How to prepare to apply for PhD/PsyD program in 2015/2016

[BX1959]

I'm considering a PsyD or PhD in clinical psychology, with the ultimate goal of working as a clinical psychologist (perhaps in private practice, perhaps not). I'm working full time as an AmeriCorps VISTA member until February 2016, but I do have free time on the evenings and weekends.

Some relevant information: I graduated back in 2013 with a B.A. in psychology. No thesis, as I wasn't considering grad school in psychology at the time. 3.63 overall GPA, higher in psych (3.7 maybe). GRE: 169 V, 160 Q, 5.0 W.

I would like to enter a state school/funded PhD or PsyD program -- namely, one that will give me a good chance of getting an internship and prepare me for a career as a psychologist.

My question is simply: what should I do in the coming months/year to prepare for a PhD/PsyD program, and how can I go about doing it? What sort of shadowing, clinical volunteering, and research experience would be helpful? Is there any way that I could be admitted to a good program for Fall 2016 (and apply later this year), or would I probably have to wait to matriculate until Fall 2017?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

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[473912]

Try to get into research assistant position. If not that, try to get a job where you can gain face to face clinical experience. When applying, try to get into PhD programs as they're generally cheaper and more respected and watch out for diploma mill, non APA, stand alone PsyD programs. Not all PsyD programs are bad, so do your research and look for high APA internship rates and % licensure in particular. At the same time, competition is stiff especially in PhD programs. If you want to start immediately and you don't have a particular dream school goal, make sure you add one or two safety schools just in case. Do your research. Find some professors of interest to butter, become familiar with their work, and stay in contact. Search this forum for "Common mistakes is admission essays"... or the thread that's similar to that. There are a few major no-no's. Be familiar. If you interview, be prepared with a goal and intelligent, driven, non-stock answers. No one cares that you "want to help people". Only Lex Luthor and Joker would say otherwise, so it's a useless platitude. Don't waste their time.

Best of luck!

 

[BX1959]

What would be the best jobs for gaining clinical experience? Would it be possible to volunteer as a research assistant or clinically, or do it part time? That would probably be the only way that I could apply to programs this fall. Thanks for your help.

 

[WisNeuro]

Clinical experience at the undergrad level doesn't do all that much for you. I'd shoot for more research experience. If it's with a clinical population, all the better.

 

[473912]

What would be the best jobs for gaining clinical experience? Would it be possible to volunteer as a research assistant or clinically, or do it part time? That would probably be the only way that I could apply to programs this fall. Thanks for your help.

You can go for research. That'd be the best option. Go for it!, but if my experience is any indication, good luck getting a position! It's pretty tough. RA position is best, but it's much, much easier to get some clinical experience.

 

[bcliff]

You can go for research. That'd be the best option. Go for it!, but if my experience is any indication, good luck getting a position! It's pretty tough. RA position is best, but it's much, much easier to get some clinical experience.

Could you elaborate on the ease of gaining clinical experience at the BA/BS level?

 

[473912]

Could you elaborate on the ease of gaining clinical experience at the BA/BS level?

There are psych tech positions at facilities, resident techs at inpatient programs, working a mental health hotline, etc. Anything where you're working with a MI population so you can get your feet wet. I've heard of some people facilitating group counseling under a practitioner. As far as ease, I've found it very difficult to get these positions. That may be because in Oregon, you can either have a BA/BS or personal instance of MI with years of control. No education is required, so I think the market is flooded. On the research side, I found it's flat out impossible to get research experience in psych. I'm guessing it's a combination of not a lot of money, programs selecting individuals in their program already, and just... networking. I had research experience, but it was through my employment and wasn't psych related (besides my capstone courses). Same goes for most of my clinical experience.

 

[Kb1234]

Research Assistant positions is the best thing to do. Ph.D. programs want to see that you have experience or had exposure in research. I have zero clinical experience but a ton of research experience (RA positions in psychology labs, undergraduate research)

Getting clinical experience in psychology especially clinical is very hard to obtain especially as an undergrad or with just a BA or BS, so it's understandable if you have very little.

I work as an RA for psychology lab and the manager and other grad students accept people as a volunteer position, they've accepted people during the summer who are undergrads in a different university but are home for the summer.