PhD Fall 2018 Applicants

[Timemachines]

2 hours ago, cindyboop said:

People are receiving interview invites already??!!

Don't sweat! Its predominantly preliminary skype interviews

[songofgallifrey]

@cindyboop yes don't worry! as @Timemachines said, it looks like most of the ones on the results page are preliminary Skype interviews. When I had mine with UC San Diego, the prof told me that the admissions committee is asking faculty to conduct these before inviting people out to the interview weekend, since each prof is only able to send those invites to a couple of people. I hope that helps!

Edited December 13, 2017 by songofgallifrey
clarity

[pataka]

2 hours ago, cindyboop said:

People are receiving interview invites already??!!

For psych for the most part I've only seen really informal/informational type interviews so far. The professor I talked with told me he had just gotten the list of applicants who put him down as a PoI, and he was going through it and reaching out for preliminary chats with people he *might* be interested in working with. Formal interview invites won't be sent for a few weeks still, maybe longer. Don't freak out yet! 

[psychonerd]

Hi! I'm new here.. although i have been reading forums for months I finally made an account because the freak-outs have begun...

Applying for: Behavioral Neuro

Biggest worry: low GRE, no pubs

confident: high GPA, 2 years of research, UMASS MED summer program, 3 labs (all LORS too), CV

unsure: statements (refusing to reread) 

It's nice to meet you all in this boat...

so with the PI's emailing for UCSD (even though its still prelim interviews) Im worried that I won't get a prelim if they have already sent them! 

[vallaboop]

@songofgallifrey @Timemachines @pataka Thank you all! I am still nervous but I feel a bit better. I'll try not to worry yet...

[Justacceptme]

I hope I am competitive enough to get in! I have applied to 4 schools that are great for my interests! However, I am worried that my GRE will prevent my application from even being looked at!

Strengths

1. Graduated Summa Cum Laude in Undergrad.
2. Currently, have a 4.0 in my masters.
3. 1 First author paper currently under  2nd revision (accept and resubmit)
4. 1 2nd author paper currently in process of being accepted. 
5. 1 3rd author paper under revision
6. Great letters of Rec
7. Great SOP, I spent around 3 months writing to perfect them lol

Weakness

1. GRE atrociously low 295 total score and 3.5 on writing  

Applying to counseling programs!

what do you guys think?

             

 

[pataka]

13 minutes ago, Justacceptme said:

I hope I am competitive enough to get in! I have applied to 4 schools that are great for my interests! However, I am worried that my GRE will prevent my application from even being looked at!

Strengths

1. Graduated Summa Cum Laude in Undergrad.
2. Currently, have a 4.0 in my masters.
3. 1 First author paper currently under  2nd revision (accept and resubmit)
4. 1 2nd author paper currently in process of being accepted. 
5. 1 3rd author paper under revision
6. Great letters of Rec
7. Great SOP, I spent around 3 months writing to perfect them lol

Weakness

1. GRE atrociously low 295 total score and 3.5 on writing  

Applying to counseling programs!

what do you guys think?

             

 

Your GRE is low, but your Master's GPA might be enough to counteract that. Your publications/research experience are really good for your application. I'd say it comes down to your research fit with the programs you applied to. Did you apply to programs that don't have a minimum GRE cutoff/specifically state they look at the whole application? Did you reach out to faculty/potential PoIs so that they might recognize your name when they see your application? 

[Justacceptme]

1 minute ago, pataka said:

Your GRE is low, but your Master's GPA might be enough to counteract that. Your publications/research experience are really good for your application. I'd say it comes down to your research fit with the programs you applied to. Did you apply to programs that don't have a minimum GRE cutoff/specifically state they look at the whole application? Did you reach out to faculty/potential PoIs so that they might recognize your name when they see your application? 

I contacted them, but I kept it brief. I just wanted them to know that I matched with their interests and I look forward to applying to the program. All the programs stated that they look at the application holistically! Fingers crossed!

[pataka]

1 minute ago, Justacceptme said:

I contacted them, but I kept it brief. I just wanted them to know that I matched with their interests and I look forward to applying to the program. All the programs stated that they look at the application holistically! Fingers crossed!

Cool! Sounds like you did everything you could to give your application a good shot, then. Best of luck!  

[2ndTimeHopeful]

Applied for Ph.D. Clinical Psych focus on developmental disorders, 13 schools, 2nd time applying. Ended up in a 2 year MS program that I will graduate from in May and will be ready to take the BCBA boards. Undergraduate GPA 3.42 with Psychology Honors, completed an Honors thesis. GRE 161/161/4. Recipient of two financial research awards, one from my undergraduate institution & the other was a national award. Two funded summer research internships at an IVY league institution mentored by an very well known professor. Two publications in prestigious journals, one was a research study where I was lead author & the other was a book review where I was the author. Masters GPA 3.96. Masters thesis in progress. Currently working as an intern at a facility for the developmentally disabled and working part time as a research assistant on a study related to my area of interest. Psi Chi & vice president of the psychology graduate program at my current university. 4 Letters of Reference, one from a very well known professor who has been my mentor, one from the director of my current program, one from an undergraduate professor and one from my current supervisor. Wasn't invited to interview last time around. What do you think my chances are and how can I improve my profile if I have to apply again? Thank you.

[loffire]

On 12/12/2017 at 1:39 AM, Logan B. said:

@loffire ahhh good luck to you! I was told multiple times it comes down to clinical fit. It sounds like your research experience is strong and will be competitive. 

 

I also applied to Berkeley and I'm freaking out hoping they don't look at my horrible GRE scores and just toss me out--- I have (and I am bias) quite an interesting background and strong SOP and LoR.... I really don't want to take that GRE again-- I did WAY worse the second time than the first and studied so much. That is my only worry on my application. 

 

hopefully we wont need to go through this ordeal all over again hahah. though that said ive prepared myself to do it once more next year. fingers crossed i'll see you in Berkeley ay?

[loffire]

13 hours ago, Justacceptme said:

I hope I am competitive enough to get in! I have applied to 4 schools that are great for my interests! However, I am worried that my GRE will prevent my application from even being looked at!

Strengths

1. Graduated Summa Cum Laude in Undergrad.
2. Currently, have a 4.0 in my masters.
3. 1 First author paper currently under  2nd revision (accept and resubmit)
4. 1 2nd author paper currently in process of being accepted. 
5. 1 3rd author paper under revision
6. Great letters of Rec
7. Great SOP, I spent around 3 months writing to perfect them lol

Weakness

1. GRE atrociously low 295 total score and 3.5 on writing  

Applying to counseling programs!

what do you guys think?

             

 

totally off topic but i love your username hahah. like someone else mentioned, hopefully your master's gpa helps with your gre scores. sounds like you've got quite a bit of publications as well so that hopefully helps as well!

[loffire]

On 12/12/2017 at 9:47 PM, cindyboop said:

I have similar interests to you - what were your "safe" schools? I have a hard time figuring this out with grad programs. I've looked at rankings on usnews.com but I'm not sure if there is a better place to look? 

I've had similar problems with my GRE scores! Some schools seemed to have received them immediately while one is still telling me they don't have them but I sent them over a month ago  super frustrating. 

my "safer" schools were Missouri and NEU. I applied to Indiana University Bloomington and OSU as well! Although I initially shortlisted Colorado for their social neuroscience, I didn't feel that the research of the profs there were as good a fit for me. oh and my undergrad was from SUNY Buffalo!

[vallaboop]

2 hours ago, loffire said:

my "safer" schools were Missouri and NEU. I applied to Indiana University Bloomington and OSU as well! Although I initially shortlisted Colorado for their social neuroscience, I didn't feel that the research of the profs there were as good a fit for me. oh and my undergrad was from SUNY Buffalo!

Nice! I originally was going to apply to the behavioral neuro program at Colorado but I liked the research interests of the faculty in the behavioral, psychiatric, and statistical genetics track a lot more. What school is NEU? And did you like SUNY Buffalo? 

[psychonerd]

13 hours ago, umlemaillist said:

Applied for Ph.D. Clinical Psych focus on developmental disorders, 13 schools, 2nd time applying. Ended up in a 2 year MS program that I will graduate from in May and will be ready to take the BCBA boards. Undergraduate GPA 3.42 with Psychology Honors, completed an Honors thesis. GRE 161/161/4. Recipient of two financial research awards, one from my undergraduate institution & the other was a national award. Two funded summer research internships at an IVY league institution mentored by an very well known professor. Two publications in prestigious journals, one was a research study where I was lead author & the other was a book review where I was the author. Masters GPA 3.96. Masters thesis in progress. Currently working as an intern at a facility for the developmentally disabled and working part time as a research assistant on a study related to my area of interest. Psi Chi & vice president of the psychology graduate program at my current university. 4 Letters of Reference, one from a very well known professor who has been my mentor, one from the director of my current program, one from an undergraduate professor and one from my current supervisor. Wasn't invited to interview last time around. What do you think my chances are and how can I improve my profile if I have to apply again? Thank you.

My god...you have nothing to worry about..your masters experience Im sure will speak volumes to the committees!

[nicokren]

Hey, could the people who heard back from Northwestern Social let me know who their POIs are? Thanks!

[Psych2018]

This is my third time applying, and I’m already expecting the worst. I’m so nervous! I’m trying not to lose hope every time I see a new interview invite. 

[psychlifer]

Hi all,

Thought I would reach out on here with a question/dilemma. I received interview invites for two of my top school options, and the interviews are happening on the same day. Any advice on how to handle that? I know that if I do a Skype/phone interview, my chances of acceptance are probably lower, but I'm not sure what to do...

 

Thank you!

[b_l91]

13 minutes ago, psychlifer said:

Hi all,

Thought I would reach out on here with a question/dilemma. I received interview invites for two of my top school options, and the interviews are happening on the same day. Any advice on how to handle that? I know that if I do a Skype/phone interview, my chances of acceptance are probably lower, but I'm not sure what to do...

 

Thank you!

The fact of the matter is you can't be two places at once (unless you know something I don't!). I have not had this experience as an applicant, but I will offer you an anecdote from the other side: The hospital I work at has an APA accredited internship whose director I helped with some administrative tasks as a favor... One candidate was offered an interview but it conflicted with a different interview, so she outright declined. Another applicant was offered an interview; she responded that she was unable to make those dates but she was really interested and was there any way a phone/video interview could be conducted, and so the directors interviewed her by videoconference. 

It is my experience that at this level, everyone understands scheduling conflicts, particularly for competitive applicants. What you do is ultimately up to you, but there are two things to keep in mind: 1) how you frame your response matters and 2) the only other alternative to maybe being at a disadvantage by a long distance interview is taking yourself out of the running altogether. The important thing here is that you got these interviews, and that's something to be proud of! Congrats

[psychlifer]

33 minutes ago, beclj91 said:

The fact of the matter is you can't be two places at once (unless you know something I don't!). I have not had this experience as an applicant, but I will offer you an anecdote from the other side: The hospital I work at has an APA accredited internship whose director I helped with some administrative tasks as a favor... One candidate was offered an interview but it conflicted with a different interview, so she outright declined. Another applicant was offered an interview; she responded that she was unable to make those dates but she was really interested and was there any way a phone/video interview could be conducted, and so the directors interviewed her by videoconference. 

It is my experience that at this level, everyone understands scheduling conflicts, particularly for competitive applicants. What you do is ultimately up to you, but there are two things to keep in mind: 1) how you frame your response matters and 2) the only other alternative to maybe being at a disadvantage by a long distance interview is taking yourself out of the running altogether. The important thing here is that you got these interviews, and that's something to be proud of! Congrats

 

Thank you! This was so helpful, and so good to keep in mind.  

[SocialPsych2018]

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to jump in here and say I'm also applying for social psych PhD programs. I'm only applying to 6 schools and they're almost all reach schools: Stanford, Princeton, Yale, Northwestern, University of Washington, UC Berkeley. I'm an international (Canadian) applicant.

Every time I see another person say that they've heard back about interviews from one of the above schools, I freak out a bit. Also, I've been checking my email constantly for the past week (but haven't heard anything).

Good luck to all with applications!

 

Oh, and @nicokren I've been wondering the same thing about who has already been sending out interview offers at Northwestern.

Edited December 15, 2017 by SocialPsych2018

[nicokren]

So...just saw someone post on the results thread that Northwestern has finished reviewing applicants. Now I am feeling doubtful as I haven't had any update. 

I did decide to reach out to my POI at U Wisc. 

[2ndTimeHopeful]

On 12/14/2017 at 11:30 AM, psychonerd said:

My god...you have nothing to worry about..your masters experience Im sure will speak volumes to the committees!

So far two of my top schools (Virginia Tech & Rochester) have sent out interview requests. I’m starting to get deja vu from last round. 

[Timemachines]

1 hour ago, umlemaillist said:

So far two of my top schools (Virginia Tech & Rochester) have sent out interview requests. I’m starting to get deja vu from last round. 

Remember that its still very early - dont sweat!

[psychonerd]

3 hours ago, umlemaillist said:

So far two of my top schools (Virginia Tech & Rochester) have sent out interview requests. I’m starting to get deja vu from last round. 

That is actually shocking to me but don't worry yet you have plenty of other schools and I seriously still think you have nothing to worry about. If you are applying to UC Davis my POI just told me they will be sending their invites in the next few week so its still to early to doubt yourself!!

Edited December 16, 2017 by psychonerd