[OT] Gradschool, and studying Abroad.

Dr. Strangemonkey said:
For grad school in the states I don't know what I can recommend as I have exactly the opposite requirements for climate that you do. IMO you get to sent to the chill land below 80 degrees if you do something horrible like poke a badger with a spoon.

I would say that if I poked a badger with a spoon, I wouldn't be going anywhere but the emergency room. ;)

Really, right now, all I'm looking into is States and cities. I'm just a Freshman in Undergrad, so I have a lot of time ahead of myself to narrow down schools. And I still need backups. I've only thought of basic ones; Boston, Austin, maybe somewhere in Philly or Virginia, or California (Though I bet that's just super hot?).

I've heard UA at Austin is a great school, but hot.
 

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Try poking your badger with a wolverine while your favorite golden gopher watches on and I think you've got yourself a good bet on where to go in the states. The University of Washington in Seattle (my school) is also beautiful and a land of never-hot (and rarely warm), but also never-cold (at least by Chicago standards).
 

Xarlen,

I did my BA in Psychology in the US and grad school in the UK in Social Pyschology (for my master's) and Sociology & Politics (for my PhD). I can only really comment about London and Oxford because those are the only two British universities I've attended.

The University of London (which includes University College and the London School of Economics) has some good Psychology departments. You don't need a car in London and public transport is generally good although some parts of the underground (subway system) are unreliable. London has a lot to offer both RPG and non-RPG related. There's a castle, some great museums and three RPG stores. The problem with London is that it's very expensive. You may be able to get college accommodation for little rent. If you have to fend for yourself, you should be able to get by on $500 a month, but it would be a pretty frugal existence.

Oxford University's Psychology department is officially the Department of Experimental Psychology which really means that they don't have very much Social or Clinical Psychology. Getting into Oxford University isn't easy, although it's not too bad if you're only doing a year abroad as an undergrad or a taught master's degree. For anything else, your chances aren't any better than getting into Harvard or the like in the US. Oxford itself is a lovely city physically. The students are good-natured but the locals can be pretty rough. It's very easy to get around without a car. In fact, you're better off without one. Most places are within walking distance. There's a comprehensive bus network for anywhere else. London is about an hour away by coach or train, and getting there by coach is pretty cheap. Accommodation on the open market can be expensive but your college should be able to house you fairly cheaply. There's an active RPG scene especially during the undergrad term time (which is only 8 weeks long) with a long-standing Oxford University RPG society. There's also a pretty good RPG store called the Gameskeeper about 10 minutes on foot from central Oxford. Oxford has a fair amount of non-RPG things to do as well, but not nearly as many as London.

You will probably find that British courses (at London, Oxford or elsewhere) offer far less guidance than in the US. You're left to figure out a lot more for yourself. Professors won't tell you which chapter or even book to read. At best, they'll give you a lengthy bibliography. So the UK's system has far less "hand holding" than the US's. Also, if you haven't been to the UK before, you might be shocked by the relatively low standard of living compared to the US and surprised about how modest British people are.

If you have the ability to study independently and you're not overly wedded to consumerism, you'll find studying in the UK a very rewarding experience indeed.

If you have any questions about the above or studying in the UK, post below and I'll do my best to reply. ;)
 
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Well, I honestly don't have much interest in the ways of Research Psychology; more Social/Clinical, but I havn't an idea what I'm going to do, yet.

Dang. It sounds like either are a tad too expensive for me. :eek: And, only 8 weeks? It's 14 here.

As to Seattle, Dinkledog, I had considered it, but Seattle is Very Expensive.
 

Brighton
<-----

University of Sussex

If you like a very lively town, (with the added honour of being the gay capital of the UK, though this hasn't come to my attention yet except that some pubs and clubs have rainbow flags), very student heavy etc. Brighton is the way to go (2 big universities for a population of only 300000). You might want to live off campus though, since Campus is a bit isolated from Brighton (10 minutes by train to Brighton. Either that, or get a bike.

Rav
 

Thanks Rav! No, I don't mind. But if I lived off Campus, I'd have to take the train in anyways.

Okay. What about for Grad school, in the US, folks?
 

Grad Schools in your climate choice in the US:

Washinton Univeristy in Seattle isn't too expensive, is it? Good school.

Portland, Oregon is a great city, and the schools are pretty good and not too expensive.

San Fransico and San Jose are both good, and a similar climate to what you are looking for as well.

Los Angeles has some great colleges (and many of them). However, the temperature does get above 80 in the summer. Other times it generally doesn't. It is usally around 72 out in Los Angeles.
 

So far as I know, Chicago, New York, and California are the primary centers of psychology in the U.S. This is valuable for a number of reasons, but it all boils down to more options. There are more programs to choose from, more teachers (meaning more specialists you can study under), more students (meaning more specialty classes that you can choose from, because classes aren't offered without sufficient class sizes), and far more training sites where you will develop your clinical skills.

Of course, none of these places are cheap. Still, hundreds of students find ways to make it work: living further from the city to get more for their rent money, working PT as a graduate assistant (like working in the office, or the library, assisting in research, assisting in teaching, and so on), finding roommates.
 

Thanks guys! Definet food for thought. :D

As I understand it, under Tennessee Vocational law, I can work very lightly, but I cannot gain an amount of money over so much yearly. So I will have to work during the summer to build up my funds, but I will also have to check what the laws regarding the disabled are in California, Chicaga, Washington, New York, perhaps even Boston, from what people have pointed out.

Still, my main concern is cost of living, for one (naturally), and transportation.
 

I went to grad school at UCLA, and I'd say that given your requirements, LA probably isn't the right place for you.

I grew up in Australia, and now live in Vegas, so it's hard for me to judge how hot would be too hot for you. LA summer temperatures (at least near the coast where I lived) were mild by my standards, but the temp probably got over 90 during the summer.

LA is a car-centric city, so you will be somewhat limited with what you can do without a car. However the area immediately around UCLA (Westwood and Santa Monica) is comparatively pedestrian friendly, and the Santa Monica public transport seemed to be reasonably good (at least 10 years ago it was).

LA is also expensive, and the area immediatly around UCLA even moreso. I, and most people I knew, kept costs down by sharing accomodation, or living in university subsidised housing.

I've also taught at Texas A&M, and I can say that if you don't like heat, you don't want to go to any of the Texas universities.

Corran
 

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