Low GPA success stories?

[dakwegmo]

I am currently searching for graduate programs in Clinical Psychology. I will be taking the GRE next week, and have done very well so far on the practice exams I have taken. I am doing research this semester and should have good letters of recommendation. My concern is that my GPA is hideously low, 2.52 to be exact. The low GPA is mostly because I changed majors three times, before finishing a history degree. Almost immediately after graduating I began pursuing a psychology degree part time while working in an unrelated field full time. I have done far better with psychology, with a GPA in psych courses of roughly 3.7.

I am interested in hearing success stories of people who may have been in a similar situation to me. I am specifically interested in which schools they applied to and why, and which if any of the programs they were accepted to. I also welcome any advice on getting admissions committees to not use my GPA as an excuse to reject me.

Update: I took the GRE today. Quantitative: 690, Verbal: 640.

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[psychmaj]

I have heard that some grad schools will actually only look at your last 60 credits and use that GPA. You might want to check into each school's specific policy, but that might be beneficial to you.

 

[JatPenn]

Since you're out of school, find a good research assistant position and stick with it for AT LEAST another 2 years or so, in your case, maybe more like 3 or 4, to get a LOT of solid research experience under your belt and a publication or two. An overwhelming display of proficiency for research will off-set a low undergrad GPA, especially several years removed.

 

[RockTown]

I would suggest perhaps looking into general psych/experimental MA programs which tend to be less competitive than clinical. After you do well in that program, many more doors would open up for you so that you would have a better chance of getting into the program of your choice.

Oh, and as far as success stories...I say don't be discouraged by your GPA. My undergrad was rather poor and I did almost exactly what I suggested above.

Keep your head up and good luck! I know how discouraging it can be!!

 

[mmonte4]

which schools only look at your last 60 hrs psycmaj?

 

[dakwegmo]

RockTown, can you recommend any specific MA programs that would more valuable than others? There are a few schools near where I live that offer MAs in General or Clinical Psych, but the data on how many graduates they send on to Ph.D programs is not encouraging. I know it may be that the people that apply to these programs are generally poorer students anyway, but I would rather go into an MA program that really prepares people for further graduate study.

mmonte4, so far I have found a handfull of Ph.D programs that have cutoffs based on your last 60 hours GPA, but nothing specifically stating they *only* consider your last 60 hours. Many of the MA programs I have looked at, however, only consider your last 60 hours.

 

[konrad]

A few good general MA programs:

William and Mary
Wake Forest
Villanova
Wesleyan
U Richmond
Western Washington

Some of these are actually funded, and you can write the respective graduate program directors to see how many students get in to PhD programs and where they end up.

 

[RockTown]

RockTown, can you recommend any specific MA programs that would more valuable than others? >>

I may be way off base here, but I would say go with just about any program you like for general reasons such as location, in/out of state tuition etc.
I think that once you get into a MA program, it is up to the student to make of it what you will. I sincerely doubt that you would have a hard time getting into a clinical PhD program on your short list if you have a master's, in which you excelled, as well as a couple of publications and extensive research...this reasearch is also key to working closely with a couple of professors, building strong relationships with them, and they in turn will be in a better position to write you the all important letters of rec.

Just my thoughts, again, I could be way off base...I'm not in clinical.

 

[mmonte4]

Dakwegmo,

Can you tell me which PhD programs specifically that you've found?

 

[dakwegmo]

Dakwegmo,

Can you tell me which PhD programs specifically that you've found?

I started with the list of APA accredited doctoral programs, available on the APA website, and visited the websites of most of the schools looking specifically for stated cutoffs, or other policies based on GPA. Here's a sampling of what I found:

University of Alabama at Birmingham -- 3.2 GPA for last two years
BYU -- Admission based on Last 60 hours GPA.
University of Central Florida -- 3.2 GPA for last two years.
University of Connecticut -- 3.0 in last two years, 3.5 in last year.
Kent State University -- Junior Senior Scholastic average of 3.0
University of North Texas -- 3.5 last 60 hours, or 3.5 in Psych, or 1st or 2nd Author on a Journal Article.
University of South Florida -- Upper level GPA, calculated after 60 Semester hours.

Please don't hold me to the validity of anything in the list. I'm basing it on notes I took while perusing the websites. I would recommend using the list above as a starting point for researching the programs, and if you find something different than what I've posted please post corrections in this thread.

 

[JatPenn]

Look, take my advice with a grain of salt (as you should anyone's on this board) but I would STRONGLY advise against going for a general MA in the event that you don't get into a clinical phd program. There is no empirical evidence to show that doing this improves your chances of getting into a doctorate program. In fact, in some cases, it may even decrease your chances of acceptance, or at best, its sort of viewed neutrally by admissions people.

OK, say you get a masters and then you do, indeed, get into a clinical program. Often times you'll find that the phd program you are attending will not accept all of your MA credits, and will prefer that you start from the beginning at their program. So there's 2 years wasted. Speaking of wasting stuff, what about money? Sure, a couple of MA programs are funded, but not many.

Why are so many people opposed to obtaining a job, something in the research field, an RAship, right after graduation? I know it sucks to feel like you aren't advancing yourself in terms of letters after your name, but other than that I see no downside. You get to make some (sometimes decent) money and get some invaluable experience that makes you VERY attractive to clinical doctorate program admissions folks.

Just my two cents.

 

[Sanman]

Well, the advantage of the MA would be proving that you can handel the owkr and increasing your grades. However, since your psych degree gpa and your gre's are high, it might offset it. Either way, more research experience is only a good thing.

 

[Annakei]

Well, the advantage of the MA would be proving that you can handel the owkr and increasing your grades. However, since your psych degree gpa and your gre's are high, it might offset it. Either way, more research experience is only a good thing.

Ditto. I am in the same position as I have decided to complete my MA and then look into a doctoral level program down the line.

 

[twiggers]

Going the MA route does have pros and cons:

Pro: It shows that you are committed (you pretty much wasted 2 years, and a lot of money) to getting into a PhD program

Con: You wasted 2 years. You will most likely not be able to transfer your credits, and your PhD will still take 4-5 years.

I would try for the PhD programs....but ones that have low requirements. In my experience last year, I did not find a single one under a 3.0, so it may require some searching on your part. Then include a couple MA programs for a backup.
I would spend all your time working on your personal statement. This is your chance to tell them why your GPA was so low, and your psych one was so high.


Or....follow Jatpenn's advice and go work for a couple years. Research experience will overshadow your GPA....I mean you won't get into Harvard or anything, but you'll stand a better chance.