I/O Psychology: Will I get in?

[Hain Adam]

Hi there!
This year I am applying to 11 I/O psychology programs. None of them are in the top 5 programs. Most of the programs I am applying to are clustered around 30th-50th in the rankings, and there are only about 80 phd programs for i/o psychology in the country so these are not top programs with 2 exceptions being in the top 15. None of the programs except one school conduct interviews, so they all make their decisions based on paperwork. None of the programs require GRE psych. The programs have admission rates ranging from 5% to 12%. What are my chances?


Here is my qualities:

*GPA of 3.78
*Last 2 years GPA of 3.80
*Psych GPA of 3.85
*Three really good LOR
*2,5 years of research experience in 3 different labs, 2 different universities.
*GRE scores: Q: 750, V: 550 T: 1300 (English is my second language)

I have more than one research interest. I have like 4 different research interests. My professors said that it's not going to be a problem. What do you guys think?

PS: Anyone else applying to any I/O psych programs this year???

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[WaitingKills]

Hi there!
This year I am applying to 11 I/O psychology programs. None of them are in the top 5 programs. Most of the programs I am applying to are clustered around 30th-50th in the rankings, and there are only about 80 phd programs for i/o psychology in the country so these are not top programs with 2 exceptions being in the top 15. None of the programs except one school conduct interviews, so they all make their decisions based on paperwork. None of the programs require GRE psych. The programs have admission rates ranging from 5% to 12%. What are my chances?


Here is my qualities:

*GPA of 3.78
*Last 2 years GPA of 3.80
*Psych GPA of 3.85
*Three really good LOR
*2,5 years of research experience in 3 different labs, 2 different universities.
*GRE scores: Q: 750, V: 550 T: 1300 (English is my second language)

I have more than one research interest. I have like 4 different research interests. My professors said that it's not going to be a problem. What do you guys think?

PS: Anyone else applying to any I/O psych programs this year???

I'm not I/O, but it sounds like you've got a decent shot.

Have you looked at the specific stats for the programs that you are applying to? For example, for most clinical programs, they show the average stats for new students for the last five years (eg. GRE V=580, Q=650, GPA=3.8). If you are able to find those for at least some of your schools then I think you'd be able to have a better guess at how you match with other applicants.

Also, your research experience does you well. Sounds like you've got quite a bit so it'll usually put you above other applicants who have less research experience, with better scores.

Good luck with this process 🙂

 

[Hain Adam]

I'm not I/O, but it sounds like you've got a decent shot.

Have you looked at the specific stats for the programs that you are applying to? For example, for most clinical programs, they show the average stats for new students for the last five years (eg. GRE V=580, Q=650, GPA=3.8). If you are able to find those for at least some of your schools then I think you'd be able to have a better guess at how you match with other applicants.

Also, your research experience does you well. Sounds like you've got quite a bit so it'll usually put you above other applicants who have less research experience, with better scores.

Good luck with this process 🙂

I did check the scores of admitted students in the last 5 years. In general my scores are better than average scores in every school I am applying to. Most schools I am applying to have new students who have GPA of 3,4-3,5 in average and GRE total score of 1150-1200 .

 

[GiantSteps]

Hain Adam,

I may be wrong, but I thought that because I/O Psychology is so interconnected with the business world that many of the graduate students have already had some experience, a few years in the business world (i.e. consulting firms, human resources, management positions, etc.). Maybe, you do have work experience and just neglected to mention it. Your academic credentials sound good, so good luck. However, if for some reason you do not get accepted, I would check into getting some business experience.

 

[Ollie123]

Hard to predict. You're competitive, and seem to be applying to a reasonable range. That being said, alot depends on research match, what your specific experiences have been, and for that one school, how you do on the interview.

You certainly aren't in bad shape, but there's some degree of luck in this process as well. Based on the numbers, I'd say you've got a good shot at getting in somewhere though I wouldn't plan on having your choice of everywhere you applied. If not GiantSteps makes a good recommendation - a year working in a consulting firm would help if you don't get in this round, or continuing to do research with a professor. Not saying that's going to happen, so don't panic, just saying its something to consider. Many I/O students, even at top programs, don't have terribly much business background beyond some psych research - it helps a lot if you do, but isn't really a requirement.

There's a part of me that wonders what kind of school I'd have gotten into if I went the I/O route - I have a business degree from a pretty well-respected business school, and except for my research experience, definitely would have been a much stronger I/O applicant than clinical because of my coursework, extracurriculars, etc.

 

[Hain Adam]

Hain Adam,

I may be wrong, but I thought that because I/O Psychology is so interconnected with the business world that many of the graduate students have already had some experience, a few years in the business world (i.e. consulting firms, human resources, management positions, etc.). Maybe, you do have work experience and just neglected to mention it. Your academic credentials sound good, so good luck. However, if for some reason you do not get accepted, I would check into getting some business experience.

I don't have any work experience, however I am considering an academic career and I mentioned that in my statement of purpose. I talked to a few I/O psychology faculty and they all said work experience isn't anywhere near as important as research experience in these programs because most of them do more basic research than applied research. Usually MS programs put heavier emphasis on work experiences because most people work for companies once they graduate, but PhD is different because many people may go to academics. I checked all the programs' websites and none of them mention work experience while all of them mention research experience as their admission qualifications.

 

[Hain Adam]

By the way I was told by some people who are in admission committee of some I/O psychology programs that admission works differently for clinical and I/O programs. In clinical programs every professor will pick one person or more who they want to work with and that person will receive an automatic admission. In I/O, the admission committee first picks who to admit, and then professors pick who they want to work with among the admitted people.

 

[GiantSteps]

Ollie123 and Hainn Adam,

That is very interesting what the two of you write about I/O Psychology Ph.D. program not demanding work experience, as let's say an MBA program would. I certainly understand that the Ph.D. programs would want people committed to a career of research. However, I would not just take what the school websites and the professors say about work experience not being required as meaning it does not come into play in the admissions process. I would ask some current I/O Psychology graduate students as well as some graduated/ employed I/O Psychologist about how much work experience these people really have. If you, Hain Adam, get accepted, that wonderful, but if not, or if you don't want to just wait for the outcome, I would follow through on this work angle. I am saying this because I have met people in I/O Psychology programs, as well as I/O Psychologist, who told me about a great deal of business experience they have. Just as most clinical psychology professors do side work as clinicians, I would assume that the same goes for I/O Psychology professors since the money is even more enticing that the money available in mental health care. Maybe this is entirely wrong, but from listening to friends in the business world talk, I can not imagine that these business types would be at all receptive to people with no business experience coming in to either study or advise their companies/ employees. Anyway, I hope you get accepted and am not trying to scare you but I would just not underestimate the importance of work experience in an area of Psychology which essentially studies work just because the information states that one can apply without it or that it is not a requisite. Remember, schools never really go out of their way to stop underqualified applicants from applying; as long as one submits all parts of the application and pays the money, the school is glad to take your application.

 

[Hain Adam]

I also realized one more difference between clinical and i/o psychology programs. In clinical programs universities usually have big numbers of faculty, who have only one or two very specific research interests (i.e., depression). In i/o programs universities tend to have only 3-4 faculty members, and each faculty member tends to have 5-6 different research interests (i.e., motivation, satisfaction, leadership and discrimination in the workplace may be studied by the same person at the same time). This also changes the way things are. In clinical psychology you need to have a perfect "match" of research interests, but in i/o psychology a slight "match" of research interests tends to be good enough. This may be also because there aren't as many research opportunities in i/o psychology as clinical because most universities don't even have i/o related faculty.

 

[Ollie123]

I can't speak definitively for everywhere, but I just know that here (which I think is #10 for I/O or thereabouts) fully half the students come in straight from undergrad with buttloads of research but never having worked full-time.

Perhaps we're the exception rather than the rule, but that seems to be how it works here. I also know that many of those straight-from-undergrad folks also had other interviews at other I/O programs. Of course, since its a competitive program its also possible we just get alot of "superhero" researchers who can manage to get in despite not having work experience.

 

[Hain Adam]

I can't speak definitively for everywhere, but I just know that here (which I think is #10 for I/O or thereabouts) fully half the students come in straight from undergrad with buttloads of research but never having worked full-time.

Perhaps we're the exception rather than the rule, but that seems to be how it works here. I also know that many of those straight-from-undergrad folks also had other interviews at other I/O programs. Of course, since its a competitive program its also possible we just get alot of "superhero" researchers who can manage to get in despite not having work experience.

Here you can check all the I/O programs in the country and you will notice that a big majority of i/o programs don't require work experience. In fact, only a few of them care about work experience. I wouldn't think your school is an exception. A lot of programs don't even require applied internship.

 

[solumanculver]

what does I/O mean?

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

what does I/O mean?

Industrial / Organizational.

-t

 

[IOPsych]

It looks like you have a good shot at getting into your programs. I applied to 8 I/O Programs last year and got accepted to 4. My GPA was a 3.45 my GRE was a 1280 (720Q 560V) and I had a semester of research as an undergrad and a year of applied research at a consulting firm. Where are you getting these rankings from? I do not know of any rankings aside from the top ten in US News. It would help if you named the schools you applied to as we probably applied to a lot of the same programs.

I applied to:

University of Missouri-St. Louis, Depaul University, Clemson University, George Washington University, Saint Louis University, University of Central Michigan, Auburn University, and University of Central Florida. I was admitted to the last 4 and currently attend the University of Central Florida.

I would be more than happy to answer any questions about the I/O Programs I visited last year.

 

[Hain Adam]

It looks like you have a good shot at getting into your programs. I applied to 8 I/O Programs last year and got accepted to 4. My GPA was a 3.45 my GRE was a 1280 (720Q 560V) and I had a semester of research as an undergrad and a year of applied research at a consulting firm. Where are you getting these rankings from? I do not know of any rankings aside from the top ten in US News. It would help if you named the schools you applied to as we probably applied to a lot of the same programs.

http://siop.org/tip/backissues/TIPApr02/02gibby.aspx

 

[socialcog]

In terms of competitiveness, how do I/O programs measure up against clinical programs, and other programs. I always knew that the clinical programs are the MOST competitive, but (according to their website data) I recall the numbers of I/O applicants closely rivaling those of clinical applicants.

I assumed you had to be some math wizard to be successful in I/O. Maybe I assumed correctly?

 

[IOPsych]

In terms of competitiveness, how do I/O programs measure up against clinical programs, and other programs. I always knew that the clinical programs are the MOST competitive, but (according to their website data) I recall the numbers of I/O applicants closely rivaling those of clinical applicants.

I assumed you had to be some math wizard to be successful in I/O. Maybe I assumed correctly?

I'm not positive, but I think it is still a little less competitive than clinical. But I think part of that is because many people don't know about the field. I teach an undergrad research methods lab right now and I told all my students about the field I am in and asked them how many have heard of I/O Psychology and 1 person out of 50 students raised their hand. So it appears that many more people know about clinical so I'm assuming more people are applying to clinical programs. I can't speak for every program but I know that the school I attend had right around 100 applicants and we have 7 people in our class, so that may give you an idea about competitiveness.

 

[Hain Adam]

I'm not positive, but I think it is still a little less competitive than clinical. But I think part of that is because many people don't know about the field. I teach an undergrad research methods lab right now and I told all my students about the field I am in and asked them how many have heard of I/O Psychology and 1 person out of 50 students raised their hand. So it appears that many more people know about clinical so I'm assuming more people are applying to clinical programs. I can't speak for every program but I know that the school I attend had right around 100 applicants and we have 7 people in our class, so that may give you an idea about competitiveness.

It should be also noted that there are less schools in the world (and in the USA) offering I/O psychology than clinical psychology. I/O psychology is getting increasingly popular and the competitiveness is increasing every year.

 

[Hain Adam]

Is anyone else applying to I/O programs besides me this year?

 

[Hain Adam]

Here is my update:

I applied to 9 programs and so far I got 3 responses. I am waitlisted in all 3 schools. So far I don't have any rejections or acceptions. One of the schools in my list informed me that there is a high chance of me getting an acceptance and another school said that I have a decent chance of getting an acceptance out of the waitlist. Please everybody pray for me!!! 😀

 

[empathiosis]

Congrats! That sounds like good news. I'm sure you'll get in somewhere this year.

Here is my update:

I applied to 9 programs and so far I got 3 responses. I am waitlisted in all 3 schools. So far I don't have any rejections or acceptions. One of the schools in my list informed me that there is a high chance of me getting an acceptance and another school said that I have a decent chance of getting an acceptance out of the waitlist. Please everybody pray for me!!! 😀

 

[Hain Adam]

Congrats! That sounds like good news. I'm sure you'll get in somewhere this year.

Guess what! Today I got another e-mail from another school and they decided to waitlist me too. They said it's very likely that I will get an offer before april 15th and that they were very impressed with my application. This makes 4 waitlists for me. I will have to wait all the way to april 15th to see where I'll be at next semester I guess. 😀

 

[empathiosis]

Guess what! Today I got another e-mail from another school and they decided to waitlist me too. They said it's very likely that I will get an offer before april 15th and that they were very impressed with my application. This makes 4 waitlists for me. I will have to wait all the way to april 15th to see where I'll be at next semester I guess. 😀

Not necessarily. They mentioned BEFORE April 15 ... so it's likely that a few students won't want to attend those places so you may get an acceptance before then. Have you ranked them already?