grad apps during a pandemic
how COVID-19 is changing the landscape of PhD admissions
When the coronavirus first hit California, and the county I live in created some of the strictest guidelines in the state, it seemed like the epidemic would soon be a distant memory. I wanted to have faith that the general public, both here and in the rest of the U.S., would heed the advice our public health officials were providing to allow our numbers to dwindle, for the safety of those most at risk. Unfortunately, the guidelines quickly became politicized, the epidemic transformed into a pandemic, and COVID-19 rampaged through entire communities. It wasn’t just the virus that was transforming lives – as businesses closed, jobs lost, and social gatherings were restricted, the economic and psychological effects were quickly evident. Students were forced to move back into chaotic homes and attempt to complete the semester; those that still had jobs wrestled with the benefits of risking exposure to receive a paycheck. Those of us following public health guidelines watched in disbelief as college students flocked to Florida for spring break, knowing the ramifications for such an act would reach far beyond each individual who took the risk. The virus also disproportionately affected Black and Latinx communities, as they wrestled with additional trauma from attacks on Black bodies by police and hate groups. Despite the very real, very apparent consequences of defiance in the face of COVID-19, we are now in month 5 of the pandemic with no end in sight. The majority of states are seeing increases in the number of cases, and some have doubled their reported cases the last 3 weeks. It’s beginning to feel like we are swimming upstream against a current of anti-science propaganda.
For those of us planning to apply to graduate school this winter, the impacts of COVID-19 on us personally and on the larger university systems are hard to ignore. The pandemic is beginning to shift many aspects of graduate admissions, and the effect of these shifts will be difficult to gauge until the coming application cycle is complete. It seems likely that some of the ramifications will be felt for years to come, and it’s possible that some changes could be an antecedent for long term changes. I’ve been contemplating what will be different for Fall 2021 admissions, and possible remedies to offset any negative consequences these changes may bring.
Individual Impacts
Reduced academic performance
For those of you who just finished undergrad or those with plans to finish undergrad/graduate work soon, the pandemic undoubtedly influenced the ability to complete schoolwork. Anecdotally, I saw reduced performance across the classes I taught in the Spring 2020 semester, as well as an increased number of dropouts/incompletes. While those of us pursuing graduate level education are likely to be organized overachievers, the pandemic has made it harder and harder for most people to get work done at the level they expect from themselves. Many students prefer in-person classes and really struggled with the transition to online. Not everyone has access to a reliable internet connection, or a personal computer. I’m afraid that the negative academic impact will be felt most by students that already had reduced resources. It is possible that the pandemic will further the divide between applicants with a tremendous amount of opportunity and those that were barely scraping by. Luckily, one semester of less-than-stellar grades won’t be a deal-breaker, and overall GPA can withstand a few B’s (and maybe even a C or two).
If your GPA was significantly reduced this past semester, or if the drop in overall grades is noticeable, it might not hurt to reference this discrepancy in your statements. However, you may want to tread carefully and choose your words wisely. We are only afforded a limited amount of space to share various parts of ourselves, and the space could be better spent on research activities or mentors of interest. Mentors are likely looking for applicants that are successful in various circumstances, though I hope the majority agree that a pandemic is not just one circumstance – it’s multitudes of circumstances mixed together. I’m hopeful that programs will be understanding of the extreme collective stress the world has been under this year, and afford leniency where appropriate.
Lost research positions
For many folks working in university labs, direct contact studies, or other impacted positions, the pandemic brought with it lost opportunities to engage in research. If your lab dealt primarily with human subjects, many IRBs/research centers suspended all in-person activities until further notice. Unless the lab was able to pivot and adjust to other modalities, such as telehealth appointments or remote survey collection, this meant data collection and other research activities screeched to a halt. If you were in a paid position, losing your research position also meant losing income, bringing its own set of challenges. Depending on your prior length and depth of experience, missing 6+ months of research experience could vastly change your competitiveness and readiness for graduate level admissions. It seems that programs typically value research experience above all else, likely because it is one of the best predictors of success and happiness in graduate school. Prior engagement in research equals a general enjoyment of research.
It’s difficult to say how to mitigate lost research experience, but it is possible to continue producing research output without being directly involved with a lab. For example, most researchers have a plethora of data that they aren’t able to look at from every possible angle. In my experience, researchers are happy to share data sets with interested students they have a relationship with, especially if you have a project in mind. There are also plenty of research activities that don’t entail direct participant contact. My advice would be to reach out to professors or researchers you know personally, and ask if they need any help with publications, data cleaning, data entry, or data analysis. It never hurts to ask! This was the way I got my first authorship on a publication.
Lost conference opportunities
This is a biggie for me – I was looking forward to focusing on increasing my posters and publications in 2020, and had submitted 4 poster abstracts before March (2 accepted for the WPA and 2 under review for ISTSS). I wasn’t just excited about the extra lines on my CV or the experience developing the posters – I was especially looking forward to networking at the conferences with potential mentors and other graduate students/applicants. Due to the pandemic, the WPA has been postponed and ISTSS is moving to a completely virtual format. Other conferences are either postponed, cancelled, or virtual. While I’m grateful for the chance to present a poster during a virtual poster symposium, it will most certainly be a vastly different experience.
The good news is – there are ways to include posters on your CV that were accepted for either a virtual or postponed/cancelled conference. I’ll include the link below for those of you that need to use this format. One silver lining is that all applicants are in the same situation – if you were supposed to present at a conference this year, chances are it didn’t happen. It will be interesting to see how easy it is to interact with other attendees during virtual conferences. Replicating in-person networking will be nearly impossible, so networking in other ways will need to be a priority. I myself am still mulling over how to make meaningful connections with people in my subdiscipline. Currently, it seems that using initial emails to faculty as a means of networking will be useful, and I’m looking forward to discussing that more in a future post.
Here is the link to the APA Style blog with additional formatting information: https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/canceled-conferences
Reduced income
If you were one of the millions of workers that lost a job due to the coronavirus, chances are finances are tight. Even for those that are still working, you may have had to adjust to reduced hours or lost funding. The economic strain is very real, and with graduate application fees on the horizon it may feel even more overwhelming. Graduate applicant fees include GRE score reports, transcripts, and application fees for each individual program. This isn’t including additional costs of interview travel (which may not be a factor this year – more in the coming sections). If you are applying to 10 different programs, with application fees ranging from $50 - $100, score reports at $27 each, and transcripts ranging from free to $10 each, the total amount spent will be around $1000 not including interview costs. It’s expensive to apply to graduate school, and the impact of the pandemic may make that number seem even scarier.
Luckily, for folks that have reduced or minimal income, you can apply for application fee waivers. These will vary from program to program, but every university has this option. You may need to provide evidence of financial hardship, and you usually need to have the waiver completed by a certain date. Start looking into waivers as soon as possible if you think you need them.
University/Program Impacts
Reduced funding/no funding
One possible consequence of the pandemic at the programmatic level is reduction of funding, or loss of funding. For psychology, this might look a bit different, as many faculty members secure grants or other sources of funding independently, in addition to the financial resources of the university. However, there is a large possibility that there will be a reduced number of spots, and the likelihood that some of your faculty of interest will be unable to take a student is higher than previous years. As programs and individual faculty prepare for the upcoming admissions cycle, checking program and lab websites for updates about admissions plans will be imperative. You don’t want to submit an application to a program if the faculty members you are interested in are unable to take a student.
Addressing this change is difficult – these funding decisions are out of our control (and likely out of the program’s control as well). I’m hoping to increase the number of programs and faculty members of interest on my preliminary list to have more options. I would recommend continuing to conduct research about potential mentors and universities to expand your own list as well.
Changing application requirements
If you are keeping up with the rapid changes happening across programs, you’ve likely seen that many are beginning to waive the GRE general and GRE subject requirements for admission. It’s important to note that this doesn’t mean they will be GRE blind – many applicants may still choose to submit their scores on their applications, and it’s likely the GRE will still be utilized as a factor in admissions decisions. Make sure to weigh the risks and benefits of submitting or not submitting scores this round. This could mean that the applicant pool is even larger and more competitive for certain universities – for instance, I’m planning to use this opportunity to apply to a few programs that typically have the Psych GRE as an application requirement, because I’ve never been able to take the test. I’d imagine there a quite a few other applicants thinking the same, which equates to more applicants than usual at highly competitive schools. However, don’t apply to a program just because you can. Fit with a faculty member is crucial, and if there isn’t a fit it will be a waste of money.
If you are interested in seeing a list of all universities that have changed their GRE requirements, another applicant has compiled a list that can be found here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SrWySd98Aqf0b0C_XN2KX_Uqt-9q0Hrem-ZX2w-dads/edit#gid=0
Remote interviews
A handful of universities have already decided to hold remote interviews the coming cycle, and I would imagine more will follow suit. It makes sense – reduce travel and reduce risk. It’s wishful thinking to say the pandemic will have resolved by February of 2021, and even if on-site interviews were an option some applicants may have reservations about attending an in-person interview in the current climate. The exact format of remote interviews remains to be seen. The benefit of on-site interviews is the chance to engage with various students, faculty, and administrative staff, as well as the opportunity to see the campus and surrounding areas. Committing to a program for 5 – 6 years is a lofty decision, and making the decision with less information will be stressful. It does sound like if you are offered admission, programs will arrange for a visit.
I feel fortunate that I’ve had plenty of practice with video teleconferencing because of my current research position. I’m currently engaged in telehealth treatment with women veterans, and I’ve had the chance to experience the joys and pitfalls of using video teleconferencing. My very preliminary advice would be to practice interviewing over Skype or FaceTime with family and friends to get used to the format . As interviews approach, I’ll have a separate post all about preparations, but for now just know remote interviews are a real possibility.
Thinking about these major changes can create some stress and concern about what the upcoming admissions cycle will look like. I, for one, hate uncertainty, and being unsure about what the future holds is somewhat scary. One of my favorite quotes that got me through admissions last year is “Nothing to it but to do it”. Short and sweet, and it reminds me that all I can really do is keep going. We can hesitate and plan and analyze a ton, but until we set our plans in motion we are staying stagnant. It’s important to roll with the punches, and handle whatever new consequence the pandemic throws our way.
Comment below if there is an impact I haven’t covered here.
Best of luck to you navigating the pandemic and admissions, and thanks for reading!