PhD Fall 2018 Applicants

[pataka]

If the person who received a phone interview request from your POI for UIUC Counseling Psych would be willing to share the POI initials, I would appreciate it! 

[ThirdWave]

On 1/19/2018 at 1:14 AM, StudiestStudy said:

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!

I don't believe that they offer one, as it is a Psy.D. program... Congrats on your interview! I applied to the same program but haven't heard yet =/

[2ndTimeHopeful]

On 1/13/2018 at 10:33 AM, b_l91 said:

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 The list offered in this paper is obviously outdated but it can show you how rankings vary based on your metric.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

 

Would a school that has a new clinical program and has accreditation on contingency status be a reasonable choice? 

[studentofthemind]

Has anyone else heard from Georgia Southern?

[2ndTimeHopeful]

Can the most recent BU poster please PM your POI & congrats. 

[b_l91]

22 hours ago, 2ndTimeHopeful said:

Would a school that has a new clinical program and has accreditation on contingency status be a reasonable choice? 

It could be a risk given that they don't have a history of continuous accreditation, however, programs have to get started somehow and this is it. I'm not sure what the context is for your school, but more established programs will likely have connections in the community, particularly in terms of practicum experiences available, as well as a history of sending their students to various internship sites. On the other hand, a newer program might enable you to shape your training exactly how you want it to be, as graduate students in this situation are may play a big role in establishing labs and/or field placements. What it boils down to is that as long as your program gains that final accreditation, that's all that matters! While it may not necessarily have the prestige as a more established, highly "ranked" program, it will give you transferable experiences and skills that'll likely help you in job interviews down the road.

 

If anyone else has thoughts/experiences on this matter, please chime in!

[vallaboop]

Has anyone heard anything from Indiana University - Bloomington? I saw on their website that they have a departmental wide interview weekend February 16-18, so I feel like invites from all programs are probably sent around the same time.

[jk616]

1 hour ago, cindyboop said:

Has anyone heard anything from Indiana University - Bloomington? I saw on their website that they have a departmental wide interview weekend February 16-18, so I feel like invites from all programs are probably sent around the same time.

I know they've started contacting people (at least for clinical). It seems like each PI sends out their own invites. I heard from my POI via phone last week but haven't received anything formal. 

[psychonerd]

1 hour ago, cindyboop said:

Has anyone heard anything from Indiana University - Bloomington? I saw on their website that they have a departmental wide interview weekend February 16-18, so I feel like invites from all programs are probably sent around the same time.

nope nothing still but relating it to other schools like UCLA, they set pall the dates for the interview and said they'll send out invites to each subdivision around two weeks before the interview date...so i see that as something that other schools may be doing as well

[vallaboop]

Thanks jk616 and psychonerd! Hopefully there is still time then

[PhDchallenger]

How far long do we have to wait for an admission decision after the interview day? Do they wait to interview everybody or do they send out offers to whoever impresses them first?!

[Cognition001]

4 minutes ago, PhDchallenger said:

How far long do we have to wait for an admission decision after the interview day? Do they wait to interview everybody or do they send out offers to whoever impresses them first?!

I just got back from an interview and they said in 2 weeks they will send out acceptance letters. I think this is because it has to go through a few levels of bureaucracy before having an official offer for students

[PhDchallenger]

1 hour ago, Cognition001 said:

I just got back from an interview and they said in 2 weeks they will send out acceptance letters. I think this is because it has to go through a few levels of bureaucracy before having an official offer for students

But do they give any impressions on how likely they are going to send out an offer to you for example?!

[Cognition001]

9 minutes ago, PhDchallenger said:

But do they give any impressions on how likely they are going to send out an offer to you for example?!

well in my interview it sounded like they were leaning towards accepting me since he told me not to forget the program by the end of my interviews, but he made no other insinuations that I would be officially accepted. I was lucky because I was the only invited applicant for this one professor but other professors had as many as 7 visiting applicants and I think they accept one 1-2 candidates

[ezraontheinternet]

Does anyone know if schools typically send out all acceptances (or all rejections) at once after the interviews? Just saw that someone got accepted to a program that I interviewed at, but I haven't gotten an email either way. 

[taylorjl]

I haven't seen many post on TGC results page. Has anyone heard back from University of Southern California, Notre Dame, Emory, or University of Colorado Denver? 

[Psychapplica]

Could I please have advice? My GRE is low-frankly it’s not likely to change (150/154/4.5,QVA). I have an MA and a lot of things going for my application.

delimma- poi from school contacted me asking if I planned on retaking the gre or would i consider starting in the MA program. She said “one score is lower than ideal (for the graduate committee).” 

I have 4 other interviews- but no acceptances, so I’m not inclined to turn anything down. I loved the research fit with this POI. I imagine she did too or she wouldn’t have contacted me. 

How should I respond? I’m certainly not getting a second MA. 

[vallaboop]

3 minutes ago, Psychapplica said:

Could I please have advice? My GRE is low-frankly it’s not likely to change (150/154/4.5,QVA). I have an MA and a lot of things going for my application.

delimma- poi from school contacted me asking if I planned on retaking the gre or would i consider starting in the MA program. She said “one score is lower than ideal (for the graduate committee).” 

I have 4 other interviews- but no acceptances, so I’m not inclined to turn anything down. I loved the research fit with this POI. I imagine she did too or she wouldn’t have contacted me. 

How should I respond? I’m certainly not getting a second MA. 

I wouldn't rule it out as of yet. Tell her you will think about it and mention that you have other interviews. If you can ultimately get a PhD from this program though, would it really be so bad if you had to get another  MA? Just something to think about.

[Psychapplica]

31 minutes ago, cindyboop said:

I wouldn't rule it out as of yet. Tell her you will think about it and mention that you have other interviews. If you can ultimately get a PhD from this program though, would it really be so bad if you had to get another  MA? Just something to think about.

That’s just it, their MA is not a program that’s contingent upon acceptance into the PhD program- if it were I would be amenable to it. (Many programs include the MA). AND... it’s not funded- the MA. The PhD is fully funded. I like that you also agree not to rule it out. Should I just tell her I’m amenable to retaking the GRE (full disclosure I’ve taken it 4 times, that is my best score... this is just one my hang-ups lol). I just don’t know I can raise my quant 3 points- I certainly can’t guarantee it lol

[vallaboop]

5 minutes ago, Psychapplica said:

That’s just it, their MA is not a program that’s contingent upon acceptance into the PhD program- if it were I would be amenable to it. (Many programs include the MA). AND... it’s not funded- the MA. The PhD is fully funded. I like that you also agree not to rule it out. Should I just tell her I’m amenable to retaking the GRE (full disclosure I’ve taken it 4 times, that is my best score... this is just one my hang-ups lol). I just don’t know I can raise my quant 3 points- I certainly can’t guarantee it lol

Oh that's a bummer. If it's just an MA I am not sure if it's worth it. I would talk to her more about it though, ask for more information before telling her no. You could ask her if you could retake the GRE, but if you would have to take it right away and not have time to study then it would likely be a waste of your time and money. I am not a proponent of the GRE personally. I didn't do well either because the whole experience was just awful. 

[nicokren]

I've heard nothing from my programs (other than UC Davis). I have emailed POIs for an update with nothing in return. Is this normal? I feel like that is just a precursor to the rejection letter.

[123pickme]

2 hours ago, Psychapplica said:

That’s just it, their MA is not a program that’s contingent upon acceptance into the PhD program- if it were I would be amenable to it. (Many programs include the MA). AND... it’s not funded- the MA. The PhD is fully funded. I like that you also agree not to rule it out. Should I just tell her I’m amenable to retaking the GRE (full disclosure I’ve taken it 4 times, that is my best score... this is just one my hang-ups lol). I just don’t know I can raise my quant 3 points- I certainly can’t guarantee it lol

Heres my take on this: I have taken the GRE's 3x and the outcome is the same - terrible. I do believe my GREs are got got in the way of me having been called for interviews. I have 2 interviews out of 8 applications, but I have been in research for 6 years, managed a lab for 2 years (in between undergraduate and graduate school), have presented in many conferences and yet the GREs still impacted my application significantly. I am doing an MA at an Ivy League and I have a 4.0, I don't think my GRE predicted that accurately ;). 

However, I KNOW that taking the GRE again won't improve my score too drastically unless I do nothing but study for a few months (I don't have that ability/financial luxury). I would ask your current mentor/POI/letter writer about the best way to communicate to this POI that you have taken in a few times and its not a reflection of your academic performance or something along those lines. Think of it as a negotiation letter when you have a job offer, or that they have told you that you are the second candidate they are considering, and you need to make a hell of a case for yourself. She contacted you for a reason, she seems to be fighting for you against a stubborn committee (as they all are) that is fixated on GRE performance.

Good luck!

Edited January 27, 2018 by 123pickme

[JoePianist]

2 hours ago, nicokren said:

I've heard nothing from my programs (other than UC Davis). I have emailed POIs for an update with nothing in return. Is this normal? I feel like that is just a precursor to the rejection letter.

I'm assuming you've applied to doctorate Clinical Psychology programs? I believe interview invites for most programs have been sent at this point, but I'd give it one more week before worrying about it

Edited January 27, 2018 by JoePianist

[Psychapplica]

2 hours ago, 123pickme said:

Heres my take on this: I have taken the GRE's 3x and the outcome is the same - terrible. I do believe my GREs are got got in the way of me having been called for interviews. I have 2 interviews out of 8 applications, but I have been in research for 6 years, managed a lab for 2 years (in between undergraduate and graduate school), have presented in many conferences and yet the GREs still impacted my application significantly. I am doing an MA at an Ivy League and I have a 4.0, I don't think my GRE predicted that accurately ;). 

However, I KNOW that taking the GRE again won't improve my score too drastically unless I do nothing but study for a few months (I don't have that ability/financial luxury). I would ask your current mentor/POI/letter writer about the best way to communicate to this POI that you have taken in a few times and its not a reflection of your academic performance or something along those lines. Think of it as a negotiation letter when you have a job offer, or that they have told you that you are the second candidate they are considering, and you need to make a hell of a case for yourself. She contacted you for a reason, she seems to be fighting for you against a stubborn committee (as they all are) that is fixated on GRE performance.

Good luck!

Thank you for the feedback and thank you Cindyboop! The first 3 times I took the test- same exact score. The last time I took a prep course with financial aid and my quant went up 8 points ?. You make a great point, most of us don’t have the luxury to drop our job and study at the moment! I sure don’t! This advice was all very helpful.

[nicokren]

4 hours ago, JoePianist said:

I'm assuming you've applied to doctorate Clinical Psychology programs? I believe interview invites for most programs have been sent at this point, but I'd give it one more week before worrying about it

I've applied to Social programs! I suppose I'll come up with a Plan B then haha