Helpful advice article about applying to psyc programs.

[Anita]

This is kind of too late for those of us who are waiting (in fact, you probably shouldn't read this ) but more for the ambitious juniors who are lurking on this board

http://gustavus.edu/academics/psychology/newsletter/20071205.php#majorspot

Scroll down to the "Spotlight on alum" article. There is some advice there that goes against most articles written by professors on e.g. Psi Chi, for example, that GRE is actually more important than GPA, and that recommendations may not even be read. But the author is not only an insider, but an insider at a prestigious program as well, so I hope there's more than a grain of truth in them. Hope someone finds it helpful

[LaurenA]

Egh, I wonder how true the article is about the process. He's a second-year graduate student, so he probably knows some, but as a second-year master's student, I don't think I know enough to tell anyone anything I'm also REALLY thrown-off about the advice about LORs--my current advisor was very clear in telling me that she chose me over another applicant solely based on my great LORs, even though the other applicant had better grades, scores, etc. And the two faculty I've interviewed with so far have raved about my LORs, and kinda brushed aside things like grades. One faculty member actually talked at length about specific things my advisor wrote in her LOR (she had a baby last year and I had to run her lab for quite some time), and the faculty member seemed thrilled I had that experience, as she's often out of the country. I don't think that kind of thing would have come through any other way (e.g., interviews, CVs, grades)...

Based on personal experience and this board, I really have come to the conclusion that every freakin' program and every faculty member has their own way of deciding and that all the stress we go through to try and find the "formula" to getting in is worthless But that doesn't mean we/future applicants will stop trying!