Hi all - I just stumbled across this forum and thought it might help me answer some questions...please excuse me for being long-winded.
I'm 33 and graduated in '99 from a large state school in the south with a BA in Psych. My GPA was ~3.3. I've been working in the computer field since graduation, but I've been going back and forth about returning to school for years - for either a PhD in Clinical Psych or an MSW. I went as far as volunteering at some labs at my old university and taking the GRE about 6 or 7 years ago, but I was enjoying my job at the time and decided to stay put for a while longer.
Now the time is right, but I honestly have no idea where to begin anymore. I've recently moved to a new state with only 2 programs - 1 is great and highly ranked and the other is not far from #100 (according to some rankings that I've found - but it is accredited). The better program is ~2 hrs away, while the lower ranked one is ~30 minutes.
I know that it's too late for me to prepare for a 2010 application, so I'll be looking at improving my resume over the next year. I know I'll need to take the GRE again, and my score will be ~1400.
My end goal would be to concentrate on therapy right out of school with some research on the side - then have the flexibility for more academics down the road (which is why I'm leaning toward the PhD over the MSW).
So for my questions:
- Can anyone give me some advice on what I should be doing in that time?
- I assume that I should contact these departments to see about potential volunteer opportunities - but are there other options that are non-university based routes I could go? There's a large university hospital in my town that's well respected in medicine, but I'm not sure how I would even find out about information there.
- Given my age and lack of experience, is the better school out of my reach? Should I put my concentration on either a PhD at the lower-ranked school and MSW programs?
Thanks for any advice!
I'm 33 and graduated in '99 from a large state school in the south with a BA in Psych. My GPA was ~3.3. I've been working in the computer field since graduation, but I've been going back and forth about returning to school for years - for either a PhD in Clinical Psych or an MSW. I went as far as volunteering at some labs at my old university and taking the GRE about 6 or 7 years ago, but I was enjoying my job at the time and decided to stay put for a while longer.
Now the time is right, but I honestly have no idea where to begin anymore. I've recently moved to a new state with only 2 programs - 1 is great and highly ranked and the other is not far from #100 (according to some rankings that I've found - but it is accredited). The better program is ~2 hrs away, while the lower ranked one is ~30 minutes.
I know that it's too late for me to prepare for a 2010 application, so I'll be looking at improving my resume over the next year. I know I'll need to take the GRE again, and my score will be ~1400.
My end goal would be to concentrate on therapy right out of school with some research on the side - then have the flexibility for more academics down the road (which is why I'm leaning toward the PhD over the MSW).
So for my questions:
- Can anyone give me some advice on what I should be doing in that time?
- I assume that I should contact these departments to see about potential volunteer opportunities - but are there other options that are non-university based routes I could go? There's a large university hospital in my town that's well respected in medicine, but I'm not sure how I would even find out about information there.
- Given my age and lack of experience, is the better school out of my reach? Should I put my concentration on either a PhD at the lower-ranked school and MSW programs?
Thanks for any advice!