Piagetsky Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Greaaaaaaaaat. I am told I look younger than I am, but compared to some of the other applicants, I'm sure I'm old as dirt. I get "I thought you were my age!" all the time. Um, no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinallyAccepted Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 Greaaaaaaaaat. I am told I look younger than I am, but compared to some of the other applicants, I'm sure I'm old as dirt. I get "I thought you were my age!" all the time. Um, no. Yeah, me too. Didn't work out when I became a first-year psychology teacher, but otherwise seems ok. Visited family this weekend after not having seen some of them in a decade and one of my cousins I only met as a young child told me I didn't look a day over 25. She was visibly shocked when I told her how old I was. Good for me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gepetto13 Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 I have always looked older than I really am. At 15 I looked 18. At 18 I looked 22. At 25 I looked 30. I shudder to think how old people think I am when they see me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastCoasting Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 (edited) all the programs I got into were top 50 programs (up to top 13), and I am in my 30s. No cared. I even have kids. My opinion is that the two most important elements of application are fit with the advisor and their research interests, and your records letters (who the writer was and what they say) Edited January 29, 2015 by EastCoasting Piagetsky 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psych face Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I am also a person who gets this inaccurate age-guessing. I'm usually 10-15 years older than people guess. And I do think it hurts my chances, because anyone who has researched genius knows the spark is most likely to die out before 35. I don't blame them for assuming the same of me from the age stated on my materials. This only reaffirms the necessity for some of us to network in person. And I do think there is some judgment done based on age. I can get people who already know me to throw jobs at me, but I can't convince on paper very well. Compound this with the fact that current graduate students here on this website have admitted to being the application filtering committees via "googling parties" before the professors get what remains (the dumbest way to gauge a person's worth, in my opinion, but whatever) - all of this suggests a very relevant difficulty for some of us. And before that cohort goes back into self-defense mode, filled with ego, stop pretending you aren't judging from a place of your own personal bias, we all do it. If your entire lab is fresh and young, you will pick people you are comfortable with and most likely think less of someone who is a little behind in their educational persuits. You can't help it. You are humans. As far as the competitiveness discussion earlier about what is and is not a factor in your application; I'm surprised that race hasn't been brought into this. There is a former Harvard department chair here who tells stories about how the top tier schools fight over members of rare minority groups. It's quite revolting, but certainly brings in a factor that can't be ignored. A white male I was recently talking to expressed a lot of apathy about applying to graduate schools due to some of the stories that have been coming out about reverse discrimination. I feel for him and it bothers me a lot. Take it for what you will, but to ignore race (or gender, perhaps) as a factor in admissions is stupid. I also leave room for a lot of fairly stupid factors being used to make judgments; for example, depending on your emphasis and POI there are going to be quirky little idiocies that are unpredictable and probably unfair. But because we don't want to scrutinize our own failings (or the stupidities of others) too much, we call it luck. TXInstrument11, Much Anxious Very Waiting, Applemiu and 7 others 2 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VulpesZerda Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 As far as the competitiveness discussion earlier about what is and is not a factor in your application; I'm surprised that race hasn't been brought into this. There is a former Harvard department chair here who tells stories about how the top tier schools fight over members of rare minority groups. It's quite revolting, but certainly brings in a factor that can't be ignored. A white male I was recently talking to expressed a lot of apathy about applying to graduate schools due to some of the stories that have been coming out about reverse discrimination. I feel for him and it bothers me a lot. Take it for what you will, but to ignore race (or gender, perhaps) as a factor in admissions is stupid. Can you please stop posting about "reverse discrimination" in the psychology forums? Last time you did this you received nothing but a negative response. If you don't get into grad school, please don't tell us it's because you're a white male. Gvh, coffeeaddict29, slowbrowin and 5 others 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gepetto13 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 There might be something to it, but there's really no way to verify. But I can tell you (from experience and faculty admitting it) that if you apply to clinical programs, just being male makes you stand out as the vast majority of applicants these days are women. It doesn't give you a huge push as you still need to meet all the other requirements (gpa, gre, good letters, research ideas, etc). So you can't be unqualified and still get in. gellert and TenaciousBushLeaper 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VulpesZerda Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 So you can't be unqualified and still get in. +1 (I'm out of up-votes!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psych face Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Can you please stop posting about "reverse discrimination" in the psychology forums? Last time you did this you received nothing but a negative response. If you don't get into grad school, please don't tell us it's because you're a white male. The fact that you, and probably most of the people here, have assumed I'm a white male, or a male at all, probably from my choice of avatar, just goes to prove my point: you're stupid AND biased. Your judgments are made from incredibly stupid assumptions that have no basis in fact whatsoever. I don't mind pretending I'm a man in order to point out how biased you are against men. It's absolutely disgusting. You people need to open your eyes about your own personal problems. The reason I'm against bias is because I've been victimized by it in the workplace. But unlike most people, I don't think that reverse bias is any better. It's just as ugly. Peoople in a psychology forum should be a little more aware of their ignorant biases. I guess that's my own stupid assumption at work. nixy, Illvm, psych face and 8 others 2 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeeaddict29 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 (edited) Let's move to a new topic (and avoid a messy and pointless argument with Psych Face- if I've learned anything from my Social Psych and Social Cognition classes is that the more you try to change someone's beliefs, the harder they'll push back against you, and the firmer they'll believe in whatever they believe, regardless of how incorrect their belief is). New topic: has anyone heard back from any other schools? I'm particularly interested in UIUC. Edited January 30, 2015 by coffeeaddict29 Applemiu 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXInstrument11 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I also leave room for a lot of fairly stupid factors being used to make judgments; for example, depending on your emphasis and POI there are going to be quirky little idiocies that are unpredictable and probably unfair. But because we don't want to scrutinize our own failings (or the stupidities of others) too much, we call it luck. Haha. This is the best explanation of "luck" in the application process I've seen. psych face 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXInstrument11 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Let's move to a new topic (and avoid a messy and pointless argument with Psych Face- if I've learned anything from my Social Psych and Social Cognition classes is that the more you try to change someone's beliefs, the harder they'll push back against you, and the firmer they'll believe in whatever they believe, regardless of how incorrect their belief is). New topic: has anyone heard back from any other schools? I'm particularly interested in UIUC. I called a few days back and the grad coordinator said that the Social-Personality committee hadn't met yet. She also said we should hear back by early to mid February. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeeaddict29 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I called a few days back and the grad coordinator said that the Social-Personality committee hadn't met yet. She also said we should hear back by early to mid February. I really don't like how vague they are... But at least if we don't hear back by February 15, we can assume that it's a rejection... But I'm concerned-- I didn't even receive a Skype interview or an email from my POI. I was told that all Psych programs first Skype-interview you and then determine if you're good enough for the short list for the in person interview. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avidman Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 @psych face - I can totally see some "truth" from what you said, in that there are a number of subjective factors that go into this process, so with that I agree. I do feel bad that you have to come to the conclusion that we are all stupid and bias though (I assumed you were a guy because of your avatar, because you know, an assumption by the very nature of its definition is something derived from no proof). P = There is a white guy in your avatar (X). Q = People gravitate to similarity. A = Maybe you are a white guy. X turns out not to be a white guy. ^These assumptions that we make (i.e. heuristics) are how people think (All people minus some seldom exceptions). No matter how hard we try to delve into a logic based mindset, we will forever be heuristic-based creatures. That said, I feel bad that you have to conclude to that. I won't counter with a "You are just a mean jerk," because I know that your words were catalyzed by some negativity, and I don't want to add to that. So I wish you the best of luck and a virtual hug. @Everyone else - does anyone know if U Denver is done with their Social Program invitations? smbtuckma and avidman 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tha1ne Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I called a few days back and the grad coordinator said that the Social-Personality committee hadn't met yet. She also said we should hear back by early to mid February. I emailed my POI today from UIUC and he said he is still reviewing applications. Fingers still crossed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeeaddict29 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I emailed my POI today from UIUC and he said he is still reviewing applications. Fingers still crossed! You're brave! Can I private message you to ask who your POI is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXInstrument11 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 (edited) I really don't like how vague they are... But at least if we don't hear back by February 15, we can assume that it's a rejection... But I'm concerned-- I didn't even receive a Skype interview or an email from my POI. I was told that all Psych programs first Skype-interview you and then determine if you're good enough for the short list for the in person interview. I don't know about that. From what I understand, Michigan State doesn't even interview for their social program. For Wyoming, I did a phone interview, though it was followed up by an invite to an on-site one. Someone who applied to Alabama also told me that they were invited for the on-site interview after an email invite from their POI and an official notification from the school, no formal interview involved. Also, FYI - the grad coordinator for Illinois is the nicest I've come by, with a close second for the Baylor coordinator. I think she gave me as much info as she could. I've called her about three times total about different issues and she's been very helpful and understanding each time. She's also been good via email. So, if you have concerns and are a bit nervous about asking, I would go ahead and shoot her an email or make a quick phone call. She might tire as the season goes on, but her pleasant demeanor has been steady all throughout the process for me. Edited January 30, 2015 by TXInstrument11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeeaddict29 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I heard that in the past though UIUC has had phone interviews. But I don't know how reliable that info is. I hope though that this year it's different because I haven't heard anything from my POI. Wow- the grad coordinator does sound nice. I'll try sending an email on Monday and I'll post an update. Thanks for the info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mb712 Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 This is about the last place on the internet I thought I would see things (like "reverse discrimination") that make me do extreme eyerolls and facepalming. ANYWAY. I've only seen one Minnesota response on the results page and this seems weird to me. Anybody have any Minnesota information? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tha1ne Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 This is about the last place on the internet I thought I would see things (like "reverse discrimination") that make me do extreme eyerolls and facepalming. ANYWAY. I've only seen one Minnesota response on the results page and this seems weird to me. Anybody have any Minnesota information? Yeah. All Minnesota invites were sent out a couple days ago unfortunately Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyDogHasAPhD Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 I am also a person who gets this inaccurate age-guessing. I'm usually 10-15 years older than people guess. And I do think it hurts my chances, because anyone who has researched genius knows the spark is most likely to die out before 35. I don't blame them for assuming the same of me from the age stated on my materials. This only reaffirms the necessity for some of us to network in person. And I do think there is some judgment done based on age. I can get people who already know me to throw jobs at me, but I can't convince on paper very well. Compound this with the fact that current graduate students here on this website have admitted to being the application filtering committees via "googling parties" before the professors get what remains (the dumbest way to gauge a person's worth, in my opinion, but whatever) - all of this suggests a very relevant difficulty for some of us. And before that cohort goes back into self-defense mode, filled with ego, stop pretending you aren't judging from a place of your own personal bias, we all do it. If your entire lab is fresh and young, you will pick people you are comfortable with and most likely think less of someone who is a little behind in their educational persuits. You can't help it. You are humans. As far as the competitiveness discussion earlier about what is and is not a factor in your application; I'm surprised that race hasn't been brought into this. There is a former Harvard department chair here who tells stories about how the top tier schools fight over members of rare minority groups. It's quite revolting, but certainly brings in a factor that can't be ignored. A white male I was recently talking to expressed a lot of apathy about applying to graduate schools due to some of the stories that have been coming out about reverse discrimination. I feel for him and it bothers me a lot. Take it for what you will, but to ignore race (or gender, perhaps) as a factor in admissions is stupid. I also leave room for a lot of fairly stupid factors being used to make judgments; for example, depending on your emphasis and POI there are going to be quirky little idiocies that are unpredictable and probably unfair. But because we don't want to scrutinize our own failings (or the stupidities of others) too much, we call it luck. I simply cannot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mb712 Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Yeah. All Minnesota invites were sent out a couple days ago unfortunately Thanks for the information! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mb712 Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Finally received my first official decision from a social program. That was a long and painful two months of waiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.letmeinplz// Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 (edited) THIS. I work among people that earned PhDs in Germany, Australia, and other countries.As stated by one of them, "the GRE is a silly American test made for silly American schools." The reason why I didn't apply overseas were financial, to be honest. Australia is expensive to travel to I have the upmost respect for international PhDs. Totally, no one ever tries to get a visa to live and learn at "silly American schools".... It is just so silly and not worth anyones time ever.... It has never happened, not even once. Edited February 1, 2015 by <ian> TXInstrument11 and mb712 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tha1ne Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Totally, no one ever tries to get a visa to live and learn at "silly American schools".... It is just so silly and not worth anyone time ever.... It has never happened, not even once. ^The sarcasm is strong with this one. Applemiu 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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