Important Questions about MA/MS/PsyD - Currently in Undergrad

[tgunsmoke]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hi everyone! I was hoping for some advice in regards to graduate school... This might be lengthy but PLEASE stick with me as I really need the help!!

I am currently a Junior in college, majoring in Psych with a minor in Crim. I hadn't decided until about 6 months ago that I wanted to get serious about school and pursue a PhD or PsyD after undergrad. After meeting with a counselor, talking with a prior professor who has his PhD, and doing general research, I have some idea of the steps I need to take.

Since I didn't take school seriously until pretty much Spring semester of this year, I am left with a current GPA of 3.075 with no internship/volunteer experience. Luckily I took most of my lower and upper GE during these past two years, so all I am left with are my major and minor classes.

From what I have been told (I do not go to a prestigious school), I need to start volunteering - I just joined COSA which is a support group for released prisoners that are considered high risk sex offenders, and I also plan to volunteer at a Rape Victims Services counseling center as well as a therapeutic horseback riding center - I have over 10 years of experience with horses, bump up my GPA and apply to a Masters program with the ABA option before I can try to apply to a PhD or PsyD program.

The professor I met with who is the head Psychologist at one of the mental hospitals here in CA, said that if I could get the head of the Psych department at my school to approve a research project at the California State Hospitals here (doing a research project involving patients with sexual disorders) that he would mentor me. I also can try to get on a research team after this semester with my current Psych Research and Methods professor.

I have a lot of outlets to get connected and to make my application look a lot better, but I still worry about having to get my Masters first, and wish there was a way to go directly into a clinical psych program from here. Another problem is that if I went the ABA route for my Masters and finished that and was unable to get into a clinical psych program from there, I am stuck with a low paying job and a lot of schooling under my belt.

Are there any unexhausted options I have?

 

[cara susanna]

IMO, research experience is way more important than volunteer experience.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

This should be in the WAMC thread.

 

[tgunsmoke]

This should be in the WAMC thread.

I'm not just asking "what are my chances" I am trying to get advice on possible different paths to take and different options I may have.

 

[CatsFan]

Hi everyone! I was hoping for some advice in regards to graduate school... This might be lengthy but PLEASE stick with me as I really need the help!!

I am currently a Junior in college, majoring in Psych with a minor in Crim. I hadn't decided until about 6 months ago that I wanted to get serious about school and pursue a PhD or PsyD after undergrad. After meeting with a counselor, talking with a prior professor who has his PhD, and doing general research, I have some idea of the steps I need to take.

Since I didn't take school seriously until pretty much Spring semester of this year, I am left with a current GPA of 3.075 with no internship/volunteer experience. Luckily I took most of my lower and upper GE during these past two years, so all I am left with are my major and minor classes.

From what I have been told (I do not go to a prestigious school), I need to start volunteering - I just joined COSA which is a support group for released prisoners that are considered high risk sex offenders, and I also plan to volunteer at a Rape Victims Services counseling center as well as a therapeutic horseback riding center - I have over 10 years of experience with horses, bump up my GPA and apply to a Masters program with the ABA option before I can try to apply to a PhD or PsyD program.

The professor I met with who is the head Psychologist at one of the mental hospitals here in CA, said that if I could get the head of the Psych department at my school to approve a research project at the California State Hospitals here (doing a research project involving patients with sexual disorders) that he would mentor me. I also can try to get on a research team after this semester with my current Psych Research and Methods professor.

I have a lot of outlets to get connected and to make my application look a lot better, but I still worry about having to get my Masters first, and wish there was a way to go directly into a clinical psych program from here. Another problem is that if I went the ABA route for my Masters and finished that and was unable to get into a clinical psych program from there, I am stuck with a low paying job and a lot of schooling under my belt.

Are there any unexhausted options I have?

If you are a junior already majoring in psych, you may not be in as bad of shape as you think. I decided to pursue my Ph.D. in clinical psych during the summer before my junior year, and although my GPA was higher than yours, I had no research or volunteer experience up to that point. I ended up taking a year off because I didn't feel quite ready at the beginning of my senior year to apply, and now I'm about to start my second year of a clinical Ph.D. program. Taking a year or two off isn't a bad idea, and it seems like many people do it these days--if you could get a full time job in a lab, that would be amazing, but I just worked at a restaurant and it worked out great 🙂. The extra time to study for the GRE, work on applications, and prepare for interviews was key for me.

Although some clinical/volunteer experience is good, research experience is probably going to be more important, especially for Ph.D. programs. (If you don't want to take out a ton of loans, you should probably shoot for Ph.D. programs. There are plenty of threads on here comparing Ph.D. and Psy.D. if you are interested. Also, if you aim for making yourself competitive for a Ph.D. program, you will probably be competitive for Psy.D. programs as well.)

I would recommend getting involved in a research lab or two right away, either volunteering or for course credit. Even if you don't go to a "prestigious" school, you may still have a good psych program, especially if you're at a large state school (these tend to produce a large amount of research). Undergrad and grad programs are often quite different as far as "prestigiousness," and undergrad institutions with less than stellar reputations sometimes have very highly respected graduate programs in clinical psych. The benefit of getting involved in research labs is not only for the experience, but also to get to know faculty who could potentially write you recommendation letters and give you advice on how to get through the somewhat convoluted process of applying to grad school. Also, consider doing a senior honor's thesis next year. Conducting a research project from start to finish looks great on grad school apps. Try to present your project at your school's undergraduate research fair, and elsewhere if possible.

Also, a 3.0 GPA is not terrible, especially with two years left!! Try to get that up to a 3.5 or higher, rock the GRE, and you should be good to go 🙂.

To sum up: Get involved in research, ask faculty and even current grad students for advice, volunteer somewhere, and get that GPA up as much as possible!! Good luck 🙂.

Edited to add: What makes you think you will need to do a master's first? Just because you're not sure if you will be competitive for Ph.D. programs? To that I would say, two years is more time than you think. I wouldn't resign yourself to going the master's route just yet if you don't want to.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

I would do the masters or take a year or two off and get research. Thats up to you though.

 

[tgunsmoke]

If you are a junior already majoring in psych, you may not be in as bad of shape as you think. I decided to pursue my Ph.D. in clinical psych during the summer before my junior year, and although my GPA was higher than yours, I had no research or volunteer experience up to that point. I ended up taking a year off because I didn't feel quite ready at the beginning of my senior year to apply, and now I'm about to start my second year of a clinical Ph.D. program. Taking a year or two off isn't a bad idea, and it seems like many people do it these days--if you could get a full time job in a lab, that would be amazing, but I just worked at a restaurant and it worked out great 🙂. The extra time to study for the GRE, work on applications, and prepare for interviews was key for me.

Although some clinical/volunteer experience is good, research experience is probably going to be more important, especially for Ph.D. programs. (If you don't want to take out a ton of loans, you should probably shoot for Ph.D. programs. There are plenty of threads on here comparing Ph.D. and Psy.D. if you are interested. Also, if you aim for making yourself competitive for a Ph.D. program, you will probably be competitive for Psy.D. programs as well.)

I would recommend getting involved in a research lab or two right away, either volunteering or for course credit. Even if you don't go to a "prestigious" school, you may still have a good psych program, especially if you're at a large state school (these tend to produce a large amount of research). Undergrad and grad programs are often quite different as far as "prestigiousness," and undergrad institutions with less than stellar reputations sometimes have very highly respected graduate programs in clinical psych. The benefit of getting involved in research labs is not only for the experience, but also to get to know faculty who could potentially write you recommendation letters and give you advice on how to get through the somewhat convoluted process of applying to grad school. Also, consider doing a senior honor's thesis next year. Conducting a research project from start to finish looks great on grad school apps. Try to present your project at your school's undergraduate research fair, and elsewhere if possible.

Also, a 3.0 GPA is not terrible, especially with two years left!! Try to get that up to a 3.5 or higher, rock the GRE, and you should be good to go 🙂.

To sum up: Get involved in research, ask faculty and even current grad students for advice, volunteer somewhere, and get that GPA up as much as possible!! Good luck 🙂.

Edited to add: What makes you think you will need to do a master's first? Just because you're not sure if you will be competitive for Ph.D. programs? To that I would say, two years is more time than you think. I wouldn't resign yourself to going the master's route just yet if you don't want to.

Thanks for your reply!

We don’t have a ton of research going on at our school, but if I make it on good terms with my Research/Methods Professor this semester I can get on his research team in the Spring. I also need to look in to doing a research program through the mental hospital as previously mentioned. I am hoping once I have my foot in the door with both of these, research projects will be easier to come by. We do a research project in this Methods/Research class but nothing that could get official recognition.

I am really aiming for a 3.5, it will be difficult to do but as calculated, not impossible.

Everyone that I've spoken with makes it sound impossible to get into a PhD program. The counselor I spoke with (I think she is known as an ‘advising assistant’) says she has never known anyone to get into a clinical psych program from undergrad. The professor who is willing to mentor me made it sound like the chances of me getting into a program from undergrad are highly unlikely and to go the Masters route first. I would rather go straight into a clinical psych program obviously but I haven’t heard many success stories.

 

[Jeina]

Thanks for your reply!

We don’t have a ton of research going on at our school, but if I make it on good terms with my Research/Methods Professor this semester I can get on his research team in the Spring. I also need to look in to doing a research program through the mental hospital as previously mentioned. I am hoping once I have my foot in the door with both of these, research projects will be easier to come by. We do a research project in this Methods/Research class but nothing that could get official recognition.

I am really aiming for a 3.5, it will be difficult to do but as calculated, not impossible.

Everyone that I've spoken with makes it sound impossible to get into a PhD program. The counselor I spoke with (I think she is known as an ‘advising assistant’) says she has never known anyone to get into a clinical psych program from undergrad. The professor who is willing to mentor me made it sound like the chances of me getting into a program from undergrad are highly unlikely and to go the Masters route first. I would rather go straight into a clinical psych program obviously but I haven’t heard many success stories.

I just wanted to speak to your concerns about the possibility of entering a PhD program straight from undergrad. I can't promise that it's feasible in your situation. However, I and several others who regularly post here went straight from undergrad into PhD programs, so it's definitely possible and more common than many think it is (my undergrad advisors told me the same kinds of things you noted in your post). In any case, best wishes to you!

 

[tgunsmoke]

I just wanted to speak to your concerns about the possibility of entering a PhD program straight from undergrad. I can't promise that it's feasible in your situation. However, I and several others who regularly post here went straight from undergrad into PhD programs, so it's definitely possible and more common than many think it is (my undergrad advisors told me the same kinds of things you noted in your post). In any case, best wishes to you!

Thank you very much! Do you think considering my stats I have a somewhat of a chance? Also is there anything you recommend I do to help my odds?

 

[Jeina]

Thank you very much! Do you think considering my stats I have a somewhat of a chance? Also is there anything you recommend I do to help my odds?

I make a point not to speculate about other people's chances, sorry! With regard to how to boost your prospects, I'll echo others' suggestion to get as much research experience as possible. Good luck!

 

[tgunsmoke]

I make a point not to speculate about other people's chances, sorry! With regard to how to boost your prospects, I'll echo others' suggestion to get as much research experience as possible. Good luck!

That's okay, I think I would be the same way! Thank you for your input 🙂

 

[CatsFan]

Thanks for your reply!

We don’t have a ton of research going on at our school, but if I make it on good terms with my Research/Methods Professor this semester I can get on his research team in the Spring. I also need to look in to doing a research program through the mental hospital as previously mentioned. I am hoping once I have my foot in the door with both of these, research projects will be easier to come by. We do a research project in this Methods/Research class but nothing that could get official recognition.

I am really aiming for a 3.5, it will be difficult to do but as calculated, not impossible.

Everyone that I've spoken with makes it sound impossible to get into a PhD program. The counselor I spoke with (I think she is known as an ‘advising assistant’) says she has never known anyone to get into a clinical psych program from undergrad. The professor who is willing to mentor me made it sound like the chances of me getting into a program from undergrad are highly unlikely and to go the Masters route first. I would rather go straight into a clinical psych program obviously but I haven’t heard many success stories.

Hmm...it's true that it's becoming more and more common for people to take a year or two off, but many people still go straight from undergrad. Is there something about your school in particular that makes it hard for people to go straight to Ph.D. programs? If it's hard for people to get research experience, that could be the problem. It's definitely hard to get into clinical Ph.D. programs without a good amount of research experience. But, if you take the initiative and make opportunities for yourself like it sounds like you're doing, you could be the exception.

If you do end up doing a masters, there are a few masters programs that sort of specialize in making people more competitive for doctoral programs. I can't name any off the top of my head, but I'd look into these.