Posted by alexandra_k on January 2, 2005, at 20:56:51
In reply to Applying to schools » alexandra_k, posted by gardenergirl on January 2, 2005, at 12:00:22
Yeah, options limited down to two... Still I think I should consider myself lucky as to the best of my knowledge entry to PhD's (in the US) in other subject areas (such as psychology) REQUIRE GRE scores - no exceptions. And then there is a specific subject area test too... Thats why the GRE makes me mad. I know I can't do math. But I don't want to do math. I don't want to do anything that requires math in order to understand. If I wanted to do math I would apply to do math. Actually, by the same token if I wanted to learn French or German or Greek or Latin I would go do my PhD in French or German or Greek or Latin - wassup with the language REQUIREMENT??? So, that ruled out a few places as well... Logic is a language, though. Artificial maybe, but real nevertheless :-) Some institutions quite like this and Logic can be substituted for the language requirement (now thats my kind of institution).
If they don't work out then I will try to just pick myself up and not take it too personally. I have a very good chance of being accepted back to Australia at this place where I went last summer on a research scholarship. No guarantees, however. That was a real eye opener, going there from my small university (which isn't terribly good in philosophy to tell you the truth). I went along to my supervisor near the end of my time there and said I wanted to talk to him about which institutions he thought I should realistically apply to. It was a nice way of my asking him whether he thought I was crap or not. He starts up with 'it is all random, who gets in and who does not is all random'. I took it very personally as him telling me I suck, but then after I had a while to process (and discuss with others) I realised I had missed his point. His point was that it was worth a shot, but that it was equally worth a shot for a whole bunch of other applicants. Funding falls in such a way that they have spaces to pick someone up in a certain AREA of philosophy, and philosophy is such a broad subject area... As an example he said that on their last funding round they were told to pick up two people in phil of ____ because the way the rankings turned out they had the best philosopher of ___ in the world and he didn't currently have any PhD students. So, that is what they get from your mission statements. Area. And once the first cull goes through (of grossly unsuitables) after that it is, well, pretty much random.
So nobody should take it personal if it doesn't happen.
We don't have your degree option in NZ. Though I have heard of it. Clinical psychology runs a bit different in NZ too. Three years undergrad. One year Honours. One year Masters. Once you have finished undergrad you can apply to be accepted into the clinical program. It is very rare for anyone (not of Maori descent) to get accepted into the program on their first attempt, however. It involves a prescribed honours workload and a Masters thesis 'of clinical interest'. Then one year of placement. Few extra courses during placement also. You can also do clinical as part of a PhD though most do not. So, if you ever decide to come set up shop over here then you will be much much better trained than the majority.
I have a lot of respect for an applied PhD in applied fields. I mean some want to work with people and others want to sit on their *ss and write (and of course there are those in between) but I think the idea is nice :-)
poster:alexandra_k
thread:397635
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/studs/20040420/msgs/436973.html