Application Walk-Through Webinar

Stephen Hall:                     Greetings. Good afternoon. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us for the application walkthrough webinar. My name is Stephen Hall, and I will be your host throughout our time today. Before we get started though, just a couple of housekeeping ideas to share with you. This is what you can expect during our time together. All of you all are on listen-only mode. In other words, you can hear us, but we can't hear you. Your microphones are muted. If you have any questions throughout our time together, feel free to type them in the box in the lower right hand corner, and then you can go ahead and hit send. A copy of our presentation will be available within the next week or so following the event, as well as a recording of the event.

Okay. So, as we take a snapshot of our agenda, once again, my name is Stephen Hall, and as many of you know, I'm the enrollment advisor for the program here. We will be discussing the admissions requirements. We'll take a really good look into the online application and what that entails, and really how you can approach it so that you can have a successful application. We'll take a look also at the application checklist, just to serve as a point of reference for you throughout the admissions process. We'll talk about transcripts, what that means, how you can get us your transcript, and then of course there will be resources available for you at the conclusion of the event today, websites and phone numbers, et cetera. Then we've reserve a time for Q&A as well. Again, if you have questions, please don't hesitate to type them in the box in the lower right hand corner. Then we will address as many questions as time allows.

Okay. So, one of the questions that we constantly field are what are the enrollment requirements? The enrollment requirements are pretty straight forward. We do require bachelor's degrees from regionally accredited institutions. We also do require GRE scores, so you'll have your official GRE scores sent directly to us here. All official transcripts from colleges and universities where you've attended, and that's regardless of whether credit or degree was obtained. The ideal transcript will show coursework in the social sciences or degrees in psychology, sociology, economics, political science, and anthropology, but diverse backgrounds, they're also appropriate. I know that's a really big question for a lot of applications.

Then for those who are international applicants, TOEFL scores are required. There's not a minimum score for the TOEFL. We just need to know that you've taken the TOEFL within the past two years. Also, you have to complete the online application. We do highly recommend you send us a resume or CD, and then your essay or personal statement. This is a thousand word essay, really [inaudible 00:04:26] why it is you're looking to pursue this degree here. Three letters of recommendation are needed, and the letters of recommendation can be either academic letters of recommendation or professional letters of recommendation. Than along with the submission of your application, there's an $85 application fee.

So, starting your online application, which at first view can seem somewhat daunting because there's so many moving parts. But as you follow this process, you should be able to expedite it pretty well. In starting your application, what you would do first is go to our website. That's usc.edu. Once you're on the website, there are a number of tabs that you can choose from. You're going to go ahead and click the admissions tab. Next step, you're going to click on graduate admissions, because of course, there's undergraduate admissions and graduate admissions. We want to ensure that we're clicking on graduate admissions. Then you'll click on apply to USC.

After that, you'll see a screen with a variety of other tabs for you to click on. You're going to go ahead and click on submit your application, and then that will open up the USC online application system. Something to note, once you're opened up onto the system, it defaults to users who have previously been in the system. So, what you're going to choose is create your own account, which is a fairly simple process, as long as you just follow the prompts that are there.

Okay. As you're on the actual online application, the first point of information that you're going to input is your biographical information, starting off with your name. Something that is important to mention here, again, as simple as this might sound, we're going to go ahead and have you put in your last name where it says last name and then first name where it says first name. Some of you might laugh and say, "Well, that's obvious." It's not always as obvious, so I just want to encourage that you pay attention to those fields.

Next is residency. That is, are you a US citizen, are you a permanent resident, or an international student? So, just click, once you pull the drop box down, you'll choose the status which you are. Citizenship is kind of tied into residency. Next step is your social security number. If you're applying for financial aid, it's highly recommended that you input your social security number. That way the process can be more expedited. The next portion is your birth, and then birth date information. Gender and then marital status.

On the next page, we're inputting our contact information. Some of you all are staying in a place that's not your permanent address, so you'll just go ahead and enter in your current address. If for whatever reason your current address isn't your permanent address, obviously you'll go ahead and input your permanent address, your phone number, as well as your email. Something that I would mention here with the email address, if, for whatever reason, you're currently utilizing an email address that's attached to your previous academic institution, if you have a Gmail address or Yahoo Mail address, it would be preferable if you could enter in those email addresses, because for whatever reason, some of the schools have firewalls that prevent correspondence from our school.

Now it's the application information. The first tab is your opportunity to select the term that you'd like to apply for. Currently we're accepting applications for fall still, as well as spring. So, you would just choose fall or spring or whatever term you're most interested in. The next tab is the school or college. We're the Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences. The program is applied psychology, and MS and online. As many of you know, we do have a campus offering as well, and so just to avoid any type of confusion, you want to ensure that you are choosing the online portion. Then, you're going to select what status you'll be in. For full-time students, you would choose full-time. For part-time, part-time. Just as a piece of information, full-time at the graduate level equates to two classes. Then finally, have you applied to USC before? If you have, you want to go ahead and notate when that was.

So, next, some of you will be applying for financial aid. This page basically just entails that information, if you'll be applying for financial aid, if you have tuition reimbursement from employers. All of the prompts that are there, just follow them. Also for your information, we do have the FAFSA site as well as our financial aid office number here, or the website. I generally defer all financial aid questions to those parties.

The exciting part, your academic background. Here, you can input your undergraduate GPA, as well as your graduate GPA. Some of you might have publications. You'll want to note that. Academic honors or other types of honors, or scholarships that you've acquired in your academic tenure. You'll also want to note if you've ever been on academic probation. In addition, all of your high school information, and then of course all colleges and all universities where you've previously attended.

I know a lot of applicants inquired about the GRE, and just to reiterate, again, the GRE, it is required. This is the page where you'll enter all of your GRE information. So, if you've already taken the exam, you would enter your test date as well as the scores. For those of you who have not yet taken the exam, our school code is 4852. We want to ensure that we go ahead and input that code. Incidentally, just as a point of knowledge for you, there are a couple of ways that you can take the GRE. You can take the GRE via the computer system. There's a computerized test, but there's also the paper exam. We highly recommend that you do the computerized test, because by taking the computerized GRE, the time we receive the results is significantly quicker than if you would take the exam via paper.

Okay. So, again, we do require or highly recommend that you send in your resume. This is a page on apply yourself where you can upload your resume or the list of employers. Again, the website gives you the option of one or the other, but our preferred way of doing it is if you would upload your resume. That's just to prepare you professionally, and always having an up to date resume or CV that you can share.

As we progress to the next page on apply yourself, this is where you're going to input answers to additional questions. For example, are one of your family members USC alum? Are you currently employed by USC? Then, how did you hear about this program? All of this information is pertinent.

The next page is for your personal statement. It's the supporting documents page. As afore mentioned, the personal statement requires 1,000 words. It also includes your personal and professional background, professional goals, as well as your strengths as an applicant. One thing in addition that I would offer regarding your personal statement is that you follow the prompts. It's easy to get off topic, but it's incredibly important that you stay on task and follow the prompts.

Here, this is where you're going to input your recommenders' information. Again, we do require three letters of recommendation, and these can be both professional as well as academic, or both, and. Professional, generally, they will come from supervisors and as you can see on your screen, the academic letters. This is if you've graduated within the past five years. So, we're going to take a closer look at what that would look like, how would you input your recommenders' information. Following the prompts here, you would enter their entire name, their address, phone number, email is critically important, who are they employed by, what's their professional title, and then of course what's their relationship to you.

Okay. As you move towards the end of the online application and you're prepared to submit, the apply yourself website will notify you of any areas that are incomplete. These areas will be highlighted in red. Of course, the areas that are highlighted in red, you would just go to them and then ensure that you've completed those sections so that you can successful submit your application.

With the checklist, the application checklist, which is a wonderful too, and many of you have already received via email a pdf of the checklist, but the checklist again, it's a tool to keep you on task, to ensure you've submitted everything that needs to be submitted. As you'll notice, the first section is really the parts of the checklist that are facilitated on the apply yourself website. Again, your application, you've uploaded your resume, you've uploaded your personal statement, and then you've submitted the application with the $85 application fee and you've submitted it.

For some, you might, for whatever reason, want to improve upon your statement of purpose, and if that is the case, so for a final draft, for example, you can send me directly a pdf of your personal statement. If your letters of recommendation have not been uploaded, you can also feel free to have your recommenders send the recommendation letter as a pdf to me. Then your official transcripts from all the colleges and universities, those will be forwarded to our online processing center. Your GRE scores are going to be electronically send to us, and then of course, this is on your own you'd be completing your financial aid forms, but again, if you have questions regarding financial aid, you do have the information to our financial aid office.

You'll notice on your screen where to send your transcripts or where to have your previous institutions or current institutions send the transcripts. Those are, to my attention, at the USC central processing office. That's in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. It's really sometimes easy to overlook this as we found in the past, where transcripts have been sent to graduate admissions in LA. I would just encourage you to have them sent to the site in Illinois, so that way that can, again, help to expedite the process, because if you send them to another address, significant delays really can occur.

As I mentioned at the top of the webinar, here are some resources for you. We'll leave them on the screen for a moment, but again, the application form, how you can actually get to the online application, the FAFSA website, which is from the Department of Education. Many of you I'm sure recall this from your undergraduate days. Again, if you have questions specifically related to financial aid, the phone number is there, 213-740-1111, and that's option two. The website is also provided as well. Then for those who have not yet taken the GRE or are unfamiliar with the GRE, this is the website. It's administered by ETS, Education Testing Services. Once again, and this is a critical point for you to note, the GRE test score is 4852.

Perfect, perfect. So, as we talked about, we're going to go ahead and move into our Q&A session, and that will be facilitated by both Anny Cho, who is the program advisor, as well as myself, who's the enrollment advisor. The first question is, I'm a Canadian citizen and currently attending UC Berkeley. I don't have a social security number, so is it okay if I don't fill out that section?

Anny Cho:                           Hi. Can everyone hear me?

Stephen Hall:                     Yes, we can hear you, Anny.

Anny Cho:                           Okay. This is Anny. Yes. That's the answer to this question. It's very simple, yes.

Stephen Hall:                     Perfect answer. So, the next question, is there any way the GRE test score requirement can get waived? At this point, no.

So, another question, when transcripts are sent electronically, do we need to be concerned about any particular address? Yes. If you have your transcripts sent electronically, typically they come through eScript. You can utilize my email address and at the conclusion of the webinar, my address will be there. If we have talked already, I'm sure you have my email address, but yeah, you definitely want to have them sent to me.

So, next question, what is the deadline for the spring start date and when does it begin? Great question. At present, we do not have a deadline for spring. However, judging from last year just as a frame of reference, it would be a good idea to have your materials in at least by the end of October. Something that's really nice about our program, say, as opposed to other programs, is that we will review all of your application materials once they're submitted in their entirety prior to the deadlines, and decisions can actually be rendered prior to the deadline as well. So, if you are interested in spring, then I would highly recommend that you start the process.

Next question. Can letters of recommendation be mailed in as opposed to emailed in? Indeed. In fact, we've actually had recommenders who feel a little more comfortable sending their letters of recommendation via mail. You can have those sent to the same location that you are having your transcripts sent, and that's to the processing center in Illinois. Great question, though.

Next question. Can you give an estimate of the cost of the program for the student? For sure. With regards to tuition, tuition is $1,602 per credit. There are 34 credits in some, so for tuition, you're looking at $54,468.

There are a lot of great questions. So, the next question. I'm still a junior at ASU. Should I wait till I graduate to apply? Anny, what do you think of that?

Anny Cho:                           I would say no, and wait till your senior year to apply.

Stephen Hall:                     Perfect. perfect. Okay, and so, as an overseas application, should I complete a GRE or TOEFL online? I would actually defer you to the companies who actually administer those exams. I am not sure, however, that the GRE can be solely be taken online outside of having a proctor present. But, I will definitely forward you the information to both ETS as well as the company who administers the TOEFL. That's a great question. We haven't had that before, but thank you.

Next question. Is there a minimum undergraduate GPA that the school requires for admission? The simple answer ... I'm sorry, Anny, go ahead.

Anny Cho:                           I can go ahead and answer that. There is no minimum, but we prefer to have a GPA of 3.0 and above.

Stephen Hall:                     Great, great. Thank you, Anny. So, next question. What is the average GRE score for accepted applications? I won't necessarily speak to the average, but what I will offer is that the minimum GRE score, it's a 297, which equates to a 144 on the quantitative portion and 153 on the verbal portion. So, 297 is the minimum. Along with that, the admissions committee, they take a very holistic and comprehensive approach to assessing all of the admissions materials. So, whereas the GRE is certainly a factor, it's not the factor, but you want to keep in mind, though, at least 297.

Next question. I'm glad that we have so many engaged participants. I've not yet taken the GRE, though I have graduated with my undergrad. Should I begin my application before taking the GRE or wait until my scores will be published? I would recommend if you feel as though this is a program that you're really interested in, then yeah, you can begin the application process. However, if you're thinking spring, then I would definitely schedule a GRE test date, but by all means, start the application process. I can certainly avail myself to you to answer any additional questions regarding what that process might look like and specific steps that you can take in order to move forward.

Let's see here. So, the next question. With the GRE score, once again, the minimum is a 297, which is about the 50th percentile.

Okay. So, when is the spring start date? The spring start date is not in stone yet, but again, just judging from this year, were looking at mid-January, so this year it was January 17th. It's likely that it will be around the same time in 2015.

Okay. So, with regards to the international transcripts, how are those evaluated, that's a great question. We actually have a very comprehensive process for that, and what I can do is forward you the information on how those transcripts are evaluated, what other supplemental documents are needed, et cetera. But yeah, yeah, and any international student who has similar questions, feel free to email me, and then I'd be more than happy to forward you that information as well.

Okay. Next question. What's the cost to attend annually? Once again, tuition, it's $1,602 per credit. With 34 credits in the program, $54,468. It's a 16 month program, and for budgeting purposes, if you need to think about it from a budget standpoint, you're taking two classes per semester, and each semester, with those two classes, classes are four credits each, so you're looking at eight credits per semester.

Do we have to concentrate in organizational or consumer psychology only? That's a wonderful question. Actually, no, you don't. What's nice about our program is that the way that we approach applied psychology, we're not necessarily construing consumer psychology and organization psychology as discrete disciplines, per se. We're looking at them as being interdependent upon one another, so they inform one another. For example, let's just say a student even chooses to concentrate in organizational psychology. They'll still emerge with a solid understanding of consumer psychology. So, yeah, great question.

Next question. Does the admissions committee consider work experience? I've been out of college for a long time but have many years of professional experience. Anny, what are your thoughts?

Anny Cho:                           Yes, and we take ... That's actually a crucial point in our application process, and we do consider that during the ... what is it? Sorry, my mind just went blank for a second. But yes, it's very important and we do consider that. Actually, the resume is required as a part of the application. So, I hope that answers your question. Sorry. My mind just went blank for a second.

Stephen Hall:                     Great, great. Well, thank you. Thank you, Anny. That's a great question, because as many of you are experiencing yourself, you're working professional, and online program historically appeals to those who have been away from the classroom for a little bit of time. So, great, great question. I'm sure a lot of participants were probably thinking the same thing.

So, yeah. Next question. How long will the application process take? That actually varies, because with every applicant, every applicant has a different situation, a unique situation. I've worked with some applicants who have gotten everything done within two or three weeks. For others, that might not be realistic. I think that there are a lot of factors to consider. For example, your recommenders. You're working on their schedules. So, they might take a shorter period of time or they might take a longer period of time. It just depends on them. The GRE is another piece that determines how long the process can take. If you schedule your GRE sooner rather than later, then certainly the admissions process can move a little bit more quickly. However, if you forego scheduling your GRE, then that can unfortunately take a little bit longer. So, yeah, great question though.

Next question. Is the application fee due before you fill out the application or after? You can actually start the application prior to the fee, so yeah, you don't have to have the fee prior to starting.

Next question. Going back to the recommendations, do we need to supply the submission information to our chosen recommenders, or will they receive the info via email once names and information are submitted through the online application? Great question. Once you input the information with inside the appropriate section and you submit it, automated emails are sent to your recommenders, with a link that they can reply back to providing your letter of recommendation. Great question.

Next question. On the actual degree, will the word online be present, or will it just be master of science and applied psychology? It will be the latter, a master of science and applied psychology. Just as a point of note here, we don't make a differentiation between our online program [inaudible 00:34:45] our campus program. The curricula is generally the same, so yeah, I know that's a concern for many, is there a difference, how will it be professionally, et cetera. So, yeah, the difference is not there, and again, your degree will read master of science and applied psychology.

Next question. Can a lot of work or research experience compensate for a low GPA? Anny, what are your thoughts there?

Anny Cho:                           We will take it into consideration, but we do look for a GPA of 3.0 or above.

Stephen Hall:                     Great. Great.

Anny Cho:                           But we do take into consideration of other points. Like Stephen mentioned, we do look at each application case by case and look at it very holistically.

Stephen Hall:                     Perfect. Thank you, Anny. Okay, and so, next question. Graduated four years ago from undergrad. For the letters of recommendation, wondering if it's acceptable to include three professional letters, or is the one academic letter required? Anny, what's your feel on that question?

Anny Cho:                           Three professional letters of recommendation will work.

Stephen Hall:                     Perfect. Thank you. Okay, so next question here. If you apply and are not accepted, is there a chance that after strengthening your application by taking additional coursework or improving your resume, you can actually be accepted after applying for a second time? That's a really good question. So, by way of a previous experience, we had an applicant who applied for the campus program, and for whatever reason the student wasn't accepted. However, they ended up subsequently applying to the online program, and they ended up being accepted. So, yeah, that chance and that potential is present. Anny, would you agree?

Anny Cho:                           Well, if you go through the process and the applicant will have to redo the process again for the second time after strengthening their either work experiences and resume or letters of recommendation, but it's not guaranteed for acceptance, but we will take a look at it again.

Stephen Hall:                     Perfect. Perfect. Thank you. Okay. So, the next question. Interesting question. Are there any opportunities for extra funding beyond loans? For the online program, we do not have any institutional based scholarships or assistantships or fellowships or anything like that. If there are opportunities out there, they would be outside of the university's purview. Really good question.

Next question. Most PhD programs will accept a master's thesis to be used for the PhD. Will a thesis be required, and how would an out of state student meet with the advisor to complete the thesis? So, with regards to our program, in lieu of a thesis, our students are doing a treatise and a capstone project, so it's not as though you'll be engaged in original research per se, so yeah, great question, but we don't have a thesis, per se, for this program.

Anny Cho:                           But we do have a treatise, like Stephen mentioned, that will be in applied psychology, written towards that topic, and it is required as part of the program. Also, as an advisor, we will be meeting with the students via telephone or web conferencing, through Skype or Adobe Connect, email, so it will happen, advising will happen in that sense. Hope that answers the question.

Stephen Hall:                     Thank you. Thank you for elaborating further, Anny.

Anny Cho:                           Yeah.

Stephen Hall:                     Next question. Is an internship still mandatory with the online program? Yes. Indeed. With this being an applied program, we're very interested in students being able to translate theory, psychological theory, into actual practice, and a wonderful way to do that is through the internship. So, yes, the internship is a requirement for the online program. With that said, the internship is not going to require you to come to Southern California to an organization or site, but you can look at sites around your local area. In fact, what we were previously encouraging students to do is explore within their current places of employment for internship opportunities, but you won't be doing this alone. There's actually an entire class that you'll be in, so you'll know the parameters of what you'll need to do for your internship and how that will look for you.

Anny Cho:                           To add to Stephen's point, your internship will be arranged with the program director, which is Dr. Leggett, and it also has to be approved by Dr. Leggett as well.

Stephen Hall:                     Okay. Great. Thank you, Anny. Since the internship is required, does our current full-time position meet the requirements even if it does not directly relate?

Anny Cho:                           Sorry, go ahead.

Stephen Hall:                     Sure. So, the question was, since the internship is required, does our current full-time position meet the requirements even if it does not directly relate?

Anny Cho:                           Unfortunately, no, but as I mentioned before, your internship, we will be guiding you through that process and also advising you. The internship actually cannot be a paid employment, but it will be arranged with Dr. Leggett as well and also be approved by her, but we will provide a lot of guidance for your internship.

Stephen Hall:                     Very good. Thank you. Thank you. Next question. Does the admissions committee take a look at additional coursework taken after graduation? For example, if I was a business major with a lower GPA, but I've increased that GPA by excelling in social sciences classes post-graduation, will those classes be taken into consideration, or is it only the undergraduate work that's taken into account?

Anny Cho:                           We look at everything as a whole. So, we take into consideration of all courses taken.

Stephen Hall:                     Perfect. Thank you. Thank you. Is the internship a full-time or part-time position? If part-time, what hour requirements need to be met? The hour requirements ... I'm sorry, go ahead, Anny.

Anny Cho:                           Sorry, go ahead.

Stephen Hall:                     I was going to say that the hour requirements are 240 contact hours.

Anny Cho:                           Yeah, that's correct, and it is part-time.

Stephen Hall:                     Okay. So, we have a couple of more questions here. The next question, are there requirements to be online at a certain time of day? Good question. Anny, can you speak a little to the live sessions?

Anny Cho:                           Yeah. So, for your online courses, you are not bound to any time where you need to sign in at a specific time with the exception of the live sessions. The live sessions are like conferencing webinars, and you will be required to attend those sessions, and those will be with faculty members as well as your online colleagues, and it will pertain to course material. In regards to completing your assignments and doing the readings and accessing all your course materials for your courses, there's no specific time that is set up for you to sign in. As long as you have internet, and have access to the course, anywhere around the world at any time, you can access it at any time. But you have that flexibility.

Stephen Hall:                     Perfect. Perfect. Thank you. Anny. Last question here. Does the 240 hours for the internship start when courses begin, or at a designated date? So, basically, I guess what's being asked is, when are the hours being recorded for the internship? The answer is, when the internship commences. Right, Anny?

Anny Cho:                           Yeah. Well, the internship hours will begin as soon as your internship has been approved by Dr. Leggett, and then after, yeah, it commences. You have to complete your 240 hours.

Stephen Hall:                     Okay, perfect. Perfect. Thank you. So, yeah, wow, we had a lot of really, really great questions. On your screen, you see my contact information. Please, if you have additional questions, which typically happens once we hang up, questions pop up, don't hesitate to give me a call, or you can send me an email, and I will get back with you. Yeah, we really appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule and sharing it with us. For many of you, this is during your lunch break, so thank you. Thank you so much for your time.

Once again, we are accepting applications for fall. The deadline is August 5. Ideally, if you could get everything in by August 1, that would be great, but you do have until the 5th. For those who are thinking spring, I highly recommend you start the application process as soon as possible, and if you have questions about that, again, don't hesitate to reach out to me. Once again, thank you, and have an amazing day.

Anny Cho:           Thank you. Thank you, Stephen. Thank you, everyone.