Help! Question about applying...

[carcamp83]

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I'm looking at applying this December and am currently on the fence about going into Clinical and Cognitive psychology. I'm looking at both because I'm interested studying memory and Alzheimer's. I'm also positive that I want to do research though very unsure if I want to see patients.
My other issue is that I did not major in psychology in undergrad but biology with an emphasis in neuroscience. My overall undergrad GPA is 3.3 and my psychology GPA is probably around 3.7. I've been taking extra psychology classes since graduating and I've gotten A's in all of them. My general GRE's were between 1100-1200, my Analytical score was 5.0 and my subject test score 690. I have a lot of research experience including 2 years where I've done brain imaging (looking at Alzheimer's) and I'm most likely going to have 2 publications, one where I am a senior author (I'm about to start writing). Don't have any clinical experience.
So I realize that I have to make a decision regarding to practice or not to practice. The thing though that is hanging me up is whether I would even stand a chance at getting into a clinical program since it's so competitive. I'm not sure if I should play it "safe" and apply to for Cognitive (not that a Cognitive program is easy by any means, I just realize that Clinical is more popular) or if I should take a risk and apply to a research oriented Clinical program? I've already narrowed down my list of schools to one where I like both programs and I have faculty in mind for both. It's just a matter if picking a speciality and so I thought I'd ask those of you that have already been through the whole process.

Thanks in advance for any help 🙂

 

[psychanon]

It sounds like you need to make some very quick decisions about the rest of your life! Have you thought about taking another year to do research and maybe get some clinical experience, so you can figure out if you really want to do it?
Your stats are somewhat borderline for clinical programs, but your experience is really good (esp. your pubs-- but it sounds like they are in the preliminary stages, yes?), and you seem like you are really focused in your research direction, which is another plus. You could always apply to both clinical and non-clinical-- I think you have good justification to do so, as you are potentially a good match for both-- but there's a possibility that you would be miserable in a clinical program, if you end up hating the clinical end of it. So that could be a real problem. Is there a reason why would apply for clinical at all, if you're more interested in the research? There are certainly many cognitive and neuro non-clinical people who study what you want to study.

 

[carcamp83]

Yeah no kidding, heh. So this wasn't originally a problem (for everyone scratching their heads and and sighing at the indecisiveness) because when I started looking at programs I focused on cognitive programs because I considered memory more of a cognitive issue (when not related to a specific disease). What made me consider clinical was that I really enjoyed my abnormal class and the whole pathology aspect of psychology. That and I think I would like to end up doing research in more of a medical setting. Would the speciality of psychology matter? No one has been able to tell me but I've noticed that collaborators to my lab are all clinical psychologists.

Yes my publications are in preliminary stages so I'm not sure how they will help (though I'm going to definitely mention them in my essay!)

At the moment my strategy is to apply to both programs and just basically go with the professor I like the most (clinical or cognitive). This means that I'm probably going to apply to less clinical schools than most other applicants but I probably won't apply to the top tier schools.

Thank you for all your help though psychanon!

 

[psychanon]

Have you talked to any of these collaborators in your lab about this? This research is so far away from mine, so I don't really know the answer.

I do think that your strategy is the best plan for now-- apply broadly, and see where the dice land.