#grad school applications

[meanya]

How the FUCK do you apply for grad school. Cuz like. Idek where to start. Do I go to a website. Is there a manual for this??

I could??? Move to another state??? That I've never been to???

Terrifying. What is this outside-my-comfort-zone bullshit.

[ao3cassandraic]

Hi! I'm about to apply to get into graduate school and start working to get my MLIS. Do you have any advice?

Hi! Welcome to the information professions.

Until my shop changed processes a couple of years ago, I read applications for admission. Lots of them. I was the department app-numbers champion three years running.

Here's what I typically looked for:

Can you write? Like it or not -- and I don't, always -- these professions are hyperverbal and so is our program. If writing isn't your strong suit, that's not a dealbreaker; it just means "find reliable beta readers for your essay." And when you hit campus, locate the campus writing-help unit and make friends with them.

Do you have some idea what you're getting into? For some applicants this is direct work or volunteer experience; for others, a mentor; for others, a grounded sense of career direction; for still others, a statement of their abilities and aspirations that they think fits the profile. That last one can be tricky, though -- if it's nothing but rose-colored glasses or bogus stereotypes, it won't count in your favor. I suggest talking to some info pros about their jobs, if you need to. We're a pretty forthcoming bunch. All this said, you DO NOT need to know to the ninth (or even first) decimal place what you want to do. These professions contain multitudes, and it's exceptionally common for people to discover their career direction while in the program, or (like me, actually) wind up doing something they never could have envisioned beforehand.

Do you know anything about our program specifically? Someone may have told you "the MLS is a union card; all library schools are the same." Don't you believe it! We all have specialties. We all have niches we don't touch with a ten-foot pole -- and yes, I have absolutely disrecommended admission for an otherwise-excellent applicant whose desired niche my shop just plain doesn't serve. If you have a niche in mind already, it won't hurt you one bit to spend five or ten minutes on the school's faculty-staff page to figure out who teaches in that niche so you can mention them in your essay. Or check out the program outline and explain why you think the requirements will help you be good at info-pro-ing. If one of our alumni recommended our program to you, let us know.

Will you make it through the program? For this I glance over undergraduate transcripts and read recommendations, unless the applicant has been out of college so long it makes more sense to check their résumé. A rough time in undergrad is not a dealbreaker unless I don't understand why it happened and (crucially) why it won't happen again -- address these briefly in your essay if you need to. (We do totally get that there's been a pandemic -- we were there too! If it's that, say so and move on.) What I don't want to do is admit someone I don't think can graduate -- that'd be a cynical, unethical waste of their time, money, and energy.

Do you differ from the typical applicant in cool and/or useful ways? Like most professions, there are coveted/oversubscribed info-pro niches and niches that are... less so. The typical applicant profile for library school is an English or history major just out of undergrad. It won't count against you if that's you... but a STEM major or minor, tech savvy, cultural competencies, teaching experience, research or publishing experience, and/or leadership/management experience will count FOR you, because those niches need people real bad. Similarly, the information professions are hella cishet white neurotypical. If you're not and (under current US law, damn it) can explain how that's going to make you a better info pro, let us know.

Any red flags? Usually these are in rec letters, so choose your recommenders wisely. I've also had to disrecommend people whose recommenders or essay... how shall I put this... put their commitment to inclusive professionalism in doubt. But there's also a cultural thing in librarianship where librarians despise library schools. Many think them unnecessary, or would prefer an undergrad major rather than a master's-level program. Many judge their entire library-school experience by their worst instructor (and ngl, we have some lulus -- even I haven't always covered myself with glory, and I try real hard to be good at what I do). Point being, the commonest red flag I saw was an app essay that oozed contempt for the pointless hoops the applicant was already jumping through, and the hoops they'd have to jump through if admitted. And I'm just like, why? Why would I admit an applicant who hates us, thinks they know it all already and we have nothing to teach them, and is clearly unwilling to meet us halfway? Go poison some other school's culture, applicant; I don't want you in my shop. Now, you don't have to flatter us! Unnecessary and can be a bit creepy! But don't hate on us, please.

Hope this helps, and feel free to ask more questions in the comments. That goes for everybody, not just OP!

[pilgrimbright]

I want to finish my grad school applications this week, but I am so afraid. I am so afraid I wont get in, that I will get in.

[chaotic-archaeologist]

hey reid! i'm an undergraduate archaeology struggling to pick between two grad schools right now, and i thought you would be able to give me some advice since you are in grad school right now! one of the programs want an answer by monday, and frankly i want to make a decision this weekend too. my biggest issues are money and knowledge about the programs. one program is fully funding me for a year (is a phd program) and i know more about the positives and negatives of the department and have interacted with a lot of the students i would be working with. the other program is only giving me partal funding for a year (is a masters program) in a really expensive city, and i feel like i don't know what i am going into for the program. but! the masters program has excellent access to what i want to research compared to the other program, and would put me in the area of the work i do for networking and future jobs after the degree. i think in an ideal world, i would pick the masters program, but i just cannot get over the money. even with a second job i don't think i will be making enough per month to live in that city, and i'm not sure working over 20 hours a week is doable/recommended for graduate students because of coursework.

if you have any, any recommendations or thoughts based on the limited knowledge i've given you, i would really appreciate it. i think it would be helpful to hear from someone who isn't familiar with me, because no one is really giving me recommendations.

Hi there, dirtling! Your situation is very similar to the one I found myself in at this time last year. I had also gotten into both a PhD and a Master's program, where the PhD had significantly more funding attached while the MA program was maybe a better fit.

I chose the PhD route (and I'm personally very happy that I did), and I'll walk you through some of the factors that went into my decision.

First, the funding. I won't lie, that was a big part of it for me. I wasn't interested in putting myself into the kind of debt that the Master's would have required. We're in a field that doesn't pay much, and so paying back loans isn't the given that it is with some other professions.

As a PhD student, you have significantly more control over your own fate. The MA program I got into was going to tell me what I was going to do for my thesis. In the PhD program, I get to determine what I'm going to do and (more or less) how I'm going to do it.

I knew at the outset that a PhD was my end goal. With that in mind, in the MA program I'd have to reapply to grad schools a year and a half after the first round. I'm sure you're aware of exactly how exhausting the grad app process is, and I wasn't in a hurry to repeat that.

Psst, also, you can leave your PhD program after you get your Master's, and they'll still have paid for your education.

I do work about 20 hours/week, but that's my job as a TA, which is what covers my funding. I do not have to work an extra job, and most of my cohort also doesn't work outside of academia.

Your research is going to change as a part of grad school. With that in mind, you can be flexible (to a certain degree) about picking the program that is the "perfect" fit. You'll be able to network at different events and conferences. You can make other connections through whoever your mentor is. All of that will be harder to do if you're working another job to pay for your degree.

I'm also going to tag @wafflelovingbatgirl as my archaeology counterpoint who went the Master's route.

But ultimately, neither of us can tell you what to do. This is a big decision, and it will shape your life, but it's also not necessarily make or break. The decision you go with should be what best sets you up for success. So sit with it for a while. For me, I went into the week feeling totally conflicted, but by the weekend a pretty clear choice had emerged.

Congratulations and best of luck!

-Reid

[study-coffee-chicago]

Turns out I got another PsyD interview, but the email went to my junk mail, so the interview date has already passed. And it was a school I really wanted to go to 😭

[for-the-roses]

7 years ago I was studying abroad in Canada. When I came back home, I decided to get a bachelor's degree in psychology and then pursue a master's degree in Canada. I spent 5 years in college working my ass off, graduated with GPA of 9.4, an article and a book chapter published, and a great resumé. Somewhere along this path I got cold feet, and put the master's plan on hold.

5 years ago I met the love of my life (who is now my husband). He helped me find the courage I had lost on my way here. I have applied to 9 graduate programs across Canada, and haven't heard back from any universities yet. The wait is killing me.

My past self would be proud. I still do not believe I will get accepted, but at least I tried. Right?

[bookmarksandbonfires]

April book: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson, another recommendation from my sibling (a favorite of theirs, which I've heard a lot about, but admittedly am not particularly excited about)

I really enjoyed March's Red Queen--it reminded me of Kiera Cass' The Selection? But I think it's a series (?) and I'm not sure I'll read the rest (at least right now). I have a lot going on in my life right now, so I haven't done much reading really I guess, and I've been pretty stressed I don't know. I'm working on it. Just scheduled a doctor's appointment so maybe I'll ask about all my anxiety who knows.

Still have to answer my grad school offer too, anyone have any advice on whether a master's is worth it these days? (I'm probably going to say yes either way I guess but I'd love to hear about it)

[cfiesler]

I know we’re a bit late in the season for this, but just in case anyone here is finishing up applications over the next week, I hope there’s some advice here that might be useful. 

(This is basically a very, very abbreviated version of all of the PhD admissions advice I’ve given in a bunch of YouTube videos.)

[crystalclaire]

well, it’s out of my hands now

[emmitdemmit]

My statement of purpose has 40 extra words and maybe I could just hibernate forever instead.

[redshoes-blues]

One of the prof’s who is writing my a letter of recommendation for grad school apps just sent me such a lovely email with advice for my application :’)

[grandbloodystudies]

29/11/2022

Day whatever the fuck/100

(I'm not counting out the days rn)

Done: emailed a prof at the grad school I'm waiting to hear from, got on PIs case about sending his damn letter so he doesn't kneecap my shot, language practice, went through another 16 pages of my mother's research proposal (I proofread for her), tutored a high schooler in thermochemistry

Didn't do: gym or violin

My neck hurts.

[sezzyyy]

finished my grad app, but don’t have the money to actually submit my application... wtf... it costs 70 bucks 

[nyansequitur]

:(

rejected from my top choice program (UZH/ETH Zurich's Neural Systems and Computation program) and its because i fumbled the in person interview hard i think. unfortunate that the first interview i got was for my dream program and didnt know what to expect. i messed up a question on MRI BOLD signal speed bad.

[chaotic-archaeologist]

whooh... found out why I could never send you asks; its a button labelled 'what's the dirt' and I am a fool.

Anyway, I need you and your amazing network of academics' help. I might have told you I applied to an archaeology degree in Cyprus, but if I didn't mention it, I did that. I had no expectation of getting in - its archaeology on land and under water which is a thrilling concept but they only have 10 places in the program.

Anyway; I have an interview with them next week but I have never interviewed with a school before - not even for my MA in museum studies. Do you have any tips/links to tips for me? I'm not worried about funding - well a little bit but not enough to bring it up at the first interview unprompted - but what sorts of things will they expect me to ask/know about?

Thank you in advance to Reid and all his minions/friends ,3. I still think the chance is slim but I am born up by the prospect of an interview.

Woohoo! First, sorry that my inbox was so hard for you to find. Should I change it? Has anyone else had this issue?

Second: CONGRATULATIONS ON LANDING AN INTERVIEW!!!

Now I'm going to try to summon all of the interview wisdom that was imparted to me. As always, people are more than welcome to chime in with their own helpful tips!

The most important thing is that you are interviewing them just as much as they are interviewing you. This is your opportunity to see if the program would be a good fit for you, and you should be on the lookout for any potential red flags.

Preparing yourself is important. You should have a good grasp of the work of at least a couple of professors in the department. Reading a couple of their most recent publications is a good place to start. You should also be able to articulate how your research interests align with theirs and how you fit into the program.

Ask about current projects. As a grad student, these could be your opportunity to get your name on a publication. In US academia, the number of grants coming in is a part of the health of the department. I'm not sure how it works outside the US though.

It's okay to diplomatically ask "what can this program do for me?" You're going into this degree with the intent to land a job afterwards. The program should be able to tell you how it will advance your necessary skills and get you the experience you will need. It's also (again, my knowledge only pertains to the US) totally fine—and often expected—for you to ask about funding. This is not a small consideration. They should be able to tell you what funding they offer to students, or how current students have found work to support themselves.

If you haven't already talked with a current/recent grad student of the program, line that up. We are the people who will speak candidly to you about the things that aren't great. Any faculty you speak with will be limited in what they can/will say because they're trying to sell the program to you.

This next bit of advice is personal and subjective, so take it as you will. For me, an interview before you have received a formal offer is not the time to disclose a disability. Implicit bias is a thing. Your position becomes legally much more stable if you choose to your disability (if you have one). Whether or not to disclose at all is also up to you. But if you wait until you have an offer in hand, most countries have laws in place to prevent a take-backsies situation.

Personally, I think any program would be lucky to have you. You're coming in with a lot of real world experience, which is a huge fact in your favor. Also, you have a pair of really cool socks.

-Reid

[study-coffee-chicago]

hey hope ur doing well!! I just stumbled onto ur blog and I’m curious about how u got into grad school and ur journey.

I just graduated from college and am in a period where I’m just kind of floundering and unsure of what to do with my bachelors in psych. I would really appreciate any advice regarding the grad school application process!!

Hi! I was in your position just last year, so I completely understand!

My grad school app process was kind of a mess tbh.

Firstly, there are two different degrees for psych: PhD in psychology (doctor of philosophy in psychology) and PsyD (doctor of psychology). Both are highly respected, but a PhD is more research, fully funded, and way harder to get into. A PsyD is more clinical based, less funded, (so you’ll have to pay for it yourself and most likely will need to take out student loans), and easier to get into. For reference, a PhD program has about a 5% acceptance rate vs a PsyD program has about a 40% acceptance rate.

During your time in grad school, you will get to try out all the different specialties to know which one you prefer, but you need the base of a doctorate to do most things (ex. I want to be a neuropsychologist, which requires a doctorate and then a two year fellowship specifically in neuropsych).

My biggest advice would be to apply to both PhD and PsyD programs. I applied to only PhD programs first and didn’t get into a single one, so I had to frantically apply to PsyD programs which still had open deadlines in January and this was arguably one of the most stressful times in my life. So, learn from my mistakes and apply to both PhD and PsyD programs.

Feel free to message me if you need anymore information! I’m very happy to help!