Evaluate me, please

[lawgrad]

I would love to hear some thoughts on my chances of admission to social psych phd programs. I'm mostly interested in doing research in the political psych field. Applying this upcoming fall for fall 2010 start.

I don't have my undergrad degree in psych, which is why I really need some help assessing my competitiveness, but I do have a BA from a top lib arts college, 3.8gpa in political science. And elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Law degree, cum laude from a top 15 program.

In terms of psych coursework, I did an independent study in the psych department while in undergrad (recieved an A), I've taken social psych as a non-degree student at a local university last spring (received an A), and am enrolled as a nondegree student in a statistics class right now (prob going to get an A).

I've been volunteering as a research assistant in a psych lab at a local university for the past year, and will stay there through the summer as well. I think will be able to get a good rec letter from this professor.

I also work for the APA, where I do a research and assist with various projects. I will be able to get a solid rec letter here too. (I'm thinking that my third letter of rec will come from a law school prof, with whom I was quite close.)

My GRE is 600Q, 670V, AW: 5.5. (Going to take it again this summer once I've had a chance to really study the math.)

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Also, if you have any ideas about how I might boost my app, I'm all ears.

[dramanda]

I would love to hear some thoughts on my chances of admission to social psych phd programs. I'm mostly interested in doing research in the political psych field. Applying this upcoming fall for fall 2010 start.

I don't have my undergrad degree in psych, which is why I really need some help assessing my competitiveness, but I do have a BA from a top lib arts college, 3.8gpa in political science. And elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Law degree, cum laude from a top 15 program.

In terms of psych coursework, I did an independent study in the psych department while in undergrad (recieved an A), I've taken social psych as a non-degree student at a local university last spring (received an A), and am enrolled as a nondegree student in a statistics class right now (prob going to get an A).

I've been volunteering as a research assistant in a psych lab at a local university for the past year, and will stay there through the summer as well. I think will be able to get a good rec letter from this professor.

I also work for the APA, where I do a research and assist with various projects. I will be able to get a solid rec letter here too. (I'm thinking that my third letter of rec will come from a law school prof, with whom I was quite close.)

My GRE is 600Q, 670V, AW: 5.5. (Going to take it again this summer once I've had a chance to really study the math.)

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Also, if you have any ideas about how I might boost my app, I'm all ears.

For what it's worth, I was in a similar situation. I took the psych GRE (and did well, that's key of course) and submitted it to all schools (even those that didn't require or even recommend it). I think it was able to show that although my undergrad wasn't specifically in psych, I had the general background knowledge. Two faculty members commented on this during interviews.

[t_ruth]

social psych seems to be among the most competitive, but I think you've helped your app by getting some research experience.

I think your GRE will seriously hurt you though - you want to be above 700 quant at a minimum.

It will be key to find good research matches and write a kick @ss statement of purpose.

*fwiw, I have a law degree (w/similar stats to yours) and a fairly solid GRE score of 1410, but I don't think I would have had a chance for social psych programs mostly because of my lack of recent relevant research experience (or publications).

[liszt85]

I think your GRE will seriously hurt you though - you want to be above 700 quant at a minimum.

Seconded. Might help to retake the GRE after some good preparation for the quant section.

[lawgrad]

social psych seems to be among the most competitive, but I think you've helped your app by getting some research experience.

I think your GRE will seriously hurt you though - you want to be above 700 quant at a minimum.

It will be key to find good research matches and write a kick @ss statement of purpose.

*fwiw, I have a law degree (w/similar stats to yours) and a fairly solid GRE score of 1410, but I don't think I would have had a chance for social psych programs mostly because of my lack of recent relevant research experience (or publications).

I should probably mention that the lab I'm in is a clinical lab and unrelated to what I'm ultimately interested in studying -- but I needed the lab experience, so, not being affiliated with a particular school/program, I took the offer. Does this diminsh the lab experience?

Def going to re-take the GRE in hopes of a respectable quant score *sigh*

As for the statement of purpose, are there examples out there?

[t_ruth]

As for the statement of purpose, are there examples out there?

The important thing will be to find out exactly where and with whom you would like to study and then tailor your SOP specifically to that school and person(s). You can google to find some SOP examples, but they won't help you as much as just doing as much research as possible into your specific case (read everything you can get your hands on that your POI has written).

Also, try to make contact with POIs before the application season and then you can tailor things even better to them.

As for the quant score, it is super easy to raise - it's just a matter of starting at the beginning and making sure to fill all the holes. That said, the actual test was a lot harder than I expected(!) so pacing yourself and not panicking probably plays a large role as well.

[socialpsych]

Yeah, definitely study for the GRE quant. A little studying can get you very far. Quant is tricky and it's a matter of understanding the tricks.

Yes, it would have been better if you'd been involved in social research rather than clinical stuff that's not related to what you're studying, but it definitely helps that you're involved with research at all.

The programs have the same concern you should have about yourself: do you know enough about social psych that you will stay, and succeed, in a social program? Do you know what you're getting into, and do you have good reasons to think it is what you want to do? This is the question adcoms have about all applicants, but in your case it will be especially important to come on strong. Since you are applying--assuming you are not taking this lightly--you seem to think you know enough about social psych and about yourself that you are hoping to spend 5-8 years as a low-paid apprentice in this field. Why? How do you know? Just work extra hard on answering that question in your apps. Your SOP and LORs will be very important for this reason.

Is your APA research experience in social? Is there any way you can get a social psych professor to write for you? If you can get someone whose name is well known in the field to vouch for you, together with an improved quant score and phenomenal SOP, I think your chances could be very good.

[weeble]

I just wanted to weigh in quickly regarding the GRE quant. I was accepted to two programs and waitlisted at three others with a 650 quant score. After studying for MONTHS. I just don't test well on math. So don't give up hope.

[liszt85]

As for the statement of purpose, are there examples out there?

http://ls.berkeley.edu/soc/diversity/ap ... ent-1.html An excellent one with a review by an adcom, I guess..

[teehod1982]

I think it's important to realize that there is just no good way to accurately measure your chances of getting into grad school. So much of it has to do with things that are out of our control (funding, fit with faculty, whether faculty are accepting students, etc.). Also, I think it would behoove everyone to remember that high GRE/GPA aren't necessarily your ticket to grad school. Good programs look at the whole package. Sometimes applicants come off as arrogant or entitled because they think having X GRE or Y GPA automatically gets them a spot in a program. That attitude is really unattractive to adcoms who want students who are humble enough to be able to take advice and work well with other people in a collaborative environment. Those things are just as important, perhaps even more so, than some numbers on your application form. I have a pretty low GPA/GRE quant score, and I felt really bummed about my chances. But my adviser (who is the chair of our psych department) gave me this bit of advice, and I feel like it really helped during this process.

It's good that you have research experience, and if your mentors can attest to your creativity and people skills then I'd say that would have a greater impact than your quant scores (which seem fairly high). Lastly, though this might sound cheesy. I think finding a specific topic withing political psychology that you're really passionate about goes a long way when you're writing your statement of purpose. See if it's possible to come up with small, exploratory study of your topic of interest. It will help get your creative juices flowing, and also help you narrow down your POI when you apply to grad school. But most of all, GOOD LUCK!

[cogneuroforfun]

I think it's important to realize that there is just no good way to accurately measure your chances of getting into grad school. So much of it has to do with things that are out of our control (funding, fit with faculty, whether faculty are accepting students, etc.).

Fit with faculty and whether faculty are accepting students are completely within your control! The easy one first: email prospective advisors and ask if they're taking students. Why would you pay $50-$120 to apply without even knowing if the one lab you want to work in has room? Funding goes along with this: if the advisor says there is room, that almost certainly means there will be funding. If there isn't room, don't apply! Problem solved

Fit is a little more complicated, but is even more under your control. You need to research what faculty are doing and make sure not only that you are interested in their work but that you have shown that concretely through your research experience, coursework, etc. That obviously takes time, but showing you will be a good fit will overcome average GPA or GRE scores. Only apply to schools where there are professors doing work that you want to do, and that will make sure you have a good fit with all your potential programs.

All you have to do is research the places you are applying to. Don't fire off an application to Stanford just because its Stanford You have to make sure there is a good fit for you at each of your possible programs, then ask the potential advisor (or two) at each program about space in their lab. That is an excellent way of at least getting them to look at your app (because you've already made contact and made a good impression) and will also show you are genuinely interested in their specific work and specific lab. It will also keep you from applying to places where there isn't room and there isn't a good research fit.

Sorry for that little rant, but I think good research fit and contact with faculty before applying are amazingly helpful and definitely helped me get some positive responses to my applications.

[teehod1982]

Good point. I wish I'd said it myself. But I think we both agree that there is more to getting into grad school than GPA/GRE, and applying to the right places is right at the top of the list. I, myself, am glad the process is over.

[lawgrad]

teehod1982 -- how fitting is it that the counseling psych person is giving the inspirational pep talks? love it. thanks!