How much weight do non-psych courses have on an application?

[SilverNemo]

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To cut to the chase, I made a life goal switch late in my undergrad. And because of that I've had to double major and double minor. One of my majors is in psychology and one of my minors is in cognitive neuroscience. My GPA for both of these is pretty much a 4.0. However, my hard science courses, such as chemistries and physics are almost all C's. Anyone have any idea how much weight PhD programs give to non-psych courses when looking at an application?

Please and thank you!

 

[Icculus8]

If you are comfortable with it, it may be easier to help give advice if you shared your overall GPA. Generally overall GPA is still pretty important, and many clinical psychology phd students offered admission will have a gpa over 3.5

 

[SilverNemo]

Currently, my overall GPA is a 3.1. Hopefully it will be a 3.3 by the end of the summer and between a 3.4 and 3.5 (again, hopefully) by the time I graduate next spring in 2015.
If my GPA is too low to apply this cycle, would my next best option be to work in a lab (very possible) and go into a master's? Even though it's not my psych classes that I'm doing poorly in, but my hard sciences?

 

[EmotRegulation]

A lower GPA *could* hurt you, depending on if the program has cutoffs for GPA. Some programs will look more closely at your last 60 hours or your major GPA. But there is enough program-to-program variability that it's hard to say for sure. I personally wouldn't care much about the chemistry grades (we see a LOT of applicants who intended to go to med school and then after organic chemistry and other hard science courses switched to a clinical psych focus) but that's me. Not all programs will have the same response. I wouldn't say a 3.3 is TOO low...but it is on the low side. If you have letter writers who know you well, you might have one of them explain those grades for you in a letter.

 

[SilverNemo]

So let's just assume that I don't get in to a PhD program or that I decide not to apply this cycle. Would going for my MA and doing well in terms of GPA be of any help in compensating for my undergrad GPA? B/c again, my psych courses are fine, it's the hard sciences that dragged me down. Or would I be better of working as an RA in a lab for a year?