Michigan State

[hellopsy]

Anyone else in and thinking of going?

I'm really thinking of taking up their offer, but I'm not too sure how MSU fares in terms of prestige (I know it's the top place for I/O, but haven't got a clue for the other sub-fields). Any idea how this might affect job prospects later on?

Also, are you guys going to wait to get ALL your responses in before accepting? I didn't have any first choices when I began, but I've had great contact with them and hardly any word from the rest of my schools except a couple of rejections. I'm expecting a few more rejections and maybe one waitlist, so now I'm not sure if I should just give up hope from the rest or continuing waiting it out.

[OrgScienceGrad]

I went to undergrad at MSU and did a lot of research with psychology students and faculty. The I/O program is definitely top-notch, but many of the other programs have big name faculty members as well. (However, I can't speak to the cognitive program in particular. I did most of my research with I/O, clinical, and social.)

Also, in terms of waiting for all of your offers... it is generally the best admissions etiquette to only hold on to one offer at a time. If you have two or more offers, and are still waiting to hear from other schools, only hold on to your top choice offer while you wait for the other schools. And there's definitely no harm in holding onto one "for sure" offer while you're still waiting for other opportunities arise!

[neuroJ]

I'm a former State psych undergrad too, though I worked with people who were more in the clinical dept. It's tough for me to know how exactly to rank the program, but I believe it's fairly well respected, especially within the midwest/big 10.

As far as program prestige goes, the advice I've got is that (at least for academic job prospects) it matters far more what you did in grad school and who your advisor was that what school you went to. People can flourish in any program and people can flame out too. I think along this point, it's good to take a look at where your advisor's former students have ended up and if their career trajectories look like the one you'd want for yourself.