2011-2012 Psychology PhD/Psy.D. Application Thread

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If the application didn't require a resume, then I usually put that I am knowledgeable in SPSS, SAS, and have some programming experience (of course I word it better than that). Just anything that didn't really fit anywhere else in the application, but might be looked upon favorably when it comes to doing research. I would be interested in what others put for that section as well.

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I am currently working on submitting my applications, and I was wondering if it is acceptable to include posters that have been accepted for upcoming conferences (e.g. NAN, INS) or publications that were submitted but not yet approved on your CV?

Because if I don't add these the "publication/presentation" part of my CV looks really bare :p...
 
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I am currently working on submitting my applications, and I was wondering if it is acceptable to include posters that have been accepted for upcoming conferences (e.g. NAN, INS) or publications that were submitted but not yet approved on your CV?

Because if I don't add these the "publication/presentation" part of my CV looks really bare :p...

totally fine. put the date as if it has already occurred (e.g. 2012, May)

submitted pubs are totally fine as well, just list which journal you submitted it to.
 
Hey all,

I've been really busy trying to perfect my SOP and after I would say close to 15 revision since the beginning of last year-I AM GOOD TO GO!
I am applying to 11 schools and have created an excel spreadsheet that keeps track of all the parts in need to do/have done in order to get everything in by the deadline. I would be more than happy to email it to anyone who would like to take a peek. I am very meticulous about everything.
I have already emailed my POIs and luckily all but one are reviewing aps for students. ALSO, I have been corresponding by email AND phone with the PhD I want to work most with (who I might add receives continuous grants).
Email me if you have questions.

Thanks for the topic
 
Finally submitted all 14 apps! I still have to mail my letters to a couple of schools that don't do online submissions but that's cake. Good luck to everyone during this stressful process! Keep on trucking, you're almost there. Yeah, now we have a few months of anxiety to look forward to but hey, at least apps are done...
 
Finally submitted all 14 apps! I still have to mail my letters to a couple of schools that don't do online submissions but that's cake. Good luck to everyone during this stressful process! Keep on trucking, you're almost there. Yeah, now we have a few months of anxiety to look forward to but hey, at least apps are done...


Way to go! :thumbup:
Everytime I sumbit an application far in advance I become paranoid wondering if I could have spent that extra time better "perfecting" something.. anything. Then I snap back into reality :D
 
Way to go! :thumbup:
Everytime I sumbit an application far in advance I become paranoid wondering if I could have spent that extra time better "perfecting" something.. anything. Then I snap back into reality :D

I can relate...Everytime I print my SOP I find something to change and reprint it :laugh:.
 
I'm hoping to submit all applications this week. I'm waiting on my last LOR to come in the mail, and my co-worker to proofread my SOP (she said she would tomorrow). Then I can go to the post office on Saturday and send everything off. Had to wait until I got paid to pay for all the application fees.
 
Way to go! :thumbup:
Everytime I sumbit an application far in advance I become paranoid wondering if I could have spent that extra time better "perfecting" something.. anything. Then I snap back into reality :D

Haha, I can definitely relate to that. I went over each app obsessively before I submitted and then briefly checked it once it was all in. I was too scared to look over the submitted ones because I didn't want to find any big errors that I wouldn't be able to change! :laugh:
 
How customized is everyone making their SOP for each school? I have been recycling the same SOP and just changing the research/faculty interest part of mine. Of course, I make sure I include whatever the school wanted in their SOP as well.
 
I have been recycling the same SOP and just changing the research/faculty interest part of mine. Of course, I make sure I include whatever the school wanted in their SOP as well.

I've been doing the same thing.
 
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I have a question about my CV - I am currently working on a manuscript that is supposed to be submitted by the end of this year (after some of my application deadlines) for publication in a journal but am not quite sure how to list this on my CV?

As of now, I put a section titled "Manuscripts in Preparation" and just listed the article (authors, year, title) under that header. Is this okay or is there a more formal/correct way of doing this?


Thanks!
 
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I have exactly same issue. I am going to submit a journal the end of this months but the deadline of the one of the schools I am applying is before the end of this month,

In my case, I just put it as manuscript in preparation.
 
I have a question about my CV - I am currently working on a manuscript that is supposed to be submitted by the end of this year (after some of my application deadlines) for publication in a journal but am not quite sure how to list this on my CV?

As of now, I put a section titled "Manuscripts in Preperation" and just listed the article (authors, year, title) under that header. Is this okay or is there a more formal/correct way of doing this?


Thanks!

I have exactly same issue. I am going to submit a journal the end of this months but the deadline of the one of the schools I am applying is before the end of this month,

In my case, I just put it as manuscript in preparation.

Yep. This is fine.

APA Citation:

LastName, F. (2011). Title of all impressive article here. Manuscript in preparation.
 
I have a thesis, but am not published. Should I put this where the application asks for manuscripts? I did a poster presentation on my research so I am including that.
 
I have a thesis, but am not published. Should I put this where the application asks for manuscripts? I did a poster presentation on my research so I am including that.

Maybe you should put it under "educational history". The sample CV in the Insider's Guide listed an honor's thesis right after the the degree and school.
 
I'm a little confused about what to do when certain schools ask for information beyond the statement of purpose, but it's all stuff that I have already written in there.

For example, they ask to write a statement of purpose with my research interests, career goals, reasons for choosing their school, etc.. Then I have to answer a separate set of questions asking "what are your carer goals?", "what are your specific research interests?", "why do you think our school is the right choice for you?".

Is it OK to copy and paste parts of my statement? I don't want to be redundant but I really don't have new information to add.
 
I'm a little confused about what to do when certain schools ask for information beyond the statement of purpose, but it's all stuff that I have already written in there.

For example, they ask to write a statement of purpose with my research interests, career goals, reasons for choosing their school, etc.. Then I have to answer a separate set of questions asking "what are your carer goals?", "what are your specific research interests?", "why do you think our school is the right choice for you?".

Is it OK to copy and paste parts of my statement? I don't want to be redundant but I really don't have new information to add.

That's really odd. I didn't come across this in my applications but I would just cut and paste. Ideally, you already have something succinct so I don't see the point of trying to find a different way to write exactly the same thing.

I hated when schools would make me write out my entire employment history. I guess it makes sense for people that have worked outside the field but I just had to copy and paste my research positions from my CV. Time consuming and pointless.
 
Maybe you should put it under "educational history". The sample CV in the Insider's Guide listed an honor's thesis right after the the degree and school.

There's not really anywhere to put that sort of information in educational history. All of my school applications just want to know school name, code, dates, major, and GPA.
 
There's not really anywhere to put that sort of information in educational history. All of my school applications just want to know school name, code, dates, major, and GPA.

I believe meta4 was suggesting that you could include the information on your CV/resume rather than on the actual application forms, which is pretty standard practice for papers completed as a part of your degree requirements (e.g., theses, dissertations). I would imagine that most graduate schools ask for some sort of CV from applicants. If not, you may need to get creative with where you include it in the application.
 
I believe meta4 was suggesting that you could include the information on your CV/resume rather than on the actual application forms, which is pretty standard practice for papers completed as a part of your degree requirements (e.g., theses, dissertations). I would imagine that most graduate schools ask for some sort of CV from applicants. If not, you may need to get creative with where you include it in the application.

Ah I see. I believe only one of my applications is asking for a resume. One application only asked for where I was currently working.

Sorry for all the questions. I'm down to the wire and I'm getting really stressed out about these little things. By the way, how are you all sending your applications? I was going to do USPS and have delivery confirmation. Thanks for answering my questions.
 
Ah I see. I believe only one of my applications is asking for a resume. One application only asked for where I was currently working.

Sorry for all the questions. I'm down to the wire and I'm getting really stressed out about these little things. By the way, how are you all sending your applications? I was going to do USPS and have delivery confirmation. Thanks for answering my questions.

No worries, it's definitely a stressful time, but it'll be over with soon enough. I'm so used to internship and post-doc applications that I've honestly forgotten what usually goes into the whole grad school admissions process. If the program isn't asking for a CV/resume, but there's a spot for publications/presentations/research experience, I'd probably list your thesis in there somewhere (while being sure to label it as an honor's thesis to help curtail any confusion).

As for delivering, I believe I just sent my through standard mail. I did have one packet that was apparently incomplete, but I still feel that was more likely due to departmental disorganization than some kind of postal mishap. Delivery confirmation could lend some additional peace of mind, though, yes.
 
system errors and sent an email to POI without finishing.
:eek::eek::eek:
Life is all about learning. Just enabled "unsend" function.
Is this going to be the end?
 
I have a thesis, but am not published. Should I put this where the application asks for manuscripts? I did a poster presentation on my research so I am including that.

Although I just realized that my thesis isn't on my CV (in my manuscript section), you could follow the guidelines for unpublished theses/dissertations:

Name, F. (2011). Title of thesis (Unpublished master's thesis). Name of University, Location.

Unless it's an honor's thesis? Then maybe:

Name, F. (2011). Title of thesis (Unpublished honor's thesis). Name of University, Location.
 
That's really odd. I didn't come across this in my applications but I would just cut and paste. Ideally, you already have something succinct so I don't see the point of trying to find a different way to write exactly the same thing.

I hated when schools would make me write out my entire employment history. I guess it makes sense for people that have worked outside the field but I just had to copy and paste my research positions from my CV. Time consuming and pointless.


Thanks for your input, and I love your avatar! The whole concept of wanting information twice is baffling to me. You would think the schools have enough paperwork to go through anyway, especially with the number of applications they get.
 
Although I just realized that my thesis isn't on my CV (in my manuscript section), you could follow the guidelines for unpublished theses/dissertations:

Name, F. (2011). Title of thesis (Unpublished master's thesis). Name of University, Location.

Unless it's an honor's thesis? Then maybe:

Name, F. (2011). Title of thesis (Unpublished honor's thesis). Name of University, Location.

This is how I did it. I put it with my poster presentations. My thesis was not published in a peer reviewed journal or anything, but yesterday I was bored and I googled my thesis title and it popped up a few times through different web services and google books. That's kind of neat that people who know my title can read a sample or purchase my thesis.
 
I had contacted POI's in the summer and am applying to programs whose profs said that I match with their lab. Should I email them after my app is sent to tell them that I turned it in? Or is that too much?
 
I had contacted POI's in the summer and am applying to programs whose profs said that I match with their lab. Should I email them after my app is sent to tell them that I turned it in? Or is that too much?

Too much. They are extremely busy and your update on submitting apps will not be useful to them. In fact they will likely not even be looking at these apps until later in December/early January and your note could be seen as bothersome. Just trust that they'll see the match again when they look at your total application on their own time.
 
Hello,

I have a burning question that troubles me. I have sent email to several POIs but none of them responded. The deadline is December 1st and at this point I don't know if I should cut down the schools or apply to all of them. Is no response a discouragement from applying?
 
Hi all,

This is a pretty specific question, but I figured it would be worth a shot. I went to a U.C. for undergrad and did UC EAP or the UC study abroad program where it is technically just a UC campus in a foreign city. Because of this, UC does not offer separate study abroad transcripts, just includes it on your regular transcript and calculates your grades directly into your UC GPA.

What I am wondering is, should I list this as a separate educational institution or will people looking at my app see that I have 3 educational institutions listed and only 2 transcripts and consider it incomplete? Would it be better to leave it off from that portion of the application for that reason?

Any help would be greatly appreciated :)
 
Hello,

I have a burning question that troubles me. I have sent email to several POIs but none of them responded. The deadline is December 1st and at this point I don't know if I should cut down the schools or apply to all of them. Is no response a discouragement from applying?

Personally, when I contacted POIs at different schools, some of them responded and some of them didn't. I feel much better about applying to schools that I had a response from the POI. I'm still applying to the schools that didn't respond, but I'm not holding out much hope. That's just how I feel about it. I'm sure others can tell you different. Maybe your POI is just busy or doesn't respond to inquiries by applicants in general.
 
Personally, when I contacted POIs at different schools, some of them responded and some of them didn't. I feel much better about applying to schools that I had a response from the POI. I'm still applying to the schools that didn't respond, but I'm not holding out much hope. That's just how I feel about it. I'm sure others can tell you different. Maybe your POI is just busy or doesn't respond to inquiries by applicants in general.

I agree with this and am doing the same thing. You can also try contacting the psychology secretary, their contact information is usually listed on the website. I had one secretary who knew that the prof wasn't accepting students and I was able to cut that school from my list. But I also had a prof that didn't tell the secretary so I'm just applying to the school to see what happens.
 
In the midst of applications to 12 PhD programs and 1 PysD program, I have two stellar LOR's from prof's/mentors who I've worked very close with for two years on my masters thesis (#1; haven't actually seen the letter) and as an RA and on my own intervention study (start-to-finish: conceptualization, IRB, participant recruitment, data collection, managing UG RAs, data entry, stats, poster abstract, and now manuscript prep) at another institution (#2; showed me the letter last year, before data collection started, so it must be MUCH better now). That's all good.

My third LOR comes from a clinical supervisor at my master's practicum. I've worked with her for 5 months. I asked her about a month ago if she would consider writing me a positive letter (so she didn't have to answer right away), and she answered immediately and emphatically, "Yes, of course I will!" She is a feminist-oriented clinician who strongly believes that I should participate in the recommendation process, even though I've waived my rights to access. She showed me her letter--it is luke warm, rather generic. And when I sit with her to do the ratings on the forms (if applicable), she is quite conservative about giving me top ratings, although for a few items she has done so. In fact, she really seems conflicted (and shows it) about giving me a top rating on certain items, which drives me nuts as I'm watching her decide!

I kind of feel screwed and I really wish I didn't see the letter and ratings--better to be in the dark, because now I wonder how this will hurt me in the process, especially for the more competitive schools. I am applying rather conservatively anyway (to schools that match my GPA/GRE mostly, with a few reaches that have *excellent* research matches), and I figure I have two other big things in my favor: 1) The luke warm letter is from someone who hasn't known me as long, 2) This letter-writer is a masters-level clinician commenting on my clinical work, so she isn't as important as the PhD psychologists who wrote about my research.

Anyone with a knowledge of this: Do you think I have a good handle on this situation? Am I freaking out for no reason?? Thoughts?
 
Speaking from personal experience, when I applied to Ph.D. programs the first time I asked a professor to write me a letter. He showed it to me before he sent it off. The letter was a generic one he used for all his students and he still had another student's name on it. I said it looked fine (assuming he changed the name) and he sent it off. I didn't get into a single program. I had major problems with my applications so to be fair that wasn't completely the reason I didn't get in, but I know that didn't help.
The second thing is, and I could be wrong about this, but doesn't it look better to have letter writers from people who are doctors?
Third, if you have everything else going for you (GPA, GRE, research experience, etc. ) this may not be as big of a deal as you think.
 
Speaking from personal experience, when I applied to Ph.D. programs the first time I asked a professor to write me a letter. He showed it to me before he sent it off. The letter was a generic one he used for all his students and he still had another student's name on it. I said it looked fine (assuming he changed the name) and he sent it off. I didn't get into a single program. I had major problems with my applications so to be fair that wasn't completely the reason I didn't get in, but I know that didn't help.

Well, my letter is personalized to the work I've been doing, so that's good. I think of it more as a support for the clinical work that is currently in progress.

The second thing is, and I could be wrong about this, but doesn't it look better to have letter writers from people who are doctors?

I think it depends. Personally, this supervisor knows me so much better in 5 months than any PhD/PsyD professor ever could through just a class. I do have one PsyD prof who I've taken 3 classes with, but I still think it says more to have a recent clinical supervisor as a recommender. I don't know. I also have access to a stellar recommendation by a chiropractor who supervised my teaching (long story), but I chose to stick with someone in mental health this time. I also did not think she would be so reserved with her recommendation, given her response to my request. I know it reflects her personality and writing style, but that doesn't mean much to the readers.

Third, if you have everything else going for you (GPA, GRE, research experience, etc. ) this may not be as big of a deal as you think.

GPA (3.49UG / 3.93 Graduate) and GRE (1210) are good, but not outstanding. But yes, my interest and research experience are what stand out. And that is reflected in my LORs and SOP. Unfortunately, my area of interest is very specific and hard-science, so it sucks that my GRE is not higher--programs in my range are not so hard-sciency. But, hey, I'm older and have more baggage :cool:.
 
I'm just curious about something. Is anyone else applying to the child clinical track at Minnesota? It says they don't do interviews but do a prospective students weekend once they are admitted. Is this fairly common? Do you know of any other schools that admit students without doing interviews?

I suppose it could be because it's Minnesota. If you get in there, you're probably going to go (at least for me). And I'll also thank my lucky stars that I got in! :D
 
I know Illinois also does the same thing, but that was the 1st time I had heard of it. Is this fairly common? Don't believe so--as you said, both prestigious programs that can "afford" to
 
I'm just curious about something. Is anyone else applying to the child clinical track at Minnesota? It says they don't do interviews but do a prospective students weekend once they are admitted. Is this fairly common? Do you know of any other schools that admit students without doing interviews?

I suppose it could be because it's Minnesota. If you get in there, you're probably going to go (at least for me). And I'll also thank my lucky stars that I got in! :D

I'm not applying (so I'm not responding directly to your inquiry about Minnesota), but I would be careful about programs' wording regarding interviews/open houses and the assumption that they "don't do interviews." There are quite a few programs that simply re-word their interview days to "prospective students/candidates" day... You show up and it's still a time to interview you, so you're not getting out of anything. Programs seem to think if they get rid of the word "interview" that it alleviates the stress surrounding your time with them. I showed up to two different programs in which both invited upwards of 50 to 75 students for "prospective student" days/weekends. Ultimately, only 6 to 8 of those students were accepted.

G'luck! :luck:
 
Hi all,

This is a pretty specific question, but I figured it would be worth a shot. I went to a U.C. for undergrad and did UC EAP or the UC study abroad program where it is technically just a UC campus in a foreign city. Because of this, UC does not offer separate study abroad transcripts, just includes it on your regular transcript and calculates your grades directly into your UC GPA.

What I am wondering is, should I list this as a separate educational institution or will people looking at my app see that I have 3 educational institutions listed and only 2 transcripts and consider it incomplete? Would it be better to leave it off from that portion of the application for that reason?

Any help would be greatly appreciated :)

I did a study abroad program through my undergrad which was set up somewhat similarly- the courses were counted as my undergrad's courses, not as transfer credits (although mine were not computed in my UG GPA). I asked my undergrad's study abroad office about it and they said to not send a separate transcript. There was one school I'm applying to that told me they required study abroad transcripts, and I just emailed them with the info I got from my undergrad. I'm not listing it as a separate institution in my application, though. It might be worth clearing with the schools you're applying to, just to make sure.
 
I'm not applying (so I'm not responding directly to your inquiry about Minnesota), but I would be careful about programs' wording regarding interviews/open houses and the assumption that they "don't do interviews." There are quite a few programs that simply re-word their interview days to "prospective students/candidates" day... You show up and it's still a time to interview you, so you're not getting out of anything. Programs seem to think if they get rid of the word "interview" that it alleviates the stress surrounding your time with them. I showed up to two different programs in which both invited upwards of 50 to 75 students for "prospective student" days/weekends. Ultimately, only 6 to 8 of those students were accepted.

G'luck! :luck:

Haha that's cheap. Just because it's not called an interview, doesn't mean it's not.

Actually I'm not sure about the whole Minnesota no interview. In one place they say they only offer a visit weekend after admissions are offered but another place says clinical students have interviews. Who knows, we'll see what happens! It's not a huge deal, I was just wondering if this was common.
 
Haha that's cheap. Just because it's not called an interview, doesn't mean it's not.

Actually I'm not sure about the whole Minnesota no interview. In one place they say they only offer a visit weekend after admissions are offered but another place says clinical students have interviews. Who knows, we'll see what happens! It's not a huge deal, I was just wondering if this was common.

I applied to Minnesota (adult track) some years ago, and I *thought* they had interviews. But I've admittedly slept since then (granted, not much). :sleep:
 
I am officially at the half way point of my applications. Eight done and eight more to go! I was hoping to be further along by this time, but I am celebrating my small victory.
 
So I am freaking out a little and hoping I did not just waste some money. I submitted my GRE scores to a few schools and chose a department code that corresponds with my area of study. The institution code is correct, but now after looking I don't think I needed to include a departmental code. Will the schools still get the scores or did I just send them into a black hole?
 
So I'm still waiting on one of my recommendation letters to come in the mail. I think they are lost so I am having to contact my LOR and ask her to resend. I feel so bad about having to do this. In other news, I paid my application fee online, but accidentally typed the wrong phone number and hit cancel payment. I received a payment confirmation code, but my credit card has not been charged. I tried to go back into the application, but it says it is complete. Should I just go ahead and mail a check?
 
So I am freaking out a little and hoping I did not just waste some money. I submitted my GRE scores to a few schools and chose a department code that corresponds with my area of study. The institution code is correct, but now after looking I don't think I needed to include a departmental code. Will the schools still get the scores or did I just send them into a black hole?


No worries; the department will get the scores.
 
So I'm still waiting on one of my recommendation letters to come in the mail. I think they are lost so I am having to contact my LOR and ask her to resend. I feel so bad about having to do this. In other news, I paid my application fee online, but accidentally typed the wrong phone number and hit cancel payment. I received a payment confirmation code, but my credit card has not been charged. I tried to go back into the application, but it says it is complete. Should I just go ahead and mail a check?

I would contact the graduate college to be sure. Maybe it'll take a day or two before showing up on your statement.
 
i see that some people here have turned in their applicants already (congrats!) i'm wondering if there is any advantage to sending applications early as opposed to a couple days before the deadline? just wondering so i can plan accordingly, if there is such an advantage (e.g., they look it over right away and are less selective at that point)
 
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