepares you for graduate school. I plan to spend my spring semester taking courses, obtaining technical and research skills, and conducting projects that will prepare me for graduate school. I have this chunk of time to better prepare myself? Why not take advantage of it?

Level of depth is difficult. Do you mean to say does Andy Field derive the Central Limit Theorem for you and explain the foundational calculus of inferential statistics? Nope. But he does explain the the analysis and results enough more than the average undergraduate class. I think you will be happy with the level of difficulty. The undergraduate psychological statistics courses at SFSU are pretty good, although I have no basis for comparison. The only experience that can speak of the quality is I attended a regional conference, and I noticed that many undergraduate researchers that I spoke to did not understand their results as well as I thought they should. This led me to conclude that my classes taught me a lot better than I thought. Of course, TAing statistics has helped me alot in terms of research interpretation and my advisor has allowed me to sit in his graduate statistics course that went in depth regarding ANOVA. He actually had the entire class calculate different types of ANOVAs by hand just so we can see how the variance is partitioned out. Like you, I am interested in the "why" we conduct inferential statistics this way, but I do not think we will get anything satisfactory until later on in graduate school. Even then, I suspect we will be dissatisfied unless we take higher mathematics like calculus, which I have no intention of doing for funsies (just don't have the time for it).

-Confirmation from the graduate secretary is a good thing. All your materials are in so there's nothing else you can do with that application. Let it go and move on. -I would say that not having a POI at any of the other schools is generally not a good thing. I don't know how it works for the humanities but psychology Ph.D. programs requires you to identify a POI. This may just be a field difference, so I would inquire with people from your field. -Acceptances are usually sent out sooner than rejections. I would monitor the forums or results search in thegradcafe carefully to see if your programs have started to send out acceptances or rejections.

Yes. You should relax. You should also forget about this and continue applying to other schools. I have been advised that an important skill to learn as an academic is the ability to let go of something that you have already turned in. Just let go. The professor helping you has clearly said he will send a reminder email for you, so why worry about it? Spend your time, effort, and attention on something else.