so...how is the first year treating you?!

[blindchaos]

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Whew...it's been a while since I've been around the boards! Figured it would be a good time to catch up with everyone who was stressing about programs and applications a year ago (has it really been a year?!) For everyone who suffered through the round of applications last year and have since started their first year.....how is the first year treating you?!

Any inspiring stories? Horror stories? Funny stories? 🙂

I'm about 3 weeks in and things are going well - really liking the program and my new classmates. Really like the classes (well, except for stats but that's not surprising 😛). How is everyone doing?!

 

[psybee]

Whew...it's been a while since I've been around the boards! Figured it would be a good time to catch up with everyone who was stressing about programs and applications a year ago (has it really been a year?!) For everyone who suffered through the round of applications last year and have since started their first year.....how is the first year treating you?!

Any inspiring stories? Horror stories? Funny stories? 🙂

I'm about 3 weeks in and things are going well - really liking the program and my new classmates. Really like the classes (well, except for stats but that's not surprising 😛). How is everyone doing?!

i feel exactly the same! i even like my stats prof, just struggle a bit with some of the material. we have a crazy course load, way more than other programs, and yet research demands and soon we'll start shadowing advanced students in the clinic -- fun but overwhelming! it's a good way to fight the super perfectionist in me -- i literally cannot do all the work the way i want to, so i just have to do my best and accept the unfinished, imperfect nature of things. all the teachers talk about grad school as such a nightmare. i know they're trying to be humorous, and i wonder if i'll nod wryly at thier jokes a year from now. i miss having free time and watching tv and such, but school is so fun!

 

[zeldazelda]

So far so good! Interesting classes, profs and a good cohort. Been working hard and enjoying it. Was just sitting here trying to figure out which bit of reading for tomorrow I will finish and which I won't. Par for the course I think. 🙂

 

[Thrak]

Good on the whole, enough small frustrations to keep me on my toes. For example: getting my parking pass situation worked out, ID cards, a textbook not available in the bookstore that I had to order online and that Borders screwed up with, so I went two weeks without my stats text and was 5 chapters behind. Oh, and me stupidly taking 14 credits when 11 would have been expected of me.

Everything else has been great though. My classmates are are nice, my profs are really good, the workload has been handle-able. My adviser gave me a good rundown on what is expected of me for this semester, so I can get working on research. Things look promising.

I'm still in that mindset of "holy crap, everyone else here is insightful and brilliant and I don't know if I measure up" but from what I hear, this is normal and confidence will develop over time. I can only hope!

 

[deleted176373]

I'm still in that mindset of "holy crap, everyone else here is insightful and brilliant and I don't know if I measure up" but from what I hear, this is normal and confidence will develop over time. I can only hope!

Funny how you go from being brilliant to just average when you get to graduate school. Really warps your worldview being surrounded by very bright people.

Mark

 

[BorntoRun]

Funny how you go from being brilliant to just average when you get to graduate school. Really warps your worldview being surrounded by very bright people.

Mark

I'll agree with that! My first year is going well so far - I like my cohort and my advisor a lot. It's funny thinking back on the application process; it feels like ages ago. Even the few weeks I've been here feel like months, there's so much happening at once!

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Thrak, read my sig. 😀

 

[moonflwr]

So far, so good for me. I finally got keys yesterday (yay!) so I'm now able to get into the lounge and my lab. Now its just a matter of my brain adjusting to the amount of thinking I have to do again. I worked for 2 years as an RA and it was pretty easy stuff so I got mentally lazy.

 

[ohyeahright]

delete

 

[Rushnp774]

I can't say it's overwhelming (yet), but it's definitely much more work than I'm used to. Undergrad was pretty much a joke, and this is not. All the first years in the PsyD program I'm in have to take the dreaded IQ testing class which so far, has taken more time than my other three classes put together.

Other than that, it's a slow and steady increase in the workload and I have my first test next week (stats). We'll see how well I'm handling it in three months, although that seems like an absolute eternity away.

 

[psybee]

sooo...is anyone else super overwhelmed??? because i am! i think it's mainly because of all the presentations...

i'm totally overwhelmed. they have us take an unheard of number of classes and the reading is intense intense, even with splitting it up and outlining it. and the research is underway too! i love it but i don't know how i'll do it. it's unbelievable. it's hard to do it too living with my fiancee who is not in grad school full time (although he does work and is taking a class). i feel awful for taking his best friend away from him...for physio and stats, but what else can i do?

 

[RayneeDeigh]

I remember feeling so incredibly overwhelmed in my first month, I didn't even know what the heck was going on. I'd go into a class with renewed confidence and come out 3 hours later thinking "why did they let me in? there must have been some mistake..."

That feeling didn't really go away until the end of my first year when I started practicum and it all felt natural. Now that I'm in second year the workload is easier (although we have one crazy semester coming up in the spring) and I know what to expect. Somehow that makes it feel better. Plus, now that I've finished first year I feel like I'm not as "under the microscope" was I was last year. Nobody seems to care what I'm doing or how I'm doing it and that's a nice and welcome change.

So for all you first years who are feeling overwhelmed, hang in there. You won't get laundry done, you won't wash the dishes on time, but you'll survive first year.

 

[paramour]

I remember feeling so incredibly overwhelmed in my first month, I didn't even know what the heck was going on. I'd go into a class with renewed confidence and come out 3 hours later thinking "why did they let me in? there must have been some mistake..."

That feeling didn't really go away until the end of my first year when I started practicum and it all felt natural. Now that I'm in second year the workload is easier (although we have one crazy semester coming up in the spring) and I know what to expect. Somehow that makes it feel better. Plus, now that I've finished first year I feel like I'm not as "under the microscope" was I was last year. Nobody seems to care what I'm doing or how I'm doing it and that's a nice and welcome change.

So for all you first years who are feeling overwhelmed, hang in there. You won't get laundry done, you won't wash the dishes on time, but you'll survive first year.

Pfft, my second year is turning out to be umpteen times worse than my first year. I am considerably busier now in the first part of the current semester than I ever was in the "thick" of things during the first year. Apparently I need to relocate.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Every year you'll get busier.....though the trade off is that you'll get better at what you are doing (typing up an integrated report will take FOREVER when you first start, but then you'll be cranking them out in no time).

 

[Cosmo75]

Every year you'll get busier.....though the trade off is that you'll get better at what you are doing (typing up an integrated report will take FOREVER when you first start, but then you'll be cranking them out in no time).

I second that. A funny thing in my program is everyone said that the current year was the most challenging and the next would get better. I don't think the workload gets less, in fact it increases, but your ability to manage all your tasks gets much better. I remember when it'd take me an hour to write a therapy note. Now I can churn one out in 10-15 minutes. Integrated reports also get much faster.

 

[psybee]

Every year you'll get busier.....though the trade off is that you'll get better at what you are doing (typing up an integrated report will take FOREVER when you first start, but then you'll be cranking them out in no time).

i read this in the morning, and by the evening i saw how true it was. i'm sharing a wisc manual, and we just got an off the cuff scoring assignment. it took me forever to do, but my partner, who's scored these before, says she can finish it over lunch! i can't wait to not be a newbie at everything!

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

i read this in the morning, and by the evening i saw how true it was. i'm sharing a wisc manual, and we just got an off the cuff scoring assignment. it took me forever to do, but my partner, who's scored these before, says she can finish it over lunch! i can't wait to not be a newbie at everything!

Oooooh the WISC! I remember my first half dozen seemed to take forever, but fast-forward to my second year and I'd get together with friends and we'd be scoring assessments while sitting around watching a game or a movie. Now when I help people I can whip through it and catch errors much easier.

 

[psybee]

Oooooh the WISC! I remember my first half dozen seemed to take forever, but fast-forward to my second year and I'd get together with friends and we'd be scoring assessments while sitting around watching a game or a movie. Now when I help people I can whip through it and catch errors much easier.

you are very reassuring. you should be a psychologist ! (Har, i have a million of them, i swear...)

any advice as to what kinda errors i should keep an eye out for? our TA isn't so great at remembering what it was like to be new at this stuff and helping us out that way...

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

any advice as to what kinda errors i should keep an eye out for? our TA isn't so great at remembering what it was like to be new at this stuff and helping us out that way...

Once you get the querying down and d/c stuff, it is mostly making sure you don't get lazy with the math.

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[WaitingKills]

Things here are going fairly well. I'm way less overwhelmed now than I was a couple weeks a go (vodka really helped with this ).

I'm already discovering the good things and bad things about my department and university. Cause I'm bored, I'll list some of them...

Good:
*Supervisor is amazing. Love him!
*My supervisor has pretty much hooked me up with a research project through the Centre of Excellence, with me being the primary researcher. If I get it (which I should being that he's the director of the centres) I'll get a hefty stipend as well as at least one presentation and publication
*I don't completely mind the little town I'm in. It's a lot less horrible than I thought it would be

Bad:
*We don't get offices (that's crap!)
*The other students are quite cliquey. Since I'm the only new Ph.D I'm having a hard time making friends
*Not thrilled with going back to exams (or the fact that I have one worth 75%!!!). Never had them in my masters (only presentations and papers) so it'll be weird having to do an exam again after 4 years.
*I'm heard reliable rumours about inappropriate wild alcohol fueled sex parties involving both prof's and students. Soooo not my style!

All in all though, I think it's alright here. Could be a bit better, but could also be a hell of a lot worse.

 

[erg923]

Things here are going fairly well. I'm way less overwhelmed now than I was a couple weeks a go (vodka really helped with this ).

I'm already discovering the good things and bad things about my department and university. Cause I'm bored, I'll list some of them...

Good:
*Supervisor is amazing. Love him!
*My supervisor has pretty much hooked me up with a research project through the Centre of Excellence, with me being the primary researcher. If I get it (which I should being that he's the director of the centres) I'll get a hefty stipend as well as at least one presentation and publication
*I don't completely mind the little town I'm in. It's a lot less horrible than I thought it would be

Bad:
*We don't get offices (that's crap!)
*The other students are quite cliquey. Since I'm the only new Ph.D I'm having a hard time making friends
*Not thrilled with going back to exams (or the fact that I have one worth 75%!!!). Never had them in my masters (only presentations and papers) so it'll be weird having to do an exam again after 4 years.
*I'm heard reliable rumours about inappropriate wild alcohol fueled sex parties involving both prof's and students. Soooo not my style!

All in all though, I think it's alright here. Could be a bit better, but could also be a hell of a lot worse.

That's a shame! Why cant I go there......

There's a surprising amount of sex in my department too, but just between students, not the professors too. The alcohol and sex among students wouldn't surprise me, but I would kinda doubt the professors are involved.

 

[psybee]

i'm doing better too, though it's still way too much work. luckily i still love it!
i'm still trying to figure out a balance. some students are not focusing on the courses at all and totally on research, some vice versa, me i'm trying to do both because everything seems relevant and i just want to get as much out of my program as possible. it just seems amazing to me that in three years i'll have taken like 120 credits. it'll be so great to have that leap in knowledge!

what else. loving the WAIS--who new i'd like testing so much?

trying to think of ways i can collaborate with my old prof and my new prof. i'm in 2 labs and love both.

trying to find alternate health insurance -- the stuff my school offers is laughable. really t's me off since i'm in a program at a medical school. i mean, we can go to thier clinic for cheap and stuff but if we get cancer we pay full price for chemo (which means, as usual, us taxpayers would pay that price...).

having fun meeting new people--my cohort is awesome, and really diverse, personality wise--but it is draining. i'm a pretty social person but it's so intense to get to know 16 brand new people. sometimes i come home feeling pretty shy, or have feelings i haven't had since high school (will they like me? did i talk to much? hows my hair?). and i'm sure being in a clinical psych program, the things we're talking about, make me emotionally sensitive too. i really get why people recommend being in therapy while you do your program. not only is a phd program super stressful and intense and full of so much change and so many challenges, but you're bringing up al sorts of issues as through your classes. my prob is that it's hard to find sliding scale psychodynamic therapy where i am (lots of analytic, which just isn't my thing).

no class today, off to get a muffin and kick the DSM's butt! and then 15 articles butts! and then SPSS' butt!

 

[mlwg1]

We started school on in late August, and so far things are going okay. I'm in a clinical psych phD, there are nine of us in my cohort. We get along pretty well. In fact, we've scheduled a happy hour tomorrow so that we can hang out. I have a great faculty advisor and I like the people in my lab (okay, all but one).

Everyone is super, super laid back. Maybe it's a California thing (I'm from Texas originally), or maybe it's a psychology program mentality. I like it. Still trying to meet more people so that i can make friends out here.

Learned some stuff about my study habits and priorities. Like how in PhD programs your grades matter little as long as you're not at probation level, it's your research that gets you money and helps you stand out. So I pretty much do just enough reading to get by, and it works out pretty well. I also learned that I can't study after the sun goes down, so I have to wake up early on weekdays in order to get enough work done during the day.

Waitingkills, i kind of wish there were more alcohol fueled inappropriate activities in my program. It would be really entertaining (as long as I'm not the one providing the entertainment).

 

[deleted176373]

That's a shame! Why cant I go there......

There's a surprising amount of sex in my department too, but just between students, not the professors too. The alcohol and sex among students wouldn't surprise me, but I would kinda doubt the professors are involved.

Maybe I am naive but my school is soooo not like that. +1 erg923, why can't I be going there! LOL.

Mark

 

[psybee]

Maybe I am naive but my school is soooo not like that. +1 erg923, why can't I be going there! LOL.

Mark

we're all so settled in my program! i'd say a third are married, and other third in serious relationships, maybe more.

 

[erg923]

we're all so settled in my program! i'd say a third are married, and other third in serious relationships, maybe more.

Oh Jeez.....😴

Update: Wife just slapped me.....

 

[PinkSoil]

Okay, so I started my PsyD program one month ago. In that month, the following things have managed to happen:

My father, who was my best friend in the entire world, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly after the first week of school.

I lost a client to suicide.

My job screwed up my direct deposit, so they paid me with a check. I deposited it, and the check bounced, wiping out my entire checking account and placing it in the negative range. They are in the process of paying me back all the overdraft fees.

On Friday, I was going to a mandatory function that the doctoral department holds every year. I got pulled over for having an inspection sticker that was one a and half months overdue. Apparently, my registrated was overdue by this amount as well. I did not know this. They towed my car away and left me on the street. I took a couple buses and made it to school.

I can't imagine a worse start to doctoral school. For whatever reason, I have been focused and working hard. Yesterday, I finished a complete interpretation of an MMPI-2 profile, which is due tomorrow. It took eight hours, and ended up being ten pages long. I really enjoyed it. My personality theories class is amazing, as I immersed in psychodynamic theory.

The faculty has been wonderful and understanding. They told me that if I needed extensions, extra time off, or whatever... to just ask. I have decided to just keep up with the flow rather than asking for special treatment.

The workload definitely exceeds what I thought it would be. I mean, I knew it would be a lot, but it is way more than I thought. This week I have to start looking for my assessment practicum, which will begin next summer. My assessment professor just obtained several kids of the brand new WAIS-IV so we share the kits in groups of three, and we will all have to find a subject to practice on.

If I can get through this, I can get through anything. I know my Dad would have.

 

[psychmama]

Wow, Pink. I'm really sorry to hear about your troubles, especially your father. And you lost a client to suicide? Was this a client from before starting your doctoral program? In any event, you sound like you are coping unbelievably well. However, I hope you recognize how much is on your plate, and that you give yourself permission to deal with whatever feelings/reactions come up for you. Best of luck and good wishes.

 

[PinkSoil]

Wow, Pink. I'm really sorry to hear about your troubles, especially your father. And you lost a client to suicide? Was this a client from before starting your doctoral program? In any event, you sound like you are coping unbelievably well. However, I hope you recognize how much is on your plate, and that you give yourself permission to deal with whatever feelings/reactions come up for you. Best of luck and good wishes.

Oh yes, I'm definitely trying to take care of myself by going to my own therapy, plus consultation.

And yes, my client was from before my doctoral program. I work as a therapist outside of doctoral school.

Sometimes the degree to which I am coping is scary, sometimes it is surprising, and sometimes it is not. I don't know... It has given me a great deal of insight into who I am. As unfortunate as these situations are, they give way to a great deal of unconscious material and new understandings. I am beginning to be able to understand myself in the context of completely unfamiliar situations.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

PinkSoil, I'm sorry to hear about your father....you have my condolences. Also, having a client commit suicide is tough, but remember that if a person really wants to kill themselves, there is little we can do to stop them.

 

[psychmama]

PinkSoil,

I'm glad you have the support of your faculty, as well therapy and consultation. I agree that sometimes the most difficult experiences are the ones that teach us the most. It's been true for me, but that doesn't mean it's been easy.😉 Good luck!

 

[AlairaK]

I don't find mine hard with proper time management. But I placed out of the first stats class, so I'm only taking 9 hours. But, I am teaching 5 classes, so that maybe evens it out, I'm not sure what the average number of classes to teach is.

I don't find it very hard to manage time, but having only one car, my husband drops me off at my office at 8 a.m. and picks me up at 6:30 p.m., so I have nearly 11 hours to just sit and work on my stuff all day, so I'm pretty free on nights and weekends, which I think makes it seem less time-consuming than it is.

 

[blindchaos]

Comparing my masters program to my psyd program....I am so much happier here!!! 😀 I'm definitely busier and more challenged here but that's why I love it. My advisor is wonderful, cohort is awesome, and really enjoying all my classes (again, with the exception of stats though the prof does try to make it more fun and less painful).

It feels weird to be so happy here because the last two years (masters program) were far from happy years. I'm already convinced that this was the right choice for me whereas in my masters program, I was largely unhappy and there were more than a few friends/family members who were pulling for me to leave/transfer out (to the extent that one close friend sent links to masters programs that still had openings so that I could transfer at the end of fall semester should I choose to take that option). I can't say I regret the decision to go there in that I certainly learned a lot and gained quite a bit of "life experience" (others would say it was character building to which one friend quipped "Blindchaos, I don't think you need any more character after that! You are set for life.")

So....went from a terrible masters experience to an absolutely wonderful psyd program 🙂 So happy!!!!!!!!!

 

[moonflwr]

Now that we're over halfway through the semester, I thought I would resurrect this thread and see how everyone is doing. I've been so busy that I haven't gotten to lurk nearly as much as I used to 🙂.

As for me, I'm adjusting well to the work load. Although I still feel like there's some kind of seret book that tells everyone what to do (I'm still waiting for my copy of that). How bout everyone else?

 

[RileyG]

busy. can't talk. 🙂

 

[baylordude]

it seems as though what little time is left after classes/research is spent in either meetings, seminars, or conferences...chronically busy...yet mostly pleasant.

 

[spillsomepaint]

wow i feel like i haven't been around here in forever! hey guys! missed you!

i guess the fact that i've been mainly absent this semester speaks to how busy i've been. I've definitely learned A LOT this semester about how much my study skills need to change. I think the biggest difficulty for me though has been juggling grad school with a move to NYC. there is just SO much to do here psych related and otherwise. It becomes hard to do everything. This semester's classes have been so so. I took Cognitive, Developmental, and Psychopathology I. They are all more lecture based, but next semester I get into all seminars and more research so I am really looking forward to that kind of work. okay off to study for my last midterm..

 

[psybee]

our program is insane and has you taking a truly unbelieveable number of credits. like, way more than anything i've seen on here. it' s been really tough too because i want to learn everything but there's just not the time, and really learning how to get the gist of an enormous amount of info in a short amount of time is another thing i'm learning. and i'm the oldest personin my cohort, and haven't taken a test (save for the gre's) since '99. and now that i'm older i get sleepy.

it's tough too because my main lab--i love it, and my PI is such a brilliant and dedicated researcher (he's hoping that we have the thrust and a lit review for our master's project by the end of the semester), and i just wish i could have a full day or two dedicated and cordoned off to research. it's so great to have so many opportunities, I just wish i could dedicate more of my time to research. i think next semester that will be more possible. and i've taken on some governance responsibilites, and i work in a second lab doing clinical and outreach work. i have learned so so much. i wish i could be taking half as many classes but still, i'm so happy being in my program.

 

[Thrak]

I overdid it with classes, and I'm behind the eight ball. I've done less research than I expected, and I'm pretty much sleep deprived.

However...

My adviser is great, I think it's going to work out well for me. My classes themselves are interesting, and the profs are very good. Next semester should be much lighter, class-wise, and much heavier, research-wise. And my classmates are exceedingly intelligent... I'm learning a lot from them.

Despite the workload, I'm really happy.

I am both looking forward to, and dreading, the end of the semester. So much to do before it's over!

 

[psybee]

An update:

I've overall really enjoyed this year. My cohort is amazing, I've learned so much, and I know this is what I'm supposed to be doing. I've also gotten involved in student governance to advocate for changes we would like and problems students have had with classes, teachers, etc. I am feeling pretty down though. Our program is not a mentor-model--you pick a lab once you're in , and it's tough because while I like the lab I've picked and I think the area of research I'm interested in is really interesting, it's not as dead on what my mentor is doing and I feel like what's really clear to me, what I've presented in lit reviews and presentations is not what's being heard. Honestly thats a new experience for me. i've always written clearly and well, same thing for speaking, and have had not a problem in any of my other classes. It's tough-he's a new hire and so busy--i've only talked to him for 20 minutes since the semester began. We get a grade for our lab, which is something I hate, and I worry that I've poured my heart into this work and I'll end up with a B+. So that's not so fun. We'll see.

 

[psychometric]

To Blindchaos
So....went from a terrible masters experience to an absolutely wonderful psyd program 🙂 So happy!!!!!!!!![/quote]


Nice that you feel so good about the program. WEhere did you end up attending? I finally decided on a PsyD program too.

😉

 

[blindchaos]

Yikes - been away for a while! I guess I should have rephrased what I said since looking back on it....well, it sounds pretty bad. The program itself wasn't too bad, I just wanted...more. What made it a terrible experience was a huge extenuating circumstance that I felt was handled very poorly by the program. It was certainly complicated and I think it would have been challenging for any program to handle a situation like that, I just think that the route the school chose to go was one of the worst possible options.

I know that all sounds rather vague, I just don't want to go into too much detail about the situation on here but I did want to indicate that it was very much an exception rather than the rule so it's not like the program was just all out bad, just one really bad situation.

Regardless, it's a world of difference here! One semester done and still thrilled with the program. And (I'm insanely excited about this) - I get to help out with the newest batch of applicants/interviewees!!! So hard to believe that I was on the other side of the table a year ago.... I'm just thrilled that everything worked out so well. I was horribly worried about getting interviews, acceptances, then trying figure out which offer to accept wondering if it would turn out to be the right choice or not... Definitely the right choice for me 😀

 

[deleted190534]

And (I'm insanely excited about this) - I get to help out with the newest batch of applicants/interviewees!!! So hard to believe that I was on the other side of the table a year ago....

I SO pumped about that too! I keep asking my advisor for updates & info. I can hardly wait for interview day & then for the new person to start! (A year ago, I never would have fathomed that I'd be so excited about this part!) 😀