Are any of you applying for a PhD program straight out of undergrad?

[spider-man]

I see a lot of people applying with a Master's or after doing some post-bacc work, but I'm curious about how many of you are coming straight out of undergrad. I'm going to be applying for this election cycle, but I'm not sure I have enough research experience and I don't want to settle for a program.

Bonus: For people who got into a program straight out of undergrad, how was the application process, and how was the adjustment to PhD life?

[PianoPsych]

Me- I think a couple of other social-personality folk might be too ?

Same here- I don't want to settle for a program. But I'm sure that even if we don't get in this round, our experience will be helpful for any future application cycles.

[Clinapp2017]

I’m happy to field questions about this - I am now in a clinical psych (fully funded) PhD program and I applied straight from undergrad. I feel like the adjustment was easier for me than some of my cohort members because I’m used to classes and working outside the 8-5 window, but I see how full time RA experience is valuable for them too. 

 

The application process is still equally daunting. I had a lot of research under my belt already so I was invited to interview at 6/10 schools. A big tip I have is get a Airline credit card with miles because I racked up nearly 100,000 miles between the opening offer and the trips which made for a nice few free trips (minus hotel and other costs, haha).

[imemine]

I’m applying to social/personality programs straight out of undergrad! It’s definitely stressful to know that I’m competing against applicants with much more extensive research experience from RAships and whatnot. I’m trying to focus on emphasizing fit in my applications, as well as showing the skills I’ve gained from the research I’ve done, to make up for it. We’ll see how it goes?

[spider-man]

1 hour ago, Clinapp2017 said:

I’m happy to field questions about this - I am now in a clinical psych (fully funded) PhD program and I applied straight from undergrad. I feel like the adjustment was easier for me than some of my cohort members because I’m used to classes and working outside the 8-5 window, but I see how full time RA experience is valuable for them too. 

 

The application process is still equally daunting. I had a lot of research under my belt already so I was invited to interview at 6/10 schools. A big tip I have is get a Airline credit card with miles because I racked up nearly 100,000 miles between the opening offer and the trips which made for a nice few free trips (minus hotel and other costs, haha).

So do you have to pay for those flights out of pocket? That’s really unfortunate.

 

What kind of research experience did you have?

[Clinapp2017]

7 hours ago, spider-man said:

So do you have to pay for those flights out of pocket? That’s really unfortunate.

 

What kind of research experience did you have?

Some reimbursed me for all or part, but yeah expect to pay for a lot of travel. Usually interview sites will host you with current students, so at least that isn’t a cost you have. I advise saving as early as you can for travel.

 

I had worked in two labs - one for 3 years doing research using data from a national dataset (first author pub under review at time I applied, corresponding poster won award at national conference, mentored younger undergrads on a different project); the second lab was for a year where I was basically an EEG technician (no pubs or posters, but good imaging experience). 

[Troyyy]

I’m currently in my first year of my Social Psych program and I graduated with my bachelors degree this May. I don’t mean to scare you but the application process was anxiety-provoking and stressful. I tell people all the time that applying to schools is like an extra course in the semester because you have to do tons of research, write essays, take a hard-ass exam, and include the cooperation of faculty mentors/members to support you. I swear, by the time I submitted my last application, I was extremely flustered lol. This is definitely something that I wasn’t anticipating going into application season, but I learned a lot through that experience. 

Surprisingly, I have adjusted to my PhD very well. I’m only 5 weeks into my program and so far I’ve been acing all of my quizzes, assignments, tests and presentations. Even though I only have 1 other person in my social psych cohort, the classes that we take include all of the first year students from the other Psych PhD areas that my school offers (clinical, developmental, social, neuropsych and personality), so my “first year psychology cohort” comprises of about 13-14 people and we all get along pretty well. 

Its a bit overwhelming when it comes to the new faculty members at my institution. I gotta start over with getting to know them and build good relationships with them, alongside understanding the “politics” too haha. 

[hlr20]

I'm a first year PhD student coming straight from undergrad. I am definitely the youngest in my cohort. I thought that was going to be an issue but it has not been.

As for the application process, I was very worried and felt like my application was limited because I did not have as much experience when compared to someone coming from a masters or a couple more years of research experience. However, I went into the application with the idea that I am going for the PhD, and I am going to throw everything I have at it, but if it doesn't work out then that is not the end of the world. I was pleasantly surprised with how many interviews and acceptances I ended up with. I got to go to my top choice and it worked out. 

Don't discount yourself because you are young or are straight out of undergrad, everyone comes with different strengths and weaknesses and everyone has imposter syndrome. 

As far as adjusting- I have adjusted well so far (around a month in).

I think the two big things for me are: 

1)Time management. There are so many different jobs I am doing at the moment. I am working in my lab running participants for my PI, TAing, taking classes, reading for my own research and starting to develop myself as a researcher. It is important to prioritize what is important and know that there is always work to do.

2)Also, I have never read so much in my life. Just be prepared for that! There is a never-ended rabbit hole of information. You will never be able to fill that void.