Fall 2019 Psychology PhD Applicants!

[EileanDonan]

1 hour ago, HAC said:

I would say it depends on how well you can juggle multiple projects. I currently work in three different labs. I am running a research project in each lab (3 in total) and also supervise about 10 other students who are working on their own projects. These projects are my primary job (which I supplement with private tutoring to help pay all of my bills). I will say that it is hard to juggle everything and I do find that one of my research projects is suffering because of my need to prioritze other things over it. I would say it also depends on what types of projects you are working on. One of my projects requires psychophysiological data, so it is very time consuming and the other two are cognitive studies which have to be done in the lab, so they also take much more time than a survey. If both of your projects are surveys, I’d say it would be really doable. So it really depends on several factors. I do think that gaining as much experience as you can will ultimately benefit you.

Thanks for responding. Sounds like your schedule is insanely busy! I hope you're able to find some time to rest here and there. I'm not sure yet what project I'd be joining, but I don't expect to have issues with time management.

Although, I am somewhat concerned that having research experience that is unrelated to the interests I'll be pursuing might count against me. Has this ever been the case with anyone?

[psychapplicant500]

I attended a conference this week, and won an award for my poster. This was obviously not on my applications because all of my applications were due by Dec. 1. Should I be contacting programs/PIs regarding this award? Is it worth it just for a poster presentation? 

[brainwrangler]

Survived my first phone interview! Think it went pretty well: I had a vague idea of a project to pursue, I remembered my questions, and I only tripped over my words once or twice. I find out next week if I got onto the in-person interview list.

Edit: I'm planning to send a thank-you note. Should I clarify a point I made about my prior research experience where I screwed up my wording and referenced something nonexistent? It was one second in a fairly good interview, but it's eating at me.

Edited December 6, 2018 by brainwrangler

[brainwrangler]

39 minutes ago, EileanDonan said:

I am somewhat concerned that having research experience that is unrelated to the interests I'll be pursuing might count against me. Has this ever been the case with anyone?

I did have to explain how I went from Area 1 to Area 2 in my interview, but profs know you generally don't have unlimited options at your undergrad institution and that interests evolve. If you can tell a coherent story about why you picked your new area and can make a case that you either have applicable skills or can learn them quickly, in my experience they won't hold it against you.

[ResilientDreams]

You people and your interviews...at least no one has talked about getting an interview at one of the schools I'm applying to....

[brainwrangler]

1 minute ago, ResilientDreams said:

You people and your interviews...at least no one has talked about getting an interview at one of the schools I'm applying to....

I'm also applying to Temple. They just opened my transcript today. I think some schools are just moving along a little more slowly...

Edited December 6, 2018 by brainwrangler

[shockwave457]

1 minute ago, ResilientDreams said:

You people and your interviews...at least no one has talked about getting an interview at one of the schools I'm applying to....

Same I’m still waiting on any sort of email for any type of interview and I’m so far not stressed because none of my schools have been mentioned

[ResilientDreams]

11 minutes ago, davidfreire20 said:

Same I’m still waiting on any sort of email for any type of interview and I’m so far not stressed because none of my schools have been mentioned

I'm in the same boat!

[xxxxxxxxxx]

20 minutes ago, davidfreire20 said:

and I’m so far not stressed because none of my schools have been mentioned

Same here. LOL This false sense of calmness right now though...... ?

[philopsych]

13 minutes ago, checkingmyemail said:

Same here. LOL This false sense of calmness right now though...... ?

Same! Though as I mentioned before, two of my schools contacted applicants this week last year, so I'm on high alert!

[pgt2018]

tomorrow is Friday though! so im holding on hope...

[PsyDuck90]

1 hour ago, psychapplicant500 said:

I attended a conference this week, and won an award for my poster. This was obviously not on my applications because all of my applications were due by Dec. 1. Should I be contacting programs/PIs regarding this award? Is it worth it just for a poster presentation? 

I would save it for the interview. Make sure you update your CV as you'll want to bring it for interviews. 

[petitebiscuit]

3 minutes ago, pgt2018 said:

tomorrow is Friday though! so im holding on hope...

Is Friday a special day lol

[light1996]

5 hours ago, socneuro said:

Hello! I applied to UCLA and Stanford's social neuro program! Also, I have almost the same gpa and gre scores so I think you're good with that! About the publications, from what I heard from most faculty members it's not a requirement or even expectation for admission. However, if you do have publications it looks really good and helps you stand out. I think faculty members will care WAY more about fit than how many publications you have, but I guess it really depends on the PI.

Also from my understanding, PI interviews usually occur during the school interviews as part of the whole process. Some PI's do pre-interviews to help narrow down their selection of people for school interviews. Also, it depends on school funding - some schools may not be able to fly everyone out to the school so some schools may do only skype/phone interviews. It really depends on the school. I wouldn't worry if you don't hear directly from the PI before you get a notification from the school. Also, it's way too early in general to start worrying - I'd probably start worrying late January/early February. 

Hope that helps!

Okay awesome thanks! I sort of wish I had a publication but was never able to get there. My undergrad research experience is very much related to what I want to pursue during graduate study so I have lots of experience and skills that equip me for potential research projects I would undertake in graduate school. I continue to volunteer in the same laboratory as well (as a postgrad) and I've recently started a new project so I explained that in depth as well in my application. A lot of faculty I talked about in my applications are external fellows of the CNLM at UCI so they are familiar with the research we conduct in the NBB department.

Sounds good, I'm going to prep a little for interviews but try not to freak out way too much. I might talk to my current PI a little more because he usually calms my nerves. I guess I can procrastinate the actual worrying till January hahaha..

[Jung&Psyched]

57 minutes ago, ResilientDreams said:

You people and your interviews...at least no one has talked about getting an interview at one of the schools I'm applying to....

My applications aren't even showing that they are being reviewed yet ??

[ResilientDreams]

Just now, liznlex said:

My applications aren't even showing that they are being reviewed yet ??

Neither are mine, don't worry!

[PsychWannabee]

The fact that people have gotten interviews already is stressing me out. It's fairly too early in the process to assume I'm out of the running for all my schools, but still...  

[EileanDonan]

1 hour ago, brainwrangler said:

I did have to explain how I went from Area 1 to Area 2 in my interview, but profs know you generally don't have unlimited options at your undergrad institution and that interests evolve. If you can tell a coherent story about why you picked your new area and can make a case that you either have applicable skills or can learn them quickly, in my experience they won't hold it against you.

Makes sense. Having really specific interests has its pros and cons it seems! I'm basically just focusing on gaining generalizeable skills at this point.

[shockwave457]

3 hours ago, PsychWannabee said:

The fact that people have gotten interviews already is stressing me out. It's fairly too early in the process to assume I'm out of the running for all my schools, but still...  

Same, I just want one to validate all my work lol it also sucks because 2 of my programs have deadlines that are like the 15th -.- 

Edited December 7, 2018 by davidfreire20

[DevelopingThoughts]

I got an email from the transcript services that Stanford still hasn’t retrieved my transcript from the link LOL ?

[dancedementia]

On 11/25/2018 at 2:22 PM, checkingmyemail said:

You should not be paying a dime (except some student fees here and there every semester) towards your graduate education (I'm looking at you, for-profit PhD/PsyD diploma mills and mediocre PhD programs that aren't fully funded ?)

I really appreciate your sentiment, but I also would hesitate to write off every program that isn't fully funded. Try as we might, some of us have life circumstances that just do not make us competitive for those R1/R2 universities. Me personally, I had a shit GPA in my undergrad AND I got into some.... shall we say, trouble. Like, morally. I also have financial and family hardships that make it impossible for me to do things like volunteer a lot for research, work a year as a research assistant, etc. I got into a partially-funded masters program and that was the best I could do, because in addition to school I also work 40-50 hours a week to earn enough money to caretake a dying family member and handle my own medical bullshit.

So I know that I am NOT going to be competitive for the Harvards and UPenns and UNC Chapel Hills of the world. And that's okay. You'll see in my signature most of the programs are only partially funded and/or are PsyD "mills" because I'm not interested in punching above my weight class and getting 0 acceptances.

Edited December 7, 2018 by dancedementia

[PsyDuck90]

13 minutes ago, dancedementia said:

I really appreciate your sentiment, but I also would hesitate to write off every program that isn't fully funded. Try as we might, some of us have life circumstances that just do not make us competitive for those R1/R2 universities. Me personally, I had a shit GPA in my undergrad AND I got into some.... shall we say, trouble. Like, morally. I also have financial and family hardships that make it impossible for me to do things like volunteer a lot for research, work a year as a research assistant, etc. I got into a partially-funded masters program and that was the best I could do, because in addition to school I also work 40-50 hours a week to earn enough money to caretake a dying family member and handle my own medical bullshit.

So I know that I am NOT going to be competitive for the Harvards and UPenns and UNC Chapel Hills of the world. And that's okay. You'll see in my signature most of the programs are only partially funded and/or are PsyD "mills" because I'm not interested in punching above my weight class and getting 0 acceptances.

Agreed. It doesn't have to be R1/R2 or bust. I am just finishing my 1st semester in an APA accredited partially-funded university-based PsyD. I am already involved in several research projects in my research lab, we have a small cohort, and all of my professors graduated from APA accredited R1 research universities. Students should absolutely do their due diligence about programs, but you also shouldn't write off programs just based on the funding. I've known people at R1s who lose funding because their faculty member couldn't get a grant or something. Things happen. 

[xxxxxxxxxx]

1 hour ago, dancedementia said:

I really appreciate your sentiment, but I also would hesitate to write off every program that isn't fully funded. Try as we might, some of us have life circumstances that just do not make us competitive for those R1/R2 universities. Me personally, I had a shit GPA in my undergrad AND I got into some.... shall we say, trouble. Like, morally. I also have financial and family hardships that make it impossible for me to do things like volunteer a lot for research, work a year as a research assistant, etc. I got into a partially-funded masters program and that was the best I could do, because in addition to school I also work 40-50 hours a week to earn enough money to caretake a dying family member and handle my own medical bullshit.

So I know that I am NOT going to be competitive for the Harvards and UPenns and UNC Chapel Hills of the world. And that's okay. You'll see in my signature most of the programs are only partially funded and/or are PsyD "mills" because I'm not interested in punching above my weight class and getting 0 acceptances.

Student Doctor Network has a wealth of resources (and experts in the field, specifically) who discuss (in detail) the reasons why most non-funded or partially funded programs, primarily “diploma mills,” are not a good or wise career choice.

As you may very well know: The majority of those programs have awful internship matching rates and licensure rates. Also, the majority of professors/faculty who receive/review apps for internships, externships, post-docs, etc. from such schools immediately throw their applications away (Again, I encourage anyone reading these comments to visit SDN and read the feedback from experts in the field regarding these topics). 

Your circumstances are understandable, and we all certainly come from different walks of life, myself included. That doesn’t mean you should make choices out of desperation regarding the quality of your graduate education. Good luck with everything!

[JoePianist]

2 hours ago, checkingmyemail said:

As you may very well know: The majority of those programs have awful internship matching rates and licensure rates. Also, the majority of professors/faculty who receive/review apps for internships, externships, post-docs, etc. from such schools immediately throw their applications away (Again, I encourage anyone reading these comments to visit SDN and read the feedback from experts in the field regarding these topics). 

Tough love, but it’s the truth — I agree with this.

Edited December 7, 2018 by JoePianist

[loffire]

8 hours ago, DevelopingThoughts said:

I got an email from the transcript services that Stanford still hasn’t retrieved my transcript from the link LOL ?

I emailed stanford and they say that theyre are caught in a backlog of admin work that'll prob take 8weeks. They'll use unofficial scores and transcripts for review and we will not be penalized.