I/O Psychology 2009

[Mystiqo]

Hey guys,

I'd really appreciate if you can give me any information that would help me choose between these M.A. programs, such as pros & cons, rankings, reputation, personal experiences & opinions, etc.

1. George Mason U

2. Florida Institute of Technology

3. Middle Tennessee State U

4. Minnesota State U, Mankato

5. Western Kentucky U

6. IUPUI

7. California State U, Long Beach

Are any of the above programs uniquely suited to prepare me for a career in consulting?

Also, what criteria are you using to evaluate your choices? Which are the most important ones to consider for an M.A.?

[IOPsych83]

Hey guys,

I'd really appreciate if you can give me any information that would help me choose between these M.A. programs, such as pros & cons, rankings, reputation, personal experiences & opinions, etc.

1. George Mason U

2. Florida Institute of Technology

3. Middle Tennessee State U

4. Minnesota State U, Mankato

5. Western Kentucky U

6. IUPUI

7. California State U, Long Beach

Are any of the above programs uniquely suited to prepare me for a career in consulting?

Also, what criteria are you using to evaluate your choices? Which are the most important ones to consider for an M.A.?

Don't know much about Master's programs, but I have heard good things about Minnesota State. I believe Dan Sakau (SP?) is there. He is a very good guy, easy going and fun to be around. I have also heard they have several applied projects and work with several companies to prepare students for the applied world. However this is just what I have heard. Not familiar with any of the other programs.

[hamfighter]

Hi, I am taking a look at a few schools who have rolling admissions for

masters programs in I/O and was wondering if anyone knew much about them:

1. University of New Haven (MA)

2. West Chester University (MA)

Any info you could provide about these school's I/O programs would be very appreciated.

Thanks.

[mikepsych]

Hello everyone,

I have heard back from all schools and have found myself in a strange situation; I've been accepted to my top choice but it's so surreal that I feel confused? I had pretty much written it off when I called there last week and was told that they were even more selective this year due to budget cuts, but I got the call a couple nights ago and I'm so excited that I'm confused. After 4 months of pure stress, and everything else going on I didn't expect this. I have a couple of weeks to make my final decision, but I'm almost certain I'll attend at my top choice! I should be thrilled right now, but like I said, I'm confused...wtf?

Anyone else experience this weird shock/disorientation feeling after being accepted at their top choice school?

[dherres]

Anyone else experience this weird shock/disorientation feeling after being accepted at their top choice school?

I wish I could relate.... I cried when my top choice put me in their MA and not their PhD.

C'est la vie.

[aurio]

Anyone else experience this weird shock/disorientation feeling after being accepted at their top choice school?

When I was accepted to my top choice master's program, I absolutely felt this awe at the situation. It didn't feel real given that I knew qualified individuals (whom I ranked as better qualified than myself) that had been rejected. After visiting, I decided I did not care why they wanted me; I wanted to be there. I think you just have to take some time and let it sink in. Visit (if you have time) and be sure the program is everything you have created it to be in your head. Otherwise, get excited! It's your top choice! The process is so stressful and frustrating that it seems only natural to be left a little jarred when it is finally over. Those letters are seriously anti-climactic!

[bleez01]

Hey guys

okay.. I've been following this forum since mid-February. I can only imagine what you guys were feeling then!! It'll be my turn next year. The reason why I didn't bother contributing previously is because I'm still an undergrad. I'll be graduating this Spring.

I'm really confused now and I would sincerely appreciate ANY advice...

I'm an international student (from Singapore) studying in Upper Iowa University. It isn't a fantastic university (3rd tier). I do not have ANY research experience. I did serve in the Singapore Army for 2 years. I learned a lot about the army organization and how it worked while I was there. I was promoted to a rare rank - Corporal-First Class.

I expect my Overall GPA to be 3.44 and my Psych GPA to be somewhere between 3.65-3.75 . In Psychology, I'm an A-B average student, the only C I got was for my Organizational Psychology class. I made it into the schools Dean's list once. My senior thesis is my only research experience. I worked one-on-one with the psych dept head for two semesters.

I have 4 LORs. The strongest of which is from my ex-commanding officer, a Lieutenant-Colonel Doctor. It's pretty strong.The other two were from a captain and a prof from Singapore's school of medicine. The last LOR is from my psychology lecturer. His LOR is pretty good.

I plan to take my GRE's this August and have already ordered my books from Amazon. They should be here in a couple of days. I expect my GRE score to be pretty decent.

I want (need) a doctorate in I/O psych. My goal university is Penn State. I figure I probably won't get it... 100 applicants and only 5-8 available spots... Do you guys think I have a fighting chance?

[cogneuroforfun]

I want -need- a doctorate in I/O psych. My goal university is Penn State. I was studying in SUNY Buffalo for awhile when I visited a friend at Penn State and fell for its campus and people. Also, I'm so worried that I won't make it into any university because of my grades and my nationality. I know, I know that every nationality is welcomed but the statistics are scary. 100 applicants and only 5-8 available spots... Do you guys think that I have a fighting chance even though I do not have any research experience? I did help a friend start a small business by creating a survey for survey for him.. Will this count for anything? His shop is now well established amongst the youngsters..

You really need some research experience, I don't think there is much way around it :cry: You can always apply to master's programs. Doing well in an MA or MS will boost your chances of getting accepted immensely, especially in your situation I think: it will give you a chance to get involved in some research and show you can handle the coursework of a graduate program.

[bleez01]

Thanks =)

I guess I can get some research experience after I graduate. I'll only be applying at the end of the year.

[IOPsych83]

Thanks =)

I guess I can get some research experience after I graduate. I'll only be applying at the end of the year.

research experience or work experience is fairly important. You will also need to do very well on the GRE (particularly Quant; 700+) to offset your average GPA. From what I understand and have heard from professors in the field, the Big Ten universities (Penn St., Mich. St., Illinois, etc.) look for individuals that are interested in academia, so not having research experience and wanting to go to Penn St. could hurt you. If you are fairly set on going applied I would not mention that in your statement of purpose to a school that prefers to train academics. If anything mention you are very interested in both aspects of the field and would love the chance to further explore what both have to offer.

[bleez01]

Thank for the reply =)

I just found out that my senior project counts as research experience. I did a review on 3 depression scales. I had to meet a member of uiu's psych faculty on weekly basis and he pretty much guided me throughout the whole thing. It's definitely not going to be published, or anything like that, but I'm glad that it's actually a big deal when it comes to research experience.

There's hope!!

[Comfort_falcon]

Hi, I wanted to get opinions on my competitiveness as an applicant for an IO psychology program, any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

I have a 3.9 GPA from a state school, bachelors in psychology, and a few research projects that I worked on. Haven't taken the GRE yet. I did a poster presentation at the APS conference in Washington and did a senior research thesis with another professor - worked my ass off too, so I can count on decent recommendation letters. After school I took a year off and worked as a recruiter for a staffing firm, which really made me interested in IO psychology.

With the economy how it is, how competitive are graduate school admissions for PHD programs going to be? Do I have a shot? I haven't done any IO psychology oriented research or taken any classes in it, but I've read enough of professors research at the various programs to know its something I'm interested in. Is my year off working in recruiting going to hurt me?

[dherres]

Hi, I wanted to get opinions on my competitiveness as an applicant for an IO psychology program, any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

I have a 3.9 GPA from a state school, bachelors in psychology, and a few research projects that I worked on. Haven't taken the GRE yet. I did a poster presentation at the APS conference in Washington and did a senior research thesis with another professor - worked my ass off too, so I can count on decent recommendation letters. After school I took a year off and worked as a recruiter for a staffing firm, which really made me interested in IO psychology.

With the economy how it is, how competitive are graduate school admissions for PHD programs going to be? Do I have a shot? I haven't done any IO psychology oriented research or taken any classes in it, but I've read enough of professors research at the various programs to know its something I'm interested in. Is my year off working in recruiting going to hurt me?

It helps that it's something related to the field, as opposed to teaching English overseas (for example). I'd suggest also using the time to try and work as an assistant to a professor in a lab somewhere; the independent research in the form of a senior thesis is good, but I think exhibiting teamwork with other lab members, as well as working on projects directed by someone higher up, wouldn't hurt either. (Admittedly, my GPA wasn't high enough to allow me to do a senior thesis, but I was told by one professor that experience in a lab gives you concrete knowledge of what you're getting yourself into, and thus admins/etc. look for it in an applicant.) Not to mention, maintaining such a link to academia during that year might show a greater initiative and interest on your part, suggesting you're "serious about it" (not to say that you aren't!). Taking classes specifically in I/O isn't too necessary, I think; admins know that it's a relatively new field and lots of schools (my own included) don't offer such coursework. Be sure to use your time off to further develop your research interests, and discuss those in your PS/SOP when you apply -- BE SPECIFIC.

I'm hesitant to offer a composite evaluation and say something like, "You sound competitive," or "I'd be sure to apply to many, many safety schools" because this year seemed to have broken usual standards. I was shocked that a PhD program actually wanted me, and people I've spoken with who had better qualifications than I didn't receive any offers (in the same field).

[Comfort_falcon]

It helps that it's something related to the field, as opposed to teaching English overseas (for example). I'd suggest also using the time to try and work as an assistant to a professor in a lab somewhere; the independent research in the form of a senior thesis is good, but I think exhibiting teamwork with other lab members, as well as working on projects directed by someone higher up, wouldn't hurt either. (Admittedly, my GPA wasn't high enough to allow me to do a senior thesis, but I was told by one professor that experience in a lab gives you concrete knowledge of what you're getting yourself into, and thus admins/etc. look for it in an applicant.) Not to mention, maintaining such a link to academia during that year might show a greater initiative and interest on your part, suggesting you're "serious about it" (not to say that you aren't!). Taking classes specifically in I/O isn't too necessary, I think; admins know that it's a relatively new field and lots of schools (my own included) don't offer such coursework. Be sure to use your time off to further develop your research interests, and discuss those in your PS/SOP when you apply -- BE SPECIFIC.

I'm hesitant to offer a composite evaluation and say something like, "You sound competitive," or "I'd be sure to apply to many, many safety schools" because this year seemed to have broken usual standards. I was shocked that a PhD program actually wanted me, and people I've spoken with who had better qualifications than I didn't receive any offers (in the same field).

Well, I guess it is good to know that I haven't been wasting my time entirely. Congratulations on being accepted to a doctorate program! That's great, especially since I'm sure there have been piles upon piles of applicants this year. I sometimes think these programs don't care as much about the GPA GRE stats as the quality of research experience people have had, I'd bet you had some strong experience in that area that worked in your favor.

Thanks for the advice, it sounds like whatever happens it isn't worth getting too worked up about not being accepted any where if it happens, which in some ways is a little releiving, haha

[dherres]

GPA/GRE is usually used as a weeding out process before admins really delve into the gritty details of an applicant's qualities, or so I've come to understand. It certainly doesn't sound as though you've been wasting your time -- you seem to have a lot behind you.

And no, it's not the end of the world if acceptances don't happen. A disappointment, yes, but life goes on and you go on to what you're meant to. (Easy to say when I have an acceptance, perhaps, but I also took some time off during my undergrad for personal reasons, and the "real world" hit hard! Lol.)

[IOPsych83]

GPA/GRE is usually used as a weeding out process before admins really delve into the gritty details of an applicant's qualities, or so I've come to understand. It certainly doesn't sound as though you've been wasting your time -- you seem to have a lot behind you.

And no, it's not the end of the world if acceptances don't happen. A disappointment, yes, but life goes on and you go on to what you're meant to. (Easy to say when I have an acceptance, perhaps, but I also took some time off during my undergrad for personal reasons, and the "real world" hit hard! Lol.)

GPA is usually used as a weeding out process (its hard to compare a 3.6 at one school to a 3.7 at another), but GREs are actually a little more important and can actually get you in a program almost by itself. Many schools apply for fellowships from the school (ie. arts and sciences). These fellowships can only be given to individuals who have 1300+ GREs. So some students are selected for those fellowships based on their GRE scores. I am sure that most have some sort of experience doing research, but a person with a 1320 with a year of research will get put up for that fellowship whereas someone with a 1280 that has a published paper, and multiple years of research can not be put up for that fellowship. Especially with the amount of department funding that has been being cut recently GREs are becoming even more important.

So do not skimp on the GRE it is very important, also I/O programs really like to see high quant. scores as we are a very methods/statistics based major.

[Comfort_falcon]

GPA/GRE is usually used as a weeding out process before admins really delve into the gritty details of an applicant's qualities, or so I've come to understand. It certainly doesn't sound as though you've been wasting your time -- you seem to have a lot behind you.

And no, it's not the end of the world if acceptances don't happen. A disappointment, yes, but life goes on and you go on to what you're meant to. (Easy to say when I have an acceptance, perhaps, but I also took some time off during my undergrad for personal reasons, and the "real world" hit hard! Lol.)

Thanks for the encouragement and advice - it is really appreciated. Haha yeah the real world hits everyone kind of hard I think once they get out of college, although some years it seems to hit harder than others

[snewz]

I applied to the Master's in Technology program at App State, and they accepted me about ten days ago. They haven't given the details of the financial aid yet.

[shamrock]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the board. I only applied to two PhD programs (George Mason and George Washington) and have been waitlisted at both. I heard from Mason in early February and recently they told me that no one who was offered admission has accepted or declined yet, so there is still no news for everyone on the waitlist. I had an interview with a professor at GW two weeks ago and found out last week that they decided to put me on the waitlist. Just wanted to share the info because I know it is a stressful time waiting for any type of news!!