Hello everyone, and welcome to Adventures in Academia, the podcast for older-than-average university students. I'm your host, Kristie Bradfield.

Today's episode is all about Psychology Honours. In the interests of transparency, this is actually the third time I've recorded this podcast - hence why it's a month late. The Honours process has been brutal for me, but I think I made it much worse than it needed to be. It was a process that was full of anxiety, nerves, and worry. I got really down on myself, and truth be told, it hasn't been much of a break. But we got there in the end. I'm not great when making decisions, but the decision has now been made, and I'm very happy with my direction. 

Before I get started, just a few notes. As I explained in a previous podcast, Honours is a fourth year of study that you must do on the pathway to becoming a psychologist (or, in my case, a researcher). As I've mentioned, there is a Graduate Diploma of Psychology Advanced, which is an Honours equivalent. If your weighted average mark or your WAM isn't high enough to get into an Honours program, you can go the GDPA route. But, today's podcast will talk about Honours only, not GDPA. Just know that if you don't get the grades you want, there is another option to progress along the pathway.

Okay, so let's talk Honours. The Honours process started in August or September 2023 for me. I submitted my Honours application to the Uni where I was doing my Bachelor's degree, my home uni. They had all the information about my WAM, but I needed to write a personal statement. It was a relief to get my application in. I was still worried about keeping my grades up, and because Home Uni didn't hold any spots for internal students, I was worried I might not get a place. This raised a lot of uncertainty and self-doubt. I know I'm a good student, but that self-critical voice still pops up and makes me question my abilities. I also have no idea where I sit in relation to other applicants - and in the Honours process, you are ranked, and you are competing against other high performing students for places. So, I was worried that I wouldn't get into my home Uni.

In October, I listened to a live stream about my home Uni's Honours program, and we were advised to apply widely; apply everywhere. And so I did. I applied to 12 unis and in hindsight this was too many. It was more of an ego exercise I think. There were two I thought I had no chance of getting into. One in particular, I'm going to refer to it as School B, only accepts 3 or 4 outsiders each year; the other has a super, super high external WAM. The other 10, I thought I had a reasonable chance. 

So, I have 12 applications out in the wild. It's mid-October, and I'm finishing the last semester of my Bachelor's degree. I had been on campus one day a week, and I loved it. I loved seeing people, making friends, and having conversations. Things people take for granted. It is a really weird time because my plan is Honours, but I have no idea where I'll be going. If I get into Home Uni, then I would be really happy. I don't have my final transcript yet, and Unis are calling and emailing me asking for it. They tell me they'll remove me from the application process if I don't get my transcript in. I'm begging them for more time. I'm begging my home Uni for early release of my final marks, which wasn't possible. My final results were to be released on December 11, and I couldn't get a final transcript until a few days after that. School B's applications close on December 8 - you've got to have everything in by that date and even though I knew I didn't have much of a chance, I really wanted to get my application in for School B. That period, late October to December 11, was excruciating. And I'm trying not to be overly dramatic, but it was. I struggled badly with these big, life things being out of my control. So, I really reverted to comfort behaviour. I re-watched Gilmore Girls. I put our Christmas tree up in early November. I was compulsively checking my email—hundreds of times a day. I received a few offers, but I was waiting for my Home uni and School B. 

On December 14, I got an offer from Home Uni. I felt instant relief. I'm feeling fantastic. I get to do Honours with two fantastic supervisors. I don't have to make any big changes. Everything is online. There are no exams. It's familiar. It's safe. Things are starting to work out. But I'm still checking School B's application portal. I just want the email telling me that I didn't get in. Just give me closure. So I can move on.

A week goes by. 

My partner and I go to a shopping centre to buy some shoes. I buy a bubble tea. It's a hot and dry day, and the shops are packed. People are rushing around because it's only five days until Christmas. I'm still gobsmacked that I'm in a shopping mall because, you know, I avoided shopping malls for many years. We get home. I've been checking my emails and messages the whole time we are out, just as I have been since the end of October. I want School B to tell me it's over. I log into School B's application portal to check if my application has progressed. 

I've been offered a place. Me. I got one of the places. 

And that started a month of craziness because I had to decide where I was going to go. 

Out of the 12 schools I applied to, I was rejected from one and accepted into ten, and I still have an application pending with another school.

Before I go on, I realise that I was in a really fortunate position. I had a lot of offers, and I know that there are students out there who would do anything for one Honours offer. I am aware that it's a little egotistical to sit here saying poor me for having to make a choice between two amazing schools, but this is the reality of the situation. For me, I wasn't just thinking about my Honours year; I was also thinking about my PhD and employment. I'm trying to think 20 steps ahead of where I am now, and while that is exhausting, I feel it's necessary. I turn 50 in a few months, and I feel like I don't have the time to make any wrong decisions. 

So, after careful consideration, I chose to do Honours at School B. 

This was not an easy decision, and it came out of left-field for quite a few people. I wanted to go to School B because I could go on campus for lectures and labs. I really wanted the social aspect. I missed out on that and while I loved doing my Bachelors online I wanted a different experience. But there was something else bubbling under the surface, and that was some pretty significant anxiety because even though I had gotten a place at School B, I really didn't think that I was good enough to go there. That ties into a whole galaxy of self worth stuff but I was aware of it, I named it and I was working hard to deal with it. 

So mid-January, I was faced with the task of finding a new supervisor for Honours, and I had to rank a list of many potential supervisors from School B. People I didn't know and had never heard of. I emailed a lot of them and got some meh responses. I didn't really know the process, and I was coming in with research ideas, and I quickly learned that was not the way it worked there. The research that I would do in Honours would be research that the supervisor was doing, and I would kind of be slotted into this existing research somewhere. I met on campus with someone else who wasn't in the Psych department. After that meeting, as I was driving home, I thought, what have I done? I've made the absolute wrong decision. While I love psychology, my interests lie in criminal behaviour, criminal psychology, criminal decision-making, psychopathy, conduct disorder, antisocial personality disorder and how these psychopathologies impact an individual's decision to commit a crime. If I had to distil my research interests into one brief sentence, it would be that I'm interested in why people commit violent crimes. That has always been my interest. It became really clear to me that doing a criminology adjacent Psych Honours project was more important than the social aspect of choosing School B. School B would have been a fantastic experience, and if I was able to work through my feelings of not feeling good enough or worthy enough to go there, I would have grown. While growth is important, I didn't want it if I had to choose to do a project that I wasn't interested in. Perhaps that's my age talking? If I'm not interested in something I don't really want to waste my time doing it especially if I have the opportunity to do something I love. I understand the need to start at the bottom but I can start at the bottom and still do research that's interesting to me.

So, I changed my mind and chose to do Honours at my home Uni - the Uni where I got my Bachelors. And ever since I made that decision my heart and my head have been at ease. 

So. My Honours journey wasn't only about grades and the application process but also about listening to my gut and staying true to who I am and the future that I want. Perhaps if I were five years younger, I might have chosen the experience of School B, but I'm really happy with my decision. I love my home Uni, and my supervisors are brilliant and supportive. I will make it a priority to grow. I'll seek out opportunities for that social connection - I've already started. I know it was the right decision for me. Whatever happens after my Honours will happen, but for this year, I know I'll be working on something that I have some hand in choosing and that I'm interested in. I am so excited for the year ahead.

So, let's talk about my top takeaways from the Honours process. If you want to be a psychologist or a psychological researcher, Honours is another step in the process. Here are some things to keep in mind.

1. Keep your WAM high. Do whatever you can to maximise your grades. If it means dropping a unit or two, so you're only doing a part-time load, then do it. Your WAM is the only factor that matters in the Honours process. You will be ranked according to it, so keep it high. 
2. Every university has a different Honours process. Find out what you need to do and by when. There is no flexibility if you miss deadlines, so do your best to meet them.
3. Do your research. There are a lot of universities out there that offer Honours. Many of them keep a sizable percentage of places for their own students. Some don't. This will impact how many places are offered. Ask questions about the number of places available and an indication of the previous year's WAM cut-off. This will give you something to aim for. Have a look at the faculty. What kind of research is being done? Does this research align with your interests? Will you need to go on campus, or is it online? If it is online, is there any kind of residential school that you need to attend? Do your research.
4. Talk to people. Ask questions. There are some helpful Facebook pages dedicated to the psychology pathway, and they're full of helpful advice. I'll leave details in the show notes.
5. I was advised to accept any and all offers I got. This felt a little wrong. Out of the offers I got, I accepted places at 3. I declined offers quickly so that someone else could get my place. Honours is painful enough - try not to hold places if you can avoid it.
6. Finally, be prepared to be frustrated and anxious. Be prepared to question your choices and your direction. But more importantly, be ready to celebrate your achievements too. Take a moment and reflect on how far you've come and how you've changed, and understand that what you've achieved to this point is impressive. You've got a Bachelor's degree. Celebrate it. Celebrate it, and then ready yourself for a new adventure. This is a big one, and if you only listen and take away one piece of advice from today's podcast, it's this one. I didn't allow myself to stop and think and let it sink in that I have a bachelor's degree. I went from the end of the semester to stressing for the last three months. And here I am, only a few weeks before the start of the new school year, I didn't really celebrate my achievement. Don't be like me. Celebrate your milestones because they are something extraordinary.

Thank you so much for joining me for this month's podcast. 

I would love to hear from you if you're an older-than-average student. You can send a voice memo about anything to do with university study to memos@adventuresinacademia.com. And while you're at it, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. 

In the next episode of Adventures in Academia, I'll be talking about Graduation. The moment I've been working towards for years is almost here. My graduation ceremony is in two days, and I've been asked to be the graduate speaker. I will share what the ceremony was like and how it felt to finally finish my Bachelor's degree. I hope you can join me then. 

Until next month, happy studying!

Links

Facebook pages

Post-Grad Psychology Students Australia - https://www.facebook.com/groups/902002053712739

Psychology OWLS (Older, Wiser Learners) - https://www.facebook.com/groups/636756386720356