MA after dabbling for years in various fields w/ Psych BA...please help

[Roonarian]

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😳Thanks to anyone with the patience for helping me with the following issues:

Many years ago, I went to a decent school for Psychology but I cheapened it by NOT considering the prospect of attending grad school after getting my BA.

I spent 5 of the past 6 years working random jobs, figuring out my direction and learning about the job market, holding a BA in Psych!

The last year, I decided that I would carry on with my Psych endeavors instead of wasting time. I managed to find work in Mental Health at the BA level for a year. The pay was miserable, but I didn't mind. I wanted to put that on my grad school application to make up for my thoughtlessly executed undergrad experience in Psych. I didn't know I wanted to go to grad school and didn't make the connections with professors, find internships, OR take all of the commonly required courses for grad school admissions!

My BA years were all so enjoyable but so not PRACTICAL, and now I am lost. Back then, I took upper division Stats, Research/Experimental Design, and Abnormal, BUT NO Child/Developmental, for example.

I am generally rusty in terms of GRE Psych Subject Test stuff and I know I clearly have to nail it to make up for all my other shortcomings. I will do what I need to do. But my biggest problem is that I am confused about many procedural things.

For starters, I am even confused about:

-How to get those required courses, now that it's been years and I've been working this whole time? Do I re-apply to university to take those grad school reqs? I already got my Psych BA, so what would be the application process to return to university?

-What do people do if they want to get a MA in a field that is different from their BA?

-I signed up today and am here to learn as much as possible; any advice is appreciated.

😍Sincere thanks in advance!

 

[erg923]

Developmental psych might not be a required prereq course, depending on the program. It might be though of course. If so, simply take the class at your local college since you already have your BA. Not sure about the logistics, just call the admissions office and ask. Study for your general GRE exam, and the psych GRE if required for the MA programs you are applying to. Research experience is crucial for admissions to doctoral programs, but is not quite as crucial for applying at the MA level. Still, it might not be a bad idea to ask around and get some research experience under your belt. Plus, you'll need to get to know some professors anyway in order to get some decent letters of rec.

 

[Roonarian]

Thank you for your advice. I will be calling the local universities on Monday. If you don't mind, I have a few more questions--

Would you happen to know if coursework taken after BA would go onto my transcript for undergrad studies? Or would they merely serve as added features to my grad school application credentials?

I read at About.com that--

>85% schools require Stats
>65% Exp Design
>30% Abnormal
>35% Developmental/Child
>25% Personality

--and I figured I'd try and get all of those courses taken in order to cast a wider net and make a better impression in my grad school apps. (Might this be inaccurate?)

I need all the qualification I can get, because of how disorganized I was with my BA.

I won't be going for doctoral programs as of now.

My work experience hasn't been focused in the mental health field, and I feel I'm running out of time. I will most likely need as many things to offset the weaknesses in my application as possible. I assumed that I'd have to do very, very well on the Psych GRE just to add weight to my otherwise mediocre credentials. Is it true that I also need to take the General Test?

Thank you so much. I read somewhere on this forum that everytime you find an answer to a question, you end up formulating 3x more questions...for me it's been like 10x more....so far. Yikes!

 

[erg923]

I don't know really. As long as your GPA is around at least a 2.8...you should be ok as far as GPA for a getting into a masters program. Lower than that might be cause for some concern....

 

[Roonarian]

Thank you!

 

[lookitssara]

Almost every MA and PhD program in psych requires this general GRE. This is also more important than the psych GRE because 1) not all programs require the psych GRE, 2) you had a psych major in undergrad, and 3) I get the sense that even if a program requires it, if you can get a 600/650 on it, that's all they care about.

Any courses you take after your BA will not factor into your GPA from undergrad BUT you will have to send grad schools your transcripts from that school, so they will see that grade and take it into consideration.

Many programs do not have any course prereqs, especially if you have a psych bachelors. Also, several programs will admit you without the prereqs and ask you to complete them the summer before you enroll.

One of the things you should be thinking about now is your letters of recommendation. Your current supervisor at your MH job is a great one, but you also will need a couple from professors. This can be a little tricky if you didn't have relationships with yours in undergrad. Just something to think about.

You obviously want to be as prepared as possible. I recommend deciding what sort of program you're really interested in. This will largely influence your prep. For instance, if you want to apply to PhD programs, you HAVE to have research experience. If you apply to LCSW programs, you really need to have applied clinical experiences (which it seems you have). Once you know more specifically what field of psychology and type of program you want, everyone can help you more.

 

[Roonarian]

I hadn't realized that the General GRE was so important. That's great news, actually! Would you say that taking the Psych GRE will definitely help my app as long as I can do decently well? I am sure I can get 600/650 with some prep. I feel less scared now. Thank you so much🙂

The answer to my post-bac coursework question was perfect. I will begin figuring out that process. I wonder if (for example) taking Chemical Dependency coursework at community college and then working as CDPT while learning would also be a wise combination, but does it seem more time-consuming than it's worth (for someone aiming for an MA)?

😳Letters of recommendation are going to be tricky but do-able. I will ask superiors at work and also instructors of any post-bac courses I take prior to applying for grad school.

In terms of my interests--

I definitely want the MA. I would like to immediately start building a career of the counseling/clinical nature rather than do research or teach. I am not ruling out the possibility of looking into doctoral programs (later) that would encourage/accept applicants who already hold a Master's.

Strategy is everything for me, as I want to be able to open many vocational doors, using the right combination of studies. I am interested in all aspects of Psychology on the undergrad level, so the best path for me would be one which would provide an array of job outlooks in a "doing counseling" setting. I have also considered MSW, but am under the impression that getting a MA in Psych (or subfield) would better suit my strengths and interests--this assumption is of course, still not totally confirmed and could be wrong. I am so new to all of this as of now, but plan to get better quickly!

I am primarily interested in getting a Counseling MA, and I prefer a multicultural emphasis. I have also read that it is wiser to get an MA in Psychology (rather than Counseling) with an emphasis on MFT, that way I could take the LPC test which would work in many states....The strategic stuff is daunting, and I am hitting up the bookstores as soon as I get paid.

How does everyone else carve out their path? Would it be reasonable for me to seek help from an academic advisor at just any university Psych Dept. at this point? (I'd go anywhere to ask anyone, but I don't know if they'd deal with me since I am not enrolled anywhere.)

I will keep working at devising my plan, and I am just lucky to have found this forum.

 

[brianth]

There are so many people who come to psychology with so many varied backgrounds an experiences. You're gonna be fine. It sounds like you still have some figuring out to do anyway, in terms of what your focus will be.

My experience has been that an MA in the psychology field is useful for people who plan on either going forward afterwards with a doctoral plans, who maybe didn't have a psych background, or have been out of school for a while and want to build their psych resume. I'm the second type of person.

Otherwise, MAs in psych are useless. Totally not needed for phD programs.

But you said you're looking to do counseling. Check out your state licensing requirements. I'm in NYS, and people with mental health counseling degrees are limited in terms of what they can do.

If you want to have your own practise, a better degree is the MSW. You finish in 2 years if you do it fulltime. You can have your own practise, or work at a hospital or other facility. Or maybe one day you my want to do research. It gives you many options, many more on the masters level than mental health counseling will if you have no future plans of a doctorate. YOu can very well financially with an MSW, too, if you make the most of it. Also, if you want to do advanced trainings after you graduate you can do that with an MSW, but not always with MHC degree.

Study for your GREs. Take some more courses at your local state/city college, with a decent professor. Best to take challening courses like statistics, which shows you're motivated. Anyway, that and experimental psychology are often the only 2 required classes for a masters level program. While you're there, kick ass in classes and get chummy with the professors. You can get recommendations from them.

Good luck!