Do I have a chance to get into program related to quantitative psych/psychometerics/Biostatistics ?

[Nana12]

Hi

 

 I am not sure about chances of getting into grad school.

 

 I graduated with B+ average from Canadian university. I have only 1 C on my transcript but they are lots of B+, few A and 3 A+ (mostly in statistics course)

 I have experience working in atleast 5 labs (4 years experience)  in two different countries as I am transfer student. completed my houours degree in 5 years.

 I have OKAY recommendation letter. one from prof and other from work

 I have taken lot of senior level statistics and methodology courses. I got A and B + on those courses.

 I am not eligible for any kind of scholarship like OGS, NSERC

 Most of schools I am applying don't require GRE. Don't know my score for GRE. Still have to do GRE.

 

I think reason for  B + GPA is becasue I was transfered to another university in completely different country during my undergrad. Another reason is my first language is not english this affected my GPA.

 

Any one wants to comment, is there any chance for me to be accepted at any grad program in Canada ? I am applying to  Alberta, McMaster, York, UBC.

 

Thanks

Edited October 31, 2013 by Nana12

[spunky]

 I am applying to  Alberta, McMaster, York, UBC.

 

Thanks

 

i cannot say about McMaster and York, but i know for a fact that UBC will *not* take you in its Quant Psych program unless you can guarantee some funding ($$$). you will have to take the GRE as well in this case. 

 

OR are you considering the MERM (Measurement Evaluation and Research Methodology) program at UBC and the MEC (Measurement Evaluation and Cognition) from U.Alberta? Those are housed in the Faculty of Education though, not in the Dept of Psychology.

 

in my opinion, i would say you're OK for the MERM/MEC programs but i won't think you'd make it in UBC's Quant Psych program. so i guess it depends on which program you'd like to apply to. 

Edited October 31, 2013 by spunky

[Nana12]

I am not applying for UBC quant program as I told you few weeks ago.  But yes I am applying for MERM program at UBC and I have talked to professor's explaning my situation they told me to apply...

 

York is my home university and I work there for a while...I also talk to people there and they told me to apply because they don't have clear cutt off for GPA...They consider many things...so there are chances

 

I think MEC at alberta program is not very competitive, but yes I am also applying here.

 

But my top choice is UBC MERM because of one faculty there. But do you think UBC accept student with B+ average for MERM. I am not sure becasue UBC is among top 10 school in Canada...It seems very competitve to me.

[spunky]

But my top choice is UBC MERM because of one faculty there. But do you think UBC accept student with B+ average for MERM. I am not sure becasue UBC is among top 10 school in Canada...It seems very competitve to me.

 

I think you will be OK with applying to the MERM program at UBC. it's a good program and i have found they doevaluate their candidates in a much more holistic fashion.

 

do you already have some research area/topics you'd like to work on? or any potential profs you'd like as advisers?

[Nana12]

Yes, I have few research questions and I have contacted a faculty. I got a postive response. I heard that very few people apply for MERM but I found this program very interesting.

 

I am just wondering do every student get funding (NSERC, etc). What happen to those students who don't get funding...how they survive in grad school? especially for students who are living on their own...

[spunky]

 

I am just wondering do every student get funding (NSERC, etc). What happen to those students who don't get funding...how they survive in grad school? especially for students who are living on their own...

 

not necessarily. not everyone gets funding and some people never get it. as i guess you can imagine, getting into the MERM program (or i guess the majority of programs out there) does *not* guarantee funding. you have to apply for it. just make sure you're that you're a competitive candidate (e.g. good grades, publications, letters of reference, etc.)  because there are thousands of students wishing to get money but only a handful can get it. 

 

what happens to students that don't get funding, you ask... well, it can get very tricky. in my experience, people with no funding get their money elsewhere (from their parents, most likely) OR you get it from borrowing money like student loans and work another full-time job to make sure you can pay for your education and your living expenses. student loans + another job is what i see most people do to pay for their tuition.

 

so if you have no ability to obtain funding (either from grants, scholarships, your parents, etc.) i'd ask you to seriously consider whether graduate school (or UBC) is a good option for you.  it is definitely possible to get through a Masters/PhD without funding but i have seen some of the problems people get themselves into (like getting behind in their research/courses because their jobs take too much time) when they have no funding and, trust me, the results aren't pretty. you just need to be ready to make some sacrifices.  and do keep in mind, by the way, that vancouver *IS* one of the most expensive cities in North America to live in.

[Nana12]

I thought TORONTO (currently living here) is expensive compared to any city in Canada. Ontario have highest tution fee than any other province thats why I am trying to avoid school's in Toronto and surrounding area. 

 

But thank you that is really helpful...I will seriously consider all the options.

 

Working full-time and studying full-time in grad school seems like a disaster. I hardly worked part-time during my undergrad...Money from parents...its NO NO.

 

So in case if I will not get funding, the only option for me is student loans or bursaries for student with disability.

[spunky]

well, in terms of living expenses, it appears that Vancouver's not only a very expensive city but *the* most expensive city to live in North America. i remember i had heard something like that a few months ago so just by googling it i was able to find plenty of articles like this one:

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/02/06/vancouver-most-expensive-city-to-live-economist_n_2631806.html

 

from my friends who used to live in cities that, well, seem more expensive (e.g. Toronto, New York, etc.) what they told is not that Vancouver is expensive in itself, but that it is expensive relative to the income people earn. (i.e. people here get paid less than in other places but the prices of things don't reflect that, so they seem high).

 

the good thing is that you have a plan to finance your education (even if it means getting into debt) and there is quite a bit of job security whenever you study statistics/research methods. not many people take up these programs but we are still needed so i think your chances for finding a job are better than if you chose a different path.

 

good luck with it.