Plan B: What To Do If Not Accepted

[katinatree]

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I've heard a lot of advice about what to do if you are not accepted the first time you apply, and I've come to my own conclusions that getting a job being a research assistant for a year - whether that is paid or unpaid - very much so enhances an application. Essentially from what I've read I've come to think of the breakdown of "best-to-meh" if you want to reapply to a Clinical PhD program as the following:

1. Anything having to do with research (paid or unpaid)
2. Full time or part time job or volunteering in field of psychology
3. Full time or part time job or volunteering outside of field
4. Doing nothing (not a real option)

What about a year or two of service, such as with AmeriCorps or the PeaceCorps? Or Teach For America? I'm curious to learn of your thoughts on "Plan B's", as I aspire to be in a Clinical Phd program because I want to be able to do research with clinical populations and perhaps be a faculty member someday, but as of right now don't know where the chips are going to fall and thus don't truly know what I will be doing next year.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

You may want to check out: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=489943

 

[bmedclinic]

My advice would be to become a research assistant, just like you said. I'd do it as close as you can get to what you want to do, too. I'll write out two examples I know of first hand.

The first is the daughter of a former boss of mine. The boss was interestingly enough a developmental psychologist (but retired from that) and her daughter was going clinical. Daughter didnt get in, and re-applied and got into something crazy (like 7 of her Top 10 schools-which were all EXCELLENT- not good-EXCELLENT schools. One year of working on research got her from zero offers to that.

The second is an undergrad who 2 years ago (maybe I'm off on my years now?) tried to get into my program, and was an awesome kid. Everyone liked him, but he had zero research experience, and did his undergrad at a nearby university. We didnt take him, and he spent 1 year doing research with one of our faculty members. He applied here last year, and was (and this part is second hand via a faculty member) the #1 applicant, and he chose to go an EXCELLENT program over ours. He actually got accepted into quite a few excellent programs, if I recall correctly.

Best of luck to you, whatever happens.

 

[BubuB]

Hey,

Does anyone know of a link listing Master's programs in psych?
Also, does anyone have thoughts about getting a masters in cognitive or experimental psych as a way of differentiating myself when reapplying to clinical programs?

 

[ClinApp]

While I understand the end goal was expressed as getting into a clinical program, I would recommend you use the mindset of trying to obtain more information about your desired career path - if you spend a year doing research, you will have a much better idea of what life in a clinical psych program is like, and whether you want to do that for several years. It really helps to know if you genuinely like research, or plan to do research more as a means to an end, mainly to get through the program, because that will inform the types of clinical programs you target.

Also, if you really think you would be interested in teaching kids, you might try one of the teaching programs you mentioned - sure, it's not research, but maybe you'll find you like that even better. Careers are long and it is difficult (though possible) to change once you start down one path, so it is helpful to know going in that this is what you want. I would not be in a big hurry to have everything all figured out or take a job solely for building your CV, but rather follow your interests.

All that being said, clinical programs do look extremely favorably on applicants with demonstrated research experience, so it only helps your application. It also can help you hone in on what you might want to study in graduate school, what questions you want to answer.

 

[Lisa44201]

Hey,

Does anyone know of a link listing Master's programs in psych?
Also, does anyone have thoughts about getting a masters in cognitive or experimental psych as a way of differentiating myself when reapplying to clinical programs?

I posted this in another thread:
Per one of my mentors, a MS/MA in EXPERIMENTAL Psych might help get into a Clinical PhD program- yes, a MS/MA in ClinPsych would be fine, but given that Experimental tends to focus more on research than clinical stuff (hence the name), it might dispel any misconception on the part of admittance committees that you are one of those warm fuzzy people/sheep who go into Clinical Psych because you "just want to help people". I'm looking at MS programs now, myself.

 

[psychadelics]

My advice would be to become a research assistant, just like you said. I'd do it as close as you can get to what you want to do, too. I'll write out two examples I know of first hand.

The first is the daughter of a former boss of mine. The boss was interestingly enough a developmental psychologist (but retired from that) and her daughter was going clinical. Daughter didnt get in, and re-applied and got into something crazy (like 7 of her Top 10 schools-which were all EXCELLENT- not good-EXCELLENT schools. One year of working on research got her from zero offers to that.

The second is an undergrad who 2 years ago (maybe I'm off on my years now?) tried to get into my program, and was an awesome kid. Everyone liked him, but he had zero research experience, and did his undergrad at a nearby university. We didnt take him, and he spent 1 year doing research with one of our faculty members. He applied here last year, and was (and this part is second hand via a faculty member) the #1 applicant, and he chose to go an EXCELLENT program over ours. He actually got accepted into quite a few excellent programs, if I recall correctly.

Best of luck to you, whatever happens.

I just wanted to say something on this note. Last year, coming out of undergrad with an REU and an honors thesis to my name, I applied to 8 programs, recieved 4 interviews and ended up on 2 waitlists. I contacted the schools to say what else can I do to get accepted. I was told to find a full time research position in a a large study.

Devastated that I didn't make it, I found a full time research position in a well respected study perfectly in line with my research interests. The position allowed me to expand my skills both clinically and experimentally. Although there is no ability to grow or publish within the job, on paper it looks great.

So I figured, Hell! let me try to reapply. Thinking that since I was wait-listed and listened to the feedback and improved my GRE's and research skills, I would have more luck. I applied to the 2 schools where I was wait-listed and to 2 other schools as well. All with matching interests, great recs, and a poster presentation under my belt.

I have received zero interviews and am now considering my options. It seems that I don't have too many.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Applying to only four schools probably was the factor here, not that your extra work didn't improve your chances in general. It also matters what types of programs these are (were they super competitive research emphasis places? If so, you were probably competing against people with more experience and pubs).

One part of being a successful applicant is having good research experiences and a good fit - but if you only apply to a few schools, the chances of someone with more experience and fitting better than you are greater. When you're competing with 50+ people for one spot, it's best to cast a wide net and apply to as many programs that are a good fit for your interests as you can.

I agree. As I've mentioned before, one of the biggest ways in which I've seen applicants "shoot themselves in the foot" so to speak is to geographically limit themselves and/or only apply to a handful of positions. This seems to be true at both the grad school and internship level, as in the case of the latter, many people who do not match seem to be those who chose (or were essentially forced) to apply to a small number of spots in the immediate area.

 

[katinatree]

I posted this in another thread:
Per one of my mentors, a MS/MA in EXPERIMENTAL Psych might help get into a Clinical PhD program- yes, a MS/MA in ClinPsych would be fine, but given that Experimental tends to focus more on research than clinical stuff (hence the name), it might dispel any misconception on the part of admittance committees that you are one of those warm fuzzy people/sheep who go into Clinical Psych because you "just want to help people". I'm looking at MS programs now, myself.

Oh, whoops, I failed to mention that by May I will have my M.A. in Experimental Psychology. It's good to hear this!

 

[DocRacz]

Honestly, the best advice I've seen here is to not geographically limit yourself. Being from California, my first year I applied to seven schools, with only 2 not in California (UMass Amherst, and Kansas). Upon final rejection from the last of them, I went to work at an Acute Psychiatric Facility, worked towards my credentials in Drug & Alcohol, volunteered for a mentorship in a program with Juvenile detention youth, and helped one of my old professors with research into a new chapter of a textbook (basically, did 5x as much work as I ever did in undergrad). The next year I applied to only 5 schools, none of which were in California, and got in to a great one.

I'm not going to say I didn't think about quitting on the idea (heck, I could've had my second option, a Park Ranger, anytime I wanted it in a beautiful area), and to be honest, it was my girlfriend who pushed me to keep going with it. A little over halfway through my first year, I'm glad she did.

The short story: keep trying. Do as much as you can to distinguish yourself from others. Research is BIG in most places right now, so contact the old professors and see what you can get in on. Look for research facilities in the area, try to get hired or at least volunteer there. Teach for America and Peace Corps may sound fun, but the 1 or 2 years you spend with that are probably not going to help bolster your CV, which if you didn't get in this year, probably wasn't quite good enough.

 

[katinatree]

Honestly, the best advice I've seen here is to not geographically limit yourself. Being from California, my first year I applied to seven schools, with only 2 not in California (UMass Amherst, and Kansas). Upon final rejection from the last of them, I went to work at an Acute Psychiatric Facility, worked towards my credentials in Drug & Alcohol, volunteered for a mentorship in a program with Juvenile detention youth, and helped one of my old professors with research into a new chapter of a textbook (basically, did 5x as much work as I ever did in undergrad). The next year I applied to only 5 schools, none of which were in California, and got in to a great one.

I'm not going to say I didn't think about quitting on the idea (heck, I could've had my second option, a Park Ranger, anytime I wanted it in a beautiful area), and to be honest, it was my girlfriend who pushed me to keep going with it. A little over halfway through my first year, I'm glad she did.

The short story: keep trying. Do as much as you can to distinguish yourself from others. Research is BIG in most places right now, so contact the old professors and see what you can get in on. Look for research facilities in the area, try to get hired or at least volunteer there. Teach for America and Peace Corps may sound fun, but the 1 or 2 years you spend with that are probably not going to help bolster your CV, which if you didn't get in this year, probably wasn't quite good enough.

Great advice, thank you!
I'm pretty open to moving around the country. I'm from NY, but I applied to schools as far as Colorado and Arkansas and all over the east coast.

It seems so hard to distinguish oneself, especially when you don't know who you are being compared to and in consideration of the fact that the awesome people who haven't gotten during last year's cycle or the year before are applying again. It's no wonder that this process has been getting more and more competitive with all of the awesomeness being compounded year after year. I figured that maybe the different Corps would be one way to break the mold if I don't make it this year, but maybe not? Sound like I'll have to do a little more pros-and-cons weighing!

 

[katinatree]

While I understand the end goal was expressed as getting into a clinical program, I would recommend you use the mindset of trying to obtain more information about your desired career path - if you spend a year doing research, you will have a much better idea of what life in a clinical psych program is like, and whether you want to do that for several years. It really helps to know if you genuinely like research, or plan to do research more as a means to an end, mainly to get through the program, because that will inform the types of clinical programs you target.

Also, if you really think you would be interested in teaching kids, you might try one of the teaching programs you mentioned - sure, it's not research, but maybe you'll find you like that even better. Careers are long and it is difficult (though possible) to change once you start down one path, so it is helpful to know going in that this is what you want. I would not be in a big hurry to have everything all figured out or take a job solely for building your CV, but rather follow your interests.

All that being said, clinical programs do look extremely favorably on applicants with demonstrated research experience, so it only helps your application. It also can help you hone in on what you might want to study in graduate school, what questions you want to answer.

Thanks for your great feedback! Very helpful to reflect on.

 

[bmedclinic]

I just wanted to say something on this note. Last year, coming out of undergrad with an REU and an honors thesis to my name, I applied to 8 programs, recieved 4 interviews and ended up on 2 waitlists. I contacted the schools to say what else can I do to get accepted. I was told to find a full time research position in a a large study.

Devastated that I didn't make it, I found a full time research position in a well respected study perfectly in line with my research interests. The position allowed me to expand my skills both clinically and experimentally. Although there is no ability to grow or publish within the job, on paper it looks great.

So I figured, Hell! let me try to reapply. Thinking that since I was wait-listed and listened to the feedback and improved my GRE's and research skills, I would have more luck. I applied to the 2 schools where I was wait-listed and to 2 other schools as well. All with matching interests, great recs, and a poster presentation under my belt.

I have received zero interviews and am now considering my options. It seems that I don't have too many.

Agh! Sorry to hear that happened! I agree with others though that limiting yourself geographically/ or by sheer # of programs applied to.

 

[BubuB]

Oh, whoops, I failed to mention that by May I will have my M.A. in Experimental Psychology. It's good to hear this!

Do you mind saying where you're studying? So far I've seen that BU, Brandeis, Villanova, and Harvard (Extension School) all offer terminal Master's degrees in psychology. All seem very costly. I feel like my GPA is hurting me but I'm also wary of spending 20-40k on a degree I'll need to get twice (second time on the way to the PhD).

 

[CharmedDiamond]

How much research experience is enough though? I've had 3 years, including a full time position. I've started looking for another one (deciding between another year in that or getting a masters), but right now they're pretty hard to find, at least in my area. My own FT position was cut due to problems with government funding, which just makes me less optimistic in general about finding another position 🙁

 

[katinatree]

Do you mind saying where you're studying? So far I've seen that BU, Brandeis, Villanova, and Harvard (Extension School) all offer terminal Master's degrees in psychology. All seem very costly. I feel like my GPA is hurting me but I'm also wary of spending 20-40k on a degree I'll need to get twice (second time on the way to the PhD).

I'd rather not say, really. I'll say that I'm in a combined degree program, which mean that I started taking graduate courses as a junior in undergrad. Also, I have tuition remission because I have a graduate assistantship. If you are looking for programs I'd suggest picking up "APA's Graduate Study in Psychology", which includes Master's programs. You can find out which schools have them and then find out if you would be able to get some kind of graduate assistantship or scholarship if you are worried about funding.

 

[BubuB]

I'd rather not say, really. I'll say that I'm in a combined degree program, which mean that I started taking graduate courses as a junior in undergrad. Also, I have tuition remission because I have a graduate assistantship. If you are looking for programs I'd suggest picking up "APA's Graduate Study in Psychology", which includes Master's programs. You can find out which schools have them and then find out if you would be able to get some kind of graduate assistantship or scholarship if you are worried about funding.

Fair enough. I'll certainly take a look at it. Thanks