Can I get into a Clinical PhD Program?

[ktwallis]

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I'm begining to freak out about my chances of getting into a good program...

I graduated with a 3.41 (3.62 in Psychology) from an Ivy League college in 2005... 2 years clinical research experience, 2 posters presented, 2 papers as a first author, 1 as a contributing author... good recommendations, GRE better than 1350. I know my GPA is holding me back... but I have my heart set on Berkeley PhD in Clinical Psych... am I deluding myself into thinking I have a chance with a low GPA? Do I have a chance at UCLA, Upenn, and other good schools? Or should I be setting my standards a little lower? I have no idea where I stand... PLEASE HELP!

 

[JatPenn]

I'm begining to freak out about my chances of getting into a good program...

I graduated with a 3.41 (3.62 in Psychology) from an Ivy League college in 2005... 2 years clinical research experience, 2 posters presented, 2 papers as a first author, 1 as a contributing author... good recommendations, GRE better than 1350. I know my GPA is holding me back... but I have my heart set on Berkeley PhD in Clinical Psych... am I deluding myself into thinking I have a chance with a low GPA? Do I have a chance at UCLA, Upenn, and other good schools? Or should I be setting my standards a little lower? I have no idea where I stand... PLEASE HELP!

For high caliber research programs like those, its truly all about the interest match between you and a potential advisor. Remember, clinical psych grad school is less about "just getting in" and more about finding the ideal environment in which to begin your career. What is your research experience?

 

[Quynh2007]

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[butterfli73]

It sounds like all your other credentials are really great, so in the end I don't necessarily think your GPA will really prevent you from getting into programs. As JatPenn said, it does all come down to research match and fit It's hard to really set your sights on one or two programs though, as the chances of getting into one specific program are really really small, no matter how great of an applicant you are. Many schools also say on their websites that if one part of your application is weak, the really strong parts can make up for it. So try not to have your heart set on one or two schools, find several you might be happy at. This is one of the hard parts about clinical. But good luck!

 

[ktwallis]

For high caliber research programs like those, its truly all about the interest match between you and a potential advisor. Remember, clinical psych grad school is less about "just getting in" and more about finding the ideal environment in which to begin your career. What is your research experience?

Thanks for your response!
I've found many professors that I really match up with at programs that I want to attend... But I am just really unsure at my chances of getting into the ones that happen to be the better programs (ie UCLA, Berkeley). If there is little chance that my GPA/GREs/experience will get an acceptance, than I'd like to know that so I can concentrate on other schools.

I've had two years of experience as a clinical research assistant at Mt. Sinai Hospital - doing everything from filing papers to clinical interviews with participants. I also have volunteered at Yale for a professor helping her publish papers (I have to publications with her as first author). I also have volunteered at an inpatient psychiatric ward - running group therapies at times.

My GPA is lower than every average of all the programs I want to attend. Is it possible to gain acceptance with a 3.4 from a great undergraduate university if the average accepted GPA for a program I am interested in is 3.8? Is my other experience enough to make up for that? Any insight/advice you can give is greatly appreciated!!

~KT

 

[ktwallis]

for your encouragement! it's easy to lose sight of your goals and strengths in this application process~

 

[Psyclops]

Your credentials sound about as good as they get to me, GPA isn't a huge factor unless of course you had a 2.7, then it becomes an issue. Many schools will only ask for your last two years (60 credits) or just your psych GPA, presumably these are better?

Regardless of how many times people disagree with me on this I still think that publications, and even more so 1st author pubs are exceedingly rare at this stage of the game. Tack on a couple of posters and you couldn't be doing any better in that department. Also your GRE scores are very strong.

I will reiterate what others have said above, it's difficult to expect to get in one particular place. But, you're a shoe in somewhere.

 

[joetro]

You may have a great chance, but you may have a poor chance if the field is really tough in your area, if people you want to work worth aren't taking, or think they are taking but later need to defer to junior people. There's just no way to tell. What is your area of interest; it might be that UCLA, PENN, Berkeley, etc don't really fit so well with what you want to do.

 

[perfektspace]

I'm begining to freak out about my chances of getting into a good program...

I graduated with a 3.41 (3.62 in Psychology) from an Ivy League college in 2005... 2 years clinical research experience, 2 posters presented, 2 papers as a first author, 1 as a contributing author... good recommendations, GRE better than 1350. I know my GPA is holding me back... but I have my heart set on Berkeley PhD in Clinical Psych... am I deluding myself into thinking I have a chance with a low GPA? Do I have a chance at UCLA, Upenn, and other good schools? Or should I be setting my standards a little lower? I have no idea where I stand... PLEASE HELP!

Are you kidding? You should have a chance anywhere with that kind of research experience if the match is strong. Maybe you don't get into Berkely, maybe you do, but you will have a great shot.

 

[psychanon]

I graduated with a 3.41 (3.62 in Psychology) from an Ivy League college in 2005... 2 years clinical research experience, 2 posters presented, 2 papers as a first author, 1 as a contributing author... good recommendations, GRE better than 1350. I know my GPA is holding me back... but I have my heart set on Berkeley PhD in Clinical Psych... am I deluding myself into thinking I have a chance with a low GPA? Do I have a chance at UCLA, Upenn, and other good schools? Or should I be setting my standards a little lower? I have no idea where I stand... PLEASE HELP!

I always tell people not to bogged down about their chances at any one particular school, at least not before interview time. There are too many unknown, uncontrollable factors at each particular school to have any kind of guarantees or even near-guarantees (especially at the uber-competitive schools like UCLA or Berkeley). Even a Harvard grad with a 4.00, golden LORs, and fantastic research experiences is not a sure thing anywhere. Your stats are certainly good enough to have a fighting chance anywhere you apply that's a good match for you, but that's all we can say. My best advice is to apply to a broad range of schools at which you would be happy, hope for the best, and start worrying about which schools you like best after you get invited for interviews (and try not to stress too much until then).