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: hello@umarchatterjee.com

(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.


• The major influence my non-traditional path played in this application cycle

(00:32:46 ) Starting my masters degree in neuroscience

• My extremely unique experience as a non-traditional student


• The prescribed, typical path around me vs. my very divergent path


• Confusion around what was possible for my future

(00:41:55 ) The wide range of evaluations & judgments I received due to my unprecedented, non-traditional academic path

(00:45:48 ) How and why I decided to apply to Neuroscience Ph.D programs, in spite of the odds; How I "broke the rules" of the typical application process

(00:51:38 ) How I specifically chose schools, programs, and mentors as a non-traditional student

(01:02:53 ) How I "broke the rules" in navigating disclosure + talking about my non-traditional path as an applicant

• Statements & essays


• My CV


• My exposure & disclosure on the internet + social media


• What I shared vs. what I didn't share

(01:16:48 ) Recommendation letters:

• How I chose recommenders


• How I asked recommenders


• How I shared my history/past with them


• The resources I created to optimize my chances as a non-traditional student

(01:26:36 ) Ph.D Interviews: how they went, how I navigated disclosure, the results of my applications, closing out the episode

Connect with me!

• My website⁠: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠umarchatterjee.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


• ⁠Instagram:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@UmaRChatterjee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


• Twitter:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@UmaRChatterjee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


• TikTok:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@UmaRChatterjee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


• Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠hello@umarchatterjee.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


• Support my work: ⁠https://ko-fi.com/umarchatterjee⁠


• Have a guest you want on the show? Fill out the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Guest Suggestion Form!⁠