New Location for PSYNEURO blog!

Are you looking for the Psychology/ Neuroscience blog? If so, it has moved! The new blog is: http://iupsyneuro.blogspot.com/ . Please update your bookmarks!

New PSY Course Descriptions

Beginning fall semester 2007, IU is offering new courses for psychology and neuroscience students. You will not fnd these courses in the current 2006-2008 College of Arts and Sciences Bulletin, but rather in the forthcoming bulletin supplement.

P304 Social Psychology and Individual Differences (3 cr.) S&H P: P101 or P106 or P151 or P155 or equivalent. A foundations course illustrating how psychological questions and problems can be addressed from the social, group, and individual differences level of analysis. Credit only given for one of P304 or P320.

P337 Clinical Neuroscience (3 cr.) P: P346 or P326. Psychological disorders such as depression and autism exact a huge toll in human suffering and social costs. This course surveys the role of disturbed neural mechanisms on the development of psychological disorders. Methods for investigating the relationship between a disorder and proposed

Area A and Area B PSY Courses

Students frequently ask an advisor about the the courses that make up "Area A" and "Area B" in the Psychology major. These courses are listed in the bulletin, but to make it easier we thought we would post them here as well. Please note that this applies to students who began their studies at IU previous to fall semester 2007.

Area A: P303, P325, P326, P327, P329, P330, P335, P340, P349, P350, P402 (depending on topic), P405, P407, P410, P411, P413, P416, P417, P423, P438, P444, P459

Area B: P315, P316, P319, P320, P323, P324, P336, P375, P402 (depending on topic), P425, P430, P434, P442, P446, P447, P448

Credential Files for College Students

The note below is from the Career Development Center:

We have had many inquiries about storing letters of recommendation for students in a credentials file which they may later use for graduate school and/or job applications but this is not a service we have ever provided at the Career Development Center Arts & Sciences Career Services. However, credential files for students in the College of Arts & Sciences can be established through the Career Services office in the School of Education. Their address is:

Education Career Services Office

School of Education

W.W. Wright Education Building, Room 1000

201 N. Rose Avenue

Bloomington, IN 47405

(812) 856-8506

carsrv@indiana.edu

www.education.indiana.edu/~careers

Students interested in opening a credential file may print forms off at: http://education.indiana.edu/~careers/coas.html or pick up the forms at the Education Career Services Office. Completed forms must be submitted in person to the Education Career Services Office.

The School of Education has excellent systems in place to process requests, and has an outstanding record of handling credentials on a timely basis.

New Policy on Multiple LSAT scores

Many of you may have heard rumors about a change in policy by the LSAC regarding the reporting of multiple LSAT scores. In the past, law schools reported the average score if an applicant had multiple scores. This past December, the LSAC Board voted to change this “cautionary policy,” and to require instead the reporting of the highest score only. The ABA has gone along, and as of July 1 law schools now only report the highest LSAT score for admitted students.

This is significant, because about 90% of a law school’s all-important rank is determined by the LSAT average of the first year class (as reported to the ABA). In the past, when an average of multiple scores was reported, law schools often hesitated before admitting a student who had a very low score (even though it was clearly an aberration) along with a higher score. Why? Here’s an (admittedly poor) example: a student has LSAT scores of 140 and a 166. The law school is convinced that the first score is unrepresentative of the candidate’s true abilities. Under the prior rules, if the law school admitted this student it would report the score as a 153. If that school wanted to attain an average LSAT score of 158 for the incoming first-year class, they might hesitate to admit this applicant in favor of one who had a single score of 160. Under the new rules, they would be free to ignore the low score and admit the first student without fear of affecting their LSAT average—and rank. That’s the theory.

Law schools remain free to use any criteria they choose in deciding whether to admit an individual applicant, including still using the average of several scores. However, most professionals believe, and anecdotal evidence from the law schools themselves suggests, that most (if not all) will now consider only the highest LSAT score for admissions purposes. This will be the new policy for IUB Law, for example. Again, individual schools may vary, but the “institutional pressure” will be on them to use only the highest score. At this point, the student should check with individual schools to see how they will be handling this development. The LSAC has announced that it will retain this policy for at least the next few years.

Bottom line: unfortunately, and incredibly, the LSAT score (i.e., receiving a relatively good score) will be even more important than it has been in the past. Average LSAT scores will undoubtedly rise across the board. It will pressure students to take the exam multiple times. Thus, (unless they want to go through this grueling experience several times) it is crucial that students begin to prepare early, and that they develop individualized plans for achieving their true potential on this exam the first time they take it. Remember that HPPLC has copies of all past disclosed LSAT exams, which students may borrow free of charge, and that we sponsor LSAT preparation classes prior to every official exam. However, many students will do quite well preparing for this exam on their own. If any student would like to discuss their situation and available options, or has any questions, they should not hesitate to contact HPPLC and set up an appointment with a Prelaw Advisor.

FYI, please read the articles on pages two and three of the most recent LSAC newsletter:

http://www.lsacnet.org/publications/lsac-report/ReportJuly2006.pdf.