getting accepted to a PhD program

[ginaw623]

Hello all! I am interested in applying to either a clinical psych phd program or a counseling/school psych phd program. I know they are very competitive and am worried I don't stand a chance. I have about a 3.4 undergraduate GPA in Human Development/Family Science and no research experience. I took the old GRE once a couple years ago and only scored about a 1000. I would have to study for a few months and take the new revised GRE and improve my score I guess. With mediocre stats like mine, would I stand a chance? Should I try to get into a Master's program first? Is it easier to get into a school's PhD program if you earn their Master's Degree first? HELP!

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[UhOh]

At this point, you have a while 'til the next round of applications are due (usually around December) so you have time to study and take the GRE again. A lot of PhD programs have minimum GRE requirements and most are above 1000. I think you'd be able to get into a master's program with your stats but I really don't know much about master's programs. You could always apply to master's programs and PhD programs and see what happens. In terms of whether it's easier to get into a school's PhD program if you're in their master's program, I'd say it likely depends on the school as well as other factors but my guess would be that it would help but I wouldn't bank on it.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

You may want to check out the WAMC thread at the top of the forum, as it is there for posts like this...

 

[jessa1984]

At this point, you have a while 'til the next round of applications are due (usually around December) so you have time to study and take the GRE again. A lot of PhD programs have minimum GRE requirements and most are above 1000. I think you'd be able to get into a master's program with your stats but I really don't know much about master's programs. You could always apply to master's programs and PhD programs and see what happens. In terms of whether it's easier to get into a school's PhD program if you're in their master's program, I'd say it likely depends on the school as well as other factors but my guess would be that it would help but I wouldn't bank on it.

I agree... but for PhD programs I wouldn't look at "minimum" GRE scores because that can be misleading. Most are not stated. I would look at the average GRE scores of admitted students. That's what you have to AT LEAST get. Basically, no less than 1200 if you want any consideration for Clinical. I don't know about other programs. I'm telling you this from experience and multiple rounds of applying (and money wasted).