*I is stressed* venting thread for Fall 2020 Applicants

[Schy]

At this point I’m preparing a working VISA to bartend in Greece (sarcastic but also serious because I’m not sure what plan B should be lol cry)

[justacigar]

43 minutes ago, Schy said:

At this point I’m preparing a working VISA to bartend in Greece (sarcastic but also serious because I’m not sure what plan B should be lol cry)

Wow thats the best back up plan I've ever heard, might have to join you!

[CatastrophizingNerd]

I GIVE UP! LIFE IS OVER!

[forensicpsyc]

Trying to decide if I still need to check my phone and forums over the weekend.  Wondering if there are expected hours interview invites are extended.

[justacigar]

2 minutes ago, forensicpsyc said:

Trying to decide if I still need to check my phone and forums over the weekend.  Wondering if there are expected hours interview invites are extended.

I tried to convince myself weekends should be off limits for checking email and such but have seen others get invites on Saturdays so... ?‍♀️

[StudiestStudy]

Like most of y'all I want to check the results page all day long in case someone hears back from one of my schools. This is my second round of applications. My first round was two years ago in clinical psychology but I did not get accepted. No surprise though as I did not have a research background at all and my GPA was average. This time I am applying to school psych programs. I am feeling more confident as I am finishing my masters in educational psych, with a 4.0 GPA, and I had a year of experience as a foster care worker under my belt when I started to apply. I finished my applications in October so I have been patiently waiting since then. Now that most of my deadlines have passed I am way more anxious. I find that the school psych forums are not as popular as the clinical psych ones. I presume do to the smaller amount of applicants which makes me more optimistic but is frustrating because I am not receiving as much information as I could find during my clinical psych round.

To keep myself calm outside of work, I play a lot of video games to keep my hands busy and away from my phone and I watch TV. I have to leave my phone in my coat to keep me from checking it all day during work. Luckily I am pretty busy at work so I do not usually have much down time but with the holidays coming up I will have more time off of work and more time to stress about applications. Any tips for distracting myself or stress relieving would be greatly appreciated as I can only sit in front of the TV for so long without going crazy. 

[psychologygeek]

I figured I'd reply to this thread because I, too have been religiously checking other forums to see if my schools have sent out interview invites yet. Unsurprisingly, my heart has shattered a few times, as some people have gotten interview invitations and I haven't heard anything yet. Being a neuropsychologist is my dream so I feel like every denial I'll get might shatter my heart a bit. lol.

 

This is my first application cycle. I am still in undergrad, so I understand that my chances of getting in are *extra* slim. However, I have a lot of research experience, good GRE (161V 154Q 6W), and a good GPA, so I figured why not. 

 

I'm not too sure how to distract myself yet as grad school has taken up so much of my headspace. 

 

A question for you all: does WHEN you apply effect WHEN you'll hear back? For example, some of the people I'm reading have heard back from these schools around a week after the application deadline. I submitted my applications closer to the deadline, so will I hear back later?

 

thanks you guys! we'll get through this!

Edited December 16, 2019 by psychologygeek
clarity

[Psych1st]

This week is the same time last year that the rest of my schools sent out invites. Qhsocyjshcocysndjcixydnsndo!!!!! That is all. 

[justacigar]

1 hour ago, Psych1st said:

This week is the same time last year that the rest of my schools sent out invites. Qhsocyjshcocysndjcixydnsndo!!!!! That is all. 

I'm in the same boat as you! Trying to stay busy and focused on other things buuuut it's so freaking hard. 

[Schy]

I'm having a really hard time of deciding between going for a masters or sticking with my current research position if this doesn't work out or spending another year working in my research lab. If anyone has any advice or words they'd be greatly appreciated, but I'm here to act as if this is my diary LMAO. 

Pros of Masters: I'd be going back to school and I miss school, more research experience, graduate training, a masters degree. 

Cons: how in the world will I pay for it? Surprisingly, there are not many options for masters in my intended field of study/research interests (behavioral economics/reinforcement pathology/contingency management) near me. This is surprising because I'm from the east/north east and we're supposed to be the hub for this kind of stuff. So if I were accepted into a masters program it'd be away from home and again, the money situation. 

 

With either decision I know i'll be gaining more research experience and I'll have time to improve my GRE scores, but realistically I have no idea how much debt people go in for graduate programs. I've seen ranges of 40k to 100k and some people managed to get a masters with no debt at all! 

This is all very confusing and making the decision to apply and find masters programs is a lot harder than what it was for PhD programs. ?

[doingmybest]

11 hours ago, psychologygeek said:

A question for you all: does WHEN you apply effect WHEN you'll hear back? For example, some of the people I'm reading have heard back from these schools around a week after the application deadline. I submitted my applications closer to the deadline, so will I hear back later?

I'm no expert, but it doesn't seem like it makes a difference. I applied on the deadline or the day before the deadline for all of my schools and I've already heard back from a few. Every program sends out invites at different times, though, and this is still very early in the admissions process, so don't lose hope if you haven't heard back yet.

Also, to folks who are frustrated when people don't put their PI in their post: consider DMing the poster; some people aren't comfortable posting potentially identifiable information on a public forum, but they're fine with a DM.

Edited December 16, 2019 by doingmybest
added second paragraph

[psychologygeek]

3 hours ago, doingmybest said:

I'm no expert, but it doesn't seem like it makes a difference. I applied on the deadline or the day before the deadline for all of my schools and I've already heard back from a few. Every program sends out invites at different times, though, and this is still very early in the admissions process, so don't lose hope if you haven't heard back yet.

Also, to folks who are frustrated when people don't put their PI in their post: consider DMing the poster; some people aren't comfortable posting potentially identifiable information on a public forum, but they're fine with a DM.

Congrats on hearing back! I am hoping and praying I start hearing in the next few days. I was told by some people that invitations continue to go out through January, so I am trying not to focus too much on it. Easier said than done though, right?

[2ndTimeHopeful]

On 12/12/2019 at 8:27 PM, lolhelp said:

Oh my god yes this. 

The silence is driving me crazy. Most of my schools have contacted people & crickets for me. I really thought this round would be different. 

[justacigar]

I am working on coping with my stress by baking today! We have a work holiday party tomorrow and I'm trying to make a Bûche de Noël...wish me luck. 

Edited December 16, 2019 by justacigar

[HanClee]

36 minutes ago, 2ndTimeHopeful said:

The silence is driving me crazy. Most of my schools have contacted people & crickets for me. I really thought this round would be different. 

Hey, don't go crazy just yet.

I was talking to a friend of mine who is in her second year in a dev psych program. The program she is in now and another school that accepted her both invited her to their on-campus interviews without preliminary chats. You never know how these things turn out.

[fixology]

1 hour ago, justacigar said:

I am working on coping with my stress by baking today! We have a work holiday party tomorrow and I'm trying to make a Bûche de Noël...wish me luck. 

Thats amazing! The Bûche de Noël sounds so delicious. I’m also baking for a work holiday party tomorrow (cranberry upside-down tart) and it feels so nice to focus on making something beautiful   Please tell us how it turns out!! 

[cupidcello]

On 12/12/2019 at 11:19 AM, justacigar said:

Hey everyone, last round an applicant started a general thread to talk about stress levels, what we were doing to stay sane, how email notifications were the bane of our existence, etc. 

Thought it might be nice to start it up again as I know I am having a hard time staying focused and patient during the waiting period! Even though I haven't seen any results or interview invites for the programs I've applied to, and I logically know I won't hear for a few weeks based on previous cycle data, it hasn't stopped me from freaking out every day and wasting a ton of time refreshing grad cafe and SDN just to see if anyone has heard from my programs ?

How are you doing? Anything positive to look forward to this holiday season? 

Hi, thanks for this thread.  I'm traveling back to my family home next week--just in time for Christmas and New Year's.  I also saw some posts about baking.  I baked banana-raisin bread for myself and a few others as well a few days ago.  Definitely helped me lower stress and worry levels.  I'm not too sure what I'll do during my holiday break before I return back to my job, but maybe some post-Christmas/holiday shopping?

I also have a project I'm hoping to publish at some point.  I need to work on finalizing initial data collection--then there's a bunch to analyze.  This is being done on my own time--outside of work hours--, so I'd be happy to use some of my holiday time for this.

Hope everyone's well.

[CatastrophizingNerd]

Two schools of interest known for sending invitations during December did not send me an invite.

I created a spreadsheet and checked through the results page for interview dates for the remaining 10+ schools. Most interviews for them are sent around mid-January. There is literally no point in checking constantly from now until then, so I'll be happily getting off this website knowing that. For those who are just as neurotic in checking, I suggest you do the same. It really does put you at ease!

Best of luck to everyone!

[devpsych2020]

I've been asking my cats (three!) ever since 12/1 to do some magical dances or cast spells at night to get me some interview invites. I assure them I won't take a peek at them at night or report them to talk shows/news for the magical power. And I got invitations to the final interviews from 2 schools so far!! I hope they continue the ritual until the end of this admissions process. I am getting some treats and new toys as incentives.

Animal companions! Have a sit down convo with your fluffs and try similar negotiations.

[Psych1st]

1 minute ago, devpsych2020 said:

I've been asking my cats (three!) ever since 12/1 to do some magical dances or cast spells at night to get me some interview invites. I assure them I won't take a peek at them at night or report them to talk shows/news for the magical power. And I got invitations to the final interviews from 2 schools so far!! I hope they continue the ritual until the end of this admissions process. I am getting some treats and new toys as incentives.

Animal companions! Have a sit down convo with your fluffs and try similar negotiations.

Oh no! One of my cats is evil... I must appease her promptly. Do you think pugs carry the magic as well? Oh who am I kidding... unless ?

[venusofwillendork]

15 minutes ago, devpsych2020 said:

Animal companions! Have a sit down convo with your fluffs and try similar negotiations.

About to try a sit-down with my cat tonight... maybe it will be more effective than refreshing the results page!! (even though I know full well I will not hear anything until January at the earliest ?‍♂️)

[fixology]

A few schools high on my list should be contacting for interviews this week—I've heard from one which is so exciting (!!!!), though I'm still checking my email constantly. Once off work it should be easier to unplug? Hopefully?

hoping Frank Ocean washes away the stress

[Psych1st]

Okay now I've got to vent ? People have started hearing from UW Milwaukee and I've been patiently (not) waiting and I JUST got an email from UWM... it says "time to submit your application".. Erin I've already submitted it!! Please! Stop!!! I was like *gasp!* and then *sigh*. What a roller coaster. This is wild. That is all. 

[Stressed+Caffeinated]

3 minutes ago, Psych1st said:

Okay now I've got to vent ? People have started hearing from UW Milwaukee and I've been patiently (not) waiting and I JUST got an email from UWM... it says "time to submit your application".. Erin I've already submitted it!! Please! Stop!!! I was like *gasp!* and then *sigh*. What a roller coaster. This is wild. That is all. 

Same boat. Right now, UW-Milwaukee is causing me the most stress too since their interviews are basically a month from now. I keep refreshing my emails in hopes of seeing something from the grad college or my POI.

It's maddening! 

Additionally, I received an email from the grad college a few days ago informing me of an update to my application status. But I didn't notice anything new or different after checking my application. Much confusion!

[fixology]

13 minutes ago, Stressed+Caffeinated said:

Same boat. Right now, UW-Milwaukee is causing me the most stress too since their interviews are basically a month from now. I keep refreshing my emails in hopes of seeing something from the grad college or my POI.

It's maddening! 

Additionally, I received an email from the grad college a few days ago informing me of an update to my application status. But I didn't notice anything new or different after checking my application. Much confusion!

I got that email too! I wonder what it was about, I couldn't find anything either. Maybe that meant under review?