Profiles of Students Receiving Interviews/Acceptances

[AlaskanJustin]

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So something we did in the Pre-Med forums that was HUGELY helpful was kids that either received interviews, acceptances, waitlists etc posted their "profile" or basically their curricula vita (link to it) if they wanted their personal statements (although this is less likely do to creativity issues) but overall their "total" package, GPA, GRE etc to give others an idea of where they got in to and how they did it.

So I am proposing we do this on this thread, or on another thread if there is something similar that I was unable to find.

If I get a couple of you saying its a decent idea I will happily go first, just dont want to waste the effort if its pointless, but I see so many people wonder how they compare to others on SDN and this was very helpful in terms of med school, could be for psych school too.

Let me know!

Justin

 

[Annakei]

Sounds like a good idea!

 

[PsychPhDone]

Just as a heads up, this was attempted once or twice before. Not many people were willing to basically give up their anonymity like that on here. 🙂 If someone were specifically interested in someone's numbers, I guess PMing them is an option if they don't want to post on here.

For what it's worth, with such a focus on mentorship models (which is a key difference between these programs and med school), it's hard to see where you "stack up" based on someone's stats.

 

[AlaskanJustin]

Just as a heads up, this was attempted once or twice before. Not many people were willing to basically give up their anonymity like that on here. 🙂 If someone were specifically interested in someone's numbers, I guess PMing them is an option if they don't want to post on here.

For what it's worth, with such a focus on mentorship models (which is a key difference between these programs and med school), it's hard to see where you "stack up" based on someone's stats.

VERY true, in fact I would almost have to argue the only reason I get any interviews is match and maybe personal statement and research. I was however an MD/PhD applicant and both mattered, that made it interesting.

I would only have to imagine that almost every person on this site applying to psych programs knows how important match is though right? Plus, if the few APA books etc are right, match is still only a piece, maybe 20% of the puzzle, I do see pros and cons to not putting personal info up there, but flat out at some point if you dont mind being judged a persons info can only help others, if for nothing more than to give confidence to those unsure?

 

[PsyDWannabe]

Sounds like a good idea!

2nd that!! Also, considering the fact that AlaskanJustin already got an interview at my number 1 choice, I can't wait for him to post his stats 🙂

BIG CONGRATS JUSTIN!! 👍

 

[futureapppsy2]

This thread has some wonderful information in this regard:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=272781

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I'd rather not have this turn into a, "what are my chances thread" and have people post their info. I started a thread for all of that, since we have seen an increase in those kind of threads as of late.

 

[deleted176373]

So something we did in the Pre-Med forums that was HUGELY helpful was kids that either received interviews, acceptances, waitlists etc posted their "profile" or basically their curricula vita (link to it) if they wanted their personal statements (although this is less likely do to creativity issues) but overall their "total" package, GPA, GRE etc to give others an idea of where they got in to and how they did it.

Let me know!

Justin

Unfortunately, in psychology, the "package" is only a small part of the equation. Elusive "fit" is the core difference, and fit is a large constellation of factors from who you know, to how you present yourself, to your personal statement.

It is expected that everyone applying to competitive programs will have decent to excellent GPA/GRE. As I have posted elsewhere, my "package" other than my personal statement and schools applied to remained static, but my success in securing interviews went from 13.4% my first year applying to over 50% my second year applying.

The only thing that changed, my personal statement and some of the programs I applied to. The overall competitiveness of the programs was pretty static. All were fully funded. What changed, I figured out how to write a better personal statement and I networked a lot.

Mark

 

[hamsterpants]

People may be more comfortable doing this after April 15 or so.

I for one would be interested as my GPA is low-ish and if I do not receive any interviews, this kind of info will be useful to decide upon my Plan B (trying again next year, etc).

 

[GreenPsych]

Would it not be more beneficial to simply look at the full disclosure data for the schools you are interested in at this time? Those numbers are the mean/median for those that were accepted so regardless of who answers here, which is a smaller sample, you would be better off checking those numbers. In doing so you should take into account that some accepted scored higher and lower etc.

I think the full disclosure data is your friend.

That being said I would guess those on SDN have higher mean GRE and GPA than the larger nationwide sample. Why? Well my guess, which is uninformed to some extent ("a guess") is that if you are intense enough to get involved here then you are pretty committed to the process and that in and of itself is a "weed out" process for those that realize they do not fit academically in this community. There are numerous references on these boards to 1350 or 1300 GRE scores, which is by it's very nature well above the average (around 1 to 2 SD).

 

[deleted176373]

There are numerous references on these boards to 1350 or 1300 GRE scores, which is by it's very nature well above the average (around 1 to 2 SD).

Looks like the Mean is 1046, and the Std Dev is 270, Obviously 1316 is above 1 but below 2 standard deviations above the norm (in otherwords only the top 15% of the tested will score 1316 or better.) The "norm" being all graduate school hopefuls (not exactly a normal population.)

Table 1: General Test Mean Scores

(Based on the performance of all examinees 
who tested between July 1, 2004, and June 30, 2007)

Number of Examinees                Mean           Standard Deviation

Verbal Reasoning 
1,314,159                                462                     119
Quantitative Reasoning 
1,313,671                                584                     151
Analytical Writing 
1,304,999                                4.0                      0.9

 

[GreenPsych]

I was referring to the means stated in the below thread when referencing SD of 1 or 2 (of both the verbal and quant individually), rather than the entire GRE sample.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=637708

 

[AlaskanJustin]

I was referring to the means stated in the below thread when referencing SD of 1 or 2 (of both the verbal and quant individually), rather than the entire GRE sample.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=637708

well I can understand your guess... but frankly its not true, I have seen (including myself) plenty of people well below GPAs of 3.5 (Im 3.27 and 3.21 at each school) and some of my schools Im well above on math GRE but at or just below average on verbal GRE.

People make the argument that match is the most important thing, and clearly it IS important, but the fact remains
1) im willing to venture that most if not all students on here know this and contact faculty or put a statement of match in their personal statement
2) many people will make the same "match" with a faculty, so who gets the interview and who doesnt? Who gets accepted and who doesnt?
3) yes a personal statement is also important, which is why I have no qualms with putting mine up, not to brag, but simply to give an idea of what I did and how so far it has worked. If people want to copy me thats their problem not mine, but I am confident most of you are intelligent and creative enough to do your own thing.
4) ultimately the ENTIRE application is important, NOT just match, in fact having spoken to quite a few admissions committee reps around this area (u of maryland, johns hopkins, American U, Howard etc) a persons match is the last thing they look at, they get a pool of applicants that have the qualifications and total package then see how they match.... meaning you need to have the stuff before you are even considered for match

Things like your CV etc are important, even small things like how your CV flows and is prepared, are important aspects, it cannot be a fluke that each of these reps I talk to say the same thing, so even though the "match" seems like a fundamental difference between med and grad school, I would argue its not as different as you think, I am guessing many of you have never filled out a secondary? 90% of those questions are "why you match with this school, why this program, what you have to offer with this program?" etc

Just something to think about,

J

 

[hamsterpants]

As a final acceptance could be for a number of reasons, some elusive like "fit" and "dept politics", I am more interested in where the first cut off may be for particular schools. I am not so much interested in means, SDs - just curious if some schools do indeed have GPA/GRE cutoffs - that are not publicized. If there is a good chance an application will not be looked at based on those factors, it would be useful to know for future. This won't be scientific and probably will change from year to year anyway but I would be interested in the general trends.

 

[richzeelv]

As a final acceptance could be for a number of reasons, some elusive like "fit" and "dept politics", I am more interested in where the first cut off may be for particular schools. I am not so much interested in means, SDs - just curious if some schools do indeed have GPA/GRE cutoffs - that are not publicized. If there is a good chance an application will not be looked at based on those factors, it would be useful to know for future. This won't be scientific and probably will change from year to year anyway but I would be interested in the general trends.

Regarding cutoffs, like official cutoffs, as far as I know and from faculty I have spoken to regarding this matter, it is illegal in the state of Texas to have "official" GRE cutoff scores. Hope this helps?

 

[cara susanna]

Official cutoffs may not even be completely rigid. I got interviews at two schools that supposedly cut off at a higher GRE score than I had.