Anyone get into Clin Psych PhD program with a low GPA?

[jdgrad1]

CA allows you to become licensed as does AZ when you graduate from a non APA school. The problem with waiting is that I will simply rack up more debt and finish the Masters or the MFT and possibly get rejected from PsyDs.

Pretty much everyone is saying don't do the unaccredited PsyD, and go work as an MFT, which will take me 3 plus years, and that includes finishing the program with classes. The minute I get out and can't find a paid job after the MFT, then my loans will go into repayment. I am almost certain that finding paid work after the MFT will be months away after graduation. So in addition to not finding work, my credit will be bad enough so I can't go back to school.

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[jdgrad1]

CA allows you to become licensed as does AZ when you graduate from a non APA school. The problem with waiting is that I will simply rack up more debt and finish the Masters or the MFT and possibly get rejected from PsyDs.

Pretty much everyone is saying don't do the unaccredited PsyD, and go work as an MFT, which will take me 3 plus years, and that includes finishing the program with classes. The minute I get out and can't find a paid job after the MFT, then my loans will go into repayment. I am almost certain that finding paid work after the MFT will be months away after graduation. So in addition to not finding work, my credit will be bad enough so I can't go back to school.

 

[PHD12]

CA allows you to become licensed as does AZ when you graduate from a non APA school. The problem with waiting is that I will simply rack up more debt and finish the Masters or the MFT and possibly get rejected from PsyDs.

Pretty much everyone is saying don't do the unaccredited PsyD, and go work as an MFT, which will take me 3 plus years, and that includes finishing the program with classes. The minute I get out and can't find a paid job after the MFT, then my loans will go into repayment. I am almost certain that finding paid work after the MFT will be months away after graduation. So in addition to not finding work, my credit will be bad enough so I can't go back to school.

Honestly, I think your best bet is getting a job since you already have a BA and JD. it doesn't have to be a law job, but any job that pays the bills. I don't think the unaccredited PsyD will lead to any decent employment or any at all. If you can't get a job now, then the unaccredited PsyD would make it even more difficult since you will be competing with doctoral students. I was on the job market this year and most jobs (and pretty much all postdocs) require an accredited program as a very minimum criteria. Many good jobs require APA internship as the minimum criteria. You won't ever be able to work for the federal government (VA is the largest employer of psychologists) or many reputable hospitals/medical centers. I think you are more likely to end up with an unpaid postdoc after an unaccredited PsyD. I am in CA where there are hundreds of psychologists who went to reputable programs, APA internships etc., competing for one position. You won't even meet the lowest bar. The postdoc and internship I ended up landing gets over 200 applicants for about a handful of spots.

Check out the link to postdoc programs in CA. You cannot even apply without an accredited program:
http://www.appic.org/directory/sear..._part_time=both&training_any_all=INTERSECTION

UPDATE: Wow, It's worse than I thought, even the unpaid postdocs (you will need hours after you graduate for licensure) require APA accredited program as a minimum criteria. So you won't even be eligible for the unpaid postdocs i've seen. http://www.capic.net/material/Opportunities/UCSF Postdoc Fellowship 2013-14.pdf

 

[jdgrad1]

I sincerely doubt that even if I got into a PsyD that is APA accredited, I would ever get the APA accredited internship. I am no longer that competitive person I was a few years back, even with good grades. It's just not in me anymore. What's interesting in this field now is that I think the tests are easier, and that's all I really care about. I do like the profession itself, but I no longer have a competitive bone in me.
My hope is that the school gets accredited. If not, I can work outside the government. Internships will be hard to get, and I will just give up looking for it and work for a non government agency.

 

[jdgrad1]

I sincerely doubt that even if I got into a PsyD that is APA accredited, I would ever get the APA accredited internship. I am no longer that competitive person I was a few years back, even with good grades. It's just not in me anymore. What's interesting in this field now is that I think the tests are easier, and that's all I really care about. I do like the profession itself, but I no longer have a competitive bone in me.
My hope is that the school gets accredited. If not, I can work outside the government. Internships will be hard to get, and I will just give up looking for it and work for a non government agency.

 

[thewesternsky]

I sincerely doubt that even if I got into a PsyD that is APA accredited, I would ever get the APA accredited internship. I am no longer that competitive person I was a few years back, even with good grades. It's just not in me anymore. What's interesting in this field now is that I think the tests are easier, and that's all I really care about. I do like the profession itself, but I no longer have a competitive bone in me.
My hope is that the school gets accredited. If not, I can work outside the government. Internships will be hard to get, and I will just give up looking for it and work for a non government agency.

That may not be as easy as you think without an APA accredited graduate degree and internship. You cannot be licensed without completing an internship, and many employers (even non-government ones) prefer to hire people with APA-internships.

Take a look at what these jobs you think you will get are like. What are the minimum requirements in the job postings? What qualifications does the modal employee have? What is the pay, and will it allow you to pay back your loans?

My sense is that you have a lot more research to do, and that the truth is that you can't afford to be a non-competitive person with a Clinical Psych Psy.D. The easy route in this field doesn't lead anywhere pleasant.

 

[EmelyM23]

Hi!
I'm in a clinical psych PhD program, that I love and that fits me very well. In the interest of full disclosure, its not a Top 10 school. Its not a bad school either.

Coming out of undergrad, I had somewhere along the lines of a 2.8 overall GPA (my undergrad is an awesome, fun school- a good school, but its easy to have fun there), and that was the only killer for me. I had 2 years of undergrad research experience, and a publication accepted (but not in print).

I went the MA route (in clinical psych). I detested my program, but that's a whole different deal. Going to that MA program allowed me to graduate with 1 pub in print, 1 accepted, a thesis (to show that I can do my own high quality work) and a chance to drastically improve my GPA. I know this greatly helped my chances. Got into a PhD program the first time around. Spent 2 years in my MA program that equated to 1 year in my PhD program. Also, I have a TON of experience from my MA that people in my PhD program dont have (strong neuropsych assesment background, etc.)

IMO nothing wrong with going that route. Just think of it as 2 years spent that equate to making yourself marketable for the next level.

Finally, I'd be very cautious/selective of where you choose to go for your MA.

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Hey, I'm doing the MA route as well and will be applying to clinical psych programs. Can you msg me- id like to talk about how you got in and any advice you can give. I had done crappy in UG- graduated with a 3.5 but thats because I transferred. My overall was 3.1. My Masters gpa currently is 3.7 and I am working my way up to a publication. I have well over 3 years of experience in research and tons of field work. Anything else I could do besides publications, I have 3 poster presentations btw.

 

[xyz212]

It can definitely be done. This year was my first application cycle, and I was terrified that I was just completely wasting my money/time and would get 0 interviews. I had a very poor undergrad GPA (below 3.0). I did everything I could to make up for it (got a 4.0 in a masters program, killed the GRE, got a lot of incredible research experience, which resulted in publications/presentations and a thesis, clinical experience, great letters of rec, etc.), but there were a lot of discouraging signs, like schools having a required minimum undergrad GPA that is higher than mine and not hearing many success stories of people with low GPAs. There were definitely strengths to my application, but not meeting minimum requirements made me think my application would just get thrown out, even though the psychologists I worked with assured me it would work out.

Turns out I was wrong to be so scared. Of the 10 programs I applied to, I got 7 interviews. And not at bad programs; fully funded, with high match rates, all PhD programs, some clinical science. Not sure how many eventual waitlists/acceptances I may have had as I withdrew my application from most schools after I got an acceptance at a program I loved, but in the end I had a couple of acceptances and was an alternate at another program. I accepted an offer that I'm very happy about!

My point is that it CAN be done, but it took a lot of work for me. I had to wait; I knew I wasn't in good shape to apply once I settled on the decision to pursue a clinical PhD about a year out of undergrad, so I waited and prepared. I'll have been out of undergrad for 4 years by the time I start my program. My goal was to make every other part of my application strong. I thought about what someone might be concerned about seeing my GPA and tried to counter it. Something that really surprised me during interviews was that I expected questions about what was up with my GPA, but only on one Skype interview (out of two phone Skype interviews and 7 in-person interviews) did anyone mention it. I was so ready to answer that "why" question and no one asked haha. I think something that did help me was that my low GPA was due to a very specific medical issue that was easily resolved once I was diagnosed, so it wasn't that I needed to dramatically change my work habits or time management; once the problem was fixed, I was back to my old self. I think if your GPA was low due to things like time management skills, I would put a lot of focus on working on those issues before starting a PhD so it doesn't crop up again.

I also did a lot of reading about applying. I lurked on this website for a few years and read as much as I could. It wasn't always encouraging (so many people with great GPAs don't get in!), but I had a good understanding of what I needed to focus on to get in. Good luck on your application!!

 

[propsych]

Did you start off bad or was that your average the whole undergraduate term? I know some programs only count the last 60 credits like U of Washington and American

I won't have a great GPA either when I apply. It'll be around 3.1, but it's mainly from my first two years I didn't care at all about school. My last 60 credits and psych GPA will be above 3.7, and that's what counts most really.

Are you already graduated? Can you back there and take more classes? What's your last 60 credit GPA and psych GPA?

This post is from yearssss ago, so you may not see this, but if you do.... Do you have any updates on how it all worked out for you?
And, how do you know which universities look primarily at the last 60 credits?

 

[Meteora]

I had a 2.9 undergrad cumulative (much higher psych GPA). In my case, getting a MA first made more sense for multiple reasons and likely mitigated the poor undergrad GPA. But did end up in a fully funded clinical psych PhD program (that is not in Kentucky).

 

[propsych]

I had a 2.9 undergrad cumulative (much higher psych GPA). In my case, getting a MA first made more sense for multiple reasons and likely mitigated the poor undergrad GPA. But did end up in a fully funded clinical psych PhD program (that is not in Kentucky).

Did spending the extra two years in any way negatively affect your time at the phd program? Was it a bit of a drag taking the extra time? Did you consider doing more research instead of getting the masters?

 

[Meteora]

Did spending the extra two years in any way negatively affect your time at the phd program? Was it a bit of a drag taking the extra time? Did you consider doing more research instead of getting the masters?

Normally, I would advise multiple considerations before going for a MA instead of just doing research and applying to PhD programs. For me, however, a MA program was easily the best option as my resume was quite bare.

I spent the extra few years to get a good graduate GPA, amass much more research experience and some clinical experience, gain maturity, and most importantly imo - really figure out what I wanted career-wise and explore the different ways I could get there. In the end, all that prepared and pointed me in the direction of a doctoral program.

A drag? I wouldn't say so. It was a lot of work, a good bit of unpaid work, and prep for grad school which would be another several years before I get to the final career I want. It was strange as most of my peers were doing entry level jobs or actually doing the work their degrees had prepared them for. But I knew what I wanted for myself and what I'd have to do to get there, everything else was just periphery. A couple of extra years invested now for a career that will sate me for the rest of my life seemed a fair bargain.

 

[propsych]

Normally, I would advise multiple considerations before going for a MA instead of just doing research and applying to PhD programs. For me, however, a MA program was easily the best option as my resume was quite bare.

I spent the extra few years to get a good graduate GPA, amass much more research experience and some clinical experience, gain maturity, and most importantly imo - really figure out what I wanted career-wise and explore the different ways I could get there. In the end, all that prepared and pointed me in the direction of a doctoral program.

A drag? I wouldn't say so. It was a lot of work, a good bit of unpaid work, and prep for grad school which would be another several years before I get to the final career I want. It was strange as most of my peers were doing entry level jobs or actually doing the work their degrees had prepared them for. But I knew what I wanted for myself and what I'd have to do to get there, everything else was just periphery. A couple of extra years invested now for a career that will sate me for the rest of my life seemed a fair bargain.

Sounds like it was a good course for you. Something I will definitely consider. Thanks!