PhD Fall 2018 Applicants

[psykick]

On 1/11/2018 at 2:23 PM, hg92 said:

Hey guys!

Just wondering for those of you have Skype or informal calls....how long after the call did you hear back? If you weren’t selected for an in-person interview did you hear back?

 

Thanks!

For one informal call, I heard back within 24 hours and the other I heard back when they said (at the end of the week) but probably 4-5 days afterwards. As everyone has alluded to, depends on the PI and their timeline that includes calling other applicants as well

Edited January 12, 2018 by psykick

[hg92]

1 hour ago, cindyboop said:

Another one of my programs sent all their interview invites out and I didn't get one. I feel so defeated

Keep your head up!

Everytime I'm rejected....I try to reframe things. Instead of thinking that I did not make the cut because I wasn't good enough, I trust the fact that the faculty know what they're doing. They figure out who the best fit during this application season and they're giving the opportunity to somebody else who has worked incredibly hard OR

perhaps they realized there is room for improvement in my application and if I spent a year nurturing a specific skillset, my time as a graduate student could certainly benefit. I tell myself instead of taking me this year, they are both wise and strategic - and rather take an improved version of me next year, when I've built the skillset I was missing and could finish my PhD in 5-6 years rather than in 7-8. 

Most of all I focus that with the rejection comes closure and mental freedom. Instead of worrying about this schooI , I  can now exert my energy towards things that matter in the present. For example, l can focus more on preparing for interviews at schools who want me, instead of mindlessly worrying about schools who may or may not want me this year  

Good luck and keeping my fingers crossed that you get admitted to the right school this season 

Edited January 12, 2018 by hg92

[vallaboop]

3 minutes ago, hg92 said:

Keep your head up!

Everytime I'm rejected....I try to reframe things. Instead of thinking that I did not make the cut because I wasn't good enough, I trust the fact that the faculty know what they're doing. They figure out who the best fit during this application season and they're giving the opportunity to somebody else who has worked incredibly hard OR

perhaps they realized there is room for improvement in my application and I spent the time nurturing a specific skills my time as a graduate student would certainly be benefited... I tell myself instead of taking me this year - they figured they rather have an improved version of me next year, when I've built the skillset I was missing and could finish my PhD in 5-6 years rather than in 7-8. 

Most of all I focus that with the rejection comes closure and mental freedom. Instead of worrying about this schooI , I  can now exert my energy towards things that matter in the present. For example, l can focus more on preparing for interviews at schools who want me, instead of mindlessly worrying about schools who may or may not want me this year  

Good luck and keeping my fingers crossed that you get admitted to the right school this season 

Thank you for that, it was really nice of you to take the time to say that! I know I need to put it into perspective but it's just such an exhausting process that it's hard not to take rejection (or perceived rejection) lightly. I know it's not over though and I do still have one Interview so I should just look on the bright side. Le sigh. 

[kierkegoth]

Just realized I applied to the wrong area of study at UCLA, as the social cognitive neuroscience major people are listed in social psychology and not the cognitive neuroscience area. At least I am already receiving concrete ways in regards to improving my application for next seasons cycle lol.

[ilikepsych]

4 hours ago, clinical_chicana said:

Anyone know how important it is for the program you attend to be ranked? Specifically in regards to career outcomes. I chose programs to apply to based on research interests rather than prestige. 

I think applying based on research fit is the right thing to do; however, it is a bonus if it is a ranked program. The reason is that it is likely that the faculty at ranked schools are more likely to be considered "big names" in the field, and big names can (but won't always) open doors. Plus, familiarity with a ranked school's psychology program (especially the rigor of it) provides insight into the kind of candidate you are and the training you received. However, it's still possible that you might've attended a non-ranked school, but worked with a famous/highly reputed PI--in such cases, you might get a second look. This is information that my mentors have told me, and it is specific to academic careers (not sure how much ranking matters if you're looking to go into practice). 

[Cognition001]

3 hours ago, Psychologyandpizza said:

I know there have been threads on this before, but am too *lazy* to go back and search for a link to them. Anyways, when I was a senior in undergrad, I began working with a new faculty and then continued working with her during my two year master's degree. I do recognize this is different than when you begin your PhD but in my case, I can say it was honestly a blessing working with a new faculty. 

 

(a) She was far more motivated than many of the established faculty at my university - there is no way I would have as many outcomes as I do now without having worked with her. We cranked out project after project, and -this might be biased- but they were great projects. We are still working together. 

(b) They have certain guidelines and marks that they have to meet as a new faculty (whether that be getting a certain number of pubs before tenure, evals of a certain score, etc), and they are also feeling like they need to prove themselves in a sense. 

(c) They recently were in the same exact place you are and can perhaps offer advice/wisdom that is more pertinent to situations you may face. 

(d) You may get to play a larger role in establishing what their program of research is going to look like at the institution, which is good news for you as you may be able to intertwine your own interests with theirs even more than with an established faculty.

 

However, sure, there are also drawbacks. They may not have experience mentoring students, may not have as large of a network or reach in the field, overall are not as experienced, etc. If I could pick between a new faculty and an older faculty though, I might be inclined to pick a newer faculty. 

 

3 hours ago, Stauce said:

It's so funny to hear this. I was just discussing the possibility of joining a new faculty to a colleague/friend, and he heavily discouraged it. He said new faculty can be too hands-on and want to be intimately involved in the process (e.g. still in post-doc, grad student mode), and this can result in a loss of valuable learning experiences for you. He also indicated that more senior faculty tend to have a more established routine and practice of pushing out publications that has been developed with years of practice, and it's not something new faculty have yet developed/established.

 

I am sure it comes down a lot to the personality and experience of the new faculty. It's just curious that there are such diverging opinions on the matter.

This gives me a lot to think about thanks for the input. I guess I have to wait for the decisions and decide based on which professor seems to be the best fit

[nicokren]

In all my demise this season I was beginning to rely on being waitlisted at this point in the game. Though, I'm not sure if you still need an interview in order to be waitlisted. Does anybody know the answer to this? My first round of PhD apps all ended in rejection, so I do not know how it works. 

Thanks in advance!

[b_l91]

45 minutes ago, nicokren said:

In all my demise this season I was beginning to rely on being waitlisted at this point in the game. Though, I'm not sure if you still need an interview in order to be waitlisted. Does anybody know the answer to this? My first round of PhD apps all ended in rejection, so I do not know how it works. 

Thanks in advance!

In most cases, PhD programs don't admit without some kind of interview (whether it be a formal interview weekend or phone/skype). I applied last year also and didn't hear from 9 out of the 10 I applied to until around March when I got the official rejection letter (i.e., after everyone had accepted their admissions offers and their new cohort was set). If your schools haven't specifically told you about a waitlist I wouldn't count on it. Heck, even after I interviewed at my one school last year, they said they'd let us know in two weeks, and I never heard about an offer or a waitlist until I contacted the DCT and he said due to the number of people ahead of me I should make other plans because I wasn't getting an offer. This of course is my experience applying to clinical programs, and social may be different, but I hope that provides at least a little bit of clarity. It's still early though, I hope one of your programs ends up working out for you!!

[Timemachines]

8 minutes ago, nicokren said:

In all my demise this season I was beginning to rely on being waitlisted at this point in the game. Though, I'm not sure if you still need an interview in order to be waitlisted. Does anybody know the answer to this? My first round of PhD apps all ended in rejection, so I do not know how it works. 

Thanks in advance!

In terms of clinical psych apps (Im not sure if applicable) there are some circumstances where you may be waisted for an interview. For example, I know U of Florida does this. I also know that some universities interview in waves and may invite high alternates later in the season. These occurrences are quite rare but do happen. Otherwise the waitlist term refers to students who interviewed and were not offered acceptance at a university -but- pending the outcome of the top choice student and where they accept, may get off the waitlist into the program. 

[b_l91]

18 hours ago, clinical_chicana said:

Anyone know how important it is for the program you attend to be ranked? Specifically in regards to career outcomes. I chose programs to apply to based on research interests rather than prestige. 

Ranking is a tough metric for this area of higher ed. I'm guessing it's fair to say that rank and prestige has been drilled into most of us since we began our search for undergraduate universities but it's not nearly as cut and dry for psych PhDs.

One of the best sources I can offer is Mitch's Guide to Clinical Psychology. Pg. 27 discusses how the ranking system, like US News and World Report, is not very accurate. At best, he says, you should look at quartiles, because individual ranks within quartiles are not especially accurate. Page 42 goes more in-depth about this.

This paper, published in 2005, gives you a better understanding of why USNWR is not a great source (tl;dr: USNWR's methodology is crap). It also offers its own ranking system based on 1. publication rates of faculty members, 2. impact of those publications, and 3. composite score. The list offered in this paper is obviously outdated but it can show you how rankings vary based on your metric. 

Other metrics include student EPPP scores , which is necessary for licensing.

Lists aside, if you want to understand the quality of your school, you should be looking at your school's student outcomes table. For clinical, APA accreditation is the first thing to look for. But you also want a school whose students routinely receive APA-accredited internships at a high percentage. Additionally, many schools list locations where their recent graduates have completed their internships.

To answer your question in a much less rambling way, my perception is that "prestige" is more likely to impact your career trajectory if your goal is to be a professor at a research university, but even that is not a good enough reason to select your schools based on rank as opposed to fit. It's a really loaded question with a lot of variables to consider, but keep in mind that fit is how you get accepted, regardless of rank

 

[LFPT03]

On 1/11/2018 at 4:21 PM, Stauce said:

It appears that Ohio State has sent out all invitations and interviews have already occurred or occur mid- to late-January? Anyone know if that's correct?

Ohio State’s interview weekend is next weekend, January 19th, for the Clinical program. I hope this information helps. 

[nicokren]

4 hours ago, b_l91 said:

In most cases, PhD programs don't admit without some kind of interview (whether it be a formal interview weekend or phone/skype). I applied last year also and didn't hear from 9 out of the 10 I applied to until around March when I got the official rejection letter (i.e., after everyone had accepted their admissions offers and their new cohort was set). If your schools haven't specifically told you about a waitlist I wouldn't count on it. Heck, even after I interviewed at my one school last year, they said they'd let us know in two weeks, and I never heard about an offer or a waitlist until I contacted the DCT and he said due to the number of people ahead of me I should make other plans because I wasn't getting an offer. This of course is my experience applying to clinical programs, and social may be different, but I hope that provides at least a little bit of clarity. It's still early though, I hope one of your programs ends up working out for you!!

 

4 hours ago, Timemachines said:

In terms of clinical psych apps (Im not sure if applicable) there are some circumstances where you may be waisted for an interview. For example, I know U of Florida does this. I also know that some universities interview in waves and may invite high alternates later in the season. These occurrences are quite rare but do happen. Otherwise the waitlist term refers to students who interviewed and were not offered acceptance at a university -but- pending the outcome of the top choice student and where they accept, may get off the waitlist into the program. 

Darn, I suppose that means I'm facing another admission round full of rejections. Thanks for the info.

[Timemachines]

1 hour ago, nicokren said:

 

Darn, I suppose that means I'm facing another admission round full of rejections. Thanks for the info.

Don't despair - my first time applying, I applied to 14 schools and heard from 1. It wasn't a good feeling but it was necessary fuel to get it together for this cycle, which has been completely different. Have faith in yourself and look at it as more time to really focus and contribute scientifically. I have confidence that you'll kick ass. 

[HopefulAbouttheFuture]

On 1/13/2018 at 8:10 AM, nicokren said:

In all my demise this season I was beginning to rely on being waitlisted at this point in the game. Though, I'm not sure if you still need an interview in order to be waitlisted. Does anybody know the answer to this? My first round of PhD apps all ended in rejection, so I do not know how it works. 

Thanks in advance!

Some of the programs that I got into didn't require an interview so I wouldn't give up yet! There is still time. I know people that have gotten into programs in March and even past the April 15th deadline. It just depends on the school tbh. 

[vallaboop]

Just discovered that one of my applications was missing a LOR *face palm*

[FeministPsychologist]

Anyone wanna claim the Waitlisted post regarding University of Maryland-College Park for Counseling Psych? I'm wondering if you heard that from the POI or the department.

[pataka]

11 minutes ago, FeministPsychologist said:

Anyone wanna claim the Waitlisted post regarding University of Maryland-College Park for Counseling Psych? I'm wondering if you heard that from the POI or the department.

Hello, the waitlist post wasn't me, but I am inclined to say that all of the invites for the formal on-campus interview have been sent out, as they are currently in the process of assigning housing/student hosts for Interview Day. 

[pettyaspraxis]

10 minutes ago, pataka said:

Hello, the waitlist post wasn't me, but I am inclined to say that all of the invites for the formal on-campus interview have been sent out, as they are currently in the process of assigning housing/student hosts for Interview Day. 

Damn. That's good information to know though, thanks for the clarification

[cogsci2018]

On 1/12/2018 at 3:37 PM, Cognition001 said:

I was wondering what people's thoughts are on working with a new professor, I was reached out by a new professor who recently got her doctorate and was hired by the university. I really liked her research and when we spoke she seemed very nice, I am just not sure if it is a bit of a gamble to start my doctorate with a new professor compared to someone established in the field. Any thoughts?

I think this is a nuanced situation and extremely POI dependent. The main things to consider would be whether or not they are in a tenure-track position, their pathway for graduate students to gain authorship, and their 5-year plan.

Assuming they are tenure track, there is an inherent conflict of interest with their publication record and yours. Based on their own needs to secure tenure, they might be less able to allow grad students to work on independent research or contribute at the level of being first author when compared to someone who is established w/ tenure. Although, even established professors could have VERY difficult pathways for anyone in their lab to gain authorship (which is a discussion in itself).

In addition, I've heard anecdotally being someone's first grad student can = lots of time dedicated to getting the lab running at the beginning. It would be good to know how soon they would have data for you to work on, or if they have old data sets you are able to analyze within that interim.  If they don't have tenure, there's always the possibility they could leave for another institution. Where does that leave you? Would they be able to take you with them? Would there be another POI in the department able to take you on if not? These are tricky questions that don't necessarily have answers or are difficult to tactfully approach, although important to keep in mind when deciding.

 

 

 

 

[FeministPsychologist]

12 minutes ago, pataka said:

Hello, the waitlist post wasn't me, but I am inclined to say that all of the invites for the formal on-campus interview have been sent out, as they are currently in the process of assigning housing/student hosts for Interview Day. 

Thanks for the update! I still feel like I've been left hanging a bit, but it's definitely helpful info.

[pataka]

4 minutes ago, FeministPsychologist said:

Thanks for the update! I still feel like I've been left hanging a bit, but it's definitely helpful info.

 

7 minutes ago, pettyaspraxis said:

Damn. That's good information to know though, thanks for the clarification

 

Their webpage does say that they send out acceptances and rejections at the same time in late February/early March. I wonder if in between, they leave people in limbo just in case they need/want to do additional interviews? Seems kind of cruel not to inform at least the people who completed the phone interview though. I'm sorry 

[rettelthgin]

3 hours ago, FeministPsychologist said:

Anyone wanna claim the Waitlisted post regarding University of Maryland-College Park for Counseling Psych? I'm wondering if you heard that from the POI or the department.

I made the waitlisted post for UMD College Park -- I received an e-mail from the POI after an initial phone interview in late December.

[missfleur]

22 hours ago, pataka said:

Hello, the waitlist post wasn't me, but I am inclined to say that all of the invites for the formal on-campus interview have been sent out, as they are currently in the process of assigning housing/student hosts for Interview Day. 

I know this post was originally about counseling psych, but I did contact for clinical psych, in case anyone's interested.  My post on another thread:

"In case anyone has applied to University of Maryland (UMD) - College Park. Spoke with the Program Coordinator and she let me know all 1st round invitations have been extended. There is a possible 2nd round of invitations to be sent out mid-late February if you did not receive a 1st round invitation. But as she put it, it's only a potential 2nd round, meaning it's not for sure."

 

Edited January 17, 2018 by missfleur

[StudiestStudy]

I recently was invited to interview at George Washington University for their Psy.D. Program. I am very excited to go and interview but when I was looking over their program website I noticed I was unable to find information about a stipend. I am curious as to if any knows if this school does offer a stipend for their Psy.D. program? I know I could ask at the interview but it’s not for a few weeks and I’m anxious to know. Thank you!

[graceruth]

Has anyone heard from Colorado State, Northeastern, or University of Illinois- Urbana Champaign for Counseling Psychology? Thanks!