PhD/PsyD Prospective post-bacc applicant seeking advice

[WilsonJim]

Hi--

I'm new to the boards, so forgive me if this topic has been fleshed out elsewhere.

A little background: I graduated college a few years ago, took a job in the legal industry, studied for the LSAT, and have now decided that law is not the right field for me. I am interested in transitioning into psychology with the goal of obtaining a PsyD (as of now my interests lie in a counseling capacity, and not in research). I majored in philosophy and other than taking psychology in high school and statistics in college, I am basically starting from scratch. It therefore seems that a comprehensive post-bacc program is my surest bet for establishing a foundational knowledge of psychology, getting some research experience (of which I currently have none), and forming some contacts within the field.

I am wondering what familiarity, if any, people have with the following post-bacc programs: Northwestern, Columbia, UC-Berkeley. I am not limited to those, so if there are others I should consider please let me know.

Basically, I am wondering about the cost-benefit of these programs. Were I to enroll, succeed in my coursework, get a little research experience, etc., and do well on GRE, would I be a competitive applicant for a PsyD program? I did well as an undergraduate at a reputable institution, if that has any impact.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I just want to know if I am largely wasting my time with post-bacc programs or if it would be a good stepping stone to further graduate studies.

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[bostongal109]

So there's been some discussion around this already, if you check the threads. But here is my brief opinion.
I like Harvard's Extension School. The classes are super convenient, the professors are AMAZING, and it's very inexpensive. The classes are in the evening so you can do it at night and work in a lab for research experience during the day. Many hospitals/universities give tuition reimbursement so it is almost free. Doing that would be great for your application, but it's not easy. The classes are HARD and you will need to study a lot, so it can be a stressful time, but it's worth it, in my opinion.

I'm not sure you want to enter in a PsyD program already tens of thousands of dollars in debt by doing an official, structured, post bacc program. I think you could get the same outcome for much less. But maybe more effort initially to get things set up.

 

[WilsonJim]

Thanks very much for your response. After doing a bit of navigating on their website, Harvard's Extension School looks pretty promising. I wonder though, how difficult is it to obtain a research position in a lab with no experience? Part of why the more formal post-back programs are appealing is because research positions seem to be built into the program. However, if it is fairly easy to obtain one of these positions independently then something like the Extension School seems like a better route.

 

[SMSMSM]

Hi,
WilsonJim, I'm on the exact same page as you... a few years our of school with jobs in publishing/marketing only to realize I really want to pursue a PsyD, but only took a few college psych classes.

Any luck with trying to obtain research experience? It's been a few months since your post, did you decide on what you wanted to do to take care of pre-reqs?

Thanks!

 

[Donuts]

Why not get strong GRE and Psych GRE scores and then apply to psyd programs?

 

[futureapppsy2]

This is *completely * off-topic, but is your user name a House MD reference, @WilsonJim ?

 

[473912]

This is *completely * off-topic, but is your user name a House MD reference, @WilsonJim ?

I was thinking the same thing, heh.