I am currently an undergraduate student majoring in psychology and by the end of this semester I should be about 36 credits in.
My grades started off great but I countered a life-altering event and had to withdraw from an entire semester. I have been back to school over the past year now and I have earned mostly A's and one B+ in my courses aside from my withdrawn general education classes.
I am looking to earn a PhD in psychology in the future and hopefully work my way into a tenure track at a university in the far future as my primary career option -- primarily because 1) I LOVE learning and would like to learn through research until I am of an old age and 2) I used to want to be a teacher before I discovered my love for science and learning, so I would not have any issues with teaching college-level courses, but in fact would like it very much 3) I could also see myself earning a PhD in clinical psychology and help people out that have gone traumatic experiences in their lives as a psychologist (this is not my current goal, but it could be in the future)
So I am looking for guidance on what I need to be doing in order to become a successful candidate for admittance into a reputable PhD program in some sort of psychology degree (I've been more and more thinking about a biospychology). I am still in the early stages for my bachelors degree, but I want to be prepared when it comes to my applications.
Here is what I know:
1. Earn good grades in all of my classes as in aim for a GPA as close to a 4.0 -- but I want to know, what's a realistic GPA to earn if I want to go to a program such as the University of Michigan for a PhD? I will try my hardest to earn A's, but everyone know that things happen and you end up getting an A- or a B+ in that one class every now and then.
2. Have a good relationship with my professors, especially ones that I will seek to have write me letters of recommendations.
3. Participate in psychology research. There are a couple of opportunities that will be available next semester. I am unsure about the potential for publication through them but I wonder if I absolutely need publications in order to get into a good program.
4. There are tutoring opportunities presented to me at my university and I might take advantage of them. Surly they can assist me in some way in the future.
5. Study and take the GRE a few months before applying and earn a good score.
Anyway, what am I missing right now? What can I do to improve on things? What can I expect when it comes to my journey? As in, in 2 years or so I will be applying to a PhD program, and after that what should I expect? How many years will it take for me to earn a PhD in psychology? Will a post-doc be necessary? if so, how many years does that take? How important is it to attend a reputable/top program? Do I need to earn a M.S. before applying to PhD program?
My grades started off great but I countered a life-altering event and had to withdraw from an entire semester. I have been back to school over the past year now and I have earned mostly A's and one B+ in my courses aside from my withdrawn general education classes.
I am looking to earn a PhD in psychology in the future and hopefully work my way into a tenure track at a university in the far future as my primary career option -- primarily because 1) I LOVE learning and would like to learn through research until I am of an old age and 2) I used to want to be a teacher before I discovered my love for science and learning, so I would not have any issues with teaching college-level courses, but in fact would like it very much 3) I could also see myself earning a PhD in clinical psychology and help people out that have gone traumatic experiences in their lives as a psychologist (this is not my current goal, but it could be in the future)
So I am looking for guidance on what I need to be doing in order to become a successful candidate for admittance into a reputable PhD program in some sort of psychology degree (I've been more and more thinking about a biospychology). I am still in the early stages for my bachelors degree, but I want to be prepared when it comes to my applications.
Here is what I know:
1. Earn good grades in all of my classes as in aim for a GPA as close to a 4.0 -- but I want to know, what's a realistic GPA to earn if I want to go to a program such as the University of Michigan for a PhD? I will try my hardest to earn A's, but everyone know that things happen and you end up getting an A- or a B+ in that one class every now and then.
2. Have a good relationship with my professors, especially ones that I will seek to have write me letters of recommendations.
3. Participate in psychology research. There are a couple of opportunities that will be available next semester. I am unsure about the potential for publication through them but I wonder if I absolutely need publications in order to get into a good program.
4. There are tutoring opportunities presented to me at my university and I might take advantage of them. Surly they can assist me in some way in the future.
5. Study and take the GRE a few months before applying and earn a good score.
Anyway, what am I missing right now? What can I do to improve on things? What can I expect when it comes to my journey? As in, in 2 years or so I will be applying to a PhD program, and after that what should I expect? How many years will it take for me to earn a PhD in psychology? Will a post-doc be necessary? if so, how many years does that take? How important is it to attend a reputable/top program? Do I need to earn a M.S. before applying to PhD program?
