UC Berkeley Post-Bac

[JohnStrider]

Hello everyone,

I was just accepted into the UC Berkeley Post-Baccalaureate program. What is the general reputation of this program? Will competitive PhD programs view it positively?

As it stands currently, my undergrad gpa and lack of research experience are holding me back from getting into PhD programs. My GREs are great.

Thanks for the opinions.

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[erg923]

If it helps your GPA, thats good obviously, but there is little about a post bac program itself that will help your application.

 

[JohnStrider]

Thanks for the response, erg. The program website states:

"All Postbac Students will be engaged in an intensive research internship throughout their time in the program. The internship is viewed as an essential feature of the program, providing hands-on experience in the practice of psychological science. Since the research internship begins with the first semester in the program, students will be positioned to take on increasing responsibility for their project over the course of the program.
Prior to the start of the first semester, postbac students will attend a research fair to learn of internship opportunities in faculty labs. The program advisor will coordinate internship placements for each student. Students will be expected to devote 8-10 hours a week to their internship, although many students will find themselves spending longer periods of time. Research internships will be available across all research areas of the department. You can find out more here http://psychology.berkeley.edu/research/overview."
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If this kind of research experience is really provided by the program, would that be helpful?

 

[BagelLover]

I think that the opportunity to increase your research exposure within a more structured academic setting via the post-bac program could be a real boon to your subsequent PhD apps. The faculty at Berkeley is world class - getting a letter of rec from one of them would certainly look very good (assuming they genuinely get to know you and your work, and assuming you do good work!). And, of course, if you make use of your time there, and can create some products (e.g., publications, etc.), that would also help! I think it's what you make of it. I agree with erg923 that doing the program in and of itself might not be helpful (like -- on your CV, it would weigh more to have a high impact journal publication, per se, than simply having completed the post-bac) but if you are able to take advantage of the opportunity to really immerse yourself in research, develop a research plan and a better sense of what direction you are headed for grad school, etc. then the post-bac could be really helpful! I think of the post-bac as kind of a "second opportunity" to build your CV and research chops, if for any reason you didn't get to do that previously (e.g., you majored in something else in college, you are changing career paths, etc.)

That said...I don't think a post-bac is the only route to gaining the experiences necessary for entry into a good PhD program! You could get similar experiences by volunteering in a research lab, undertaking independent research, etc. However, I do think that the structured, intensive, and supportive nature of the post-bac is probably a nice, protected environment in which to really dedicate yourself to doing what you need to do to get into a PhD program subsequently.

My two cents.

 

[BagelLover]

Oops -- sorry for the double post.

 

[bostongal109]

I'm not sure 10hrs/week for research is too impressive for PhD programs, but what do I know. Just my humble opinion.

 

[JohnStrider]

I think that the opportunity to increase your research exposure within a more structured academic setting via the post-bac program could be a real boon to your subsequent PhD apps. The faculty at Berkeley is world class - getting a letter of rec from one of them would certainly look very good (assuming they genuinely get to know you and your work, and assuming you do good work!). And, of course, if you make use of your time there, and can create some products (e.g., publications, etc.), that would also help! I think it's what you make of it. I agree with erg923 that doing the program in and of itself might not be helpful (like -- on your CV, it would weigh more to have a high impact journal publication, per se, than simply having completed the post-bac) but if you are able to take advantage of the opportunity to really immerse yourself in research, develop a research plan and a better sense of what direction you are headed for grad school, etc. then the post-bac could be really helpful! I think of the post-bac as kind of a "second opportunity" to build your CV and research chops, if for any reason you didn't get to do that previously (e.g., you majored in something else in college, you are changing career paths, etc.)

That said...I don't think a post-bac is the only route to gaining the experiences necessary for entry into a good PhD program! You could get similar experiences by volunteering in a research lab, undertaking independent research, etc. However, I do think that the structured, intensive, and supportive nature of the post-bac is probably a nice, protected environment in which to really dedicate yourself to doing what you need to do to get into a PhD program subsequently.

My two cents.

Thank you for the insight. I definitely get the sense that it would be possible to go through this program and not take advantage of it - it won't get me into anything all by itself. But I like what you mentioned about the structure and guidance. I think that will be extremely helpful for me, and hopefully I will be able to take full advantage of the opportunity.

 

[JohnStrider]

Take my advice with a grain of salt as I have not been accepted to a Ph.D program (fingers crossed though!). However, I also looked into post-bacc programs to help my uGPA. I found many were super expensive (like 60K), and after speaking with many people in the field, I figured, for myself, there were only a few key classes I wanted to take.

What I found helpful was to flip it- I worked in a lab full time, and took classes in the evening part time. I thought schools would care more about great research experience than classes, so I prioritized that. Also- I saved myself a ton of money by doing that, and actually was able to save up money in the interim. I'm not sure 10hrs/week for research is too impressive for PhD programs, but what do I know. Just my humble opinion.

This makes A LOT of sense. Here's the thing though, I've never done any psych research before, no experience working in a lab. I was a religious studies major in college! So I think it might be a real struggle for me to find a full-time position in a lab. I'm missing more than a few key classes as well... though I got a 750 on the psych gre.