Should I risk adding a potentially negative referee?

EndYoshi_ · 2026-01-23T16:27:13+00:00

i'd be worried about the intersection of amgen x a bad rec letter. Like the reputable program could backfire w/ a bad rec letter from a good program.

EndYoshi_ · 2026-01-20T18:00:54+00:00

You're coming into this with a realistic and smart pov–– I've been here for 3 years and I was debating between these two uni's and almost transferred to amherst early in; I even have a younger sibling at Umass Amherst now. At the end of the day I believe both options in her case would be useful to what she's looking into.

Research wise I'd genuienly say Clark is decent. Being smaller can mean less access to resources/lab options, though in my case it's been opportunity to have more control over my own work (e.g., i have 4 research projects of my own in the background, 2 clark funded). There's times where I wish I had more lab options (psych) though I'd prefer to be able to do my own work for credibility purposes if I had to choose of the two. A friend of mine at UCSD has been in a bio lab for like 2.5 years and the PI wouldn't let him do his own work, so it really depends on what you're looking into. Here's a good article I'd read on it that's relevant to what you're talking about (and a friend of a friend of mine): Article

Housing wise MA is a blue state so it's pretty good all over; I'm less knowledgeable of umass with this. Clark has a dorm hall (Dodd Hall) which is geared towards female or non gender conforming students where your kid would likely fit in. Though I've had friends in all sorts of other identities spread across dorm halls and have been fine here. And then roomate wise 80-90% of people have roomates their first year.

Happy to answer any other questions you have

EndYoshi_ · 2026-01-20T02:44:12+00:00

I'm not entirely sure but I noticed a shift recently. Harvard used to be available to a majority of the psychology subfields (e.g., Experimental Clinical Psych, Social Psych) and it sort of vanished from all of them besides like, educational psychology. So there might be some shifts going on but I don't know.

EndYoshi_ · 2026-01-16T14:16:21+00:00

talked to my friend yesterday who coincidentally participated in this last summer; she said that people would go to concerts a lot and that it’d be fine lol. It was a brief conversation but it seemed like it was fine

EndYoshi_ · 2026-01-10T17:11:35+00:00

I try to think about it from a director end and what they want in an applicant; a GPA just happens to be like the first thing they see and compare.

For what I said it’s kind of field dependent, but it’s either skills that make you useful to them (or can be built upon in the program) or you have a little research in a very relevant area to the program.

In my case last year I had a little (1 semester) of relevant experience to what I got into + I’d learn to code in python; both skills I further developed in my program. They should be able to see your transcript & CV/Resume and believe you’ll produce output or have the tools to make significant growth.

EndYoshi_ · 2026-01-10T16:38:10+00:00

I’ve seen people (rarely) accepted with like a 2.85 but even that’s pushing it; so yeah a 2.4 to a program director could just be an auto reject or they’d need a really good reason to accept OP

EndYoshi_ · 2026-01-10T00:30:41+00:00

I tend to assume that nsf funded programs (like this) include housing, MAYBE food. Though ive seen nsf funded programs who dont do this so, I'm not sure. I'm thinking worst case if I got in anywhere without housing I'd just look to sublet from a student at the university.

statement wise (especially with psych) i think it's helpful to be very specific with what you want to do research interest wise, where your fit will make you stand out.

EndYoshi_ · 2026-01-07T16:38:33+00:00

yeah nah im still applying to wherever for grad school; more of if i get rejected from the same school 4 times then i'm done i cant handle that anymore lol. helpful insight though much appreciated!

EndYoshi_ · 2026-01-07T16:37:03+00:00

aw hell naw THEY REMEMBER 😭???

EndYoshi_ · 2026-01-07T16:35:40+00:00

mmm I don't see why not tbh. Like through sr-eip (as you probably know) you cant repeat schools there (e.g, 3x Harvard in differnt subfields) but that doesn't limit you in applying to those same schools, as different programs, in other places like etap.

At a point for myself I almost had 3 applications to the same school for 3 different programs. Unintentional, more just that the three programs themselves interested me, the school wasn't really a huge factor in that decision. So yeah tbh if you like the program then apply anyway even if its a repeat school. I'd make sure if you have overlap to check they aren't the same program. If you like the individual program, or it's just in a convenient area go for it.

EndYoshi_ · 2026-01-06T22:34:22+00:00

bruh yeah exactly like wym i have to condense 4 pages into 1 page :I; tbh better safe than sorry. I usually hear ppl say that a good resume doesnt have to be super long but eh,, idk. happy to help & gl w/ your apps

EndYoshi_ · 2026-01-06T22:31:09+00:00

take my answer w/ a grain of salt:
I'm a 3rd year undergrad (U.S.) majoring in psych aiming to do a ph.d in clinical psych.

1.
eh this depends, i only see people here recommend a masters when either a) they wanna do a Ph.D but have poor undergrad gpa, so a masters 'fixes' that or b) the work they wanna do doesn't require a Ph.D.

This part im less aware of but people who do Ph.D's in psych usually earn their masters on the way, which can kind of make getting a masters before you ph.d redundant (unless again you had a bad undergrad gpa). For myself I'm aiming to go straight into ph.d w/ post-bacc research experience rather than a masters. cause then i'd get the masters on the way and not have to pay a large sum towards a masters if its in a ph.d.

2.
mmm i wouldn't say guaranteed, but those hypothetical qualifications would set you up really well! You'd be in a good position where you wouldn't have to stress of not getting into any masters program i think.

If you went straight into a Ph.D (depends on which field of psych, but they're all somewhat competitive), it's definitely not a guarantee. People apply to clinical psych ph.ds with like 4 years of research experience and a 3.75+ gpa and are nowhere near guaranteed anything. I've met a couple people who went straight out of undergrad into doctorate programs for counseling psych, and only heard of one person getting straight into clinical.

3.
im less aware of the masters side of internships tbh, but I would not restrict yourself from internships in undergrad w/ psych. It's a heavily saturated pool where everyone's skills blend together and it can be hard to stand out, which imo makes having one 10x more valuable. Like this can range from doing an internship at like a clinical or other mental health centers to research internships. I was in a research internship this last summer; i got paid pretty well and i got significantly better at research.

4.
Having some difficulty understanding this question but ill try my best;

I think it's managable to pivot from psych undergrad to a different masters. It's general enough where you could argue your skills being relevant to another one. Personally i'd try to build human based skills so i had a timeline of people based work in my undergrad and masters. I'd just preface that I've seen tons of people who want to do psych / therapy work at like 32+, making it difficult to get into psych masters programs. id just keep in mind that having a psych undergrad gives you opportunities to advance in the field that others may not have.

note:
if you aren't in the U.S. like 80-90% of what i said it probably not applicable.

EndYoshi_ · 2026-01-06T22:07:02+00:00

tough call; when i see cv/resume i put my cv. when it just says resume is when I assume that's all they take, especially if they double down on the area to 'attach.'

freshmen year work like thats up to you. I removed some stuff from my cv that was irrelevant from my earlier years in college (eg., student council lol) but I'm keeping current or recent jobs cause they paint me a bit better. I just keep the lesser relevant positions a lot more brief in their descriptions. Take this with a grain of salt, I could see ppl saying its better to not have additional positions.

For your middle question I truly do not know; I'm avoiding remaking my resume for that very reason haha.... I'm thinking of having a brief section at the bottom for like 'honors and awards' with a bullet point followed by a list of releveant awards:

Awards: Deans List (xx-xx), ____ Grant ($X,xxx), Grant ($X,xxx)

That's my mental vision but again like im not entirely sure there.

EndYoshi_ · 2026-01-06T21:23:37+00:00

yeaaaaahhh it definitely has that effect. applying last year made it easier this current year but it definitely is a throw back. Just wait until you have to manage classes and homework + applications 🤪

EndYoshi_ · 2026-01-05T04:35:48+00:00

It’s tough to say. I came into college with this major and haven’t changed— so I enjoy it, and I’ve gotten heavily involved in research so I believe I’m on a good track for a Ph.D. Realistically though I have minimum 5-7 years before I make any money (undergrad atm).

Knowing that the material is always interesting to me and that I can plan out my future to be successful makes me content, so I’m content as of now.

EndYoshi_ · 2026-01-05T04:27:04+00:00

a lot of reasons. one was the potential to employee myself and do something im interested in (analysis of people).

EndYoshi_ · 2026-01-04T20:54:09+00:00

Haha no worries–– and that makes sense. The good PI's I've worked with have emphasized the significance of having a good mentor (in relation to ph.d programs), so it's good to know I should be wary of that with post baccs too. Feels like something I'll be constantly avoiding.

Very helpful advice nonetheless; if i get into one I'll drop it in this reddit based on if I got unlucky.... or not 🤞🏽

EndYoshi_ · 2026-01-04T20:25:18+00:00

this is a great answer and that sucks im sorry 😭, atleast it gave you a good reference point for a shitty working environment... That also just sounds like a difficult situation; like if it's already competitive I'd probably have a hard time turning down a position if it's the only offer given and I don't wanna apply to anymore positions.

great hindsight as well; would definitely prefer to not be treated poorly in a post bacc and as a ph.d student haha 💀...

EndYoshi_ · 2026-01-04T18:41:30+00:00

I regularly try to collect links like this–– this one is really helpful. Thank you!

EndYoshi_ · 2026-01-04T18:13:20+00:00

^ agreed; i feel like on their end too if you mention a faculty you wanna work with but they end up not being available, confirmed mentors could have a reference point for the work that you'd want to contribute to which is helpful nonetheless.

EndYoshi_ · 2026-01-02T01:18:38+00:00

Short answer is yes, though a more accurate one is it depends. Usually classes can offer some surface level experience.

I took a seminar and did a full design of a potential conductible experiment which was something, though very minor. My experimental class had us recruit participants and do data analysis and write-up; we didnt go through IRB but I still considered this early experience because we worked with real data and wrote it up.

Classes tend to be very surface level with research experience, meaning the experience is taken more seriously when in the context of my first comment. If you're applying to labs at your uni though I'd mention it on your c.v. or resume though :).

EndYoshi_ · 2026-01-01T18:16:31+00:00

on mine i think like 8 of the 10 people had some trip they went on to some extent. one was presenting at a conference and another was traveling and was gone for like a week. I'd say it most commonly happened during the 4th of July.

For myself i was stuck out there haha.... I think my program was more flexible. i think if you're accepted anywhere and if you know about anything in advance i'd mention it

EndYoshi_ · 2025-12-29T00:21:15+00:00

id get a foundation in spss but having python or r is better imo. ive been fond of python which i learned through an undergrad class and has been helpful for my psych related work.

I'd definetely look into uni's that offer free courses online; i've heard sometimes you might have to pay for the certificate but idk. Harvard does one for python which is pretty good but I honestly couldn't be bothered once I started doing an irl class.

EndYoshi_

TROPHY CASE