School Psychology PhD 2021

[Alliswan]

3 hours ago, rachaelpfanz said:

Did anyone at the UGA interview today hear when we should expect to hear back?

Yep, sometime next week! 

[SchoolPsychYogi]

Does anyone have a document with a list questions to ask during interviews (willing to share)? #stressed #interviewseason 

[JakiraJakira]

1 hour ago, SchoolPsychYogi said:

Does anyone have a document with a list questions to ask during interviews (willing to share)? #stressed #interviewseason 

Hi SchoolPsychYogi! I shared one earlier on in this thread! Check the popular posts ribbon on the side of the screen! 

[Southwestteacher]

On 1/22/2021 at 1:58 AM, shutfreedom said:

 

On 1/22/2021 at 1:58 AM, shutfreedom said:

 

Sorry not sure how to get rid of this! Ignore this post. 

Edited January 23, 2021 by Southwestteacher

[Southwestteacher]

I hope all the interviews went well this week! Mine are not until Feb. I was curious if anyone would be willing to share any of the difficult questions that came up during interviews? Or just general feedback on how remote interviews felt would be great, too.

Good luck everyone!  

[JakiraJakira]

46 minutes ago, Southwestteacher said:

I hope all the interviews went well this week! Mine are not until Feb. I was curious if anyone would be willing to share any of the difficult questions that came up during interviews? Or just general feedback on how remote interviews felt would be great, too.

Good luck everyone!  

I had 4 interviews this week (I am jealous of February interviews because I wanted mine to be spread out). 

These last two days I've had 3 separate program interview days and it has been exhausting. Make sure to drink plenty of water, eat and take some time to relax between interviews. Hope you don't have so many back to back like I did. 

The most difficult question that I had honestly was

"How would you convince a coworker to change something that you disagreed with" 

Most of the rest weren't hard because of my preparation beforehand but I would definitely practice some common questions beforehand so that you don't stumble. 

The virtual part was better for me because I could kind of have a question list on my keyboard and not look like I was reading off it during the interview. 

Best of luck on your interviews!

 

[The_Garnet_Comet]

51 minutes ago, Southwestteacher said:

I hope all the interviews went well this week! Mine are not until Feb. I was curious if anyone would be willing to share any of the difficult questions that came up during interviews? Or just general feedback on how remote interviews felt would be great, too.

Good luck everyone!  

The ones that made me stumble were 1)Why do you want a PhD and not an EdS 2) what apprehensions do you have about our program and 3) What would your masters thesis look like. I asked every single teacher these two questions 1) What is missing from this program, or what do you want to add to it and 2) what concerns do you have about me joining this program/lab.

 

The second question is a double edged sword, and can screw you if you don't know how to rebuttal. I only asked someone I was comfortable with that question, but if you're unsure of your status it is a very direct way to confront your fears. Its a question that was given to me by someone who gives a lot of interviews in the business world, and it can flip the script.

[Schoolpsych921]

55 minutes ago, Southwestteacher said:

I hope all the interviews went well this week! Mine are not until Feb. I was curious if anyone would be willing to share any of the difficult questions that came up during interviews? Or just general feedback on how remote interviews felt would be great, too.

Good luck everyone!  

Interviews are definitely tiring, especially if they are all day long events. I thought zoom interviews would be awkward but it’s really not bad! I’ve had a positive experience so far.

Just make sure you know why you want a PhD (if that is the type of program you are applying for). Know your career goals. I often was asked why I wanted to attend that particular program. Also, be able to describe your research interests, at least in a general way. If you know who you’re interviewing with, try to look at at least the abstracts of their recent papers so you can bring up some talking points! Good luck, you’re gonna be great

[Southwestteacher]

16 minutes ago, JakiraJakira said:

I had 4 interviews this week (I am jealous of February interviews because I wanted mine to be spread out). 

These last two days I've had 3 separate program interview days and it has been exhausting. Make sure to drink plenty of water, eat and take some time to relax between interviews. Hope you don't have so many back to back like I did. 

The most difficult question that I had honestly was

"How would you convince a coworker to change something that you disagreed with" 

Most of the rest weren't hard because of my preparation beforehand but I would definitely practice some common questions beforehand so that you don't stumble. 

The virtual part was better for me because I could kind of have a question list on my keyboard and not look like I was reading off it during the interview. 

Best of luck on your interviews!

 

Awesome! Thank you. I am glad to hear that it wasn't too difficult. Did you just have questions open in a separate tab? And I bet water is KEY! I always forget to drink water when I am teaching on zoom and feel dead by the end. Thanks for sharing your experience so far. Hopefully you hear some good new about your interviews soon. 

[Southwestteacher]

17 minutes ago, The_Garnet_Comet said:

The ones that made me stumble were 1)Why do you want a PhD and not an EdS 2) what apprehensions do you have about our program and 3) What would your masters thesis look like. I asked every single teacher these two questions 1) What is missing from this program, or what do you want to add to it and 2) what concerns do you have about me joining this program/lab.

 

The second question is a double edged sword, and can screw you if you don't know how to rebuttal. I only asked someone I was comfortable with that question, but if you're unsure of your status it is a very direct way to confront your fears. Its a question that was given to me by someone who gives a lot of interviews in the business world, and it can flip the script.

Interesting! The apprehensions about the program would be a tricky question for sure. Also - good for you for asking about their apprehensions about you as a candidate as well. I've always heard that can really add to an interview but have been too nervous to ever actually pull it off in interview. Were you glad that you asked it in the end?

[Southwestteacher]

14 minutes ago, Schoolpsych921 said:

Interviews are definitely tiring, especially if they are all day long events. I thought zoom interviews would be awkward but it’s really not bad! I’ve had a positive experience so far.

Just make sure you know why you want a PhD (if that is the type of program you are applying for). Know your career goals. I often was asked why I wanted to attend that particular program. Also, be able to describe your research interests, at least in a general way. If you know who you’re interviewing with, try to look at at least the abstracts of their recent papers so you can bring up some talking points! Good luck, you’re gonna be great

Thanks! I am glad to hear it went well for you. I think the zoom interview factor is the part that has made me nervous. That is a relief to hear that it wasn't too awkward. My first interview is an 8:30 - 4:30 event so I imagine I will be pretty burnt out by the end as well. It is nice to hear that most of the questions are ones that we likely would have already prepared for like why this program, career goals, etc. 

Hope you hear good new soon!

[The_Garnet_Comet]

9 minutes ago, Southwestteacher said:

Interesting! The apprehensions about the program would be a tricky question for sure. Also - good for you for asking about their apprehensions about you as a candidate as well. I've always heard that can really add to an interview but have been too nervous to ever actually pull it off in interview. Were you glad that you asked it in the end?

Now that you mention it, I regret not asking that bombshell question more. For the PI I did ask, she was slightly caught aback and said "I can't think of anything, I would want you to join my lab" which was both good and bad, because there are things in my app that should be addressed. I got really great feedback for the "what would you add" question, and in one case it perfectly aligned with some thing I mentioned in my personal statement.

 

In hindsight, one of the biggest things I would suggest to applicants in this process is to engage with fellow applicants as well. It was very apparent that a lot of people just didn't want or couldn't engage with people they didn't feel could help them in the interview. During student hangouts it was rare for an applicant to address a fellow applicant, and I felt that was a red flag. I woke up the next day and tried to remember the other applicants, and those that I did remember said or tried to engage broadly, and just didn't sit there and ask questions. Engagement and networking were things I wanted to see more of.

[JakiraJakira]

37 minutes ago, Southwestteacher said:

Awesome! Thank you. I am glad to hear that it wasn't too difficult. Did you just have questions open in a separate tab? And I bet water is KEY! I always forget to drink water when I am teaching on zoom and feel dead by the end. Thanks for sharing your experience so far. Hopefully you hear some good new about your interviews soon. 

For one of the interviews I did that. But for some of them I just had my questions on my keyboard so I could just look at one screen instead of two. 
My long interview was the worst one.
It started at 9:00 and ended at 7 pm. (I had several breaks throughout the day none longer than 45 minutes). 

I’m just happy that of the 4 programs I’ve interviewed with Wisconsin and Buffalo are my #1 and 2.

My fiancé already got accepted into the MSW program at Buffalo so I’m crossing my fingers I get good news from at least Buffalo. Still holding out that we both get good news for Wisconsin! 
 

I wish the best of luck to anyone dealing with external factors influencing their decisions. 

Edited January 23, 2021 by JakiraJakira

[Southwestteacher]

43 minutes ago, JakiraJakira said:

For one of the interviews I did that. But for some of them I just had my questions on my keyboard so I could just look at one screen instead of two. 
My long interview was the worst one.
It started at 9:00 and ended at 7 pm. (I had several breaks throughout the day none longer than 45 minutes). 

I’m just happy that of the 4 programs I’ve interviewed with Wisconsin and Buffalo are my #1 and 2.

My fiancé already got accepted into the MSW program at Buffalo so I’m crossing my fingers I get good news from at least Buffalo. Still holding out that we both get good news for Wisconsin! 
 

I wish the best of luck to anyone dealing with external factors influencing their decisions. 

I can completely relate to this! My boyfriend and I are trying to navigate this process as well. We are currently living in Flagstaff and I applied to the Combined counseling/school psych program here at NAU. For that reason, I would LOVE to get an interview here and I like the combined factor. I don't think I will hear for a little while though because they had a later deadline. I was also very intentional in applying to places that we would both like to live in. Hopefully Buffalo works out for you! I've heard great things about the program. 

[schoolpsychf2021]

Hi everyone! I applied to the following Ed.S. programs:

UT Austin, UF. FSU, UW seattle, Northeastern, Ohio State, and UW- Madison. So far, I've received interview invitations to UT, FSU, UF and Northeastern and am still waiting to hear back from UW- Madison. Has anyone heard anything from UW-Madison Ed.S. program? Also, if anyone is going to any of the other interviews and wants to chat that would be great!

[Louisey]

Just now, schoolpsychf2021 said:

Hi everyone! I applied to the following Ed.S. programs:

UT Austin, UF. FSU, UW seattle, Northeastern, Ohio State, and UW- Madison. So far, I've received interview invitations to UT, FSU, UF and Northeastern and am still waiting to hear back from UW- Madison. Has anyone heard anything from UW-Madison Ed.S. program? Also, if anyone is going to any of the other interviews and wants to chat that would be great!

I think Madison sent out their interview invites already. ? There were EdS candidates at my interview on Thursday. 

[Southwestteacher]

1 hour ago, The_Garnet_Comet said:

Now that you mention it, I regret not asking that bombshell question more. For the PI I did ask, she was slightly caught aback and said "I can't think of anything, I would want you to join my lab" which was both good and bad, because there are things in my app that should be addressed. I got really great feedback for the "what would you add" question, and in one case it perfectly aligned with some thing I mentioned in my personal statement.

 

In hindsight, one of the biggest things I would suggest to applicants in this process is to engage with fellow applicants as well. It was very apparent that a lot of people just didn't want or couldn't engage with people they didn't feel could help them in the interview. During student hangouts it was rare for an applicant to address a fellow applicant, and I felt that was a red flag. I woke up the next day and tried to remember the other applicants, and those that I did remember said or tried to engage broadly, and just didn't sit there and ask questions. Engagement and networking were things I wanted to see more of.

I think that is such a good thing to point out! I definitely would not have thought about that. I am not sure if I have any group interviews. If I do though I will be sure to keep your reflections in mind. Thanks for sharing your insight. 

[Southwestteacher]

On 1/22/2021 at 2:35 PM, Sunkay123 said:

For anyone applying to UVA, did you get an email about application decisions? I just received an email to check my application status and it says that I am on the waitlist. Do you think this is just a nice rejection? I'm not sure how I could actually be on the waitlist if I didn't interview with them.

I haven't heard anything from UVA yet! So I am assuming your waitlist is an alternate interview waitlist. I did read someone else who has received a rejection from UVA today. I am assuming I will receive and update on my application sometime soon? Otherwise, I'm confused! 

[Sunkay123]

Someone posted on reddit today that they received an interview invite via email from the program director at NC State. Has anyone else heard back from them about their PhD program? Fingers crossed there's more interview invites going out soon. 

[JakiraJakira]

39 minutes ago, Southwestteacher said:

I can completely relate to this! My boyfriend and I are trying to navigate this process as well. We are currently living in Flagstaff and I applied to the Combined counseling/school psych program here at NAU. For that reason, I would LOVE to get an interview here and I like the combined factor. I don't think I will hear for a little while though because they had a later deadline. I was also very intentional in applying to places that we would both like to live in. Hopefully Buffalo works out for you! I've heard great things about the program. 

Thank you!

I tried to find areas that had a school social work program for my fiance, somewhere we wanted to live, a school psych program with research/career interests matching mine, and somewhere we'd be willing to live. It was hard to find programs like that that also had good track records on funding. 

Hope you get into NAU's program! Combined programs I hear offer great perspectives and opportunities for broad career interests. 

[JakiraJakira]

39 minutes ago, Louisey said:

I think Madison sent out their interview invites already. ? There were EdS candidates at my interview on Thursday. 

I interviewed on Friday and there were EdS applicants too. 

[Schoolpsyclops]

1 hour ago, Sunkay123 said:

Someone posted on reddit today that they received an interview invite via email from the program director at NC State. Has anyone else heard back from them about their PhD program? Fingers crossed there's more interview invites going out soon. 

Would you mind linking to the Reddit thread? I searched and couldn’t find it. 

[Sunkay123]

1 hour ago, Schoolpsyclops said:

Would you mind linking to the Reddit thread? I searched and couldn’t find it. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/schoolpsychology/comments/kyf1fc/weekly_graduate_admissions_and_applications/

[Schoolpsyclops]

22 minutes ago, Sunkay123 said:

https://www.reddit.com/r/schoolpsychology/comments/kyf1fc/weekly_graduate_admissions_and_applications/

Thanks! Weird the program head reached out to that person on a Saturday... I wonder if NC State is contacting person by person this year instead of hosting an all day visit with everyone? 

[Sunkay123]

10 hours ago, Schoolpsyclops said:

Thanks! Weird the program head reached out to that person on a Saturday... I wonder if NC State is contacting person by person this year instead of hosting an all day visit with everyone? 

Yeah I didn't hear about anyone else receiving an interview so I'm hoping that's the case, but let me know if you hear anything!