25. From College Dropout to Graduate Student: Navigating Graduate School Applications & Admissions as a Nontraditional Student
On episode 25 of A Chat with Uma, I share my full journey of applying for graduate school as a non-traditional student with a very divergent & complicated academic + personal history. I share my experience in full detail of applying for clinical psychology Ph.D programs earlier on in my academic journey, and how + why I ultimately chose to pursue my masters in neuroscience. I discuss how vastly different my experience was as a student whose path was so divergent from anyone around me, and the resulting confusion about my future & chances due to having no basis + reference point about my own journey. I explain how I navigated the ambiguity of applying to Ph.D programs with my unique journey, and why I ultimately decided to try. I speak at length about every detail of my application experience as a non-traditional student: including disclosure in personal statements, my CV, internet/social media "outing," recommendation letters, interviews, and more. This episode serves to provide evidence & hope that pursuing academic endeavors as a non-traditional student with a divergent past IS possible. I share all of my advice, empowerment, experiences, and honest reflections from my experiences in the hopes that others feel valid & hopeful about forcing their own paths with their unique lived experiences. Topics Discussed (+ timestamps): (00:00:00) Intro & overview of episode (00:07:48) Update: Video + event recording repository of many past events (00:10:18) UPCOMING EVENT: Hosting IOCDF's Community Conversations - Tues. 9/26, 7 ET Link to attend (00:11:35) EVENT REPLAY: Co-hosted IOCDF's Community Conversations with Tom Smalley Link to watch (00:12:23) EVENT REPLAY: IOCDF Diversity Roundtable on Suicide Prevention - with Dr. Darlene Davis Goodwine, Krista Reed, & Erika McCoy Link to watch (00:14:08) UPCOMING EVENT: Online IOCDF OCD Conference 2023 & ticket giveaway! Register here Email for ticket giveaway: hello@umarchatterjee.com (00:16:55 ) Brief background from my undergraduate degree & considering next steps Contextual episodes: 01. My Full Story: 0 to 26 02-04. My Mental Health Journey: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 (00:23:33) Applying to grad school the first time Psychology Ph.D programs & my neuroscience M.S. program How & why I chose the neuroscience M.S. The major influence my non-traditional path played in this application cycle (00:32:46) Starting my masters degree in neuroscience My extremely unique experience as a non-traditional student The prescribed, typical path around me vs. my very divergent path Confusion around what was possible for my future (00:41:55) The wide range of evaluations & judgments I received due to my unprecedented, non-traditional academic path (00:45:48) How and why I decided to apply to Neuroscience Ph.D programs, in spite of the odds; How I "broke the rules" of the typical application process (00:51:38) How I specifically chose schools, programs, and mentors as a non-traditional student (01:02:53) How I "broke the rules" in navigating disclosure + talking about my non-traditional path as an applicant Statements & essays My CV My exposure & disclosure on the internet + social media What I shared vs. what I didn't share (01:16:48) Recommendation letters: How I chose recommenders How I asked recommenders How I shared my history/past with them The resources I created to optimize my chances as a non-traditional student (01:26:36) Ph.D Interviews: how they went, how I navigated disclosure, the results of my applications, closing out the episode Connect with me! My website: umarchatterjee.com Instagram: @UmaRChatterjee Twitter: @UmaRChatterjee TikTok: @UmaRChatterjee Email: hello@umarchatterjee.com Support my work: https://ko-fi.com/umarchatterjee Have a guest you want on the show? Fill out the Guest Suggestion Form!