Leaving DO school to become a psychologist

[lightblueelephant]

Hello all,
As the title says I'm currently a first year DO student but I am considering leaving to pursue a career as a clinical psychologist. I have a minor in psychology and am considering applying to my original alma mater. I have 5 years of clinical research experience, volunteering in various hospital settings, and a 3.6 gpa from the original alma mater and a 3.8 GPA in the biology degree I got prior to medical school. How can I become a competitive applicant for PsyD or PhD programs?

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[summerbabe]

I have 5 years of clinical research experience

The biggest barrier is having psychology-based research productivity (contributions to peer-reviewed journal publications, contributor to posters accepted at relevant conferences, experience working as part of a psychology lab). And probably answering the question of why you want to shift from medicine to psychology with respect to interest/commitment in this field and the long process of finishing a PhD/PsyD.

How much research have you done about how doctoral study in psychology works? It's a VERY different process than med school and the emphasis is largely on fit since most programs operate on a mentorship-model, as opposed to admitting a quota based on the right stats/extracurriculars. And unlike med school, reputable programs generally provide some degree of funding to their students within small cohorts (think 5-8 accepted per cycle).

Check out Mitch’s Uncensored Advice for Applying to Graduate School in Clinical Psychology.

I have a minor in psychology and am considering applying to my original alma mater.

I remembered reading about some R1/R2 schools receiving 400+ applications for 5-6 spots when I applied a number of years ago. Applicants with a strong undergrad GPA + good GRE scores but without demonstrated psychology research productivity are likely just donating away their application fee.

If you're comfortable taking out $200,000+ in loans for a PsyD to work a job with a median salary of $80K, you can probably find a diploma mill-type program to accept you. But your future financial and career prospects will be limited in a variety of ways.

 

[bcliff]

Why? If I were in your shoes I would stick out the DO program given how competitive solid clinical psychology training is and the versatility of a medical degree.

 

[psych.meout]

Hello all,
As the title says I'm currently a first year DO student but I am considering leaving to pursue a career as a clinical psychologist. I have a minor in psychology and am considering applying to my original alma mater. I have 5 years of clinical research experience, volunteering in various hospital settings, and a 3.6 gpa from the original alma mater and a 3.8 GPA in the biology degree I got prior to medical school. How can I become a competitive applicant for PsyD or PhD programs?

Why are you considering leaving med school?

 

[R. Matey]

And you've ruled out psychiatry?

 

[futureapppsy2]

Looking at the OP's previous posts, it appears that they've really struggled academically in med school. This may create considerable barriers to going into a reputable, funded PhD program (or matching into psychiatry, which has become increasingly competitive--there's still a lot of psych in outpatient FM and IM, but it might not be a good fit if they don't enjoy general outpatient medicine).