<p>Is it beneficial for an undergrad to to attend a psychology conference?</p>
<p>I am an undergraduate psychology major hoping to be accepted into a clinical psych phd program within the next few years. I would not be presenting, but I would like to know if it would be beneficial (academically, experience-wise, to put on my CV, networking, etc.) for me to simply attend. The fee, including membership, is around $150, so the benefits would have to outweigh the costs.</p>
<p>Also, this question just popped into my head. While irrelevant, those qualified to answer the above question are probably qualified to answer the following:</p>
<p>Is it at all beneficial to visit a prospective graduate school before being accepted/earning an interview, or even before applying?</p>
<p>I attended a bunch of psychology conferences as an undergrad and it was always a wonderful experience. So I would highly recommend it! However, $150 is a bit pricey. Is there anyway you can get money from your school or psych club to help cover the cost? Also, is this a major conference or just a local one? If you have to pay for all or most of the conference then it probably would not be worth it. Just going to a conference doesn’t look at that great on a CV unless you present. </p>
<p>It might be beneficial to visit a graduate school before applying it’s by no means necessary. I would guess most people who end up at a graduate school never visited before the interview/acceptance. I never went to the state that I ended up for grad school lol
So unless you live really close to a prospective grad school, it’s prob not worth the trip.</p>
<p>Don’t include it in your CV if you’re just attending. That’s straight up padding.</p>
<p>I’ve been to a number of conferences as an undergrad, but I was always either presenting a poster or a paper. Typically, for undergraduates, many of the societies that were hosting the conference had membership/registration waivers for those presenting, so I only had to front the travel expenses (which was usually covered by one of my generous advisors). </p>
<p>If I wasn’t presenting, I actually don’t think I would go. Though I loved each experience, I felt that me presenting was very much a catalyst in not only professors approaching me to talk to me, but also in my confidence when speaking with them. Some workshops, symposiums, and talks are entertaining and all, but to me (if you’re not getting your fees and travel costs covered) it’s not worth it. Just wait for when you can get an abstract accepted (assuming you’ve currently involved in research).</p>
<p>Thank you both!</p>
<p>Yeh, I really wanted to make sure I wouldn’t just be padding, so I’m glad you cleared that up. I agree, it simply wouldn’t be cost-effective at this point (it’s kind of too late to try to get my college to help I think).</p>
<p>It would be beneficial experience-wise - you can’t put on your CV that you’ve just attended a conference, but you can network with people you meet there, visit graduate programs’ tables during the expo and talk with potential advisors and others about their research. It can help you think about research ideas and learn about what’s going on in the field. I also want to get you ready for the future so realize that $150 is really, really cheap for conference registration + membership. Most places have student membership that’s around $50-80, but conference registration is often $200-300 by itself even for student members.</p>
<p>Most conferences also have big expo rooms where psychology graduate programs often set up tables. Sometimes they send professors, but usually it’s just admissions personnel from the dean’s office or whatever. Still, it’s useful.</p>
<p>I went to several conferences as an undergrad, but they were always funded by someone else - the department, a fellowship, or a scholarship program. Find out if someone else will pay for the $150; even see if your psych department has funds. Even if you think it’s too late I would ask first.</p>