PhD/PsyD Do I have a chance??

[Svetiichka]

Helloo all!!
I am currently a senior in my university and looking into grad schools. I want to apply to a Psy.D program but I am worried about my GPA and extracurricular activities. I realized only last year of what I wanted to do in my future. Ultimately I want to become a University Counselor, which I can do with either a Masters or Doctor's degree. I understand that my chances for getting in a Master's degree is higher than Doctor's but its still worth a try right??
My GPA is 3.18 and Psych is 3.4
I have not taken the GRE but going to soon and realize that I need to score high due to my GPA
I have been involved with my university's counseling center by giving individual instructional sessions on emotional wellness topics, such as stress, time management, study skills, healthy relationships etc.
I was also a crisis hotline counselor/volunteer for two semesters (had to stop doing that because of personal reasons)


I know that I need to raise my GPA and thought that I could do that by having straight A's in my last year. But I realized that deadlines are in December and thus will have to apply with my current GPA.

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[psych844]

You need to figure out why your GPA is so low..not really acceptable.

 

[deleted375280]

Helloo all!!
I am currently a senior in my university and looking into grad schools. I want to apply to a Psy.D program but I am worried about my GPA and extracurricular activities. I realized only last year of what I wanted to do in my future. Ultimately I want to become a University Counselor, which I can do with either a Masters or Doctor's degree. I understand that my chances for getting in a Master's degree is higher than Doctor's but its still worth a try right??
My GPA is 3.18 and Psych is 3.4
I have not taken the GRE but going to soon and realize that I need to score high due to my GPA
I have been involved with my university's counseling center by giving individual instructional sessions on emotional wellness topics, such as stress, time management, study skills, healthy relationships etc.
I was also a crisis hotline counselor/volunteer for two semesters (had to stop doing that because of personal reasons)
In this upcoming semester I will be a T.A for a Physio Psych Lab. Where I will be teaching students the anatomy of the human brain as well as assisting the instructor.
Unrelated to Psychology, last semester I was a participant in an international cultural exchange program. Where we hosted students from Germany, were the representatives of our school and participated in leadership opportunities.

I have no experience in research because I do not enjoy it. I know that I need to raise my GPA and thought that I could do that by having straight A's in my last year. But I realized that deadlines are in December and thus will have to apply with my current GPA.

If you have no interest in research, you have no business in a doctoral program. Psy.D. does not = no research.

 

[Svetiichka]

You need to figure out why your GPA is so low..not really acceptable.

One semester I did extremely bad. For the first two years I was pursuing a different major, and then realized that it was not attainable at all and I gave up. Which resulted in horrible grades. But after that period my grades increased when I decided to pursue psychology.

 

[WisNeuro]

Perfect question to go in the WAMC thread up top there.

 

[psych844]

One semester I did extremely bad. For the first two years I was pursuing a different major, and then realized that it was not attainable at all and I gave up. Which resulted in horrible grades. But after that period my grades increased when I decided to pursue psychology.

I can relate, my marks were not so hot when i was a polisci major, but I did finish that degree with similar GPA. Now in Psych I am at about 3.75. If Psych interests you, you should aim for A- minimum.

 

[WisNeuro]

Good response to go up in that WAMC up top.

 

[Ollie123]

With zero research experience (though as an aside - how can you know its of no interest if you never try it?) and a low GPA, you likely would not be competitive for any but the absolute bottom barrel of doctoral programs. The ones we usually warn people away from as they come with relatively unsustainable amounts of debt and usually fairly minimal job prospects. Even the mediocre

On the other hand, I don't think an MSW, master's in counseling, etc. would be outside the realm of possibility by any means. If you did want to go for a doctorate in psychology, this is one of those situations I'd recommend a master's first but with no research experience at all I'm not sure how likely that is to happen (not to mention any decent master's will require some level of research involvement which its unclear whether you would be open to). Your GPA is on the lower end, but not outside the bounds of what many master's programs accept and non-psychology fields will be far more accepting of a lack of research experience.

 

[WisNeuro]

You're killing me, Ollie.

 

[clinpsyc87]

At this point we can just make this a thread about what GPA is acceptable for what types of programs and the role of research.
I'm a little more optimistic than my fellow posters because many of the people I worked with got into university (non professional, non profit) PsyDs with similar applications. I won't say which but I live in a major city with about 6 university PsyD programs, not including the Argosy type schools. I definitely think you SHOULD go for an MS right now for many reasons. But a PsyD is not imposisble. Just 100,000 not including rent and interest.

 

[WisNeuro]

PsyD's are, by definition, professional degrees.

 

[clinpsyc87]

PsyD's are, by definition, professional degrees.

I said the SCHOOL is not a professional school. I.e. Our Lady of the Lake university. Or some other PsyD with low standards

 

[WisNeuro]

Well, you can have a professional school housed within a university.

 

[clinpsyc87]

Well, you can have a professional school housed within a university.

Well these aren't in my city or the schools from which I draw my anecdotal data and subsequent estimation

 

[WisNeuro]

I think we're just having a semantics problem. A PsyD is a professional degree no matter where it's housed. Just as is a JD. These are professional schools. Some are at standalone institutions, some are housed in a university setting. But they're all professional schools.

 

[clinpsyc87]

I think we're just having a semantics problem. A PsyD is a professional degree no matter where it's housed. Just as is a JD. These are professional schools. Some are at standalone institutions, some are housed in a university setting. But they're all professional schools.

I don't know if the schools themselves would call themselves professional schools because the psychology department offers a psyd. I know for a fact some of them would reject that label to describe the entire school or even department.

 

[WisNeuro]

They can call themselves whatever they like in the brochure, fact is, they are a professional school, offering a professional degree. It's not pejorative, it's just the definition of what they offer.

 

[clinpsyc87]

They can call themselves whatever they like in the brochure, fact is, they are a professional school, offering a professional degree. It's not pejorative, it's just the definition of what they offer.

In answer to OP, you can get the psyd without going to Adler. In the vernacular of the type of people with OP's background

 

[WisNeuro]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_school

 

[clinpsyc87]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_school

If that's the only professional degree they offer its not really a heuristic way of describing the school as a whole

 

[WisNeuro]

Schools exist within a university. The program offering the degree can be a school under that much larger umbrella of the Uni.

 

[clinpsyc87]

This thread has been successfully divorced from WAMC. You're welcome

 

[WisNeuro]

It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it.

 

[Ollie123]

You're killing me, Ollie.

Figure its easier for AA or future to clean up if its all in one place, rather than having to reorder the WAMC thread.

RE: professional schools. There is a distinction between "Professional school" (i.e. pretty much any non-academic graduate training) and "Free-standing-professional-school". The latter is what folks generally have concerns about.

 

[smalltownpsych]

+1 to the "I have no research experience because I don't like research" making no sense. If you don't want to be a researcher, join the crowd, if you don't want to learn how to do psychological research and how to apply psychological research in clinical settings, then you probably won't make it as a university counselor. Those guys and gals at the counseling center can all talk research so you would be left out of the loop.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Mod Note: This question has also been posted in WAMC; however, as other useful information/discussion has occurred, I'll lock this thread rather than deleting it, for those interested.