Cost/Benefit of Taking Time Off

[Girlie87]

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It looks like taking time off after undergrad before a clinical PhD program may be a good step for me. I could benefit from more skills and experience to gain admission into stronger, more desirable programs, and also for personal growth and exploration. (I'm a Jr with a 3.22 Psych GPA, 3.42 Overall. 1270 SATs, no GREs yet) Obviously there are some downsides...starting later means sacrificing time that I'd like to spend starting a family and really getting settled. What do you say, are the benefits worth the cost? Thanks!


***One Year Later, UPDATE****
So, my GPA rose a great deal, my GRE score was 1380, and I scored a Clinical Research Internship and 2 research poster presentations since this last post.
I decided to apply to Master's programs.
I got into Wake Forest University!

Point: If you have the stats that I did, research more and work a bit harder, and you can gain admission into the nation's top Master's programs.

 

[EquestriAnn]

Well if you want to take a year off to get research experience, spend time on your statement of purpose, study for the GRE, etc. then it sounds like a good idea.

 

[bookworm06]

After taking two years off to do research before applying to grad school, the benefits have clearly outweighed any costs for me, at least professionally.

The thing taking time to do research has cost me is that it is another two years later that I will get my Ph.D. I am anxious to settle down and start a family, but, at least for me, two years I invested in research before grad school were worth it because this time solidified that I loved this field enough to spend five years (or more) devoted to obtaining my degree.

Benefits are numerous:
(1) gain research skills
(2) establish connections in the field
(3) figure out your research interests,
(4) have more to say on your personal statement.
(5) gain confidence that clinical psyc is the right path for you (or if you decide it's not, then you aren't stuck in a program you don't like).
probably many more that I just can't think of now.

Good luck. 🙂

 

[deleted176373]

It looks like taking time off after undergrad before a clinical PhD program may be a good step for me. I could benefit from more skills and experience to gain admission into stronger, more desirable programs, and also for personal growth and exploration. (I'm a Jr with a 3.22 Psych GPA, 3.42 Overall. 1270 SATs, no GREs yet) Obviously there are some downsides...starting later means sacrificing time that I'd like to spend starting a family and really getting settled. What do you say, are the benefits worth the cost? Thanks!

It's a personal choice, clearly the downsides are fewer for younger students, non-trads like me in their 40's have a little more to be concerned with. I think the younger you are, the lower the opportunity cost. In my case the extra year allowed me to become MUCH more competitive in my applications and allowed me to take the time to make a more informed choice regarding the programs I was applying to.

Since I don't know your age, it's hard to tell you what the opportunity cost really is. I doubt it will be high unless you are an older student. For my wife, she is 36, a decision to go to law school now probably is the choice between having children and not having children. It doesn't sound like you are that old.

Mark

 

[Thrak]

I took roughly 8 years between my BA and going for my PhD. Some of it was choice, much of it was circumstance. I tend to be rather "results-oriented"... if I get in to a PhD program this round, it'll be absolutely worth it. If I don't... well, my intervening years positioned me much better for the application process (more time to study for GREs, lots of RA experience, lots of actual life experience), so I'd say it was still worth it for me.

Gotta keep in mind though, I'm not on a "family" clock. The math gets a lot easier if kids won't be part of the equation.

I'm going for Social, though, and you're going for clinical. From what I've heard from a few sources, many clinical programs prefer an applicant who isn't fresh from undergrad, much the same way that MBA programs prefer people with some job experience. Again, that may or may not be the case... I only half-listen when it comes to clinical, since it's a whole big other set of criteria.

 

[BorntoRun]

It looks like taking time off after undergrad before a clinical PhD program may be a good step for me. I could benefit from more skills and experience to gain admission into stronger, more desirable programs, and also for personal growth and exploration. (I'm a Jr with a 3.22 Psych GPA, 3.42 Overall. 1270 SATs, no GREs yet) Obviously there are some downsides...starting later means sacrificing time that I'd like to spend starting a family and really getting settled. What do you say, are the benefits worth the cost? Thanks!

I hope this doesn't stress you out too badly, but you may not have a choice about taking time off. If you're looking to get into clinical phd programs, your stats will probably not make the cut unless you take some time getting some additional research (or clinical, depending on what you want to focus on in grad school) experience post-undergrad. I would recommend saving the money, and planning to take 1-2 years off to work full time.

 

[PsyDr]

i woudl recommend thinking about how you might be forced to relocate for internship and how this will affect any future children or desires to settle down you might have. several in my cohort have difficulties finding an internship close to their families or newly purchased home. one ended up pregnant in a different time zone than her husband.

as for time off: it functions on a case by case basis.

 

[empathiosis]

one ended up pregnant in a different time zone than her husband.

as for time off: it functions on a case by case basis.

Yes, but was the child BY her husband?

 

[PsyDr]

ha!

i asked her the same thing. and yes.

 

[WaitingKills]

If you are worried about your GPA, don't be scared to delay your graduation for a semester or two to boost it up if you think that's possible.

 

[Ollie123]

I think its also important to consider what your career goals are.

If you dream of being on faculty at Yale, you need to get in the best place you can (lab moreso than school). If you want to work in a community mental health center or open up a private practice, it matters alot less.

That isn't to imply that you don't need a good education to work in those places, just that the competition to find jobs in those places is less intense. You still need to be good at what you do, but if you open up a private practice, your referral base will care whether your clients improve, and less about your grad school lab.

Overall though, I recommend taking time off. I did, and no regrets. It might be a bit different since I don't want children, but being better equipped for my career means alot more to me than being 2 years older before settling down.

 

[biogirl215]

^
You took time off, Ollie? I always thought that you came straight from undergrad. You learn something new every day, I guess.

 

[Ollie123]

Yup, 2 years.

6 months spent doing survey research in a call center (i.e. the 9th circle of hell).

Then split time between project coordinator on a psychopharmacology study at a major cancer center, and data manager on a rather large longitudinal survey on ADHD at one of the biggest psych labs in the country. The latter was rather tangential to my career goals and mostly just to pay the bills, albeit supervising 30 RAs sort of forced me to become more organized since my organization skills were just a disaster before that. The former I think is the sole reason I made it into the lab I'm currently in.

Oh, and I was teaching tennis on the side🙂

 

[biogirl215]

data manager on a rather large longitudinal survey on ADHD at one of the biggest psych labs in the country.

Wow. That sounds awesome--congrats!

6 months spent doing survey research in a call center (i.e. the 9th circle of hell).

My brother did that for a while--can't say he would call it the 9th circle of hell, but it wasn't great, and the pay sucked, apparently.

 

[LM02]

I took 2 years between undergrad and grad school, and I was still one of the youngest people in my program for the majority of the time I was there!

It felt a little funny when I first graduated, because all of my friends were off to med and law school- and I was worried that I had missed the boat. But it was one of the best decisions I ever made career-wise. Not only did I have a great work experience, but it was SO nice to have a few years of downtime. I was fully refreshed and energized by the time I started grad school.

 

[Cosmo75]

I took 7 years off, and actually worked outside the field altogether. I didn't plan on it being 7 years, but that's what it turned into. Even got a masters degree in information systems because I thought I wanted to work in the corporate world. Yeah......not for me. But I wouldn't trade the time off for anything. It was invaluable.

 

[clinpsychjack]

I took two years off after undergrad to gain research experience, even though I already had 3 years of research experience (including an honors thesis) under my belt as an undergrad. It was absolutely a great decision for me, and even though I want to have a family, etc....I don't think 2 years will get in the way (at all) with my doing so.

As a result, I love my job (it's been really rewarding), I feel like I've grown and gained perspective on what I want out of grad school (and after it), and I got some fabulous letters of recommendations out of it from top/well-known researchers in my field and, as a result, got more interviews than I expected. It also gave me time to 1.) save money, 2.) learn what it's like to be completely independent (pay bills/rent/insurance, cook my own meals everyday, etc.), 3.) study for the GREs, 4.) find grad schools with the best research/clinical "fit" for me, 5.) prepare other aspect of the application (personal statement, etc.). Without my job I wouldn't have been able to afford to apply to grad schools or to pay for flights to interview (I probably spent about $2000 in application/GRE/transcript fees and flight costs).

Fortunately, I was able to find a great job with great benefits (retirement, tuition remission, great networking contacts, great location for research), which is also crucial. Good luck!

 

[LGymnast]

I would agree that taking time off is a great decision. I graduated in May '07 and have been working full time as an RA since then. I have beefed up my CV, cultivated my relationships with faculty, and just matured in general. It seemed to have worked because I am starting a clinical PhD program in the fall!

 

[MaddieMay]

Yeah, what they all said. 🙂

I took 7 years off because when I got my BA in theater, I had no idea I'd ever be interested in psychology. I developed myself a nasty set of phobias and anxiety disorders, went to a CBT class at a hospital to learn to manage them, got better, became fascinated, and ended up assisting and then getting certified to teach the class on my own.

My PsyD program was delighted by my age and experience. And all the little 22 year olds in my class were so darn cute. One time I said something apparently insightful in class and during the break, one of them said to me, dreamily, with the whole class listening, "Maddie, how did you get to be so smart?" Honestly, what I said wasn't even that smart. I blushed and replied something about reading a lot of books. An older person's patience, passion, persistence, and greater number of years in crappy and/or low-paying jobs will turn you into a straight-A student, Girlie87!

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I took time off too...and feel the exact same way.

 

[psy19]

I'm applying straight out of undergrad. While I feel like there are many benefits to taking time off (especially if you don't have much research experience), I feel like it was the right decision for me to apply now. I think if someone has researched this process, is confident in his/her application, and is someone who is mature and ready enough to go to grad school... then why wait? If you do have doubts though, taking time off would be a great idea.

But if you do apply straight out of undergrad, don't think you'll be alone in doing so. At the interviews I've been to so far, I'd say about 50% of the applicants are graduating this May.

And while I've been fortunate enough to get a few interviews, if I don't get in this time, then I can always spend a year or two in a full-time RA position and apply again.