Schools

[spillsomepaint]

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Everyone always says things about really great programs, that end up being impossible to get into etc, but I was wondering if their were any programs that I should stay away from?

my top four choices so far are:
The New School for Social Research
George Washington University
Loyola College
VCU (where I go now)
NOVA Southeastern

 

[Ollie123]

From the way you worded your post I couldn't tell. Are the 5 schools you listed your top 5 places you WANT to go, or your top 5 places that you should stay away from.

There was actually a possibility I was going to end up at VCU so I'd hope it isn't in the "stay away" category - though it was admittedly not as research-oriented as I would like.

I'm far too biased on this matter so I'm going to abstain from stating what schools I'd stay away from for fear of starting another flame war.

 

[spillsomepaint]

ha sorry rereading that does make it sound rather ambiguous. They are the top choice schools I WANT to go to.

That being said, I don't know anything about you, but VCU is more research focused then it lets on. It's like one of our little secrets. Not only do we have a great faculty, we also have a huge medical campus that provides many interdisciplinary research oppurtunities. One great thing our grad students say about VCU ( i work with grad students both in research and in clinical practicum) they say that VCU is flexible to do what you want with it. Their are some grad students here that tailor the program so they can get tons of clincial experience, and others who never see light out of the research labs (but they enjoy it).

Let me know if you'd like any more info on VCU, it's a great school. If it wasn't harder to get in places you attended for undergrad it'd be my number one choice.

 

[Ollie123]

Okay, thanks for clarifying🙂

I didn't mean to imply that it wasn't research-oriented, just that I'm looking for EXTREMELY research-oriented schools (i.e. a 5 on the Insider's guide was more practice-oriented than I wanted). There just wasn't quite as much research funding, grant history, etc. compared to what I was looking for. That being said, though I appreciate your offers for VCU info, the time for that has passed and I am already in a program that I am quite happy with.

 

[Psychbar]

I've heared some pretty negative things about the New School, though I don't have any personal experience. I seem to recall something about a chunk of their students who have a lot of trouble getting the doctorate. Do a search on this website for the New school - I think it was mentioned in other forums.
Oh, and if you haven't yet gotten the insider's guide, get it ASAP.

 

[spillsomepaint]

thanks for the info. would someone mind telling me how to do a more accurate search so i can see past posts about the new school?

 

[socialcog]

Shouldn't you be searching for faculty first and foremost? Research compatibility..is all everyone is telling me to focus on in my search for schools. Find a well-matched lab first, when you find that, then you find your school.

 

[paramour]

Excellent advice! You should be primarily looking at research interests. If they happen to coincide with your selected "top" schools, then great. If not, then I would recommend you make another attempt at creating your list.

 

[spillsomepaint]

For me personally, I agree to only a certain extent. I am really also interested in the level of clinical care I will be exposed to, so some great school in the country, with a stellar lab, wouldn't work for me. That being said, I know I've heard people say things about programs in general no matter who is on faculty that are just not good programs.

 

[socialcog]

Granted. However, many psych departments adhere to a advisor/mentee model, or an apprenticeship model. Meaning you must be accepted into a lab, AS WELL as the graduate school. If you are accepted into the school by the graduate admissions committe and NOT by a potential advisor--it's like having no home and you are not getting in. However, if you have establish contact with an advisor who is excited to work with you but you are a "borderline" candidate in the eyes of the committee--the adviser may be able to push to have you in.

Then again, what the hell do I know. This is all speculation. 😉

Good luck during your search.

 

[Psychbar]

Here is the link to the thread I was reffering to.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=383085

 

[Ollie123]

Its possible to look for both a research match and good clinical experiences🙂

If you don't have a decent research match, you will find it is very hard to get in anyplace remotely respectable. You might want to look for labs doing treatment-outcome research, there's plenty of them out there.

Heck I'm at a very research-heavy university and plenty of our students come out with 1500-2000 clinical hours with a pretty wide variety of populations.

 

[spillsomepaint]

thanks for the link!

 

[standbyme]

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[Therapist4Chnge]

Overall I think it is a good PsyD program, but there are definitely some areas (funding & size) that need improving.

There is a good discussion about Nova HERE. I also wrote about it more HERE.

-t