Social Psychology Fall 2017 Applicants

[PennyIsAHockeyFan]

Okay, quick question: Is the supervisor or the program/school more important... I'm dying a little inside right now because every decision I make now seems to determine my future #rip

[pheonix]

Well I am super late in joining this thread but I am glad I found it! I applied to UNC at Greensboro, USF, UGA, FSU, and FAU. All were social PhD programs or experimental programs with the ability to focus in social. I also applied to a few masters programs as back ups.

I received rejections from UNC at Greensboro, USF, and UGA already but I have yet to hear anything from FSU or FAU, has anyone heard anything from these schools yet?

I am not holding my breath on these schools as I pretty much know that this late in the game I will not get in. However, I would like to know something soon, for closure!  

Thanks for any help and good luck to everyone else!

[marsbars]

21 minutes ago, pheonix said:

Well I am super late in joining this thread but I am glad I found it! I applied to UNC at Greensboro, USF, UGA, FSU, and FAU. All were social PhD programs or experimental programs with the ability to focus in social. I also applied to a few masters programs as back ups.

I received rejections from UNC at Greensboro, USF, and UGA already but I have yet to hear anything from FSU or FAU, has anyone heard anything from these schools yet?

I am not holding my breath on these schools as I pretty much know that this late in the game I will not get in. However, I would like to know something soon, for closure!  

Thanks for any help and good luck to everyone else!

No response whatsoever from FSU
Waiting and hoping ! 
 

[MyDogHasAPhD]

9 minutes ago, marsbars said:

No response whatsoever from FSU
Waiting and hoping ! 
 

Also still nothing from FSU on my end!

[marsbars]

15 minutes ago, MyDogHasAPhD said:

Also still nothing from FSU on my end!

Looks like they answer later? 
Go Noles! 
 

[01848p]

1 hour ago, PennyIsAHockeyFan said:

Okay, quick question: Is the supervisor or the program/school more important... I'm dying a little inside right now because every decision I make now seems to determine my future #rip

I have the same fear!! I've narrowed my decision down to my top 2 choices but I'm terrified of picking the wrong one. I know at this point that there's no such thing as a truly "wrong" choice and I know that I will be happy in either program, but I'm worried that if I don't choose carefully, all of a sudden I will find myself five years from now going down an entirely different path from what I've dreamed of and envisioned for myself. Literally rip rip rip 

Edited March 2, 2017 by 01848p

[Veronicat]

15 hours ago, MH429 said:

Hey there! I didn't apply to any of those schools but I currently work at UIC in their psych department now. I know that they had visiting/interview day back in late January or early February. I can't recall exactly when. To my knowledge, acceptances have been sent out already. The whole department seems to work pretty quickly.

Of course, there's always a chance I could be wrong. The department is massive so theirs always the possibility a few faculty haven't made acceptances yet.

I hope you hear good news soon!

Thanks for the update! I'm lucky enough to have an offer from another department at UIC so a rejection from the psych department is a-okay with me. Riddle me not surprised since the department doesn't have much of a focus on sexual violence/intimate partner violence prevention anymore. Congrats to anyone who has been extended offers!  

 

[01848p]

Would it be poor form to skip out on an interview weekend? I was invited to interview at a program, have a great fit in terms of research interests with the POI, but the interview is very late in the cycle and I'd really like to have made my decision as to where I will attend by then (I do have other reasons but this is one of the bigger ones). I already have offers from my top 2 choice programs, and I am 95% sure that I will end up choosing one of them. Of course I'd email the POI and let them know that I would no longer like to be considered for admittance, but will this reflect poorly upon me? I'm most worried that if I do not go, I will sabotage any future professional relationship I may have with the POI. But I also feel terrible wasting $400 of their funds on travel expenses if my mind is already made up about going elsewhere, and I don't want to take this opportunity away from someone else for whom the program might be their top choice. Would it be in future-me's best interest to just go even if I'm fairly certain I won't attend the program if offered a seat? 

Edited March 2, 2017 by 01848p

[almondicecream]

 

3 hours ago, 01848p said:

Would it be poor form to skip out on an interview weekend? I was invited to interview at a program, have a great fit in terms of research interests with the POI, but the interview is very late in the cycle and I'd really like to have made my decision as to where I will attend by then (I do have other reasons but this is one of the bigger ones). I already have offers from my top 2 choice programs, and I am 95% sure that I will end up choosing one of them. Of course I'd email the POI and let them know that I would no longer like to be considered for admittance, but will this reflect poorly upon me? I'm most worried that if I do not go, I will sabotage any future professional relationship I may have with the POI. But I also feel terrible wasting $400 of their funds on travel expenses if my mind is already made up about going elsewhere, and I don't want to take this opportunity away from someone else for whom the program might be their top choice. Would it be in future-me's best interest to just go even if I'm fairly certain I won't attend the program if offered a seat? 

I personally feel like it's more offensive to attend a weekend if you're almost positive you don't want to attend. Just frame the other acceptance as a better fit because you feel like you and your POI overlap almost perfectly or because there are a few different professors in the program who you see your interests fitting in with extremely well, whereas at the university you don't want to attend, the research fit is more concentrated in one or two professors.

That being said, it's potentially helpful to be able to network during the interview weekend. They might remember you in 6 years when you go on the job market. But I personally would only do this at a program where I still something like a 40% chance of me accepting an offer from them (if I already had offers). I suck at pretending like I love a program when it doesn't compare to my other options.

[Socialfish]

Hi, just a quick question if anyone has heard from the Applied Social program at GWU? I saw someone got rejected on 27th Feb but my application is still shown as under review....

[01848p]

11 minutes ago, almondicecream said:

 

I personally feel like it's more offensive to attend a weekend if you're almost positive you don't want to attend. Just frame the other acceptance as a better fit because you feel like you and your POI overlap almost perfectly or because there are a few different professors in the program who you see your interests fitting in with extremely well, whereas at the university you don't want to attend, the research fit is more concentrated in one or two professors.

That being said, it's potentially helpful to be able to network during the interview weekend. They might remember you in 6 years when you go on the job market. But I personally would only do this at a program where I still something like a 40% chance of me accepting an offer from them (if I already had offers). I suck at pretending like I love a program when it doesn't compare to my other options.

Thanks for your input! I feel really bad because I've had some really good conversations with the professor thus far. Their research is really cool and they are doing some interesting interventions that are the closest match to what I want to do in the long term in comparison to the rest of the programs I've applied to, but in a way that I'm also worried about being pigeon-holed into since they have such a narrow focus. I also doubt the program will be looking to hire in 6 years because the department is largely new faculty LOL so there's not really anything networking could do for me. I guess it's just a matter of putting together a carefully-worded email at this point. 

[What'sMyName]

I'm curious to know if the person who withdrew their application from Portland State is on here? Were you invited to the Visitor's Day?

[marsbars]

Hey- saw that some people heard from NIU- how did they contact you?
I haven't gotten an e-mail and my application status on my niu is just complete- what does it mean?

[WAJ]

To the person who got accepted to UNR,

Have you received the official letter from the department? Mine says "Your final cumulative GPA must be equal to or higher than the GPA upon which the recommendation for admission was based." What does it mean? If my final grade is less than my recommended for admission grade, would they rescind their offer for admission?

Edited March 4, 2017 by WAJ

[Sneidinger]

I think it sounds like if you were accepted at a certain GPA you must maintain that or improve upon or they are able to rescind the offer. You would have also met the minimum standard of average required for admission. 

[socialcoffee]

On 3/2/2017 at 9:32 PM, Socialfish said:

Hi, just a quick question if anyone has heard from the Applied Social program at GWU? I saw someone got rejected on 27th Feb but my application is still shown as under review....

Hey did u end up hearing back from them?

[WAJ]

3 hours ago, Sneidinger said:

I think it sounds like if you were accepted at a certain GPA you must maintain that or improve upon or they are able to rescind the offer. You would have also met the minimum standard of average required for admission. 

 

Got it! Thanks!

Edited March 5, 2017 by WAJ

[SocCog]

I know I haven't been rejected from the majority of my programs, but it's just seeming like this isn't happening this year. I'm scrambling to figure out what to do with my life that will make me more appealing next time around. Haven't found any local lab manager/paid research assistant jobs yet. Too late to try for any master program I'd actually want (Funny story, EVERY graduate school "crash course" panel that I ever attended made it seem like you heard back from PhD programs in Jan/Feb and then Masters as your backup plan didn't have applications due until April/May. Boy were they wrong. I feel rather lied to.)

I got the email about the UCI postbac program, which doesn't sound terrible, apart from having to take out normal loans (instead of student loans) for the $18k is costs, plus living expenses, since it isn't a degree program.

But I don't know what else to do. I live at home and I'm unemployed. Nothing I'm doing right now is making me more appealing as a candidate. My old summer job would probably take me back (at least for the summer, if not as a full-time employee), but I kind of hated it. It's slightly psychological (or at least I could spin it that way). But I don't want to be miserable (I cried on multiple lunch breaks over the summer.) Ughh. I don't know what to do next... 

[01848p]

6 hours ago, SocCog said:

I know I haven't been rejected from the majority of my programs, but it's just seeming like this isn't happening this year. I'm scrambling to figure out what to do with my life that will make me more appealing next time around. Haven't found any local lab manager/paid research assistant jobs yet. Too late to try for any master program I'd actually want (Funny story, EVERY graduate school "crash course" panel that I ever attended made it seem like you heard back from PhD programs in Jan/Feb and then Masters as your backup plan didn't have applications due until April/May. Boy were they wrong. I feel rather lied to.)

I got the email about the UCI postbac program, which doesn't sound terrible, apart from having to take out normal loans (instead of student loans) for the $18k is costs, plus living expenses, since it isn't a degree program.

But I don't know what else to do. I live at home and I'm unemployed. Nothing I'm doing right now is making me more appealing as a candidate. My old summer job would probably take me back (at least for the summer, if not as a full-time employee), but I kind of hated it. It's slightly psychological (or at least I could spin it that way). But I don't want to be miserable (I cried on multiple lunch breaks over the summer.) Ughh. I don't know what to do next... 

I'm so sorry  I know how it feels to work really hard for something, and for it not to pan out. At this point what I can do is give you advice for the job search. The biggest thing - do you have any geographical constraints or do you live near a university? If your answer to the first question is yes - regardless of your answer to the second question - it's going to be very hard for you to find an RA or Lab Manager job. When I was applying for jobs, I initially narrowed myself down to positions at universities onily in my area, and I had very poor luck. For one thing, I was straight out of undergrad with very little research experience. Second, there just weren't any jobs. Nobody was hiring. Even in a city with four large schools -two of them R1- I couldn't find a job. So, it'll be hard for you to come by a position if you restrict yourself to a geographic area. I actually had to move out of state for the one position (out of about 70 or 80 jobs I applied for) that I did receive an offer for. I also applied for jobs for about 5 months before being offered a position, starting from around this time last year until July last year. I heard back about interviews from about 3 of them. Another strategy I used (again since I had no geographical constraint) was to email professors all over the country who were doing research even tangentially related to my interests, asking them if they had an RA or Lab manager position they were looking to fill. I ended up emailing about 100 people. Be warned that if you do this, many will not reply to you even to say they don't have any positions.

The reason I ask if you live near a university is, if possible, you could find a part time job (or two) doing something else that you don't care for much during the evenings/weekends/a couple days a week, and then the remaining days of the week you could volunteer in a lab of your choice. No professor will say no to having a volunteer - someone willing to advance their research for free? Yes please! When I started to get really desperate, I began to consider doing this as I knew I needed desperately to get more research experience before applying to grad programs. The only thing I'd say is don't volunteer in a lab that doesn't realllly match your research interests. But that's just me drawing a line - if I'm not getting paid I want to at least be doing work I care about.

In the end, I did end up receiving an offer from one of the places I applied to work. The research is not even tangentially related to my interests, but as long as you can spin the work you're doing in interviews or your SOP to convey how much of a learning experience it is, it doesn't seem that people will mind. I've been fairly successful this application cycle even despite the numerous flaws in my application. 

Edited March 7, 2017 by 01848p

[dormcat]

@SocCog Seconding everything @01848p said! First, I'm sorry this has been a disappointing application cycle. This is my second time applying so I'm empathetic to how you're feeling. 

I work in a lab now and it's rare we have RAs from our area (DMV) unless they started as undergrad volunteers. Even then we've turned down undergrads who worked for us in favor of people from other states (Louisiana, Minnesota, Connecticut, Ohio, etc.). Unless it's absolutely necessary, don't limit yourself to a small geographic area. I've also heard it looks good on applications that someone is willing to move for their research, particularly if you talk about wanting to stay in academia after you receive your degree. My advice for folks looking for RAships is to check out lab websites since you can tell by bios if they do external hires. Also, one of my coworkers just told me about hofstrapsychadvising.wordpress.com. 

[OptimiscallyAnxious]

7 hours ago, SocCog said:

I know I haven't been rejected from the majority of my programs, but it's just seeming like this isn't happening this year. I'm scrambling to figure out what to do with my life that will make me more appealing next time around. Haven't found any local lab manager/paid research assistant jobs yet. Too late to try for any master program I'd actually want (Funny story, EVERY graduate school "crash course" panel that I ever attended made it seem like you heard back from PhD programs in Jan/Feb and then Masters as your backup plan didn't have applications due until April/May. Boy were they wrong. I feel rather lied to.)

I got the email about the UCI postbac program, which doesn't sound terrible, apart from having to take out normal loans (instead of student loans) for the $18k is costs, plus living expenses, since it isn't a degree program.

But I don't know what else to do. I live at home and I'm unemployed. Nothing I'm doing right now is making me more appealing as a candidate. My old summer job would probably take me back (at least for the summer, if not as a full-time employee), but I kind of hated it. It's slightly psychological (or at least I could spin it that way). But I don't want to be miserable (I cried on multiple lunch breaks over the summer.) Ughh. I don't know what to do next... 

I'm so sorry about this application cycle. I totally agree with the advice outlined by @dormcat and @01848p. Additionally, I suggest looking for funded best-bacc programs. I found 2 programs that offer funding, I'll PM you the information when I find it. 

[01848p]

Btw - if people are looking for jobs. It would be a great idea to join the Cognitive Development Society's listserv! People are constantly advertising post-doc, RA, and lab manager positions (not always in the field of cognitive development, I just got an email today for a lab doing work in social cognition). 

[refreshingmyemail]

On 3/1/2017 at 3:29 PM, Veronicat said:

Still waiting to hear from UW, UIC (Psych), DePaul, and UC Santa Barbara. I know UCSB sent invites for interviews a while ago, but a formal rejection would still be nice. Has anyone heard from these schools?

I had an  interview with Depaul about month ago and with UCSB in January..

[Veronicat]

8 minutes ago, refreshingmyemail said:

I had an  interview with Depaul about month ago and with UCSB in January..

Yeah, I figured it was a long shot! The person I wanted to work with at DePaul wasn't taking students this year. Congrats on your interviews!  

[marsbars]

Has Alabama contacted anyone ? 
It is still "sent to department for review" on the webpage

Same with Mississippi. 

Anyone gotten a response?

 

Bueller ? Bueller? Bueller?