PhD/PsyD Good California Programs

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JohnStrider

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Hi,

I could really use some help figuring out if there are any quality PhD or PsyD programs in California that I have a shot of getting in to.

I've worked 5 years doing direct care in a therapeutic setting with foster children with trauma histories. It's through doing this work that I discovered my passion for psychology.

I'm about to take my Psychology GRE.
My General GRE scores were:
V: 710
Q: 740
Analytical: 5.0

I earned my BA in Religious Studies at Rice University. My GPA was a 2.7. I recognize this is very low. Towards the end of my time I was earning 4.0s, but at first I was struggling to find my path.

Thank you so much for any advice and guidance!

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Why are you set on California? This is a field that requires geographical flexibility.
 
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My family lives here. I spent 8 years living in Texas, and now I live in San Francisco. Being back home means the world to me :)
 
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Are you opposed to a master's first? I don't normally recommend it, but your situation (very low ugrad GPA) is the exact situation when I think it makes perfect sense to do one. It will help prove you can handle graduate-level work (and stress). The quality California programs are quite competitive. It is also home to many of the worst schools in the country that I'm sure would be happy to take your money, but we usually don't recommend those:) Even with a master's it would still likely be an uphill battle (you don't mention your other qualifications...do you have any research or clinical experience?), but could be done.

That said, I agree its going to be really tough limiting yourself to one state. Ideal candidates can struggle in that situation, let alone those with red flags in their application (which a < 3.0 ugrad GPA would be). Depending on what your career goals are, you may want to think carefully about whether psychology is the best option.
 
Thanks for your honest answer. I consider the 5 years of work I described to be clinical experience. My clients typically had very challenging emotional and behavioral disturbances due to their traumatic childhoods. PTSD and ODD are pretty much par for the course in the kids I work with. My letters of recommendation would be coming from clinicians as well as supervisors and undergrad professors.
 
Regarding career goals, I'd like to continue working with this population of children. I'd be interested in working at treatment centers, hospitals, and in private practice.
 
Hi,

I could really use some help figuring out if there are any quality PhD or PsyD programs in California that I have a shot of getting in to.

I've worked 5 years doing direct care in a therapeutic setting with foster children with trauma histories. It's through doing this work that I discovered my passion for psychology.

I'm about to take my Psychology GRE.
My General GRE scores were:
V: 710
Q: 740
Analytical: 5.0

I earned my BA in Religious Studies at Rice University. My GPA was a 2.7. I recognize this is very low. Towards the end of my time I was earning 4.0s, but at first I was struggling to find my path.

Thank you so much for any advice and guidance!

Just for the record, your GRE scores are INCREDIBLE! They definitely match the average scores of accepted students at top programs in CA like UC Berkeley and UCLA, so that will help you immensely. However, there are two issues: (1) you earned a B.A. in an unrelated field and (2) your GPA was very low. It seems like you're a hard worker with a narrative as to what happened (since your GPA just kept rising), so I would also suggest getting a research-oriented M.A. or M.S. to bolster your GPA. Getting a solid GPA in a master's program (3.7-4.0) would help cement your case to prove you are dedicated, and also probably make up for the fact that you did not receive a B.A. in psychology, sociology, social work, etc. You will also gain valuable research experience that will compliment the clinical experience you already have, in addition to meeting even more people who can vouch for you.

If you are not interested in leaving the state for a master's, which I wouldn't, unless it was funded (because of the out-of-state fees), there are several CSUs to choose from. Also- you say you live in SF. UC Berkeley has a one-year post-bac program that you may be interested in. As far as M.A. programs and CSUs, my program was supposedly unfunded, but I have been awarded $8,000 in tuition remission via grants from the state (meaning my entire M.A. has cost nothing), and I have received over $3,000 in scholarships I have applied for, in addition to having a paid graduate research assistantship and graduate teaching assistantship. I do not want to say which university I am at, and I can't promise it would be that financially promising at every CSU, but I know this is not uncommon at my university... there's ways to wiggle things around and make it work. Obviously I wouldn't recommend this if you don't have to, there's other options like research coordinator positions, but being that your GPA is low and your major was not psychology, and you'd like to stay in CA, it seems like a good fit. We can PM if you'd like.

Anyway, don't be discouraged by your GPA, because your GRE is killer!!
 
What's your research experience and subsequent research interests?
 
Regarding career goals, I'd like to continue working with this population of children. I'd be interested in working at treatment centers, hospitals, and in private practice.

I think if you are willing to take the appropriate steps (and at least consider the possibility of moving) you could probably be competitive for a psych program in a few years. However, nothing about your goals says "psychology is definitely the way to go" to me, so I would definitely do your homework and figure out if you wouldn't be just as happy with an MFT/MSW/etc. degree. I'm not saying that to discourage you or imply you can't become a psychologist (again - you probably could!), just that before jumping through all those hoops you should make absolutely sure its what you really want.
 
Thank you for all the responses. I appreciate the encouragement regarding my GRE scores and I'm definitely looking into that Berkeley Post-Bac. I'm also going to check out the CSU option.

As far as research - I don't have experience. Clearly my undergrad program was not research or science oriented at all (I studied tons of philosophy and wrote papers :)). It sounds like taking a middle step, like the post-bac or masters programs, would help me with the research piece tremendously.

My interests are in childhood personality development disorders in particular, and personality disorders in general.
 
University of the Pacific in Stockton has a master's in general psych and they offer tuition waiver and stipend of ~10K
 
As far as research - I don't have experience.l.

Then you will not be compettive for ph.d programs. Must get research experience first and have some identifiable research interest. I agree a licenseable masters degree seems to be all you would need here.
 
University of the Pacific in Stockton has a master's in general psych and they offer tuition waiver and stipend of ~10K


Personal opinion of someone who has only passed through Stockton, that place is depressing. Make sure your self-care is in order if you move there.
 
So I'm getting the general idea that I should probably look into MA programs (or at least that Berkeley Post-Bac). What would be the appropriate programs for me to check out here in California? Will my undergrad GPA still present a huge problem?
 
It could be a problem if the school uses 3.0 as a cutoff and won't look at your app. Before applying, just contact the admissions office and ask a few questions. Also, if you are planning on becoming a psychologist, which probably makes sense given your ability on the GRE, I would look really closely at the outcome results of the MA programs as far as graduates being accepted to doctoral programs.
 
OP, check out the CSU system. They offer terminal master's programs (which you are avoiding, of course) as well as MA and MS programs that prep for PhD programs.

Some private universities offer them also but cost is a factor.
The only UCs I checked into did not offer master's level training; I only looked at my geographical area, however.
 
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