Is experience in research as an undergrad vital for PhD program admissions?

[Mary Berberyan]

I have been looking at different PhD (and even Master's programs) for psychology and it seems as if almost every program is looking for someone who has had extensive experience in research as an undergrad or has been ar part of some frat/sorority... given that I commuted back and forth to college as an undergrad and worked full time, I never had the time to do extensive research....am I basically screwed if I want to apply for grad school or do I have some sort of hope? are there any opportunities for research in universities for non-students? if you have any suggestions please let me know--

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[danzgymn86]

Uh, I don't get the frat/sorority reference? I've never heard schools looking at that?

And of course you can get research experience. Just contact people...it's free help for them, basically. Perhaps try volunteering at a hospital?

 

[JockNerd]

I have been looking at different PhD (and even Master's programs) for psychology and it seems as if almost every program is looking for someone who has had extensive experience in research as an undergrad or has been ar part of some frat/sorority... given that I commuted back and forth to college as an undergrad and worked full time, I never had the time to do extensive research....am I basically screwed if I want to apply for grad school or do I have some sort of hope? are there any opportunities for research in universities for non-students? if you have any suggestions please let me know--

YES! Research experience is vital! Research experience was consistently ranked as THE most important thing to admissions committees when I was doing my research on getting in. It's really vital to show that you have the desire and ability to handle the research work that comes with a PhD program. You can show that experience in a lot of different ways--most often, it's shown through an undergraduate thesis and work as a research assistant (RA). Did you do a thesis in your undergrad?

If you really didn't get any research experience, you still have opportunities! MANY profs will hire Bachelor's-level grads as paid RAs in their labs. Here, your duties would be anything from lit reviews to data entry to writing. A big goal would be to make a significant enough contribution to the work to be listed as an author on anything (a publication or presentation) that comes out of it. Some profs might let you work on your own research in the lab (although I think this is less likely... my experience is that the RAs typically help the prof, grad students, and honours students with their work). If you get on this NOW, when application time rolls around next year you'll have a full year of work under your belt and probably at least one really solid letter of recommendation. Several of my friends who took a year off before applications did this, and done right it significantly boosts your chances of getting into really good programs.

If you didn't do a thesis, your school may let you re-enroll as a special student (or non-degree-seeking student or whatever they call it). You could take a thesis course and do research that way, and maybe enroll in one or two graduate-level courses. I'm guessing it's too late to do that for this year, but it's something to consider for next year, if you decide to wait two years before applying.

Good luck!!🙂

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Yes.

Try being an RA for at least a year, and then apply, you will have a much better shot at getting interviews.

-t

 

[KillerDiller]

The only "Greek" membership organizations that might have a small bearing on your applications to Ph.D programs are Phi Beta Kappa, Psi Chi, and possibly Phi Kappa Phi, but these aren't fraternities or sororities, they are honors societies.

And, yeah, I'm with everyone else on the research being necessary part. There are quite a few RA positions that are paid. Check the classified sections and see if you can get into one of those as a job.

 

[Ollie123]

Yup, research is probably THE #1 thing you need for admission to a PhD program. Even with a 4.0 and a 1600 GRE, someone with zero research experience will struggle to get accepted to even average-to-low ranked programs. As others have said, you can still volunteer there after graduation, or try and seek out a tech job. Just to warn you though, it might be hard to convince someone to pay you to be their tech when you have zero volunteer research experience.

I also have no idea what you mean by frats/sororities. I've never heard of a school that gives a crap. In some cases I've heard of it working against people because they assume you're a partier.

 

[Mary Berberyan]

thank you all for the advice-

yea sorry i meant to say honors societies like Psi chi and what not-- our school isn't big on typical frats and sororities, ours are mainly based on organizations and a lot of volunteer work -

 

[Ollie123]

Just an FYI - Its pretty unlikely Psi Chi, Phi Beta Kappa, or whatever else will EVER make or break an application. I was VP of an award-winning chapter and I don't think it factored into my admissions decision to any great degree.

My research, on the other hand, is probably THE reason I got accepted here. Get all the research experience you can, and as much depth of research experience as you can.

 

[PizzaButt]

I'm a non-traditional applicant who is coming from a legal background (I'm 30). I decided to change careers this spring, and the first thing I did was to find an RA job in a psych lab. Since I had zero experience (I was not a psych major) I realized I had to work for free (though I tried finding paid positions) so I got a really great volunteer RA job in a psych lab. The job is working out really well. I highly recommend volunteering if you can't find anything paid. I didn't have any contacts (i.e. profs at a university since I've been out of school for 8 years) so I just contacted PIs on my own. If you send out enough emails you'll probably get some leads, as I did.