When I applied to grad schools this time, I had no idea what to expect. I'm fairly confident in my ability, but wasn't sure if I'd be a good candidate on paper. I was just hoping I'd get into at least one school.
This weekend I'll be visiting McMaster University, for a prospective student weekend with the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behavior. I'm excited for the visit, and I'm optimistic that the invitation (and especially their willingness to pay for my travel and lodging) is an indication that they'll be likely offer me acceptance and funding. They're the first program I've heard back from, so now I'm imagining a scenario where I get into a few schools and have options. But that's getting ahead of myself.
McMaster's program is different than the others to which I applied, with their focus on examining human behavior from a biological perspective, which I'm calling evolutionary psychology. Faculty members Martin Daly and Margo Wilson are very prominent researchers in this field (though unfortunately for me, they're not accepting grad students). The opportunity to study and possibly collaborate with them would be quite appealing. Evolutionary Psychology seems to be rather controversial, and while I have a gut feeling that this means it is onto something, I should consider the option of focusing on a more conventional research area as a student. I doubt that would actually be a decisive factor, but I do want to try to understand more fully that element of controversy.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to meeting faculty and getting a feel for the department. I like the idea of coming into this kind of setting as an outsider, with no real psychology background. Reading through the course curriculum, I feel a genuine enthusiasm for learning about those topics. Aside from learning more about all that stuff, I'm hoping I'll get a tour of their facilities and see all the cool toys and whatnot. Meanwhile Kira will be checking out the town, investigating local housing options and potential employers for her. This will be my first visit to Canada, so that will be cool too.
This is an exciting time, and I hope that I'll find myself in a good situation next fall, whether it is McMaster or another program. If anyone has suggestions about the kinds of questions I should be asking, please let me know.
2 comments:
I'm going to a similar prospective student weekend next week and was wondering how it went for you. Did they interview you? If so, what sorts of questions did they ask? Did they treat you like you were already in? I'm so nervous and they say that acceptance is not guaranteed.
I did go through 3 interviews, but they were very casual and non-threatening. They asked about my background and interests, standard stuff.
Everyone invited was of the caliber that the school would accept. The purpose of the weekend was to find a match between a student and a lab. So if you strike up a good rapport with someone, you'll probably get in.
If you haven't already, you'll want to pick one or two or three professors who are most interesting to you and read a lot about their research. Prepare lots of questions to ask them. Hopefully those will be the ones that interview you (if your weekend is anything like mine).
Generally, the weekend was as much for the prospective students' benefit as for the department. They want their students to be happy, so they want to make sure prospectives can see everything and make very informed decisions.
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