Need some advice regarding undergrad program.

[selfhealing]

Hi everyone, I am very happy to join this forum although I am not sure if I am suitable to post here. I have a moment of hesitation in posting my questions here because I am not a dedicated student even I am 27 already, money and other careers options are my concerns too that's why my progress is not fast but I am fine with that.

I have an interest in Psychology and I would like to be a psychologist someday but this is my second priority actually. As I have other things that I would like to do while I am working on my undergrad, I would like to know about which school provides online degree programs or its programs consisted some online programs because I do have family situations which might also require me to be out of States sometime or maybe not able to attend the campus everyday. Of course I would like to attend a school that is specialised in Psychology but at the same time I do not want to be stressed out. I want to get into a school that has a great Psychology undergrad program but no need to be the best. At some point of my life I might consider doing labs and investigating the human mind which I think is more towards a PhD thing....

I currently attend community college in California and I need to plan for transferring....that's why I would like to get more info about this. I know I might be required to select a branch of Psychology that I am most interested in but I really cannot decide at the moment so I just want to know my options. I definitely need to find a school that can issue me FAFSA funds.......

Thanks for reading my post and I wish you all the best and have a great academic future.

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[PsyDr]

I would suggest you read more about the field of psychology.

If you read the forum, you'll soon learn that online schools are considered to be a joke. People on here, who are on faculty, will openly admit that they do not consider online applicants.

Getting into a good doctoral program is very difficult. At a top program, you're competing against 400-1000 other applicants. Schools have a vested interest in making sure that their graduates will do well in their studies, graduate, and pass the standardized licensure exam. Realistically, they also want a student that will volunteer their time towards research so that the institution can get more grant money and higher esteem. That makes the ideal student someone who has demonstrated that they will dedicate their efforts to school, does well on standardized tests, and works in a lab. Most, if not all, programs will have dozens of applicants for one position. Imagine if an admission committee is looking at Jane Smith, who went to UCLA, volunteered in a lab, got a 4.0, and did well on the GREs. Now they look at someone who was "too busy" to go to school and put other oblilgations over working in a lab. It's an easy choice for them.

 

[ClinicalABA]

Most folks around here are going to strongly discourage any online schools if your goal is to someday pursue doctoral education in psychology. Such programs will SIGNIFICANTLY limit your ability to be accepted into a good, funded, graduate program. Taking a few lower level courses online through a reputable bricks and mortar school at which you are physically matriculated isn't a big deal, but fully online undergrad programs just won't give you good options when it comes to graduate school.

Specialization really isn't much of a thing at the undergraduate level. Any appropriately accredited bricks and mortar college or university will likely have an appropriate undergraduate psychology curriculum. You may choose some electives geared towards a specific area of psychology, but you won't likely have to declare any "specialty." Wherever you go, focus on getting a high GPA and gaining exposure to and experience with research. This (combined with good GRE scores) is generally considered the best route towards funded graduate education in psychology. Along the way, solidify your ultimate goals, investigated whether or not doctoral trading in psych is necessary for what you want to do.

 

[Sendtrees]

Be careful: you are going to be a perfect target for scam artists who run professional psychology programs. You want to be a psychologist but you're not sure how and you don't want to be "stressed out." Bad combination if you don't educate yourself about what it means to be a psychologist here. It's not the same as being a psychology major, which it sounds like is the stage you're in. As a major, you will learn about the different branches of psychology and their respective career paths. Can you talk to a few people at your community college? Perhaps someone in the psychology department and someone in career services? To be honest, I think you're probably better off staying at a brick and mortar community college than transferring to an online-only program. I would spend some time online reading about it before taking the next step, though.

 

[PsyDr]

Another thought:

People favor an education which requires one to wear pants.

 

[deleted343839]

I have an interest in Psychology and I would like to be a psychologist someday but this is my second priority actually.

Admission to psychology programs is very competitive, and the criteria that most faculty are looking for in strong candidates cannot be met by completing an online-only undergraduate program. I would suggest that if other goals are more important for you right now, focus on those and come back to your education when and if you have time to invest in the in-person activities that are highly valued in the admissions process.

If you're just interested in learning about psychology for now and want to nurture that interest without time or performance pressure, why not do some open courses and read books? You can decide later whether you want to invest the time and money to become a psychologist (entry into the profession requires a doctoral degree and there are many steps in that process). I know several psychologists who came to the field as a second career and did very well, but they all invested in traditional, face-to-face education that provided opportunities for research experience, meaningful interactions with faculty, etc.