DarwinAG

I would also be interested in blogging about my experience with the grad app process.

haha I started a "Pro tip" section on my notes. Half of the tips I've compiled are from you.

In psychology, once you're in graduate school your GPA matters less and it is more about publications and presentations. Of course you dont' want to do poorly in your classes, but an A- won't really count against you. Higher GPA will of course make it easier for you to get scholarships. Your GPA as an undergraduate matters as part of your application packet. But I have a very low GPA at 3.39. That includes one F, a few Ds, and some Cs. I have made up for it in other areas of my application. With that said, I think it will hurt me if I am compared to another candidate with similar credentials except their GPA is better.

You can totally hang out with me and my pscy buddies! Actually, I will most likely attend emotion and well-being related conferences. But I'd love to meet the next generatin of Ph.D. students.

I would reccomend not going the online route. To echo what srkr wrote there are lots of ways you can strengthen your application for the future if you want to be a psychiatrist. I am sure there are programs in the armed forces that would allow you to train as some sort of counselour or gain some sort of medical experience.

I obviously cannot speak for adcoms, but I think from the way you framed your training, it should be seen as something advantageous. You are approching this area of research from a different perspective, and inasmuch as that allows a unique viewpoint, I think it helps or at the very least does not harm your application packet. I would not view it as a lack of direction.

I really like that question. I think I will include it in my collection of questions.

I have a tendency to play around with ideas and propose studies during interviews. I think it can often seem I'm just ruminating out loud, but I really just enjoy brainstorming and talking about research. Sometimes, I say an unrefined thought and other timesI get lucky with a pretty good idea. I am not sure if this helps or hurts me, but it's just how I work. I am a firm believer that science should happen out loud and that ideas are refined through dialogue. My question is should I refrain from playing around with ideas and proposing studies during interviews? Or at least limit it?

I have certainly noticed this phenomenon as well, but I am of the opinion that it matters less than you suspect. I will mull over it today in terms of figuring out a subtle way to ask this question.

I am going to SPSP next month. I think it is important to attend for the following reasons. One, you want to utilize the path of least resistance at the off chance they are on the fence about your application and they are not sure if they want to invite you for an interview on campus. Two, showing up at a national conference is a commitment signal that you want to be part of academia and that you are serious about graduate school. They know its expensive. They know its a hassle. Showing up says, I found a way to solve that it's expensive and it's a hassle just to be here and be part of this collection of scholars and researchers to obtain and share information. Three, it is a good place to social network and meet graduate students your POIs are working with.

Congrats. I didnt apply to UCLA.

A professor who is not my mentor, but who has extensive experience with the grad app process, gave me a similar advice in telling potential schools that "My advisor told me that I should wait to have all the information before I make any decisions." I spoke to a graduate student today, and he told that it is not just about trying to "sell" yourself as the best candidate, but you should also express that you are shopping around as well. You should somehow express that you have options and that this isn't the only place you're looking into.

I received different advice. Perhaps it is field specific. All of my letter writers seemed okay about me applying to 10+ programs and it was actually encouraged. Professor fit > school prestige for me.

ooo I'm looking forward to winter break. I have a lot of projects I need to get ahead of, plus tons of articles I want to read before SPSP. It should be fun though because the application process is not the most pleasant experience. I'd rather get back into research.

Hey all, I thought it would be a good idea to pool our experiences and knowledge regarding how to conduct oneself in an interview (I am sure there are threads like this in a different forum, but I wanted to make this psychology specific). I imagine everyone else is generating questions for themselves and answering it beforehand, which is probably the most sensible thing to do. But is overprepration detrimental you think? Also, I have read of stories where applicants are hypervigilant because they are constantly being evaluated, and I have heard of others where it feels casual like getting to know someone for the first time. Here are a few questions I have: -Overly professional? or Casual? Happy medium? This applies to what to wear and how to conduct onself. -Does candidness pay off? For example, telling a particular professor that you are not really interested in one part of their research, but would be excited to work on this part of it? -What to say if they ask you, are we your top choice? -Darwin

Guilty of that. haha. Perhaps we should make an interview thread. I suppose people will most acceptances and rejections as they start rolling in.

Anyone else received a reply for potential interviews?!

I joined the auditory and speech perception lab to explore my interest in mirror neurons. In the lab, we explore higher-order perceptual phenomena. Ordinary people have the ability for perceptual superpowers; just as a blind person can use tactile stimuli, sounds, and even smells to see. This cross-modal sensory perception has been demonstrated across different sensory processes. Mechanistically, deficient sensory input can lead to multimodal plasticity and a reorganization of integrated afferents. But how are these phenomena modulated? How specifically can you affect this modulation? These questions led me toward systems neuroscience. I found this next step in Dr. Hickmott’s lab in characterizing the neuroplasticity of the somatosensory cortex as a result of physical disruption of a specific stimulus to that area. We could quantify plasticity by examining the border shift between two adjacent somatotopic areas. In this model, the experimental variables could be isolated and controlled. Dr. Hickmott’s courses introduced me to a new approach to my research interest (You can do a better job than me in describing this). I cut down your first two paragraphs. I was relatively unsuccesful with the next three because I did not want to remove something that was essential. For the first two I removed sentences that I think was not necessary and content that did not really add anything, particularly the extended description of the classes you took. HOpe it helps. good luck!

I think the issue that the letter was sent to the wrong school is not a big deal. I would not worry too much about it. I am sure it happens frequently. And yes, it appears that deadlines for LORs are not that strict. There seems to be an unwritten rule in academia that it can be late. I'd like to echo that it does not reflect poorly on you, and I am sure your professor won't really lose reputation points for it after. It's just a funny mistake that happened and you can move on.

It appears I am wrong about this. Liz makes a very good point in distinguishing actually taking a class and auditing it.

I have sat in graduate courses. Aside from more oppurtunities to talk about research and discuss ideas, I don't think it will be terribly helpful on paper. I took the subjects GRE to offset my low 3.39 GPA, but it did not pan out well. With that said, I don't think taking a graduate level course will offset the GPA. Other parts of your application just needs to be stellar.

I think they got weird with the word "exclude" and "noise". Calling it "noise" had evaluative connotations that I was not really cognizant about when I made my comment. That degenerated into me saying that "menstrual cycle is noise" which is a complete misrepresentation of what I said.

haha thanks Lewin.

I made the same mistake. As I was doing my Dec 1. applications, I double checked Notre Dame and saw that it was Dec. 1 and not the 15. If you have made contact with the professor and she seems to be interested in working with you, I would say ask for their advice. But generally speaking, I do not think you should apply after the due date.

Haha It had a hint of a joke so I would have expected that sort of response. I think firstsight hits the nail on this one. I need to ne more cognizant of certain sensitive issues.