my unconventional decision

[l4dybug245]

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i was accepted into a few well-respected psyd programs with solid internship match rates and great faculty. the programs were, however, unfunded.

i am faced with the decision of either drowning in debt post graduation and being miserable, or taking another year to strengthen my credentials and (hopefully) gain admittance into a funded program. i have chosen the latter, although it kills me to turn down some solid offers.

is there anyone else in the same situation? am i making the wrong choice? opinions would be appreciated. thanks!

 

[FranklinR]

is there anyone else in the same situation? am i making the wrong choice? opinions would be appreciated. thanks!

Almost the same situation - I was accepted into a well-regarded but not completely funded PhD program (with 100% match rate). I'm going to walk away and try again next year.

My advice to myself is to make sure my application package is different next year - different schools, for one thing, earlier contact with professors, more research experience (although that's not really my issue)

Happy to discuss more via pm or other means.

 

[deleted176373]

i was accepted into a few well-respected psyd programs with solid internship match rates and great faculty. the programs were, however, unfunded.

i am faced with the decision of either drowning in debt post graduation and being miserable, or taking another year to strengthen my credentials and (hopefully) gain admittance into a funded program. i have chosen the latter, although it kills me to turn down some solid offers.

is there anyone else in the same situation? am i making the wrong choice? opinions would be appreciated. thanks!

I believe that you are making the RIGHT choice. These programs are charging way too much for a career that pays way too little considering the education required. Taking a stand now and improving your credentials is the right thing to do... I would in retrospect (and after seeing what others who have this debt are forced to live with) never accept an unfunded Psy.D. program without a way to pay for it... (and there are ways.)

Mark

 

[psykate09]

i was accepted into a few well-respected psyd programs with solid internship match rates and great faculty. the programs were, however, unfunded.

i am faced with the decision of either drowning in debt post graduation and being miserable, or taking another year to strengthen my credentials and (hopefully) gain admittance into a funded program. i have chosen the latter, although it kills me to turn down some solid offers.

is there anyone else in the same situation? am i making the wrong choice? opinions would be appreciated. thanks!

I am doing the same thing. I applied to PhDs and PsyDs but only got into the PsyDs. I realized that I really do want a PhD, so I turned down all my PsyD offers and have been interviewing for RA jobs. Hopefully I will know next week, I had 3 interviews last week for RA jobs.

It is alot of time and commitment. Now if I tried applying 2-3 times and couldn't get in to PhD programs, I might settle. But I am only 21, lots of time to figure things out!

 

[Tyness]

Where are you people finding these R/A jobs?

 

[Jon4PsyD]

Well... I think you made the right choice in some respects.

My friend decided three years ago that he'd turn down the well-respected but unfunded Psy.D. he got into because he wanted a funded-Ph.D. - he has applied for three consecutive years and not gained acceptance at any Ph.D.'s or Psy.D.'s (returned to the Psy.D. applications this third year).

So there's two sides to this: 1)If you get in, do you just GO because these programs are so hard to get into? But it'snot worth being miserable. 2)If you want funding, go the Ph.D. rote - or to a Psy.D. program like Rutgers.

Good luck, you made the right choice
Jon

 

[shiva1008]

I have thought about contingency plans, and if I don't get accepted to a PhD program in a couple of years I will probably do an MA in psychology. (It's really hard to decide between general psych and clinical though, because general psych is better preparation for doctoral programs, and an MA clinical program would make you more employable.) If I still don't get in after about 5 years, I might do an MSW also. So, the way I look at it, there are enough options out there that one's time will not be wasted by pursuing this path.

Tyness - I don't have an RA job, but had no problem finding RA volunteer engagement. I go to a satellite school of University of Washington, so I guess that helped a little. But I am doing research in Seattle and I'm not a student there. I talked to the psych advisor at UW Seattle, and she directed me to the psych research opportunities webpage, and said I could volunteer for any of those. They make no distinction between students and volunteers. I asked three people initially... one didn't write back, one I'm working with now, and the other one said they might have something for next quarter. And if those didn't work out, there are about 30 other studies going on. I am only limited by how much time I have.