Preparing for Grad School

[CampDeeds]

Hi Everyone,

After countless brain work and tedious considerations, I am in the process of applying for grad schools. My only thing is I dont know where I want to go anymore. While you think this is a perfect opportunity to take a year off and re-evaluate things.. I feel like I want to go straight and not get lazy( I am in my late 20s so finishing now would be ideal at this ripe time lol)

So heres where I'm at:
My career aspirations have changed drastically as now I see myself working in education somehow but also doing like family counseling. I'm a hop skip and jump away from getting my bachelors in Psychology and a minor in Human Sexuality. My gpa is a 2.9 which yes does seem low but I am in the progress of working my butt off to raise it. I am interning in two places: One that focuses on Depression and Suicide Awareness and the other on overall wellness, drugs, alcohol, basically like health education. I am a certified Peer Educator.

I'm highly down for getting my masters and being okay right there. Those programs consist of MSW/MFT or MHC. I live in California so of course it seems like MSW would be the path. However, I only have one place I see myself going and that is Cal State Long Beach. I thought about USC which is my dream but that 1K hurts my soul. Theres also things like School Psych/School Counseling but I am not sure if they fit my goals the proper way. Clinical would be fitting I'm sure too but at the same time I'm getting burned out and 5-7 MORE years of schooling is hard to swallow..

So I guess my questions are:
1) would it be best to just apply to each program and see what happens? Put my fate into the grad program pool and hope for the best? or pick the programs that fit my needs?

2) For my goals of wanting to work in a school with students helping them mentally and emotionally with things like depression and other health concerns along side helping them in terms of academics as well while also doing some couples and family counseling on the side, is there something specific or similar to that aspiration?

3) I bought the GRE practice book. Some schools require it some don't. Should I just take it anyway regardless? My GPA probably tells the answer but tests like those scare me. Thoughts?

Thanks I know this is long but any insight would be appreciative. Helping people is like a love of mine and while cliche as it sounds its something that is impactful to me.

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[Indiana_Jane]

I'm a first year so take my advice only in addition to the more seasoned posters on here, too . Off the bat, I can tell you that I cannot imagine going into my PhD program feeling burnt out (and I just started)! The work load is very heavy, and if wasn't 100% I think I would be quite stressed. If your goals are primarily clinical and you are okay with a master's level degree, I think that is a perfectly reasonable option. The Clinical PhD is *both* a clinical and research focused degree. However, if you know you'll be happy with a master's level license & aren't completely willing to 1) move to get in (geographically limiting yourself can be a loss of death) and 2) ready to go full speed for 5 years - go with what you know.

As for the GRE, you'll need to take it for most accredited MA programs I *think* and in the context of PhD apps, you'll need to make a really solid score to offset your gpa. It's do-able, but recognize that a lot of funded PhD's place strict limits on GPA when it comes to fellowships and other sources of funding! Every program is different in that some place more emphasis on the GRE/GPA than others, but all require a pretty solid record. Well, accredited ones .


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[singasongofjoy]

If you are feeling burnt out now, then in no way would I advise applying to a PhD program. You'll stand a good chance of crash-and-burn pretty quickly. That would be a huge waste of time and money. And tbh your GPA stands a good chance of interfering with a reputable PhD program in psych at this point in time (relatedly, though you may not want to hear it I would recommend GRE, and study hard for it). Sounds like at least at this point in life a masters would be more suitable. Applying is expensive and time consuming (as are interviews) so I'd vote stick to what you think fits your needs/interests most at this point in time. You can always re-evaluate and re-apply next year if this round doesn't work out how you want.

 

[singasongofjoy]

If you are feeling burnt out now, then in no way would I advise applying to a PhD program. You'll stand a good chance of crash-and-burn pretty quickly. That would be a huge waste of time and money. And tbh your GPA stands a good chance of interfering with a reputable PhD program in psych at this point in time (relatedly, though you may not want to hear it I would recommend GRE, and study hard for it). Sounds like at least at this point in life a masters would be more suitable. Applying is expensive and time consuming (as are interviews) so I'd vote stick to what you think fits your needs/interests most at this point in time. You can always re-evaluate and re-apply next year if this round doesn't work out how you want.