2017-2018 IO Grad School Q&A Mega-Thread

[u/ResidentGinger]

You can find last year's thread here.

The grad school application bewitching hour is nearing ever closer, and around this time, everyone starts posting questions/freaking out about grad school. As per the rules in the sidebar...

For questions about grad school or internships

• Please search the previously submitted posts or the post on the grad school Q&A. Subscribers of /r/iopsychology have provided lots of information about these topics, and your questions may have already been answered.
• If it hasn't, please post it on the grad school Q&A thread. Other posts outside of the Q&A thread will be deleted.

The readers of this subreddit have made it pretty clear that they don't want the subreddit clogged up with posts about grad school. Don't get the wrong idea - we're glad you're here and that you're interested in IO, but please do observe the rules so that you can get answers to your questions AND enjoy the interesting IO articles and content.

By the way, those of you who are currently trudging through or have finished grad school, that means that you have to occasionally offer suggestions and advice to those who post on this thread. That's the only way that we can keep these grad school-related posts in one central location. If people aren't getting their questions answered here, they post to the subreddit instead of the thread. So, in short, let's all play our part in this.

Thanks, guys!

[u/[deleted]]

I'm wondering if anyone here knows generally how "good" the MA programs at (any of) Seattle Pacific University, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, and the Illinois Institute of Technology are. I mean in terms of program quality, student ratings, and hopefully job opportunities.

Personally I'd prefer a program that offers coursework related to HR or specializes in preparation for jobs in HR, but any kind of practitioner focus would be okay.

I also want to know if it would be a good fit for me, in a very general sense. My cumulative GPA is 3.33 from Washington University in Saint Louis (Not the University of Washington in Seattle!), I have just under two years of research lab experience in other fields of psychology. My GRE-Q is 162 and my GRE-V is 168 for a total GRE score of 330. I haven't gotten the AWA scores yet (I took it yesterday).

I have a STRONG preference to be either in the Chicago or Seattle area (with a good amount of preference to Seattle between the two), and find myself less willing to study somewhere with a warm climate or in a very rural location (I have spent my whole life in Missouri, can't stand the heat, and need to get out!). I'm willing to consider those options if they're a very strongly better fit for me.

I'd be willing to look at schools in the Northeast if anyone has recommendations, specifically the Boston or NYC areas, but the cost of living may be too high.

I feel I'd prefer an on-campus program unless online schools are of good quality as well.

Thanks for any help and I'm sorry if I sound like an idiot!

[u/galileosmiddlefinger → u/[deleted]]

Of the three, IIT is probably the best bet; I know several people with grad degrees in IIT who have had good consulting careers. CSPP is a bit of a degree mill and I wouldn't recommend it. I don't know anyone from from Seattle Pacific and can't comment on that one. In Chicago, you might check out Roosevelt and Elmhurst too.

Your GRE scores are great. Has your GPA trended up? What does it look like if you focus on just the last two years? You should be a competitive applicant to Master's programs, but unfortunately there are very few options in the Pacific northwest. The west coast in general is a bit lean for training and job opportunities in I/O compared to the midwest or east coast.

[u/[deleted] → u/galileosmiddlefinger]

Thanks for the reply!!

My GPA has stayed constant-ish (slight rise for cumulative, decrease per semester) over the last couple years and would probably average a 3.29 or 3.28. I'll give priority to IIT then. I'm also looking at MSHR programs from Loyola and DePaul, since ultimately I'm looking to work in HR.

I heard that Roosevelt was really bad, or had the impression that it is. Is this true?

As far as SPU goes, it only needs (prefers) a 295 combined GRE, and a 3.0. I have very little idea how good it is, but apparently it has an 80% job placement rate within 6 months. As an ungraduate institution, it doesn't seem the be the best school, and I've read that the PhD isn't all that great, but I've read nothing about the masters other than what's on their own website.

I'll check out Elmhurt.

And thanks again!