Unintended two-year gap - what's the best course?

[Rose Tyler]

I graduated last May with my bachelor's in psychology. I applied to grad school my final semester but after a round of radio silence from doctoral programs and a couple of interviews with masters programs, I found myself shut out. When last cycle rolled around, I couldn't apply for financial reasons.

I've been out of touch with the field since graduation. I live in the country and unfortunately moving to a better location isn't feasible. Last summer, I emailed a few psych professors at local colleges asking if they needed a research assistant. The couple of replies I received indicated that they didn't really do enough research to bring in outside assistance.

My GPA was solid. My GRE scores were definitely not but I'll be retaking it should I decide to go another round. I had two years of research experience resulting in a pair of poster presentations (including one at an international conference). I'm pretty sure one of my LORs would be happy to write me another, but I'm concerned about the other two as I didn't work with them outside of class.

Is my year away just too big of a red flag? Would it be better for me to aim for a masters program instead?

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[psych844]

I graduated last May with my bachelor's in psychology. I applied to grad school my final semester but after a round of radio silence from doctoral programs and a couple of interviews with masters programs, I found myself shut out. When last cycle rolled around, I couldn't apply for financial reasons.

I've been out of touch with the field since graduation. I live in the country and unfortunately moving to a better location isn't feasible. Last summer, I emailed a few psych professors at local colleges asking if they needed a research assistant. The couple of replies I received indicated that they didn't really do enough research to bring in outside assistance.

My GPA was solid. My GRE scores were definitely not but I'll be retaking it should I decide to go another round. I had two years of research experience resulting in a pair of poster presentations (including one at an international conference). I'm pretty sure one of my LORs would be happy to write me another, but I'm concerned about the other two as I didn't work with them outside of class.

Is my year away just too big of a red flag? Would it be better for me to aim for a masters program instead?

Do you mind sharing what your GRE scores were? What type of schools did you apply to? (were they all top programs, medium, schools with less prestige) How many did you apply to?

That will tell us a lot.

 

[Rose Tyler]

Do you mind sharing what your GRE scores were? What type of schools did you apply to? (were they all top programs, medium, schools with less prestige) How many did you apply to?

That will tell us a lot.

Verbal: 158 (78th)
Quantitative: 150 (40th)
Writing: 4.0 (56th)

My GPA was 3.80 cumulative and 4.0 psychology. I graduated with a 3.86 and 4.0.

I had to cross a few schools off my list entirely because I didn't meet minimum scores for quantitative. I applied to five PhDs (George Mason, UNC-Greensboro, Central Michigan, Tennessee-Knoxville, and Wisconsin-Milwaukee) and three masters.

 

[psych844]

Verbal: 158 (78th)
Quantitative: 150 (40th)
Writing: 4.0 (56th)

My GPA was 3.80 cumulative and 4.0 psychology. I graduated with a 3.86 and 4.0.

I had to cross a few schools off my list entirely because I didn't meet minimum scores for quantitative. I applied to five PhDs (George Mason, UNC-Greensboro, Central Michigan, Tennessee-Knoxville, and Wisconsin-Milwaukee) and three masters.

I'm not an expert, but many people on here are, and here is their consensus.
1. You should apply to about 15 Phd programs..with the hope that you would get an interview offer from 3-4. Yes..that many. It's super competitive out there. So there is your first problem.
2. You should apply to some top programs, some middle, some lower prestige programs. (I think you did that)
3. Your GRE quant score is a huge red flag for programs. Verbal is quite good, and Writing is passable. You should 100% re-take the GRE.


I can't comment on how much a gap in the resume makes for schools..as long as you have a decent explanation, I doubt that part is getting that much in the way. I would be much more worried about

4. Focusing on getting good letters of recommendation
5. Good letter of intent.
6. That your research interests match up with faculty at schools you are applying to

 

[deleted343839]

A gap of a year or two is not unusual. For some programs it's typical. It would be ideal if you were working in a research-related area, but I don't think the gap shuts you out of doctoral programs. A mediocre GRE and poor fit are greater liabilities.

From your previous posts it sounds like you might have applied to too few programs and had some issues with fit. If you can work on improving your GRE, clarifying your training goals, and choosing programs that would offer a good fit, you might have better chances the next time around.

 

[Sendtrees]

The gap is not the problem--it seems like you don't have enough research experience to get into a PhD program, though. That may be why you had no luck the first time. It may not be that you were "shut out" as much as the fact that you weren't competitive. There's just no way around how competitive funded PhD programs are.