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: [e-mail]

(00:16:55 ) Brief background from my undergraduate degree & considering next steps

Contextual episodes:

1. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠01. My Full Story: 0 to 26⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
2. 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