2015 - Social Psych

[Chubberubber]

Could be. There are also dozens of posters on this forum talking about calling and email admissions administration trying to figure out what their status is because they haven't heard anything, so things are getting in the way of smooth communication with those invited for interviews and being sent acceptances regardless!

Good point, but I still think there are fewer of those people compared to the ones who would ask questions about being rejected (not to mention that often answers to "status" questions are shorter then answers to "improving chance for next year" ones). In addition, merely sending rejection e-mails at this point in time can take up a lot of valuable staff hours even without having to deal with the ricochets...

[mb712]

Good point, but I still think there are fewer of those people compared to the ones who would ask questions about being rejected (not to mention that often answers to "status" questions are shorter then answers to "improving chance for next year" ones). In addition, merely sending rejection e-mails at this point in time can take up a lot of valuable staff hours even without having to deal with the ricochets...

Also good points. I didn't consider some of what you're both saying about rejecting people immediately when I made my original efficiency comment. I think my anxiousness and lack of administrative experience shaped my thoughts too much

[PsychandPhilo]

So based on what has been posted on the results page, if we haven't been contacted yet by UVA we should assume rejection?

[smbtuckma]

So based on what has been posted on the results page, if we haven't been contacted yet by UVA we should assume rejection?

 

I'm assuming so... 7 interviewees total, not even just 7 positions. Geez.

[MyDogHasAPhD]

Hey all. I just got offered a TA position for Psych 101 at my undergrad institution. Would this be something that I should let the two POIs that I have been in contact with who have shown significant interest in me know about? I am not sure if it matters since it is presently occurring and not something I've completed quite yet. I've heard mixed feedback on this so I wanted to hear your thoughts.

 

Thanks!

[PsychandPhilo]

Hey all. I just got offered a TA position for Psych 101 at my undergrad institution. Would this be something that I should let the two POIs that I have been in contact with who have shown significant interest in me know about? I am not sure if it matters since it is presently occurring and not something I've completed quite yet. I've heard mixed feedback on this so I wanted to hear your thoughts.

 

Thanks!

 

Personally, I feel like at this point in the game it wouldn't sway a decision. Plus, as you said, you haven't completed the position so it doesn't add any experience to your resume. But who knows? Worse case scenario is you tell them and it has no effect.  At this point I think most of us would make deals with voodoo priests if we thought it was even remotely possible of helping us get accepted.

[MyDogHasAPhD]

Personally, I feel like at this point in the game it wouldn't sway a decision. Plus, as you said, you haven't completed the position so it doesn't add any experience to your resume. But who knows? Worse case scenario is you tell them and it has no effect.  At this point I think most of us would make deals with voodoo priests if we thought it was even remotely possible of helping us get accepted.

 

LOL I know. I don't want to come across as grasping at straws. I just know that IF I were to be accepted at the one particular program, being a TA would be a big part of my job and I previously had no TA experience. 

[lewin]

LOL I know. I don't want to come across as grasping at straws. I just know that IF I were to be accepted at the one particular program, being a TA would be a big part of my job and I previously had no TA experience. 

 

Trust that judgment because I think it would come off that way  You haven't completed the TA yet so it doesn't count and, even if it were done, TA experience doesn't really matter (unless maybe it's stats, because it shows you know stats)... honestly most profs don't care if you can TA and the most important TA skill is maintaining boundaries so it doesn't suck up all your time.

[coffeeaddict29]

Hey all. I just got offered a TA position for Psych 101 at my undergrad institution. Would this be something that I should let the two POIs that I have been in contact with who have shown significant interest in me know about? I am not sure if it matters since it is presently occurring and not something I've completed quite yet. I've heard mixed feedback on this so I wanted to hear your thoughts.

 

Thanks!

Wait, you heard from Arizona State University? (I saw it from your signature) When did you hear back and in what form? I haven't heard anything from them.

[MyDogHasAPhD]

For Clinical. Not Social. I applied to their prevention track. It was on my "My ASU" account today. Bummed.

[coffeeaddict29]

For Clinical. Not Social. I applied to their prevention track. It was on my "My ASU" account today. Bummed.

Ooo. I'm sorry! That sucks!  

[Coach04]

For anyone that applied to UIC Social - a professor told me official offers will be made mid February (my guess is around 16th feb)

[coffeeaddict29]

For anyone that applied to UIC Social - a professor told me official offers will be made mid February (my guess is around 16th feb)

Do you mean University of Illinois, at Urbana Champaign?

[Coach04]

Do you mean University of Illinois, at Urbana Champaign?

No its University of Illinois - Chicago

[MyDogHasAPhD]

And...another rejection. This time at my top school that I interviewed with. This seriously is the worst thing I have ever gone through. Gonna have to dust myself off and keep trying I guess. One more school to hear from... damn GREs. DAMN YOU. 

[mb712]

And...another rejection. This time at my top school that I interviewed with. This seriously is the worst thing I have ever gone through. Gonna have to dust myself off and keep trying I guess. One more school to hear from... damn GREs. DAMN YOU. 

 

Damn, I'm sorry! This whole process is kind of excruciating. I hope you hear from the other programs you applied from soon so you don't have to play the uncertainty game for too long!

[coffeeaddict29]

And...another rejection. This time at my top school that I interviewed with. This seriously is the worst thing I have ever gone through. Gonna have to dust myself off and keep trying I guess. One more school to hear from... damn GREs. DAMN YOU.

I so sorry. but I feel you. This is my second time applying and it looks like I'm also not getting in anywhere. I'm gonna have to take yet another year off. So I totally understand how you must feel- powerless and devastated. Cry it out (or ideally, go for a run) but know that you'll start feeling better once you start thinking of what to do next. Also, please know that all of these rejections don't mean that you're not good enough- just that you've been unlucky. Grad apps are a crapshoot, a lottery. At every school you only have a 10% chance of getting in even if you have publications (like in my case) and fantastic letters of recommendation and a sparkling CV. It has just gotten incredibly competitive to get into grad school. But don't give up. Life always has a way of working out, even if it's not the way you wanted it to work out.

[FinallyAccepted]

It's my second time applying too, and I only have one interview. Most of the rest look to be rejections already based on other GC posters getting interviews, etc. where I have not. It's incredibly frustrating. I don't know that I would last another cycle, so I'm probably going to have to reevaluate things if I don't get in again. Crossing my fingers it doesn't come to that.

[MyDogHasAPhD]

It's my second time applying too, and I only have one interview. Most of the rest look to be rejections already based on other GC posters getting interviews, etc. where I have not. It's incredibly frustrating. I don't know that I would last another cycle, so I'm probably going to have to reevaluate things if I don't get in again. Crossing my fingers it doesn't come to that.

 

I so sorry. but I feel you. This is my second time applying and it looks like I'm also not getting in anywhere. I'm gonna have to take yet another year off. So I totally understand how you must feel- powerless and devastated. Cry it out (or ideally, go for a run) but know that you'll start feeling better once you start thinking of what to do next. Also, please know that all of these rejections don't mean that you're not good enough- just that you've been unlucky. Grad apps are a crapshoot, a lottery. At every school you only have a 10% chance of getting in even if you have publications (like in my case) and fantastic letters of recommendation and a sparkling CV. It has just gotten incredibly competitive to get into grad school. But don't give up. Life always has a way of working out, even if it's not the way you wanted it to work out.

 

Thank you guys. This whole forum has really helped me through this whole process and it also makes me feel better to know I am not alone. Other than re-taking my GRE, I have no idea what else I could possibly do differently and I can't stomach the thought of going deeper into debt for a Master's tuition. I have cried more than I want to admit today.. thank goodness for good friends and good support and fellow applicants like yourselves. 

Edited January 28, 2015 by MyDogHasAPhD

[coffeeaddict29]

Thank you guys. This whole forum has really helped me through this whole process and it also makes me feel better to know I am not alone. Other than re-taking my GRE, I have no idea what else I could possibly do differently and I can't stomach the thought of going deeper into debt for a Master's tuition. I have cried more than I want to admit today.. thank goodness for good friends and good support and fellow applicants like yourselves.

I cried too, particularly on Friday when I found out on this forum that my to school, UC Irvine had already sent the interview invitations. I was useless for the whole day. Also, what I have been told is that I need more publications-2-3. And I get how you can't afford a master program- I can't either. But I'm glad that this is helping. If you need to chat, please feel free to private message me.

[Gepetto13]

That is the conundrum.  You need publications to get into grad school, but grad school is (really) the place where you get publications.

[lewin]

That is the conundrum.  You need publications to get into grad school, but grad school is (really) the place where you get publications.

 

I'm not saying you're mistaken, but it just seem so hard to believe that standards have increased that much in the few years since I applied. I had two posters, no publications, and was accepted at three top 20 programs.

[Gepetto13]

I think the problem is that many more people are applying and professors need some way to distinguish applicants.  At top programs, it's a combination of pubs, recommendations, personal statement (fit with interests) and then grades and everything else.

 

When you're being funded, I think departments want proof that you can produce something for them - hence the pubs.  It used to be that you didn't need any pubs to get in, but now that's only true for lower tier PsyD programs (where you pay tuition) or clinically oriented PhD programs (where you pay some tuition; not the top tier clinical PhD programs). 

 

It's kind of sad, isn't it?  That you basically have to have no life as an undergrad (so you can kill yourself doing research) to get into grad school in psych.  But to be able to truly understand psychology - and come up with good research ideas - you need to have some sort of life experience and understanding of what goes on in the real world.

[TXInstrument11]

I know this often a controversial answer, but the reputation of your alma mater does seem to impact your chances. With the average acceptance rate hovering around 5-10% in social psych, it's not at all surprising to see most labs filled to the brim with Ivy-league grads. Maybe it's just my list of schools, but state uni folks were hard to come by. 

 

And I can't bash the apparent practice completely. Ivy and Ivy-esque admissions are so low in comparison to most state universities that our GPAs are incomparable. My undergrad uni has around a 50-50 acceptance rate - and while I did get into better-rated schools, adcoms won't know that by looking at my app. Therefore, a greater number of criteria are needed to assess my capabilities. Unfortunately, I too have no pubs, just posters.

Edited January 28, 2015 by TXInstrument11

[Gepetto13]

I think the undergrad school matters (or your most recent university) not for the GPA, but for the letters you get.  Letters from faculty that are at least semi-well known (or have lots of friends/colleagues...maybe some of the people you are applying to work with) are critical. And the most well known faculty tend to be at "better" universities (with some exceptions).  The GPA is also important, but I think it's less so.