Late deadline second-chance schools and decent distance programs

[mutualist007]

Bottom line: Do any programs have April or May deadlines for PhD programs - OR are there any programs of any type (like distance programs) that have rolling admissions? I'm not giving up and will stubbornly punish myself if I have to in order to keep fighting for an admit. This is bucket list level stuff for me.

I have 2 more late decision schools for this year, but neither are in Psychology. Please try to understand the perspective of someone who has applied for 3-4 years and only received 1 unfunded offer out of over a dozen applications. I can't afford nor find 10-12 applications a year, so understandably I'm limiting myself.  

[LLsApps]

There is no such thing as a reputable distance learning doctoral program. There may be some professors reaching out to their shortlists on a one-on-one basis if their offers and waitlists did not pan out, or a handful of professors may be looking for last minute new recruits for similar reasons. Reaching out to your network of people in the field with similar interests (professors, other grad students) and looking to listservs to see if there are any opportunities in that vein would be your best bet.

[Clinapp2017]

My biggest suggestion would be talk to your LOR writers and see how to improve your application. There are no reputable programs to my knowledge that have this late of a deadline. All reputable accredited programs apply by the April 15th deadline to notify accepted students, so their app deadline is far before that (usually Dec 1). What types of programs are you applying to within psychology? If you are only sending out a handful of apps per year (a dozen/3 years is 4 apps per year), you may need to cast a larger net for success. I get this can be financially straining, but it's really the only solution if applying to small pools isn't working. This process has factors you can and cannot control, so increasing your spectrum of opportunities is always a good thing. 

[mutualist007]

Today I began a new day with a new perspective. After reviewing my choices this year I realized that there were some I just was not really jazzed about. I was excited about what they might could be or could do for my career, but not enough otherwise about the research. But I felt I had to make a choice. Issues of geography, career promise and actual interests were often at odds. I have no answers for how to balance what excites a person with making sensible choices that will lead to job security, but there has to be something in your education and job potential choices that leads you to an "excitatory" state for your research interests. 

I started this journey with an interest in behavioral neuroscience and in translational research in mental health. Since that's where I gravitate, I can focus around that make connections as necessary. It doesn't matter if I failed a dozen times before. I will just be smarter and more dedicated about it next time around.

 

“To be everywhere is to be nowhere.” ― Seneca, Letters from a Stoic