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Lex DeVille's - Journey To Doctor

Lex DeVille

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If you'd asked three years ago about grad school I would've laughed in your face. I hadn't even finished the undergrad degree I started in 2007, one of the longest, most agonizing experiences of my life. I'd hopped from one major to another and from school to school searching for the right program. All of those switches caused years of setbacks and added costs. Luckily, I served in the military and Post 9-11 GI Bill covered it all (almost). Unfortunately, I ran out of GI Bill with a few classes remaining, and because I didn't value degrees (reinforced by success in freelancing) and didn't want to pay out of pocket, I dropped out in 2016 vowing never to go to college again.

But two years later (2018) I logged into the old online classroom to see if I still had access. Turns out I did, so I checked the degree progress report which showed a GPA in the mid 2.5 range and four classes remaining to graduate. I was nine months into being a first time dad, and nearly nine years into entrepreneurship and as I looked at that progress I couldn't help but think, four classes left? WTF why didn't you just finish it?! I don't know if it was the potential for credibility or maybe that I want my daughter to grow up with an educated dad, but I decided to break my vow, pay out of pocket, and finish what I started. I also committed to doing the best I could to raise my GPA. All of this while managing my business systems and operating as a full-time stay at home dad.

In early 2019 I graduated with a B.A. in Psychology, officially surpassing both of my parents in education. I'd also managed to raise my GPA to a 3.1. It took weeks for the diploma to arrive in the mail, and to be honest, I didn't think I'd care. But when it showed up and I had it in hand, something switched in my mind. This was one of the most rewarding experiences in the world. A kid who'd barely passed high school and spent 10 years working on a degree that most people earn in four, was finally a college graduate.

B.A. in Psychology.jpg

Shortly after receiving the diploma I started to imagine what it would be like to go beyond. I joked about it with my wife, "What if I became a Doctor? You'd have to call me Dr. DeVille!" And at first it was only a joke. But then that joke turned into a thought seed. The more I joked, the more curious I became. Soon the thought seed started to grow. I looked into what it would take to become a Doctor of Psychology and realized it would be a lot of work, likely 10 times harder than undergraduate, and would require another six to ten years of school.

The time frame was daunting, but that little curiosity seed wouldn't let go, and within a month I made the decision to enroll again, this time into a Masters program for psychology which would be paid for out of pocket. The degree would come from the same school I'd already graduated from and would prep me for doctoral training, plus, even if I decided not to go through with a PhD program, I'd still come away with a Master's. Unlike the undergrad degree, this time I made a new commitment. Not only would I finish the degree in the shortest time possible without breaks, but I'd also work to maintain a 4.0 GPA and be the top student in every class.

So far I've finished 4 of the 12 Master's classes, maintaining a 4.0 GPA, and was invited to two honor's societies. I'm currently on track to graduate in February of 2021.

Graduate_Classes_30.jpg
So I thought I'd document the progress from this point forward since I've recently read posts by people who felt that doing school plus running a business is impossible. To those people...it is not.

From this point forward is my Journey to become a Doctor of Psychology.

Current Obstacles
1. The program I want to enter requires completion of a Master's degree.
2. The nearest APA accredited Doctoral programs are 1.5 hours away.
3. Clinical and other APA accredited programs are highly competitive.
4. Need to complete the GRE which was waived for my current school.
5. Need letters of recommendation.
6. Need to maintain a high GPA.
7. Need to get better at statistics.
8. Need to improve my technical writing skills.
9. Need to clean up online presence.
10. Need to join honor societies.
11. Need to do all of this while managing my business and being a dad.

On a bright note, when I finally get accepted into one of the nearby programs, the degree will mostly be funded by the school. I may not have to pay anything out of pocket for that. But no matter what happens, I will have that degree.

For now I'm focused on the first goal, the Master's degree. This week I'll also start to study for the GRE. The plan is to take the GRE early to see where I stand, and then to take it again in six months after studying to improve the scores as needed to be competitive for surrounding programs.

So that's it for now. Don't know how often I'll update, but you're welcome to follow along if you want.
 
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Lex DeVille

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With October here, I'm reaching the completion of the Master's program. I still have a 4.0 GPA. I'm in Psychopathology now and have Counseling Psychology next. After that I have a capstone to wrap everything up and then I graduate. At this point I find myself reflecting on several things I hadn't considered prior to beginning this journey.

1. The American Psychological Association (APA) is bullshit.
I joined the APA as a student member nearly a year ago. When I joined and paid my dues, I didn't gain access as a member for more than a month despite numerous contact attempts by phone and email. APA representatives were unresponsive and when they finally did respond, they didn't follow up afterward and didn't respond to my attempts at follow-up. What's worse is that when I finally did get access, that's when the real problems began. Before I continue, it is worth noting that I do not claim a political stance. Not left, right or any other.

Over the past year, the APA has bombarded me with left-wing spam and third-party courses and products. They've pushed one-sided narratives while hounding me about ethics or to buy things. They do not accredit schools with online counseling programs, yet they've pushed teletherapy for the past six months as the "new norm." They've also shoved BLM and related agendas down my throat almost every day and regardless of how I feel about any of these agendas, it is the pushing of an agenda by a supposedly unbiased organization that bothers me. So I will not be renewing my APA membership when it expires.

2. Therapy is bullshit
Having seen multiple therapists and counselors, I have a new perspective on what therapy and counseling are good for. First, if you have a serious mental illness, then therapy may have positive results in your life. Second, if you are the kind of person who needs to hear your thoughts reflected back to you, then a therapist could prove useful, but so could an accountability partner, life coach, or even just a friend and all probably at a lower price than a therapist. If you are a critical thinker, problem-solver, and action-taker then you will be disappointed by therapy when you realize that therapists are quick to diagnose, offer generalized solutions, and even the specialists cannot do the work to solve your problems for you.

The time and money spent on therapy could just as easily be spent on your business or other parts of life where you will get direct feedback instead of a paid opinion or reflections. Therapy, with few exceptions, is for people who don't want to do the hard work they know they have to do to make shit the way they want it in life. It is for people who are looking for excuses or ways out or to be able to say "I tried but things just didn't work out." I say this as someone who recently realized I was doing this exact thing, looking for excuses and ways out.

3. Psychology as a Field is Bullshit
At this point, I can barely take the field of psychology seriously. The APA has an agenda. College psych programs push that agenda plus the traditional scripted path. Therapists and counselors make hack diagnoses based on single-encounters and then turn those over to doctors for prescription therapy. U.S. based psychological journals and publications are full of shitty research by people just looking to be published for credibility rather than the forward progression of psychological science. Also, feminism runs rampant within the APA and the greater field of psychology as a whole. Authors openly proclaim their feminist background in the beginning of course texts, and you can practically feel the man-hate seething through their words. The APA has even taken a stance against masculinity stating that traditional masculinity can lead to mental health issues among other problems. In other words, don't be a man because men = bad.

So what the F*ck?!

I don't even want to be a Doctor of Psychology anymore. At this point, it means nothing unless I specifically desired to work with patients with mental illnesses (which I don't). There is no reason to walk this path further because even the credibility gained from holding a PSYD or Ph.D. in Psychology is bullshit. I've learned enough about psychology that I no longer feel a desire to study it as a college student. Colleges don't cover the areas I want to study anyway (for instance, there is no specialization in Cult Psychology).

I'll be glad to have an advanced degree, but I no longer know if I'll pursue anything further in this direction. I could choose a degree in another field, but I would hate to make such a big commitment only to later discover similar issues.

For now, I'll focus on finishing the Master's degree and being the best at it. After that, I don't know. I'll be thinking about my path forward and where I go from here. Right now I seriously doubt I'll continue onward through the PSYD program. There are better ways I can spend my time than being told I need to wear a mask and social distance while providing teletherapy and voting for Biden or else I'm a racist man pig who should be lit on fire, canceled, and have his degrees rescinded.

Can't Hurt Me
David Goggin's book has proved 110 X more effective in my own therapeutic needs than therapy at a fraction of the cost. Get the audiobook version because it has extra commentary (trigger warning: it's full of traditional masculinity and ideas that the APA would probably frown upon).
 
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Lex DeVille

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When I decided to be the best, that meant more than just trying hard. I consistently get the highest grades on assignments and it isn't luck, it's by design.

With online school there appear to be four core components (in addition to delivering good work) to get the best grades:

1. Follow instructions
2. Deliver work on time
3. Appear to try very hard
4. Appeal to the instructor's personality

All four components build up to a high perceived-value, and since much of the grade is based on the subjective interpretations of the instructor, then grades can be influenced by strategically controlling for this factor.

1. Follow Instructions
This is the second easiest component to account for. You open the grading rubric and look at the requirements for each assignment. Attend to them one by one in every discussion and every assignment. This is like a blueprint for a perfect score even if the work itself isn't perfect. In my classes I've found instructors often scan assignments to quickly look for these key points. Sometimes it's how they grade the entire assignment. So even if the work is rubbish, you can still get a high grade if the structure of your paper is designed from the rubric.

2. Deliver Work on Time
Most instructors teach multiple classes in addition to their 9-5 job. They're busy. When students deliver work late, it bleeds over into other areas of their lives and causes frustration. When instructors get frustrated they're more likely to view you negatively which can negatively affect your grades. So the simple act of delivering work on time shows you care. By default, you are not as annoying as students who deliver work late.

3. Appear to Try Very Hard
Since the work has to be delivered on time, then the next step is to be the first to deliver the work every time. It creates the perception of enthusiasm and places your name and work at the top (this is valuable both in terms of direct perception and also the unconscious association of you being at the top AKA a leader). Additionally, I find twice as many sources to cite, and write discussion posts and essays that are two to three times longer than other students. As a writer, it's a marginal increase to the workload, and you do have to improve your searching process, but it pays off. Also, as the first to deliver work in the class, other students try to ride your coat tails. They copy the structure of your posts as an outline and deliver a watered down version. The result is it appears you try very hard while everybody else does not, and since their work is based on yours, it also leads to you having the highest grades in the class.

4. Appeal to the Instructor's Personality
The last piece of the puzzle is accounting for the instructor. When they make their initial class posts I pay attention to their introduction. What do they value? Are they proud of their credentials and accomplishments? Do they care more about seeing others succeed? Do they believe in hard work and effort over everything else? Are they funny? Are they critical? What are their core values? I try to think about how they approach the world, and then tailor all of my class work around that framework. So if an instructor values credentials, then my introductory post will list credibility markers...people I know, certificates, other big numbers etc. Then, throughout the course, all of my essays and discussion posts are designed around the central theme of their core values.

None of this is to circumvent doing the work..

I believe I try harder than everyone else in the class, try to present unique thoughts and ideas and to do good work. But there's more to being the best than just doing the work just like there's more to growing a business than doing busywork. So keep that in mind. The points above aren't meant as a shortcut around putting in the effort. They're in addition to the effort and this applies beyond the classroom as well.
 

Lex DeVille

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Following :)

Getting my PhD was immensely rewarding and challenging. Buckle up, buttercup.

All I really want is to be a successful Seattle-based psychotherapy radio talk show host.

How hard can it be? :D

source.gif
 

Lex DeVille

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After chatting with a professor and reflecting, I've made some adjustments to my path.

I intended to seek an APA accredited doctoral program. However, I don't intend to practice clinical psychology, so it isn't necessary. I'm not ruling it out, but it's not a priority anymore.

I've been accepted into a doctoral program with my school. The only requirement lacking is completion of a Master's degree.

Since I don't need APA accreditation, it opens up school options a bit and I'm considering a switch to Capella for the doctoral program. It's mostly online with a few residency requirements and has a clinical psy program that's much closer to my state's licensing requirements (which I would seek to add credibility).

Capella requires three letters of recommendation, and I have one so far. There's quite a while before I need to apply. I still need to better understand their tuition structure, but overall it looks good, and I have good reports from speaking with Capella Psy graduates.

Be the Best
One of the frustrations of online school is the number of people who aim for the minimum as their maximum. For example, a discussion due on Thursday isn't tended to until Thursday at 10pm, and even then it has broken grammar, spelling errors, and the critical thought of a twelve year old.

In my opinion you get out of school what you put into it like anything else. You can show up late, barely try, just scrape by. You'll get your degree eventually, but it'll be as useless as your mindset in obtaining it. I aim to be the best. Highest grades. Best quality of work, etc. and I encourage this mindset for anyone else who goes to school no matter what level it's at.

Get used to being the best. Get used to being a leader. Get used to people riding your coattails and just scraping by because that's what most people do, and the more you do the opposite, the more doors open for you whether it's school, business or some other part of life.
 
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Lex DeVille

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Classes are going well. Got a fancy coin the other day from one of the honor societies.

20200504_151021.jpg

I've learned a lot, but there's something my school does that really bothers me. I've just entered Psychopharmacology and once again, the first discussion requirement of the course is this:

Ashford.PNG

I get that some people are in college to get a better job. But this isn't a job-finding course. It's a course on Psychopharmacology, a subject I'd actually like to learn about. Instead, we're forced to start off with what looks like Ashford fishing for testimonials.

Since I disagree with the assignment, I created my own job post on Indeed. That way I would have control and more creative freedom over my discussion response.

:devil:

Job Description.PNG
 
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Lex DeVille

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For anyone who might come across this post:

This thread is called "Lex DeVille's - Journey to Doctor." It is not called, "Watch me follow someone's personal opinion (read "script") of what 'fastlane' means." I posted it to share one small part of my journey.

No school pays me for these posts. I am not part of any government organization with an incentive to push people into educational debt. I do not have courses or coaching programs aimed at people who are interested in grad school. I am not an affiliate of any college.

I have not asked anyone to follow this thread. I have not forced anyone to follow this thread. If you don't like something I do, there is no requirement to follow. Personally, I don't care if you follow or not. It makes no difference to me or any of the things I'm doing.

There is no right or wrong way to do things. Going to school does not mean the opposite of fastlane, although believing that it does IS the opposite of fastlane mindset in my opinion.

I wanted to advance my education and that's what I'm doing. I am also building several businesses. My businesses pay for my education.

There is no rule that says you can't go to school and have a business (which is why there is a truck and trailer outside of my house and a garage full of new tools as I dive into another industry without experience WHILE maintaining my education).

It's not like I'm not sharing about that progress either. Anyone with inside access can read it in my thread here.

Trailer 1.jpg

Tools.jpg

I don't know why some people are so worried about what everyone else on this forum is doing, or about the choices everyone makes. The forum is not anybody's F*cking babysitter.

Stop worrying about others so much. Reflect on your own situation. If you don't like how your life is, then figure out how to fix that for yourself.

In the meantime, I'll be sharing about my progress doing the things I want to do in life, enjoying the liberty I've created for myself, and pursuing entrepreneurship in whatever way I want to without following anyone else's idea of how that should be.

33778
 
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Lex DeVille

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Chopping Down Obstacles

- Joined the two honor societies

- Joined the American Psychological Association (APA) as a student member

- One of the honor societies has a $10k grad scholarship but wants a letter of recommendation and an essay

- Wrote an email to my first grad professor about an LoR and got a "yes" same day

- Purchased the following GRE study materials:
--- Magoosh online program
--- Manhattan Math guide
--- ETS Super Power Pack

- Started updating some of my social profiles to remove words like "cult" and "evil" while requesting LoR's and other reviews. :D

Up Next..

With a "yes" from the first professor it'll be easier to get other professors on board since they all teach at the same school. I'll probably mention her "yes" in those emails for social proof. I'm also reviewing each professor's professional profile to tailor the emails to their personality style.

I'll start writing the essay for the grad scholarship since there's probably less competition for it than public scholarships. You have to pay a one-time fee to be a member of the honor society and I'd wager that filters out a lot of would-be members.
 
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Lex DeVille

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Thought I blew it this week. I misread an assignment and didn't realize it was due last Thursday. I didn't start mine until Sunday. Since I was late, I felt less motivated and didn't try as hard. I was disappointed with the quality of work but did my best to meet requirements anyway.

I was the last one to turn work in and was sure I'd get a zero. But Psyko (the God of Psychology :D ) had other plans. When I turned the assignment in, I mentioned that I'd misread the instructions, how bad I felt for being late, and that I accepted my fate but was disappointed in myself.

This morning the assignment showed graded. I opened it with heart palpitations. Had to blink a lot and reread the score several times. There was no zero. Instead, I got the highest score in the class! Not only was it the highest score, but it was a perfect score?!

I don't think the instructor liked me when we started the class. But probably several things affected this outcome:

1. Consistent high-quality work on all past assignments
2. Not making excuses in the face of my own failure

There's a lot of psychology underlying both of those. Anyway, I'll be more careful in the future. Two more weeks and I'll be done with psychopharmacology. Interesting course. Not my cup of tea. Looking forward to moving on.
 
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Lex DeVille

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I have two weeks remaining toward this degree and I have my first B in a class. Our latest assignment was more bullshit and I got fed up with it and turned in four pages of snarky bullshit of my own. Apparently, the instructor didn't appreciate that.

I may not make an A in this class and I'm okay with that. I am 110% done at this point with zero intentions of continuing toward a Ph.D. This is likely the last time I will ever attend college. So I will finish up these two weeks, and finally free up some time in my life while I wait for my piece of paper in the mail.

Despite the nonsense, it wasn't all bad. I gained access to some useful resources through the school that allowed me to further my own learning beyond the classroom. I also made a few new connections and friends.

In the next post, I'll wrap things up with a picture of my diploma (hopefully) and we'll call it a day on this thread.
 

Lex DeVille

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This may not be the very last post, but I wanted to share that I pulled through in the final hour. I had dropped down to a B in the class but managed to crush my final assignments and pulled it back up to a 94.03%. It's the lowest grade I scored in any class during this program, but it's still an A. So I will graduate wth a 4.0. Now to wait for that piece of paper so we can close this out!
 
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Lex DeVille

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Procrastinators
It's the final week of class. Yesterday was the deadline for an interactive assignment. We were supposed to create a video personality assessment. I posted mine on Monday (before the start of the official school week). I watched the discussion for four days. A single other student posted their assignment by Wednesday, a pattern they've followed since the start of class. All other students waited for Thursday, within hours of the deadline.

Predictable Behavior
It's interesting to observe behavior in an online classroom. Everything is predictable from student to teacher. Within the first week you can map a blueprint for interactions and set reliable expectations for almost everyone. So it's a straightforward matter to become the "star" student if you really want to. Mostly just do the stuff from earlier posts in the thread.

Guiding Perception
This week another student reached out for help at the last minute. It's strange because I'm not the instructor. But now that multiple students have reached out on different occasions, it confirms that others perceive me as some sort of leader within this class. Presumably, this will carry forward into a wider perception of leadership within various areas of psychology at some later point in time.

Getting the Most Out of School
Everyday I take things learned in class and apply them in business and life to deepen the experience and retain more overall. Recent articles I wrote for business purposes are more comprehensive and researched than final essays from classes. Beyond the classroom I read scholarly journals - research studies, articles etc. to explore other ways to make classwork relevant.

For example, I might research Erikson's psychodynamic theories to better understand how his approaches might be used for digital marketing. Or I might take a concept like distributed practice effect and teach my wife how it could apply to her studies to help her become a personal trainer. In short, the goal is to use a Read > Comprehend > Apply/Teach > Learn approach rather than just reading and assuming knowledge was retained.

Compounding ROI
It will take another 5-6 years to earn a PhD. That's a lot of time to establish expertise within the field of psychology. To that end, I've narrowed my focus of topics to specific fields for business purposes. I intend to establish a content base that grows over the next five years that people reference because the material is comprehensive and thorough. Additionally, it will serve as a funnel (of course) into paid products so that I get something back while developing into the perception of a psychology professional and expert over time despite not attending a fancy pants school like Harvard (unless Harvard invites me to teach muahaha :cool:).
 

Lex DeVille

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Lex DeVille

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Research design is rough. I'm hanging in there thanks to an F-ton of reading. A couple days ago the instructor sent an email:

Email.PNG

Pretty cool getting a note like that. This is one of the harder classes I've taken and the instructor has high standards. I also got invited to another honor society. That email came through this morning.

Tau Upsilon Alpha.PNG

There's another honor society, the Sigma Nu Tau entrepreneur society, which I'm not eligible for because I'm not enrolled in a business program haha.

One benefit of joining honor societies is the potential for scholarship access. Although, I may not be eligible for scholarships based on the color of my skin these days.

In total, I have four classes left before I finish the Master's (or whatever woke term we're using).

I'm starting to think about how I'll use the M.A. in business. An M.A. isn't the end goal, but it's still a valuable credibility marker. Looking forward to entering the doctoral program.

Sadly, I fear I'll earn that PhD only to be stripped of it at some future point due to perceived inequality between people who earn degrees and society's dredges. This will likely be the catalyst that propels me fully into a supervillain identity where the only path left is to carry out plans for world domination.
 

Lex DeVille

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Survived Advanced Quantitative Statistics with an A. Had to get more efficient with my study patterns. Was looking forward to getting Advanced Qualitative Statistics out of the way, but there was a mistake (not sure if mine or the school's) that dropped my last two classes. I had to re-enroll and the earliest I could take the next class is the end of next month. For now, I'm on break I guess.

Once I finish the certificate program in December, it's my last chance to go forward or not with the rest of the PhD program. Lately, life changes have me second-guessing my path. I'm less interested in the scientific side of psychology and don't see much value in a PhD other than credibility that I don't need. Plus, when I'm in school, I have a lot less time for piano.

Speaking of piano, I feel like it's one area where I can maybe do something lasting (not yet, but in time). I'm still in lessons and progressing fast (I think). My piano instructor says I'm his best student (to be fair, he hasn't taught for that long). I do know I'm the first student he's had at level 4 (the highest level). So I'm not sure what I'll do next. I'm tempted to switch to a music degree where I could double up on piano training. Guess it's another one of those *time will tell* things.
 

Lex DeVille

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Doctoral Certificate completed. 30 credit hours and a dissertation are all that stands between me and this journey's finish line.

20240202_105221.jpg
 
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Hey, Lex, first, congrats!

I was actually in a clinical psych Ph.D. program many years ago (I withdrew after completing all the master's-level coursework & part of my master's thesis). Given the glacial pace of change at most universities, I'd guess that much is still the same as when I was in that doctoral program.

A few thoughts:
  • I have no doubt you could complete a Ph.D. program, given your bias for action-taking.
  • However, there are things about a psych doctoral program that aren't under your control:
    • Getting accepted to a doctoral program: Ph.D. psych programs are highly competitive (like 2-5% acceptance rates), I think Psy.D. might be less competitive. Most of your competition will be newly-minted Bachelor's grads in their early 20's with high GPAs & relevant volunteer & research experience. I actually think you'd have a better shot than those typical applicants, given your life & work experience, returning to school later, being a parent, etc.--you'd add diversity of background to the grad student pool. However, you'll need a compelling "why" for getting a psych Ph.D.--like, a "why" that's aligned with the psych department's goals. They're looking for people with a high probability of completing the program & contributing to the field. If you have specific interests & goals you want to pursue--especially if those research interests & goals overlap some of the professors' interests--then that'll increase your chances of acceptance (and I'm sure you can communicate that, given your copywriting skill).
    • The time & effort required to complete the Ph.D. program: A psych Ph.D. is very different than undergrad. The coursework is the easy part--it's proscribed, and you already know how to work hard & study. The research and/or teaching assistantships (which are typically required), the counseling practica, and the master's thesis & doctoral dissertation all together basically mean that you're focused on the Ph.D. program full-time for several years. Only you can decide if you want to take that on.
    • The dissertation (and master's thesis): This is a big hurdle, and some of it won't be under your control. Your advisor & advisory team may throw in random monkey wrenches that'll increase the work required to complete the dissertation--and there's inter-departmental politics that can significantly impact your success & the time & amount of work it takes to complete.
If you're highly motivated, & have a clear & compelling "why" for doing it, you'll succeed.
 

Lex DeVille

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Congrats!
Also waiting for my own degree cert to come in the mail.
My CGPA got cut down by shitty group members (and my own disillusionment with studies), but I imagine it could have been worse.


For anyone who parrots the phrase 'bu-bu-bu-but the degree/Masters should be a back-up plan!', they better read this thread and think twice.

But picking a Masters isn't even the worst part.
My concerns are more about the fact that I hear too many of my friends taking up Psychology because its the 'in-thing' or 'wide industry options' or 'easier than engineering'- and they enter that field of study not knowing the travesty that Lex faced even in higher academia.

No matter how much I try to urge them to at least pick classical fields like engineering, finance or computer science, they just go their way...

Ugh, I've seen so many psychology degrees recently it grosses me out. I don't know if I would do psychology again if I could do it over, but probably not. Most of what I learned over the course of this program didn't come from the classroom and it also didn't come from classroom texts. It came from articles that were largely available on Google and reading books on my own that were paid for out of pocket.

In case anyone is curious, I wrote my final assignment on sexual sadism just for fun. I wrote the first five pages as strong as possible because I was confident that the instructor wouldn't read beyond page five. I figured she would read 3-5 pages and then check the formatting and notice that I corrected the referential errors that I'd made in the previous assignment and that would give her the confidence in my work to let it go with a top grade. The rest of the paper met most of the requirements, but in a half-assed way at best.

So when I say I "crushed" my final assignment, I did so in the sense that I was able to effectively predict and navigate the instructor's thought processes and behavior. I didn't actually write a great paper, but I do believe it was a solid demonstration of the application of psychological concepts all the same. :)

What's funny about those referential errors is that they were not actually mine. I copy references directly from articles in the school's library. So the school's library publishes improper references and then punishes my grade when I copy/paste without correcting them. That is nonsense!

Anyway, secret's out. Psychology is an easy degree at most schools as long as you don't mind writing, can grind your way through statistics, and are cool with having an agenda forced down your throat. Beyond that it's mostly learning about great psychologists (who often didn't have degrees) and about ethics (or the irony of the APA's ethical standards) and how to treat incurable disorders that we don't understand with any variety of pills that usually aren't very effective and often make people feel worse.
 

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Just finished my final assignments for the first class. I scored slightly lower than expected on my final exam with a 92/100, but my grades from previous assignments brought my overall class score up to over 94/100. There are two assignments that have not yet been graded, so as long as I didn't completely f those up, I should pass my first class with a 93. One class down, two to go before Psi Chi. Onward to advanced statistics!
 
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I've clawed my way back to a 91.15% (A) in class.

Mom came over the other night. She asked how classes were going and I gave her an update.

She said, "You know, you don't have to get an A every time."

I know it, but I don't see the point in college if I'm not there to be the best I can be.

She doesn't understand that mindset though. For her, college was just a path to a raise. Something she had to check off her to-do list for a promotion.

For me, it's about being someone who was a failure piece of shit in high school holding the first Ph.D. in the family. It's about rising to new heights against all odds because I can.

I don't want to come to the end of my life, look back and say, "I should've did that."

Just... "I did that."

I'm at the halfway point in this class. 1.5 classes remain until the next big milestone.
 
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What does your schedule look while doing this ? From what I read copywriting takes a few hours a week, and the other businesses ? Studying ?
Working out ?
I wake up between 2-3 am.

Mon - Wed I read/watch/review class content as soon as I wake up. When I'm done with that, I dive into any copywriting while my mind is fresh. On Thursday, I start class assignments for the week.

Saturday and Sunday are my get serious days for homework. I'll take the whole day on both days if I need to in order to do my homework correctly and pass exams.

On Sat. and Sun. my ex has visitation with our daughter, so I'm not distracted by my duties as a parent.

On weekdays my school work and client work are done before 7 am when my daughter wakes up.

The rest of the day (weekdays), I move to the living room and work from the couch on a laptop on my own projects. These don't require as much mental energy since they're fueled by my own passion/interests.

Workouts are usually around 7:30 to 8:30 am after I get my daughter breakfast or in the afternoon while she's at school.

I usually take coaching calls in the morning after 9 am and client calls in the afternoon before 4 pm. Client calls are only on two days a week.

One thing that works in my favor is 10 years experience working in the online systems I use. I can mostly set the backend stuff up on autopilot. The first time I used ActiveCampaign to build an email automation it took forever because everything was so confusing.
 

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Finished the final assignments for the latest class. It got a bit bumpy at the end. I had a huge research proposal due, but didn't think there was a page requirement because it wasn't stated in the rubric. So I developed the proposal to about 11 pages. Before submitting it, I reviewed the requirements and found out it had to be 25 pages minimum.

I spent the next 8 hours updating and adding content. After that, I went back through and fixed the things the instructor had previously commented on. Considering the paper was a novella (10,000 words) I figured the instructor wouldn't read the whole thing but would look for error corrections, and framework requirements (like 25 pages, X amount of references, headings in the right place with the right format, etc.).

After two days, she submitted a grade of 250 of 250. A perfect score. That's not the grade I would've given that paper, but hey, I'm just a student. :)
 

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Theories and Research of Developmental Psychology was fun, but now it is over. I've completed the final course of the Executive Certificate program and have a couple weeks of break for the holidays before the next class.

From here on out, I have to get serious with my dissertation path. The next course will be my first dissertation course. I've got over a year left, but when school starts again in the new year, I'll officially begin climbing the final hill to conquer this progress thread and bring this journey to a close.

If only I were this committed to most of my business ideas...
 

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I still love Duolingo. Haven't started working with a tutor. Mainly because I'm not sure when I'll have time and actually benefit from it. Mon - Fri I have time in the afternoon but my brain is completely melted from this job.

A great way to practice speaking without a tutor is to record yourself telling a story from your life or talking about a topic that you often talk about. Do it for, say, 2-3 minutes, stop recording, and then rewatch it or relisten and take notes on missing words, words you didn't know how to pronounce or pronounced incorrectly, etc.

The efficiency comes from the fact that you're talking about something you often talk about anyway in your native language. You build relevant vocabulary and phrases/sentences you're most likely going to use over and over again with many people.

For example, you can tell a story of why you moved to Utah or why you like entrepreneurship.

The issue with many courses is that they teach you general vocabulary but often that general vocabulary is useless. For example, I absolutely don't care about popular sports so it's useless for me to know how to say football field, spectators, match, goal, or whatever else they do when playing. But a regular course won't teach you how to say entrepreneurship, value, product, service, etc. which is way more relevant considering your life.
 
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I've got several updates since the last time I wrote.

Research Design is Actually Interesting
The more I read, the more apparent it becomes that it is extremely easy for unscrupulous researchers funded by interested parties to manipulate data in support of different positions.

The general public is too lazy to read research studies. Some people read the studies, but they face complicated long-form scientific jargon which is difficult for the average reader to decipher.

Assuming they make their way through the jargon, they then face statistics that require strong mathematical skills to interpret.

Even if someone made it through all of that, there would be other matters to consider, including the research model and design, sampling method, data analysis, and even questions, thoughts and ideas that are misleading, or have been overlooked on purpose or left out for other reasons.

In other words, you need to be an expert at critiquing research to really know if any given research provides valid results or presents useful evidence to support some theory or hypothesis.

The Struggle for an A
I'm hanging in there with Research Design. The instructor said several are failing the class. Apparently, I'm 1 of 3 people with an A. There are only two weeks left.

This class has sparked an interest in going deeper with critiquing methods. I reached out to three past instructors and my current instructor for resources. All responded. Some with better resources than others.

Asking for resources serves multiple purposes. First, asking for small favors is an established persuasive technique. Second, asking for resources shows I care about the field. Third, it keeps my name in front of important instructors who may offer letters of recommendation later on.

Doctoral Path
My path changes weekly it seems. I've come up with numerous reasons why Ashford's PSYD program is the best option for me. The one reason I challenge that position is the future ramifications of earning a doctoral degree through a completely online school.

Assuming I critique the work of others, which may include challenging their credibility, it would be easy for others to challenge my credibility based on a doctoral degree from a non-traditional, non-GRE, non-APA-accredited (although regionally accredited) school.

So I'm reflecting on this now. Maybe I should reconsider taking the GRE and applying to more reputable schools. Drawbacks to this are potentially extending the time it takes to earn a degree, as well as increasing the overall weekly time-commitment. One benefit is the degree may be paid for completely, so there's that.
 

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I made a last-minute change to my enrollment. I was browsing the online options with the school and saw that they have a Juris Master's degree (law degree) that will only take one year to complete. I've wanted to study law in a structured way and build a foundation for that, so I decided to go into that program before completing the Ph.D.

I was back and forth about which program made more sense to start with, but law is more relevant to my current business pursuits, and the Ph.D. will take around three years. Once I complete the J.M., I'll hold two graduate degrees, a lot more credibility, and even a new skill set that can be applied within my business, and also as a freelance writer to target niches where there is no competition if I want to go that route.

Law.PNG

Ultimately, I want to study law for a while. Plus, I'll still get the alumni benefits and discounts that will go toward the Ph.D. afterward. Basically, the only drawback is that it will take an extra year to earn a Ph.D. But that's not a big deal to me since I don't need to leverage the Ph.D. for anything other than to build another piece of legacy.

So that's the latest update. If you don't like it, I will sue you... in about a year. :)
 
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Got my final grade today. Apparently, I got a perfect score on the last assignment. So I ended up with a 94.45% and successfully survived my first doctoral class. There's a week long break before advanced statistics starts. One down, two to go before that next big milestone. Woosah.
 

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