sdsu/ucsd joint program

[yikes]

hi,
what do you all know about the san diego state/ uc san diego joint program in clinical psych? I've heard it is reallly hard because they don't match of breaks so you never get time off. any info would be appreciated.
thanks.

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[Ollie123]

Its a very very good program with some excellent faculty there. I did not apply because it didn't quite have the research match for me, but forgoing that I would have loved to attend.

I'm not sure what you mean about "match of breaks". I will say that I have never heard of ANY program having substantial "breaks", even the lower-tier ones. Couple weeks a year, sure, but its not like undergrad where you get a month off in between semesters and 3 months for summer. This is big-people work now Its like having a job. You may not have classes year-round but when you aren't in class you're expected to spend more time in the lab, or writing, or pursuing your own training elsewhere. So not having substantial breaks doesn't make it "harder" than most it just makes it "normal".

 

[yikes]

i realize grad school isn't college, but i was told that when you have a week off (like spring break) from sdsu you don't have it from ucsd and vice versa. to me that means you don't get a break because you always have some classes.

 

[Ollie123]

Ahhh, that's what you meant.
That may be true(probably is), but generally speaking, most of the grad students I know don't go on vacation during spring break or anything....its usually just time to catch up on labwork and writing. MAYBE go home for a few days, depending on how close home is. Heck, I know a student who was spending MORE hours on campus during her spring break because she was battling with the IRB over her thesis work.

Honestly, that's probably one of the last things I'd let factor into your decision. In the scope of the amount of work you would be doing in your program, I imagine not having a spring break would seem pretty trivial in the long run.

 

[yikes]

i just wanted to get some input from people who go there (if there are any). because the one student i talked to said it was terrible, but it is such a great school i want to learn more. it's not like i want to go to mexico every march, i just want to be able to have a few days to sleep.

 

[GiantSteps]

1. I believe that SDN Psychology member Sorg1123 is going there.

2. I had a good friend who I believe is now finished there who spoke very highly of the program accept that my friend's Advising Professor left the first year for another school which created a problem. My friend also said that the statistics course demands are somewhat more demanding that other programs.

3. The only problem is that SanDiego is an extremely expensive place to live.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Ahhh, that's what you meant.
That may be true(probably is), but generally speaking, most of the grad students I know don't go on vacation during spring break or anything....its usually just time to catch up on labwork and writing. MAYBE go home for a few days, depending on how close home is. Heck, I know a student who was spending MORE hours on campus during her spring break because she was battling with the IRB over her thesis work.

Honestly, that's probably one of the last things I'd let factor into your decision. In the scope of the amount of work you would be doing in your program, I imagine not having a spring break would seem pretty trivial in the long run.

Yup.

Breaks are times to get stuff done you didn't get a chance to do in the previous semester. Xmas week I take 'off' every year, but even then...i'm still doing some reading on the plane, etc.

It really is a full-time thing. I wish I had the vacation time I use to have at my other job, but working MORE on breaks is just part of the package. There will be some random times when things are slower (my caseload dipped AND I just handed in some research and draft....so I had almost a week of low-key work, it was awesome!)

-t

 

[Sorg1123]

1. I believe that SDN Psychology member Sorg1123 is going there.

What!! I GOT IN? YEAH!!

I was just thinking last week how great my current job is and how much I like the flexability and abundance of vacation time... I guess I'll have to roll up my sleeves a bit in Sunny San Diego As long as I can find some quality time to spend with my wife I'll be happy.

 

[GiantSteps]

What!! I GOT IN? YEAH!!

I was just thinking last week how great my current job is and how much I like the flexability and abundance of vacation time... I guess I'll have to roll up my sleeves a bit in Sunny San Diego As long as I can find some quality time to spend with my wife I'll be happy.

What am I missing here? Didn't you write in the decision thread that you were going to this program in the neuropsych track?

 

[Sorg1123]

What am I missing here? Didn't you write in the decision thread that you were going to this program in the neuropsych track?

Yup. Just havin' a laugh

(And I was looking for an excuse to use the dancing banana)

 

[GiantSteps]

Yup. Just havin' a laugh

(And I was looking for an excuse to use the dancing banana)

Right, I noticed that crazy dancing banana. That is actually disturbing. Much in the same way that RayneeDeigh's sock puppets are disturbing. The dancing banana is on eof the fruitoftheloom guys gone wild!