Fall 2019 Psychology PhD Applicants!

[meezy123]

This whole ranking thing is really getting to me. I understand that a more prestigious university looks great when applying to jobs, but is that really the best thing to base your decision on??

[shockwave457]

2 minutes ago, meezy123 said:

This whole ranking thing is really getting to me. I understand that a more prestigious university looks great when applying to jobs, but is that really the best thing to base your decision on??

I think prestige is important but there are certain red flags that I wouldn't allow prestige to let me overlook. I wouldn't pick prestige if the POI doesn't match at all with your interests or if you have tor really stretch your interests to vibe with them because you don't want to be unhappy for 5+ years. Other than that, if you could see yourself being happy at 2 different institutions and loved them both, then i would allow prestige to win out on deciding. In my own personal experience, 

[PsychApplicant2019]

1 hour ago, spookycat said:

In need of advice! 

So I have one remaining interview, and after attending other interviews and learning more about what to look for in potential programs, I have decided this program is not a good fit for me, and I don't want to go to the interview. I know the advice most times is to go anyways and see if my opinions change, but this school has some serious red flags that are coming up that I just can't imagine they can explain away at an interview. The problem is, the interview is in 4 days, and they arranged for me to stay with a graduate student while I was there.

In addition, I could only afford to fly into a larger airport about 2 hours away, and thus will have to pay for a rental car and drive two hours to and from the interview just to get to my flights. Although my flights are nonrefundable, I could still save probably $200 by not renting a car, not to mention I could instead be at my job and not have to take more unpaid vacation time.

I know this sounds very ungrateful, but this whole process has been so expensive and emotionally taxing, that I don't know if I should waste my time or theirs by attending the interview. I am worried that to cancel so last minute so rude that it will damage my reputation moving forward as a professional. Money and (much needed) R&R are obviously not worth this. If anyone can give me some advice, I'd really really appreciate it!

I was in a super similar situation! I got accepted into my top choice (yay!), but I still had one interview to go. I had some concerns about the program, and was really tempted to not go to the interview. My friend, whom I met on a different interview, was also scheduled to go to the interview, but decided to back out at the last second. I asked my undergrad mentor what I should do, and he convinced me to go on the interview anyway because at the very least, it's an opportunity to network and meet new people. I'm glad that I went, because it was a nice program and had really nice people, even though I ended up sticking with my top choice. I don't know what the program thinks of my friend, but I didn't want to risk it, especially since my area (forensic/correctional psych) is somewhat of a small world. You should definitely do what's best for you, though!

[PokePsych]

1 hour ago, meezy123 said:

This whole ranking thing is really getting to me. I understand that a more prestigious university looks great when applying to jobs, but is that really the best thing to base your decision on??

no - because POI is also very important and most of all fit. 

[round2_]

1 hour ago, meezy123 said:

This whole ranking thing is really getting to me. I understand that a more prestigious university looks great when applying to jobs, but is that really the best thing to base your decision on??

What do you want to do after your post doc? A TT position at an R1 has different expectations than a SLAC job that's teaching oriented, a data science job in industry, etc, etc. 

[jrc3000]

On 2/23/2019 at 9:56 PM, Sosorider said:

Dead silence so far....

I have not heard from Drexel either and the only thing Ive seen are some rejections in the results section . So anxious but good to know it may be that they haven't made any decision yet for acceptances 

[xChrisx]

6 hours ago, clynclinical said:

I actually had to make this decision last week! I had an interview scheduled for 2/25-2/26, but I knew that I was already going to commit to my first choice. It may seem like it's a bit rude to decline the offer, but it is probably best not to waste their time (or yours) if you do not plan in choosing that program even if you were to get in. In talking with the faculty member that I work with in a clinical lab as well as some grad students, I felt it best to kindly let the faculty member and grad student host know (on 2/21) that I'd accepted another offer and would no longer be attending. I have not heard back from the grad student (and honestly don't expect to), but the faculty member whom I applied to work with replied with congratulations on accepting a position and a kind note thanking me for letting her know. Hope this helps!

Hey, if this is NIU, can you pm me the POI?

[dancedementia]

8 hours ago, spookycat said:

In need of advice! 

So I have one remaining interview, and after attending other interviews and learning more about what to look for in potential programs, I have decided this program is not a good fit for me, and I don't want to go to the interview. I know the advice most times is to go anyways and see if my opinions change, but this school has some serious red flags that are coming up that I just can't imagine they can explain away at an interview. The problem is, the interview is in 4 days, and they arranged for me to stay with a graduate student while I was there.

In addition, I could only afford to fly into a larger airport about 2 hours away, and thus will have to pay for a rental car and drive two hours to and from the interview just to get to my flights. Although my flights are nonrefundable, I could still save probably $200 by not renting a car, not to mention I could instead be at my job and not have to take more unpaid vacation time.

I know this sounds very ungrateful, but this whole process has been so expensive and emotionally taxing, that I don't know if I should waste my time or theirs by attending the interview. I am worried that to cancel so last minute so rude that it will damage my reputation moving forward as a professional. Money and (much needed) R&R are obviously not worth this. If anyone can give me some advice, I'd really really appreciate it!

This is SO similar to my situation that I thought we were flying to the same interview (but mine is smack dab next to a major airport so that can't be it). I'm actually in a really tight financial spot - I know folks are recommending that you attend anyways, but for some of us, that $200 savings could be the difference between making it to the end of the month comfortably vs not eating well for a week. I'm not sure what your financial situation is, but if you feel that it would be a struggle for you to make it if you went to the interview, then I wouldn't go. I just cancelled on an interview two days before it, because I knew that if I interviewed and got in I wouldn't attend that program anyways. Do what is best for you, not what is best for external appearances. You don't want to burn bridges, but I feel that as psychologists we have empathy for the fact that life happens and sometimes personal needs come first.

Edited February 26, 2019 by dancedementia

[paraent]

If you’re not really considering the school anymore then it’s more gracious not to waste the PIs’ (or your) time, whether it’s too late for them to put someone else in your spot or not. Especially if going will pose a financial burden. Would be absurd for the school or PIs to hold such a decision against you, especially if they aren’t reimbursing you for the travel; they were in your same shoes not too long ago, after all. The only regret I’d have in your shoes from such a decision is a lost opportunity to network, and that seems pretty small in the big picture of things given how many of the same opportunities you’ll have going forward.

Edited February 26, 2019 by paraent

[it'salltbd]

To the Drexel poster who got accepted, congrats! Would you mind DMing me your POI's initials? Thanks! 

[meezy123]

14 hours ago, shockwave457 said:

I think prestige is important but there are certain red flags that I wouldn't allow prestige to let me overlook. I wouldn't pick prestige if the POI doesn't match at all with your interests or if you have tor really stretch your interests to vibe with them because you don't want to be unhappy for 5+ years. Other than that, if you could see yourself being happy at 2 different institutions and loved them both, then i would allow prestige to win out on deciding. In my own personal experience, 

I do find it weird that there are some universities that have better rankings but are classifisied as R2 universities while some lower ranked universities are classified as R1. Which would be more important? 

[meezy123]

12 hours ago, round2_ said:

What do you want to do after your post doc? A TT position at an R1 has different expectations than a SLAC job that's teaching oriented, a data science job in industry, etc, etc. 

Currently, I do want a TT position after post doc. My MA and PhD(whichever school i decide on) will be from R1 schools, though Not top rankings. I do want to a post doc at a top uni as I think that’ll help my cv when I apply for TT. Don’t know how practical I’m being tho. 

Edited February 26, 2019 by meezy123

[dancedementia]

40 minutes ago, meezy123 said:

I do find it weird that there are some universities that have better rankings but are classifisied as R2 universities while some lower ranked universities are classified as R1. Which would be more important? 

Could you provide an example of a "better ranked" university that is an R2? Not saying you're wrong, but it might be easier to explain if you have an example

Edited February 26, 2019 by dancedementia

[psychology_student_]

8 minutes ago, dancedementia said:

Could you provide an example of how a "better ranked" university that is an R2? Not saying you're wrong, but it might be easier to explain if you have an example

What are these rankings based upon (didn't look earlier in the thread)? Usually "rankings" are based on research production, which kind of automatically relegates R2 schools.

[dancedementia]

17 minutes ago, personallycentered said:

What are these rankings based upon (didn't look earlier in the thread)? Usually "rankings" are based on research production, which kind of automatically relegates R2 schools.

I'm guessing 1) rankings either based on popular systems like USWR or Times, or 2) rankings specific to their research area or specialty. As an anecdote, Teachers College at Columbia is an R2, but I would definitely consider it very well respected in the clinical/counseling psychology world. I'm not OP, so this is all guesswork lol.

Edited February 26, 2019 by dancedementia

[ommm232]

Just declined my offer from UNL (POI: TA). He's great and it's a really great program just felt more comfortable at another school. Hope it helps someone!!!

[spookycat]

9 hours ago, dancedementia said:

This is SO similar to my situation that I thought we were flying to the same interview (but mine is smack dab next to a major airport so that can't be it). I'm actually in a really tight financial spot - I know folks are recommending that you attend anyways, but for some of us, that $200 savings could be the difference between making it to the end of the month comfortably vs not eating well for a week. I'm not sure what your financial situation is, but if you feel that it would be a struggle for you to make it if you went to the interview, then I wouldn't go. I just cancelled on an interview two days before it, because I knew that if I interviewed and got in I wouldn't attend that program anyways. Do what is best for you, not what is best for external appearances. You don't want to burn bridges, but I feel that as psychologists we have empathy for the fact that life happens and sometimes personal needs come first.

Thank you for the advice, this was a huge hangup on the issue overall - $200 is a huge chunk of cash after everything I've spent on this process, it's money I could really use for just about anything other than a rental car lol. I did end up canceling the interview, I feel guilty but at the end of the day it's what is best for me and I hope that the professor can understand that. This process is completely insane, and by March both my mind and my wallet are completely used up hahaha

[jrc3000]

2 hours ago, it'salltbd said:

To the Drexel poster who got accepted, congrats! Would you mind DMing me your POI's initials? Thanks! 

Where do u see the post that someone got accepted..? Sure that wasn’t about an interview? 

[it'salltbd]

7 minutes ago, jrc3000 said:

Where do u see the post that someone got accepted..? Sure that wasn’t about an interview? 

It was posted on the results page - accepted via phone on Feb 19th. Considering interviews happened on the 11th, I am assuming it's an acceptance..

[jrc3000]

13 minutes ago, it'salltbd said:

It was posted on the results page - accepted via phone on Feb 19th. Considering interviews happened on the 11th, I am assuming it's an acceptance..

Gotcha, well that’s great for that person... now I’m nervous because that happened a week ago and I’ve still heard nothing but probably depends who their POI is (hopefully) 

[psychology_student_]

1 hour ago, dancedementia said:

I'm guessing 1) rankings either based on popular systems like USWR or Times, or 2) rankings specific to their research area or specialty. As an anecdote, Teachers College at Columbia is an R2, but I would definitely consider it very well respected in the clinical/counseling psychology world. I'm not OP, so this is all guesswork lol.

Columbia is an R1 university (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_research_universities_in_the_United_States) but that sort of just speaks to the mis-information that seems to be sitting around the internet about rankings and what's a "good" program versus not and yada yada.  Since programs vary so widely by their research output, leadership, even just general purpose for being a program, I don't really consider any kind of rankings to be of that much consequence or value. (That being said, I am going to be attending one of the most premier ranked instutions this fall, lmao jk idk it's "ranking")

[dancedementia]

3 minutes ago, personallycentered said:

Columbia is an R1 university (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_research_universities_in_the_United_States) but that sort of just speaks to the mis-information that seems to be sitting around the internet about rankings and what's a "good" program versus not and yada yada.  Since programs vary so widely by their research output, leadership, even just general purpose for being a program, I don't really consider any kind of rankings to be of that much consequence or value. (That being said, I am going to be attending one of the most premier ranked instutions this fall, lmao jk idk it's "ranking")

The main university is an R1 but Teachers College is an R2.... ikr? ?

I've never put much stock into the ranking bs. As long as in you're in the general tier of a good research institution (e.g. if it's a choice between Harvard and Lamar University, then duh), the minutiae shouldn't matter.

Edited February 26, 2019 by dancedementia

[PsychM]

23 hours ago, Gradphd123 said:

Hi, I am currently waitlisted at Fordham University for a forensic mentor. This is my absolute top choice. I have yet to see any acceptances to this program. Have unofficial offers gone out yet? Can you please message me if you are currently holding an offer and are still deciding, or what your current mindset it. Just so I can brace my self!

I am also WL for the clinical psych program at Fordham University as well but for a neuropsych mentor. I haven't seen anything either and I looked back at the results pages for last year and only saw one acceptance post. Seems odd that more people aren't posting for this program. Dr. Cruise did say in the email telling us our WL status that the GSAS would be sending out formal notifications in 7-10 business days (today is day 8 I think and I have not gotten anything from GSAS telling me that my formal status right now is WL). I wonder if anyone who did get an informal admissions offer is waiting to post about it until they receive the formal notification from GSAS. I don't know but I'm hoping we both hear something soon!!

[round2_]

3 hours ago, meezy123 said:

Currently, I do want a TT position after post doc. My MA and PhD(whichever school i decide on) will be from R1 schools, though Not top rankings. I do want to a post doc at a top uni as I think that’ll help my cv when I apply for TT. Don’t know how practical I’m being tho. 

If none are top programs, it probably doesn't matter. There's a bias to a handful of school/programs but if you're at a solid program outside of that it, people probably won't be familiar enough to know if it's rank #50 or #80. Your PI's connections are going to matter more there. 

[ClinicalPsycPhD]

2 hours ago, jrc3000 said:

Gotcha, well that’s great for that person... now I’m nervous because that happened a week ago and I’ve still heard nothing but probably depends who their POI is (hopefully) 

Honestly I am so nervous now that I know someone has been accepted a whole week ago...