What do you plan to do if you don't get accepted this year?

[Ihatethis]

Or, if you haven't been accepted in the past, what did you do the years after? Get more experience? Try out a new field? Stay at your current job and bide your time? Apply again next year? Never apply again?

I'm unsure what I'll do, but it's very appealing imagining working in a different (or a related, but different) field for a bit, just for the mind re-set. Curious about everyone else! 

[justacigar]

I went into this year with minimal research qualifications and an okay GRE score. My plan is to work as a research assistant on a few projects and study my ass off for the GRE to get a more stand-out score. I'm an old-ish applicant who already has a master's in clinical psychology and I if I don't get in next year (or this year!) I think I will need to call it quits, unfortunately. 

[xChrisx]

I have plan B masters to get on a Clinical Mental Health Counseling course/track or get a Clinical MA and use it as a transition point. I'll also try to get my GRE quants score up...

[wannabeschoolpsych]

It’s my first time applying and the wait is honestly killing me haha. I’ve already been thinking worst case scenario and expecting I’ll be rejected so I’ve been thinking in plan b. So far, I think I will work full time as a teacher (I’m getting my Bachelor’s in early childhood education and special education) and enroll in a master’s program. I’m thinking of master’s programs in family and human development, psychology, or special education with emphasis in behavior so that I can learn relevant knowledge but also get more research experience. I will definitely try and apply again and hope for the best!!

[lmk94]

This is my third time applying, so if I don't get in this time I will likely call it quits for the PhD. I would probably take next year to complete prereqs for Occupational Therapy and give that career path a go. 

[higaisha]

Retake the GRE, publish some old work and try to get a paid coordinator position. Backups are good!

[chopper.wife]

Probably just continue to work as a coordinator and try to bulk up my publications. Part of me thinks this wouldn't actually be the worst-case scenario, because it would give me another year of not having the stress of school, saving some money, and being able to keep doing without the coursework. Obviously I would rather get in to a program though!

[petitebiscuit]

Work work work work work. ??

[round2_]

Find another career, probably. 

[Mickey26]

My first round applying, so I told myself that getting in 1st try is wishful thinking. My plan was to try again next year for Clinical Psych and also apply for Counselling Psych as backup. I was planning on potentially taking a gap year to satisfy my wanderlust, as I rushed through my undergrad. Also planned on working as a lab coordinator/RA at my current labs  I figured that working on more research and churning out more publications wouldn't hurt!

[huskypsych]

If this is your first time applying, and especially if you're still in undergrad, I would highly recommend taking a year or two to improve your CV through research experience and try again. I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch, but just these few months of post-grad research experience has improved by application a lot and I have been getting much better responses this year. I applied last year and had two interviews that ended with no offer.

[Neurophilic]

I'd definitely apply the next round. In the meantime, I'm covering a mat leave as a Coordinator, so I'd try to get another position at the institution I'm currently at. 

[dancedementia]

I have a license eligible master's so I'd work with that and also try to volunteer for some more research on the side... and try again next cycle. 

[PsychWannabee]

Taking a couple years off to work in research somewhere! I'm already starting to look now. It's my first time applying, so I won't let rejections discourage me from pursuing this field.

[kalman_gain]

cry

[ResilientDreams]

Work as a research assistant/lab manager and study to retake the GRE!

[xxxxxxxxxx]

On 1/4/2019 at 2:44 PM, round2_ said:

Find another career, probably. 

I’d love to work in politics/government, as a second option. I don’t have the energy to go for more schooling (LOL) and the campaigning seems draining/exhausting (and I’m definitely not about putting my family’s life all out there), but the thought of working in Congress/shaping people’s lives on a national level is so amazing to me. Something related to psychological interventions/mental health would be nice.

But- I’m ignorant/don’t know sh@t about government/politics so maybe it’s uglier and more diffcult than it already looks lol

[1996kayden]

I spent the year after I didn't go to grad school working as a lab manager for a lab at my undergrad institution. Learning R and eye-tracking skills. Submitting two manuscripts I was working on in undergrad and will probably start writing one with the lab I'm currently with.

Fairly confident about this round but if I don't get in again will probably stay in the same position and try and boost my publications. GRE Quant is mediocre but I can't bring myself to do it again. 

[StHoly]

x

Edited January 6, 2019 by StHoly
wrong post my apologies

[round2_]

56 minutes ago, checkingmyemail said:

I’d love to work in politics/government, as a second option. I don’t have the energy to go for more schooling (LOL) and the campaigning seems draining/exhausting (and I’m definitely not about putting my family’s life all out there), but the thought of working in Congress/shaping people’s lives on a national level is so amazing to me. Something related to psychological interventions/mental health would be nice.

But- I’m ignorant/don’t know sh@t about government/politics so maybe it’s uglier and more diffcult than it already looks lol

I actually was torn between politics and psych/neuro! It's all about human behavior, just different levels. I picked psych/neuro because I liked the actual work better (data analysis, planning experiments, the concreteness of finding an answer vs the messiness of policy or boringness of the bureaucracy side of it). 

I don't really have the skill set to transition to anything specific like that though so I'm not really sure where I'd go.

[dakotaS]

Continue working in my current research lab, publish my current manuscript, attend the HFES conference in Seattle, and spend more time with my son ? Human factors appears to be less competitive than clinical so I am not about to jump ship on careers due to the prospect of never being accepted into a Ph.D. program.