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Fall 2019 Developmental Psychology Thread


DevelopingThoughts

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On 2/13/2019 at 5:40 PM, ResilientDreams said:

I'm flying to an interview tomorrow. 

Good Luck! Is that for Cornell University's Human Development program? Would you mind sharing your experiences with me when you finish it? Fingers crossed for you! 

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On 2/15/2019 at 1:13 PM, DyingInside said:

Wondering about the person who posted that they got accepted from University of Utah (dev psych), do you know if the grant came through? I know they were waiting on that because it would dictate how many students they could take on. I also interviewed and have been patiently waiting. Any info would be great!

That's me! I'm not sure about the grant. I had another phone interview after the in person interivew and at that time he reiterated that he was expecting 2 students. 

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On 2/15/2019 at 3:06 PM, SSXX said:

Good Luck! Is that for Cornell University's Human Development program? Would you mind sharing your experiences with me when you finish it? Fingers crossed for you! 

Yes it was! I will DM you when I have a chance. 

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9 hours ago, MichaelMonroe said:

That's me! I'm not sure about the grant. I had another phone interview after the in person interivew and at that time he reiterated that he was expecting 2 students. 

Thank you...and congrats!

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Hey guys, so I'm stuck between two schools. One is a human development and family studies PhD and the other is Developmental Psych PhD. The hdfs professor’s research is an EXACT match to mine but the dev psych is close and there are so many research/training opportunities available there. Location: hdfs is definitely way cheaper to live in but the dev psyc has the best weather and there’s more social life there. Also, my future career goal is currently to work in academia and have my own research lab. Idk if an hdfs degree will be limiting and/or tough to get an academia job with.

What are your views?

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12 minutes ago, meezy123 said:

Hey guys, so I'm stuck between two schools. One is a human development and family studies PhD and the other is Developmental Psych PhD. The hdfs professor’s research is an EXACT match to mine but the dev psych is close and there are so many research/training opportunities available there. Location: hdfs is definitely way cheaper to live in but the dev psyc has the best weather and there’s more social life there. Also, my future career goal is currently to work in academia and have my own research lab. Idk if an hdfs degree will be limiting and/or tough to get an academia job with.

What are your views?

I don’t know a lot about HDFS, but there are definitely schools with strong programs and research labs, like Michigan State. I think it’s possible to do your own research, it really depends one what your focus area is and what the schools who are hiring are looking for.  I am torn similarly between two choices that include exact research match vs close but better stuff overall. I am wondering if an exact research match is actually a benefit or if maybe being close would allow you a little more autonomy. I had planned to ask this myself when I get closer to decision time. (My visits are all in March.)

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@meezy123 I am a current grad student in Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS). Your case is a classic case of hard decision making.  It happens to a significant number of students in my program as well. You have pointed out that some of our research programs are pretty similar to those in the clinical psych and developmental psych, given that some of the faculty have credentials in clinical psych or developmental psych (also they collaborate heavily with faculty from the Psych department). If your concern is whether going to HDFS will limit your chance for an academic job, you should talk to the department about their placement history. I am sure they have data about this, including the field (whether the majority of them become a professor in the HDFS department as well or there is variability) in which their alumni are currently working. I remember during my visiting weekend, the PI of my program showing this exact chart. At least for my program, the number of graduates who become faculty in other HDFS programs are almost equal to the number of graduates who become faculty in the psychology department. This seems to me that maybe your productivity and fit of research play a more important role in job placement, rather than a field of study. You should also talk to your prospective advisor about the track record of graduate placement in his/her lab. Good luck!         

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1 hour ago, meezy123 said:

Hey guys, so I'm stuck between two schools. One is a human development and family studies PhD and the other is Developmental Psych PhD. The hdfs professor’s research is an EXACT match to mine but the dev psych is close and there are so many research/training opportunities available there. Location: hdfs is definitely way cheaper to live in but the dev psyc has the best weather and there’s more social life there. Also, my future career goal is currently to work in academia and have my own research lab. Idk if an hdfs degree will be limiting and/or tough to get an academia job with.

What are your views?

What school is the HDFS program at?

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Just realized that the University of Denver does not offer their graduate students health insurance after their 4th year.... is this common? It seems like a horrible policy especially during one's dissertation writing years. 

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5 hours ago, meezy123 said:

Hey guys, so I'm stuck between two schools. One is a human development and family studies PhD and the other is Developmental Psych PhD. The hdfs professor’s research is an EXACT match to mine but the dev psych is close and there are so many research/training opportunities available there. Location: hdfs is definitely way cheaper to live in but the dev psyc has the best weather and there’s more social life there. Also, my future career goal is currently to work in academia and have my own research lab. Idk if an hdfs degree will be limiting and/or tough to get an academia job with.

What are your views?

Hard choice!! Ask the department to connect you with recent alumni from the HDFS program. Talk to those students and see what they say about getting a job and where they landed jobs. Also, which POI has better research rigor? Usually the h-index is a good indicator of productivity and research relevance.

 

P.S. as for social life.... pretty much your lab members will become your social life, so, which students do you click with more?--you may not have time for much else. 

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1 hour ago, DyingInside said:

Just realized that the University of Denver does not offer their graduate students health insurance after their 4th year.... is this common? It seems like a horrible policy especially during one's dissertation writing years. 

That’s weird, but now you have me wondering. One of my programs is a fellowship and it fully funds for five years, but the other funds with assistantships for 3 with their expectation that the phd takes 4 years, so it sounds like possibly they would end the insurance then too. Got to look into that!

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27 minutes ago, brighteyes said:

My anxiety is through the roof. The information on my portal for my top choice changed-- no rejection or acceptance yet, but the information on the portal is different than it was this morning. Ahhhh.

Good luck!

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@DyingInside @asurachm @Psyhopeful

Thank you guys for your input!!! I'm still really so unsure about where to go. 

Is a higher ranked HDFS program better than a lower ranked, but still R1, Dev Psych program?? If I go by ranking, the HDFS seems better but I absolutely love all the research and collaboration going on at the Dev Psyc program, and I also loved the campus and everyone in the department.  I'll be visiting the HDFS program next weekend so I'll finally get to meet everyone there. 

I never thought I'd even get more than one acceptance so I'm grateful AF but I feel so overwhelmed!! 

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How is everyone doing here?

FYI -- I was waiting for UCLA, so I emailed my POI. She informed me that all acceptances have been sent out. I just wanted to let you all know if you're waiting on them still.

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Waitlisted from my top choice and waiting to hear from my other top choice, so dying inside

Update: emailed UNC POI about status and was told I'm on the waitlist so now I'm double dying as I bide my time and hope that people decline their offers

Edited by 1996kayden
painful email updates to My Life the Sitcom
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12 hours ago, DyingInside said:

Any word from University of Denver??! Checking in post-interview.... hopefully they will send out rejections/acceptances by end of week. 

Haven't heard back yet. I interviewed on 2/25 but they had a second interview date on 3/1 so it has only been a few days. 

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On 2/25/2019 at 4:07 PM, meezy123 said:

 

@DyingInside @asurachm @Psyhopeful

Thank you guys for your input!!! I'm still really so unsure about where to go. 

Is a higher ranked HDFS program better than a lower ranked, but still R1, Dev Psych program?? If I go by ranking, the HDFS seems better but I absolutely love all the research and collaboration going on at the Dev Psyc program, and I also loved the campus and everyone in the department.  I'll be visiting the HDFS program next weekend so I'll finally get to meet everyone there. 

I never thought I'd even get more than one acceptance so I'm grateful AF but I feel so overwhelmed!! 

I would check with graduated students at the dev program to make sure collaboration is actually happening as well as what the environment of the department is when it’s not interview day. Most programs oversell their benefits and strengths on interview days. Graduated students will have a more honest and clear view of the program as well as what the true strengths and weaknesses are. 

You can also ask them about their job prospects and whether the rank/reputation of their program seemed to play a role. 

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