Fall 2019 Psychology PhD Applicants!

[clinpsych98]

Hi! I am the poster who accepted an offer from UMSL but idk how to edit my post to add the POI. Y’all can message me if you are one of the people who wanted to know! Good luck to everyone in this super stressful but exciting time ?

[IChoseThePsychoPath]

slim chance they see this but.. to the person that posted they got a rejection email from LSU, did you interview there??

 

Sorry that happened :( 

[psychxgeekx]

I was wondering did UCF already sent out all of its acceptances for clinical psychology and those who did get acceptances  can you dm me who was the PI? Thank you and much appreciated 

[Sosorider]

So I'm kinda freaking out right now.... its February and I haven't heard anything from John Jay, U of A, texas tech or Drexel. I applied to clinical psychology PhD. Should I start applying for my masters instead? My GRE was average, 3.91 GPA and 8 publications.

[JoePianist]

3 hours ago, Sosorider said:

So I'm kinda freaking out right now.... its February and I haven't heard anything from John Jay, U of A, texas tech or Drexel. I applied to clinical psychology PhD. Should I start applying for my masters instead? My GRE was average, 3.91 GPA and 8 publications.

Unfortunately, that seems to be the case — all of those programs have already extended their interview invites by this point. 

[Sosorider]

Thank you, darn I thought they did waves... hopefully I can find a good masters program this late...

[JoePianist]

4 hours ago, Sosorider said:

Thank you, darn I thought they did waves... hopefully I can find a good masters program this late...

Yes, most programs send invites in waves, but they're completely done sending invites at this point unfortunately.

[philopsych]

5 hours ago, Sosorider said:

Thank you, darn I thought they did waves... hopefully I can find a good masters program this late...

If you find any other programs, feel free to share. I'm 99% sure I didn't get into my PhD programs, so I'm trying to apply to funded masters. So far I've applied to Wake Forest and William & Mary (though those application dates have passed).

[1|]010ls10o]

9 hours ago, Sosorider said:

So I'm kinda freaking out right now.... its February and I haven't heard anything from John Jay, U of A, texas tech or Drexel. I applied to clinical psychology PhD. Should I start applying for my masters instead? My GRE was average, 3.91 GPA and 8 publications.

if you have 8 publications i wouldnt go for a masters. just 'better' research experience

[PsyDuck90]

10 hours ago, Sosorider said:

So I'm kinda freaking out right now.... its February and I haven't heard anything from John Jay, U of A, texas tech or Drexel. I applied to clinical psychology PhD. Should I start applying for my masters instead? My GRE was average, 3.91 GPA and 8 publications.

I would have to agree with a few other posters: a masters probably won't make you more competitive. A masters is good when you have a low undergrad GPA and need to show you can hack it in grad school, or if you need more research experience and can't get into a lab otherwise. If I were you, I would maybe re-examine my LORs and SOP and research fit with POIs because your hard stats seems fine/great. Were you in contact with any POIs previously? If so, you could potentially reach out and ask how you can improve your apps for next year. Also, if you only applied to 4 programs, that can also be an issue. Given the low probability of being accepted into any 1 program, you have a higher likelihood of gaining an acceptance when applying to about 10 programs or so, statistically speaking. I know it's expensive and sometimes there are issues with research fit, but that is something else to potentially consider. 

[paraent]

8 publications is practically unheard of before grad school, right?? Either clinical psych is just so crazy stats-focused that your GRE leaves you ineligible most places or there’s a problem with the kinds of PIs you’re picking or your approach to personal statements/LORs has some problem. If you’re just coming out of undergrad that might be a factor too I suppose. It seems likely that you can get a paid postbac position with the stats you have that can enhance your app, so maybe check those out and don’t worry about masters programs (I’d actually recommend avoiding masters programs to *anyone* who can snag a paid research position but maybe clinical psych really is just super stats-obsessed and this advise is only for people interested in research.)

Anyway if anyone’s interested in BU’s timeline, BostonU extended an unofficial on-campus interview offer to me yesterday; official ones seem set to go out next week. Date is around March 9? 

[Sosorider]

Thank you so much! I will start the hunt for a paid research position, and I didn't have a POI. The main reason I only applied to 4 was due to my current teachers saying I should be a top candidate since I've done so much in this field. 

[philopsych]

1 hour ago, paraent said:

8 publications is practically unheard of before grad school, right?? Either clinical psych is just so crazy stats-focused that your GRE leaves you ineligible most places or there’s a problem with the kinds of PIs you’re picking or your approach to personal statements/LORs has some problem. If you’re just coming out of undergrad that might be a factor too I suppose. It seems likely that you can get a paid postbac position with the stats you have that can enhance your app, so maybe check those out and don’t worry about masters programs (I’d actually recommend avoiding masters programs to *anyone* who can snag a paid research position but maybe clinical psych really is just super stats-obsessed and this advise is only for people interested in research.)

Anyway if anyone’s interested in BU’s timeline, BostonU extended an unofficial on-campus interview offer to me yesterday; official ones seem set to go out next week. Date is around March 9? 

I want to ask you (and everyone) about your comment that you should avoid masters programs if you can get a paid research position. Just as some background, I applied to Clinical Psych PhDs because a clinical psychologist that I know thought that my background (MA in Philosophy of Science with research in philosophy of psychology and MA in Mathematical Behavioral Science + a BA + 2 other MAs) would be sufficient for getting in. As I expected, I don't think I'm getting into a PhD. Now I'm waiting on 2 funded masters programs and a gazillion paid research assistant positions. I would assume that the coursework I'd get in an MA could be beneficial to me because, on paper, I don't have a degree that simply says "psychology." Am I misguided about that?   

[PsyDuck90]

9 minutes ago, Sosorider said:

Thank you so much! I will start the hunt for a paid research position, and I didn't have a POI. The main reason I only applied to 4 was due to my current teachers saying I should be a top candidate since I've done so much in this field. 

You didn't have a faculty of interest at any of the programs you applied to? That right there would explain it. A PhD is all about research fit. If you didn't identify specific people you are interested in working with and why, then it doesn't matter how great your stats are.  

[honeyrue]

1 hour ago, paraent said:

8 publications is practically unheard of before grad school, right?? Either clinical psych is just so crazy stats-focused that your GRE leaves you ineligible most places or there’s a problem with the kinds of PIs you’re picking or your approach to personal statements/LORs has some problem. If you’re just coming out of undergrad that might be a factor too I suppose. It seems likely that you can get a paid postbac position with the stats you have that can enhance your app, so maybe check those out and don’t worry about masters programs (I’d actually recommend avoiding masters programs to *anyone* who can snag a paid research position but maybe clinical psych really is just super stats-obsessed and this advise is only for people interested in research.)

Anyway if anyone’s interested in BU’s timeline, BostonU extended an unofficial on-campus interview offer to me yesterday; official ones seem set to go out next week. Date is around March 9? 

Was this for Boston University's clinical psychology program? If so... hmmm, this is really interesting news. It was my understanding that all clinical psychology interview invites had been sent to chosen applicants around the end of January. Did you hear from your POIs or the DCT? I am trying to decide whether I should get my hopes back up or not for a chance at my dream school. 

*side note... sorry for the ungodly amount of questions here... BU is my top pick!

[ResilientDreams]

4 hours ago, philopsych said:

If you find any other programs, feel free to share. I'm 99% sure I didn't get into my PhD programs, so I'm trying to apply to funded masters. So far I've applied to Wake Forest and William & Mary (though those application dates have passed).

I go to William & Mary as an undergrad and my friend is finishing her master's at Wake Forest, so if you have any questions about either, PM me and I'll do my best to answer!

[ResilientDreams]

Duh....I should be preparing for my interview but I'm on this website instead....

[philopsych]

41 minutes ago, ResilientDreams said:

I go to William & Mary as an undergrad and my friend is finishing her master's at Wake Forest, so if you have any questions about either, PM me and I'll do my best to answer!

I don't think I'll get in; but, if I do, I'll have many questions. Thanks for the offer! (...though, of course, if you know when we'll be hearing back from those places, that would be super, too heh)

[lilly24]

If anyone goes to Uconn, Florida State, or Auburn I would love to hear your opinions of the schools/areas! I am having trouble narrowing down my choices.  

[Psyducc]

2 hours ago, philopsych said:

  I want to ask you (and everyone) about your comment that you should avoid masters programs if you can get a paid research position. Just as some background, I applied to Clinical Psych PhDs because a clinical psychologist that I know thought that my background (MA in Philosophy of Science with research in philosophy of psychology and MA in Mathematical Behavioral Science + a BA + 2 other MAs) would be sufficient for getting in. As I expected, I don't think I'm getting into a PhD. Now I'm waiting on 2 funded masters programs and a gazillion paid research assistant positions. I would assume that the coursework I'd get in an MA could be beneficial to me because, on paper, I don't have a degree that simply says "psychology." Am I misguided about that?   

While I think you should probably prioritize getting a paid research position over a masters, I would still think that a masters in Psychology (as long as the masters program has a heavy research focus) might be more useful for you than for most applicants as you (presumably) don't have a Psychology degree and depending on your past coursework/research experience, there might be concerns that you aren't sufficiently trained in basic psych concepts like research methods. Securing a paid research position without any strict psychology research experience might be difficult considering how competitive these jobs are and masters degrees can be decent ways to supplement lacking research experience. 

This is just my opinion though, and I would definitely check with your clinical psychologist contact and see if they can get you in contact with any clinical professors as they would be the perfect people to ask. 

[Sosorider]

7 hours ago, philopsych said:

If you find any other programs, feel free to share. I'm 99% sure I didn't get into my PhD programs, so I'm trying to apply to funded masters. So far I've applied to Wake Forest and William & Mary (though those application dates have passed).

Given the competitiveness of paid internships, I'm going to apply for masters as well just incase at a few schools John jay, Irvine, Drexel and maybe ASU, but I hate online classes. If you find anymore let me know.

[PsyDuck90]

3 hours ago, philopsych said:

I want to ask you (and everyone) about your comment that you should avoid masters programs if you can get a paid research position. Just as some background, I applied to Clinical Psych PhDs because a clinical psychologist that I know thought that my background (MA in Philosophy of Science with research in philosophy of psychology and MA in Mathematical Behavioral Science + a BA + 2 other MAs) would be sufficient for getting in. As I expected, I don't think I'm getting into a PhD. Now I'm waiting on 2 funded masters programs and a gazillion paid research assistant positions. I would assume that the coursework I'd get in an MA could be beneficial to me because, on paper, I don't have a degree that simply says "psychology." Am I misguided about that?   

As long as you have the undergrad psych pre-reqs you don't really need a 3rd masters. The research experience and a strong SOP explaining why psych will be more beneficial. 

[PsyDuck90]

1 minute ago, Sosorider said:

Given the competitiveness of paid internships, I'm going to apply for masters as well just incase at a few schools John jay, Irvine, Drexel and maybe ASU, but I hate online classes. If you find anymore let me know.

If you are interested in the PhD at John Jay I would caution you against getting your MA there. They actually are more stringent on who they interview from that program because they do not want to fill their PhD spots with alumni. 

[paraent]

3 hours ago, Sosorider said:

Thank you so much! I will start the hunt for a paid research position, and I didn't have a POI. The main reason I only applied to 4 was due to my current teachers saying I should be a top candidate since I've done so much in this field. 

Yeah, "fit" is the biggest metric for this process, even bigger than raw qualifications. Maybe your teachers were a bit overconfident this time around and this isn't usual but you...may want to seek out second opinions on some of these things the next time around?

3 hours ago, philopsych said:

I want to ask you (and everyone) about your comment that you should avoid masters programs if you can get a paid research position. Just as some background, I applied to Clinical Psych PhDs because a clinical psychologist that I know thought that my background (MA in Philosophy of Science with research in philosophy of psychology and MA in Mathematical Behavioral Science + a BA + 2 other MAs) would be sufficient for getting in. As I expected, I don't think I'm getting into a PhD. Now I'm waiting on 2 funded masters programs and a gazillion paid research assistant positions. I would assume that the coursework I'd get in an MA could be beneficial to me because, on paper, I don't have a degree that simply says "psychology." Am I misguided about that?   

Clinical psych is one thing and research psych is another. Clinical psych seems to really value students having a strong foundation in basic psychology that can only come from high grades and coursework. If you do decide you want to do research instead though (and indeed you can even do clinical research without a hard "clinical psych" degree!), then building a base of research experience in psych is more definitively most important. I said what I said bc I'm not interested in clinical at all.

3 hours ago, honeyrue said:

Was this for Boston University's clinical psychology program? If so... hmmm, this is really interesting news. It was my understanding that all clinical psychology interview invites had been sent to chosen applicants around the end of January. Did you hear from your POIs or the DCT? I am trying to decide whether I should get my hopes back up or not for a chance at my dream school. 

*side note... sorry for the ungodly amount of questions here... BU is my top pick!

No, not clinical sorry.

I just wanna say again for anyone potentially on the fence between research and clinical careers, though! If it's easier for you to build a strong research background than it is to achieve optimal grades, you might have a much easier time applying for a non-clinical degree while *still* being able to do clinically important research! The admissions culture surrounding the two degrees are night-and-day different and it's arguably counterproductive that we're operating in the same subforum given how much advice gets shared without qualifying whom it's aimed at.

Edited February 10, 2019 by paraent

[Sosorider]

39 minutes ago, PsyDGrad90 said:

If you are interested in the PhD at John Jay I would caution you against getting your MA there. They actually are more stringent on who they interview from that program because they do not want to fill their PhD spots with alumni. 

Really? How did you hear about this? I really want John jay for my PhD is there another school you suggest for Masters?