low undergrad GPA for Phd Programs; retaking courses?

[apostle]

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Hey I had some questions about admissions to Phd programs with low GPAs

1) When retaking courses you did bad in (in another school):

Would the admissions still count the bad grades or replace the bad grades with the grades of retaken courses when calculating your cumulative GPA?

2) Do the schools that look at the last 60 credits really only count the last 60 credits for calculating cumulative GPA?

3) Similar to medical schools, are all clinical psychology phD programs worth the tuition and effort? Or is there a stronger reason why most students want to get in to the top ten schools?

Thanks a lot guys and much respect for the dedication you have in this field....7-9 years is a huge commitment.

 

[bcliff]

Hey I had some questions about admissions to Phd programs with low GPAs

1) When retaking courses you did bad in (in another school):

Would the admissions still count the bad grades or replace the bad grades with the grades of retaken courses when calculating your cumulative GPA?

2) Do the schools that look at the last 60 credits really only count the last 60 credits for calculating cumulative GPA?

3) Similar to medical schools, are all clinical psychology phD programs worth the tuition and effort? Or is there a stronger reason why most students want to get in to the top ten schools?

Thanks a lot guys and much respect for the dedication you have....7-9 years is a huge commitment and you probably are in this because you like it and not for the money

1.) Clinical PhD programs have hundreds of qualified applicants for a handful of available spots, so depending on how poor your UG GPA is, it may make more sense to pursue either a terminal masters degree or a masters program and then apply to clinical programs after you earn your MA.

2.) I'm not sure of the specifics about what these programs are allowed to use when making a decision, but I feel confident that anything negative GPA wise regardless of when it your academic career it occurred, would negatively impact your application.

3.) The best Clinical PhD programs are often fully funded, which means they come with a tuition waiver (free tuition), and a stipend somewhere between (roughly) 10k & 20k/year. These stipends can often be supplemented with additional work. Also it's important to note that the best program for you may not be at the most prestigious university. One of the biggest factors to take into consideration when applying to Clinical PhD programs is fit, or how well your own areas of interest and research experience mesh with the advisor you plan to work with. Always ask yourself what do you bring to Professor X's lab that other students will not be able to.

 

[apostle]

1.) Clinical PhD programs have hundreds of qualified applicants for a handful of available spots, so depending on how poor your UG GPA is, it may make more sense to pursue either a terminal masters degree or a masters program and then apply to clinical programs after you earn your MA.

2.) I'm not sure of the specifics about what these programs are allowed to use when making a decision, but I feel confident that anything negative GPA wise regardless of when it your academic career it occurred, would negatively impact your application.

3.) The best Clinical PhD programs are often fully funded, which means they come with a tuition waiver (free tuition), and a stipend somewhere between (roughly) 10k & 20k/year. These stipends can often be supplemented with additional work. Also it's important to note that the best program for you may not be at the most prestigious university. One of the biggest factors to take into consideration when applying to Clinical PhD programs is fit, or how well your own areas of interest and research experience mesh with the advisor you plan to work with. Always ask yourself what do you bring to Professor X's lab that other students will not be able to.

thank you!!!

Are terminal master's degrees/programs fully funded as well? If so, can you get into them with a low gpa as long as you supplement it with undergrad research, good recs, and high GREs?

 

[bcliff]

thank you!!!

Are terminal master's degrees/programs fully funded as well? If so, can you get into them with a low gpa as long as you supplement it with undergrad research, good recs, and high GREs?

These programs will probably not be funded, and the few that are would probably require a stellar UG education for you to qualify.

 

[intotheabyss]

Hey I had some questions about admissions to Phd programs with low GPAs

1) When retaking courses you did bad in (in another school):

Would the admissions still count the bad grades or replace the bad grades with the grades of retaken courses when calculating your cumulative GPA?

2) Do the schools that look at the last 60 credits really only count the last 60 credits for calculating cumulative GPA?

3) Similar to medical schools, are all clinical psychology phD programs worth the tuition and effort? Or is there a stronger reason why most students want to get in to the top ten schools?

Thanks a lot guys and much respect for the dedication you have in this field....7-9 years is a huge commitment.

I had some ups and downs in undergrad and did re-take some classes that I had done poorly in during my first couples of years. My overall GPA was and is less that stellar (right around a 3.0) but I did do much better in my last two years and I feel comfortable saying that if a school says they are only looking at these grades then that is very likely the case. That said, I didn't get so much as an interview until I had gained over two years of solid research experience outside of school and had glowing references from big names in the field as a result. I opted to go this route rather than doing an MA and fortunately it worked out. Luckily I could afford to volunteer for a time and it eventually translated into a full-time paid research position. I'm starting a fully-funded clinical science program in the fall.

 

[Lisa44201]

There is a difference between GPA for the last 60 credits and cumulative GPA.GPA for the last 60 credits is exactly that; cumulative is from start to finish. I am not certain that re-taking courses at another school would replace original poor grades at the original school.
The definition of a "top 10" school in psychology is subject to considerable interpretation, national rankings by XYZ magazine notwithstanding; you apply to work with a specific person, not merely Big Name University. If the person whose research interests match yours doesn't teach at a Big 10, the name of the school is somewhat meaningless. For example, Harvard is a big name school, but no one there had research interests that matched mine, so I didn't apply, because even if I did have the grades to get in the door, there is no one there whose research interests line up with mine. Come to think of it, I couldn't name a Big 10 university if someone paid me to; I simply have no idea. There are certain people I wanted to work with; where they were as far as the name of the school was of little consequence.
Effort? Sure, if you're dedicated, passionate, serious about the field, etc. Tuition? General consensus is the better programs (and even the middle-of-the-road ones) will give you a tuition waiver and possibly a stipend (RA/TA); paying for one's degree raises red flags about degree mills.
FWIW, I did get into a fully funded Master's degree with a 3.53 GPA. I graduated in May, and will be starting in a PhD program this fall.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

There is a difference between GPA for the last 60 credits and cumulative GPA.GPA for the last 60 credits is exactly that; cumulative is from start to finish. I am not certain that re-taking courses at another school would replace original poor grades at the original school.
The definition of a "top 10" school in psychology is subject to considerable interpretation, national rankings by XYZ magazine notwithstanding; you apply to work with a specific person, not merely Big Name University. If the person whose research interests match yours doesn't teach at a Big 10, the name of the school is somewhat meaningless. For example, Harvard is a big name school, but no one there had research interests that matched mine, so I didn't apply, because even if I did have the grades to get in the door, there is no one there whose research interests line up with mine. Come to think of it, I couldn't name a Big 10 university if someone paid me to; I simply have no idea. There are certain people I wanted to work with; where they were as far as the name of the school was of little consequence.
Effort? Sure, if you're dedicated, passionate, serious about the field, etc. Tuition? General consensus is the better programs (and even the middle-of-the-road ones) will give you a tuition waiver and possibly a stipend (RA/TA); paying for one's degree raises red flags about degree mills.
FWIW, I did get into a fully funded Master's degree with a 3.53 GPA. I graduated in May, and will be starting in a PhD program this fall.

I mean that isn't a completely low GPA, there are certainly people with lower GPAs on here.

 

[mewtoo]

I mean that isn't a completely low GPA, there are certainly people with lower GPAs on here.

I got into a fully funded masters with a 3.3 cumulative and a 1200 range (309) GRE score, but I also have a lot of research experience (earning awards for it and have a 2nd author manuscript submitted for publication) and was a psi chi officer. I think 3.3 is probably borderline for competitive masters programs in psych. Lower would probably have to just go to an unfunded one or have a really stellar research background and amazing GRE scores.

Also, in applications, YOU report your GPAs. The admissions committees don't calculate them unless maybe if what you reported and whats on your transcript have a huge discrepancy... When I applied last cycle I personally combined my grades from the community college I attended for a summer (where I retook one class) and my university. I really can't remember if I replaced the retaken grade or left both in but the difference in cumulative GPA wasn't that much to worry about.

Some schools may put more emphasis on your last 60 hours GPA when looking at your app, but you should not assume they will completely ignore your cumulative GPA. If you have some sob story or great reason for your GPA being that low, make sure to put it in your SOP.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

I got into a fully funded masters with a 3.3 cumulative and a 1200 range (309) GRE score, but I also have a lot of research experience (earning awards for it and have a 2nd author manuscript submitted for publication) and was a psi chi officer. I think 3.3 is probably borderline for competitive masters programs in psych. Lower would probably have to just go to an unfunded one or have a really stellar research background and amazing GRE scores.

Also, in applications, YOU report your GPAs. The admissions committees don't calculate them unless maybe if what you reported and whats on your transcript have a huge discrepancy... When I applied last cycle I personally combined my grades from the community college I attended for a summer (where I retook one class) and my university. I really can't remember if I replaced the retaken grade or left both in but the difference in cumulative GPA wasn't that much to worry about.

Some schools may put more emphasis on your last 60 hours GPA when looking at your app, but you should not assume they will completely ignore your cumulative GPA. If you have some sob story or great reason for your GPA being that low, make sure to put it in your SOP.

Exactly my point. SDN inflates averages for schools way too much.

 

[apostle]

Thank you all very much for all the replies.

If I had about a 2.8 cumulative GPA with a 4.0 major gpa (and 4.0 gpa in last 60 credits), and good research experience and very high GRE scores......

Would that give me a chance to get in a funded phd or masters program?

 

[mewtoo]

Exactly my point. SDN inflates averages for schools way too much.

I think they are very close to the reality though. If you go look at admissions stats for a random sampling of clinical psych programs they reflect score-wise what they say on here for phds. I think masters programs are way more variable, especially since I believe there are way more masters programs out there than phds in psych. They aren't as do or die as phd programs.

At the same time I agree with you a bit because I do think a lot of the time people taking the initiative and forethought to come on here, ask questions, and post on the WAMC thread are often the more qualified and serious candidates so of course your competition may look a bit skewed.

Thank you all very much for all the replies.

If I had about a 2.8 cumulative GPA with a 4.0 major gpa (and 4.0 gpa in last 60 credits), and good research experience and very high GRE scores......

Would that give me a chance to get in a funded phd or masters program?

At most programs I've ever looked at the graduate college itself has a 3.0 cut off. Some programs have provisional acceptance if you are below the cut off and you have to "prove" yourself by having above a 3.0 after either a semester or two semesters to gain regular admission. However, at least at my program, provisional status students (if any even get in at all, it may just be on their website because they are required to put it) aren't eligible for funding. And thats for a masters. I would think you would have no chance of getting into a phd. Maybe if you had some crazy amount of research experience (way more than the typical two years), researched with the big wigs, and had some publications you might have a chance. You got to keep in mind that there are people with crazy amounts of research experience like that PLUS the awesome GPA and GRE scores out there applying too.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

I think they are very close to the reality though. If you go look at admissions stats for a random sampling of clinical psych programs they reflect score-wise what they say on here for phds. I think masters programs are way more variable, especially since I believe there are way more masters programs out there than phds in psych. They aren't as do or die as phd programs.

At the same time I agree with you a bit because I do think a lot of the time people taking the initiative and forethought to come on here, ask questions, and post on the WAMC thread are often the more qualified and serious candidates so of course your competition may look a bit skewed.


I do agree with what you have said, unfortunately a lot of it comes off as blatant negativity on here.

 

[Lisa44201]

Thank you all very much for all the replies.

If I had about a 2.8 cumulative GPA with a 4.0 major gpa (and 4.0 gpa in last 60 credits), and good research experience and very high GRE scores......

Would that give me a chance to get in a funded phd or masters program?

Is there a really, really good reason for the 2.8? I'm talking death in the family or severe illness. Many graduate schools have a 3.0 minimum requirement.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

Is there a really, really good reason for the 2.8? I'm talking death in the family or severe illness. Many graduate schools have a 3.0 minimum requirement.

If not, I would probably work really hard to get it up to a 3.0. Regardless of what happens, good luck!🙂

 

[apostle]

If not, I would probably work really hard to get it up to a 3.0. Regardless of what happens, good luck!🙂

thank you!