Post-bacc?

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psych21

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Hi all. I just graduated in May with my BA in a different major but know (and have known for quite some time) that I want to go back to school to be a psychologist. I have three psych courses until my belt (intro to psych, abnormal psych, foundations of psych) but have no research experience whatsoever. My plan was to get my Masters, and then hopefully my PhD or PsyD but I'm starting to wonder if a post-bacc program would be a better option because, honestly, I don't know that I even have the credentials right now to get into a Masters program because of my lack of research.

Any thoughts on this? I feel that I would be able to gain the experience, recommendations, etc. that I need there to go further and hopefully right into a PhD/PsyD program (and be able to skip the Masters).

Thanks for any input!

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Why do you want a PhD or PsyD? What are your eventual career goals?
 
Hi all. I just graduated in May with my BA in a different major but know (and have known for quite some time) that I want to go back to school to be a psychologist. I have three psych courses until my belt (intro to psych, abnormal psych, foundations of psych) but have no research experience whatsoever. My plan was to get my Masters, and then hopefully my PhD or PsyD but I'm starting to wonder if a post-bacc program would be a better option because, honestly, I don't know that I even have the credentials right now to get into a Masters program because of my lack of research.

Any thoughts on this? I feel that I would be able to gain the experience, recommendations, etc. that I need there to go further and hopefully right into a PhD/PsyD program (and be able to skip the Masters).

Thanks for any input!
What do you mean by "credentials?" Are you speaking only to your research experience? How about your GPA and GRE scores?

If other pieces of your application are strong, you may not need to gain more research experience (although having more helps) to enter a master's program.
 
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Why do you want a PhD or PsyD? What are your eventual career goals?
I want to be a psychologist. I particularly want to work in a residential facility for eating disorders, possibly open up my own practice at some point.
 
What do you mean by "credentials?" Are you speaking only to your research experience? How about your GPA and GRE scores?

If other pieces of your application are strong, you may not need to gain more research experience (although having more helps) to enter a master's program.
I haven't taken the GRE yet (will take it in September or October if I decide to apply for Masters programs) and my GPA is just over a 3.4 from a good school in NYC. The fact that I have no research experience is what makes me nervous. I'm looking into places to volunteer, but it's not research.
 
I haven't taken the GRE yet (will take it in September or October if I decide to apply for Masters programs) and my GPA is just over a 3.4 from a good school in NYC. The fact that I have no research experience is what makes me nervous. I'm looking into places to volunteer, but it's not research.
You don't necessarily need to enter a post-bacc program to gain more research experience, and your GRE score will play a huge role in your admissions into any program, be it master's or doctoral. It may be possible for you to reach out to professors at your undergrad university and ask if any are currently conducting research. Doctoral programs will stress the importance of research experience more than a master's program. Experimental master's programs themselves are often a great way to gain research experience.
 
You don't necessarily need to enter a post-bacc program to gain more research experience, and your GRE score will play a huge role in your admissions into any program, be it master's or doctoral. It may be possible for you to reach out to professors at your undergrad university and ask if any are currently conducting research. Doctoral programs will stress the importance of research experience more than a master's program. Experimental master's programs themselves are often a great way to gain research experience.

Agree with all of this. A post-bacc might actually be a less-effective way of gaining research experience, with the caveat being if that's all you need. I would check out masters programs near you and see what their pre-reqs entail. If you're short for all of them, then a post-bacc-type program might be your only option. In that case, I'd see if you could obtain some volunteer research experience in a lab while knocking out some more psych classes, and then ask if they'd be willing to keep you around for another year or so after you finish. Should that happen, you might not need the masters at all.
 
Better than a Master's degree would be getting a job as a research coordinator in a lab doing clinical research. Usually, this work pays. Less desirable, but still better than a Master's in my opinion, is doing unpaid research assistant work. You should get experience and a letter of recommendation out of it, and you haven't spent money on a degree you ultimately won't need. Do what you need to do to get into a funded PhD program on the front end, and you will reap the benefits down the line. You do not need a Master's to get into a PhD program--you just need research experience and adequate coursework. I would look into taking a few more psychology classes, actually, in part to bring your GPA up. You should definitely take stats and make sure you get an A. All of these steps are easier than a doctoral program.
 
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I took post-bacc classes in psychology and found it very helpful for my situation: I had taken no classes in psychology for my first BA and it had been 10 years since I graduated so I also didn't have research or recommendations. I ended up doing 3/4 of the required classes for the postbacc then applied and got into a doctoral program. But your situation doesn't sound as extreme as mine.
 
I took post-bacc classes in psychology and found it very helpful for my situation: I had taken no classes in psychology for my first BA and it had been 10 years since I graduated so I also didn't have research or recommendations. I ended up doing 3/4 of the required classes for the postbacc then applied and got into a doctoral program. But your situation doesn't sound as extreme as mine.


Is it safe to guess that you took these courses at a university? Given the research availability, I mean.
 
Yes, university where I was taking classes with the undergrads. Lots of research opportunities through the psychology department.
 
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Most universities have a "continued education" program, which allows you to pay out of pocket to take classes without being a degree-seeking student. This is what I did for two years to bring up my GPA and complete a good deal of psych coursework that i didn't take in undergrad. More importantly, it put me in contact with professors, who I worked to develop relationships with by sitting in on their lab meetings and volunteering as a research assistant. I should have a publication as first author by the time I apply to grad school, a substantial CV, and three good letters of rec. This I did for a grand total of maybe $6k over the course of two years and a lot of networking. I recommend this path based on my experience, though we'll see if I actually get in anywhere.
 
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