How to increase chances of getting into a clinical psychology program?

[jeremmed77]

---

Members do not see this ad.

This question is for my sister, who is planning on taking college classes while in high school. If everything goes according to plan, she will be able to graduate after two years of college. I was wondering what can she do to increase her chances of getting into a PsyD program?

For her major, she has to do a senior laboratory and senior research project. Should she be doing more research on the side as well? Would it look good for her to get published or does that not matter? What would be the average gpa for the average applicant (She is going to go to the University of Minnesota if that helps)? How about the GRE? What subjects are on there and what is the average score for an admitted student?

Any information on this would be great because I am a premed student and I really don't have a lot of information to give her. Thanks in advance.

 

[somedude14]

This question is for my sister, who is planning on taking college classes while in high school. If everything goes according to plan, she will be able to graduate after two years of college. I was wondering what can she do to increase her chances of getting into a PsyD program?

For her major, she has to do a senior laboratory and senior research project. Should she be doing more research on the side as well? Would it look good for her to get published or does that not matter? What would be the average gpa for the average applicant (She is going to go to the University of Minnesota if that helps)? How about the GRE? What subjects are on there and what is the average score for an admitted student?

Any information on this would be great because I am a premed student and I really don't have a lot of information to give her. Thanks in advance.

all what you seek can be found with a few quick searches on these forums.
planning ahead is great, but a lot can change once your sister goes to college. she might change her mind about clinical psychology entirely 😛

 

[AcronymAllergy]

As mentioned above, the answers to all of your questions are on the forum. To give some quick and dirty responses:

More research can generally never hurt. I would definitely recommend getting more experience than that required by the senior projects.

Not sure of nationwide averages, but if I had to hazard a guess, I would say GPAs probably hover around 3.8+. The "magic number" for GRE scores I was given by my advisor when applying was 1300+; I would definitely recommend aiming for at least 1200.

 

[roubs]

As mentioned above, the answers to all of your questions are on the forum. To give some quick and dirty responses:

More research can generally never hurt. I would definitely recommend getting more experience than that required by the senior projects.

Not sure of nationwide averages, but if I had to hazard a guess, I would say GPAs probably hover around 3.8+. The "magic number" for GRE scores I was given by my advisor when applying was 1300+; I would definitely recommend aiming for at least 1200.

For Psy.D programs I don't think the averages are 3.8.

I also went to the U of M for undergrad and I'd say definitely keep in mind that with such a large undergrad population it's important to take initiative to get noticed. Also keep in mind that most people there are very focused on research and may not have a positive opinion of the Psy.D degree.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

For Psy.D programs I don't think the averages are 3.8.

I also went to the U of M for undergrad and I'd say definitely keep in mind that with such a large undergrad population it's important to take initiative to get noticed. Also keep in mind that most people there are very focused on research and may not have a positive opinion of the Psy.D degree.

Good point; I'd missed the part in the OP stating that this was regarding Psy.D. programs specifically.

No clue what the national average would be there, although it'd be lower than the average for clinical Ph.D. programs.

 

[CheetahGirl]

This question is for my sister, who is planning on taking college classes while in high school.

Any information on this would be great because I am a premed student and I really don't have a lot of information to give her. Thanks in advance.

Jeremmed77,

You are a very kind sibling. I'm all for empowering those around us...Urge your sister to log on to SDN herself and search to her heart's content.

For clinical psych programs (PsyD or PhD): she'll need to get the highest GPA possible (cummulative and psych pre-req courses, why not shoot for the top?), research experience in the field (although always not so necessary for some PsyD programs), clinical/volunteer experience in the field (to show her dedication), have a good handle on her interests within the field (and the ability to discuss them intelligibly in her personal statement & interviews), do well on the GREs & Psych GREs (different schools have different cut-offs, shoot for 1200 or higher), build contacts (professors, supervisors) that can write exceptional letters of reference, and, especially for a young applicant, demonstrate her maturity (her training patients may be 3x her age - can she handle that?).

She can also talk to her high school guidance counselor and student advisement where she attends college classes. She's far enough away from the goal that she'll be able to learn a lot here and through her own trial & error. Getting into programs straight from undergrad can be done for the exceptional applicant...I took a different path (which included a masters degree, publishing & presenting at national/international conferences, and many years of clinical & research experience), so my comments are based on my observations of what worked for some people.

Good luck to you both

 

[jeremmed77]

Jeremmed77,

You are a very kind sibling. I'm all for empowering those around us...Urge your sister to log on to SDN herself and search to her heart's content.

For clinical psych programs (PsyD or PhD): she'll need to get the highest GPA possible (cummulative and psych pre-req courses, why not shoot for the top?), research experience in the field (although always not so necessary for some PsyD programs), clinical/volunteer experience in the field (to show her dedication), have a good handle on her interests within the field (and the ability to discuss them intelligibly in her personal statement & interviews), do well on the GREs & Psych GREs (different schools have different cut-offs, shoot for 1200 or higher), build contacts (professors, supervisors) that can write exceptional letters of reference, and, especially for a young applicant, demonstrate her maturity (her training patients may be 3x her age - can she handle that?).

I took a different path (which included a masters degree, publishing & presenting at national/international conferences, and many years of clinical & research experience), so my comments are based on my observations of what worked for some people.

Thanks for the help. I went to college when I was sixteen too, under a government program which pays 100% tuition, so I think this would be smart of her. Unfortunately, I didn't have anyone to tell me which classes would help me toward my degree (Or at least have anyone knowledgeable). Are most of these phD/pysD programs costly? Or are they generally paid for through teaching/research assistantships? Again, thanks for all of the information!

 

[PsychScience]

Thanks for the help. I went to college when I was sixteen too, under a government program which pays 100% tuition, so I think this would be smart of her. Unfortunately, I didn't have anyone to tell me which classes would help me toward my degree (Or at least have anyone knowledgeable). Are most of these phD/pysD programs costly? Or are they generally paid for through teaching/research assistantships? Again, thanks for all of the information!

PhD programs are typically funded, some university PsyD programs are also funded. The ones that are not funded can be quite costly. Your sister should probably spend some time doing some research on the pros and cons of a PhD and a PsyD so she can decide which one she is working toward. Funding is just one of the issues to be considered. If you send your sister to this website http://cudcp.us/ there is a fact sheet on there for undergrads in psychology that my DCT has given to the undergrads at our university, and she might find this helpful. There is also a link on that site for Admissions and Outcome data for many clinical psychology programs which is helpful in seeing what stats look like for the various universities. When you go to the individual university sites they will give you how many people apply, are admitted, get funding, the average accepted applicants stats, and the rate of "matching".

 

[jeremmed77]

PhD programs are typically funded, some university PsyD programs are also funded. The ones that are not funded can be quite costly. Your sister should probably spend some time doing some research on the pros and cons of a PhD and a PsyD so she can decide which one she is working toward. Funding is just one of the issues to be considered. If you send your sister to this website http://cudcp.us/ there is a fact sheet on there for undergrads in psychology that my DCT has given to the undergrads at our university, and she might find this helpful. There is also a link on that site for Admissions and Outcome data for many clinical psychology programs which is helpful in seeing what stats look like for the various universities. When you go to the individual university sites they will give you how many people apply, are admitted, get funding, the average accepted applicants stats, and the rate of "matching".

Thanks a ton! I will definitely pass that link along to my sis.