Did you have a lot of doubt if you could make it?

[psych84]

This should be a make or break year for me. I'm taking another year of Uni, (which will earn me a 2nd BA) and within 2014-2015 I also intend to get some research experience and to do the GRE. So it will be a busy year. Right now trying to contact research labs, but so far limited response. I'm also nervous about taking a course like stats, as I was never the greatest math student. I also noticed that a couple of my professors for the fall semester are really rated poorly on ratemyprofessors, and I'm questioning if I can get the neccesary grades as a result.

Anyways, prior to being admitted to graduate school, did you have real concern over your competitiveness or just your ability to get all this stuff done succesfully? Did it take you an extra year to improve GPA? Did you have to do the GRE multiple times? Were you older when you applied? Did you have issues getting the neccesary research experience? Was it difficult to juggle all of this?

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[haRtwin]

This should be a make or break year for me. I'm taking another year of Uni, (which will earn me a 2nd BA) and within 2014-2015 I also intend to get some research experience and to do the GRE. So it will be a busy year. Right now trying to contact research labs, but so far limited response. I'm also nervous about taking a course like stats, as I was never the greatest math student. I also noticed that a couple of my professors for the fall semester are really rated poorly on ratemyprofessors, and I'm questioning if I can get the neccesary grades as a result.

Anyways, prior to being admitted to graduate school, did you have real concern over your competitiveness or just your ability to get all this stuff done succesfully? Did it take you an extra year to improve GPA? Did you have to do the GRE multiple times? Were you older when you applied? Did you have issues getting the neccesary research experience? Was it difficult to juggle all of this?

Concerning the ratemyprofessor reviews, I'd certainly take those with a grain of salt, if anything at all. I always thought that the students who posted on there were looking to coast through their undergrad. Put in the necessary work and you'll get the grade you deserve (most of the time, anyway). In fact, I'd suggest going above and beyond in an essential course like stats.

To answer your other questions: yes. Without a doubt I questioned my competitiveness (don't we all?). When I applied the first time, I was leaving undergrad with two solid years of research xp (two articles with one first author, six posters) and three stellar references, but my GREs were simply... average. I took the GRE twice, and, after 12 applications to clinical PhD programs, I received one interview and was never accepted. I was extremely discouraged. I opted not to retake the GRE a third time because I always considered myself to be a poor standardized test taker, and I was offered a paid RA through my undergrad mentor. I went the route to gain more research experience, which resulted in a few more posters and publications. I reapplied at the nascent age of 22 and was luckily presented with many acceptance offers that second time around. I might never find a way to repay my undergrad mentor for all his help (he jokingly suggested a new car would suffice ).

Juggling everything is definitely a difficult task. I struggled immensely when I first took on the responsibility of a full course load, a TA, and an RA. I was never so busy before, and it took me about a year to settle into it all (about the time I applied the first time, which added more responsibility). When I look back at the process as a whole, I am happy it panned out the way it did. Maybe I'd rather have went to grad school right after my undergrad, but I'm so grateful for my current situation.

My advice to you may sound cliche, but, if it's everything you ever wanted, give it your all with no regrets. I am truly passionate about conducting research and I've been told by many that it is visibly shown. I credit most of that to a honeymoon period that may shortly end, but I wouldn't be here if I didn't love this stuff. Worst case scenario is that your original dream plan doesn't pan out as expected. I know mine didn't. I always wanted to be an athlete. If that's the case, I suggest that you find something you don't hate. That's really important.

 

[PsychScience]

This should be a make or break year for me. I'm taking another year of Uni, (which will earn me a 2nd BA) and within 2014-2015 I also intend to get some research experience and to do the GRE. So it will be a busy year. Right now trying to contact research labs, but so far limited response. I'm also nervous about taking a course like stats, as I was never the greatest math student. I also noticed that a couple of my professors for the fall semester are really rated poorly on ratemyprofessors, and I'm questioning if I can get the neccesary grades as a result.

Yes, I definitely had doubts throughout every step of the process. There were moments that I doubted I could get into grad school. I definitely doubted myself throughout the application process. Once I got into grad school I had moments of doubt, particularly in that first year of grad school when I kept expecting our DCT to take me aside and tell me my acceptance was a mistake and that I would be asked to leave at the end of the semester. I doubted myself during internship, and again now on postdoc. Doubt is a part of the process, and although unpleasant, in healthy amounts it serves an important function, much like anxiety

As for stats, don't discount your affinity for the course! You may love it (you may also hate it), but you just don't know. For me, my previous experience of math courses was totally unrelated to my experience in statistics. I was never a stellar math student, but when I took my first stats class in undergrad something just clicked for me. It was an "aha moment" of finding math that made sense and that matters. Although, I will admit that I had a phenomenal statistics instructor and that helped.

Anyways, prior to being admitted to graduate school, did you have real concern over your competitiveness or just your ability to get all this stuff done succesfully? Did it take you an extra year to improve GPA? Did you have to do the GRE multiple times? Were you older when you applied? Did you have issues getting the neccesary research experience? Was it difficult to juggle all of this?

Yes, I did have to take extra time to improve my GPA (my 1st year in undergrad was a GPA-wrecker), but not my GRE. I was "older" when I applied, kind of. I was traditional undergrad (started right after high school), but I did not go straight from undergrad to graduate school, and yes, that made it difficult to get the kinds of experiences to be competitive for grad school. Yes, it was difficult to juggle all of the things, but it ended up being phenomenal practice for when I finally in grad school and had to juggle even more of the things

 

[smalltownpsych]

This should be a make or break year for me. I'm taking another year of Uni, (which will earn me a 2nd BA) and within 2014-2015 I also intend to get some research experience and to do the GRE. So it will be a busy year. Right now trying to contact research labs, but so far limited response. I'm also nervous about taking a course like stats, as I was never the greatest math student. I also noticed that a couple of my professors for the fall semester are really rated poorly on ratemyprofessors, and I'm questioning if I can get the neccesary grades as a result.

Anyways, prior to being admitted to graduate school, did you have real concern over your competitiveness or just your ability to get all this stuff done succesfully? Did it take you an extra year to improve GPA? Did you have to do the GRE multiple times? Were you older when you applied? Did you have issues getting the neccesary research experience? Was it difficult to juggle all of this?

Yes. Doubts all along the way. Navigating these hurdles is part of what earns your stripes. I did not take the extra year as didn't know about that option. Went to a professional school with a solid rep and that has helped keep some doors open but also have a bit more debt. My advice is to keep aiming as high as you can. Too many posts about people looking for the "easy route to being a therapist" There is no easy route to becoming a psychologist. Some schools may try to pitch that but match rates and EPPP pass rates belie that.

 

[Menolly]

Anyways, prior to being admitted to graduate school, did you have real concern over your competitiveness or just your ability to get all this stuff done succesfully? Did it take you an extra year to improve GPA? Did you have to do the GRE multiple times? Were you older when you applied? Did you have issues getting the neccesary research experience? Was it difficult to juggle all of this?

Yes to all of it I switched into psychology in my mid-thirties. I had to take post-baccalaureate classes in psychology since that wasn't even my major first time around (engineering sciences). One benefit of that was the chance to get the research experience, and another was that there was such a gap between college and post-bacc that they could focus on my post-bacc grades alone. So you're right, it does give you a chance to reinvent your GPA. In the end, surprisingly, I found that the clinical-focused doctoral programs were more receptive to my application than the research-oriented programs, even though I had such a science-heavy background. Also, one of the best things about doing something else before grad school is the life experience you bring to the table. So if you don't get in right away, try to enjoy the ride!

 

[CKAW]

Yes to all of it I switched into psychology in my mid-thirties. I had to take post-baccalaureate classes in psychology since that wasn't even my major first time around (engineering sciences). One benefit of that was the chance to get the research experience, and another was that there was such a gap between college and post-bacc that they could focus on my post-bacc grades alone. So you're right, it does give you a chance to reinvent your GPA. In the end, surprisingly, I found that the clinical-focused doctoral programs were more receptive to my application than the research-oriented programs, even though I had such a science-heavy background. Also, one of the best things about doing something else before grad school is the life experience you bring to the table. So if you don't get in right away, try to enjoy the ride!

Glad to hear you say that, Menolly. I've done the same thing. In those days, did you list your undergrad and post-bac coursework separately on a CV? I've done that at the top of mine so I could list two GPAs, one of which is about 0.6 higher than the other. I always wonder how people will take it.

 

[Menolly]

Glad to hear you say that, Menolly. I've done the same thing. In those days, did you list your undergrad and post-bac coursework separately on a CV? I've done that at the top of mine so I could list two GPAs, one of which is about 0.6 higher than the other. I always wonder how people will take it.

It's been a while, but I don't think posted either GPA. I do remember at one point putting my Psych GRE on my resume, and that got me a teaching job in grad school even though I lacked experience.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I didn't know what I didn't know (this was before the SDN clinical psych forum existed), so my only input came from my mentors who all went to school 30+ yrs ago….and they were all about "fit" and "putting in your dues." I had enough research and good enough scores to get interviews at most places, but I really didn't have a good handle on the day-to-day stuff which hurt me in some interviews.