<p>so if i can either graduate early (definitely a semester early or a whole year early), should i do that or should i stay and try to write a thesis?</p>
<p>i am international by the way, so im paying a lot. </p>
<p>but then i’m contemplating the benefits of having a thesis published and how that might assist me in my grad school application.
does having a thesis make me way more competitive than just graduating with GPA honors? </p>
<p>thanks, any input would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Depends on the field. In what field do you want to go to graduate school?</p>
<p>@chris, i’m a psychology major.</p>
<p>And do you mean getting a Masters or a PhD? It all would depend.</p>
<p>i would’t mind a phD. but im aiming for a masters.</p>
<p>id stay the extra year and do the thesis if you can find a way to scrape the money together. it’ll make your grad school apps that much stronger.</p>
<p>What would the masters be in specifically? Counseling? Social Work? Family therapy?</p>
<p>If you want to go to grad school and get your PhD, I’d recommend doing a thesis. It shows you are interested in doing research. Do you already have mentors lined up? How about a topic for your research? It’s worth thinking about these things if you do plan on staying.</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, which psych classes are you taking this semester?</p>
<p>thanks everyone. the thing is no i don’t have a mentor lined up and i honestly do not know how or where to start looking for one…
@KnitKnots, i’m taking 131 and 122 this semester.</p>
<p>and i’m hoping to specialize in clinical psych.</p>
<p>@cwk: When do you plan on graduating? If you have no mentor or plan you should really start to think about them. Better yet, I would HIGHLY suggest you got to one of the undergrad research workshops (workshop A + B). There is actually one on the 11th from 1-2. Here is the website for more info: [Research</a> Home](<a href=“http://research.berkeley.edu/]Research”>http://research.berkeley.edu/)</p>
<p>They really helped me out and I think if you are serious about research/grad school it would be worth sitting in one. To briefly answer your mentor question: you can start by getting to know your professors during office hours. Ask them questions and be engaged in their research. Ask them questions about it. Flatter them and get to know them. This was my mistake last semester; I was too intimidated by my professors that I only went to see one of them one time and that one time turned out to be a lot of fun. The professor was nice and seemed interested in my future goals. Obviously not all professors are going to be like this, but “you never know until you try”.</p>
<p>thanks Knitknots, are you working for anyone right now?
i just sent an email to Qing Zhou’s lab managers for an application. dont know if its too late to apply for this semester.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m working for one of my professors right now. I initially thought I wasn’t going to like it, but I’m starting to enjoy it. </p>
<p>Good luck with your application. If you can’t find anything this semester and you’re coming back in the fall, I’d suggest you apply for those research positions as soon as they come out. Get yourself on the psych email list, that is where they usually announce them, and apply as soon as you get that email 1-2 weeks before class begins.</p>