First gen undergrad student seeking some advice

[psychiscool]

Hey!

I'm a rising junior majoring in Psych and Comp Sci. I attend a small, somewhat selective liberal arts school. I'm pretty involved on campus, i'm a Resident Assistant as well as many other things that im going to leave out bccc  anonymity. I have okay research experience, I was a Research assistant at my school twice in my freshman year, im currently conducting my own independent research which I started my sophomore year, and during the school year I am a research assistant at one of the top ten psych schools in the country, (i'm sorry i'm being vague i am just so paranoid) and for the summer, im a research assistant at an ivy. By the end of this internship, I believe I will be coauthored. I plan on conducting an honors research project in Psychology.

At this time, I haven't taken my GRE's but I plan on taking it first thing next semester and taking it until I get a score that is competitive. 

I'm a first gen student so graduate school isn't something any of my family has experienced, and consequently, I can't get much advice from them. I would love to end up somewhere in New York, Columbia or NYU - outside of New York, I LOVE The University of Washington. for example, but i recognize that those programs are extremely selective and no matter what I've done, there is someone out there who has worked twice and hard and achieved twice as much. That's why I'm here. My GPA is not amazing. I'm currently at a 3.2. I've taken pretty much every "execution" course at my college, so at this point, I can only see my GPA going up (fingers crossed). I believe that by the end of my senior year, it should be at a 3.5. 

 

My question is simple but, understandably super hard to answer. I'm just seeking any kind of guidance or advice or *predictions* here. Do you guys think I have a chance at any of those graduate schools? What more can I do other than attempt to get another internship next summer/another co-author and raise my grades? If you need any specific information, please send me a message (if you're able to) and i'd be happy to specify stuff. I just want to try to be as anonymous as possible on here.

 

Thank you in advance

psychiscool

Edited June 12, 2018 by psychiscool
anonymity

[PsyDuck90]

As a 1st gen student, I definitely understand the difficulty of navigating a completely alien system.

It sounds like you have a lot of research experience, which is really important. You mentioned a potential co-authorship, which is great. Do you have any posters or anything you've presented that's come out of your research? You want to try to present at conferences and get your work out there to show schools that you can produce your own work.

Also, when picking programs, you want to focus on research fit more than location. Graduate school is nothing like undergrad in the sense that when you apply to doctoral programs, you are applying to work in a specific lab with a specific professor. You need to apply to faculty who are doing the type of work you want to do. 

Getting advice on online forums is always great, but I would also encourage you to speak with your faculty mentors at your college. These are the people who will most likely be writing your letters, and they can help you tremendously with this process (at least I was very fortunate to have a faculty mentor who answered a lot of my questions and helped me present at conferences and publish). 

[psychiscool]

Hello @Hk328 thank you so much for the feedback.

I will be presenting my independent research at my schools poster session, and submitting it to the regional poster session that my school  attends. For my internship, I will be giving a talk to professors, doctors, and other students. I will also most likely be asked to present my work from the internship at a poster session at my school.

In regards to location, you're absolutely right - I know NYU has what im looking for in terms of program but Columbia - i'm not so sure.

I will definitely consult my faculty mentor more - I feel as though I've asked everything I possibly could but I'm sure there's some rewording I could do

[rising_star]

@psychiscool, don't just ask your faculty mentor. Talk to others on your campus and this summer during your internship about the application process, programs you should look into, ways to improve your application, etc. One of the keys will be finding a good research fit and clearly stating your research interests in your SOP.

Also, don't take the GRE more times than you have to because it's expensive (also, look into fee waivers). Your best bet is to study hard and take it once and only retake it if absolutely necessary. Your fall will be busy enough with an honors project, courses, and grad school apps so don't unnecessarily waste time on the GRE.

Good luck!

[megabee]

I'm also a first gen student. I know it's hard to not be able to discuss and ask questions of your parents/family. The main thing is to reach out. Talk to at least three professors in your department. "I'm interested in these topics within the field and I want to know where I should apply and what literature I should read." Have regular meetings (monthly, bi-weekly, whatever) with these professors, because those relationships will help you immensely when you need advice on how this counterintuitive process works, and those meetings will turn into letters of recommendation. Also consult with them on your SOP (send your SOP to as many people as possible, beyond those three people).

Additionally, look into your school's resources for grad school applications. A lot of this stuff isn't advertised, but it's available. My school had a Friday night GRE prep course for really cheap, offered half off GRE waivers through the financial aid office, and had an entire program devoted to helping first gen students with their grad school and career goals - and none of this was posted on a website or flyers or anything! I had to go out and hunt down these resources. If your school doesn't have them, reach out to another school that does. A big state school might have a McNair program (which helps first gen students with grad school readiness and applications), and you can probably reach out to the coordinator with a polite email. "I don't attend your school, but mine doesn't have a McNair program. Do you have any literature or tips that you give to your students that you'd be willing to share with a first gen student?" The main thing is finding the advice and resources that someone else might get from their family. 

Another tip I would give to a first gen student is to not undersell yourself. This process feels really alien and isolating, and you might be tempted to try and guess where you "deserve" to get in. Get application fee waivers (look up with the individual schools how to do this) and apply to the top programs in your field - along with, of course,  backup options. Don't think that x school is too good for you, or that you'll never be able to get in there. My friend, another first gen, told me when I got my first rejection the same thing that someone else had told her: "Congratulations! To fail is to not self-select out of an opportunity."

Side note, you're already using this site, which was immensely helpful to me when I needed advice. The search bar was my best friend last year. There are other first gen admits that you can PM for advice as well, you just need to find them.

You can do this, you're capable of this. Good luck during your application season!