WAMC: What Are My Chances

MettaMindful · Feb 19, 2011

deleted

hellosunnydays · Feb 21, 2011

I am applying this coming summer/fall for the 2012-2013 school year. With my low GPA and lack of good research experience, PhD programs are not in my reach. I am also avoiding most PsyD programs due to the cost and "degree mill" reputation, and think that concentrating on MA programs in Mental Health Counseling and MSW programs is far more realistic for me. I am applying to around 10 MA programs. My goal is to mostly practice psychotherapy so I'd be happy with a masters, but if possible would like to have the greater training and knowledge base that comes with a PsyD.

Here are my stats:
- double major in Psychology and Asian Studies, May 2011 graduate
- 2.9 GPA from Vanderbilt University (due to life circumstances, addressed in SOP)
- General GRE: 650Q/600V, Psychology GRE: 700
- undergraduate research assistant for a depression lab, 1 year
- phone counselor at a crisis line, since May 2010
- 1.5 years working at the career center during school (not sure if this is relevant to my application?)
- case management job starting May/summer 2011

PsyD programs (very, very long shot, but I'll give it a try):
- Rutgers University
- Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology
- Yeshiva University
- University of Hartford

My research interests are depression and anxiety. I am very interested in working with underserved populations and ethnic minorities, which matches well with the focus of these schools. I have also identified a researcher at Rutgers whose research interests are nearly identical to what I'm interested in. I realize that Rutgers is a top PsyD program, but it is my dream program and I think I'll regret it if I don't apply.

Any input? I can get recommendation letters from my supervisors in addition to letters from a well-known clinical psychologist, a director of undergraduate studies, and a sociology professor (researches health disparities between race, a secondary interest of mine).

I am retaking the general GREs this summer before August (when the new format rolls out). I am aiming to get scores in the 75th percentile this time. My PsychGRE score is in the 79th percentile so I may also retake it to get a higher score (I didn't feel that prepared the first time).

OhioStateUnderG · Feb 22, 2011

3.45 GPA (3.8 psych, 3.8 minor in neuro w/ some grad courses during underrgad) B.S.

2+ years experience - multiple undergrad research positions...seven labs ranging from quant, clinical (majority), developmental and then some work in a biomed atmosphere.

Accepted into TFA - Will be doing this for 2 years while receiving a masters in education (pretty irrelevant to my application, but something I feel strongly about and feel a desire to participate in)

GRE - Practice tests have over 1400 (should do better in quant than I did though with increase in studies) but holding off on taking it for a year or so since it is currently not necessary.

Manager during school for coffee shop job I possessed.
Intramural soccer.

Considering applying for a stint in the postbac program at NIH for more research in neuroscience.

Questions: How does this look for PhD programs in Clinical Psych? What about for Neuroscience (have exposure in Physics w/calculus, general chemistry, calculus, advanced neuro courses, introductory biology, pharmacology)? Would the NIH position seem necessary to be funded at a PhD program where I am pretty interested in psychopathology? I am just trying to get a feel.

As to Neuro PhD, research exposure seems necessary as well as biochem and some OChem courses, which I am considering if I could work @ NIH for a year and do some night courses.

And, yea, very solid letters of rec. Super solid one from PhD who was professor, adviser and research head. Solid from PhD in Clinical (20+ years, tenured, depression/anxiety lab, teaches UG and Grad Clinical). And multiple other decent LOR from other Dr.s I have encountered.

Began in engineering and had trouble enjoying the studies, did decently but Physics did impact me in a negative way as well as a few Engineering courses. Fell in love with Psych whilst continuing engineering a few quarters and finally switched.

Yep. That is it. Any program suggestions to look at (I'd imagine I won't be able to get into a TOP program, but something solid maybe with research interests in anxiety and depression). No interest in PsyD, it is good for some, but I am not interested at all. Hope that doesn't sound mean.

Also, no publications. Just never jumped on it. Maybe too many labs. Maybe too inconsequential (NAH

)

thanks all

BubuB · Feb 22, 2011

Hi,

I just applied to 10 PhD programs. I've gotten 1 invitation to interview. All programs were research-focused but are in different locations and based on GPA/GRE reports are of varying degrees of competitiveness.

My stats:
3.29 GPA from good small liberal arts college (psychology major) and took a couple of psych grad level classes (A's)
1360 combined GRE score, 4.5 writing
no psych GRE
~3.5 years of post-grad research experience. I've worked in 3 different labs with different focuses and each involved different types of work. I'm now working on a high profile project.
1 poster accepted, 1 submitted

Here are some ideas I've come up with a colleague:
-My GPA is too low and I'm getting cut-off at the outset. I had some similar thoughts - GPA is just not impressive and nothing else is compensating for it (for example, no multiple publications) and that I haven't taken any natural science classes (I took a lot in high school and felt like branching out in college) so I look like I couldn't handle the stats and biology aspects of the program.
-My background doesn't really fit in with the lower ranked schools on my list. I grew up in another country, currently live in the north east and the schools are in the midwest/south. So my GPA is too low for top schools but other schools on the list are assuming I won't go there (because of rank and geography) and are automatically discounting me.
-I've worked at my current position for approximately 6 months and it is the one that's closest to my research interest in terms of population (children) and research area (disruptive disorders). Considering that I've bounced around many labs, it may seem that I lack focus and/or the ability to devote myself to one lab/research area.

I'm trying to decide if I should move towards a masters program or stay where I am. I think I could get publications if I stay, but would have no chance to improve my GPA. On the other hand, I could try to go for an MS in psychology and I think I could get a pretty good graduate GPA, but that might make me look even less focused. I'd take classes where I live, but they're very expensive and I'm unsure of the value of taking one or two classes.

I would appreciate any and all thoughts.
Thanks!

futureapppsy2 · Feb 22, 2011

BubuB said:
Hi,

I just applied to 10 PhD programs. I've gotten 1 invitation to interview. All programs were research-focused but are in different locations and based on GPA/GRE reports are of varying degrees of competitiveness.

My stats:
3.29 GPA from good small liberal arts college (psychology major) and took a couple of psych grad level classes (A's)
1360 combined GRE score, 4.5 writing
no psych GRE
~3.5 years of post-grad research experience. I've worked in 3 different labs with different focuses and each involved different types of work. I'm now working on a high profile project.
1 poster accepted, 1 submitted

Here are some ideas I've come up with a colleague:
-My GPA is too low and I'm getting cut-off at the outset. I had some similar thoughts - GPA is just not impressive and nothing else is compensating for it (for example, no multiple publications) and that I haven't taken any natural science classes (I took a lot in high school and felt like branching out in college) so I look like I couldn't handle the stats and biology aspects of the program.
-My background doesn't really fit in with the lower ranked schools on my list. I grew up in another country, currently live in the north east and the schools are in the midwest/south. So my GPA is too low for top schools but other schools on the list are assuming I won't go there (because of rank and geography) and are automatically discounting me.
-I've worked at my current position for approximately 6 months and it is the one that's closest to my research interest in terms of population (children) and research area (disruptive disorders). Considering that I've bounced around many labs, it may seem that I lack focus and/or the ability to devote myself to one lab/research area.

I'm trying to decide if I should move towards a masters program or stay where I am. I think I could get publications if I stay, but would have no chance to improve my GPA. On the other hand, I could try to go for an MS in psychology and I think I could get a pretty good graduate GPA, but that might make me look even less focused. I'd take classes where I live, but they're very expensive and I'm unsure of the value of taking one or two classes.

I would appreciate any and all thoughts.
Thanks!

This is just a guess, but the fact you've been working full-time (?) in research for 3.5 years and only have 1-2 poster presentations may raise some questions. For example, in the 1.5-ish years, I worked in my main lab as an undergrad RA, I got 7 or so posters or presentations, two publications accepted, and an additional six or so "lagging" publications (publications that weren't accepted by the time I left but were under review or in prep--two have since been accepted). Granted, I was lucky in many regards--my mentor was/is amazing and very willing to involve me in publications, it was/is a highly productive lab, and it was a highly productive time in said lab. I think a lot of time in a lab with no or very few presentations or publications can--justifiably or not--raise some questions about the depth in which you were involved in the research. While every professor should recognize that all RAs have to do some degree of "scut work" (e.g., data entry--which is really more important than people give credit for, I think, but that's another topic--filing consent forms, etc., etc.), they also want to see some depth of involvement--being involved in project conceptualization, running subjects, manuscript preparation, etc. In other words, they look for whether you really understand the research you were involved in. I think working in so many different labs may have hurt you in this area, as you may not have had the longevity of involvement necessary to earn authorship.

I also worked in a lot of different labs in addition to my main lab, and while I value the experience, I do think it comes with a risk of making you look unfocused. When it came time to apply, I focused my SOP on how I found my way to my main lab and related research interests, which involved writing about my first involvement in research and how that tied into my finding my main lab, which was then the focus of my SOP along with my research interests and how the two connected and connected to my POI. All the other labs (3 psych, 1 bench psychpharmacology) were on my CV as relevant experience and skills but not the focus of my app. If your current lab is related to your interests, I'd recommend staying there and building up your knowledge , connections and vita in that area.

Good luck! :luck:

BubuB · Feb 23, 2011

futureapppsy2 said:
This is just a guess, but the fact you've been working full-time (?) in research for 3.5 years and only have 1-2 poster presentations may raise some questions. For example, in the 1.5-ish years, I worked in my main lab as an undergrad RA, I got 7 or so posters or presentations, two publications accepted, and an additional six or so "lagging" publications (publications that weren't accepted by the time I left but were under review or in prep--two have since been accepted). Granted, I was lucky in many regards--my mentor was/is amazing and very willing to involve me in publications, it was/is a highly productive lab, and it was a highly productive time in said lab. I think a lot of time in a lab with no or very few presentations or publications can--justifiably or not--raise some questions about the depth in which you were involved in the research. While every professor should recognize that all RAs have to do some degree of "scut work" (e.g., data entry--which is really more important than people give credit for, I think, but that's another topic--filing consent forms, etc., etc.), they also want to see some depth of involvement--being involved in project conceptualization, running subjects, manuscript preparation, etc. In other words, they look for whether you really understand the research you were involved in. I think working in so many different labs may have hurt you in this area, as you may not have had the longevity of involvement necessary to earn authorship.

I also worked in a lot of different labs in addition to my main lab, and while I value the experience, I do think it comes with a risk of making you look unfocused. When it came time to apply, I focused my SOP on how I found my way to my main lab and related research interests, which involved writing about my first involvement in research and how that tied into my finding my main lab, which was then the focus of my SOP along with my research interests and how the two connected and connected to my POI. All the other labs (3 psych, 1 bench psychpharmacology) were on my CV as relevant experience and skills but not the focus of my app. If your current lab is related to your interests, I'd recommend staying there and building up your knowledge , connections and vita in that area.

Good luck!

Thanks. That makes sense to me.

psych for path · Feb 24, 2011

Senior Psych major at a top ten liberal arts college.

GPA - 3.6
Psych GPA - 3.95

No GREs yet- expect around 1250-1300

1 summer internship with intensive clinical experience w severely mentally ill

Volunteer in art therapy at psych hospital (few months)

Prestigious mental health advocacy internship

1 year research in history of psychology (ongoing, possible poster)

6 months as a research assistant in clinical lab

Expect LROS: 1 research advisor, 1 academic advisor, and dean of my class

SO, with all that..,

Definitely taking a year off, and I need to study and do well on the GREs. I would really like to work a clinical job, possibly as a case manager next year, or in a mental health clinic. However, some say I should really do research and try to publish something if I ever want to dream of getting into clinical PhD programs. Really just want to be a therapist and work with severely mentally ill, but just think I can do better than MSW.

Who has opinions? Chances of PhD? Would a PsyD be right for me?

THANKS!!!! :laugh:

psych for path · Feb 25, 2011

Opinions on the above?

futureapppsy2 · Feb 25, 2011

psych for path said:
Senior Psych major at a top ten liberal arts college.

GPA - 3.6
Psych GPA - 3.95

No GREs yet- expect around 1250-1300

1 summer internship with intensive clinical experience w severely mentally ill

Volunteer in art therapy at psych hospital (few months)

Prestigious mental health advocacy internship

1 year research in history of psychology (ongoing, possible poster)

6 months as a research assistant in clinical lab

Expect LROS: 1 research advisor, 1 academic advisor, and dean of my class

SO, with all that..,

Definitely taking a year off, and I need to study and do well on the GREs. I would really like to work a clinical job, possibly as a case manager next year, or in a mental health clinic. However, some say I should really do research and try to publish something if I ever want to dream of getting into clinical PhD programs. Really just want to be a therapist and work with severely mentally ill, but just think I can do better than MSW.

Who has opinions? Chances of PhD? Would a PsyD be right for me?

THANKS!!!!

IMO, research experience, esp. resulting in presentations or publications,would be more beneficial to your application. Clinical experience is good, but you tend reach the ceiling on that a lot quicker, I think, just because there's a limit to how much clinical experience you can get with a bachelor's degree. Even if you go the PsyD route, IMO, you would be wise to limit yourself to funded, university-based PsyD programs (e.g, Rutgers, Indiana U of PA, etc), and those typically look for substantial research experience, although perhaps not quite as much as many PhD programs would. Also, the dean of your class letter might not be a good idea, unless they have any psychology-specific background--you'll typically want only in-field references, preferably related to research experience/ability.

Good luck! :luck:

PsychAndMusic · Feb 25, 2011

I will be attending a PhD program in the upcoming semester after thinking I wouldn't be accepted anywhere so this post is for everyone whos asking about their chances. Hopefully it will be somewhat helpful.

I really just want to emphasize how important it is to find the right fit of schools/POIs to match your research interests. I obtained an MA after my BA just to gain some more experience before I began applying for PhD programs. Although my GPA, letters of rec, and research/clinical experiences were great there were a lot of holes in my application. For example my verbal GRE score was pretty low, and although I've done 4+ years of research I never did a presentation or had a publication. I was still accepted into a program because my research interests matched up exactly to the faculty in that department. I had some experience working with the population I want to study, and that along with "my focus and passion" (im quoting my POI) seemed to be enough to accept me. Of course my other credentials were helpful, but it's really hard to say what your chances are based on stats alone. If you have some gaps in your application, I don't think that entirely rules you out of a running. Many schools will reject you if you don't meet their stats criteria but I'm sure many will be willing to meet with you if the fit is right...

Feel free to PM me if anyone has any questions. Good luck!! :xf:

GeorgiaPsych · Mar 4, 2011

Hello!

I am new to this forum, but I thought I'd give it a shot on this thread. I would like to start off by saying that I am aware that my chances of getting into any graduate program is shall we say ... slim to none? I got my B.A. in psychology from Emory University in May of 2009. But at that time I wasn't sure if I wanted to do psychology. I basically chose that major because I could not decide on a major. Another weak argument is that my family was pushing me to become a medical doctor, and I applied to a post-bad pre-med program at UGA. However, I soon realized that I did not belong in the medical field. I then began to take criminal justice because that was where my interests lay. Yet, I found myself drawn to many of their psychology courses. I really wanted to sign up for some of the classes, but at the time it didn't seem to fit with the criminal justice. I found myself frustrated with the sociology/criminal justice courses I was taking. I knew then psychology was the field for me. Instead of withdrawing from all the courses I was currently taking, I decided to get a second bachelor's degree in sociology, and finish off the semester.

I have no research experience whatsoever. I did volunteer for a semester in a child psychology lab at Emory University, but I barely did anything and did not receive any useful training. My stats are a bit on the average side, but I am now 100% sure that I want to pursue psychology. I realized that under the pressure my family was placing on me I had become lost and unsure. I was interested in psychology as a high schooler, and as a freshman. I only lost interest when my mother kept flashing medical schools in front of me. I've listed my stats below, and would love to get into Georgia State University's Clinical Ph.D program. Any advice?

GRE:
V - 570
Q - 610
A - 4.5

GPA:
Overall - 3.45
Psychology - 3.37 (Very, very bad ... I know)

Experience:
Research: As I mentioned, I am severely lacking in this area.

Clinical: TA at Emory Autism Center in the Preschool room (Summer); Volunteering at Project Safe, a shelter/program focused on domestic violence. I work in the emotionally abused children's group (7 months now).

Please help? I am more determined now than ever. I know what I want now. I just need help/advice.

BuckeyeAlum · Mar 4, 2011

OhioStateUnderG said:
3.45 GPA (3.8 psych, 3.8 minor in neuro w/ some grad courses during underrgad) B.S.

2+ years experience - multiple undergrad research positions...seven labs ranging from quant, clinical (majority), developmental and then some work in a biomed atmosphere.

Accepted into TFA - Will be doing this for 2 years while receiving a masters in education (pretty irrelevant to my application, but something I feel strongly about and feel a desire to participate in)

GRE - Practice tests have over 1400 (should do better in quant than I did though with increase in studies) but holding off on taking it for a year or so since it is currently not necessary.
...

OhioStateUnderG - I realized no one had replied to you, so I thought I'd help out a fellow Buckeye (GO BUCKS! OH!).

Why are you doing TFA? Teaching for two years and getting an edu. Master's is not the way to go if you want to get a Ph.D. in psych. If you are really serious about TFA, that's fine, but you may want to pursue an education-related career then. If you are convinced you want a psych Ph.D., then you should go for jobs like the ones you are considering at NIH (warning: those are hard to get!). Since I assume you are in Cbus, you may want to look at Nationwide Children's Hospital... it's a great place to be involved in research (esp. if you are interested in child clinical or health psych). Many of those positions will start opening up soon...

Also - I would not wait very long to take the GRE. If you are getting good scores now, I'd take it sooner rather than later. The scores are good for 5 years, and it's really easy to get out of the habit of taking tests like that.

I think it is a bit concerning that you were in so many research labs... generally, programs want to see some continuity and demonstration of some kind of common interest. (You can always PM me w/who you worked with @ OSU... I was involved in a few developmental labs there myself!).

If you have any other questions, let me know. Hope you're ready for March Madness... Jared Sullinger is a boss!

PsychAndMusic · Mar 4, 2011

GeorgiaPsych said:
Hello!

I am new to this forum, but I thought I'd give it a shot on this thread. I would like to start off by saying that I am aware that my chances of getting into any graduate program is shall we say ... slim to none? I got my B.A. in psychology from Emory University in May of 2009. But at that time I wasn't sure if I wanted to do psychology. I basically chose that major because I could not decide on a major. Another weak argument is that my family was pushing me to become a medical doctor, and I applied to a post-bad pre-med program at UGA. However, I soon realized that I did not belong in the medical field. I then began to take criminal justice because that was where my interests lay. Yet, I found myself drawn to many of their psychology courses. I really wanted to sign up for some of the classes, but at the time it didn't seem to fit with the criminal justice. I found myself frustrated with the sociology/criminal justice courses I was taking. I knew then psychology was the field for me. Instead of withdrawing from all the courses I was currently taking, I decided to get a second bachelor's degree in sociology, and finish off the semester.

I have no research experience whatsoever. I did volunteer for a semester in a child psychology lab at Emory University, but I barely did anything and did not receive any useful training. My stats are a bit on the average side, but I am now 100% sure that I want to pursue psychology. I realized that under the pressure my family was placing on me I had become lost and unsure. I was interested in psychology as a high schooler, and as a freshman. I only lost interest when my mother kept flashing medical schools in front of me. I've listed my stats below, and would love to get into Georgia State University's Clinical Ph.D program. Any advice?

GRE:
V - 570
Q - 610
A - 4.5

GPA:
Overall - 3.45
Psychology - 3.37 (Very, very bad ... I know)

Experience:
Research: As I mentioned, I am severely lacking in this area.

Clinical: TA at Emory Autism Center in the Preschool room (Summer); Volunteering at Project Safe, a shelter/program focused on domestic violence. I work in the emotionally abused children's group (7 months now).

Please help? I am more determined now than ever. I know what I want now. I just need help/advice.

You might want to consider applying for an MA program in psychology to both gain valuable research experience as well as increase your gpa before you start applying PhD. Also, it must be hard to say you want to get your PhD if youve never done research before. You might do some research realize you hate it and alas a PsyD route would perhaps be in order (they have research too just not as heavily weighted.) Best of luck to you!!

Feel free to PM me if you have anymore questions.

paramour · Mar 4, 2011

GeorgiaPsych said:
Hello!

I am new to this forum, but I thought I'd give it a shot on this thread. I would like to start off by saying that I am aware that my chances of getting into any graduate program is shall we say ... slim to none? I got my B.A. in psychology from Emory University in May of 2009. But at that time I wasn't sure if I wanted to do psychology. I basically chose that major because I could not decide on a major. Another weak argument is that my family was pushing me to become a medical doctor, and I applied to a post-bad pre-med program at UGA. However, I soon realized that I did not belong in the medical field. I then began to take criminal justice because that was where my interests lay. Yet, I found myself drawn to many of their psychology courses. I really wanted to sign up for some of the classes, but at the time it didn't seem to fit with the criminal justice. I found myself frustrated with the sociology/criminal justice courses I was taking. I knew then psychology was the field for me. Instead of withdrawing from all the courses I was currently taking, I decided to get a second bachelor's degree in sociology, and finish off the semester.

I have no research experience whatsoever. I did volunteer for a semester in a child psychology lab at Emory University, but I barely did anything and did not receive any useful training. My stats are a bit on the average side, but I am now 100% sure that I want to pursue psychology. I realized that under the pressure my family was placing on me I had become lost and unsure. I was interested in psychology as a high schooler, and as a freshman. I only lost interest when my mother kept flashing medical schools in front of me. I've listed my stats below, and would love to get into Georgia State University's Clinical Ph.D program. Any advice?

GRE:
V - 570
Q - 610
A - 4.5

GPA:
Overall - 3.45
Psychology - 3.37 (Very, very bad ... I know)

Experience:
Research: As I mentioned, I am severely lacking in this area.

Clinical: TA at Emory Autism Center in the Preschool room (Summer); Volunteering at Project Safe, a shelter/program focused on domestic violence. I work in the emotionally abused children's group (7 months now).

Please help? I am more determined now than ever. I know what I want now. I just need help/advice.

PsychAndMusic said:
You might want to consider applying for an MA program in psychology to both gain valuable research experience as well as increase your gpa before you start applying PhD. Also, it must be hard to say you want to get your PhD if youve never done research before. You might do some research realize you hate it and alas a PsyD route would perhaps be in order (they have research too just not as heavily weighted.) Best of luck to you!! Feel free to PM me if you have anymore questions.

+1. I actually landed 2 interviews at top-tier programs my first application cycle with absolutely no research experience. EXTREMELY RARE. In the end, I was waitlisted at both. I was amazed I had even landed the interviews.

I typically wouldn't recommend MA programs to everyone for various reasons discussed in other threads (and this is what I ended up doing afterward), but it may/may not help in your situation so definitely something to think about. Your GPA is not horrendous but could use some boosting with some add'l academic work. Find an experimental/research focused MA program to obtain add'l psych research/stats exposure. This will hopefully help you gain some focus as well.

I also would strongly consider retaking the GRE. There are programs that will not look at your scores unless they're at least 1200+. You're close but not quite. Do a bit of studying and see what you can do to give them a boost.

paramour · Mar 4, 2011

psych for path said:
Senior Psych major at a top ten liberal arts college.

GPA - 3.6
Psych GPA - 3.95

No GREs yet- expect around 1250-1300

1 summer internship with intensive clinical experience w severely mentally ill

Volunteer in art therapy at psych hospital (few months)

Prestigious mental health advocacy internship

1 year research in history of psychology (ongoing, possible poster)

6 months as a research assistant in clinical lab

Expect LROS: 1 research advisor, 1 academic advisor, and dean of my class

SO, with all that..,

Definitely taking a year off, and I need to study and do well on the GREs. I would really like to work a clinical job, possibly as a case manager next year, or in a mental health clinic. However, some say I should really do research and try to publish something if I ever want to dream of getting into clinical PhD programs. Really just want to be a therapist and work with severely mentally ill, but just think I can do better than MSW.

Who has opinions? Chances of PhD? Would a PsyD be right for me?

THANKS!!!!

psych for path said:
Opinions on the above?

futureapppsy2 said:
IMO, research experience, esp. resulting in presentations or publications,would be more beneficial to your application. Clinical experience is good, but you tend reach the ceiling on that a lot quicker, I think, just because there's a limit to how much clinical experience you can get with a bachelor's degree. Even if you go the PsyD route, IMO, you would be wise to limit yourself to funded, university-based PsyD programs (e.g, Rutgers, Indiana U of PA, etc), and those typically look for substantial research experience, although perhaps not quite as much as many PhD programs would. Also, the dean of your class letter might not be a good idea, unless they have any psychology-specific background--you'll typically want only in-field references, preferably related to research experience/ability.

Good luck!

+1. It seems that you have a considerable amount of clinical experience already. I personally would find add'l research experience if at all possible and substitute your LoR from the dean with a LoR from someone else who knows your research savvy.

G'luck! :luck:

nessa34 · Mar 6, 2011

BuckeyeAlum said:
Why are you doing TFA? Teaching for two years and getting an edu. Master's is not the way to go if you want to get a Ph.D. in psych. If you are really serious about TFA, that's fine, but you may want to pursue an education-related career then. If you are convinced you want a psych Ph.D., then you should go for jobs like the ones you are considering at NIH (warning: those are hard to get!). Since I assume you are in Cbus, you may want to look at Nationwide Children's Hospital... it's a great place to be involved in research (esp. if you are interested in child clinical or health psych). Many of those positions will start opening up soon...

FWIW, I took a year off after undergrad and volunteered full-time, basically doing social work. Like you, I was pretty sure I wanted to do psych research as a career but wanted to volunteer for non-career reasons. I'm now working as an RA and planning to apply to grad school next fall.

If you are planning to do something unrelated after college, I would also plan on then spending a year or two in a research related job before applying- which sounds like what you're considering. Speaking from my personal experience, getting out in the 'real world' and trying something different really cemeted my desire to do my original career plan, and I'm much more motivated now- and I think (hope!) that will help me when I'm applying. However, if you apply directly after TFA or a similar, unrelated experience, people will doubt whether you're serious about the field. So I definitely wouldn't discourage doing something like TFA if it's important to you personally, but 1) don't expect it to help you get in to grad school and 2) be prepared to do something between that experience and grad school to be a competitive applicant.

ETA: just reread your original post and saw you're considering neuro also. Pretty sure we're the same person...

I would look closely at the neuro programs doing research you're interested in, as some require orgo, etc. and some don't. It really depends. I was also on the fence about which kind of program to apply to, but realized I'm really interested in my research as how it pertains specifically to mental illness, so I'll be going mostly for clinical psych. But that's up to you. You wouldn't need the NIH program specifically, but if you are planning to get a research position, try to find one that's doing psychopathology-related neuro research (tricky to find, though...) and it should prepare you for both.

OhioStateUnderG · Mar 7, 2011

BuckeyeAlum said:
OhioStateUnderG - I realized no one had replied to you, so I thought I'd help out a fellow Buckeye (GO BUCKS! OH!).

Why are you doing TFA? Teaching for two years and getting an edu. Master's is not the way to go if you want to get a Ph.D. in psych. If you are really serious about TFA, that's fine, but you may want to pursue an education-related career then. If you are convinced you want a psych Ph.D., then you should go for jobs like the ones you are considering at NIH (warning: those are hard to get!). Since I assume you are in Cbus, you may want to look at Nationwide Children's Hospital... it's a great place to be involved in research (esp. if you are interested in child clinical or health psych). Many of those positions will start opening up soon...

Also - I would not wait very long to take the GRE. If you are getting good scores now, I'd take it sooner rather than later. The scores are good for 5 years, and it's really easy to get out of the habit of taking tests like that.

I think it is a bit concerning that you were in so many research labs... generally, programs want to see some continuity and demonstration of some kind of common interest. (You can always PM me w/who you worked with @ OSU... I was involved in a few developmental labs there myself!).

If you have any other questions, let me know. Hope you're ready for March Madness... Jared Sullinger is a boss!

I realize after lots of discussions with some of the clinical program professors that TFA does nothing to my resume for clinical psych PhD. Put, I am compelled to do it for personal reasons. I am hoping to do the NIH summer research next year, trying to contact people this summer about it and I have been in communication with a few professors in St. Louis about the possibility of being involved in their labs part-time, and maybe more extensively in the summer.

I thought there may be concern for the labs, one was for 15 months, one for 12 months, another for 12 months, and another has been on/off 9 months, and current one will be 6 months. There is some consistency, but my main rational behind it is a) I wanted diversity b) I honestly never pushed far enough into it to gain much responsibility, so I reached a stagnant point in that 15 month one...hmm That is my fault completely.

GRE is good advice.

I just wish to do TFA for many reasons, but am constantly torn as I realize it sets me back a bit in the way these things happen. I guess I will be super old, but I feel the experience is worth it and I do not mind taking time post-TFA pre-grad school to become more involved in full-time research. Have also been attempting to find a way to receive a degree not edu while doing TFA but that seems difficult/ expensive at the moment.

And after yesterday's game I am super pumped for March Madness. Sullinger all day. Buford and Deibler gotta stay hot!

Thanks for the advice.

OhioStateUnderG · Mar 7, 2011

Nessa 34,

Thanks for the insightful post. I am glad it helped solidify your position to do some of that. As mentioned before, I have a strong desire to be a part of TFA that falls out of the spectrum of clinical psych. Of course, it has been difficult and there are some factors I could have put more weight on (and maybe should have), but I guess it is better to have to choose jobs instead of running around looking for something.

I am prepared for a research stint after TFA for a year or two (or more if it is really interesting!), one question that comes to mind is do you believe that a volunteer position or position like TFA could increase chances of landing perhaps more involved research positions? Thanks a bunch.

nessa34 · Mar 8, 2011

OhioStateUnderG said:
Nessa 34,
I am prepared for a research stint after TFA for a year or two (or more if it is really interesting!), one question that comes to mind is do you believe that a volunteer position or position like TFA could increase chances of landing perhaps more involved research positions? Thanks a bunch.

for the most part, when I interviewed for RA positions, they would see that my graduation date was the year before, ask me what I had been doing after graduation, I'd give my two-sentence spiel, and they'd move on to my undergrad research experience. I think the fact I'd worked a full-time job, learned time management, etc. instead of being straight out of undergrad may have helped marginally, but not much. Since it wasn't a research-oriented job, most PIs didn't seem to care much about it.

However, my volunteer work was with refugees and I ended up getting hired in a lab doing PTSD research, so it was helpful in that (rather coincidental) instance. Along the same lines, experience from TFA working with kids may help in a developmental lab, for example. Also, since TFA is more well known, and known to be competitive, that may help you more than the relatively obscure program I did.

OhioStateUnderG · Mar 10, 2011

nessa34 said:
for the most part, when I interviewed for RA positions, they would see that my graduation date was the year before, ask me what I had been doing after graduation, I'd give my two-sentence spiel, and they'd move on to my undergrad research experience. I think the fact I'd worked a full-time job, learned time management, etc. instead of being straight out of undergrad may have helped marginally, but not much. Since it wasn't a research-oriented job, most PIs didn't seem to care much about it.

However, my volunteer work was with refugees and I ended up getting hired in a lab doing PTSD research, so it was helpful in that (rather coincidental) instance. Along the same lines, experience from TFA working with kids may help in a developmental lab, for example. Also, since TFA is more well known, and known to be competitive, that may help you more than the relatively obscure program I did.

That makes sense, I appreciate the information. And congrats on that acceptance (not sure if that is recent or if you have been in the lab for awhile, but regardless

)

I have been speaking more about TFA each day, and am standing by it. Just to good of an opportunity, a novel experience. I guess my trajectory, like yours, will be a bit different. Well, everyone's is! I don't mind doing some research post-TFA either, as it would be very beneficial in allowing me to narrow the scope of interests (which are always booming it seems- Neuroscience is just too interesting! Right?)

CommonSense · Mar 13, 2011

Since I'm a freshman I won't bother with specific stats but will try to estimate where I'll be a few years if and when I'm applying.

Also, I'll briefly put in the obvious disclaimers. I'm not sure I can sustain my level of performance in the classroom or elsewhere. Maybe I'll be a total dud once I show up at the research lab. And I really don't want to come across as arrogant. But I have to start assessing my chances somewhere.

College: Top 20 and has a great reputation for giving research opportunities and getting seniors into top graduate programs.

GPA - Psychology - 3.8 to 4.0
GPA - Overall - 3.8 to 4.0

I've done well my first semester and a half and if I can keep it up that's where I'll be.

GREs - I did very well on my SATs - 1480/2240 - and I've heard that you can extrapolate from SATs to GREs. But maybe I heard wrong, so feel free to correct me on that.

Research: As I said above my college is great for that and one sophomore friend worked in a lab last summer and got a publication already. Also I have enough AP credits that I could do a lot of research during my sophomore and junior years and still have time for coursework.

When I refer to "a top clinical PhD program" above I mean the ones where 100% of students get a full tuition waiver and a fellowship or assistantship.

I'm sure that I'll stand a chance if I can continue at this pace. But if I'm not too set on any one particular program, what is the probability that I get into one excellent program?

nessa34 · Mar 13, 2011

CommonSense said:
Since I'm a freshman I won't bother with specific stats but will try to estimate where I'll be a few years if and when I'm applying.

Also, I'll briefly put in the obvious disclaimers. I'm not sure I can sustain my level of performance in the classroom or elsewhere. Maybe I'll be a total dud once I show up at the research lab. And I really don't want to come across as arrogant. But I have to start assessing my chances somewhere.

College: Top 20 and has a great reputation for giving research opportunities and getting seniors into top graduate programs.

GPA - Psychology - 3.8 to 4.0
GPA - Overall - 3.8 to 4.0

I've done well my first semester and a half and if I can keep it up that's where I'll be.

GREs - I did very well on my SATs - 1480/2240 - and I've heard that you can extrapolate from SATs to GREs. But maybe I heard wrong, so feel free to correct me on that.

Research: As I said above my college is great for that and one sophomore friend worked in a lab last summer and got a publication already. Also I have enough AP credits that I could do a lot of research during my sophomore and junior years and still have time for coursework.

When I refer to "a top clinical PhD program" above I mean the ones where 100% of students get a full tuition waiver and a fellowship or assistantship.

I'm sure that I'll stand a chance if I can continue at this pace. But if I'm not too set on any one particular program, what is the probability that I get into one excellent program?

your probability is exactly 22.4%.

just kidding. for two reasons:
1) at this point, it's too early to even extrapolate about your chances. even when you're applying, nobody here can give you too great of a prediction, frankly, but it's waay to early now.
2) while there's nothing wrong with having a plan, focus on getting the most out of college instead of your chances at grad school. maybe you have known from age 7 that you wanted to be a clinical psychologist and you will be the most renowned in your generation. wonderful! or maybe a year from now, you will look back and shake your head that you ever wanted to go to grad school in the field. also wonderful, although it may not seem so right now

Take classes that interest you, get involved in research that interests you, get practical experience/involved in extracurriculars that interest you, and see where it all goes.

mechanus · Mar 15, 2011

I'm looking applying for schools for the 2012/2013. I've been catalogued in the past as a non-traditional student, which makes all of this a bit interesting. I applied to exactly 1 school in 2011, mainly because I wanted to get the MA done since my undergrad GPA is a little on the low side.

My primary interest lies within a Psy.D program. However, Ph.D programs with a significant practicum component would be equally attractive. I do have a couple of rough ideas for the dissertation (heavily influenced by my IT background)

So, let's get the numbers out of the way first:

Undergrad GPA: 3.23 (non-psych; IT); Graduated 2003 (rough life-situations)
Graduate GPA: 3.97 (MA I/O); Graduated 2011

GRE (11/2010)
V: 580
Q: 510
A: 4.0

I do plan to retake the GRE since I've got the time for it (they are not stellar scores in any case).

Outside of the academic considerations, I have about 10 years of business experience, internationally. I've lived abroad (and currently live in Costa Rica due to business) for roughly 10 years. I am fully aware that I would have to take undergrad courses in psych (I did take about 12 credit hours in my non-pysch degree way back when, but would take them again anyway as refreshers).

Since my research experience is basically limited to the MA thesis (I doubt any of my business experience, even though it did include research, would apply), I feel that I may be behind the curve. Aside from this, what could I improve to enhance my application?

kid16 · Mar 25, 2011

I'm planning on applying to the University of Miami Counseling (not clinical) PhD program for Fall 2012. Given my current life-factors, I'm going to be taking a potentially limiting and unusual approach to applying to only this program... I'm married (my wife has an established private practice here in South Florida), we have a child, and we own a home... all of those factors play into the fact that currently I'm not willing to relocate in order to pursue a PhD somewhere else. Ultimately leaving UM as the only program under consideration at this time. Interestingly, and thankfully, I really like the social-justice orientation of the program, along with the health psychology focus of 3 key professors.

I'm interested in any and all feedback about my assets and liabilities as they pertain to my potential chances of admission here. Any other applicants, current students, or anyone recently accepted to this program here?

The numbers and more about me....

Undergrad - UW Madison: BA Psych (2004). GPA: 3.561
Grad - NYU: MA Counseling (2008). GPA: 3.979

GRE (taken January 2011)
Verbal: 570
Quant: 640
Analytic: 5

Work Experience:
1- Program Director at Day Program for individuals with developmental disabilities and physical limitations at large, high-profile agency in New York City from March 2005 - June 2008. Educational & clinical setting. Serving 110 Clients daily. Supervising approx. 60 staff.

2- Program Administrator of Residential Treatment facility for individuals with developmental disabilities and severely fragile medical conditions in large, high-profile agency in Miami, FL from November 2008 - Present. Residential/Clinical/Medical setting. Serving 24 clients 24/7/365. Supervising approx. 80 staff including leading interdisciplinary team of MD, Psychologist, OT/PT/ST/RT, Dietary, RNs, etc.

Clinical Training Experience:
As part of MA program. Intern counselor at NYC second opportunity school and LGBTQ drop-in center with on-site counseling center & health/medical clinic.

Research Experience:
Undergrad: ZERO....
Grad: not-yet-published qualitative phenomenological case-study-based research conducted down in New Orleans 6 months post-Katrina.

SOP:
Interested in research on counseling & psychotherapy in medical/health settings and impact on well-being, physical health, and effectiveness of treatment/recovery.

Recommendations:
1- Grad professor who led New Orleans project.
2- Grad professor who was clinical advisor.
3- LCSW supervisor from clinical training.

I'm def willing to apply a second or even third time if I don't get in with the idea of attempting to fine-tune/supplement my application based on what might be keeping me out at the get go...

Thanks for any feedback.

MarshmallowsNOM · Mar 29, 2011

Hello All!
I am recently recovering from getting super rejected from my first attempt at applying to Clinical PhD programs so while I am inquiring about my chances, I am more interested in getting opinions/ feedback as to what I can do in order to improve my app and do better next time around (and hopefully get accepted somewhere!).

Background: I applied to 9 Clinical PhD programs (for 2011) mainly focused on anxiety/ stress related research. These ranged from uber competitive (ex: Boston U) to just regular competitive (ex: UN Reno) but no "safe" schools, no masters, or PsyD's. I am thinking this may be a problem that I applied to too competitive of programs based on my app strength. Maybe I was overly ambitious? So I will be revising my school/ program list this time around.

My Stats:
GPA: (From CSU/ State University)
- 3.4 overall, 3.8 psych, 3.7 last 2yrs
(Deans list last 2 yrs, graduated with Psi Chi honors, blah, blah)

GRE:
1st time- 550V, 620Q, 4.5AW
2nd time- 600V, 620Q, 4.5AW (and I studied mainly math and improved only my verbal. I don't get it either!)
Psych subject- 660 (I figured this wasn't amazing, but honestly didn't think it was important enough to retake)

*Should I try to make a 3rd attempt at improving my GRE scores before re-applying this Fall?

Past-Bac Work and Research Experience:
I did 1 year of RA as an undergrad at a psychiatry lab at an excellent school (a top UC)
After graduation I was hired full-time as a research associate in this same lab and now have a total of 4 years research experience (including the 1 yr undergrad). I have coordinated multiple studies and also work as fMRI operator on brain imaging studies. However, this is the only lab I have ever worked in, not sure if that is good or bad at this point.

Pubs:
co-author on 4 papers ( 2 published, 2 submitted for publication)
co-author on at least 5 poster presentations, but nothing as 1st author (This is generally reserved for grad students and higher up people in my lab and I really had to work to even be included on anything)

SOP: I was told by many that my SOP was fantastic and I did spend quite a bit of time and effort on it. I felt I was a good match for research at the school I applied to, and my focus is on research in general.

Letters:
1. Amazing from my boss/PI who is very well known and respected
2. Another amazing letter from a PhD early in career that I work with extensively on research projects
3. From a former professor that I had TA'd for, but I thought her letter was not great. She did know me well, but maybe just isn't a great writer? This person is also a lecturer and while has a PhD, has not been involved in research for many years.

Sorry, I am trying to keep this as brief as possible so people will actually read it and give me some feedback. But basically I applied to 9 schools with these stats and got ZERO interviews. I really thought I had a chance based on my experience, pubs, etc and had hoped that these would overshadow my blah gre/gpa.

*What did I do wrong?

*What should I focus on before re-applying this Fall?

Also, as a side note- I am looking into more Health Psych programs and am interested in either clinical health or non-clinical, with a research focus on stress/ anxiety so if anyone knows of any programs that I should look into, please let me know!!

Thank you to anyone who took the time to read all that!

~MMN

futureapppsy2 · Mar 30, 2011

MarshmallowsNOM said:
Hello All!
I am recently recovering from getting super rejected from my first attempt at applying to Clinical PhD programs so while I am inquiring about my chances, I am more interested in getting opinions/ feedback as to what I can do in order to improve my app and do better next time around (and hopefully get accepted somewhere!).

Background: I applied to 9 Clinical PhD programs (for 2011) mainly focused on anxiety/ stress related research. These ranged from uber competitive (ex: Boston U) to just regular competitive (ex: UN Reno) but no "safe" schools, no masters, or PsyD's. I am thinking this may be a problem that I applied to too competitive of programs based on my app strength. Maybe I was overly ambitious? So I will be revising my school/ program list this time around.

My Stats:
GPA: (From CSU/ State University)
- 3.4 overall, 3.8 psych, 3.7 last 2yrs
(Deans list last 2 yrs, graduated with Psi Chi honors, blah, blah)

GRE:
1st time- 550V, 620Q, 4.5AW
2nd time- 600V, 620Q, 4.5AW (and I studied mainly math and improved only my verbal. I don't get it either!)
Psych subject- 660 (I figured this wasn't amazing, but honestly didn't think it was important enough to retake)

*Should I try to make a 3rd attempt at improving my GRE scores before re-applying this Fall?

Past-Bac Work and Research Experience:
I did 1 year of RA as an undergrad at a psychiatry lab at an excellent school (a top UC)
After graduation I was hired full-time as a research associate in this same lab and now have a total of 4 years research experience (including the 1 yr undergrad). I have coordinated multiple studies and also work as fMRI operator on brain imaging studies. However, this is the only lab I have ever worked in, not sure if that is good or bad at this point.

Pubs:
co-author on 4 papers ( 2 published, 2 submitted for publication)
co-author on at least 5 poster presentations, but nothing as 1st author (This is generally reserved for grad students and higher up people in my lab and I really had to work to even be included on anything)

SOP: I was told by many that my SOP was fantastic and I did spend quite a bit of time and effort on it. I felt I was a good match for research at the school I applied to, and my focus is on research in general.

Letters:
1. Amazing from my boss/PI who is very well known and respected
2. Another amazing letter from a PhD early in career that I work with extensively on research projects
3. From a former professor that I had TA'd for, but I thought her letter was not great. She did know me well, but maybe just isn't a great writer? This person is also a lecturer and while has a PhD, has not been involved in research for many years.

Sorry, I am trying to keep this as brief as possible so people will actually read it and give me some feedback. But basically I applied to 9 schools with these stats and got ZERO interviews. I really thought I had a chance based on my experience, pubs, etc and had hoped that these would overshadow my blah gre/gpa.

*What did I do wrong?

*What should I focus on before re-applying this Fall?

Also, as a side note- I am looking into more Health Psych programs and am interested in either clinical health or non-clinical, with a research focus on stress/ anxiety so if anyone knows of any programs that I should look into, please let me know!!

Thank you to anyone who took the time to read all that!
~MMN

Honestly, you look like an amazing candidate to me--the only weakness I can see is the GRE being sub-1250/sub-1300, so I might really try to get that before re-applying. Also, no, I wouldn't apply to PsyDs or other practitioner-focused programs if you really know you want a research-focused career. Also, there's such an element of luck to this process, I think, with so many ultra-strong applicants in the mix, so you may not have done anything "wrong" at all, per se. A third research-focused LOR may also help, if possible.

Good luck! :luck:

MarshmallowsNOM · Mar 30, 2011

Hey, thanks for the feedback futureapppsy2!

That does make me feel a little bit better, and so far the only solid plan I have come up with was to retake the darn GRE yet again. I am going to try and take it in June or July so I can take the current version that I am already familiar with.

MarshmallowsNOM · Mar 30, 2011

aelsehamy said:
Hi all,

I'm pretty new to this forum and have basically been reading the "DrClinPsych" thread for like the past week collecting on others' experiences and such. I am not planning on applying to Ph.D programs until the cycle after next (so admittance in Fall 2013), but obviously we've all got to stay ahead of the game so I had a couple of quick questions.

Everything else aside (GPA, GREs, etc) I am currently doing work in a Social Psych lab and have been doing so since September 2010. The Ph.D student I work with will be graduating (probably) after this year if she finishes her dissertation, so that's one year of research experience I have. I am currently a Junior, and plan on working in clinical child psychiatry (hopefully) next year to have my research experience be more focused to what I want to pursue (child clinical). Also, my school requires that we work in a lab of our choice FOR credit. My experience in the social psych lab is completely voluntary. So I plan to do a lab in clinical psych/psychopathology for credit which will be more relevant experience. My question is, do you think all of these experiences will be good? Is it bad that I have a year of experience in Social Psychology? I am not sure what my chances are of getting a pub or of doing independent research are. I am taking a research methods course next year and hope I can run experiments and get a paper together to possibly submit for a poster presentation but I'm not sure if this is how the course works. I cannot do an honors thesis because my GPA is not high enough to be admitted to the program unfortunately, although I would love to do it and would work my butt off. So basically, what are everyone's thoughts on this?

Furthermore, I plan to apply AFTER I graduate, so I will have a lag year for interviews etc. I am going to try my hardest to find an RA job. Do you think this will be good enough? If I don't find an RA job, will it look awful if I have a job in a different field for a year in order to survive until I (hopefully) get to a Ph.D program? What if I volunteer in a lab part-time?

I feel like there's a lot of conflicting advice on publications and poster presentations, so I'm just wondering what my chances will be as an applicant that is only planning on taking ONE year between undergrad and grad school. Getting a publication is hard as an undergrad, but I've heard it is very rare and plenty of people are accepted without them.

Thanks for any and all advice, sorry for the lengthy and kind of confusing post! Let me know if I should clarify anything!

Best,
Alex

Hi Alex,
These are just my opinions based on my experience and from talking to many others at various levels in thier careers so of course you can take or leave it. You aksed,

"My question is, do you think all of these experiences will be good? Is it bad that I have a year of experience in Social Psychology?"

I say, yes, these are all great experiences. Any and all research experience will be a plus even if you worked in a social lab, because you are still learning research skills regardless of the topic.

From what you say, it sounds like you are planning on working in a more clinical lab for your course credits, so my advice would be to work really hard in that new lab and also to try and find someone to latch on to in that lab. Maybe a grad student or post-doc who needs a solid, hard working RA. In my experience I have found that it really helps to have sort of a mentor type person who likes you and wants to help you do well. Obviously you would have to earn this by working really hard, but maybe once you have this relationship set up, that person can help you get on posters, papers, etc. Building these relationships will help you immensely once you start getting into the apps process. Even if you don't get any pubs out of it, you never know who may know someone or had gone to grad school with so and so and can help put in a good word for you. I have heard of many people who got interviews because they knew someone who knew someone.

I also worked at many non psych related jobs after graduation because I had to pay the bills. However, I continued to volunteer in a lab and eventually they hired me! So no matter what you do, try to stay involved in some kind of research even if it is volunteer, because you never know when a spot may open up and if you are the one RA who just wont go away, it is likely your name will come up!

Overall it sounds like you are on track and are at least thinking of all these important and confusing components. Best of luck to you!
~MMN

MarshmallowsNOM · Mar 30, 2011

psych for path said:
Senior Psych major at a top ten liberal arts college.

GPA - 3.6
Psych GPA - 3.95

No GREs yet- expect around 1250-1300

1 summer internship with intensive clinical experience w severely mentally ill

Volunteer in art therapy at psych hospital (few months)

Prestigious mental health advocacy internship

1 year research in history of psychology (ongoing, possible poster)

6 months as a research assistant in clinical lab

Expect LROS: 1 research advisor, 1 academic advisor, and dean of my class

SO, with all that..,

Definitely taking a year off, and I need to study and do well on the GREs. I would really like to work a clinical job, possibly as a case manager next year, or in a mental health clinic. However, some say I should really do research and try to publish something if I ever want to dream of getting into clinical PhD programs. Really just want to be a therapist and work with severely mentally ill, but just think I can do better than MSW.

Who has opinions? Chances of PhD? Would a PsyD be right for me?

THANKS!!!!

Hi,

It sounds like you are more interested in applied clinical work, like seeing patients as a therapist. While you can definately get licensed and practice with a PhD, this degree tends to be more research focused.

Do you enjoy research or want to have research as part of your career in the future? If the answer is no, then I would suggest looking into some PsyD programs, Counseling PhD programs, or even some PhDs that are more on the practitioner side as opposed to research. There are books that actually rank programs on how much they focus on research vs practice (Insiders Guide to Grad Programs in Clinical and Counseling psychology is a good one). So you may be able to find some PhD programs that focus more on clinical training.

I know someone who worked as a career counselor, got a PhD in counseling psych (through an education department, not a psych department) and then got licensed and is now happily working as a therapist and has a private practice. I say this just to show there are multiple routes to get you where you want to go, so don't get too set on one thing, check out all of your options.

Good Luck!!

~MMN

kid16 · Mar 31, 2011

Anyone with any feedback?

Lulu5 · Apr 2, 2011

Hey there. I'm a non-traditional applicant planning to re-apply to School Psych PhD programs in the Fall 2011. What are my chances?

Stats:
Undergrad cGPA (BA English from top liberal arts college), 2003: 3.44 (upper division - 3.6)
Grad cGPA (MPH - Maternal & Child Health at a top UC), 2009: 3.85
Psych pre-reqs (finished by Summer 2011), total 18 units: GPA = 4.0

GRE
V - 500, Q - 650, AW - 4.5 (total - 1150)
V - 600, Q - 670, AW - 4.0 (total = 1270)

Research Experience:

Non-psych MPH Master's thesis - knowledgeable about research methods & design and data analysis (STATA & SAS), writing, etc.
Psych-related research project (Masters-level Epidemiology class)
Volunteer RA in an ADHD lab (1 yr-present, 6 hrs/wk) - data entry & interpretation (SPSS), conducting assessments with kids (no presentations or pubs)

Teaching / Clinical Experience:

Teach for America (2 yrs)
Child Life school room volunteer @ Children's Hospital (2 yrs)
Response to Intervention Coach - volunteer for school psych working with students with both ADHD & reading disabilities in reading (1yr - present)

Current Work Experience: Guidelines Project Manager at a well-known health org (2009-present) with working knowledge of evidence-based medicine / systematic reviews, conducting meta analyses, & building databases:

Just published a CVD-related National clinical practice Guideline
Currently project managing the Depression & ADHD Guidelines for this health org (will be published by end of 2011)

Research Interests: ADHD & reading disabilities, reading self-efficacy in those with ADHD & reading disabiliaties (focus = elementary school & younger)

School Psych programs I'm interested in: UC Berkeley, Michigan State, Syracuse, UCSB, Lehigh, UNC-Chapel Hill - any other suggestions based on my interests & stats?

Concerns: I'm primarily concerned with my research experience - is it enough? I'm really struggling to squeeze it in given my work schedule. Does being a project mgr for behavioral health guidelines count as research experience (though I just facilitate the guideline production & publication process)?

I know this is a long post, but I'd really appreciate your honest feedback. Thanks!

ADRA2A · Apr 4, 2011

Problem: Accepted to UTC Research Psychology MS.

My goal is to pursue a doctoral program in Biopsychology/Neuroscience.

Stats
Gpa - 3.2 (Psychology BA, Stetson University)
GRE V - 530 (obv. redo)
GRE Q - 570 (obv. redo)
Research experience - Undergrad work accepted @ CEPO, otherwise zip.
Work Experience - None related to the field.

Question: Do I attend UTC @ 17K a year for two years, then apply to Doctoral Programs?

or

Do I take a year off, work full time in as a lab assistant & take chemistry courses I neglected and redo the GRE.

:scared:

My GPA is a result of ineffective medicine to control my ADD, once I found the right Combo I excelled and have been at the top of every course. I am concerned the MS degree will just gift myself Debt and not help my doctoral dream.

mcj2930 · Apr 7, 2011

Hi guys!

I am an international student from Korea..

Although I am Korean, my university is in Tokyo, Japan.

I am thinking to apply the end of this year for clinical psychology programs in US.
UCLA
SUNY Albany
University of Florida (Counseling)
ASU
U of A
Florida State University
University of Nevada, Reno
University of New Mexico
Vanderbilt University
Boston University
Yale University
Harvard University
U Penn
UNC Chapel Hill
Duke University
University of Miami

Here is my stats

My Stats:

TOEFL
-IBT 114/120

GPA: (From Waseda University, Japanese IVY school)
- 4.0/4.0 (Deans list every time)
- When I was an exchange student in ASU 3.87/4.0

GRE:
720V, 760Q, 4.0AWA
Psych subject- Not yet but planning to take this year

Research Experience:
1. I did one and half year RA as an undergrad at a Mindfulness Stress Reduction Program(MBSR/MBCT) lab at one Medical School in Korea

2. One year RA as an undergrad at Child Peer Behavior lab in ASU

3. One year RA as an undergrad at clinical/health psychology lab in ASU
(focusing self-regulation, pain, goals etc)

4. Graduation Thesis research in Japan, Waseda University

Personally, research experience from 3 different countries can be a strong point... but I am not sure..

Pubs:
1. First-author 2 posters (One in Korea, the biggest Clinical Psychology Association and one in ASU)
2. First-author 1 journal submitted for publication

Others:
1. 16 weeks Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Professional Training Program
2. One semester clinical observership in local jail (in Phoenix, AZ)

I know that clinical psychology programs are really competitive.. and require lots of research experience.

In Korea or Japan, professors in clinical psychology department say that I am well prepared but professors in US are quite pessimistic.
They told me that I don't have enough research experience.. and they recommended me to take a year or two off...

However, though I really want to have more research experience since I have a military service problem (it's mandatory in Korea) I don't have enough time to take a year off, unfortunately...

Professors in US say that just then apply for Master's program.. but I really do not want to waste my time and money for additional two years..

I know that many schools that I am going to apply are really top schools but is it really there is no hope for me because of the research experience?

I would like to hear some helpful comments from you guys.

Thank you so much..

syzergy · Apr 8, 2011

mcj2930 said:
Hi guys!

I am an international student from Korea..

Although I am Korean, my university is in Tokyo, Japan.

I am thinking to apply the end of this year for clinical psychology programs in US.
UCLA
SUNY Albany
University of Florida (Counseling)
ASU
U of A
Florida State University
University of Nevada, Reno
University of New Mexico
Vanderbilt University
Boston University
Yale University
Harvard University
U Penn
UNC Chapel Hill
Duke University
University of Miami

You're applying to some really tough schools! Did you match your research interests to the faculty there?

mcj2930 · Apr 8, 2011

syzergy said:
You're applying to some really tough schools! Did you match your research interests to the faculty there?

Yeah.. All of them match with my research interests.

Applicant03 · Apr 8, 2011

ADRA2A-

Research for PhD Psychology programs, whether it's clinical or in your case, Biopsychology/Neuroscience, is incredibly important. What sort of research exposure would you have in the master's program at UTC?

Also, it would be beneficial to really prep for the GRE. I was waitlisted/rejected everywhere this application cycle and I am certain GREs had a lot to do w/ it.

Your GPA isn't horrible, but it is below the mean for most programs, however, you can't do anything about that now. So, for your lower GPA, you will need reserach experience, pubs, and higher GRE's to make up for this.

Making contacts is especially important as well. If it were me, I would pass up on the Master's program, especially given the pricetag. Take 2 years off and get a full-time RA job, as this will strengthen your app, allow you some time to prep for the GREs, and make/save money.

Hope this helps!

ADRA2A said:
Problem: Accepted to UTC Research Psychology MS.

My goal is to pursue a doctoral program in Biopsychology/Neuroscience.

Stats
Gpa - 3.2 (Psychology BA, Stetson University)
GRE V - 530 (obv. redo)
GRE Q - 570 (obv. redo)
Research experience - Undergrad work accepted @ CEPO, otherwise zip.
Work Experience - None related to the field.

Question: Do I attend UTC @ 17K a year for two years, then apply to Doctoral Programs?

or

Do I take a year off, work full time in as a lab assistant & take chemistry courses I neglected and redo the GRE.

My GPA is a result of ineffective medicine to control my ADD, once I found the right Combo I excelled and have been at the top of every course. I am concerned the MS degree will just gift myself Debt and not help my doctoral dream.

DynamicDidactic · Apr 8, 2011

syzergy said:
You're applying to some really tough schools! Did you match your research interests to the faculty there?

In general, you have good stats and the programs are always looking to diversify their student body.

I think you may be able to increase the list of schools. Once you contact programs you may find some of your POIs may not be taking students, so having a list of other schools will be very useful. There are other well respected, fully-funded Clinical Ph.D programs that may not be as competitive.

xtp · Apr 9, 2011

I am an international student who got in this year. My GRE scores were a bit lower than yours, but I have an MA from a top US research university and 2+ years of research experience post MA at the same institution. I applied to a few of the schools on your list and didn't even get an interview.

I think you should be aware that test scores and GPA are only relevant for the first round, when they select only those applicants who are above a certain cutoff score. Past that point, scores are no longer relevant and it's up to the rest of your CV. I am pretty sure that everyone who makes the cutoff will have undergrad research experience and will have written some kind of thesis, plus will have some posters and perhaps their name on one or more publications. Clinical experience, while definitely not a bad thing to have, does not really make a difference, at least not when applying to a PhD program.

Since you are thinking of coming to the US to study, I think you should listen to the US profs because they live and work in the system. Unless you are an outstanding outstanding student (meaning have won multiple awards, including some US awards, have received grants during undergrad to conduct your own research) or personally know some of the faculty you want to work with, your chances are slim, I'm afraid. Also, I would recommend not looking at an MA as a waste of time and money. It was probably the best career move I made, because it helped me really understand the system (I thought I did, but I had no CLUE what I was getting into when I first applied for grad school in the US), get research experience, and importantly, network. It cost money but I am convinced that I would never have gotten into clinical psych PhD otherwise (and it's not the degree itself, it's what it allows you to do).

Good luck!

mcj2930 said:
Hi guys!

I am an international student from Korea..

Although I am Korean, my university is in Tokyo, Japan.

I am thinking to apply the end of this year for clinical psychology programs in US.
UCLA
SUNY Albany
University of Florida (Counseling)
ASU
U of A
Florida State University
University of Nevada, Reno
University of New Mexico
Vanderbilt University
Boston University
Yale University
Harvard University
U Penn
UNC Chapel Hill
Duke University
University of Miami

Here is my stats

My Stats:

TOEFL
-IBT 114/120

GPA: (From Waseda University, Japanese IVY school)
- 4.0/4.0 (Deans list every time)
- When I was an exchange student in ASU 3.87/4.0

GRE:
720V, 760Q, 4.0AWA
Psych subject- Not yet but planning to take this year

Research Experience:
1. I did one and half year RA as an undergrad at a Mindfulness Stress Reduction Program(MBSR/MBCT) lab at one Medical School in Korea

2. One year RA as an undergrad at Child Peer Behavior lab in ASU

3. One year RA as an undergrad at clinical/health psychology lab in ASU
(focusing self-regulation, pain, goals etc)

4. Graduation Thesis research in Japan, Waseda University

Personally, research experience from 3 different countries can be a strong point... but I am not sure..

Pubs:
1. First-author 2 posters (One in Korea, the biggest Clinical Psychology Association and one in ASU)
2. First-author 1 journal submitted for publication

Others:
1. 16 weeks Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Professional Training Program
2. One semester clinical observership in local jail (in Phoenix, AZ)

I know that clinical psychology programs are really competitive.. and require lots of research experience.

In Korea or Japan, professors in clinical psychology department say that I am well prepared but professors in US are quite pessimistic.
They told me that I don't have enough research experience.. and they recommended me to take a year or two off...

However, though I really want to have more research experience since I have a military service problem (it's mandatory in Korea) I don't have enough time to take a year off, unfortunately...

Professors in US say that just then apply for Master's program.. but I really do not want to waste my time and money for additional two years..

I know that many schools that I am going to apply are really top schools but is it really there is no hope for me because of the research experience?

I would like to hear some helpful comments from you guys.

Thank you so much..

Lulu5 · Apr 11, 2011

Lulu5 said:
Hey there. I'm a non-traditional applicant planning to re-apply to School Psych PhD programs in the Fall 2011. What are my chances?

Stats:
Undergrad cGPA (BA English from top liberal arts college), 2003: 3.44 (upper division - 3.6)
Grad cGPA (MPH - Maternal & Child Health at a top UC), 2009: 3.85
Psych pre-reqs (finished by Summer 2011), total 18 units: GPA = 4.0

GRE
V - 500, Q - 650, AW - 4.5 (total - 1150)
V - 600, Q - 670, AW - 4.0 (total = 1270)

Research Experience:

Non-psych MPH Master's thesis - knowledgeable about research methods & design and data analysis (STATA & SAS), writing, etc.

Psych-related research project (Masters-level Epidemiology class)

Volunteer RA in an ADHD lab (1 yr-present, 6 hrs/wk) - data entry & interpretation (SPSS), conducting assessments with kids (no presentations or pubs)

Teaching / Clinical Experience:

Teach for America (2 yrs)

Child Life school room volunteer @ Children's Hospital (2 yrs)

Response to Intervention Coach - volunteer for school psych working with students with both ADHD & reading disabilities in reading (1yr - present)

Current Work Experience: Guidelines Project Manager at a well-known health org (2009-present) with working knowledge of evidence-based medicine / systematic reviews, conducting meta analyses, & building databases:

Just published a CVD-related National clinical practice Guideline

Currently project managing the Depression & ADHD Guidelines for this health org (will be published by end of 2011)

Research Interests: ADHD & reading disabilities, reading self-efficacy in those with ADHD & reading disabiliaties (focus = elementary school & younger)

School Psych programs I'm interested in: UC Berkeley, Michigan State, Syracuse, UCSB, Lehigh, UNC-Chapel Hill - any other suggestions based on my interests & stats?

Concerns: I'm primarily concerned with my research experience - is it enough? I'm really struggling to squeeze it in given my work schedule. Does being a project mgr for behavioral health guidelines count as research experience (though I just facilitate the guideline production & publication process)?

I know this is a long post, but I'd really appreciate your honest feedback. Thanks!

Anyone out there with feedback for a school psych hopeful?

isupsych253 · Apr 12, 2011

Hi guys,

This looks like a very useful forum and website as a whole for getting questions answered regarding psychology. Here are my stats and experience, let me know what you think. I would prefer going the funded Ph.D route over the Psy.D. route, but I'm not opposed to it. Could you tell me your experiences or what type of program I would be competitive in? Thanks!

Double Major - Psychology & Sport Management
Undergrad Cum GPA: 3.51
Psych/Last 2 years: 3.81
Will take GRE this summer (I know it may be difficult to project w/o these scores)
Will have strong letters of recommendation from professors at 15,000+ student school (we have one of the top clinical phd programs)

Consider myself to be a pretty strong writer

Poster Presentation at Idaho Psychology Association Convention (Possibly APA too) - First Author
Poster Presentation at Idaho Psychology Association Convention - Second Author
Poster at APA Convention - Third Author

No publications yet - APA poster is a great possibility.

3 semesters of research lab work regarding resiliency, effortful control, and administering DKEFs to study participants

I have a years worth of experience being on a children/parenting skills clinical practicum team

One semester on adult clinical practicum team

I have 3 semesters of forensic/psychology and the law experience - working at a prison, helping with psychological evals on inmates, and scoring psychological tests

Extra curricular:
I played 4 years of football at a division 1 school (pretty time consuming)
Member of Psi Chi (psychology club)
Raised over $4000 for Athletic Department and developed "I Club" for former athletes

Gully376 · Apr 15, 2011

isupsych253 said:
Hi guys,

This looks like a very useful forum and website as a whole for getting questions answered regarding psychology. Here are my stats and experience, let me know what you think. I would prefer going the funded Ph.D route over the Psy.D. route, but I'm not opposed to it. Could you tell me your experiences or what type of program I would be competitive in? Thanks!

Double Major - Psychology & Sport Management
Undergrad Cum GPA: 3.51
Psych/Last 2 years: 3.81
Will take GRE this summer (I know it may be difficult to project w/o these scores)
Will have strong letters of recommendation from professors at 15,000+ student school (we have one of the top clinical phd programs)

Consider myself to be a pretty strong writer

Poster Presentation at Idaho Psychology Association Convention (Possibly APA too) - First Author
Poster Presentation at Idaho Psychology Association Convention - Second Author
Poster at APA Convention - Third Author

No publications yet - APA poster is a great possibility.

3 semesters of research lab work regarding resiliency, effortful control, and administering DKEFs to study participants

I have a years worth of experience being on a children/parenting skills clinical practicum team

One semester on adult clinical practicum team

I have 3 semesters of forensic/psychology and the law experience - working at a prison, helping with psychological evals on inmates, and scoring psychological tests

Extra curricular:
I played 4 years of football at a division 1 school (pretty time consuming)
Member of Psi Chi (psychology club)
Raised over $4000 for Athletic Department and developed "I Club" for former athletes

I think you are in pretty good shape but the GRE's are going to be important for you because alot of schools use them as a cutoff and if you dont meet their minimum requirements they wont even look at your application. Assuming you do well on that and have good letters or rec and a good personal statement. I dont see any problems getting into a school as long as you are realistic about which ones you apply to. Good luck.

isupsych253 · Apr 16, 2011

Gully376 said:
I think you are in pretty good shape but the GRE's are going to be important for you because alot of schools use them as a cutoff and if you dont meet their minimum requirements they wont even look at your application. Assuming you do well on that and have good letters or rec and a good personal statement. I dont see any problems getting into a school as long as you are realistic about which ones you apply to. Good luck.

Thanks, I appreciate your input. What do you mean by "realistic schools?" I'm obviously not going to be applying to the Harvards or the Yales, but can you elaborate a little more?

Gully376 · Apr 16, 2011

isupsych253 said:
Thanks, I appreciate your input. What do you mean by "realistic schools?" I'm obviously not going to be applying to the Harvards or the Yales, but can you elaborate a little more?

Yes just that you should be aware of your credentials if you get a 1100 dont apply to Harvard basically. What I have found is that GRE's are usually used as a cutoff and you can stretch GRE's because every year is different. One year a school might admit a cohort with an average GRE score of 1230 but a year later it may be 1130 or 1330. Once you get to the interview process most schools dont even look at your GRE scores anymore its all your personal statement letters of rec and how you did in the interview. However, on the other hand alot of schools have a cutoff and wont even look at your application if you dont meet it. All the schools will tell you if they have a cutoff and will give you the info and stats on previous classes they admitted it should be on their website. I would look into purchasing "the insiders guide to graduate programs in clinical and counseling psychology" it will give you a detailed snapshot of schools in terms of what their average GRE score is they admit and faculty research interests. Your stats look good though do well on the GRE and you should be fine.

quietmind · Apr 16, 2011

Hi all, I've been lurking in this forum for some time, and finally decided to post. Seeking to learn not just what my chances are, but how I can improve them. I plan to apply for Ph.D programs in clinical psychology. My research area of interest is so specific that I can literally count the faculty I'd be interested in working with on both hands, and for better or for worse they are all at very competitive institutions (ex: UC Boulder, UofA, Washington...) My stats:

Undergrad GPA: 3.86
Psychology GPA: 4.0
GRE: 770 Q; 650 V; 5 AW
Research Experience: 1 yr and counting of RA experience 20 hrs/wk in my area of interest, 1 presentation, hoping to get a paper out of this project soon...
Clinical Experience: 1 yr experience working with addiction at a student counseling center, 1 yr experience in special education tutoring, 4 months working with SMI at a homeless shelter

My big impediment is that I attended a private liberal arts college from which I received a B.A. in writing and multimedia publishing. Yes, that's right. Writing. Psychology was my minor, and since I graduated (May 2010) have completed an additional 20 credits in psychology at a major university, earning an overall 4.0 psych GPA. But, I have NO coursework in "hard" sciences (bio, chem, computer sciences, etc), which I've heard can be a disadvantage.

I'd like to apply this fall... but I fear that my credentials aren't strong enough yet to make up for how untraditional my app is in some ways. Being only one year out of undergrad, I'm willing to be patient. Any feedback on whether or not I should apply this fall and how I can improve my app would be much appreciated!

isupsych253 · Apr 16, 2011

quietmind said:
Hi all, I've been lurking in this forum for some time, and finally decided to post. Seeking to learn not just what my chances are, but how I can improve them. I plan to apply for Ph.D programs in clinical psychology. My research area of interest is so specific that I can literally count the faculty I'd be interested in working with on both hands, and for better or for worse they are all at very competitive institutions (ex: UC Boulder, UofA, Washington...) My stats:

Undergrad GPA: 3.86
Psychology GPA: 4.0
GRE: 770 Q; 650 V; 5 AW
Research Experience: 1 yr and counting of RA experience 20 hrs/wk in my area of interest, 1 presentation, hoping to get a paper out of this project soon...
Clinical Experience: 1 yr experience working with addiction at a student counseling center, 1 yr experience in special education tutoring, 4 months working with SMI at a homeless shelter

My big impediment is that I attended a private liberal arts college from which I received a B.A. in writing and multimedia publishing. Yes, that's right. Writing. Psychology was my minor, and since I graduated (May 2010) have completed an additional 20 credits in psychology at a major university, earning an overall 4.0 psych GPA. But, I have NO coursework in "hard" sciences (bio, chem, computer sciences, etc), which I've heard can be a disadvantage.

I'd like to apply this fall... but I fear that my credentials aren't strong enough yet to make up for how untraditional my app is in some ways. Being only one year out of undergrad, I'm willing to be patient. Any feedback on whether or not I should apply this fall and how I can improve my app would be much appreciated!

Most progams I've looked at (and I've looked at a lot) don't mention any "hard science" requirements. Most of them are looking for about 18 credits of your core psychology courses, which include:

Intro to psych
Abnormal psych
Stats
Some sort of developmental course
Experimental psych

So if you have taken these, I would think you would be good to go and apply this fall.

Gully376 · Apr 16, 2011

quietmind said:
Hi all, I've been lurking in this forum for some time, and finally decided to post. Seeking to learn not just what my chances are, but how I can improve them. I plan to apply for Ph.D programs in clinical psychology. My research area of interest is so specific that I can literally count the faculty I'd be interested in working with on both hands, and for better or for worse they are all at very competitive institutions (ex: UC Boulder, UofA, Washington...) My stats:

Undergrad GPA: 3.86
Psychology GPA: 4.0
GRE: 770 Q; 650 V; 5 AW
Research Experience: 1 yr and counting of RA experience 20 hrs/wk in my area of interest, 1 presentation, hoping to get a paper out of this project soon...
Clinical Experience: 1 yr experience working with addiction at a student counseling center, 1 yr experience in special education tutoring, 4 months working with SMI at a homeless shelter

My big impediment is that I attended a private liberal arts college from which I received a B.A. in writing and multimedia publishing. Yes, that's right. Writing. Psychology was my minor, and since I graduated (May 2010) have completed an additional 20 credits in psychology at a major university, earning an overall 4.0 psych GPA. But, I have NO coursework in "hard" sciences (bio, chem, computer sciences, etc), which I've heard can be a disadvantage.

I'd like to apply this fall... but I fear that my credentials aren't strong enough yet to make up for how untraditional my app is in some ways. Being only one year out of undergrad, I'm willing to be patient. Any feedback on whether or not I should apply this fall and how I can improve my app would be much appreciated!

Well I think that the fact that you were a writing major could be very helpful to you actually. What is your area of interest?/are you interested in more research based education? I think that if you are interested in more research based a writing degree will really help you as there is alot of writing in research. In terms of hard science classes there are none required but for myself I am interested in neuropsychology and I know that in this specialty hard science classes are looked at favorably cuz there is alot more science material in the program. I think it depends heavily on your area of interest.

quietmind · Apr 16, 2011

Gully376 said:
Well I think that the fact that you were a writing major could be very helpful to you actually. What is your area of interest?/are you interested in more research based education? I think that if you are interested in more research based a writing degree will really help you as there is alot of writing in research. In terms of hard science classes there are none required but for myself I am interested in neuropsychology and I know that in this specialty hard science classes are looked at favorably cuz there is alot more science material in the program. I think it depends heavily on your area of interest.

It hadn't occurred to me that having a writing background could be seen as an asset! I guess it probably depends on the individual program's perspective. My area of interest is mindfulness meditation research, which usually tends to come out of neuropsychology labs. Thus my concern about the lack of hard sciences...

Gully376 · Apr 17, 2011

quietmind said:
It hadn't occurred to me that having a writing background could be seen as an asset! I guess it probably depends on the individual program's perspective. My area of interest is mindfulness meditation research, which usually tends to come out of neuropsychology labs. Thus my concern about the lack of hard sciences...

well given your interests i certainly dont think taking some hard science classes would hurt maybe a neuroanatomy class or bio?However I dont think they will hold it against you easpecially given the strength of your overall application, and they definitely would not expect you to have a background though they do after all want to teach you some stuff haha.

PsychAndMusic · Apr 18, 2011

quietmind said:
It hadn't occurred to me that having a writing background could be seen as an asset! I guess it probably depends on the individual program's perspective. My area of interest is mindfulness meditation research, which usually tends to come out of neuropsychology labs. Thus my concern about the lack of hard sciences...

Just an FYI if youre interested in mindfulness, you should check out Dr. Lisa Miller at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research concentrations have to do with spirituality, religion, and mindfullness (in her class we specifically studied medidation). Best of luck to you

nessa34 · Apr 18, 2011

Gully376 said:
well given your interests i certainly dont think taking some hard science classes would hurt maybe a neuroanatomy class or bio?However I dont think they will hold it against you easpecially given the strength of your overall application, and they definitely would not expect you to have a background though they do after all want to teach you some stuff haha.

yes, I don't think they're going to scrutinize your transcript that closely. When you say you haven't taken any hard sciences, does that include classes within psych, like biopsych, neuropsych, etc.? If you don't have those, I would try to show that you have that knowledge in other ways (or get that knowledge

)

My interests are in cognitive control and emotional dysregulation, which overlap some with yours, and I'm specifically looking at labs that have a strong neuroscience overlap (usually by using neuroimaging as a methodology). I don't know about the specific work you want to do, but if your POIs lean in that direction as well, having a stronger than average background in math and CS, as well as the more "hard science" side of psych, will help in understanding the research. However, in general, if you can demonstrate that you do understand your POIs' research, I doubt your lack of Bio 101 is going to keep you from getting admitted.

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