PhD Programs in NYC

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nancynyc

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Hi everyone-- I'm new here. I've been reading the threads for a while and have found them very helpful, so thanks to all of you. A little bit about myself- I'm graduating from undergrad this May, and I'm planning to apply to clinical psych PhD programs for Fall 2011. I'm going to be working for a year as a lab manager of a Personality and Psychopathology lab.

I'm from NYC originally and am planning to move back there-- what are considered the best clinical programs in/ around NYC? (I'm looking for programs that aren't too heavily research-focused, although some research is good.) Any thoughts on Columbia Teacher's College and Adelphi? I think those are the two I'm most interested in at the moment, but I honestly don't know much about program reputations. I also am not sure what specifically I want to study, but I'm hoping to figure that out soon!

Thanks so much-- Looking forward to hearing any opinions or advice! :)
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nancynyc said:
Hi everyone-- I'm new here. I've been reading the threads for a while and have found them very helpful, so thanks to all of you. A little bit about myself- I'm graduating from undergrad this May, and I'm planning to apply to clinical psych PhD programs for Fall 2011. I'm going to be working for a year as a lab manager of a Personality and Psychopathology lab.

I'm from NYC originally and am planning to move back there-- what are considered the best clinical programs in/ around NYC? (I'm looking for programs that aren't too heavily research-focused, although some research is good.) Any thoughts on Columbia Teacher's College and Adelphi? I think those are the two I'm most interested in at the moment, but I honestly don't know much about program reputations. I also am not sure what specifically I want to study, but I'm hoping to figure that out soon!

Thanks so much-- Looking forward to hearing any opinions or advice! :)
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I will be attending Fordham for clinical psych PhD... you might consider it as well...
 
Within the city itself there are Fordham, Columbia's TC, City College, St. John's and the Brooklyn Campus of LIU. I know that Yeshiva and Pace also have PsyD programs, I'm not sure if one might have a PhD as well.

Adelphi is not actually in NYC but some people consider it to be within commuting distance (I personally do not).

I know City College is not considered to be very research heavy (relative to other clinical programs). It's also pretty insanely hard to get into though (well most of the above programs are) in part due the fact that it's one of the cheaper programs so everyone wants to go there.
 
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Congrats Justin! How research heavy is Fordham? Which campus is the program on?

And FadedC-- my professor told me that most people commute to Adelphi from the city, but he might have made that up-- any idea how long the commute is?

Do you know anything else about City College? The reason I never really looked into it further was because I saw the average years to complete the PhD was something like 8... and I really hope to spend no more than 6 years, including internship. But I've heard there are some great professors there.

Any other info about St. John's or the Brooklyn campus of LIU? How research heavy are they? Do you think they train you to be good clinicians?
 
nancynyc said:
Do you know anything else about City College? The reason I never really looked into it further was because I saw the average years to complete the PhD was something like 8... and I really hope to spend no more than 6 years, including internship. But I've heard there are some great professors there.
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I know City College is in the midst of re-arranging their curriculum a bit to try and get their students to exit the program earlier. I believe for the incoming class of 2010, the goal is probably closer to 6 years than 8.

Both City and Adelphi are also heavily psychodynamic in orientation. They do keep in mind the current job market and are working toward being more integrative. But the majority of the faculty at both places come from psychodynamic training.

If you have any additional questions about City or Adelphi, feel free to PM me. I'm in NYC right now and applied to the majority of the Ph.D clinical programs located here so I have factoids running out of my ears. ;)
 
I'm also considering PhD program in NY, but I've heard that most of theses schools have less than stellar funding, if any at all. I was wondering if this is true (maybe current students could chime in?).

Also, just generally, I was wondering how financial aid comes into play even at institutions with poor funding. For example, if one is a low income student and a school does not normally offer funding, would a low-income student still get some decent funding or is this factor not take into consideration at all?

Thanks!
 
The commute time to Adelphi is a complicated question. In theory it only takes you 50 minutes by train. However that assumes that you travel to the train instantly, and that it's waiting for you when you arrive. In reality you probably need to allow for at least a half an hour (and possibly quite a bit more) to get to the train and however long it takes to walk from the train to Adelphi (15 minutes?). The wait for the train itself could be up to 2 hours if your unlucky, but depends a lot on the time of day. Usually I'd guess another 20 minutes to a half hour. So I'd assume your commute would be about 2 hours on average, with the potential to be quite a bit more or less. You'd have to decide for yourself is that's acceptable.

I don't know a lot about the other colleges, they are all pretty competitive so I have to assume they generate good clinicians. I believe every clinical PhD program in the city is heavily psychodynamic if that's important to you. If you want a program that admits that CBT exists you may need to go somewhere outside the city or go for a PsyD.

nancynyc said:
Congrats Justin! How research heavy is Fordham? Which campus is the program on?

And FadedC-- my professor told me that most people commute to Adelphi from the city, but he might have made that up-- any idea how long the commute is?

Do you know anything else about City College? The reason I never really looked into it further was because I saw the average years to complete the PhD was something like 8... and I really hope to spend no more than 6 years, including internship. But I've heard there are some great professors there.

Any other info about St. John's or the Brooklyn campus of LIU? How research heavy are they? Do you think they train you to be good clinicians?
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PsychDreams said:
I'm also considering PhD program in NY, but I've heard that most of theses schools have less than stellar funding, if any at all. I was wondering if this is true (maybe current students could chime in?).

Also, just generally, I was wondering how financial aid comes into play even at institutions with poor funding. For example, if one is a low income student and a school does not normally offer funding, would a low-income student still get some decent funding or is this factor not take into consideration at all?

Thanks!
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Both the NYC schools I was accepted into (Fordham and John Jay) offer full tuition plus a decent stipend. John Jay (in lower Manhattan) is standard 18k with a 24k scholarship option (which was offered) then Fordham (located in Bronx) offers full tuition, health insurance, and a 18800 stipend (which goes up each year) which sums up to be like 56k or something ridiculous. Also both offer summer funding.

Anyways its NYC! Tons of great externship placements, and well lets face it, its NYC! :)
 
Thanks so much for everyone's responses!

FadedC-- sorry if this is a stupid question, but which train do you take to Adelphi? Is it the LIRR? Everything you said is good to consider, and that could be quite a long commute. My professor said that a lot of people commute but when they start doing internships/ externships they do them in the city and don't go to campus every day. But I'd assume when you're taking classes and lab work you'd need to be there every day, no?

And is CUNY on probation with the APA? If that's the case, then I'm not sure I'd want to apply there and risk it...
 
nancynyc said:
And is CUNY on probation with the APA? If that's the case, then I'm not sure I'd want to apply there and risk it...
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They are currently on probation, due to certain classes being missing in their curriculum such as social psychology, etc. They have changed their course offerings for the 2010 entering class and will most likely be off probation come their next review.
 
City College wasn't on probation last year when I was doing my applications. Don't know about this year.

It's LIRR to Adelphi, I'm guessing you'd need to be there most every week day for your first few years.

Keep in mind that because the odds of getting into any one program is low, most people apply to several. I applied to few schools that I really didn't want to commute to on the theory that if they were the only place I got in, then I'd find a way to make it work.
 
From the CUNY website re: probation:

Our program is and remains an APA-accredited program; however, as of January 2010, our status has been changed to "probation" by the Commission on Accreditation (CoA). We will be adding a number of new courses to broaden our curriculum as of Fall 2010 in order to be fully compliant with the guidelines of the CoA, specifically courses in the biological basis of behavior, social psychology, cognition and affect, neuropsychological assessment and development across the lifespan. We are working expeditiously to satisfy every one of their concerns and are confident that we will be successful. Our program remains vibrant, providing a uniquely intensive training experience.
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CUNY is very psychodynamic in orientation, and in addition not very research heavy. Although it is not the norm, when I got in last year, I got offered a pretty nice financial package (full tuition remission, health insurance, and a stipend, I think it was guaranteed for 4 or 5 years).

I also got into St. Johns(not going there), and know a few people in the program (pm me if u want into). They give tuition remission and a (not so great) stipend as well.

Also PM me if you want info about TC; I was an MA student in their clinical program, and can tell you whatever you like. Columbia's program actually has quite a good reputation, though - although the Ivy league status is a contributing factor to that. Their funding is next to nil usually, but there are exceptions to the rule.

Adelphi is also psychodynamic, as was said, but I dont know much about it. Dont know very much about Yeshiva, John Jay or LIU either. As for the commuting part, though; if I went to adelphi I would not live in manhattan, I'd live closer to the school. Itd be much cheaper anyway. Also you could live in queens, get a car, and be fine. Its close enough so that ifyou wanted to go into the city and hang out, shop, do anything, you'd be okay.

Also out on long island is hofstra, and I've heard good things about them too. . I actualy know a student there that commutes (driving) from manhattan. Having practica in NYC for hofstra students is not uncommon.

So that's actually 8 programs in the area, with varying degrees of competitiveness in terms of chances of admission.
 
I am friends with a graduate of the St. John's clinical program - I don't know the details of the funding, etc. But she lived in Manhattan and commuted while she was in school. Also, I have met a few of her former classmates - those that I have met are all in some kind of clinical practice position. And they are all CBT-oriented.

Fordham has been traditionally more eclectic in terms of orientation, but their recent faculty hires have been pretty CBT-heavy.
 
Thanks so much to everyone for your comments.

In terms of getting hired in NYC for clinical work after graduating, does anyone know if certain programs are better than others?

Also, aside from St. John's, does anyone know if any other NYC-area programs have a clinical child track or specific classes in child psychopathology?

Thanks!
 
Pace has a combined child clinical and school psych program, although it's a PsyD. I believe Yeshiva has one too. Mostly I know more about school psychology programs then child based clinical ones.

Pretty much every school mentioned is solid. At the application stage I wouldn't woudln't worry about whether one school is a little better then another. If your lucky enough to get multiple offers you can worry about it then. If a clinical PhD is your goal, you should think more about whether or not there is professor at that school who's research matches your interests and experience.
 
You guys seem to be leaving out Hofstra...Hofstra is on Long Island, but is a very easy commute from the city. It's about a 45 min train ride, but there are multiple stations that service Hofstra, and they supply transportation to and from the train stations.
 
psycmw said:
You guys seem to be leaving out Hofstra...Hofstra is on Long Island, but is a very easy commute from the city. It's about a 45 min train ride, but there are multiple stations that service Hofstra, and they supply transportation to and from the train stations.
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Hofstra is in a similar boat as Adelphi in terms of commute time. Some people consider it doable and some do not. Again the 45 minute travel time assumes that you travel to and from the train station instantly and that the train is waiting when you arrive. Actual door to door travel times are likely to be much higher.
 
Justin, congrats on Fordham! I've heard that's a really hard school to get into... I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about how research-heavy it is compared to other NYC schools, what the orientation is like, and also how many years does it typically take to graduate? Also, it's the Bronx campus, right?

psycmw, I didn't realize that you could take a train to get to Hofstra-- good to know. Do you know anything specifically about Hofstra's program? Do most students commute or live on Long Island? Is it very research heavy? And do you know how many years it typically takes to graduate?

Thanks so much to everyone who has responded, this forum is amazing.
 
nancynyc said:
Justin, congrats on Fordham! I've heard that's a really hard school to get into... I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about how research-heavy it is compared to other NYC schools, what the orientation is like, and also how many years does it typically take to graduate? Also, it's the Bronx campus, right?

psycmw, I didn't realize that you could take a train to get to Hofstra-- good to know. Do you know anything specifically about Hofstra's program? Do most students commute or live on Long Island? Is it very research heavy? And do you know how many years it typically takes to graduate?

Thanks so much to everyone who has responded, this forum is amazing.
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hey thanks for the congrats! it is in the Bronx, their orientation for the most part is cog-behavioral, but I mean because of the other tracks and PhD programs they have different faculty with different orientations. For instance, I interviewed with this super cool guy that is a qualitative researcher, who has a psychodynamic twist in his work, super smart, super well qualified, not that Im into that approach or anything but he seemed pretty intense (in a good way).

i am an atheist (disclaimer) going to this school which is jesuit funded. having said that, i get no sense that they force religion on you. They have a special track for that sort of thing!

Look let's face it, PhD = research, but as far as any of my interviews went, its a lot less research oriented than the rest, probably because they have been accredited the longest (one of the longest schools out there) so they are in no need to prove themselves.

Also having said this, they do not admit per POI (person of interest or mentor specific) you basically interview for the program and are admitted into the program, but everybody there knew who they wanted to work with and for what track, so that helps. I matched with both forensic faculty and I got along really well with both.

Also pertaining to research, a couple recent (kind of) publications talking about best programs and how much they published ranked Fordham quite high, what this tells you is that IF you want to do research its there for you, if you want to be a clinician that is there for you too!

Time: its pretty standard compared to the nation norm, can be done in 4 (+ 1 year of internship) most do it in 5 (+1 year of internship, so 6 total) but thats more a product of wanting more externship experience and to get dissertation done to be better internship applicant and not have to worry about the dissertation while you are gone.

So in my (relatively minimal) experience with NYC schools, of the accredited (or soon to be accredited) clinical psychology PhD programs its one of the lesser research focused. But again could just be my impression, the next person on here could say how research oriented they are.
 
AlaskanJustin said:
Time: its pretty standard compared to the nation norm, can be done in 4 (+ 1 year of internship) most do it in 5 (+1 year of internship, so 6 total) but thats more a product of wanting more externship experience and to get dissertation done to be better internship applicant and not have to worry about the dissertation while you are gone.
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Realistically 5+1 (if done correctly), will make you a much stronger internship applicant, which in today's graduate school experience is needed if you want to get a top internship spot.
 
nancynyc said:
Justin, congrats on Fordham! I've heard that's a really hard school to get into... I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about how research-heavy it is compared to other NYC schools, what the orientation is like, and also how many years does it typically take to graduate? Also, it's the Bronx campus, right?

psycmw, I didn't realize that you could take a train to get to Hofstra-- good to know. Do you know anything specifically about Hofstra's program? Do most students commute or live on Long Island? Is it very research heavy? And do you know how many years it typically takes to graduate?

Thanks so much to everyone who has responded, this forum is amazing.
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I would say the breakdown of people who live in long island versus commute is about 60% LIer and 40% commuters. When I was in undergrad a grad student was commuting from Jersey which took him about 1.5-2hrs, and I've known people commuting from the city who boasted their commute was about 1hr 15mins, the Mineola and Hempstead trainstations are so large that there are trains into penn about every 15mins. The break down of the program in my opinion is about 50/50, the faculty there are very supportive of students interests and allow them to pursue what they want to. The program is a Cog-Behavioral program, with strong behaviorists as well as some third-wavers. If you check out the website it shows the different clinics you can work in i.e. the ACT clinic, Anger Management Clinic, Phobia Clinic, Anxiety Clinic etc. The majority of students according to the website take about 5-6 years to complete the program including internships. In my opinion, the completion time depends on personal motivation as well as how intense you choose your dissertation to be. If you have any more questions feel free! I hope this helps
 
I just wanted to throw in that Yeshiva has a clinical PhD program with a health emphasis. It appears to be a little more on the research heavy side than many of the others in NYC and has a CBT orientation, but another one to think about (I will most likely be attending there come this fall!)
 
nancynyc said:
I'm from NYC originally and am planning to move back there-- what are considered the best clinical programs in/ around NYC?
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When you say "there" do you mean to NYC/NYC area in general, or to a specific location? If you mean "area" then you could probably throw Rutgers into the mix. If you're moving to a specific place the commute time would be drastically different depending on your origin.

A close friend of mine was living in Queens and going to Columbia for undergrad... the commute was horrible, since there wasn't any quick and easy way to get to the Upper West Side. Probably would have been easier for her to jump on the LIRR and head out to Hofstra or Adelphi :laugh:
 
nycpsych24, I actually know a couple people in the Yeshiva health emphasis PhD program... I was really interested in it originally, and it sounds like a great program. I imagine that the health emphasis would be quite useful. My only fear (and correct me if I'm wrong) is that most people there look down on people who want to practice (as opposed to pursuing research), and I'd hate to either have to go through grad school lying about what I truly want to do, or being honest about it and having people resent the fact that I joined the program at all. This is just the impression I get, but what do you think? I have no idea if my impression is right, I just feel like most research-heavy programs are like that. Do you have any plans/ goals post-grad school in terms of research/ clinical work?
 
Thrak said:
When you say "there" do you mean to NYC/NYC area in general, or to a specific location? If you mean "area" then you could probably throw Rutgers into the mix. If you're moving to a specific place the commute time would be drastically different depending on your origin.

A close friend of mine was living in Queens and going to Columbia for undergrad... the commute was horrible, since there wasn't any quick and easy way to get to the Upper West Side. Probably would have been easier for her to jump on the LIRR and head out to Hofstra or Adelphi :laugh:
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Ideally, I'd like to live in Manhattan or Brooklyn. I am a big public transportation person and I really don't like driving, so I'd prefer to not have to drive every day. I know you can take the train to Rutgers, so I'd consider that, but I haven't heard the best things about their PhD program (compared to the PsyD), and I definitely would prefer a PhD, so I'm not sure. Any thoughts/ info on Rutgers PhD?
 
AlaskanJustin said:
hey thanks for the congrats! it is in the Bronx, their orientation for the most part is cog-behavioral, but I mean because of the other tracks and PhD programs they have different faculty with different orientations. For instance, I interviewed with this super cool guy that is a qualitative researcher, who has a psychodynamic twist in his work, super smart, super well qualified, not that Im into that approach or anything but he seemed pretty intense (in a good way).

i am an atheist (disclaimer) going to this school which is jesuit funded. having said that, i get no sense that they force religion on you. They have a special track for that sort of thing!

Look let's face it, PhD = research, but as far as any of my interviews went, its a lot less research oriented than the rest, probably because they have been accredited the longest (one of the longest schools out there) so they are in no need to prove themselves.

Also having said this, they do not admit per POI (person of interest or mentor specific) you basically interview for the program and are admitted into the program, but everybody there knew who they wanted to work with and for what track, so that helps. I matched with both forensic faculty and I got along really well with both.

Also pertaining to research, a couple recent (kind of) publications talking about best programs and how much they published ranked Fordham quite high, what this tells you is that IF you want to do research its there for you, if you want to be a clinician that is there for you too!

Time: its pretty standard compared to the nation norm, can be done in 4 (+ 1 year of internship) most do it in 5 (+1 year of internship, so 6 total) but thats more a product of wanting more externship experience and to get dissertation done to be better internship applicant and not have to worry about the dissertation while you are gone.

So in my (relatively minimal) experience with NYC schools, of the accredited (or soon to be accredited) clinical psychology PhD programs its one of the lesser research focused. But again could just be my impression, the next person on here could say how research oriented they are.
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You are a little giddy aren't you?

Fordham seems like a solid program. Do you know anything about St. John's? I hear they also have a solid program comparable to that of Fordham. I like all the specializations at Fordham, but I have heard that these are really just advertisement tools and your "track" is really irrelevant in the long run except for child psych.

A quick question though...

"Look let's face it, PhD = research, but as far as any of my interviews went, its a lot less research oriented than the rest, probably because they have been accredited the longest (one of the longest schools out there) so they are in no need to prove themselves."

What's that about? I don't know if I agree with this. I think research is critical, look at how much it helped TC. They were an embarrassment app. 10 years ago by EPPP rankings and now they have a decent USNEWS ranking, not that rankings matter, but just saying...

Also, I was a little confused about your post on their funding. I am interested in Fordham, but from what I understand the stipend is not 18k a year, but only for the first year. If it adds up to 56k, that's like 10k a year. Also, is it full tuition remission for all 5 years and does this include summer tuition? Please don't speculate because I am really interested in the facts on this.

Thanks Justin and good luck!
 
I'm a fifth year @ Fordham, and maybe I can help answer some of your questions.

Fordham's program usually offers tuition remission + stipend to everyone in their first year (at least in the last few 2 cohorts). They also try very hard to maintain that for 2nd and 3rd years, but I guess they can't really promise that up front because they're uncertain of $ situation. They've been thinking of adding on a 4th year of classes, so if that's the case, then they will try to fund folks too. When I was still taking classes, they did include the costs of 1-2 courses/summer. Summer assistantship is something you can apply for, but it's competitive and mentor-based. 18K is around the right amount for TA/RA stipend. They also pay for your insurance which is around 2K /year if you are a TA/RA.

If you become a research or teaching fellow (competitive internal positions that you apply to), you can get tuition waived in your 4th/5th years, but you've got to do work for the dept. These positions are competitive, so if you're not chosen as a fellow, you can still be selected as a Teaching Associate where you can get some credits waived.

Bottomline is that Fordham is one of the best funded programs in the NYC area.

Fordham doesn't have "tracks." They have "specializations" and it just means you take a few extra clinical classes in your "specializations" and you do your MA or diss on that area. Child/family specialization is a joke because the two main child professors haven't done research since the 80's. They're good clinicians though and can be good mentors, but you will have to initiate and bring in your own research ideas/project. They don't have a lab. There is one other (new'ish) faculty who does research in self-injurious behaviors, and I'm not sure if she focuses on young adult/teen. The one solid (and quite popular) specialization is forensic because there are two profs who are good mentors/researchers; one does juvenile justice stuff, and his students all rave about him. Health/neuropsych is good too, but I think class offerings may be limited in that area.

St. John's is a solid clinical program. I have friends who've graduated and have very successful careers and are awesome therapists. They've an in-house clinic, which Fordham does not have, so you can get extra clinical training early on in your first year (now that I am on internship, I think it would've been nice to have an in-house clinic). I actually think (just by comparing notes w/ their students) that their program has stronger clinical training than Fordham. But Fordham has amazing internship MATCH rates so I guess we must be doing something right too with our clinical training!

Hope this helps :)

MrQuack said:
You are a little giddy aren't you?

Fordham seems like a solid program. Do you know anything about St. John's? I hear they also have a solid program comparable to that of Fordham. I like all the specializations at Fordham, but I have heard that these are really just advertisement tools and your "track" is really irrelevant in the long run except for child psych.

A quick question though...

"Look let's face it, PhD = research, but as far as any of my interviews went, its a lot less research oriented than the rest, probably because they have been accredited the longest (one of the longest schools out there) so they are in no need to prove themselves."

What's that about? I don't know if I agree with this. I think research is critical, look at how much it helped TC. They were an embarrassment app. 10 years ago by EPPP rankings and now they have a decent USNEWS ranking, not that rankings matter, but just saying...

Also, I was a little confused about your post on their funding. I am interested in Fordham, but from what I understand the stipend is not 18k a year, but only for the first year. If it adds up to 56k, that's like 10k a year. Also, is it full tuition remission for all 5 years and does this include summer tuition? Please don't speculate because I am really interested in the facts on this.

Thanks Justin and good luck!
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Truly a top notch reply! Thank you very much!

You can always trust to get a clear perspective from a 4th-5th year because they are so far past the fragile-ego stage that so many entering students can be in.

Fordham and St. John's sounds great! I am also interested in the forensic specialization. The TA/RA stipend is impressive. I have heard that Fordham is THE best funded program in NYC. So concerning that stipend, do most students get 18k a year then, every year? That's unbelievable. Also, how much of the tuition would you say students pay for, like 20% overall?

I imagine most kids get 2 years remitted and then half for the rest of the program while some get full for nearly their whole time their because of fellowships.

Thanks again.
 
nancynyc said:
Ideally, I'd like to live in Manhattan or Brooklyn. I am a big public transportation person and I really don't like driving, so I'd prefer to not have to drive every day. I know you can take the train to Rutgers, so I'd consider that, but I haven't heard the best things about their PhD program (compared to the PsyD), and I definitely would prefer a PhD, so I'm not sure. Any thoughts/ info on Rutgers PhD?
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Reputation wise, rutgers PhD has one of the best reputations in the NYC area and I believe is ranked the highest among the NYC area schools that you guys mentioned (US news ranking and other ranking based on publications list). When you apply for jobs nationally, rutgers' clinical program is very well-known. Acceptance rate is about 1% and they fully fund with a stipend all 5 years. They have a 100% apa internship rate---i don't think any of the schools you mentioned have a 100% apa internship rate (although some close). Make sure you look at those Apa internship rates before you commit--b/c otherwise you are barred from many employment settings.
 
2012PhD said:
Reputation wise, rutgers PhD has one of the best reputations in the NYC area and I believe is ranked the highest among the NYC area schools that you guys mentioned (US news ranking and other ranking based on publications list). When you apply for jobs nationally, rutgers' clinical program is very well-known. Acceptance rate is about 1% and they fully fund with a stipend all 5 years. They have a 100% apa internship rate---i don't think any of the schools you mentioned have a 100% apa internship rate (although some close). Make sure you look at those Apa internship rates before you commit--b/c otherwise you are barred from many employment settings.
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I'd agree that Rutgers is a cut above the rest in the region but I'm not sure I'd consider it NYC-area. You can definitely get to NYC from there with little hassle, but if the OP wants to live in NYC, I can't imagine doing that commute every day as a grad student. But...excellent point!!! Rutgers is great.
 
PsychPhDStudent said:
I'd agree that Rutgers is a cut above the rest in the region but I'm not sure I'd consider it NYC-area. You can definitely get to NYC from there with little hassle, but if the OP wants to live in NYC, I can't imagine doing that commute every day as a grad student. But...excellent point!!! Rutgers is great.
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FWIW, there are quite a few Rutgers PsyD students who commute by train from NYC. I can't speak for the PhD program -- they may have different demands and expectations than the PsyD students that I'm not aware of. In any case, I wouldn't rule out Rutgers PhD as a viable option.
 
psychmama said:
FWIW, there are quite a few Rutgers PsyD students who commute by train from NYC. I can't speak for the PhD program -- they may have different demands and expectations than the PsyD students that I'm not aware of. In any case, I wouldn't rule out Rutgers PhD as a viable option.
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It's a solid hour commute by public transit, and that is only if you have some personality complex and HAVE to live in Manhattan. I am a little touchy about this; I think unless you make at least 150k+, it's just unreasonable to live in the city. There are affordable areas of Manhattan (110th and Amsterdam), but they are dangerous at night.

Now, if you live in the boroughs, it's an hour in a half from most places. Is that bad? Twice a day? Absolutely. 3 hours a day on public transit is like a boot in the face.

Now a native New Yorker might be able to handle that, but that's because they do not know any better. Most city kids I know do not even have drivers licenses! Can you believe that? They do not know how to drive!

I find it unlikely that a serious student would live that far from the university to which they attend.
 
As a native New Yorker, I find that a good general rule of thumb is to take whatever time the "official" commute time is and add a half hour to an hour to it each way. This is because the official commute time only covers how long the train takes, when in reality that's only part of the commute. It often takes quite a bit of time to get to and from the station, plus you have to wait for the train which adds a substantial amount of time as well.

So when they say it's an hour commute each way from Manhattan, in reality your probably looking at closer to 2 hours door to door, sometimes even more. But I know people who do worse commutes to class then that.


MrQuack said:
It's a solid hour commute by public transit, and that is only if you have some personality complex and HAVE to live in Manhattan. I am a little touchy about this; I think unless you make at least 150k+, it's just unreasonable to live in the city. There are affordable areas of Manhattan (110th and Amsterdam), but they are dangerous at night.

Now, if you live in the boroughs, it's an hour in a half from most places. Is that bad? Twice a day? Absolutely. 3 hours a day on public transit is like a boot in the face.

Now a native New Yorker might be able to handle that, but that's because they do not know any better. Most city kids I know do not even have drivers licenses! Can you believe that? They do not know how to drive!

I find it unlikely that a serious student would live that far from the university to which they attend.
Click to expand...
 
MrQuack said:
It's a solid hour commute by public transit, and that is only if you have some personality complex and HAVE to live in Manhattan. I am a little touchy about this; I think unless you make at least 150k+, it's just unreasonable to live in the city. There are affordable areas of Manhattan (110th and Amsterdam), but they are dangerous at night.

Now, if you live in the boroughs, it's an hour in a half from most places. Is that bad? Twice a day? Absolutely. 3 hours a day on public transit is like a boot in the face.

Now a native New Yorker might be able to handle that, but that's because they do not know any better. Most city kids I know do not even have drivers licenses! Can you believe that? They do not know how to drive!

I find it unlikely that a serious student would live that far from the university to which they attend.
Click to expand...

Huh? You're kidding right? I guess you're not from around NYC. People commute this far quite often.
 
Are there any good neuroscience programs in NYC/NJ that don't have issues with accreditation?
 
JuniperTree said:
Are there any good neuroscience programs in NYC/NJ that don't have issues with accreditation?
Click to expand...

You'll want a program with a strong generalist training that has someone who does neuropsych/neuroscience research. If you are trying to find a program in neuroscience (that is license eligible), they will have a hard time getting/keeping APA acred.
 
Yeah, I think that needs clarification. Neuroscience programs aren't accredited...there's no need to be as they aren't meant to prepare people for licensure and don't provide clinical training.

There are some excellent neuroscience programs in NYC (Columbia has a spectacular one), but I'm not sure if that is what you are looking for.
 
psychmama said:
Huh? You're kidding right? I guess you're not from around NYC. People commute this far quite often.
Click to expand...

Yeah it's true. I would personally find commuting 2+ hours each way to be extremely aversive and limiting, but it's not so uncommon.
 
PsychPhDStudent said:
Haha, yes people do that, but I can't imagine doing that while working 80ish hours a week as a PhD student ;) But who knows, maybe I'm just not hardcore enough. :p
Click to expand...

Well if you need to be at school in the lab or classroom 80'ish hours a week I'd agree with you. The closer the better! That wasn't the case in my PsyD program, and maybe it's way different in the PhD program. A lot of the students lived closer to Rutgers for the first year or two, then moved to the city later in the program when they had fewer classes and were doing more clinical work and research. They would get practica in NYC, then come to NJ 2-3 days/week for research and related meetings with advisors, etc. Overall, I'd agree that minimizing one's commute is always best. It's just that there are some individuals for whom being in the city is essential to their happiness. I'm not one of them, but to each his/her own.
 
psychmama said:
Huh? You're kidding right? I guess you're not from around NYC. People commute this far quite often.
Click to expand...


I'm a legal resident of NY. I live in Harlem and yes, it sucks :p

Yes, they do. I implied this. From my experience, about half of students live 30 min or more away from campus and others live 5 minutes away, we all had a choice and made it. I like to work with the latter of these two groups because I find they are the more focused and, off the cuff, bright students. The former are the ones who leave at 4pm on Thursdays to go into the city and spend $50 of the governments money on overpriced drinks, hence why they live there. What do you want to be closer to, the nightlife or real life?

I know that at least in my program, there is too heavy a work load to spend 1/4th of my waking hours sitting on a bus or rumbling through an underground tunnel.

Also, some professors in close mentorship models do not like to have their students/servants off campus half of the week. It's kind of inappropriate at the graduate level and is not conducive to a productive work environment...IMHO ;) I'm just saying some students are a lot more productive than others and they tend to be those that are, shock, in the lab.
 
MrQuack said:
I'm a legal resident of NY. I live in Harlem and yes, it sucks :p

Yes, they do. I implied this. From my experience, about half of students live 30 min or more away from campus and others live 5 minutes away, we all had a choice and made it. I like to work with the latter of these two groups because I find they are the more focused and, off the cuff, bright students. The former are the ones who leave at 4pm on Thursdays to go into the city and spend $50 of the governments money on overpriced drinks, hence why they live there. What do you want to be closer to, the nightlife or real life?

I know that at least in my program, there is too heavy a work load to spend 1/4th of my waking hours sitting on a bus or rumbling through an underground tunnel.

Also, some professors in close mentorship models do not like to have their students/servants off campus half of the week. It's kind of inappropriate at the graduate level and is not conducive to a productive work environment...IMHO ;) I'm just saying some students are a lot more productive than others and they tend to be those that are, shock, in the lab.
Click to expand...

And by 30 min I meant 30 min in a private car, not a god damn bus.
 
Ok, serious stuff first:

Re: " So concerning that stipend, do most students get 18k a year then, every year?" Yes - at least for the first 3 years, the last time I checked which was in April when we were interviewing applicants.

re: "how much of the tuition would you say students pay for, like 20% overall?" Tuition is covered for the first 3 years, but I think we're responsible for student/tech fees, etc. It's annoying and comes out to a couple of hundred bucks a semester, I think? I may be totally off, and this may be covered nowadays. In my first 3 years, I had to pay out of pocket for them. In your 4th/5th yr, you pay 1-3 credits out of pocket for diss-related stuff so you can defer loans. This can get expensive.

Now the NYC stuff:

Can I disagree with you? It is totally possible to live in Manhattan and not make 150K. I did it making 20K + less than 10K in loans, and yes, I did live in upper Manhattan (Washington Heights, where many Fordham students live because it's close to campus), and it's beautiful, calm and peaceful. THe pocket where I was in is also super safe. I am not independently wealthy, and my significant other is just as poor as me.

110th and Amsterdam is not as affordable anymore, and please, it is not dangerous at all. Try 110th on the east side! That's sketch. 110th and Amsterdam is the heart of Morningside Heights. MOst apts there are mediocre but costly because Columbia students drive up the rent. It does get dark there (because of fewer street lamps), but it is way safer there than in the late 90's/early 2000.

And yes, living in NYC and commuting to Rutgers is kind of silly, especially when you're in a doctoral program. Why would you torture yourself? You'll be so busy in grad school that you probably won't be able to go out to the bars every night. A former extern friend lived/studied near Rutgers but came to Manhattan 2x a wk for externship, and he was always exhausted. I just left NYC for internship, and I do not miss the hour long subway ride where I was constantly being squished and everyone glares at you.


MrQuack said:
It's a solid hour commute by public transit, and that is only if you have some personality complex and HAVE to live in Manhattan. I am a little touchy about this; I think unless you make at least 150k+, it's just unreasonable to live in the city. There are affordable areas of Manhattan (110th and Amsterdam), but they are dangerous at night.

Now, if you live in the boroughs, it's an hour in a half from most places. Is that bad? Twice a day? Absolutely. 3 hours a day on public transit is like a boot in the face.

Now a native New Yorker might be able to handle that, but that's because they do not know any better. Most city kids I know do not even have drivers licenses! Can you believe that? They do not know how to drive!

I find it unlikely that a serious student would live that far from the university to which they attend.
Click to expand...
 
First off let me say that I like your attitude and enjoy this thread.

That said, Washington Heights!!! OK I'm really Dutch (blond and pale), so I pretty much stick out everywhere in NYC other than the upper east side so I can't act all hard and blend in through some Wasmanian mimicry in places like that. *A note* This is not racial for all you non-NYCers or easily offended types, which, if you are, don't go into psychology; WH is heavily Jamaican black and Hispanic, Spanish speaking is really thick there. Now, I think you should live close to your uni, wherever that is, so I am not saying to avoid Manhattan altogether, just avoid it at all costs.

I know someone on 110th and Amsterdam and they have a 600 sq ft. for 1200.

I would not wander into the Heights, that place is scary, it's almost as bad as Brooklyn, which is...holy ****, you literally feel in danger there, even in broad daylight. I'm from St. Louis so I feel like I know when a neighborhood is hostile. The closer you get to the 160's it starts to feel like Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" like I'm getting deeper and deeper into this horrible place and I will not get back out with my sanity intact.

There are no safe pockets at nighttime. Ever been to Chicago? That stuff spills over at night. I'm sorry, but you said Washington Heights and I had to jump on that :D. I took a Subject GRE over there one time and had to walk all the way through it to get back to *erghm* America (I'm joking, don't get all peevish SDN). I just would not want to live in an area where I feel besieged by a surrounding hostile neighborhood.
 
The number of hours your expected to stay actually on campus seems to vary widely from phd program to phd program, and sometimes from student to student. In my program our funding is not tied to a lab (and we are not even required to join one until year 2) but we have to work an assistantship for every 25% funding we get. With max funding it usually works out to around 18 hours of assistantship work, and about 8 hours of classes a week, which isn't so bad.

I also don't think you need to make anywhere close to 150k to live in Manhattan. I and most of the people in my cohort do, and usually in halfway decent neighborhoods too (though sometimes with 3 roommates). But it is good to keep in mind that there are other options.

I would think that one of the worst drawbacks to having a massive commute would be that you would be very limited in what you could participate in at your school. You couldn't just pop over to participate or help out with something.
 
I agree, little windows of opportunity are missed when you are not there.

As for the 3 roommate thing, I'd rather die. I mean if you have no other choice but to live in Manhattan sure, but yeesh.

Given the NIMH census reports, there is a 1/5 prevalence of mental illness in the population, about 30% when you include addictions and the full breadth of personality disorders.

So 3 roommates....not very good odds. Especially if some of them are grad students :D

I'm being facetious.
 
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