Transcript Finishing the Undergraduate Marathon

Finishing the undergraduate marathon:
Setting yourself up for success in
Psychology graduate studies
Presented by: Renée El-Gabalawy, MA, PhD Candidate
What it takes to win a marathon
• Training
• Devotion
• Stamina
• Commitment
Training and Preparation
• GPA
• Extracurricular activities
(e.g., research,
teaching, and
volunteering)
• GRE
• Developing professional
relationships
• Funding and graduate
school applications
Ideal Timeline
Year 1:
University 1
Year 2:
• Register in honours psychology program (B.A. or
B.Sc.)
• Research assistantship (or other psychology
related endeavours)
Ideal Timeline
Year 3:
• Paid or volunteer research assistantship
• January-February: Set up several interviews with
potential undergraduate advisors
• January-August: Study and register for your GRE
• Summer: Write your GRE
• Apply for grader/maker positions
CUPE Student: Human Resources
Ideal Timeline
Year 4:
• Write honours thesis
• RA* or TA
• September: Prepare national funding applications
(SSHRC, CIHR, NSERC)
• November: Prepare grad school applications
Note: Deadlines range from December to January
Why volunteer as a research assistant?
• Opportunity for paid work
• Addition to curriculum vitae
• Possibility for presentations/publications
• Building a relationship with a professor (letters of
reference, honours and MA advisors)
Other unique volunteering/work opportunities in the
community
• WISH Clinic
• Klinic
• Women’s Health Clinic
• St. Amant’s
• Canadian Mental Health Association
• Winnipeg Regional Health Authority
• Addictions Foundation of Manitoba
• Macdonald Youth Services
• Artbeat Studio
Why set up interviews in January for
honours advisors?
• First pick
• Options for research
• Starting off on the right foot
• Possibility of early research assistantships
Do your homework! Check out potential advisors:
http://umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/psychology/bio/
In Summary....
You can’t get to the top
by sitting on your
bottom
The (NEW) GRE
The Official Website (www.ets.org/gre)
Preparation for the Graduate Record
Examination (GRE)
•
Purpose:
To make your life miserable
•
True Purpose:
To use as an evaluative tool in
your application for graduate
school
•
Is it important? It depends
It depends?
• On prospective schools
• The strength of other aspects of your application
(e.g., GPA, letters of reference)
Should you prepare?
Absolutely!
GRE Prep Tools
GRE Forerunners
GRE Prep: Advice from Grad Students
“Princeton Review SUCKED for the General. I
would recommend Kaplan’s instead “
“I had a book from Princeton Review that I
found extremely helpful. It came with a CDRom with practice tests formatted like the
GRE and the book had old paper and pencil
versions to practice with as well”
Components to the GRE
Verbal Reasoning (aka English)
Measures your ability to analyze and evaluate
written material and synthesize information
obtained from it, analyze relationships among
component parts of sentences and recognize
relationships among words and concepts.
Components to the GRE
Quantitative Reasoning (aka Math)
Measures problem-solving ability, focusing on
basic concepts of arithmetic, algebra, geometry
and data analysis.
Components to the GRE
Analytical Writing (aka Essay Writing)
Measures critical thinking and analytical writing
skills, specifically your ability to articulate and
support complex ideas clearly and effectively.
Measure
Number of Questions
Analytical Writing
(One section with two
separately timed tasks)
Verbal Reasoning
(Two sections)
Quantitative Reasoning
(Two sections)
Unscored¹
Research²
One "Analyze an Issue" task and one
"Analyze an Argument" task
Approximately 20 questions per section
Approximately 20 questions per section
Varies
Varies
Allotted
Time
30 minutes
per task
30 minutes
per section
35 minutes
per section
Varies
Varies
Logistics
Score range:
Verbal and Quant: 200-800 (10 pt increments; old)
Aug 2011 (130-170; 1 pt increments)
Analytic: 0-6 (0.5 pt increments)
Cost: $190 (US)
Total testing time: 3 hours and 45 minutes
You can write the GRE 1 per month but no more than
5 times within a 12 month period
Some New GRE Features
• Preview and review capabilities within a section
• A "mark and review" feature to tag questions, so you
can skip and return later
• The ability to change/edit answers within a section
• An on-screen calculator for the Quantitative
Reasoning section
• No longer adaptive testing
Question Types
Verbal Reasoning:
• Reading
comprehension
• Text completion
• Sentence equivalence
Example of Verbal Reasoning
Text Completion:
Vain and prone to violence, Caravaggio could not handle
success: the more his (1)__________ as an artist
increased, the more (2)__________ his life became.
• Blank (1)
Blank (2)
• temperance tumultuous
• notoriety
providential
• eminence dispassionate
Answer: eminence and tumultuous
Example of Verbal Reasoning 2
Directions: Select the two answer choices that, when used
to complete the sentence, fit the meaning of the sentence as
a whole and produce completed sentences that are alike in
meaning.
Although it does contain some pioneering ideas, one would
hardly characterize the work as __________.
a) Orthodox
b) Eccentric
c) Original
d) Trifling
e) Conventional
f) Innovative
• Answer: C and F
Question Types
Quantitative:
•Multiple-choice Questions —
Select One Answer Choice
•Multiple-choice Questions —
Select One or More Answer
Choices
•Numeric Entry Questions
•Quantitative Comparison
Questions
Example of Quantitative
Numeric Entry:
A university admitted 100 students who transferred from
other institutions. Of these students, 34 transferred from
two-year community colleges, 25 transferred from private
four-year institutions, and the rest transferred from public
four-year institutions. If two different students are to be
selected at random from the 100 students, what is the
probability that both students selected will be students who
transferred from two-year community colleges?
Give your answer as a fraction.
Example of Quantitative 2
MC – one or more answer choices
If f, g, and h are positive integers, f is a factor of g, and g is
a factor of h, which of the following statements must be
true?
Indicate all such statements.
a)f is a factor of g squared
b)f is a factor of gh.
c)f is a factor of h – g
Answer: A, B, and C
Question Types
Analytic Writing
• An Analyze an Issue
task
• An Analyze an
Argument task
Example of Analytic
Issue:
“As people rely more and more on technology to solve
problems, the ability of humans to think for themselves will
surely deteriorate.”
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which
you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your
reasoning for the position you take. In developing and
supporting your position, you should consider ways in
which the statement might or might not hold true and
explain how these considerations shape your position.
Test Day
•Arrive early
•Do not do anything out of the ordinary (e.g., decide to be a
coffee drinker)
•Bring identification
•Bring snack and change
•Have an idea of what grad schools you will be applying to so
you can directly send your scores (for free!)
GRE Prep: Things that work for everyone
Verbal:
• Flashcards
• Word roots
• Memorizing words from ‘target lists’ in workbook
Quantitative:
• Practice makes perfect
Analytic:
• Workbooks
• Familiarizing yourself with possible questions and
high and low scoring essays
• Practice on simple word processor
General Practice
• Practice tests (get as many as you can!)
• ETS practice*
• Practice timing
• Work on your weaknesses
• Conservation of scrap paper
Answering Questions
•Complete all questions. If you’re running out of
time – guess
•Don’t randomly guess, use LOGIC
Things you SHOULDN’T do….
• Not study
• Cram
• Try to memorize the entire dictionary
• Write during a high stress time (e.g., November)
• Read random intro math and verbal reviews
After you complete the GRE
• Your scores will be sent to you and the institutions you
specified at the beginning of the test (10-15 days)
• Can view online (GRE account)
Final Point
Always accept your score at the end of the GRE
and don’t beat yourself up about it!
Psychology GRE
• Required at some schools
• Intro psych knowledge
• 3 content areas: Experimental or natural science
oriented (40%), social or social science oriented
(43%), general (17%)
• Preparation: Specialty prep or intro psych books
Psychology GRE: Logistics
• Paper and pencil
• 205 multiple choice questions
• Yields 2 subscores (experimental and social) and
1 total score
• Fee: $160(US)
• Offered in October, November, and April
Funding
Tri-Council Funding Bodies
1) SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research
Council)
www.sshrc.org
2) CIHR (Canadian Institutes of Health Research)
www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca
3) NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research
Council of Canada)
www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca
Funding Applications: National
When in doubt…apply!
Deadlines:
2011 deadlines:
CIHR = November 1st (no departmental appraisal)
SSHRC = October 17th (internal)
NSERC = October 4th (no departmental appraisal)
Value and Duration:
$17,500 (12 months)
Other Funding Opportunities
• UMGF/MGS ($12,000-$15,000/year)
Deadline: February
• Automatically entered in this competition as an
incoming MA student
• MHRC (Manitoba Health Research Council;
$17,850)
Deadline: January
• Other (check out the award database)
http://webapps.cc.umanitoba.ca/gradawards/
How to Apply
• Prepare application (online via research net)
• 2-3 letters of reference
• 1-2 page research proposal
• Common CV
Successful Applications
• Clear, detailed, and feasible research proposal
• Strong letters of reference
• Actively involved in research (RA, presentations,
publications)
• Strong GPA
Final Note
With funding comes funding
One of the strongest predictors of future funding is
past funding
Applying to Grad School
Formula for Success
High GPA + Competitive GRE + High Advisor Score
= Getting into grad school
Preparing Grad School Applications
• Contact prospective advisors in September
• Give 1 month notice for referees (i.e., letters of
reference)
• Prepare personal statement
• Order transcripts and GRE scores (costs money)
• Prepare CV
Prospective Advisors
Important questions:
Does this advisor have a developed research program?
Does this advisor have a website?
Has this advisor recently published?
Is this advisor currently funded?
Does this advisor have other students and are these
students funded?
Is this advisors research interests similar to mine?
The Inside Scoop from Dr. X
• Research match
• Students who are likely
to be funded
• Research driven
• GRE, GPA
• Interpersonal skills
(e.g., email etiquette)
• Letter of intent
Contacting Prospective Advisors
EMAIL
Inquiry of Acceptance
Introduction
Research Interests
Notes:
Clear and concise
Non-exhaustive
Knowledgeable
Non-binding
Goals
Programs at the U of M
Psychology:
• Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA)
• Brain and Cognitive Science
• Clinical
• Developmental
• Social and Personality
• Methodology
• School
www.umanitoba.ca/psychology
Community Health Sciences
Special thanks to…
• Personality and Justice Lab
(headed by Dr. Katherine Starzyk)
• Aging and Mental Health Lab
(headed by Dr. Corey Mackenzie)
• Jeff Doering & Sulaye Thakakr
Questions
Contact me: [email protected]