Fall 2014 I/O PhD Applicants

[IOSearching]

I think it has more to do with Dr. Michel leaving for Auburn, and them being down to two faculty (or maybe fewer, I don't know). 

[Munashi]

I didn't apply to FIU, but I am curious.  In a case such as this, would a department refund the application fees they collected?

[Shushu]

I'm so curious as to what details lead I the article retractions!

Unfortunately all that hard work from those people is discredited.

I wouldn't think that FIU would refund app fees. That's more the graduate admissions office's money and is probably lost to the fray.

[coolaface]

So I guess I'll take FIU off my list. I'm not comfortable with their lack of communication either. Emailed POI twice, called once and left a voice mail. No response. At this late of the season, I'm not keeping hope for them either. Now knowing that they'er not taking any new students at all just made me feel very disappointed. All they have to do is to state that upfront so I don't have to waste my time.

[Shushu]

Sorry about FIU, it's a shame that communication is so hard especially when life/career decisions are being made!

In general, most schools don't respond back to admissions questions very frequently. I've been emailing GaTech, U of Georgia and GWU over some months now and nada. At this point a rejection is probable but I can't deny offers without knowing for sure. :/

[dannydevitofan]

I was just accepted for the masters program at NYU. Is it possible to continue onto a PhD? What would y'all do?

[derpina1015]

I was just accepted for the masters program at NYU. Is it possible to continue onto a PhD? What would y'all do?

 

Did they offer you any kind of funding? Paying NYU's high tuition fees + New York's high cost of living might really weigh you down. I suggest you weigh your options. Transitioning from Masters to PhD is definitely doable (it might set you back a lil though). 

[IOSearching]

Just heard from my POI at BGSU.  They have had three students accept offers, and several more students decline their offers.  He said they are waiting to hear back from three more students who currently have offers.  Once they hear back on if they accept or not, they may go back to their applicant pool.  He said that unfortunately until they hear back from those students with offers, their hands are tied.  

[Shushu]

Soooooo anyone else tired of waiting ????

[BeingThere]

It's the Michigan State bottleneck. 

 

Many who got offers from there are waiting to attend the Visiting Weekend before they let go of their other offers or let go of their offer from MSU.  At least I think that's the case for me. 

 

I've got plenty to keep me busy in the meantime, but it is sort of uncomfortable to have it still up in the air.  I'm a planner and it's hard to not be able to start making definite plans yet.

Edited March 20, 2014 by Bren2014

[iostudent65]

It may have to do with this:

 

http://retractionwatch.com/2014/02/07/leadership-journal-to-retract-five-papers-from-fiu-scholar/

He is in the business school at FIU and has ZERO affiliation with the I/O psych department. Maybe you should get your facts straight before you start spreading rumors about things you know nothing about.

[JamesIo]

He is in the business school at FIU and has ZERO affiliation with the I/O psych department. Maybe you should get your facts straight before you start spreading rumors about things you know nothing about.

No need for that here. You could have explained that in a different way. Now it just seems like u mad...

[iostudent65]

No need for that here. You could have explained that in a different way. Now it just seems like u mad...

I'm sorry but I don't think it's okay for people to post rumors that are completely unfounded on a public forum. Yes, it is upsetting.

[IOhopeful]

I'm sorry but I don't think it's okay for people to post rumors that are completely unfounded on a public forum. Yes, it is upsetting.

Understandable that you don't want anyone spreading rumors, however, I don't think he meant to imply any sort of insider knowledge. He just came across a news item and inferred that it MAY have had something to do with it.

 

Do you know anything concrete about if or why the program may or may not be shutting down? If so, I would be very interested to hear, as I planned to apply to FIU's PhD program after I finish my Master's.

[iopsychohmygerd]

I'm sorry but I don't think it's okay for people to post rumors that are completely unfounded on a public forum. Yes, it is upsetting.

I agree with IOhopeful. I think, from the outside looking in, it's easy to speculate when semi-related news comes out, especially when there's not a lot of information out there that is directly related to the question at hand.

 

I don't think that considering the possibility that the two could be related is a totally unfounded connection to make, being that leadership literature is a huge part of I/O. It's also pretty common for I/O departments to collaborate with faculty in business departments. It seems like a valid question, to me, especially as someone who has no idea what's going on there, probably like most of the people who are discussing it. They're just trying to figure things out! 

 

Since, for the most part, everyone here is anonymous, I don't think anyone could have intended to offend anyone else. Even so, I don't believe anyone would want to! The people on this forum have been incredibly supportive towards each other's questions (even though we're also each other's competition!). We're all cool people. Let's stay cool. 

[iostudent65]

I agree with IOhopeful. I think, from the outside looking in, it's easy to speculate when semi-related news comes out, especially when there's not a lot of information out there that is directly related to the question at hand.

 

I don't think that considering the possibility that the two could be related is a totally unfounded connection to make, being that leadership literature is a huge part of I/O. It's also pretty common for I/O departments to collaborate with faculty in business departments. It seems like a valid question, to me, especially as someone who has no idea what's going on there, probably like most of the people who are discussing it. They're just trying to figure things out! 

 

Since, for the most part, everyone here is anonymous, I don't think anyone could have intended to offend anyone else. Even so, I don't believe anyone would want to! The people on this forum have been incredibly supportive towards each other's questions (even though we're also each other's competition!). We're all cool people. Let's stay cool. 

I agree that my delivery was harsh, however making an accusation like that can be really harmful in such a small community like I/O. Try to see this from my perspective:

 

What that retraction website is implying is that results were faked. This is a rare thing to happen in our field. This anonymous person created an account just to speculate that the FIU i/o psych department is closing because someone was faking results. What a huge accusation that is! That is so hurtful to any students and faculty that are in that program - people who work really hard and have research ethics, and again, no affiliation with the person in question. It's starting a rumor that can hurt a lot of people, whether it was intended to or not. I/O is a very small community, would you want people to think your program is involved in faking results? Didn't think so..

[iopsychohmygerd]

I will be applying for the 2015 cycle and this thread has brought me some comfort and some concern. It seems like things can really be hit and miss when it comes to GPA/GRE. Even if you think you're a shoe-in based on those stats, you may not be considering research experience, fit with faculty, and other factors. A lot of the same schools I'm looking at have been mentioned in this thread. I'll be applying to 10-12 programs, mostly I/O but a few HF so we will see how it pans out.

Things definitely are hit and miss! It's difficult, given that you have no way to predict how stiff the competition will be each year. My best advice: really look into the specializations of faculty members at each university you apply to, and pick 1-3 that you'd really want to work with. I never picked less than 2 POI's at every school, so they would have a few options about my placement, if my top choice had already chosen someone. Email every single POI you'd like to work with, ideally weeks/a month or two before the deadline! Ask what they're researching, and learn as much as you can about it. Give them the chance to get to know you better. In your statements, when you're discussing how your research interests overlap, maybe even propose a few ideas for future research you'd be interested in doing. Really do your homework. Maybe even mention how you'd be interested in doing some secondary research with a few professors who you don't identify as your main POI's. I actually got one offer from a professor that I mentioned in that manner (Old Dominion, Human Factors).

 

My GPA wasn't the highest (3.6), and my GRE quant score was also less than ideal (156), but I wound up with a number of offers, anyway. I really believe that through your personal statement and direct communication with faculty members, you can really set yourself apart and give yourself a solid advantage over your competitors, even if they may look better based on scores alone. Since such a large part is about fit with the program, try to forge those relationships and the impression that you will be a good fit as early on as you can! 

 

Apply to a range of schools - a few top schools, a few mid-range. Look at their admissions statistics both on the results section here, as well as on the SIOP and HFES graduate school databases. If you're still in your last year of school, earn straight A's and beef up your research experience. Try to work with a faculty member on your own research, and aim for publication. If nothing else, work on the projects of some graduate students, and try to get on projects relevant to I/O and HF. If nothing else, you'll learn more about whether or not you enjoy it. If you're on someone's project, try to get your name in there somewhere, and go to their poster presentations.

 

All you can do is your best on your applications. You can't control the outcome, so don't sweat it too hard when offers roll around. What will be, will be. I'm sure you'll be fine! If you have any more specific questions, let me know! I also applied to both I/O and Human Factors programs, so I might be able to help.

[iopsychohmygerd]

I agree that my delivery was harsh, however making an accusation like that can be really harmful in such a small community like I/O. Try to see this from my perspective:

 

What that retraction website is implying is that results were faked. This is a rare thing to happen in our field. This anonymous person created an account just to speculate that the FIU i/o psych department is closing because someone was faking results. What a huge accusation that is! That is so hurtful to any students and faculty that are in that program - people who work really hard and have research ethics, and again, no affiliation with the person in question. It's starting a rumor that can hurt a lot of people, whether it was intended to or not. I/O is a very small community, would you want people to think your program is involved in faking results? Didn't think so..

I absolutely understand your concerns! I really believe, however, that such events are usually isolated to singular individuals. Even when it comes out that the results of a study were faked, usually only one collaborator seems to be responsible.

 

Unfortunately, results faking in psychology really is a rampant problem. In more than one paper and class, I've had to cite that article that explains exactly how a significant result can be obtained almost every time, for almost any study (even one that is completely invalid), by only slightly altering either the sample size, the methods of analyzing data, etc.

 

However, I don't believe that one bad apple is an indicator that the bunch is bad, as well. Psychologists in any discipline that fake results are typically shunned by the community forever, and it doesn't tend to reflect on their cohorts, so take comfort in that! As you've said, there is no affiliation there (he's also not an I/O psychologist), so I wouldn't worry anyway. Thank you so much for clarifying. I'm guessing you have firsthand knowledge, and are in the program. Literally everyone I know in I/O is extremely hardworking and very ethically-minded. I am sure you, your cohorts, and your program is no exception.

[iopsychohmygerd]

Also, anyone still hanging onto an offer from UCF, please notify them of your decision as soon as you know! I'm still hoping to make it off the waitlist, but they've told me that they probably won't know until the 15th or later.

Please don't wait until the deadline if you already know what your decision will be... I would hate to accept my second choice offer, only to later get an offer from the school I want to attend most.

[alecno]

Has anyone else decided?

I am accepting my offer from University of Houston. Funded, with a bonus fellowship.

[Munashi]

Has anyone else decided?

I am accepting my offer from University of Houston. Funded, with a bonus fellowship.

 

Penn State here!  Congrats on deciding.  I know for me, it was great to finally clear away some of the question marks hanging over the future...

[tanneraustin]

I agree that my delivery was harsh, however making an accusation like that can be really harmful in such a small community like I/O. Try to see this from my perspective:

 

What that retraction website is implying is that results were faked. This is a rare thing to happen in our field. This anonymous person created an account just to speculate that the FIU i/o psych department is closing because someone was faking results. What a huge accusation that is! That is so hurtful to any students and faculty that are in that program - people who work really hard and have research ethics, and again, no affiliation with the person in question. It's starting a rumor that can hurt a lot of people, whether it was intended to or not. I/O is a very small community, would you want people to think your program is involved in faking results? Didn't think so..

I am in agreement with the others here that you're misinterpreting his post. I'm not trying to start an argument, but he was merely posting a possible connection. I don't think his post resembles a rumor at all, and being hurtful was clearly not his intention and not likely the outcome either. Your slightly inflated empathy toward whichever individuals might be affected by the connection he drew are peculiar to me as well. 

Edited March 22, 2014 by tanneraustin

[roebuck1]

Anyone still waiting to hear back from ODU or Albany? Those are the only two schools I haven't heard back from on anything. Just sent emails to the admissions departments, so I will post an update when I know more.

[Shushu]

In addition to any info on Roebuck's schools, any news from Georgia tech, UGA, or GWU (waitlisted)?

And Roebuck, I was accepted to Roosevelt too! What are your opinions on their program? I'm still on the fence about joining a new program but it can't be that much different than most.

[roebuck1]

In addition to any info on Roebuck's schools, any news from Georgia tech, UGA, or GWU (waitlisted)?

And Roebuck, I was accepted to Roosevelt too! What are your opinions on their program? I'm still on the fence about joining a new program but it can't be that much different than most.

 

Shushu, I was a little skeptic at first but I really like the model they have for the program. It seems like all of the professors are very open to any questions you might have on any topic, school related or other. I visited them last month and all of the students were very nice and willing to answer any questions I had. The lack of funding is the only thing holding me back from making a decision right now. I just got word that I am wait listed at Albany, but was told to email back in two weeks. If you have any questions that you didn't have answered about the program, message me and I will fill you in as best as I can.

 

To anyone out there awaiting a decision off a wait list at Roosevelt or FIT, I am sorry. I don't have a ton of money to be throwing around and don't want to take out thousands of dollars in loans if I don't have to. If i can get into a well funded program I will take that offer, but I will try to make a decision as quickly as possible. 

Edited March 24, 2014 by roebuck1