[OT] Gradschool, and studying Abroad.

[tleilaxu]

my advice is to not look to far ahead at this point. keep your concentration firmly on the tasks at hand. make sure everything for england is set up. don't go making plans for graduate school when you are a freshman in college. just work on keeping your GPA up. Chat up your profs and make connections with them (easier if you go to a liberal arts school). Look into summer research opportunities. (and also don't forget to have fun in college or you'll regret it).

 

[Xarlen]

I plan on avoiding LA. San Jose or San Fran if it's good.

I hate to sweat. I hate the heat. Example: It snowed Friday, and I sat with my window open.

80 degrees- not grand.

I'd like to figure out where I'd like to go, so I can start looking into schools and stuff.

 

[tleilaxu]

it really depends. i understand your major is psychology, but at the freshman level you haven't yet had much chance to explore the field. it will take you the next few years to figure out what area (if any) within psychology really gets your juices flowing. Different graduate schools have different specialties. If you are interested in neurobiology there is an entirely different set of schools than if you are interested in therapy or memory research, or cognitive philosophy, or child psych, or whatever.

i'm not saying your shouldn't think about where you might want to go some time in the future but slow down a bit! take it one step at a time. you need to get to know your professors. they will be able to better judge your strengths and will guide your interests. their letters of recommendation will mean more to their close collegues, so depending on who teaches you, you will have a better chance getting in some places than others.

you gotta romance the girl a bit before you get to jump to the conclusion of the story. don't jump the gun and daydream about where you may or may not want to go without first systematically exploring your options over the next few years. it is fine to have as an eventual goal but if you don't look where you are walking because you head is in the clouds you'll likely trip and fall.

if you want to get into grad school this is the best advice anyone can give you: do well in your classes. get to know your professors. ask them which classes you should take. ask them for summer research opportunities. get involved in psychology student organizations and other student organizations that are involved with the community. make sure your foundation is built of brick and not air.

edit: the good news is that as a freshman you still have all the possibilities in the world to set yourself up with a good porfolio for grad school apps

 

[Xarlen]

Well, for the moment, I have no idea What I want to do. Clinical is interesting. Research and Behaviorism is okay. I like Sociology too, but I'm not minoring in it (I will take some classes in it though), because I want to take classes in other things (History, English). There's also Forensic Psychology.

I'd just like to put some thought into it so I know what to shoot for, and what options I *do* have, because I want to get the Hell out of this state.

 

[tleilaxu]

well, i'm sure you will learn a lot of interesting stuff in the next 3 years. let me reiterate this one more time because it is worth saying: go to your prof's office and ask about summer research opportunities. repeat until you get one. try to do something beneficial to your goals with every summer...

 

[Xarlen]

I would worry if I have time during the summer, if I'm gaming and working.

 

[tleilaxu]

well, you have to make sacrifices. i got paid to do my summer research for 2/3 summers during my undergraduate career (the summer after my freshman year i was a summer camp counselor for the YMCA). of course, i spent both summers in foreign lands without my friends or habits. but if you give up that kind of opportunity for gaming you will regret it in the long run. i mean, if you are serious about graduate school then you should have that as your priority.

if money is the issue then, like i said it is possible to get paid (though not that much). otherwise, you just have to bite the bullet and take out more loans. again, worth it in the long run.

prof's can tell the difference between students dedicated to a discipline and those with a passing interest. there were plenty of students who expressed interest in doing summer research in mexico like i did, but most always had some reason they couldn't go. that makes the profs take those students less seriously and they get words recommendation letters because of it.

i walked up to my prof and said "I heard you are doing research this summer. Well, I want to do research with you." She asked me if there were any possible conflicts and I said "No way, I'm giving up my other options to do this, because I want to do this more than anything else." Since that time I had a great ally. Grab the tiger where it hurts and don't let go! It is difficult to get into graduate school and you need every advantage you can get.

 

[Xarlen]

I'm afraid that I'm simply not as dedicated as you. I honestly don't know WHAT I want to do. Psychology is an interest, and something I'm capable of doing and interested in (And it offers me to take classes in other areas too), but I am not gunning for something spesific. I am not focused.

 

[tleilaxu]

you've got time. that is why i advise you to keep your mind on the tasks at hand. you will figure out if you are really interested over the next few years. if you don't do anything for research this summer it is ok, but a year from now if you are still thinking about the possibility of graduate school you should scout out for summer 2004

 

[Xarlen]

Well, it's not so much considering gradschool, as a 'I Have To' type situation.

I need to be able to get a job that I can get a Lot of cash in, to support myself, becuase there are several jobs I simply can't do becasue of my handicap. So, I need to get Qualified for something that Pays well, so I can live decently. And this pretty much means Grad school.