Fall 2016 School Psychology

[psychschool]

Has anyone gotten into temples eds program? How difficult is it to get accepted or get interviews? 

How hard is it to get into a PhD program? 

 

[New Applicant]

@psychschool Getting into a PhD program depends on many factors. GPA, GRE, research experience, and most importantly how well your research interest matches with the professor you would like to work with. Clinical experience is also a plus. Message me if you need more info.

Edited February 29, 2016 by New Applicant
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[estrella]

Okay so I have funded offers from two schools but my top choice (UofM) has me on waitlist. I'm so confused, I badly want UofM ( My husband is in Minneapolis) but I have to soon make a choice about the others. Any advice?

[FeelTheBern]

1 minute ago, estrella said:

Okay so I have funded offers from two schools but my top choice (UofM) has me on waitlist. I'm so confused, I badly want UofM ( My husband is in Minneapolis) but I have to soon make a choice about the others. Any advice?

The schools that you have been accepted to should give you until April 15 to make a decision. I know that once you receive an offer, it's exciting, and it feels like you need to accept it right away, but you really don't have to/shouldn't feel obligated to. If UofM is truly your top choice, I would 100% wait it out because if you are accepted off the wait list, you are going to be really happy that you didn't accept one of the other offers. Are the two schools you were accepted to giving you ultimatums? Like, "accept before this date, or we will give your slot to another student". They really should be giving you until April 15 in all fairness.

[estrella]

On 2/24/2016 at 10:59 AM, ohhappyday said:

what is everyones plan if rejected to the schools you applied to? not trying to be extremely pessimistic here but trying to plan for the future if it does happen for me

I got rejected my first time around ( I had no idea what I was doing, and id applied to Clinical lol)  so I can tell you what I did.

1) Take a deep breath. It isn't the end of the world.

2) Evaluate what went wrong . I asked for feedback from professors in the colleges I'd applied to on how to improve my application. Talk to others who have been admitted to the colleges of your choice. Find their email on the website and email them! almost everyone is really nice. 

3) Make sure you really want this PhD. (I realized that it was school psych and not clinical that I wanted to persevere for). Once you've taken a couple a days sorting your priorities, start working on improving your application.

4)  Upping your research experience is always a win

5) Keep in touch with all your professors. They are going to be writing your letters again!

6) Have a backup plan. For e.g this time around I applied for a lone masters program I knew I was overqualified for, in case I got rejected again from all my phD programs. a backup plan can be going back to work as well. 

I hope this helped!

[estrella]

@FeelTheBern

April 15th is the deadline but I have been emailed by a professor directly asking me about my decision. I feel guilty since I know it sucks to be on the waitlist and I'm probably doing the same to others. 

[Love3]

@estrella Don't feel pressured to make a decision. Take your time and decide. Did you send a thank you email after you received your acceptance stating that you were interested and would let them know if your decision before April 15th? 

Maybe you could decline the least appealing offer of the two you received while you wait for the waitlist option. I would say don't feel pressured to do that either. It's just an option. 

[FeelTheBern]

2 minutes ago, Love3 said:

Maybe you could decline the least appealing offer of the two you received while you wait for the waitlist option. I would say don't feel pressured to do that either. It's just an option.

I echo what @Love3 said as well. If you are concerned about fellow students who may be sitting on the wait list, then decline the least attractive offer of the two you have in hand right now. If this in and of itself is difficult, take your time and weigh all of your options. Even though it is extremely kind of you to think about the students who are sitting on the wait list, if you are not ready to make the decision quite yet, don't beat yourself up about it.

[kingslayer]

On 2/26/2016 at 3:58 PM, Love3 said:

Just remember to breathe in the middle of all your busy days and remember how exciting it is that you made it to the next level. 

Good luck with your decision! Congrats! 

Thank you! I'm super excited to be going ANYWHERE. I need to start withdrawing applications but I've been so busy. I need to find a good way of turning down interviews I've already scheduled. I feel so guilty, but interviews after this week are too late for me.

On 2/27/2016 at 6:38 AM, westy3789 said:

Congratulations! Now you can take a big sigh of relief. It's well deserved. I think that's really awesome that a few programs are even offering to cover the cost of tuition. None of the Masters programs I applied to had funding as an option, so that's pretty cool you were able to find a few that did. Nice job. I'm just excited that I found out I have about 12 months of military benefits left that I didn't think I did, so I'll be saving around $12,000 more than I thought I would myself. Then I pay in-state tuition when I  was originally thinking I'd be paying out of state, which is another $1,500 or so - so instead of shipping out $30,000 for the program I'm now paying $16,500, which is hardly anything. I also decided to live in a $400 apartment with 4 other roommates instead of a $600 1 bedroom apartment by myself, which will save $4,000 off my cost of living expenses too. I guess all the hard work paid off! 

You mention "you don't even know if I'll succeed in grad school, even though I'd like to think I will". I feel very similar. I think that's common for students to doubt themselves. It's intimidating to visualize myself being a school psychologist, but I believe as you go through the classes and gain more practical experiences, by the time the internship year is finished it'll come on much more natural. It's just a matter of throwing yourself in the mess and absorbing as much as you can. Good luck to you in graduate school...you'll do great!

Thank you! When I applied, I knew only one school would offer funding. I was dreading having to go into so much debt (especially out of state/no reciprocity), but now there may be a chance for me to pay off undergrad debt during graduate school! One of my stipends would be 17k a year, and I'm lucky in the sense that my family is moving with me and will cover most of my expenses. I'd be able to pay off my credit card & student loans the first year! I got another acceptance with funding yesterday as well, so it's getting harder and harder to choose.

[bunnyrabby]

has anyone heard back from temple's eds program yet? I had interviews there last monday.

Please let me know thanks! anxiously waiting. Also, if anyone has lived in philly before, do you recommend living on temple campus or out of the campus? I don't know whether to live with a roommate or alone. Worried if philly is a place that's hard to meet people and also wondering if I live alone it will be more dangerous than living with others.

[Love3]

3 hours ago, kingslayer said:

Thank you! I'm super excited to be going ANYWHERE. I need to start withdrawing applications but I've been so busy. I need to find a good way of turning down interviews I've already scheduled. I feel so guilty, but interviews after this week are too late for me.

Exactly how I feel. I need to really start thinking about which offer I am accepting because I'm back and forth between overthinking and not thinking about it at all. How many more interviews were you invited to? 

[ohhappyday]

41 minutes ago, bunnyrabby said:

has anyone heard back from temple's eds program yet? I had interviews there last monday.

Please let me know thanks! anxiously waiting. Also, if anyone has lived in philly before, do you recommend living on temple campus or out of the campus? I don't know whether to live with a roommate or alone. Worried if philly is a place that's hard to meet people and also wondering if I live alone it will be more dangerous than living with others.

no i havent heard back from them yet. patiently waiting.

[Anxiousapplicant01]

@bunnyrabby I applied to temple phd. It took almost 2 weeks for college of the education to process the decision made by the faculty and send an official decision letter. So it will be, at the very least, almost 2 weeks before you get official notice. Could be longer if decisions were not made directly after interview. Hang in there! 

Edited March 2, 2016 by Anxiousapplicant01

[seasick]

13 hours ago, bunnyrabby said:

has anyone heard back from temple's eds program yet? I had interviews there last monday.

Please let me know thanks! anxiously waiting. Also, if anyone has lived in philly before, do you recommend living on temple campus or out of the campus? I don't know whether to live with a roommate or alone. Worried if philly is a place that's hard to meet people and also wondering if I live alone it will be more dangerous than living with others.

I feel like living off campus would be best. It's not hard to meet people in Philly at all! There's a group on Facebook called "Affordable Housing: Philadelphia" that could be helpful. Good luck!

[seasick]

Getting pretty anxious at this point. 2 rejections, 1 interview. I should (hopefully) hear back from that school in a week. I have 4 programs I haven't heard from at all yet, but two of them had a later deadline. :/ 

Would it be weird to e-mail the programs I was rejected from to ask for advice? Has anyone else had bad luck their first time applying for graduate programs? I feel like my biggest issue is a large number of transfers during undergrad, and low/average GRE scores. My GPA was very good for my most recent school, but when you average them all together, I'm a little bit under a 3.0. Ugh. 

What would be the worst move -- taking a year off, or getting a masters and applying to school psychology programs after? 

[FeelTheBern]

7 hours ago, neonossuary said:

Would it be weird to e-mail the programs I was rejected from to ask for advice? Has anyone else had bad luck their first time applying for graduate programs? I feel like my biggest issue is a large number of transfers during undergrad, and low/average GRE scores. My GPA was very good for my most recent school, but when you average them all together, I'm a little bit under a 3.0. Ugh. 

What would be the worst move -- taking a year off, or getting a masters and applying to school psychology programs after? 

Definitely try and ask for advice, send a friendly email to your POI and see if they can give you a few pointers. For example, they may have read your SOP, but thought your research interests were not concentrated enough or did not fit with them to the extent they would have liked. Or maybe, they didn't even see your application because it was eliminated during a screening process due to GRE/GPA. This is important information to know and will help you tremendously during your second cycle. Also, SO MANY people have bad luck their first application cycle, you're not alone, and it doesn't mean that your not "graduate material", so don't give up!

To answer the second part of your post, if you would be going into a significant amount of debt to get your Master's, I wouldn't do it, however, if the program is able to fund you by means of a graduate assistantship or scholarship and you are interested in the school and the program, I would say go for it. Especially because you think that your lower than average GPA may be one of the things keeping you out. Aim for a 3.8+ in the Master's program, and that will help your GPA a lot!

The GRE, however, is a beast of its own and will require additional studying whether you get your Master's or take a year off. I have heard that it is A LOT easier to study for the GRE when you take a year off, so that could also be a consideration for you. Retaking the GRE is not something that a lot of people are keen on doing, but if you are willing and think it will help you get into a program go for it. Just a side note....My SO got accepted into his top choice program (which is extremely quant. heavy) with a GRE quantitative percentile of 38. He never got questioned about it once during any of his interviews and it also didn't bar the admissions committee from admitting him after his POI recommended him. In the end, how important is the GRE score? I can't really give you a solid answer, but I don't think it's as important as some make it out to be.

[Jaguar21]

Are either of the Syracuse posters on this forum? If so, did you interview there? Thanks!

[New Applicant]

Should ranking be taken into account while making a decision for graduate schools? what are top ranked school psychology programs? Does that matter for finding a job after graduation?TIA

[Jaguar21]

39 minutes ago, New Applicant said:

Should ranking be taken into account while making a decision for graduate schools? what are top ranked school psychology programs? Does that matter for finding a job after graduation?TIA

There aren't really respected rankings for school psych. There are some out there but unlike other areas of study, school psych rankings aren't similar across the board and can be based on various factors. I've never found a list of rankings by a respected source that I felt really captured the essence of programs. In my opinion, top school psych programs are APA accredited and NASP approved. This ensures the highest standards are being met. You can find these lists of schools via Google search but I was never able to find a list that gave schools that were accredited/approved by BOTH. I had to cross reference. Maybe other people on the forum have had better luck?

Other than that, research fit/opportunities to publish and present and clinical, applied experiences make programs "better" and prepare you better for jobs. APA internships can also make finding a job easier depending on the route you go, so you may want to look at schools' APPIC match rates  

Of course, this is just my opinion, but I hope it helps! 

[psychschool]

10 minutes ago, Jaguar21 said:

There aren't really respected rankings for school psych. There are some out there but unlike other areas of study, school psych rankings aren't similar across the board and can be based on various factors. I've never found a list of rankings by a respected source that I felt really captured the essence of programs. In my opinion, top school psych programs are APA accredited and NASP approved. This ensures the highest standards are being met. You can find these lists of schools via Google search but I was never able to find a list that gave schools that were accredited/approved by BOTH. I had to cross reference. Maybe other people on the forum have had better luck?

Other than that, research fit/opportunities to publish and present and clinical, applied experiences make programs "better" and prepare you better for jobs. APA internships can also make finding a job easier depending on the route you go, so you may want to look at schools' APPIC match rates  

Of course, this is just my opinion, but I hope it helps! 

I've heard temples school psychology program is really great. apa and nasp approved. 

[psychschool]

is there a benefit to studying 4 more years and getting the phD? Also how quickly can one finish a phD program? Is 5 years doable 

[Limitless]

@psychschool All APA accredited schools are required to have a data sheet called "Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data" on their website for viewing (or by request). Since the time of completion varies from program to program, and person to person, it's useful to look at the data sheet to see the average time to completion each year. However, I think 5 years is generally the minimum amount of time for completion. But, if you found your perfect POI and you work your butt off, I see no reason why completion in 5 years couldn't be a possibility. As far as there being an added "benefit" to earning a PhD, it truly depends on your career goals. 

On another note, I was about to ask if it makes sense to switch from my EdS program to a PhD program after my first semester. One of the programs I have been accepted to has an internal process for current students to apply to move up to the PhD track. Although my goal is not to go into academia, I would like the possibility of running my own practice. Anyone have any advice or a successful experience doing this?

Edited March 4, 2016 by Limitless

[psychschool]

9 hours ago, Limitless said:

@psychschool All APA accredited schools are required to have a data sheet called "Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data" on their website for viewing (or by request). Since the time of completion varies from program to program, and person to person, it's useful to look at the data sheet to see the average time to completion each year. However, I think 5 years is generally the minimum amount of time for completion. But, if you found your perfect POI and you work your butt off, I see no reason why completion in 5 years couldn't be a possibility. As far as there being an added "benefit" to earning a PhD, it truly depends on your career goals. 

On another note, I was about to ask if it makes sense to switch from my EdS program to a PhD program after my first semester. One of the programs I have been accepted to has an internal process for current students to apply to move up to the PhD track. Although my goal is not to go into academia, I would like the possibility of running my own practice. Anyone have any advice or a successful experience doing this?

were you talking about temples program?

[Love3]

15 hours ago, New Applicant said:

Should ranking be taken into account while making a decision for graduate schools? what are top ranked school psychology programs? Does that matter for finding a job after graduation?TIA

I think you really can't go wrong with the school you pick as long as it is accredited, fits your interest, provides great opportunities and you can see yourself enjoying the people, professors and environment. You should also take into account research and Practicum opportunities. APA internships are important. Funding is also important. Look at their licensure % if you want to become a licensed psychologist. Like someone else said, I only found one ranking system for school psychology programs but I don't know what it's based on. I think it's just best to pick a program based on your needs, future goals and happiness. 

[kingslayer]

FINALLY. I'm so relieved. Just got an email back from a college (the one both you and I applied to, @westy3789). Apparently my application was incomplete (even though it wasn't) and they didn't offer me admission. They didn't even spell my name correctly on the rejection letter--that's ridiculous. It was literally right there for them to copy and paste, and it's in my email.

It just goes to show how much the application system varies. I received full rides to four higher ranked colleges, yet was rejected without interview to this one. It was at the bottom of my list, but still.