How to Prepare for your Doctoral Program

[sarahkristy117]

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Now that people are in the process of deciding or are decided on where they will be next year, does anyone have advice on how to prepare for the program?

Is there anything that I should be doing to prepare myself academically? Or in any other way?

Thanks!

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Sleep as much as you can, because you won't get that kind of sleep for many years. 😀

 

[Quynh2007]

just do what is important. don't put much work into stuff that aren't.

to do list:
1) research
2) research
3) research
4) research
.....
10) classes

 

[Anx73B]

Here's my deal. I'm a political science major / psych minor and am finishing up my undergrad degree. I got three offers to PhD programs and have accepted one. I am having difficulty focusing on my classes because they're pretty much all poli sci and have absolutely nothing to do with what I'll be doing in grad school. Additionally, I'm on two research teams that have Nothing to do with what I'll be researching at grad school. Question > hypothetically if I got all 'D's this semester could that come back to haunt me even though I've already been accepted in a grad program?

 

[Anx73B]

Would it be wiser to really get familiar with the literature of the topic I"ll be researching or just relax cause the next five years are going to be intense?

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I wouldn't want 4 D's on my transcript.....some internship sites req. undergrad transcripts, so if only for that reason, I'd suggest not mailing it in during your last semester.

 

[paramour]

Here's my deal. I'm a political science major / psych minor and am finishing up my undergrad degree. I got three offers to PhD programs and have accepted one. I am having difficulty focusing on my classes because they're pretty much all poli sci and have absolutely nothing to do with what I'll be doing in grad school. Additionally, I'm on two research teams that have Nothing to do with what I'll be researching at grad school. Question > hypothetically if I got all 'D's this semester could that come back to haunt me even though I've already been accepted in a grad program?

Hypothetically, yeah, getting all 'D's' this semester could come back to bite you in the arse, even if you have been accepted. Programs may have specific language in their offer that indicates your acceptance is contingent upon successful completion of pending courses and/or a degree. So, not only should you obviously not want those grades on your undergrad transcripts as T4C has already mentioned, they may screw you over at some point and possibly prevent you from entering as expected.

 

[EquestriAnn]

Here's my deal. I'm a political science major / psych minor and am finishing up my undergrad degree. I got three offers to PhD programs and have accepted one. I am having difficulty focusing on my classes because they're pretty much all poli sci and have absolutely nothing to do with what I'll be doing in grad school. Additionally, I'm on two research teams that have Nothing to do with what I'll be researching at grad school. Question > hypothetically if I got all 'D's this semester could that come back to haunt me even though I've already been accepted in a grad program?

I had the same problem this quarter. I finished all of my psych classes and was just taking sociology for my minor and computer programing. I really dislike Sociology so it was hard for me to care about my classes, but I just powered through and got A's regardless. I actually kind of liked the computer class 😛 You can do it, don't get D's just for the heck of it!

 

[Quynh2007]

this is why my second semester senior year, I took classes i enjoyed, and if they were hard took them p/f... 😀

p.s. definitely take it easy this summer...you'll wish you did

 

[JockNerd]

To do the summer before grad school:
-Hang out with your friends, especially if you're moving.
-Read everything you can touch on your research focus. Identify some literature gaps and be ready to hit the ground running when you get there in aug/sept.


Oh, and I totally phoned in my last semester of undergrad after I got my acceptance.

 

[positivepsych]

Do something non-academic as possible, as fun as possible. No one looks back on their life wishing they took more stats before they started graduate school.

You'll be working a lot once you start school. So have your grad adventure once you still have the chance. My friends in other disciplines agree.

 

[Thrak]

My plan for the spring/summer:

Contact my soon-to-be adviser, find out what I could do in the interim.

Go over my MA thesis, outlining updates/improvements that could be made. I may be able to treat it like a pilot study, or if it's good enough, potentially shave two years off of my PhD.

Read lots of journal articles, draft some research proposals. Find out what restrictions I have on my research (as in, I'm in a Social Psych PhD program, with a Health Psych focus... what can I/must I do to fit my research ideas within these confines?) Dig up my old research proposals from my MA years, see if any would work as a jumping-off point.

Review some stats... it's been awhile since I've used those skills.

See my friends when I can, though it'll actually be (geographically) easier once I move... most of my friends are in NY, and I'm moving to NJ. Right now, I'm living in MA. And yes, I've become a worse driver since I've been up here

 

[EquestriAnn]

Well I have this whole quarter off, I plan to read up on research and review my stats book. But just for a few months! Then I am planning to go to South America to teach English for a few weeks 😀

 

[MaddieMay]

just do what is important. don't put much work into stuff that aren't.

to do list:
1) research
2) research
3) research
4) research
.....
10) classes

Maybe we should ask her if she's going for a Ph.D. or a Psy.D. 😉

 

[MaddieMay]

Here's my deal. I'm a political science major / psych minor and am finishing up my undergrad degree. I got three offers to PhD programs and have accepted one. I am having difficulty focusing on my classes because they're pretty much all poli sci and have absolutely nothing to do with what I'll be doing in grad school. Additionally, I'm on two research teams that have Nothing to do with what I'll be researching at grad school. Question > hypothetically if I got all 'D's this semester could that come back to haunt me even though I've already been accepted in a grad program?

My sister got her BS at Johns Hopkins and got accepted to the University of Illinois for med school. She took a year off and took one class on a lark, blew it off, got one D, and got a letter from U of I saying her acceptance had been revoked. She and our parents had to go plead her case to the Dean of Admissions and she barely managed to get back in. It was awful just to watch it happening.

Get A's. 🙂

 

[psy86]

If I had the opportunity to do it all over again, I'd spend the summer before I started grad school establishing good non-academic habits: learn to cook gigantic weekly batches of food and freeze it, get into a regular exercise routine, get into a set sleep pattern, practice relaxation/ meditation, etc. These sorts of things are much harder to start working on once you're already overwhelmed and sleep-deprived.

 

[Anx73B]

That makes me curious. Do you find that most grad students are up and working early? or are those who sleep in and work late? Just curious what kind of sleep schedules people have.

 

[sarahkristy117]

Maybe we should ask her if she's going for a Ph.D. or a Psy.D. 😉

Haha.. thanks for the thought... I am going for a PsyD... I will be doing research eventually but most likely, not in my first year. 🙂

 

[Ollie123]

That makes me curious. Do you find that most grad students are up and working early? or are those who sleep in and work late? Just curious what kind of sleep schedules people have.

I'd guess it varies by program to some extent, and within program as well.

Here, we have a large number of 9AM classes, which means there simply cannot be TOO much sleeping in early on. That's fine by me, I like getting them out of the way and leaving the afternoon free for my other obligations.

I'll likely be shifting my schedule a bit later once I'm done with classes (maybe 10AM or so), just because I'm a night owl and am happy to do work until 2AM, but I am utterly useless for about 2 hours after getting up. This may or may not be possible depending on what practicums I end up doing, etc.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

earn to cook gigantic weekly batches of food and freeze it, get into a regular exercise routine, get into a set sleep pattern, practice relaxation/ meditation, etc. These sorts of things are much harder to start working on once you're already overwhelmed and sleep-deprived.

I do my shopping on sundays, prepare food, and get ready for the week. I am out of practice because my schedule is much more 9-5ish now, but having pre-made meals frozen and ready to have whenever was definitely advantageous.

That makes me curious. Do you find that most grad students are up and working early? or are those who sleep in and work late? Just curious what kind of sleep schedules people have.

Get up early AND stay up late. 😀 I don't really function well before 10am, so given the option I choose to sleep in a bit and do my work later (my best work is from 10pm-2am....though I have tried really hard to dial this back...i'm back to 9-1am, with a goal of 7-11:00pm or so.).

 

[paramour]

That makes me curious. Do you find that most grad students are up and working early? or are those who sleep in and work late? Just curious what kind of sleep schedules people have.

I'd guess it varies by program to some extent, and within program as well.

Here, we have a large number of 9AM classes, which means there simply cannot be TOO much sleeping in early on. That's fine by me, I like getting them out of the way and leaving the afternoon free for my other obligations.

I'll likely be shifting my schedule a bit later once I'm done with classes (maybe 10AM or so), just because I'm a night owl and am happy to do work until 2AM, but I am utterly useless for about 2 hours after getting up. This may or may not be possible depending on what practicums I end up doing, etc.

Get up early AND stay up late. 😀 I don't really function well before 10am, so given the option I choose to sleep in a bit and do my work later (my best work is from 10pm-2am....though I have tried really hard to dial this back...i'm back to 9-1am, with a goal of 7-11:00pm or so.).

Another for "get up early" and "stay up late."

We have a number of 9:00AM/9:30AM classes here as well. If I don't have class at that time, I have to be in the lab by that time. My commute's an hour on a good day, so I typically have to be up at an early hour (if I have managed to locate the bed by that time).

Then I tend to do most of my work at night. Going to bed early for me is usually around 2-4AM.

 

[Ollie123]

Yikes.
Are you usually working relatively straight through (save for meals and such, obviously)?

I thought I was working my butt off, but you put me to shame - I'm at least managing to get a decent amount of sleep most nights.

 

[Neuro-Dr]

From a practical stand point, I think the OP has been given a wealth of approaches and I certainly concur with the majority that blowing off classes becasue of senioritis is a very poor choice.

I would add that it might be useful to spend some time before you start grad school making some lists of things that you feel are important in a psychologist and store them for later review. I really like students to keep an eye on there interests and their moral compass. You will be turned on and off by many professors because of aspects in them rather than their research/clinical approach and I'm not a big fan on students switching their interset every term. I run into some "picking daisies" along the path and they take a lot longer to finish and have many regrets along the way because they just want the exposure rather than the integration. I also think that you should prepare yourself for the role of being a student. Those that come in and want to show me how much they already know miss all that can be taught. You are called a student for a reason. Learn to be ok with B's. You may or may not get many in grad school, but you'll get some and the first one hurts some students because there will be a point where you realize you did everything you could and it wasn't enough for an "A". Grad school is a game of attrition and your learning curve goes up as your energy goes down. If all goes well it will spit you out in about 6 years beaten, but not broken.

 

[terrybug]

my experience = once school begins next year, you'll have P L E N T Y of time to become deeply intimate with your area of research. You'll also find that a deep review of stats will be unavoidable. In fact, everything your instructors and adviser expect you to know will take up your waking existence once the program begins.

The best thing you can do for yourself between now and next August is take care of all the things you'll never get around to once school starts: visit the areas where you think you'll be living and find a home that will make you happy. If you plan on finding a roommate, that adds extra time to the process. If you'll need a car, make sure yours is in working order and won't break down the morning you happen to have a final exam. Will you need to buy new furniture/cookware/etc.? Will you be bringing a lot of things with you that will require packing time?


You get the picture.

 

[myelin]

I wish I came across this thread (and website for that matter) before I came to my MA program.

I wish I spent more time with close friends and family! I miss them dearly at times. The only times I see them now are for holidays, weddings, and funerals.

I don't know if anyone mentioned this or not, but use the time to get your finances straight. If you carry balances on credit cards with high interest rates, try to see if you can get a lower-interest card. Some companies offer 0% APR on balance transfers as well, and might be worth checking out. Make sure your current bank is in your new location. Try to set-up on-line bill paying as this helps for paying bills without having to buy stamps and envelopes when it's midnight and your bill is due the following day.

Make certain your computer/laptop is in good shape. It is better to replace your OS BEFORE starting graduate school than to crash during the semester and spend all night reloading your OS when that paper is due at 8am. Also, find some type of back-up system for your files. It could be an external hard drive or a flash drive to hold your important files (i.e. your thesis and/or dissertation). I can't count the number of times I've heard of people losing their projects due to hard drive failures or crashed operating systems.

 

[RayneeDeigh]

Find someone to marry.

There are three (count 'em, three) people in my program who aren't attached. People look at us like we have leprosy, it's kind of funny. We get the "oh that's too bad you didn't find someone before grad school because you definitely won't have time during it" looks and lectures.

I'm being mostly tongue-in-cheek, but if you're in the market for a spouse find one BEFORE grad school. Or you'll end up like me, a permanent cat lady at 22.

 

[sicologia]

1) Kill your television.

2) Get a Barnes & Noble/Borders/Amazon discount card and immerse yourself in specialized areas of interest.

3) Read the research that's already out there. Chances are you won't be re-inventing the wheel (or brain for that matter).

4) Join professional organizations and gain some connections.

5) Brush up on your APA style writing before your professors can really tell how much you didn't read the manual.

Good Luck!

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Find someone to marry.

There are three (count 'em, three) people in my program who aren't attached. People look at us like we have leprosy, it's kind of funny. We get the "oh that's too bad you didn't find someone before grad school because you definitely won't have time during it" looks and lectures.

I'm being mostly tongue-in-cheek, but if you're in the market for a spouse find one BEFORE grad school. Or you'll end up like me, a permanent cat lady at 22.

You'll have more time the farther in you get.....okay, not really. Maybe on internship....or not. Post-Doc? Heck...enjoy your cats and maybe when 30 rolls around the cats will let you date. (You are 22....that is wicked young, as you are way closer to 20 than 30!)

I am definitely attending a number of weddings this year and next year related to grad school. Two psychologists under one roof.....it will be madness!!

 

[RayneeDeigh]

You'll have more time the farther in you get.....okay, not really. Maybe on internship....or not. Post-Doc? Heck...enjoy your cats and maybe when 30 rolls around the cats will let you date. (You are 22....that is wicked young, as you are way closer to 20 than 30!)

I am definitely attending a number of weddings this year and next year related to grad school. Two psychologists under one roof.....it will be madness!!

Haha I'm always whining about how old I think I am and then my friend in the program (who's 33) tells me to shut up.

For the OP, I have an idea. It sounds completely insane, but read the DSM cover to cover. I know at least in my program we talk about it EVERY day in classes and it can really help to know the ins and outs. Even if you've been using it in clinical experience it definitely helps to read every page.

I know, that sounds like a ton of fun, right?

 

[erg923]

Oh my goodness..puke! Why, why... Obviously need to know it, but I hope they are not teaching you that this is the way of truth. At the beginning of our first psychopathology class our professor had us read an article that articulated my thoughts on the subject perfectly. Kind of as a "keep this in mind through out the class" kind of thing. EVERYONE should read this article before starting grad school, especially before their first psychopathology/psychodiagnosis class.

Andreasen, N.A. (2006). DSM and the Death of Phenomenology in America: An Example of Unintended Consequences. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 33(1) 108–112.

 

[Jon4PsyD]

Hopefully I will be having this issue during Summer of '09 (If I get in somewhere at this time next year!!). Here's what my summer would/*will* look like!:

1. Go to Costa Rica for 2-3 weeks and have the time of my life with my family. Hit up a few beaches.

2. Spend as much time as possible with my family here and my really good friends.

3. Sleep, a lot...and enjoy the sunny weather.

4. Deal with moving issues: apartment/finances/purschasing furniture, etc...

5. Deal with similar emotions to the ones that were happening the summer between high school and college. Moving away, having fun while it lasts, excitment, fear, happiness, nervousness...!

*Oh and, the significant other is in culinary school studying to be a chef and finishing up an M.B.A. in Hospitality Management..I'm not worried about the food/cooking issues🙂

Jon

 

[quistyliz]

If I had the opportunity to do it all over again, I'd spend the summer before I started grad school establishing good non-academic habits: learn to cook gigantic weekly batches of food and freeze it, get into a regular exercise routine, get into a set sleep pattern, practice relaxation/ meditation, etc. These sorts of things are much harder to start working on once you're already overwhelmed and sleep-deprived.

I like this idea. I'm going to be working full time, and the one thing I found when I did this job last summer was that I had no energy, at all, after work...this year I hope to get into a regular exercise pattern to try to combat that! The food thing will really help too - I wasted so much of my salary on buying lunches last summer :S

 

[sarahkristy117]

Sounds like everyone has some good suggestions. I'll be working full-time or overtime for May, June and July... moving the beginning of August but.. hopefully relaxing for the remainder of the month. I think I'll just focus on reading lots of books and relaxing when I'm not working.

 

[deleted106747]

sounds good...before my 1st year I was really impatient to get started so I studied the structure of the brain and brain function all summer. I kind of regret it now - by the time I'll get to the neuro stuff and my more brain-based classes/practica I'll've forgotten all of that. If I could do it over, I'd have spent the summer reading books that interest me, getting lots of sleep, enjoying being outside and spending time with family. I also would have read Yalom's The Gift of Therapy. If you haven't read it, pick it up over the summer. It's a great place to start, and it's not difficult or stressful to read which is key for before the stress kicks in, I think.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Yalom and Rogers are the two places I'd start reading (before entering grad school). I really think they will put you in a better position to understand the role of a psychologist outside of being an expert on observation, behavior, assessment, etc. I try and re-read some of their books every couple of years as a refresher.

 

[FrdLcnKln]

I would add Karen Horney and Erich Fromm to that list, as well.

 

[paramour]

Find someone to marry.

There are three (count 'em, three) people in my program who aren't attached. People look at us like we have leprosy, it's kind of funny. We get the "oh that's too bad you didn't find someone before grad school because you definitely won't have time during it" looks and lectures.

I'm being mostly tongue-in-cheek, but if you're in the market for a spouse find one BEFORE grad school. Or you'll end up like me, a permanent cat lady at 22.

Don't worry--those people may be married/engaged now, but a # of them will end up split/divorced before grad school's over. Marriage or significant relationships aren't necessarily a good thing.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Don't worry--those people may be married/engaged now, but a # of them will end up split/divorced before grad school's over. Marriage or significant relationships aren't necessarily a good thing.

The long-distance relationships and new ones tend to fail in the first 6 months, and then after the first year....with a lot of, "You just don't understand my life as a grad student", etc. I wish people well, but if there is no ring, people seem to not fare so well.

 

[psychanon]

In a month or two (no need to do it right away), email your adviser and ask if there's anything you can do or read to prepare for starting up with the lab. He/she may or may not suggest something. Other than that, go on a cruise. Take a trip to Spain. Take a cooking class. Read a bunch of trashy chick lit. Watch some American Idol. These are things you won't have much time for in a few months. Savor them.

The long-distance relationships and new ones tend to fail in the first 6 months, and then after the first year....with a lot of, "You just don't understand my life as a grad student", etc. I wish people well, but if there is no ring, people seem to not fare so well.

That's really not always true. Plenty of people break-up, but that's normal for 20-something relationships (and that also happens for people who came to grad school with rings). Plenty of people stay together too, regardless of ring status.

 

[kamo]

Find someone to marry.

There are three (count 'em, three) people in my program who aren't attached. People look at us like we have leprosy, it's kind of funny. We get the "oh that's too bad you didn't find someone before grad school because you definitely won't have time during it" looks and lectures.

I'm being mostly tongue-in-cheek, but if you're in the market for a spouse find one BEFORE grad school. Or you'll end up like me, a permanent cat lady at 22.

LOL! Funny stuff RayneeDeigh! I plan on taking my two cats to grad school with me so I might be joining you in the "permanent cat lady" status!

 

[Jivan]

For the OP, I have an idea. It sounds completely insane, but read the DSM cover to cover. I know at least in my program we talk about it EVERY day in classes and it can really help to know the ins and outs. Even if you've been using it in clinical experience it definitely helps to read every page.

As far as starting to cover the DSM, would people suggest getting a supplemental book like DSM-IV Made Easy?

 

[sarahkristy117]

For the OP, I have an idea. It sounds completely insane, but read the DSM cover to cover. I know at least in my program we talk about it EVERY day in classes and it can really help to know the ins and outs. Even if you've been using it in clinical experience it definitely helps to read every page.

I know, that sounds like a ton of fun, right?

I actually asked a current third year student at the school I'm attending how I should prepare and he said... relax and if you're really excited to get started, read the DSM IV TR because I guess we basically read the whole thing the first year anyway. 🙂

 

[Cosmo75]

That makes me curious. Do you find that most grad students are up and working early? or are those who sleep in and work late? Just curious what kind of sleep schedules people have.

I'm an early person, so there have been days I got up at 4 am to work before going to practicum or school. You'll never find me up at 1 am working though. After the day is over I'm checked out. That was a good balance for me, but not good for everyone 😉

I actually asked a current third year student at the school I'm attending how I should prepare and he said... relax and if you're really excited to get started, read the DSM IV TR because I guess we basically read the whole thing the first year anyway.

Or the Saddock & Saddock "Synopsis of Psychiatry" 😀

 

[MaddieMay]

As far as starting to cover the DSM, would people suggest getting a supplemental book like DSM-IV Made Easy?

Nah. The DSM-IV isn't hard to read, it's just long.