How hard is it to get accepted?

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PsychBrownie

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After lurking around these forums and talking to some clinical applicants this year, I get the impression that clinical psychology is one of the most difficult programs to get into. It's a little disheartening to hear about people with near perfect grades, scores and experiences getting rejected because, while I have quite a bit of research experience, my numbers could definitely be better. I hate to post a 'what are my chances' thread but I'm hoping that since many of you are hearing from schools now you will empasize with someone who is terrified of starting the whole process next year! It would help me immensely if I could get some honest feedback:

GPA: 3.4 (from an Ivy League school, if it matters)
GRE: 1410
Experience: 4 years of research experience but no clinical experience yet!

Do most schools require the subject GRE?
Will lack of clinical experience hurt me?
Can anyone who's gone through the process let me know what they think my chances are?
Thanks in advance for your comments.
 
After lurking around these forums and talking to some clinical applicants this year, I get the impression that clinical psychology is one of the most difficult programs to get into. It's a little disheartening to hear about people with near perfect grades, scores and experience getting rejected because, while I have quite a bit of research experience, my numbers could definitely be better. I hate to post a 'what are my chances' thread but it would help me immensely if I could get some honest feedback:

GPA: 3.4 (from an Ivy League school, if it matters)
GRE: 1410
Experience: 4 years of research experience but no clinical experience yet!

Do most schools require the subject GRE?
Will lack of clinical experience hurt me?
Can anyone who's gone through the process let me know what they think my chances are?
Thanks in advance for your comments.

I've found that about half of the schools require the subject GRE, and the rest "recommend" it. It's best to take it.

Lack of clinical experience might hurt you depending on where you apply and what you say your career goals are.

Your chances are hard to predict. Most of us hate hearing this, but it really does depend on ALL kinds of things. Your fit with programs, the year's applicant base as a whole, and pure dumb luck. Your scores are definitely good and your GPA would likely be seen as great since it's from an Ivy League. It's not too late to get some clinical experience in if you're worried about it. Start contacting profs once you figure out which programs you're interested in, find out where you could fit and (it sounds cheesy) but sell yourself and your ideas. Good luck!
 
After lurking around these forums and talking to some clinical applicants this year, I get the impression that clinical psychology is one of the most difficult programs to get into. It's a little disheartening to hear about people with near perfect grades, scores and experiences getting rejected because, while I have quite a bit of research experience, my numbers could definitely be better. I hate to post a 'what are my chances' thread but I'm hoping that since many of you are hearing from schools now you will emphasize with someone who is terrified of starting the whole process next year! It would help me immensely if I could get some honest feedback:

GPA: 3.4 (from an Ivy League school, if it matters)
GRE: 1410
Experience: 4 years of research experience but no clinical experience yet!

Do most schools require the subject GRE?
Will lack of clinical experience hurt me?
Can anyone who's gone through the process let me know what they think my chances are?
Thanks in advance for your comments.


Start preparation early. I don't know what exact kind of program you are looking for, but you need to find specific programs and prepare based on what they look for. I applied to PsyDs so I can't say much about PhD program specifics besides that it is really important to match with a faculty member, or several if possible. If it's a PhD obviously the research experience will help lots, if it is for a PsyD they definitely like clinical experience so if at all possible emphasize the clinical relevance of your research experience, and find clinical experience regardless of the program. Places want you to be well-rounded so even with a PhD program I would definitely try to get some clinical experience ASAP. Looking back, I really think people should be told that even though you probably won't find a paying job as a psych undergrad, definitely get any experience you can, including volunteering at multiple psych hospitals/clinics, etc. Also, if you haven't started yet definitely start choosing and developing your experiences with your areas of interest, disorders or whatever you want to work with.

Look for APA-accredited programs that are in locations which you would be willing to live, that have faculty who work in those areas and who have opportunities for student involvement with them, like assistantships, etc. Also you might want to get an early start on checking financial aid packages and/or check out some of the "prestigious" (big $$) scholarships since their application deadlines are really early, sometimes earlier than schools' deadlines. Um what else....well as for programs requiring whatever for admissions, you will have to check with each program's requirements since a lot of them are surprisingly different in orientations/structure/emphasis, etc. Put your all into your personal statements with the application, and if the program requires an interview (most if not all do, I think) then definitely prepare for it and have tons of self-promoting answers ready as well as good questions to ask them about their program if they have not been answered from the websites or information they sent you. You have made it this far, and by the interview stage you will feel completely exhausted but keep at it and your hard work should pay off. Good luck!
 
the entire process is totally BS. i'm convinced its all luck

i've had trouble despite:
-1500 GRE
-3.78 gpa
-2 first author publications
-2 national level conference presentations
-2 years of working in same lab doing both research and clinical
-relevant volunteer experience
-excellent recommendations

such BS.
 
^^ Wow, PsychoEm, did you not get in?
Did you maybe not have good "matches"?
 
I think you have a decent shot getting to the interview stage with good GRE scores and a 3.4 at any Ivy League school. 4 years of research experience is great, although it depends what you did there...being actively involved in the research is different than data entry, for example. If you wanted to get clinical experience, you could always try to be a mentor or do volunteer experience.

That said, like danzygm said, it's all about fit, fit, fit. You want to check in advance to make sure the people you're interested in are taking students and make sure your statement of purpose is clear and understandable for why you want to work with this particular person, go to this particular school. You really want to make that clear. And make sure you get good letters of recommendations.

That said, once you get to an interview, it's a bit like starting from scratch. If you're not naturally good at interviewing, you want to practice ahead of time with people so that you can answer questions easily, be friendly and talkative and be able to talk about yourself positively, while at the same time not being completely arrogant. It's not an easy thing to do. It's not only about research fit, but also personality fit. Also, people forget that you're interviewing THE ENTIRE TIME you're there. As a grad student, we do a lot of dinners, parties and tours where we talk to people. I'm not saying you would be, but there are a suprising number of people each year who are rude or disrespectful to their hosts or people they're talking to at a party. Or, they go to a party and they shut themselves up in a corner and don't talk to anyone. And honestly, that can make a bit of a difference. We can write reviews on anyone, allthough they don't have nearly as much weight as a professor's review. Also, my advisor (and most professors at my university) asks my opinion about who would be joining the lab. We give our favorites, and the ones we didn't like as much, and he takes our opinions seriously when figuring out who to take.

Lastly, there's luck involved. POIs take one person, and although you like to think if you're good enough, you'll get in, it's really based on who else they interview and how the chips fall. The stats are that way for a reason; it shouldn't discourage you from applying, but it's good to be aware that many people who are really qualified don't get in. That said, many many people w/o publications or amazing GPAs get in because it's a good match...that's what it comes down to in the end.
 
I'll agree with PsychoEm's crapshoot theory. I didn't even get an interview at some of my "safety schools" and got accepted or wait-listed at some of the more competitive ones.

In terms of actual acceptances I'm 1/13 and had reasonably good experiences and stats, albeit no publications and my GREs(1250) were nowhere near good enough for the kinds of schools I wanted to go. Then again I probably have a lot more administrative/supervisory experience in research than most people who applied.

Get experiences in your specific area of interest would be my first suggestion. I did not even get an interview at a school were my stats were over the average for EVERYTHING, and my PoI was friends with all my letter writers. I asked why and it sounds like it boils down to the fact that my prior experiences made me more suited to a different line of research work.

Other than that, just be sure to contact the professors in advance and see if you can actually strike up a conversation about their future research directions, current projects, etc. If it makes them remember your name, and your stats are good, you're in a much better spot to get an interview.
 
i have very similar stats, pero I did a little better in GPA (also from Ivy) but worse in GRE. same # of yrs of research experience but about 1+ yrs in a family/children mental health clinic and as a sex health educator (not sure if this is considered clinical experience per se).

1) I never took the psych GRE, but if you plan on applying to schools like UCLA you will need to

2) not sure. i don't personally consider anything I did as clinical, but i was in a clinical setting. don't think it really hindered or helped me as much as my fit in the program

3) can't tell you at all. schools vary, profs. vary in accepting from yr to yr, etc.

4) just definitely do your research online.
a. that social website w/rankings was helpful in that it had the psych website for the respective schools readily there, so I didn't need to search for it on google or use a book.
b. take a look at each school's full disclosure data (with a grain of salt of course),
c. then look at their mission/research focus.
d. then if they are in the same general area, go ahead and look at the individual profs and see if anyone really jumps out at you. if a school is particularly hard (profs don't have links/interest online), I would try to look them up on psycinfo or email the head of the clinical psych dept and ask if anyone is doing something in that area.
 
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