Duke的回复邮件彻底打消我考SUB的念头

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【温馨提醒】这个是2007年发的帖子，原帖在此

我是本科在读，大三，政治学专业，GPA3.6左右，虽然托福、GRE还没考，但有信心可以考得挺好！想转专业申请美国大学的心理学PH.D，申请的方向是Social and Personality Psychology。但一直有3个问题困惑我，一是要不要考SUB，二是我这种没有心理学背景的人，人家大学愿意要么，三是奖学金。

前两天发了1封邮件给DUKE U的Department of Psychology and Neuroscience，问了几个问题，挺快就收到了回复，现在将邮件主要内容附在下面：

Answers are after your questions.
1) Can international students AUTOMATICALLY have financial support when admitted to a Ph.D program in psychology?
ALL STUDENTS ACCEPTED INTO ANY AREA OF PSYCHOLOGY ARE COMPLETELY SUPPORTED FINANCIALLY.

2) Does the department make a commitment to financially support all students, including INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS who admitted into a Ph.D program?
YES FOR THE FIRST 4 YEARS.

3) Is the department willing to accept a student who DO NOT have a background in psychology.
THEY WILL LOOK FOR SOME BASIC PSYCHOLOGY COURSES AS WELL AS STATISTICS CLASSES.

4) I know the department does not require GRE subject test. But If I take the subject test of psychology, will it be kind of compensation for my disadvantage in lack of background in psychology and lack of research experience?
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE IS HELD VERY HIGHLY. YOU WILL BE IN COMPETITION WITH OTHER APPLICANTS WHO WILL HAVE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE. THIS WILL BE YOUR BIGGEST DISADVANTAGE.

我从这封回复邮件中读出的信息就是：1、SUB没有用， 2、research experience非常重要。


本来就犹豫要不要考SUB的，SUB今年大概也是在11月4日考，而且要1个月才出成绩，我想申请的学校大多是12月15日就截止，而且几乎都是要求所有申请材料包括GRE之类的官方成绩单必须在deadline之前寄到。ETS很难赶在deadline之前把成绩单寄到我想申请的学校。而DUKE的这封邮件彻底打消了我考SUB的念头。

我的想法是，与其花钱和精力考SUB，不如想想怎么弄点research experience！

顺便把DUKE的心理学专业的一些数据列出来，以供大家参考：2005～2006年，PH.D申请人数－录取人数－录取率
1）Clinical：287－8－2.8％
2）Developmental：26－5－19.2％
3）Social：52－4－7.7％


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此外，duke这个学校有点特殊的地方在于：他家在研究生院主页上就说明，对于国际学生，GRE成绩只是参考，因为了解到可能由于文化差异或者其他原因，他们认为GRE不能完全反映出学生的学术水平。这是我唯一见过公开声明不care GRE成绩的学校，所以他家淡视sub也可以理解，但是LZ如果真的要申心理的话，还是多找找其他学校的相关信息，以免被个案所累，对申请造成被动。
NOTE TO INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS: We realize that the GRE scores of international students, particularly those whose native language is not English, may be affected by language and cultural differences. This is taken into consideration when such students' applications are evaluated. The scores are nevertheless required and must come directly from the Educational Testing Service.
The Duke University Graduate School is aware that recent improprieties have occurred in China, Taiwan, and Korea that have resulted in the computer based testing (CBT) program for the GRE being suspended in those countries. While we will still accept CBT scores from tests taken prior to October 1, 2002, we encourage you to take the paper-based test if at all possible to ensure the legitimacy of your scores.
有关对international applicant 的GRE成绩说明参见：http://www.gradschool.duke.edu/admissions/requirements.html#trans
---------------顺便再提一下，DUKE的本科GPA算法还是比较恐怖的，当时和我一起申请的很多飞友都有体会，算出来的GPA都偏低～～