Not sure where to head, and need to determine soon.

[lawtonfogle]

So my junior year is winding down, and now is the time for me to start applying to grad schools. The problem is that I'm not sure what subject I want to enter into, much less which schools to apply for.

Currently, I am completing a B.S. in computer science and a B.S. in psychology with a about a 3.7 GPA, but I am quite unsure of which side I want to specialize in.

I know I want to avoid tech support of any form (including network administration) and I'm pretty sure therapy is not my things either (in retrospect, my ability to make that statement is somewhat absurd). Currently I have been doing some research into Human Center Computing/Human Computer Interaction, and I am finding that it is not quite a enjoyable as I hoped, but this may just be more related to my actual research. This summer I will be working in an REU in the field of HCI on a completely different project, and am hoping that will give me more insight if I just do not like the field in general, or if my current research project is just grinding on my nerves a bit too much.

My main problem is that what I find most interesting in Computer Science (computational theory followed by algorithms in general) and what I find most interesting in Psychology (sexology followed by neurology, albeit that has as much biology as psychology if not more so) share very little overlap. I have started considering looking at entering neurology from a computer science /psychology standpoint, but I'm unsure about the details on that as well.


I also have a more general question, when should I start applying for GRE's and how should I apply for them?

I plan to do the Computer Science and Psychology, and perhaps the Mathematics one though I may not taken quite enough Math to have a chance of doing decent on it.

 

[Feldoh]

Why do you need to do both fields? If you like different things figure out which one you like the best and go to grad school for that.

 

[story645]

computational theory followed by algorithms in general) and what I find most interesting in Psychology (sexology followed by neurology, albeit that has as much biology as psychology if not more so)

a) Neuro psych people love coders 'cause of the heavy data crunching
b) you may find social network stuff to be cool (use CS to analyze psych trends)
c) look at schools with strong track records in interdisciplinary work, which usually ends up coming out of the media labs

I also have a more general question, when should I start applying for GRE's and how should I apply for them?

Start applying for them early enough that you can retake them and still have everything sent in by the time your apps are due. The exact date depends on where you apply, but usually apps are due by Dec/Jan, so your GRES need to be wrapped up by Oct/Nov. Go to the ETS website and register.

I plan to do the Computer Science and Psychology, and perhaps the Mathematics one though I may not taken quite enough Math to have a chance of doing decent on it.

Pick a field and choose a masters thesis that overlaps. It's far cheaper and probably more sensible in the long run, though I know a psych professor who joked that most of his grad students ended up getting masters degrees in CS 'cause of the amount of coding knowledge they needed.

 

[kote]

I know this post is about grad school, so I'm not sure of your ultimate goals. One thing you might want to consider (among many factors) is the marketability of computer science vs psych. I bring this up because the fields are on opposite ends of the spectrum at the undergraduate level at least. See http://www.aip.org/statistics/trends/reports/fall09a.pdf.

Of course, with that double major and a good GPA etc, you can probably do well either way.