SDSU/UCSD's prerequisites

[phillips101]

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I want to apply to SDSU/UCSD's joint program for this upcoming application cycle, and noticed they have a lot of prerequisite courses for non-psych majors. Although I have 20+ psych credits and a psych minor, my major is in a different area. Of all the courses listed on their site as prereqs, I have not taken "psychological tests" and some experimental lab. First, my undergrad didn't even offer such a class as psychological tests, and secondly, I have 3+ years of lab experience to compensate for not having taken some lab course.

Does any one know how strict they are in terms of their prereqs? I'm afraid my apps will just be thrown out simply because I didn't take two courses. 😡

Please help!

 

[Pragma]

I want to apply to SDSU/UCSD's joint program for this upcoming application cycle, and noticed they have a lot of prerequisite courses for non-psych majors. Although I have 20+ psych credits and a psych minor, my major is in a different area. Of all the courses listed on their site as prereqs, I have not taken "psychological tests" and some experimental lab. First, my undergrad didn't even offer such a class as psychological tests, and secondly, I have 3+ years of lab experience to compensate for not having taken some lab course.

Does any one know how strict they are in terms of their prereqs? I'm afraid my apps will just be thrown out simply because I didn't take two courses. 😡

Please help!

I think your best bet would be to contact the department directly. They should be able to tell you with certainty if you need more coursework or if other experience can make up for missing the pre-req.

"Testing" courses are becoming more common these days in UG programs, but I don't recall one being offered at my UG institution either.

 

[roubs]

I think your best bet would be to contact the department directly. They should be able to tell you with certainty if you need more coursework or if other experience can make up for missing the pre-req.

"Testing" courses are becoming more common these days in UG programs, but I don't recall one being offered at my UG institution either.

Agree, calling them is the only definitive way to answer this question.

 

[phillips101]

Thank you for your replies. Unfortunately, I haven't had much luck on the phones, and they state explicitly on their website to not call about prerequisite requirements...

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Thank you for your replies. Unfortunately, I haven't had much luck on the phones, and they state explicitly on their website to not call about prerequisite requirements...

Hmm, do they mention anything about emailing, then, instead? That really does seem to be the only way to be sure.

Like Pragma (and you), my undergrad institution didn't offer any non-grad testing courses. I would imagine that addressing in your personal statement what you've learned from your time as an RA could help to have this req waived.

Although there might be current UCSD/SDSU students on here, so they might be able to offer more insight into the situation.

 

[Pragma]

Thank you for your replies. Unfortunately, I haven't had much luck on the phones, and they state explicitly on their website to not call about prerequisite requirements...

Do they offer any information about how to get a question answered about the admissions process? Because that isn't a good sign. You should at least be able to email an inquiry. Also check to see if there is any fine print on their website...the question may be answered somewhere. But if you can't get a simple question answered regarding admissions, that is a bad sign for things like getting your thesis paperwork approved...

 

[Ollie123]

Agree with Pragma - that seems an odd and somewhat concerning statement, though the program certainly has an outstanding reputation.

If you have contacted a faculty member to determine if they are taking students, this may be an issue worth raising. I do remember from when I was applying there was a great deal of variability in pre-reqs. I suspect many mentor-model programs take a flexible approach to these beyond the basics (methods, stats). Much of the time, individual faculty have a great deal of discretion in terms of who they want to let into their lab. I recall several schools who seemed to everything under the sun listed as a prerequisite, but I find it hard to imagine senior faculty member x looking at someone CV and saying "Well, they have a 4.0 GPA, 1600 GRE's, and have been working for a famous researcher for five years and have a dozen publications, but they didn't take developmental psychology as a junior so we can't accept them". Maybe it happens, but I'd wager if you have the basics covered - most of the time, if they want you, they will take you. Unfortunately, this also likely varies widely across schools so I can't comment on its applicability in this case.

 

[roubs]

Looked at their website for a sec and it says

Until your transcripts are evaluated we cannot give you a concrete response as to what courses fulfill the prerequisites.

Aka we want your application fee without having to tell you whether or not you are even a viable applicant. 😱

 

[phillips101]

I apologize, to correct what I said, their website states that they will not be able to determine which courses meet the prerequisites prior to seeing the student's transcript.

Also, these "prerequisites" are explicitly stated that they are required only of students who are not psychology majors. I would dare to guess that most psychology majors probably have not taken a "psychological testing" course simply because it isn't as widely offered.

I misread (and probably misinterpreted) their what was written on the website. I don't want to misrepresent the University or program in any way.

 

[Psychadelic2012]

That program is awful to applicants. When applying, you send your materials into an abyss and have absolutely NO idea whether they received them, etc. One faculty member from that program told me, explicitly, that the process of weeding out applicants involves just looking for something (anything) that will allow them to throw you in the "reject" pile, because they get SO many. Another former student and RA in that department told me that most of the slots go to RAs and students that they know. I wouldn't count on your application being seen by this department if you are missing two classes. From what I've heard, you'll go right in the reject pile ("but thanks for your money") ala roubs' comment.

 

[psychRA]

"Psychological tests" is a pretty vague course title, and doesn't sound like something that's commonly offered to undergrads in any case.

I agree with what others have said; it's all well and good to have very firm course requirements for applicants, but they need to provide clear information about courses that fulfill those requirements. If you there's no way to know if you've met those requirements until after you've paid your application fee (and I'm assuming they don't actually tell you, they just discard your application), that's really annoying. I get that there are a lot of variables that are more difficult to measure (enough research experience, strong letters, etc.) and that they just can't offer feedback about in advance, but this is not one of them.

FWIW, the UCSD/SDVA internship application was by far the most confusing and annoying one that I submitted. Maybe there's something in the water out there?

 

[Jeina]

That program is awful to applicants. When applying, you send your materials into an abyss and have absolutely NO idea whether they received them, etc. One faculty member from that program told me, explicitly, that the process of weeding out applicants involves just looking for something (anything) that will allow them to throw you in the "reject" pile, because they get SO many. Another former student and RA in that department told me that most of the slots go to RAs and students that they know. I wouldn't count on your application being seen by this department if you are missing two classes. From what I've heard, you'll go right in the reject pile ("but thanks for your money") ala roubs' comment.

I agree that SDSU/UCSD program is horrible to apply to. When I filled out my application, several of the recruiting professors were a good match to my research interests. In December, before part two of the application but AFTER I had already had to pay my application fee, the list of available mentors was cut almost in half, and there was nobody on the final list who I matched with. I felt it was unfair to attract applicants based on one list of available mentors (and forbid you from contacting them to ensure that these people were really accepting students), and then change everything after getting your app fee.

 

[phillips101]

That program is awful to applicants. When applying, you send your materials into an abyss and have absolutely NO idea whether they received them, etc. One faculty member from that program told me, explicitly, that the process of weeding out applicants involves just looking for something (anything) that will allow them to throw you in the "reject" pile, because they get SO many. Another former student and RA in that department told me that most of the slots go to RAs and students that they know. I wouldn't count on your application being seen by this department if you are missing two classes. From what I've heard, you'll go right in the reject pile ("but thanks for your money") ala roubs' comment.

So they would throw an applicant into the reject pile, while he/she may have a near perfect GRE, years of research experience, numerous publications, and awesome rec letters...simply because "psychological testing" wasn't on their transcript? Interesting...

 

[Psychadelic2012]

So they would throw an applicant into the reject pile, while he/she may have a near perfect GRE, years of research experience, numerous publications, and awesome rec letters...simply because "psychological testing" wasn't on their transcript? Interesting...

Who knows? That's my point. It's a crap shoot. Take your chances if you want to go there badly enough, but know that you won't get any feedback during the application phase.