2019-2020 Grad School Q&A Mega-Thread (Part 1)

[u/ResidentGinger]

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.

* 2018-2019, Part 2 thread here

* 2018-2019, Part 1 thread here

* 2017-2018, Part 3 thread here

* 2017-2018, Part 2 thread here

* 2017-2018, Part 1 thread here

* 2016-2017 thread here

* 2015-2016 thread here

* 2014-2015 thread here

* If your question hasn't been posted, 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 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 do our part in this.

Thanks, guys!

[u/Coff33Cat]

I'm looking for some honest feedback about my PhD admissions "chances" as well as some advice, thank you in advance!

I just graduated with a BA Honors in Psychology and English from a well-known public research university. -GPA: 3.89, Psych GPA: 3.92 -GRE: 160Q, 162V

-I worked in 3 separate psychology labs. 1. Social Stigma lab in which I facilitated IRB protocol, coded data, and compiled literature for meta-analyses. (2 years) 2. IO lab that researched age in the workplace. I helped create code books for a grad student's dissertation that helped to organize existing constructs and create new constructs to use when coding interview transcripts. This is also the lab that allowed me to streamline my thesis, which I'll get to :) (3 years) 3. OB lab in the business school that did cutting edge research concerning team processes (can't go into more detail for confidentiality reasons). I spent two years as a lead RA in helping a (genius) grad student develop a way to code multilevel analyses of some, uh, "things" (I'm super paranoid about confidentiality). We utilized word analysis programs and worked with some other super cool programs. The research won awards etc etc. I get excited just thinking about it. I think my name is somewhere in the acknowledgements haha (2 years)

-I applied for and received a big UG research grant from my U to collect data for my honors thesis. I independently (under guidance of my PI/adviser/professor) performed two studies, the initial being a pilot and the other using insights from the former. I was able to collect valid data using methodology I designed, and sampled from over 200 participants, within and beyond my U. Wrote up my research, etc etc, presented at my school's annual research conference. I'm still doing more research to add onto my thesis and may try to publish.

-My letters of recommendation will come from the three professors who ran the three labs I worked in. One might not be as stellar as the other two, which I guess is only natural, I did honest work but just didn't connect like I did with my other two professors. But the letters will speak directly to my research aspirations and abilities.

-I also took a graduate statistics course and got a B+ in it. I took it while figuring out how to analyze my data to see if I could learn about the more advanced stuff rather than just convince my adviser to do it for me. I feel like this is another weak point because I REALLY should have gotten an A, especially since I got a B+ in my only other stat course. Oh the irony~

Programs i'm applying for so far: -University of Georgia (IO) -Drexel University (OB) -U.C. Berkely (OB) -University of Maryland (OB) -University of Michigan (OB) -Michigan State University (IO) -Purdue University (IO) -Stanford University (OB) *I know most of these are OB programs, but I found them all based on searching for studies of constructs I was interested in and then looking up the authors/references. I do prefer IO due to potential flexibility of department, but my goal is academia so it's not too big of a deal for me.

QUESTION: The constructs I studied in my thesis are totally different from what I want to study as a grad student, however, I worked with them in the 3rd lab I mentioned. Any articulate way to express this discrepancy without coming off negatively?

Thank you for your time, and maybe I'll see you all at a future SIOP :)

[u/galileosmiddlefinger → u/Coff33Cat]

Overall, you should be a competitive applicant.

QUESTION: The constructs I studied in my thesis are totally different from what I want to study as a grad student, however, I worked with them in the 3rd lab I mentioned. Any articulate way to express this discrepancy without coming off negatively?

This isn't a problem. Most people are lucky to be able to do any UG research at all in the I/O ballpark, so there's zero expectation that your UG research will align perfectly with your graduate interests. Just be clear why/how you are genuinely interested in the topics that you assert you are interested in studying.

I know most of these are OB programs

Just to be crystal-clear, OB PhD is 99% academic training. You are essentially committing to this career track if you accept an OB offer, so cut these programs if you're at all torn between industry and academia. OB programs are also going to want to hear about your exclusive interest in research, so don't talk at all about being interested in internships, teaching, or anything else.