Social/Peace Psychology

[Cerise]

Hello!

I have been lurking around the forum for a while , but I thought it would be nice to finally register and say a word or two.

I see that vast majority of you is applying for Ph.D. in clinical or counseling psy. I was wandering if anyone is applying for social, particularly peace psy.?

I am an older applicant (31), already have M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology from a small private college for so called "adult education" (wondering when one becomes an adult, after 30??), some clinical experience, B.A. in Eng. Language and Lit. from a European university and teaching experience.
Now, I would really, really, REALLY like to get into a Ph.D. program, I am really passionate about the field and learning, but painfully aware that my chances are very meager at best, primarily due to lack of research experience.
I didn't do too well on GRE either:
GRE general 690V/660Q/4AW and 590V/730Q/4AW
GRE subject 720
My grad gpa is 4.00, undergrad cumulative 3.68, 4.00 for the last two years.
I took GRE general twice primarily in order to "fix" my Q and AW scores, however AW remained the same (and I thought this was my strong point), Q did go up, but V plunged.

There, I had to complain a bit...

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[PrisonPsych]

Your scores are fine. As everyone else will tell you, as long as you hit the minimumums, it's all about match/fit.

 

[Cerise]

Your scores are fine. As everyone else will tell you, as long as you hit the minimumums, it's all about match/fit.

Thank you.
I am actually even more worried about research experience or, more precisely, lack thereof. My grad school offered virtually no research opportunities, with the exception of an "independent research project", done as the master's thesis.

 

[Wildcat06]

hey cerise, welcome! those who've been on the forum have heard this spiel from me before, but my bachelors is in journalism and i also got a 4 on the analytic writing. no one cared when i applied. these flukes are very common and they (admissions boards) know the scoring is unreliable.

 

[Cerise]

hey cerise, welcome! those who've been on the forum have heard this spiel from me before, but my bachelors is in journalism and i also got a 4 on the analytic writing. no one cared when i applied. these flukes are very common and they (admissions boards) know the scoring is unreliable.

Thanks!

 

[KillerDiller]

hey cerise, welcome! those who've been on the forum have heard this spiel from me before, but my bachelors is in journalism and i also got a 4 on the analytic writing. no one cared when i applied. these flukes are very common and they (admissions boards) know the scoring is unreliable.

Yeah, I minored in writing and I only got a 4.5 on the GRE (in retrospect I suppose I shouldn't have used Dostoevsky's thoughts on morality to critique the American legal system ). Funny, though, how not one professor in grad school has had anything negative to say about my writing skills.

 

[Cerise]

Yeah, I minored in writing and I only got a 4.5 on the GRE (in retrospect I suppose I shouldn't have used Dostoevsky's thoughts on morality to critique the American legal system ). Funny, though, how not one professor in grad school has had anything negative to say about my writing skills.

The first time I took GRE I managed to get both Kant and Milton involved.
English is not my mother tongue, yet I've always done great in writing, hence the disappointment. I think that 45 minutes is simply not enough for me to write a majestic piece worthy of GRE 6.

 

[buzzworm]

The first time I took GRE I managed to get both Kant and Milton involved.
English is not my mother tongue, yet I've always done great in writing, hence the disappointment. I think that 45 minutes is simply not enough for me to write a majestic piece worthy of GRE 6.

I discovered when I was studying for the writing section (the night before I took the GRE) that it really has virtually nothing to do with being able to write well. The book I studied from said that people universally get higher scores for essays that are longer, have more big words in them, and follow the very straightforward "intro-three body paragraphs-conclusion" template. These things are graded in like 30 seconds, so the graders have to very quickly pick out the things that make you look smart. They don't have time to distinguish actual good writing from mediocre.