PhD Fall 2018 Applicants

[Clinapp2017]

39 minutes ago, cantunderstand said:

170/159/5 GRE with 3.76 GPA and 4+ years of field experience.

Eight applications. Zero interview invites.

Can't understand what happened.

What’s your area? Invites are still going out for a month or more 

[Stauce]

40 minutes ago, cantunderstand said:

170/159/5 GRE with 3.76 GPA and 4+ years of field experience.

Eight applications. Zero interview invites.

Can't understand what happened.

I understand it’s stressful and I am concerned too but I wouldn’t be so fatalistic. Just look at LeftSkew’s data he posted— Tomorrow and next week are some of the biggest periods for invites. There’s still time.

[cantunderstand]

8 minutes ago, Stauce said:

I understand it’s stressful and I am concerned too but I wouldn’t be so fatalistic. Just look at LeftSkew’s data he posted— Tomorrow and next week are some of the biggest periods for invites. There’s still time.

I appreciate the encouragement. I found out today that all my programs have already issued all of their invites. Trying not to be fatalistic, but at this point it seems like it's just realistic to assume I'm SOL.

[ilikepsych]

1 hour ago, cantunderstand said:

170/159/5 GRE with 3.76 GPA and 4+ years of field experience.

Eight applications. Zero interview invites.

Can't understand what happened.

Sorry to hear—in my opinion no response is better than a rejection! I’m guessing that this has more to do with fit with faculty members, rather than your qualifications. I’ve been told that when faculty read applications, applicants look so similar on paper that it really comes down to whether your statement “sings” to a particular faculty member, and whether the letters of rec are “good” vs. “outstanding.” Of course, this varies by school and area of psychology (I am speaking from a social/developmental perspective). You may still hear back so don’t lose hope until they explicitly say no! 

Edited January 12, 2018 by ilikepsych

[naturevnurture]

3 hours ago, cantunderstand said:

I found out today that all my programs have already issued all of their invites. Trying not to be fatalistic, but at this point it seems like it's just realistic to assume I'm SOL.

That is so frustrating, especially with your great qualifications! But a lot of people go through this process several times because it is just SO competitive. I would recommend politely asking your programs if they have any advice on improving your application for the next cycle (and in the meantime you can get some information/closure on why you might not have been accepted this round). A lot of times it can just be one weak spot in your application that keeps you down (# of pubs, research fit, SOP, recommenders, funding,  etc. etc.)

[psych-grad]

4 hours ago, cantunderstand said:

170/159/5 GRE with 3.76 GPA and 4+ years of field experience.

Eight applications. Zero interview invites.

Can't understand what happened.

I'm so sorry.

[SarahTonin]

12 hours ago, cantunderstand said:

170/159/5 GRE with 3.76 GPA and 4+ years of field experience.

Eight applications. Zero interview invites.

Can't understand what happened.

Yeah, same boat as you. Definitely not fun. Sending out commiseration vibes. 

[vallaboop]

12 hours ago, cantunderstand said:

I appreciate the encouragement. I found out today that all my programs have already issued all of their invites. Trying not to be fatalistic, but at this point it seems like it's just realistic to assume I'm SOL.

It's still possible! You may not have gotten an interview invite in the first round but you haven't received any rejections so it's possible you may still get an interview. I also don't know what programs you applied to but it is important to have some range in schools and make sure you tailor your personal statement to each school and the specific faculty you would like to work with. If it doesn't happen this round, don't fret! Good luck

[nicokren]

Wanted to let all the curious appliers know...I emailed POI (Sherman) at UC Davis for an update and he let me know I was not accepted. Very sad and feeling hopeless.

I thought I was a strong candidate (MA, high GPA, excellent independent research experience, worked under a significant figure in the field) but I suppose not. Continuing to wish good luck for you all!

[2ndTimeHopeful]

31 minutes ago, nicokren said:

Wanted to let all the curious appliers know...I emailed POI (Sherman) at UC Davis for an update and he let me know I was not accepted. Very sad and feeling hopeless.

I thought I was a strong candidate (MA, high GPA, excellent independent research experience, worked under a significant figure in the field) but I suppose not. Continuing to wish good luck for you all!

Sorry nicokren. I feel the same way. MS, high GRE’s, high GPA, two publications, references from significant mentors, two research awards. 13 schools & absolute silence. I’m at a loss as to what I need to do to improve my chances if I attempt this process again. 

[ilikepsych]

3 hours ago, nicokren said:

Wanted to let all the curious appliers know...I emailed POI (Sherman) at UC Davis for an update and he let me know I was not accepted. Very sad and feeling hopeless.

I thought I was a strong candidate (MA, high GPA, excellent independent research experience, worked under a significant figure in the field) but I suppose not. Continuing to wish good luck for you all!

Sorry to hear--sometimes, it has nothing to do with you and it's more about the politics behind the admissions process (e.g., meeting diversity requirements, funding, professor's lab is already too big). Or, maybe your POI already had a student or two in mind even before the admissions process began. My mentor always says that PhD admissions is a crapshoot--sometimes it comes down to how faculty are feeling at the time they are reviewing applications. 

[NasrinGavidel]

Hi every body! I am new in gradcafe  and Thanks God you are here to help me calm down! I have applied 7 PhD program in Chemistry and Bio medicine but no result! ( Purdue, Pitts, Northeastern, Rutgers, ESF, UIC(Medicinal Chemistry) and Cleveland state uni!

I see people get interview email or skype email and it is really disappointing!!!I am international,Should I wait more or this mean I don't have chance to get position?

[pataka]

4 minutes ago, NasrinGavidel said:

Hi every body! I am new in gradcafe  and Thanks God you are here to help me calm down! I have applied 7 PhD program in Chemistry and Bio medicine but no result! ( Purdue, Pitts, Northeastern, Rutgers, ESF, UIC(Medicinal Chemistry) and Cleveland state uni!

I see people get interview email or skype email and it is really disappointing!!!I am international,Should I wait more or this mean I don't have chance to get position?

Hello! I'm not really sure how Chemistry and Bio programs work; this is the Psychology thread! You might get better answers here: https://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/31-chemistry/

But in general I'm inclined to say that it's still early in the admissions process, so don't give up hope yet!

[ilikepsych]

4 minutes ago, NasrinGavidel said:

Hi every body! I am new in gradcafe  and Thanks God you are here to help me calm down! I have applied 7 PhD program in Chemistry and Bio medicine but no result! ( Purdue, Pitts, Northeastern, Rutgers, ESF, UIC(Medicinal Chemistry) and Cleveland state uni!

I see people get interview email or skype email and it is really disappointing!!!I am international,Should I wait more or this mean I don't have chance to get position?

Hi, welcome to gradcafe. You might want to post this in the Chemistry forum to get more answers--we are psychology.  

You might still have a chance--not hearing anything does not mean "no." For example, if another student declines their admission offer, the program may reach out to you to see if you are still interested.

[NasrinGavidel]

Ohhh I am really sorry ! Thanks for help! Sorry

[nicokren]

1 hour ago, ilikepsych said:

Sorry to hear--sometimes, it has nothing to do with you and it's more about the politics behind the admissions process (e.g., meeting diversity requirements, funding, professor's lab is already too big). Or, maybe your POI already had a student or two in mind even before the admissions process began. My mentor always says that PhD admissions is a crapshoot--sometimes it comes down to how faculty are feeling at the time they are reviewing applications. 

Thanks for the positive words, ilikepsych. I hope this isn't the start to a rough verdict process

4 hours ago, 2ndTimeHopeful said:

Sorry nicokren. I feel the same way. MS, high GRE’s, high GPA, two publications, references from significant mentors, two research awards. 13 schools & absolute silence. I’m at a loss as to what I need to do to improve my chances if I attempt this process again. 

Yeah, I'm feeling the same way 2ndTimeHopeful. This is my second round as well and I would just like some feedback. Perhaps if some other POIs respond to my emails I may ask.

[taylorjl]

Has anyone actually gotten a rejection letter from UNC Chapel Hill or just basing it off the website? I called the clinical psych program coordinator and she said that everyone had been notified if they got an invite. I asked if this meant that everyone who didn't were rejected and she said not necessarily. Also, did anyone else apply to and have you heard back from Emory and/or UC Denver?

[Clinapp2017]

6 minutes ago, taylorjl said:

Has anyone actually gotten a rejection letter from UNC Chapel Hill or just basing it off the website? I called the clinical psych program coordinator and she said that everyone had been notified if they got an invite. I asked if this meant that everyone who didn't were rejected and she said not necessarily. Also, did anyone else apply to and have you heard back from Emory and/or UC Denver?

I wouldn’t hold your breath on UNC. Almost always decisions for the cohort are made based off people invited to interview in th 1st round. This isn’t always the case (if applicants are bad or accept other offers), but this is super rare... anecdotally, I’ve only heard of this happening to one friend out of ~30 I know who have gone onto clinical programs like me. What this does almost certainly mean is that you aren’t going to interview in the 1st round (and likely won’t at all). 

[clinical_chicana]

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. 

[Cognition001]

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?

[Nut-ella]

5 hours ago, 2ndTimeHopeful said:

Sorry nicokren. I feel the same way. MS, high GRE’s, high GPA, two publications, references from significant mentors, two research awards. 13 schools & absolute silence. I’m at a loss as to what I need to do to improve my chances if I attempt this process again. 

I feel terrible when I see people like you and @nicokren -who are obviously highly qualified- are left discouraged. Admissions is such a random process, there's no way to guarantee a certain outcome. I'm also applying for the second time around, and I feel like the two uber-competitive areas in Psychology are Clinical and Social. I had a friend who got in a clinical program in her 3rd trial. Another friend in Social got in by her 2nd trial.

I hope you guys don't lose hope or give up on your dreams -- just apply to more schools in your next rounds. Last year I applied to 14, this year I applied to 19. I heard of people going up to 25 schools. 

Best wishes and best of luck to everyone!

[Psychologyandpizza]

28 minutes ago, 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 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. 

[Stauce]

4 minutes 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. 

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.

[Psychologyandpizza]

4 minutes 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 application season I am really seeing how people have diverging opinions on so many things. It is true - it definitely depends on the faculty and your fit together. On the flip side, at the same time I started working with the new faculty I mentioned, I was also recommended to work with another new faculty that was hired at the same time. Big mistake - she provided no guidance, didn't let her students do hardly anything in the lab, etc, which is probably part of what your faculty warned against. However, I wouldn't count out a faculty simply because they're new - I would definitely email with them and see what they have to say. Also, I'm not sure about this or if it's frowned upon but if they mention that they have a lot of mentoring/advising experience as a graduate student, you could also ask them if you could have contact information for a lower level grad student or undergraduate student that they mentored at their graduate university so that you can get a student's perspective on their mentoring style. 

[vallaboop]

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