Fall 2019 Quantitative Psychology Applicants

[Quant2019Fall]

Hey guys! Thought I'd make a thread for the Quant program applicants for Fall 2019. Feel free to post the number of applications you filled and how's the wait going. 

 

I'm an international applicant and I've filled 6 applications (5 US, 1 Canada) and I've been visiting gradcafe just to read how others are holding up. My anxiety is bad due to the wait.

Edited December 3, 2018 by bat_blah

[StatsLove]

Thank you for starting this thread!  I've been scouring the forum for other quant applicants and was sad that there weren't many pages for us

I've submitted 6 applications!  I was originally going to do 8 but I found that the last two didn't interest me that much, and I probably wouldn't want to go if they were the only ones I was accepted to.  I feel a sense of relief that I've done what I can, but also a lot of nervousness too!!

[Quant2019Fall]

Me too. I've been literally on the lookout for other applicants but didn't any other thread except the one started by Prof. Amanda from UCLA. Now that the applications are done, it feels like a weight is off the chest and the season of anxiety has started. I think some of the colleges may also send out interview requests in the next few weeks which is like keeping me on edge. 

[StatsLove]

Same!  I know that they are probably going to be sending interview invites before the holidays and whatnot, but it makes me nervous not knowing for sure!! I recently found that thread as well as had hoped I had found it sooner, since there was a lot of good information shared

[Jojolala]

Thanks for starting this thread!

Has anyone heard anything yet? I noticed that people received interview invitation around the same time last year already.

[StatsLove]

23 hours ago, Jojolala said:

Thanks for starting this thread!

Has anyone heard anything yet? I noticed that people received interview invitation around the same time last year already.

I got an email from a professor at the University of Missouri about being admitted to the program!  It was really surprising, I didn't anticipate getting an acceptance this early on in the process.

I haven't heard from any other schools yet though, I think we should expect interview invites around the end of this week or soon after the holiday break.  Most schools seem to follow that trend, from what I've found in past threads (though nothing about quant specifically so who knows!)

[Jojolala]

39 minutes ago, StatsLove said:

I got an email from a professor at the University of Missouri about being admitted to the program!  It was really surprising, I didn't anticipate getting an acceptance this early on in the process.

I haven't heard from any other schools yet though, I think we should expect interview invites around the end of this week or soon after the holiday break.  Most schools seem to follow that trend, from what I've found in past threads (though nothing about quant specifically so who knows!)

 Wow, Congratulations!!!

 It is a very early decision.  Have you had an interview with you PI before the admission? If you did. What was it like? Do you have any recommendation on how to prepare for interviews? 

 

[StatsLove]

22 hours ago, Jojolala said:

 Wow, Congratulations!!!

 It is a very early decision.  Have you had an interview with you PI before the admission? If you did. What was it like? Do you have any recommendation on how to prepare for interviews? 

 

I guess I technically did do an interview...I was in contact with the PI through email long before applications were due, and eventually we had a Skype conversation to talk about their program before I had submitted.  It was very relaxed, and definitely felt more like a conversation than an interview--to the point where I didn't really think of it as an interview until the PI contacted me about acceptance.

It lasted about 40 minutes I think? I would say that a good portion of the conversation was the PI discussing their own research and the school's program in general, with them asking me some questions about my research and math background as well as why I wanted to go into quantitative psychology. 

The way I prepared for our discussion was reading through some of the PI's papers and taking notes so I would have a basic understanding of the types of research they do in quant.  This allowed me to be engaged in the conversation about research and to ask for clarification for concepts that I didn't understand/haven't learned about yet (there seems to be a good amount of those for me, but that's why I want to learn!).  I would suggest doing the same, so they can tell you've done your homework and are interested in learning more about the subject!

 Other than that, have a list of questions that you want to ask about the PI and the program.  Some of the ones important to me were mentoring style,  travel grants/summer funding, job placement of recent alumni, expectations for publishing, and stuff like that.  It might help for you to list out your research experience in case you freeze and need a reminder of what you've done.  I'm not sure how this would change if you were doing an in-person interview, but certainly can help for a phone or Skype call!

Hope this helped!! I'd be happy to answer other questions.  Hoping the other programs start reaching out soon...

[LostLamb]

On 12/20/2018 at 1:35 AM, StatsLove said:

I guess I technically did do an interview...I was in contact with the PI through email long before applications were due, and eventually we had a Skype conversation to talk about their program before I had submitted.  It was very relaxed, and definitely felt more like a conversation than an interview--to the point where I didn't really think of it as an interview until the PI contacted me about acceptance.

It lasted about 40 minutes I think? I would say that a good portion of the conversation was the PI discussing their own research and the school's program in general, with them asking me some questions about my research and math background as well as why I wanted to go into quantitative psychology. 

The way I prepared for our discussion was reading through some of the PI's papers and taking notes so I would have a basic understanding of the types of research they do in quant.  This allowed me to be engaged in the conversation about research and to ask for clarification for concepts that I didn't understand/haven't learned about yet (there seems to be a good amount of those for me, but that's why I want to learn!).  I would suggest doing the same, so they can tell you've done your homework and are interested in learning more about the subject!

 Other than that, have a list of questions that you want to ask about the PI and the program.  Some of the ones important to me were mentoring style,  travel grants/summer funding, job placement of recent alumni, expectations for publishing, and stuff like that.  It might help for you to list out your research experience in case you freeze and need a reminder of what you've done.  I'm not sure how this would change if you were doing an in-person interview, but certainly can help for a phone or Skype call!

Hope this helped!! I'd be happy to answer other questions.  Hoping the other programs start reaching out soon...

Congrats on the acceptance! 

If you don't mind, could you share more about the part where they asked about your math background and reasons for pursuing quant psych? 

Were they looking for specific coursework (e.g. linear algebra, probability, real analysis) or were the questions more general in nature?  

As for the reasons for pursuing quant psych, were they expecting some kind of concrete experience that led you to quant psych? 

Hope that you get responses from the other programs soon!

PS: I'm not applying this round but would like to get more insight into the admission process!

 

[StatsLove]

5 hours ago, LostLamb said:

Congrats on the acceptance! 

If you don't mind, could you share more about the part where they asked about your math background and reasons for pursuing quant psych? 

Were they looking for specific coursework (e.g. linear algebra, probability, real analysis) or were the questions more general in nature?  

As for the reasons for pursuing quant psych, were they expecting some kind of concrete experience that led you to quant psych? 

Hope that you get responses from the other programs soon!

PS: I'm not applying this round but would like to get more insight into the admission process!

 

Thank you!  I'll try to answer your questions as best possible...

When the PI asked about my math background, they mainly wanted to know the general subjects I had taken, which for me were statistics (in psychology and in the math department at my school) and some calculus courses.  I don't believe I was prompted to talk about any specific tests, but I mentioned some of the higher level analyses I have used in my research as well as programs I know how to use just to give more explanation.  One course that the PI did specifically ask about was linear algebra.  This is a course that I didn't take because I discovered quantitative psychology kind of late in the game, and my school only offers the class periodically (I explained that but expressed interest in learning about it before starting).  It seems like that's a common class professors like to see (so I would recommend dipping your toes into it since you have time), but it's obviously not a deal breaker since I was offered admission to the program despite not having linear algebra under my belt.

As for their "Why Quant?" question, I don't think they're really looking for anything specific besides an indication that you know what the program is and are passionate about it.  Whether that's a concrete event or something you decided over time is based on your experience, so I would just be honest about how you discovered the field and why you think it's a good fit for you.

 

[LostLamb]

14 hours ago, StatsLove said:

Thank you!  I'll try to answer your questions as best possible...

When the PI asked about my math background, they mainly wanted to know the general subjects I had taken, which for me were statistics (in psychology and in the math department at my school) and some calculus courses.  I don't believe I was prompted to talk about any specific tests, but I mentioned some of the higher level analyses I have used in my research as well as programs I know how to use just to give more explanation.  One course that the PI did specifically ask about was linear algebra.  This is a course that I didn't take because I discovered quantitative psychology kind of late in the game, and my school only offers the class periodically (I explained that but expressed interest in learning about it before starting).  It seems like that's a common class professors like to see (so I would recommend dipping your toes into it since you have time), but it's obviously not a deal breaker since I was offered admission to the program despite not having linear algebra under my belt.

As for their "Why Quant?" question, I don't think they're really looking for anything specific besides an indication that you know what the program is and are passionate about it.  Whether that's a concrete event or something you decided over time is based on your experience, so I would just be honest about how you discovered the field and why you think it's a good fit for you.

 

Thanks for your very detailed response! That info is really useful. Wish you all the best for your pending applications!

[QuantPsyGuy]

I submitted eight apps. I've been accepted to three (South Carolina's Experimental/Quantitative program, UC Merced's Quant Psy program, and UNCO's applied stats program). Still waiting to hear from U of Houston, UC Davis, UNC Chapel Hill, UVA, AND Minnesota. Good luck, everyone!

[StatsLove]

17 hours ago, QuantPsyGuy said:

I submitted eight apps. I've been accepted to three (South Carolina's Experimental/Quantitative program, UC Merced's Quant Psy program, and UNCO's applied stats program). Still waiting to hear from U of Houston, UC Davis, UNC Chapel Hill, UVA, AND Minnesota. Good luck, everyone!

Good to hear someone else is still waiting on UNC!  I know they had started sending out invites to Clinical and Social (I think) a while ago so I was starting to get worried...I'm waiting on UC Davis and UVA as well.

Congrats on your three acceptances already though, that's quite a feat and a good position to be in!

[QuantPsyGuy]

Yeah, I was getting nervous about UNC after seeing clinical and social (maybe cognitive, too?) getting invites. Haven't seen any Quant invites there yet, so fingers crossed!

[Quant2019Fall]

Anybody received any(more) interview requests? Who's the person who got the UC Davis invite?

[StatsLove]

Wasn't me for UC Davis; they'll probably be sending out invites this week/next week though!

[StatsLove]

To those who heard from UC Davis last week, did you get a personal email from your POI or did you get an email from the university?

[revquackers]

If any of you have questions about the quant psych program at UC Merced feel free to reach out, I'm currently a fourth year there.

[QuantPsyGuy]

Wasn't me for Davis, either. Received one more interview offer to U of Houston, but declined d/t other admissions offers.

[1student2]

Is there anyone who heard anything from UCLA, UIUC or Vanderbilt? Is it better for me to consider receiving nothing from them until now as rejected?

[Quant2019Fall]

54 minutes ago, 1student2 said:

Is there anyone who heard anything from UCLA, UIUC or Vanderbilt? Is it better for me to consider receiving nothing from them until now as rejected?

I contacted them around 2 weeks before if they’d already sent out the interview requests. Got an email that yes, they had. Then asked my POI what was wrong with my application and was dissapointed to learn that they didn’t have funding for international students this year and my POI was not taking students this year. Could’ve helped to know this info before applying!

[Quant2019Fall]

On 2/2/2019 at 12:16 AM, QuantPsyGuy said:

Wasn't me for Davis, either. Received one more interview offer to U of Houston, but declined d/t other admissions offers.

Which university have you decided to go with?

[Quant2019Fall]

8 hours ago, bat_blah said:

I contacted them around 2 weeks before if they’d already sent out the interview requests. Got an email that yes, they had. Then asked my POI what was wrong with my application and was dissapointed to learn that they didn’t have funding for international students this year and my POI was not taking students this year. Could’ve helped to know this info before applying!

This was about UCLA

Edited February 7, 2019 by bat_blah

[StatsLove]

15 hours ago, 1student2 said:

Is there anyone who heard anything from UCLA, UIUC or Vanderbilt? Is it better for me to consider receiving nothing from them until now as rejected?

I was at an interview last week and I think another applicant mentioned that they have an interview for Vanderbilt either this week or next week

[jennyshaw228]

I got interviews from UND and UW( this program is in the department of educational psychology). I just know I am in the ND's waiting list, so sad   Did anyone apply for the same programs and have any updates?