Being a past community college student

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ThatGuy15

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Hi. I am new here and I apologize in advance if my question has already been asked.

I want to pursue a career as a clinical neuropsychologist. I know all the steps that I have to take in order to pursue that career path. Last year I graduated from my community college and I am now a senior at New York University. I am not applying to Ph.D programs yet. I would like to first pursue my M.A. in experimental psychology from Brooklyn College before applying to Ph.D programs. I graduated community college with a 3.9 GPA and had received all sorts of honors and achievements. I was also a recipient of a grant from the NSF to pursue research in neuroscience at CUNY Brooklyn & Queens College. My current GPA at NYU is not so great. I ended my first semester at NYU with a 3.0 GPA. I was very upset but that only motivated me to try harder. I finished this semester with a 3.6, which brought my GPA to a 3.3. The reason I am informing you of this is because I am worried about what the admissions officers are going to think when they evaluate my application and see that I attended a community college. I am not sure if they will see me in a positive way or just completely not take me seriously. So my question is: How does being a past community college student affect my chances of being admitted to doctoral clinical psychology programs? Thank you for your time.

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Short answer: it won't affect your chances. Longer answer: is there an off chance that some professor, somewhere will review your app and be slightly negatively biased by your having attended a CC? I suppose it's possible, but I would say it's unlikely.
 
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FWIW, it didn't get in my way. I started at a CC before transferring to a 4 year university (and in fact was able to get a full-ride there on a merit-based scholarship, which I likely would not have gotten if I started there right out of high school). Can't recall it ever coming up in interviews really.

I got into a solid and fully-funded clinical PhD program, matched to a top AMC internship site, and am now in a research-based postdoc at an R1.
 
The CC shouldn't hurt your application, I would, however, go balls to the wall in getting that GPA as high as possible. And, try and be productive in your masters.


I also work part-time, volunteer at the neuroscience unit at weill cornell and part of a research team at NYU all at the same time (more than a year now). It can be a little overwhelming. But I am trying my best to maintain high grades and my scholarship.
 
FWIW, it didn't get in my way. I started at a CC before transferring to a 4 year university (and in fact was able to get a full-ride there on a merit-based scholarship, which I likely would not have gotten if I started there right out of high school). Can't recall it ever coming up in interviews really.

I got into a solid and fully-funded clinical PhD program, matched to a top AMC internship site, and am now in a research-based postdoc at an R1.

Same here. I am a first gen college student coming from a low income family. I was also a HS drop out so attending a school such as NYU with a full-ride in would have been a far fetched dream for me three years ago. Thanks for your post.
 
I agree with everyone else that CC will not be an issue. I also agree that you need to get your UG GPA as high as possible, and you will need to be stellar in the experimental MA program. Also, blowing the doors off the GRE will be necessary if you will be looking at funded programs.
 
I agree with everyone else that CC will not be an issue. I also agree that you need to get your UG GPA as high as possible, and you will need to be stellar in the experimental MA program. Also, blowing the doors off the GRE will be necessary if you will be looking at funded programs.

I'm pretty confident that I can do all that. I still have one more year as an undergrad and that's plenty of time for me to raise that UG GPA.
 
Well ThatGuy, if I was one of the admissions people looking at your application, my reaction to you graduating from CC, having a grant from the NSF AND being accepted to NY, I would want to have you as a candidate in a heartbeat. All of these past experiences, IMO, show a great deal of ambition, overcoming what the average CC student can do AND showing devotion to maintaining a high GPA. But then again I dont even have my bachelors so my opinion most likely doesnt matter at all.
 
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Well ThatGuy, if I was one of the admissions people looking at your application, my reaction to you graduating from CC, having a grant from the NSF AND being accepted to NY, I would want to have you as a candidate in a heartbeat. All of these past experiences, IMO, show a great deal of ambition, overcoming what the average CC student can do AND showing devotion to maintaining a high GPA. But then again I dont even have my bachelors so my opinion most likely doesnt matter at all.
Having been an adcom member, I love a good reinvention and overcoming adversity story. Those students often don't ask the dumb questions in class or argue over 1 point when they made a 98 on a paper.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
 
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overcoming what the average CC student can do
I haven't experienced the "average" public uni student to be any markedly weaker than a CC student. Indeed, I've seen plenty of basically illiterate uni students. My CC transfers have been quite strong. I think this is based on some stereotyping about CC students.
 
Well ThatGuy, if I was one of the admissions people looking at your application, my reaction to you graduating from CC, having a grant from the NSF AND being accepted to NY, I would want to have you as a candidate in a heartbeat. All of these past experiences, IMO, show a great deal of ambition, overcoming what the average CC student can do AND showing devotion to maintaining a high GPA. But then again I dont even have my bachelors so my opinion most likely doesnt matter at all.


Thanks for sharing that. It means a lot.
 
One of my most favorite professors and advisors in my Masters program (prior to doctoral training) was adjunct faculty at our university, but full-time faculty at a community college in NYC. She said she preferred it that way (full-time faculty at the CC) because, for her, it was rewarding and awe-inspiring to see the students "turn the corner" with their educational goals. She enjoyed seeing them go from all different intercity backgrounds to moving on to 4-year degrees, longer-term career goals, or the final decision to simply enter the workforce (with no regrets because at least they gave it a shot). As others have stated, your educational history will tell a story, and IMO, the story will be a strong one if you let others know your thought process along the way. (i.e., 'I started out here [Point A], thinking I couldn't...and ended up here [Point C], knowing I could').

Also, I hold a story of one of my brother's friends, who started off in CC (everyone in HS teased him because he didn't have the grades to go to a 4-yr college, at the time)...and went on to a long and illustrious career as a surgeon. In hindsight, he kicked everyone else's a***...because, as he put it, he 'woke up and stayed focused.'

Good luck! :luck:
 
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One of my most favorite professors and advisors in my Masters program (prior to doctoral training) was adjunct faculty at our university, but full-time faculty at a community college in NYC. She said she preferred it that way (full-time faculty at the CC) because, for her, it was rewarding and awe-inspiring to see the students "turn the corner" with their educational goals. She enjoyed seeing them go from all different intercity backgrounds to moving on to 4-year degrees, longer-term career goals, or the final decision to simply enter the workforce (with no regrets because at least they gave it a shot). As others have stated, your educational history will tell a story, and IMO, the story will be a strong one if you let others know your thought process along the way. (i.e., 'I started out here [Point A], thinking I couldn't...and ended up here [Point C], knowing I could').

Also, I hold a story of one of my brother's friends, who started off in CC (everyone in HS teased him because he didn't have the grades to go to a 4-yr college, at the time)...and went on to a long and illustrious career as a surgeon. In hindsight, he kicked everyone else's a***...because, as he put it, he 'woke up and stayed focused.'

Good luck! :luck:


I am afraid to let people know my thought process and the things I’ve been through because that might give people the wrong impression of me. My story is similar to the one from your brother’s friend. I wasn’t teased by anyone during HS because I went to one of the worst HS in Queens, NY. However, I was always belittled and made fun of by family members. This let to depression and anxiety, which actually caused me to not function in HS and was sent to a temporary children’s psychiatric center. It was there that I received the encouragement and support from a wonderful and caring psychiatrist who also inspired me to pursue a career in mental health. Because I had spent much of my time being around psychiatrists and other patients, I learned not just different types of psychotherapies (CBT, DBT, etc.), but I became very comfortable in that environment. That’s when I figured that mental health and connecting with other individuals alike is all I know and that’s the type of work environment I want to be in. Even the mentors that I have now at NYU have all been very encouraging and supportive of my accomplishments but also understanding due to the difficulties that I struggle with (my anxiety). I am afraid that by revealing this information to the admission committee is only going to give the wrong impression of me due to my past history.
 
I am afraid to let people know my thought process and the things I’ve been through because that might give people the wrong impression of me. My story is similar to the one from your brother’s friend. I wasn’t teased by anyone during HS because I went to one of the worst HS in Queens, NY. However, I was always belittled and made fun of by family members. This let to depression and anxiety, which actually caused me to not function in HS and was sent to a temporary children’s psychiatric center. It was there that I received the encouragement and support from a wonderful and caring psychiatrist who also inspired me to pursue a career in mental health. Because I had spent much of my time being around psychiatrists and other patients, I learned not just different types of psychotherapies (CBT, DBT, etc.), but I became very comfortable in that environment. That’s when I figured that mental health and connecting with other individuals alike is all I know and that’s the type of work environment I want to be in. Even the mentors that I have now at NYU have all been very encouraging and supportive of my accomplishments but also understanding due to the difficulties that I struggle with (my anxiety). I am afraid that by revealing this information to the admission committee is only going to give the wrong impression of me due to my past history.

Okay...so here's a task: Perhaps you can figure out how to represent yourself as a person who has endured 'obstacles, resistance from others, self-development' through your process of early adult growth to meet, greet, and embrace challenges. This is strengthening on so many levels. I err on the side of caution when revealing personal mental health issues as an applicant b/c one learns to delve deeply into his/her own issues (countertransference) to meet the needs of treating future patients (transference). This is necessary, but it does not mean one needs to be an open-book, by any means. It means that one needs to draw boundaries about who you are as a person, and convey your unique strengths without seeming 'pathological.'

All humans have issues, and no one is absolved from mental defect and dysfunction (it can happen to the best of us through the course of life; loss, destruction, genetics, health, situational stress, etc.). It sounds like you've been able to move past a lot to pave a way for the future. Good job!

Build your confidence, and rewrite your story, your narrative so to appear to put your best foot forward, as evidenced by the results you've achieved (i.e., good test scores, strong LORs, high GPA, scholarship, etc.).

I wish you the best of luck. Oh, and stick around SDN through the process, there is a lot of social support here (I know...I've been on here since I was an applicant up until now, as a postdoc...I still have to take EPPP...which means I'll be searching old threads about tips there). :)
 
As someone who went to CC before going into grad school, here is my experience.

- You will have to push twice as hard to get a strong research base because starting out, you will only have a year until applications come. If you plan a gap year or a masters then that makes it a easier timeline. I think this is where the CC route impacts the most, by reducing time to build relationships/involvement in a lab.
- GPA is not really a problem since it is typically the highest by the last two years / when you get involved in your major, but make sure you keep working and don't let a class slip because you have less to form the GPA for that university.

No one in doc programs ever cared about CC. Honestly, I've gotten more positive reactions than anything else.
 
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