Ready to begin the journey...just need some advice

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First of all thank you for your attention and time, I am relatively new to psychology and could use all the help I can get- you have my gratitude. In summary, I graduated in 2010 from NYU with a degree in International Politics (2.9 GPA), served in the Peace Corps for a few months, got sick, came home, decided to start over because I didn't believe I belonged in politics, started interning at a trauma center serving refugee survivors of torture/gender-based violence, love my work, believe I found a place I belong.

Now, I want to start positioning myself for applying to PhD programs in Psychology (preferably clinical, I'd like to be a trauma psychologist serving refugee/underserved populations). My problem: my undergrad GPA in general is weak (2.9), but in particular the only psych relevant classes I have taken (Intro to Psych, Algebra and Calc, Quantitative Reasoning) were all in the C range (note: took Algebra and Calc again, did miserable and withdrew). I'm going to bust my neck on the GRE, I already have some great recommendations lined up and I'm continually adding to my resume/work experience but I'm concerned it won't be enough. Can I compensate for my mistakes in college? Is it a good idea to take some post-bac classes to overshadow my undergrad classes? If so, which classes (in general) would you recommend? I'm not necessarily aiming for Harvard but I want to attend a good school and am willing to take the needed time to prepare.

Again, thank you very much for your time and whatever wisdom you can offer.

Research.....you need research experience before applying to any doctoral program in psychology. Given your GPA and lack of research experience, you will probably need to pursue an MS first to prove you can get good grades. You'll also need research experience, in addition to probably completing a thesis in your MS program....as many of the top MS applicants do this.

Originally Posted by Matt Kalev

First of all thank you for your attention and time, I am relatively new to psychology and could use all the help I can get- you have my gratitude. In summary, I graduated in 2010 from NYU with a degree in International Politics (2.9 GPA), served in the Peace Corps for a few months, got sick, came home, decided to start over because I didn't believe I belonged in politics, started interning at a trauma center serving refugee survivors of torture/gender-based violence, love my work, believe I found a place I belong.

Now, I want to start positioning myself for applying to PhD programs in Psychology (preferably clinical, I'd like to be a trauma psychologist serving refugee/underserved populations). My problem: my undergrad GPA in general is weak (2.9), but in particular the only psych relevant classes I have taken (Intro to Psych, Algebra and Calc, Quantitative Reasoning) were all in the C range (note: took Algebra and Calc again, did miserable and withdrew). I'm going to bust my neck on the GRE, I already have some great recommendations lined up and I'm continually adding to my resume/work experience but I'm concerned it won't be enough. Can I compensate for my mistakes in college? Is it a good idea to take some post-bac classes to overshadow my undergrad classes? If so, which classes (in general) would you recommend? I'm not necessarily aiming for Harvard but I want to attend a good school and am willing to take the needed time to prepare.

Again, thank you very much for your time and whatever wisdom you can offer.

A 3.0 undergrad GPA is usually the cut and there IS really no way around it. The median in about 3.6 for successful applicants. Even if that wasn;t barrier... you have no prior research? You are gonna have to send a few years building a CV, some experience, and trying to find a way to over come the 2.9.

I sincerely appreciate the reality check. The last thing I want to do is make a poorly informed decision with something that is so important to me. I'm certainly willing to post-pone applying for a few years if thats what it takes. I would also be totally behind taking the longer masters route, but I've read that earning a terminal masters degree in psychology could actually hurt my chances for acceptance in a PhD program rather than help it. I understand that it could serve as a valuable proving ground to make up for my poor performance as an undergrad, but would my time be better served taking several post-bac psych/stats classes and getting research experience?

You can also look for paid internships for research in the psychology field. What you could do is e-mail your hometown's university and look up their psy dept to see if they have any research catered to your interests and explain your situation to the prof. He might be able to offer you a volunteer position, doing the basic things and working in his lab doing small stuff but you might be able to build rapport and work up from there.

Originally Posted by Matt Kalev

I sincerely appreciate the reality check. The last thing I want to do is make a poorly informed decision with something that is so important to me. I'm certainly willing to post-pone applying for a few years if thats what it takes. I would also be totally behind taking the longer masters route, but I've read that earning a terminal masters degree in psychology could actually hurt my chances for acceptance in a PhD program rather than help it. I understand that it could serve as a valuable proving ground to make up for my poor performance as an undergrad, but would my time be better served taking several post-bac psych/stats classes and getting research experience?

Good for you for being willing to go the long haul to get into a program! It may take you a while, but there are definitely ways to build a good application over time. First off, having a masters degree isn't really going to hurt you in the admissions process. I suppose I've heard people say that some Ph.D programs prefer students without any clinical experience so they can "build them up" from scratch. Consequently, having a masters that gives you clinical experience (MFT, MSW, etc.) could theoretically hurt you. Honestly, though, I've never actually heard this from the programs themselves. Even if it's true, for every program that will not want you to have a masters, there will be a at least one other program that requires it. As a matter of fact, the Counseling PhD program at NYU takes this latter approach. But, anyway, I think T4C was suggesting a research-based masters (MS/MA in genereal psych), which is never going to hurt you.

I you take post-bacc or non-degree classes, will they average into your GPA? Taking some additional classes at the undergrad level is something to think about, especially if they can bump your GPA over 3.0. Honestly, I'm not sure that you currently meet the pre-reqs for many masters level programs. Calculus and Quantitative Reasoning are great, but they are usually not what programs are looking for to show you have a sufficient background in psych. You will need to take research methods and statistics, and maybe abnormal and/or personality psych too.

Originally Posted by KillerDiller

Good for you for being willing to go the long haul to get into a program! It may take you a while, but there are definitely ways to build a good application over time. First off, having a masters degree isn't really going to hurt you in the admissions process. I suppose I've heard people say that some Ph.D programs prefer students without any clinical experience so they can "build them up" from scratch. Consequently, having a masters that gives you clinical experience (MFT, MSW, etc.) could theoretically hurt you. Honestly, though, I've never actually heard this from the programs themselves. Even if it's true, for every program that will not want you to have a masters, there will be a at least one other program that requires it. As a matter of fact, the Counseling PhD program at NYU takes this latter approach. But, anyway, I think T4C was suggesting a research-based masters (MS/MA in genereal psych), which is never going to hurt you.

I you take post-bacc or non-degree classes, will they average into your GPA? Taking some additional classes at the undergrad level is something to think about, especially if they can bump your GPA over 3.0. Honestly, I'm not sure that you currently meet the pre-reqs for many masters level programs. Calculus and Quantitative Reasoning are great, but they are usually not what programs are looking for to show you have a sufficient background in psych. You will need to take research methods and statistics, and maybe abnormal and/or personality psych too.

Pretty much this. I personally have heard faculty members say that an applied master's (i.e., one that is clinically-oriented and allows for licensure) will hurt applicants in their opinions; however, as KillerDiller mentioned, there are other faculty for which the opposite is true. In your case, though, the research-focused master's suggested by T4C is the way to go, as this will boost your GPA, get you more psych coursework, and heavily bump your research experience.

However, also as KillerDiller said, you may lack the pre-reqs for many MA/MS programs (e.g., intro stats, research methods). Thus, you might need to take these before applying. It will vary by program, though, so definitely look around to double check.

Given your interests and experience to date, you might also broaden your scope and look at counseling psychology and applied community psychology programs, both of which often prefer students who have not gone directly from undergrad and don't have a bias against an existing MA/MS. There are a variety of avenues and licenses for doing trauma-informed work. Vanderbilt has an interesting community psychology degree program worth investigating and Division 27 of APA is another resource. http://www.scra27.org/

Originally Posted by Therapist4Chnge

Research.....you need research experience before applying to any doctoral program in psychology. Given your GPA and lack of research experience, you will probably need to pursue an MS first to prove you can get good grades. You'll also need research experience, in addition to probably completing a thesis in your MS program....as many of the top MS applicants do this.

Another way to do this is take all the Psychology classes required for a B.A./B.S. in Psychology. You would need maintain a 4.0 GPA and acquire research experience along the way along with a publication or undergraduate thesis.

This would likely bring your GPA into the 3.1-3.2 range, at least marginally competitive, especially with a 4.0 Psych GPA. I would add that along with everything else mentioned above the 80th percentile GRE and Psych GRE scores would be helpful too. Address where you went wrong in your personal statement and why you are now a serious student and see where it lands you.

Or, you can go the Masters degree route as noted... You still need to knock it out of the park and have stellar GRE scores.

Originally Posted by Neuropsych2be

Also it is not an online program, actually or even a blended program...

I wasn't aware that they changed their format to a traditional residentially-based program. Can you speak to this a bit, as I'm curious what changes they are making to the program?

Originally Posted by Neuropsych2be

Most work is done as independent work under faculty supervision. There is no real online component except a board called Felix where we can chat or post things.

What do you mean by independent work? Is this in regard to class training, research, and/or clinical work? It was my understanding that the bulk of the training is done from your home and people fly in a couple of times per year to a central location to meet. There was mention of 'local cluster' meetings, but all of the information on the website is quite vague in regard to actual details of the day to day training.

Originally Posted by Neuropsych2be

You will get the same face to face time with faculty as you would in a traditional program but it is structured differently across time than a trad program. Sometimes I am so busy that the days blur into an incoherent mass.

Can you talk more about this because the hours don't seem to add up? The program looks like it is primarily distance learning with some individual mentoring mixed in. Even with a mean completion time of 8+ years, I don’t see how the hours could add up to the same as a full-time residentially-based program with only meeting face to face at most a handful of times per year (2x for 1 wk nationally + regional/local cluster meetings).