WAMC: What Are My Chances

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Hi everyone, I am just beginning to look at some PsyD programs, I am interested in the Nova Southeastern PsyD. I am from Mexico, I have a BA in Psychology graduated with honors and a masters in Psychoanalysis, the BA, GPA of 3.8, my masters, GPA of 4.0. I have three years experience working at my own private practice in Mexico City and during my bA tons of practica, each semester we went to a different place, from schools, to prisons, psychiatric hospitals. I did a year in a center for substance abuse as an intern. I don't really have any research experience but I have tons of publications, magazine articles, I've been invited to several radio shows and have appeared two time on TV (on respectable shows from Mexico, nothing like Jerry Springer or aything like that).
I took the GRE but did terribly, so I know I need to take it again.
I guess my question is if I have a chance of being accepted? What's a good GRE score and what's a good GRE PSych score?

Thanks!
 
GPA:
Overall: 3.89
Psych: 4.0

GRE:
Verbal: 690
Quant: 770
Writing: 4.5
Psychology: 760

Research Experience:
1 paper in press
1 revise and resubmit
1 in prep
undergraduate honors thesis
2 poster presentations

2 years volunteering in a clinical setting

other relevant info:
I applied to 16 clinical psych Ph.D. programs this year and did not get an acceptance. When I applied our paper hadn't been accepted yet so I didn't have any accepted papers.

I plan to apply again next year and I am trying to figure out what I should do in the upcoming academic year. I have a part time paid RA position that I have committed to (work can be done remotely). Because this RA position is only a few hour a week commitment, I would like to gain additional experience beyond this. My 2 potential options are: attend a one year research focused masters program at an ivy league or work in a lab? Which one seems better? Do you all have any other suggestions for next year or in general for my application?

Thanks!!
 
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I'm wanting to more so get info on what would be the best course of action to improve my chances for the next time I apply. Also note some of my research experience are new developments and were not on my app.

Background info: I applied this cycle to 11 clinical phd programs. I had one interview and was rejected post. I was also waitlisted for an interview at another school, but that didn't pan out. I am trying to decide if a MA in experimental or an RA job (if I can get one!) would be the better route to go. I just got accepted to an experimental psych masters program and was offered an RA-ship. I'd get full tuition remission and a bit of a stipend, so cost isn't going to be as much of an issue.

GRE scores (planning on retaking): V-161 Q-148 W- 5

GPA (currently): 3.44, but will unfortunately probably be a bit lower after this semester.

Research experience: 2 years. 1 lab, a joint project for a summer, did my own independent research project (completed the manuscript for it too). 1 manuscript submitted for pub, 2nd author out of 3. 2 first author posters at regional conference. 1 3rd author poster at regional and 1 national poster, like 6th or 7th author. I also won a top scholar award for a research manuscript I wrote for the entire college of liberal and applied arts at my small, regional uni (each college had a winner). I won money for it and was given the opportunity to give a 10 minute talk over my research. This award was given just this past month, so it was not on my apps.

Other: BS in psych with minor in biology. Psi Chi officer for this academic year and on many committees.
 
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I want to know how I'm doing and if the schools I'm applying to are realistic options for me. I don't have GRE scores at this moment but I more interested in knowing if the experiences I will have by the time I apply will be competitive for the schools I am aiming for.

Major: Psychology from a big state school with a recognized psychology department.
GPA: 3.8 overall, 3.9 psych

Research:
3 semesters in a social lab in which I did data entry , ran participants for two different projects, created questionnaires, coded, was a confederate. I did 9 hours per week.

3 semesters in a clinical lab with an anxiety focus, in which I ran participants for 3 different research projects, modified questionnaires, and was involved in recruiting subjects. I did 9 hours per week

2 months volunteering in a neuroscience lab in which I learned to handle rats, assisted in rat surgery, ran some trial with rats, and assisted in figuring out a behavioral software. I did 6 hours per week.

By the time I apply I will have 2 semesters working on a thesis in which I will run participants, learn physiological measures, complete literature reviews and analyze data. The thesis will not be complete when I apply because I plan to apply while in undergrad in the fall and will finish the thesis and graduate in the spring. The thesis is related to my research interest and to some of the programs interest.

Clinical experience
Two years at a crisis counselor in a hotline in which I answered different hotlines and dealt with callers experiencing suicide crisis, psychosis, panic, etc. As of now I have 240 hours as a counselor and 80 hours of training. I have my schedule planned to have 500 plus hours by the time I apply to schools which will make me eligible for certification.

Teaching.

I have experience as a supervisor in the crisis line. It is a one and one supervision with people training to become counselors.

LOR
3 good ones, two signed by grad students and professors that supervised me in my research experiences and one letter from my supervisor at the crisis line who is also a PhD.

Presentations.
I have two posters: one at my psychology department in which I am first author and one at a international conference in which I am a third author.

I am looking for more clinical to balanced programs as I am clinically focused and want a clinical career. I enjoy and respect research but I don't want a purely research career.My research interests are on personality disorders , specially BPD disorder and Narcissistic personality disorder. I also have an interest in psychotherapy research concerning psychodynamic psychotherapy and neuropsychoanalysis.

My clinical interests are psychotherapy with severe mental illness, specially BPD. I am also interested in psychotherapy with ethnic minorities. I am especially interested in IPT and psychodynamic psychotherapies such as short term dynamic psychotherapy, Panic Focused Dynamic psychotherapy, MBT and TFP. I have an interest in integrating CBT, family systems, and gestalt interventions in a psychodynamic framework but my case formulation and diagnosis will probably be more dynamic (depending on the patient).I have a special interest in Cyclical psychodynamics and Gold and Strickers Psychodynamic integrative psychotherapy. I wish to learn both CBT and psychodynamic but my interest are more psychodynamic ( without ignoring research and EBT). I also have an interest in psychological assessment, specially personality(projective and objective) and neuropsychological assessment.

Programs on my list:
CUNY city college
LIU Brooklyn
Adelphi
Rutgers psyd
Teachers College, clinical
St. John's
LIU CW post
Yeshiva, psyd
Widener
Farleight Dickinson.

Other relevant info
I am an ethnic minority and bilingual ( if that helps, I am not sure).
Member of Psi Chi
Affiliate of APA and APS
Student member of the American Psychoanalytical Association
Completed a study abroad in Europe , it was psychology focused.
Completed a study abroad in Latin America in which I took several psychology courses.


So based on my experiences do you guys think I have a realistic chance?
Do you think applying while being a young senior undergraduate is a disadvantage for these programs ?
Any recommendations ? ( specially ones from psychodynamic folks who have experiences in the programs I am interested in) .
Any Constructive criticism is helpful, thank you!
 
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psypipe said:
I want to know how I'm doing and if the schools I'm applying to are realistic options for me. I don't have GRE scores at this moment but I more interested in knowing if the experiences I will have by the time I apply will be competitive for the schools I am aiming for.

Major: Psychology from a big state school with a recognized psychology department.
GPA: 3.8 overall, 3.9 psych

Research:
3 semesters in a social lab in which I did data entry , ran participants for two different projects, created questionnaires, coded, was a confederate. I did 9 hours per week.

3 semesters in a clinical lab with an anxiety focus, in which I ran participants for 3 different research projects, modified questionnaires, and was involved in recruiting subjects. I did 9 hours per week

2 months volunteering in a neuroscience lab in which I learned to handle rats, assisted in rat surgery, ran some trial with rats, and assisted in figuring out a behavioral software. I did 6 hours per week.

By the time I apply I will have 2 semesters working on a thesis in which I will run participants, learn physiological measures, complete literature reviews and analyze data. The thesis will not be complete when I apply because I plan to apply while in undergrad in the fall and will finish the thesis and graduate in the spring. The thesis is related to my research interest and to some of the programs interest.

Clinical experience
Two years at a crisis counselor in a hotline in which I answered different hotlines and dealt with callers experiencing suicide crisis, psychosis, panic, etc. As of now I have 240 hours as a counselor and 80 hours of training. I have my schedule planned to have 500 plus hours by the time I apply to schools which will make me eligible for certification.

Teaching.

I have experience as a supervisor in the crisis line. It is a one and one supervision with people training to become counselors.

LOR
3 good ones, two signed by grad students and professors that supervised me in my research experiences and one letter from my supervisor at the crisis line who is also a PhD.

Presentations.
I have two posters: one at my psychology department in which I am first author and one at a international conference in which I am a third author.

I am looking for more clinical to balanced programs as I am clinically focused and want a clinical career. I enjoy and respect research but I don't want a purely research career.My research interests are on personality disorders , specially BPD disorder and Narcissistic personality disorder. I also have an interest in psychotherapy research concerning psychodynamic psychotherapy and neuropsychoanalysis.

My clinical interests are psychotherapy with severe mental illness, specially BPD. I am also interested in psychotherapy with ethnic minorities. I am especially interested in IPT and psychodynamic psychotherapies such as short term dynamic psychotherapy, Panic Focused Dynamic psychotherapy, MBT and TFP. I have an interest in integrating CBT, family systems, and gestalt interventions in a psychodynamic framework but my case formulation and diagnosis will probably be more dynamic (depending on the patient).I have a special interest in Cyclical psychodynamics and Gold and Strickers Psychodynamic integrative psychotherapy. I wish to learn both CBT and psychodynamic but my interest are more psychodynamic ( without ignoring research and EBT). I also have an interest in psychological assessment, specially personality(projective and objective) and neuropsychological assessment.

Programs on my list:
CUNY city college
LIU Brooklyn
Adelphi
Rutgers psyd
Teachers College, clinical
St. John's
LIU CW post
Yeshiva, psyd
Widener
Farleight Dickinson.

Other relevant info
I am an ethnic minority and bilingual ( if that helps, I am not sure).
Member of Psi Chi
Affiliate of APA and APS
Student member of the American Psychoanalytical Association
Completed a study abroad in Europe , it was psychology focused.
Completed a study abroad in Latin America in which I took several psychology courses.


So based on my experiences do you guys think I have a realistic chance?
Do you think applying while being a young senior undergraduate is a disadvantage for these programs ?
Any recommendations ? ( specially ones from psychodynamic folks who have experiences in the programs I am interested in) .
Any Constructive criticism is helpful, thank you!
Click to expand...

You're good.
 
I just started looking into psy.d programs to apply to for 2014. I want to be a military psychologist, so it looks like I'm going back for more school.

Schools I'm looking at so far:
*George Washington University*
The Virginia Consortium Program in Clinical Psychology
Loyola University (Maryland)

Education Information:
GRE: 153V, 147Q, 4.5 Writing
Undergrad GPA (3.3)
Graduate GPA (3.9)
I'm currently an M.A., MFT student coming up on my last semester (woot!)

Work/Volunteer
I volunteer with Veterans Affairs, and am looking for something else to fill up my time.
I have undergrad research experience in 2 separate research labs (maybe 50 hours?)
I currently work as a behavioral therapist and Autism support specialist, doing independent and family skills for kids on the spectrum and their families.


How do I look? What can I do to increase my chances of getting into a program? I know my GRE is low, but I'm getting ready to start an internship and writing my integration/research paper for graduation from my master's program. I don't know if I'll have time for a retake.
 
mewtoo said:
I'm wanting to more so get info on what would be the best course of action to improve my chances for the next time I apply. Also note some of my research experience are new developments and were not on my app.


I just got accepted to an experimental psych masters program and was offered an RA-ship. I'd get full tuition remission and a bit of a stipend, so cost isn't going to be as much of an issue.

GRE scores (planning on retaking): V-161 Q-148 W- 5

GPA (currently): 3.44, but will unfortunately probably be a bit lower after this semester.
Click to expand...

Good find on the experimental MS program...as you want to minimize any debt accrued during training. I think that is a nice option to do for a year, just make sure you have access to active research and aren't just taking classes. I don't know much about the converted GRE scores...so someone else can comment on that.

The devil is in the details in regard to research, so I'd recommend focusing on "fit" for your research area. You don't need to know *exactly* what you want to study and have it match *exactly* with a mentor, but you need to be able to tell a good story of how your interests line up with the mentor's. For example...if you want to study mood changes in children following brain injury, then your mentor should at least do work with brain injury, but it may be near impossible to cast a wide enough net to only work with mentors who do pediatric brain injury work that have an interest in mood changes.
 
psypipe said:
I want to know how I'm doing and if the schools I'm applying to are realistic options for me. I don't have GRE scores at this moment but I more interested in knowing if the experiences I will have by the time I apply will be competitive for the schools I am aiming for.

Major: Psychology from a big state school with a recognized psychology department.
GPA: 3.8 overall, 3.9 psych

Research:
3 semesters in a social lab in which I did data entry , ran participants for two different projects, created questionnaires, coded, was a confederate. I did 9 hours per week.

3 semesters in a clinical lab with an anxiety focus, in which I ran participants for 3 different research projects, modified questionnaires, and was involved in recruiting subjects. I did 9 hours per week

2 months volunteering in a neuroscience lab in which I learned to handle rats, assisted in rat surgery, ran some trial with rats, and assisted in figuring out a behavioral software. I did 6 hours per week.

By the time I apply I will have 2 semesters working on a thesis in which I will run participants, learn physiological measures, complete literature reviews and analyze data. The thesis will not be complete when I apply because I plan to apply while in undergrad in the fall and will finish the thesis and graduate in the spring. The thesis is related to my research interest and to some of the programs interest.

Clinical experience
Two years at a crisis counselor in a hotline in which I answered different hotlines and dealt with callers experiencing suicide crisis, psychosis, panic, etc. As of now I have 240 hours as a counselor and 80 hours of training. I have my schedule planned to have 500 plus hours by the time I apply to schools which will make me eligible for certification.

Teaching.

I have experience as a supervisor in the crisis line. It is a one and one supervision with people training to become counselors.

LOR
3 good ones, two signed by grad students and professors that supervised me in my research experiences and one letter from my supervisor at the crisis line who is also a PhD.

Presentations.
I have two posters: one at my psychology department in which I am first author and one at a international conference in which I am a third author.

I am looking for more clinical to balanced programs as I am clinically focused and want a clinical career. I enjoy and respect research but I don't want a purely research career.My research interests are on personality disorders , specially BPD disorder and Narcissistic personality disorder. I also have an interest in psychotherapy research concerning psychodynamic psychotherapy and neuropsychoanalysis.

My clinical interests are psychotherapy with severe mental illness, specially BPD. I am also interested in psychotherapy with ethnic minorities. I am especially interested in IPT and psychodynamic psychotherapies such as short term dynamic psychotherapy, Panic Focused Dynamic psychotherapy, MBT and TFP. I have an interest in integrating CBT, family systems, and gestalt interventions in a psychodynamic framework but my case formulation and diagnosis will probably be more dynamic (depending on the patient).I have a special interest in Cyclical psychodynamics and Gold and Strickers Psychodynamic integrative psychotherapy. I wish to learn both CBT and psychodynamic but my interest are more psychodynamic ( without ignoring research and EBT). I also have an interest in psychological assessment, specially personality(projective and objective) and neuropsychological assessment.

Programs on my list:
CUNY city college
LIU Brooklyn
Adelphi
Rutgers psyd
Teachers College, clinical
St. John's
LIU CW post
Yeshiva, psyd
Widener
Farleight Dickinson.

Other relevant info
I am an ethnic minority and bilingual ( if that helps, I am not sure).
Member of Psi Chi
Affiliate of APA and APS
Student member of the American Psychoanalytical Association
Completed a study abroad in Europe , it was psychology focused.
Completed a study abroad in Latin America in which I took several psychology courses.


So based on my experiences do you guys think I have a realistic chance?
Do you think applying while being a young senior undergraduate is a disadvantage for these programs ?
Any recommendations ? ( specially ones from psychodynamic folks who have experiences in the programs I am interested in) .
Any Constructive criticism is helpful, thank you!
Click to expand...


It might be a hard sell to find people who research BPD interventions that aren't mindfulness-based. Have you had luck finding mentors who take a psychodynamic approach to BPD?
 
Therapist4Chnge said:
Good find on the experimental MS program...as you want to minimize any debt accrued during training. I think that is a nice option to do for a year, just make sure you have access to active research and aren't just taking classes. I don't know much about the converted GRE scores...so someone else can comment on that.

The devil is in the details in regard to research, so I'd recommend focusing on "fit" for your research area. You don't need to know *exactly* what you want to study and have it match *exactly* with a mentor, but you need to be able to tell a good story of how your interests line up with the mentor's. For example...if you want to study mood changes in children following brain injury, then your mentor should at least do work with brain injury, but it may be near impossible to cast a wide enough net to only work with mentors who do pediatric brain injury work that have an interest in mood changes.
Click to expand...

The scores appear to be about a 1210 old scale (570Q, 640V). The quant score might be low for some programs, but I don't think it will necessarily keep you out of most balanced programs. IMO, the masters program sounds like a good deal. Would you have access to research in your area of interest?
 
futureapppsy2 said:
It might be a hard sell to find people who research BPD interventions that aren't mindfulness-based. Have you had luck finding mentors who take a psychodynamic approach to BPD?
Click to expand...

..
 
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futureapppsy2 said:
The scores appear to be about a 1210 old scale (570Q, 640V). The quant score might be low for some programs, but I don't think it will necessarily keep you out of most balanced programs. IMO, the masters program sounds like a good deal. Would you have access to research in your area of interest?
Click to expand...

Its kinda in one of my area's of interest. I have a feeling I may be able to bring in more of my interests into my research there as well (at least with my thesis). I have a very particular research interest and had trouble finding matches in the phd programs, let alone masters. This is probably as good as its going to get, especially since its not a clinical program.
 
mewtoo said:
I'm wanting to more so get info on what would be the best course of action to improve my chances for the next time I apply. Also note some of my research experience are new developments and were not on my app.

Background info: I applied this cycle to 11 clinical phd programs. I had one interview and was rejected post. I was also waitlisted for an interview at another school, but that didn't pan out. I am trying to decide if a MA in experimental or an RA job (if I can get one!) would be the better route to go. I just got accepted to an experimental psych masters program and was offered an RA-ship. I'd get full tuition remission and a bit of a stipend, so cost isn't going to be as much of an issue.

GRE scores (planning on retaking): V-161 Q-148 W- 5

GPA (currently): 3.44, but will unfortunately probably be a bit lower after this semester.

Research experience: 2 years. 1 lab, a joint project for a summer, did my own independent research project (completed the manuscript for it too). 1 manuscript submitted for pub, 2nd author out of 3. 2 first author posters at regional conference. 1 3rd author poster at regional and 1 national poster, like 6th or 7th author. I also won a top scholar award for a research manuscript I wrote for the entire college of liberal and applied arts at my small, regional uni (each college had a winner). I won money for it and was given the opportunity to give a 10 minute talk over my research. This award was given just this past month, so it was not on my apps.

Other: BS in psych with minor in biology. Psi Chi officer for this academic year and on many committees.
Click to expand...

I think being out of school and having a full-time RA job will help out tremendously. Also, I think if you can improve your math score on the GRE that would help a lot too (Manhattan GRE and the Nova GRE prep book for math do wonders for improving your math GRE)

I am a bit surprised you didn't get more interviews since you have pretty good research experience for someone still in undergrad - did you have many people look over your SOP? Maybe that's another thing you can work on.

I think the masters is unnecessary at this point, unless you go to a really easy school (a 3.44 is good enough, IMO, especially with a bio minor)
 
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Hey all,

I am currently a Junior, Psychology and Jewish Studies double major, hoping to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psych.

I'd like to figure out what my chances are given the schools I'm interested:
U of Pennsylvania
Yale U
SUNY Stony Brook
SUNY Binghamton
SUNY Albany
Boston University
Rutgers (PhD)
Drexel University
University of Delaware
U of Mass: Amherst
U of Connecticut
University of Maryland

My credentials:
Cum. GPA - 3.92 (have straight A's all through college; only one B- freshman year because I took Honors pre-med calculus).
Psych GPA - 4.0
Psi Chi, Psychology Majors Association, and Phi Beta Kappa (admitted as a junior)

GRE (practice test): 156 V; 155 Q

I am in the university-wide honors program, as well as the psychology honors program
I have worked in a clinical psych lab in the Hospital of University of Pennsylvania (doing data entry and administering a neurocoginitive computer battery to children) this whole year (and will continue to until graduation). -- 4 semesters total
I also work in a clinical psych lab on campus -- 3 semesters total.
I am currently working on an honors thesis which will be presented at (at least two conferences next year). I work in a "lab" that handles the secondary data I'll be using for the thesis (less of lab, more just weekly meetings to discuss current usage of secondary data with grad students, faculty, and undergrads).
Judge at Psi Chi research day this year
--I have fairly defined research interests and have selected faculty members from each university that researches similar topics.

My SOP will (hopefully) be articulate and eloquent (with a bit of hard work, of course) as my writing skills have proven to be competent in the past.
I should have solid LOR's from two tenured prof's (one is the dept chair) and will be able to get a third (probably less prestigious).

This stuff is less relevant, but I am also lead photographer for a sports-news website, staff photographer for the school newspaper, I have been published in several magazines (for photograph and art), and I was the recipient of several photography accolades and awards.
I was a finalist for the Elie Wiesel Ethics Essay contest, and intend on entering again this year. I have been a Resident Assistant on campus for 3 years, have done volunteer work, and service work all 4 years of college.

3 questions less related to WAMC, but still relevant: if I get an LOR from an accomplished Jewish Studies professor (who knows me very well, and for longer than the other profs), will it be better than getting a less well-known psychology professor (non-tenure) LOR? How harmful will avg. GRE scores be to my application? I think I can bump my GRE scores up when I take the real test this summer to about 160 on each. I worked at a residential treatment facility for 500+ hours during one summer (adolescent population, related to research interests). How useful will this experience be in terms of my application (personally, it was invaluable because it solidified my love for the field).

Thanks for all your help. I appreciate you all for taking the time to read this lengthy post and for answering my barrage of questions.

~Tim
 
psypipe said:
I want to know how I'm doing and if the schools I'm applying to are realistic options for me. I don't have GRE scores at this moment but I more interested in knowing if the experiences I will have by the time I apply will be competitive for the schools I am aiming for.

Major: Psychology from a big state school with a recognized psychology department.
GPA: 3.8 overall, 3.9 psych

Research:
3 semesters in a social lab in which I did data entry , ran participants for two different projects, created questionnaires, coded, was a confederate. I did 9 hours per week.

3 semesters in a clinical lab with an anxiety focus, in which I ran participants for 3 different research projects, modified questionnaires, and was involved in recruiting subjects. I did 9 hours per week

2 months volunteering in a neuroscience lab in which I learned to handle rats, assisted in rat surgery, ran some trial with rats, and assisted in figuring out a behavioral software. I did 6 hours per week.

By the time I apply I will have 2 semesters working on a thesis in which I will run participants, learn physiological measures, complete literature reviews and analyze data. The thesis will not be complete when I apply because I plan to apply while in undergrad in the fall and will finish the thesis and graduate in the spring. The thesis is related to my research interest and to some of the programs interest.

Clinical experience
Two years at a crisis counselor in a hotline in which I answered different hotlines and dealt with callers experiencing suicide crisis, psychosis, panic, etc. As of now I have 240 hours as a counselor and 80 hours of training. I have my schedule planned to have 500 plus hours by the time I apply to schools which will make me eligible for certification.

Teaching.

I have experience as a supervisor in the crisis line. It is a one and one supervision with people training to become counselors.

LOR
3 good ones, two signed by grad students and professors that supervised me in my research experiences and one letter from my supervisor at the crisis line who is also a PhD.

Presentations.
I have two posters: one at my psychology department in which I am first author and one at a international conference in which I am a third author.

I am looking for more clinical to balanced programs as I am clinically focused and want a clinical career. I enjoy and respect research but I don't want a purely research career.My research interests are on personality disorders , specially BPD disorder and Narcissistic personality disorder. I also have an interest in psychotherapy research concerning psychodynamic psychotherapy and neuropsychoanalysis.

My clinical interests are psychotherapy with severe mental illness, specially BPD. I am also interested in psychotherapy with ethnic minorities. I am especially interested in IPT and psychodynamic psychotherapies such as short term dynamic psychotherapy, Panic Focused Dynamic psychotherapy, MBT and TFP. I have an interest in integrating CBT, family systems, and gestalt interventions in a psychodynamic framework but my case formulation and diagnosis will probably be more dynamic (depending on the patient).I have a special interest in Cyclical psychodynamics and Gold and Strickers Psychodynamic integrative psychotherapy. I wish to learn both CBT and psychodynamic but my interest are more psychodynamic ( without ignoring research and EBT). I also have an interest in psychological assessment, specially personality(projective and objective) and neuropsychological assessment.

Programs on my list:
CUNY city college
LIU Brooklyn
Adelphi
Rutgers psyd
Teachers College, clinical
St. John's
LIU CW post
Yeshiva, psyd
Widener
Farleight Dickinson.

Other relevant info
I am an ethnic minority and bilingual ( if that helps, I am not sure).
Member of Psi Chi
Affiliate of APA and APS
Student member of the American Psychoanalytical Association
Completed a study abroad in Europe , it was psychology focused.
Completed a study abroad in Latin America in which I took several psychology courses.


So based on my experiences do you guys think I have a realistic chance?
Do you think applying while being a young senior undergraduate is a disadvantage for these programs ?
Any recommendations ? ( specially ones from psychodynamic folks who have experiences in the programs I am interested in) .
Any Constructive criticism is helpful, thank you!
Click to expand...



Having just went through this process, I think you have a great shot at Psy.D. programs. I guess the GRE will be the most important factor but as long as you don't completely bomb both sections you should be okay. I can't speak much to PhD because I did not apply to any. All I know is that it sounds like you have clear goals and a pretty nice spread of experiences. Good luck to you!!
 
T120 said:
Having just went through this process, I think you have a great shot at Psy.D. programs. I guess the GRE will be the most important factor but as long as you don't completely bomb both sections you should be okay. I can't speak much to PhD because I did not apply to any. All I know is that it sounds like you have clear goals and a pretty nice spread of experiences. Good luck to you!!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback! I am concentrating on getting good GRE scores.
 
Major: Psychology
School: University of Colorado Boulder (USNews ranking: 18 Clinical Psych, 30 General Psych)
Degree: B.A., summa cum laude
GPA: 3.8 overall, 3.9 psych

GRE Scores:
I have not taken the GRE scores, but I will probably score very well. I am an excellent test-taker, I am well-rounded in many areas (math, etc.), and I will study like a dog.

Research:
2 semesters working in a social psychology lab as part of an honors thesis. Participated in experimental design, running subjects, analyzing data, and writing a thesis of the findings. Awarded summa cum laude based on my GPA/written report/verbal defense. Excellent letters of recommendation from adviser her Ph.D student.

Experience:
9 months volunteer experience at a runaway and homeless youth shelter. Taken along with a field placement internship course that emphasized the integration of professional and theoretical skills (120 volunteer hours as part of the course). I was volunteer of the month and featured in a monthly newsletter, excellent letters of recommendation from everybody there. Transitioned into a paying position at the shelter.

3 months as a volunteer music instructor for 5th grade elementary school students.

LOR
1 from one from my honors adviser, 1 from her Ph.D student who worked with me, many from my volunteer experience at the shelter, and a few other professors who are willing to write about me.

Presentations.
I have not done a poster, and I have not presented anything.

Interests:
I am interested in counseling psychology programs. I am 66% interested in clinical work and 33% interested in research. For clinical work, I want to work with healthy adults, helping them with their day-to-day functioning or with their life transitions (death, career change, etc.). For research, I am interested in studying existential psychotherapy, addiction counseling, humanistic psychology and possibly family therapy. I might be interested in working with Borderline Personality Disorder, thus I am interested in Dialectic Behavorial Therapy.

I have decided to pursue Ph.D programs. I believe in the benefits of both scholarly and practical work, such that clinical experience informs research and research informs clinical experience. I like the Ph.D program because (1) it is funded; (2) I have the time to embark on a large project; (3) I want more training to prepare me for clinical work than an MSW would provide (4) I do not want $75,000 of debt from a PsyD (5) and I want the flexibility of the Ph.D (the ability to teach, to be a professor and conduct research, the ability to open a private practice, and the opportunities to lead mental health teams in hospitals/clinics/etc. or become a school university counselor.

I am very interested in existential psychotherapy, and am considering writing a 40 or 50 page literature review merely on my own accord. The honors thesis taught me how to write at a high level, so I think I can pull it off. Maybe the schools I apply to will be interested in it?

Programs on my list:
#1. Duquesne (Clinical)
#2. York University (Clinical)
#3. University of Minnesota--Twin Cities (Counseling)
#4. University of Michigan (Clinical)
#5. University of Missouri--Columbia (Counseling)
#6. Wisconsin Madison (Clinical)
#7. University of Washington (Counseling)
#8. Stanford University (Counseling)

Another possibility
I might be interesting in pursuing a doctorate in counseling education. I am not sure if this path meets my goals for research, but it does seem to hit a population I am interested in (training people to become master counselors appeals to me because the population are adults, generally healthy, and the emphasis is not on treating their psychopathologies). I feel the APA Ph.D might offer me more flexibility, though.

Other relevant info
Entire family is dead/dying of alcohol or heroin abuse (woe is me).
Member of Phi Betta Kappa


So, what are my chances? What can I do to improve my chances? I know this is a wide range of schools that are different in terms of competitiveness. Just curious where I stand, though, and what I can do to get into a better position.

Thank you!
 
kierkegaards said:
Major: Psychology
School: University of Colorado Boulder (USNews ranking: 18 Clinical Psych, 30 General Psych)
Degree: B.A., summa cum laude
GPA: 3.8 overall, 3.9 psych

GRE Scores:
I have not taken the GRE scores, but I will probably score very well. I am an excellent test-taker, I am well-rounded in many areas (math, etc.), and I will study like a dog.

Research:
2 semesters working in a social psychology lab as part of an honors thesis. Participated in experimental design, running subjects, analyzing data, and writing a thesis of the findings. Awarded summa cum laude based on my GPA/written report/verbal defense. Excellent letters of recommendation from adviser her Ph.D student.

Experience:
9 months volunteer experience at a runaway and homeless youth shelter. Taken along with a field placement internship course that emphasized the integration of professional and theoretical skills (120 volunteer hours as part of the course). I was volunteer of the month and featured in a monthly newsletter, excellent letters of recommendation from everybody there. Transitioned into a paying position at the shelter.

3 months as a volunteer music instructor for 5th grade elementary school students.

LOR
1 from one from my honors adviser, 1 from her Ph.D student who worked with me, many from my volunteer experience at the shelter, and a few other professors who are willing to write about me.

Presentations.
I have not done a poster, and I have not presented anything.

Interests:
I am interested in counseling psychology programs. I am 66% interested in clinical work and 33% interested in research. For clinical work, I want to work with healthy adults, helping them with their day-to-day functioning or with their life transitions (death, career change, etc.). For research, I am interested in studying existential psychotherapy, addiction counseling, humanistic psychology and possibly family therapy. I might be interested in working with Borderline Personality Disorder, thus I am interested in Dialectic Behavorial Therapy.

I have decided to pursue Ph.D programs. I believe in the benefits of both scholarly and practical work, such that clinical experience informs research and research informs clinical experience. I like the Ph.D program because (1) it is funded; (2) I have the time to embark on a large project; (3) I want more training to prepare me for clinical work than an MSW would provide (4) I do not want $75,000 of debt from a PsyD (5) and I want the flexibility of the Ph.D (the ability to teach, to be a professor and conduct research, the ability to open a private practice, and the opportunities to lead mental health teams in hospitals/clinics/etc. or become a school university counselor.

I am very interested in existential psychotherapy, and am considering writing a 40 or 50 page literature review merely on my own accord. The honors thesis taught me how to write at a high level, so I think I can pull it off. Maybe the schools I apply to will be interested in it?

Programs on my list:
#1. Duquesne (Clinical)
#2. York University (Clinical)
#3. University of Minnesota--Twin Cities (Counseling)
#4. University of Michigan (Clinical)
#5. University of Missouri--Columbia (Counseling)
#6. Wisconsin Madison (Clinical)
#7. University of Washington (Counseling)
#8. Stanford University (Counseling)

Another possibility
I might be interesting in pursuing a doctorate in counseling education. I am not sure if this path meets my goals for research, but it does seem to hit a population I am interested in (training people to become master counselors appeals to me because the population are adults, generally healthy, and the emphasis is not on treating their psychopathologies). I feel the APA Ph.D might offer me more flexibility, though.

Other relevant info
Entire family is dead/dying of alcohol or heroin abuse (woe is me).
Member of Phi Betta Kappa


So, what are my chances? What can I do to improve my chances? I know this is a wide range of schools that are different in terms of competitiveness. Just curious where I stand, though, and what I can do to get into a better position.

Thank you!
Click to expand...

Your credentials look great. I am no expert but I think more research experience would be beneficial, especially since you are considering PhD.
 
Hey all!

Been around here for a short while now. What a great resource this is!

Out of sheer boredom and anxiety I finally decided to post in this thread...here goes:

Major: Psychology
School: UC School in Socal
Degree: B.A., summa cum laude (honors based on post transfer)
GPA: 3ish from community college 3.95 after transfer (last 2 years) Combined undergrad 3.5ish

GRE Scores:
Practice test did 80% verbal and 30% quant (i know....)
Going to focus all of my energy on getting quant up to 55-60% (I took the test cold one morning and it turns out I forgot much of my geometry and algebra I learned years ago...)

Research:
1 Academic year in a personality lab, data entry and random lab tasks
2 Years in a health psych lab, in addition to random lab tasks I have conducted a project involving secondary analysis on the labs data, and I have also conducted my senior honors project in the lab including drafting IRB docs, collecting data, analyses, etc.
Also experience running subjects, and recently became paid employee of the lab.

Experience:
2 years working in residential treatment for dual diagnosis drug/alcohol abusers

LOR
1 From my advisor (who runs the lab I am in) will be really really good (full professor)
1 From my honors project advisor (long story) who is a lecturer w/ security of employment
1 From my honors program professor (also a lecturer) who I have taken 3-4 classes with in addition to the honors program all senior year

Presentations.
1 poster presented at undergrad research symposium
1 oral presentation of senior project at undergrad research symposium

Interests:
Substance abuse, substance related disorders (in general but also in college populations)

Applying to:

Co State (counseling)
University of South Dakota (clinical)
University of southern miss (counseling)
Idaho state (clinical)
Auburn (counseling)
Indiana University (counseling)
and possibly a couple more...
 
So... I am currently a master's student in counseling. After my first year, I have realized that while I love what I do, I'm really meant to be getting my phd in Clinical Psych.

I'm preparing to raise my GRE scores this summer, and I'm currently working with a professor on research, but I would love to know if I should wait another year to apply and continue doing research or if anyone thinks I could apply this fall (fall 2013) and have a chance to get in.

GPA: undergrad: 3.72, Psych: 3.8, Graduate: 4.0

GRE: Analytical Writing: 4.5 Verbal Reasoning: 150 Quantitative Reasoning: 152 - not the greatest, but like I said, I'll be retaking it this summer.

Research experience: - here's my question for you all, am I able to list the research that I conducted if it wasn't officially accredited or approved by the IRB?
-Research under a professor in which I designed my own study and managed other RAs to run the study regarding religious studies.
- Helped a professor gather research articles for an online collaboration of articles pertaining to marital satisfaction
- Designed, Conducted, and reviewed the results regarding body image satisfaction of college students and presented results at a conference
- Designed and ran a study using a survey regarding marital satisfaction
- Currently doing research with a professor regarding body image and microgressions.

Writing Experience (again, can I include papers I've written that have never been published? )
- Literature review regarding body image and the media
- Literature review regarding body image and adolescents
- Research paper regarding marital satisfaction

Clinical experience:
- internship with The family academy, where I worked with parents who were court-ordered to no longer be alone with their children and counseled both kids and parents.
- Currently working at a children's shelter where I answer 24 hour hotlines and care for children who have been through abuse, as well as offer counseling to parents, and do art therapy with children.

Teaching experience:
-TAed for two professors for two years combined experience. Taught lectures to class of over 200 students, tutored, graded papers, and helped create tests.

Other:
-I'm trying to figure out how to include this, but I recently have been involved with some women rights activism that has caught national attention, including Wall street journal, Jezebel, and NPR, but I'm worried that including it would be too political.
- Host and produce a Podcast that discusses social issues.

I'm applying to
1. Saint Louis University
2. University of Missouri-Saint Louis
3. Washington university (for kicks and giggles.)
4. Brigham Young University - both their counseling and clinical psych programs.

Thoughts? Advice? I need all the help I can get. I should mention that I would love to apply to different programs across the US, but because I have a husband and a daughter, I am a limited to the saint louis region. Also - I obviously have a special interest in body image issues. There are many professors in the area who conduct research regarding health psychology and eating disorders. Would my background in body image be related enough for them to be interested in doing research with them?
Thanks to everyone for your advice!
 
kierkegaards - Your list looks good, as do your grades. Try to get an excellent score on the GRE and accumulate some additional research experience, and you should have a good shot.
 
Amber0318 said:
Research experience: - here's my question for you all, am I able to list the research that I conducted if it wasn't officially accredited or approved by the IRB?
-Research under a professor in which I designed my own study and managed other RAs to run the study regarding religious studies.
- Helped a professor gather research articles for an online collaboration of articles pertaining to marital satisfaction
- Designed, Conducted, and reviewed the results regarding body image satisfaction of college students and presented results at a conference
- Designed and ran a study using a survey regarding marital satisfaction
- Currently doing research with a professor regarding body image and microgressions.

Writing Experience (again, can I include papers I've written that have never been published? )
Click to expand...

Why wasn't the research IRB approved? That's... odd.

No, writing papers (e.g., for classes) does not count as research experience. It might be something to touch on very, very briefly in your statement of interest to show your interest in body image research, but it won't count for much. It does not belong on your C.V. or as a response to any application question asking about research experience.
 
Amber0318 said:
So... I am currently a master's student in counseling. After my first year, I have realized that while I love what I do, I'm really meant to be getting my phd in Clinical Psych.

I'm preparing to raise my GRE scores this summer, and I'm currently working with a professor on research, but I would love to know if I should wait another year to apply and continue doing research or if anyone thinks I could apply this fall (fall 2013) and have a chance to get in.

GPA: undergrad: 3.72, Psych: 3.8, Graduate: 4.0

GRE: Analytical Writing: 4.5 Verbal Reasoning: 150 Quantitative Reasoning: 152 - not the greatest, but like I said, I'll be retaking it this summer.


Thoughts? Advice? I need all the help I can get. I should mention that I would love to apply to different programs across the US, but because I have a husband and a daughter, I am a limited to the saint louis region. Also - I obviously have a special interest in body image issues. There are many professors in the area who conduct research regarding health psychology and eating disorders. Would my background in body image be related enough for them to be interested in doing research with them?
Thanks to everyone for your advice!
Click to expand...

I honestly don't think that it would be helpful to your application to mention that you're restricted to the St. Louis region. I feel like it's both unnecessary and out of context in your SOP. Usually, schools may ask you where else you've applied, but not why you didn't apply to a specific institution or region. On that note, being geographically restricted to a certain city is also going to severely limit your options and thus decreases your chances of getting in. You only have 4 schools on your list, and 2 of them are not in St. Louis. Most people apply to ~10-15 schools.

I also agree with the previous poster about why your "study" wasn't IRB approved. Is the dataset you're using from a different, larger study that was approved? How are you able to run subjects and collect data if, again, it was not approved? Even a small-scale undergraduate "study" I did for a stats class had to be approved by the IRB for student projects. On that end, however, no one will ask you the grant your study came from or whether it was approved.

As far as lit reviews and other papers you've written that aren't published or for publication, I also would not list them on your CV. It will come off as amateur and severely padding your CV. However, if your lit review was for a manuscript or for a part of a paper (on which you were/are an author), then yes, that should be included.
 
bpsydme said:
I honestly don't think that it would be helpful to your application to mention that you're restricted to the St. Louis region. I feel like it's both unnecessary and out of context in your SOP. Usually, schools may ask you where else you've applied, but not why you didn't apply to a specific institution or region. On that note, being geographically restricted to a certain city is also going to severely limit your options and thus decreases your chances of getting in. You only have 4 schools on your list, and 2 of them are not in St. Louis. Most people apply to ~10-15 schools.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that was just me giving some background information about why I'm applying to the schools I'm applying to... I wouldn't be dumb enough to mention that in my application.

so no one has yet to tell me whether or not I have a chance of getting into any of these programs. Anyone?
 
I think it depends on how much legitimate research experience you have-- And so far, you haven't told us enough to judge that. If those projects were not done with a professor (who can write you letters) and IRB-approved, they are not solid research experience.
 
thewesternsky said:
I think it depends on how much legitimate research experience you have-- And so far, you haven't told us enough to judge that. If those projects were not done with a professor (who can write you letters) and IRB-approved, they are not solid research experience.
Click to expand...

All of the research I listed was IRB approved and done under a professor. I was curious about other research I had done during classes, none of which I listed above.

As far as LORs go, I was planning on using two from professors I did research under, and one from a professor I was a teaching assistant for. Would that be ok, or should I stick to only professors I've done research with?
 
As long as two are from research profs, it should be ok. I chose my honours thesis supervisor, a prof I'd RAed for, and a prof who had taught 2 classes I took... And that worked out fine for me. :)

Based on your credentials, I would guess you have some chance at being accepted if you apply this year. I'd have a back up plan just in case, but it might work out.
 
Hey everyone,

I'm hoping to get some honest feedback on my experiences to date, in terms of how likely I am to get into a Psyd program. I am looking at the clinical child tracks at both The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and the Adler School of Professional Psychology. In comparison with other prospective applicants that I know in real life, as well as with people I've read about on this thread, I'm unsure about whether or not I'm a good candidate and about what I should be working on most. I plan to apply soon for enrollment in 2014-2015, and by the time I apply in a few months, I will have:

- a cumulative GPA between 3 and 3.25 (Depending on my summer school grades) and a psych GPA of 3.25 or higher

- 1.5 years as an RA at an anxiety lab during which I phone screened clients, entered data, transcribed therapy sessions, coded therapy sessions, and did other things to keep the lab organized

- 1.5 years in an autism lab during which I did lit reviews, submitted an abstract pending publication (first author), presented a poster (first author), and possibly involvement with testing children (I may do this in the fall)

- 1 year as the Editor of my university's psychology association newsletter.

- Various experiences with children, including one-to-one work with an autistic child


I have yet to ask for my reference letters or write my GREs, but I plan to get these done by the end of summer and hopefully do really well on the GREs to make up for my GPA. Do I have a shot at these schools? What else can I be doing from 2013-2014 to improve my application? I have the year off, so I plan to continue volunteering and research. Also, any other programs I should look at? I prefer child-focused programs that are more clinical as opposed to research intensive. Thanks for any help!
 
I am probably being way too early and don't understand a lot of the lingo, but I could really use some advice from those experienced in the field to help me out. I'll throw in the stats I have so far to establish a baseline:

Major: Psychology, English (double major)
Status: Junior undergrad with 2 classes until senior, the last year of which I will spend on the English second major (psych classes are done)
GRE: I haven't taken it yet but plan on beginning to study this summer
GPA: 4.0 (I don't know if I need a different number here, but I have never gotten a B as a final grade if that helps).
Goal: Ph.D. program upon graduation, will consider Master's then Ph.D. if needed
Schools to apply: I do not have a list of schools to apply to yet. I would like to stay in the East or Northeast, and I will happily consider international offers since I travel 50% of the year to Europe (which will come to a halt with graduate school I suspect).

Recommendation letters: 2 from professors
Research experience: Outside of research required for class completion, only employment-related (explained further down). I did just get accepted for RA at LSU's psych department. It's only 1 day per week and unpaid/uncredited, but I read somewhere that I really need actual research experience to stand out from the crowd. This voluntary position should net me 1 year in experience (RA in schizophrenia and other mental conditions).
CV: Plenty of volunteer work, professional board member positions (professional women's org and a child abuse charity), animal shelter volunteer, years of work experience in varying fields (residential, industrial, and commercial construction, commercial and industrial property management, law enforcement, aggregates, commercial concrete, animal advice, four books authored and published (children's books, poetry collection, and one novel that was nominated for an award), and other various fields).

Focus: I need a focus. I grasp schizophrenia and narcolepsy well and am interested, but my true passion involves animals. Whether it's assessing the relationship between humans and animals, picking apart breed-specific legislation, or evaluating the relationship between a lack of awareness/training in police officers who shoot dogs, I know I would be much happier doing research that involved animals. My job involves writing hundreds of articles on animals, so I have a lot experience in that area to add in (perhaps around 200+ articles on varying species and topics that I included above). I'm also interested in investigating the connection between abusing animals and how that evolves into harming humans. I'm also proficient at solving other people's problems (just not my own, ha ha), so I also considered counseling. I am open to teaching; reading work from other students throughout the last three years has made me cringe (no spelling, no grammar, doesn't follow directions, can't properly formulate an APA reference after 3 years of college, etc.).

I do not know what sub-specialties/areas might apply to me, so I thought it best to ask where I might fit in. Obviously I'm an adult student. I was at LSU at 16 as a pre-med, but I was not properly equipped to be in a college setting at that age. Gathering years of experience and hopefully some of those CV details will help, but I'm spending a large amount of money to earn a doctoral degree doing something I love instead of something I sort of like. I'm not in it for the salary; I want to be happy and help others.

I apologize if my post is not in the appropriate thread or area, but it seemed like a good fit here since I am focused on entering a Ph.D. program within one year. I could really use some direction/advice from people further along in the graduate scheme.

Thank you in advance.
 
kbl824 said:
I am probably being way too early and don't understand a lot of the lingo, but I could really use some advice from those experienced in the field to help me out. I'll throw in the stats I have so far to establish a baseline:

Major: Psychology, English (double major)
Status: Junior undergrad with 2 classes until senior, the last year of which I will spend on the English second major (psych classes are done)
GRE: I haven't taken it yet but plan on beginning to study this summer
GPA: 4.0 (I don't know if I need a different number here, but I have never gotten a B as a final grade if that helps).
Goal: Ph.D. program upon graduation, will consider Master's then Ph.D. if needed
Schools to apply: I do not have a list of schools to apply to yet. I would like to stay in the East or Northeast, and I will happily consider international offers since I travel 50% of the year to Europe (which will come to a halt with graduate school I suspect).

Recommendation letters: 2 from professors
Research experience: Outside of research required for class completion, only employment-related (explained further down). I did just get accepted for RA at LSU's psych department. It's only 1 day per week and unpaid/uncredited, but I read somewhere that I really need actual research experience to stand out from the crowd. This voluntary position should net me 1 year in experience (RA in schizophrenia and other mental conditions).
CV: Plenty of volunteer work, professional board member positions (professional women's org and a child abuse charity), animal shelter volunteer, years of work experience in varying fields (residential, industrial, and commercial construction, commercial and industrial property management, law enforcement, aggregates, commercial concrete, animal advice, four books authored and published (children's books, poetry collection, and one novel that was nominated for an award), and other various fields).

Focus: I need a focus. I grasp schizophrenia and narcolepsy well and am interested, but my true passion involves animals. Whether it's assessing the relationship between humans and animals, picking apart breed-specific legislation, or evaluating the relationship between a lack of awareness/training in police officers who shoot dogs, I know I would be much happier doing research that involved animals. My job involves writing hundreds of articles on animals, so I have a lot experience in that area to add in (perhaps around 200+ articles on varying species and topics that I included above). I'm also interested in investigating the connection between abusing animals and how that evolves into harming humans. I'm also proficient at solving other people's problems (just not my own, ha ha), so I also considered counseling. I am open to teaching; reading work from other students throughout the last three years has made me cringe (no spelling, no grammar, doesn't follow directions, can't properly formulate an APA reference after 3 years of college, etc.).

I do not know what sub-specialties/areas might apply to me, so I thought it best to ask where I might fit in. Obviously I'm an adult student. I was at LSU at 16 as a pre-med, but I was not properly equipped to be in a college setting at that age. Gathering years of experience and hopefully some of those CV details will help, but I'm spending a large amount of money to earn a doctoral degree doing something I love instead of something I sort of like. I'm not in it for the salary; I want to be happy and help others.

I apologize if my post is not in the appropriate thread or area, but it seemed like a good fit here since I am focused on entering a Ph.D. program within one year. I could really use some direction/advice from people further along in the graduate scheme.

Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...

It sounds like you need to narrow down your focus a bit, and the best way to do that is to get more research experience. Research experience isn't supposed to be a box you check on an application- it teaches you how to think as a researcher and what really motivates you. I think once you get some time in a lab under your belt, you'll have a much better idea of what you want in terms of research. Also, start reading up on the literature you're interested in and see where it takes you. What excites you? Where do you see holes you'd like to fill? Or, what seemed interesting at first but starts to bore you after reading up on it?
 
Anyone have any thoughts?
I hate to badger everyone, but I've been having a bit of anxiety regarding the matter. Other folks have gotten feedback, so I figure I'll reassert myself.

Thank you again for any feedback

Valshteint said:
Hey all,

I am currently a Junior, Psychology and Jewish Studies double major, hoping to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psych.

I'd like to figure out what my chances are given the schools I'm interested:
U of Pennsylvania
Yale U
SUNY Stony Brook
SUNY Binghamton
SUNY Albany
Boston University
Rutgers (PhD)
Drexel University
University of Delaware
U of Mass: Amherst
U of Connecticut
University of Maryland

My credentials:
Cum. GPA - 3.92 (have straight A's all through college; only one B- freshman year because I took Honors pre-med calculus).
Psych GPA - 4.0
Psi Chi, Psychology Majors Association, and Phi Beta Kappa (admitted as a junior)

GRE (practice test): 156 V; 155 Q

I am in the university-wide honors program, as well as the psychology honors program
I have worked in a clinical psych lab in the Hospital of University of Pennsylvania (doing data entry and administering a neurocoginitive computer battery to children) this whole year (and will continue to until graduation). -- 4 semesters total
I also work in a clinical psych lab on campus -- 3 semesters total.
I am currently working on an honors thesis which will be presented at (at least two conferences next year). I work in a "lab" that handles the secondary data I'll be using for the thesis (less of lab, more just weekly meetings to discuss current usage of secondary data with grad students, faculty, and undergrads).
Judge at Psi Chi research day this year
--I have fairly defined research interests and have selected faculty members from each university that researches similar topics.

My SOP will (hopefully) be articulate and eloquent (with a bit of hard work, of course) as my writing skills have proven to be competent in the past.
I should have solid LOR's from two tenured prof's (one is the dept chair) and will be able to get a third (probably less prestigious).

This stuff is less relevant, but I am also lead photographer for a sports-news website, staff photographer for the school newspaper, I have been published in several magazines (for photograph and art), and I was the recipient of several photography accolades and awards.
I was a finalist for the Elie Wiesel Ethics Essay contest, and intend on entering again this year. I have been a Resident Assistant on campus for 3 years, have done volunteer work, and service work all 4 years of college.

3 questions less related to WAMC, but still relevant: if I get an LOR from an accomplished Jewish Studies professor (who knows me very well, and for longer than the other profs), will it be better than getting a less well-known psychology professor (non-tenure) LOR? How harmful will avg. GRE scores be to my application? I think I can bump my GRE scores up when I take the real test this summer to about 160 on each. I worked at a residential treatment facility for 500+ hours during one summer (adolescent population, related to research interests). How useful will this experience be in terms of my application (personally, it was invaluable because it solidified my love for the field).

Thanks for all your help. I appreciate you all for taking the time to read this lengthy post and for answering my barrage of questions.

~Tim
Click to expand...
 
Valshteint said:
Anyone have any thoughts?
I hate to badger everyone, but I've been having a bit of anxiety regarding the matter. Other folks have gotten feedback, so I figure I'll reassert myself.

Thank you again for any feedback
Click to expand...

Particularly if you can get the GRE scores to ~160, you look to me to have a strong application. The rest of the matter, as you've said, will depend A) on how you write your SOP, and B) on your research fit with each of the programs you've listed. Getting a poster or two, also have you've mentioned, should also help.

As for the LORs, as the other two letters are both from tenured psych faculty, I'd say get the third from whoever you think will write you the stronger recommendation. I had an English faculty member write my third letter, and it apparently didn't hurt me enough to keep me from getting in way back when.
 
Valshteint said:
Anyone have any thoughts?
I hate to badger everyone, but I've been having a bit of anxiety regarding the matter. Other folks have gotten feedback, so I figure I'll reassert myself.

Thank you again for any feedback
Click to expand...

agree with AA's points, but as a native Midwesterner who's lived in the Southwest and now Southeast I also have to ask... are all the schools you have a research match with in the Northeast? You won't melt if you have to live in another part of the country for a few years ;) it will give more options to expand your search, plus schools in other parts of the country (minus CA) can be less competitive.
 
I need major help. I'm sort of clueless with this whole grad school thing, but my whole life I wanted to become an abnormal child clinical psychologist. I want to work with children with psychopathology and mental disorders. I have a LOT of questions:

1.) I'm not sure if that is too specific and if I should just become a general clinical psychologist?
2.) Confused with the whole, "funded" Ph.D and Psy. D. So, if I am accepted into a program, these programs pay for your tuition?
2.) I just finished my junior year of undergraduate at University at Buffalo as a Psychology and Health and Human Services major with a concentration in Early Childhood. Everyone is telling me that clinical psychology programs are too competitive to gain acceptance into a Psych Ph.D or Psy. D directly out of undergrad. I'm not sure if I should get my masters or attempt to get into a program? I want to go to school in the New York City area. It would be ideal to get into Rutgers' Psy. D. I am looking at Columbia's clinical psych ph.d. program as well. The only reason I THINK I might be an exception is because I think I have something more to offer than the typical undergrad. I juggled swimming on a scholarship for UB's Division I swimming team for four years, still managed to get a 3.7 cum this year, worked in a research lab for 1 year last year, worked last year as an intern at the Buffalo City Court for mental health court, family court, drug court, and veterans court, and organized 2 annual cancer fundraisers alone raising over 10,000 dollars for American Cancer Society.

What are my chances of getting into a phd program right out of undergrad? I'm SOO sorry if I'm being ridiculous but I am very impatient and I am CLUELESS to this process. I am trying so hard to educate myself but I haven't learned much from websites. I still need to take the GRE and I plan on taking it this summer. I need to apply the fall of my senior year right? What are some other options as far as Masters degrees goes? AHHHH. Thank you so so much.

Taylor
 
tmlansin said:
I need major help. I'm sort of clueless with this whole grad school thing, but my whole life I wanted to become an abnormal child clinical psychologist. I want to work with children with psychopathology and mental disorders. I have a LOT of questions:

1.) I'm not sure if that is too specific and if I should just become a general clinical psychologist?
2.) Confused with the whole, "funded" Ph.D and Psy. D. So, if I am accepted into a program, these programs pay for your tuition?
2.) I just finished my junior year of undergraduate at University at Buffalo as a Psychology and Health and Human Services major with a concentration in Early Childhood. Everyone is telling me that clinical psychology programs are too competitive to gain acceptance into a Psych Ph.D or Psy. D directly out of undergrad. I'm not sure if I should get my masters or attempt to get into a program? I want to go to school in the New York City area. It would be ideal to get into Rutgers' Psy. D. I am looking at Columbia's clinical psych ph.d. program as well. The only reason I THINK I might be an exception is because I think I have something more to offer than the typical undergrad. I juggled swimming on a scholarship for UB's Division I swimming team for four years, still managed to get a 3.7 cum this year, worked in a research lab for 1 year last year, worked last year as an intern at the Buffalo City Court for mental health court, family court, drug court, and veterans court, and organized 2 annual cancer fundraisers alone raising over 10,000 dollars for American Cancer Society.

What are my chances of getting into a phd program right out of undergrad? I'm SOO sorry if I'm being ridiculous but I am very impatient and I am CLUELESS to this process. I am trying so hard to educate myself but I haven't learned much from websites. I still need to take the GRE and I plan on taking it this summer. I need to apply the fall of my senior year right? What are some other options as far as Masters degrees goes? AHHHH. Thank you so so much.

Taylor
Click to expand...

I can relate to how you feel. This process is so overwhelming and requires so many aspects that you can feel a little lost in the whole thing! I would absolutely agree with the sentiment that funded doctoral programs are extremely competitive, and especially if you want to apply as an undergraduate. It is not impossible, of course and I have seen a couple of undergrads at my interviews, but the vast majority (i.e. 9/10 people) are graduates. The undergrads also seemed to have significant amount of research, with posters and possibly even publications in progress.

From what you wrote, you only have 1 year of research experience. This is nowhere near enough to be competitive. Many have at least a year full-time post-grad and/or at least 2 years undergrad.

Unfortunately, I found that PhD programs (I didn't apply to any masters/PsyD so can't speak for them) mainly care about research experience, knowledge, and direction. The other extracurricular you did make you well-rounded, but will not be the determining factor in acceptance. If you're applying to forensic programs, the court experience may help, but I doubt it will carry much weight in other programs. Likewise, the swimming and fundraising are things that make you unique as a person, but not necessarily as a grad candidate.

As far as you wanting to be a child psychologist, I don't think that's too specific. In fact, it's pretty broad. By the time you apply, you probably want to have a research niche you want to study, not just childhood psychopathology. Most programs will have child/adult tracks, so you can point that out as one of the reasons why the program is a fit for you.

I would recommend you buy 2 books: one book by APA Getting In: A Step-by-Step Plan for Gaining Admission to Graduate School in Psychology. You can find it on APA's website or others like Amazon.
The other book is the insider's guide to graduate school in clinical and counseling psychology. The advice in these books are the bottom-line basic knowledge you need to know to navigate this process. The rest is up to you in defining your research interests.

Applications are due ~ mid/late December every year. So if you graduate in May 2014 and want to go straight to grad school and matriculate August 2014, you'd have to make the December 2013 deadline. Interviews are generally in February, and you usually find out whether you got in February (if you are one of the first picks), March or April. By the way, just to give you an idea of how long the app process took for me: I started to research programs and narrowed down potential advisers in July. Finalized my list in about August/September. I started my SOP in September, worked on it for ~3 months. Applications went out December, interview invites mid Jan - early Feb. Flew out for interviews February. Heard back from schools Feb/March. So the whole process literally took me from July-March. This of course is only the actually process of applying. The most time consuming parts of the application for me were narrowing down the list of schools and writing the SOP. The applications themselves are very straight forward.

Good luck!
 
bpsydme said:
I can relate to how you feel. This process is so overwhelming and requires so many aspects that you can feel a little lost in the whole thing! I would absolutely agree with the sentiment that funded doctoral programs are extremely competitive, and especially if you want to apply as an undergraduate. It is not impossible, of course and I have seen a couple of undergrads at my interviews, but the vast majority (i.e. 9/10 people) are graduates. The undergrads also seemed to have significant amount of research, with posters and possibly even publications in progress.

From what you wrote, you only have 1 year of research experience. This is nowhere near enough to be competitive. Many have at least a year full-time post-grad and/or at least 2 years undergrad.

Unfortunately, I found that PhD programs (I didn't apply to any masters/PsyD so can't speak for them) mainly care about research experience, knowledge, and direction. The other extracurricular you did make you well-rounded, but will not be the determining factor in acceptance. If you're applying to forensic programs, the court experience may help, but I doubt it will carry much weight in other programs. Likewise, the swimming and fundraising are things that make you unique as a person, but not necessarily as a grad candidate.

As far as you wanting to be a child psychologist, I don't think that's too specific. In fact, it's pretty broad. By the time you apply, you probably want to have a research niche you want to study, not just childhood psychopathology. Most programs will have child/adult tracks, so you can point that out as one of the reasons why the program is a fit for you.

I would recommend you buy 2 books: one book by APA Getting In: A Step-by-Step Plan for Gaining Admission to Graduate School in Psychology. You can find it on APA's website or others like Amazon.
The other book is the insider's guide to graduate school in clinical and counseling psychology. The advice in these books are the bottom-line basic knowledge you need to know to navigate this process. The rest is up to you in defining your research interests.

Applications are due ~ mid/late December every year. So if you graduate in May 2014 and want to go straight to grad school and matriculate August 2014, you'd have to make the December 2013 deadline. Interviews are generally in February, and you usually find out whether you got in February (if you are one of the first picks), March or April. By the way, just to give you an idea of how long the app process took for me: I started to research programs and narrowed down potential advisers in July. Finalized my list in about August/September. I started my SOP in September, worked on it for ~3 months. Applications went out December, interview invites mid Jan - early Feb. Flew out for interviews February. Heard back from schools Feb/March. So the whole process literally took me from July-March. This of course is only the actually process of applying. The most time consuming parts of the application for me were narrowing down the list of schools and writing the SOP. The applications themselves are very straight forward.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks sooo much !! That helped incredibly. So, did you do your masters first?
 
I think you'll actually find that across the board, when you consider all doctoral programs, the number of individuals coming in straight from undergrad (whether that means coming in with a masters vs. coming in with a couple years' of research experiences vs. something else) is probably higher than 1/10. However, the majority of applicants do usually have over a year of research experience, even if coming straight from undergrad.

I had 1.5 years myself spread across two labs, but I'm a slightly unusual case. If I had to hazard a complete and total guess, I'd say the average is probably closer to 2-3, whether that be while an undergrad, as a post-grad RA, or a mix of both.

The extracurriculars can certainly make your application and/or interviews more interesting and memorable, but they may not factor in very heavily to the initial decision regarding whether or not you're offered an interview. The main exception will be how you handle all of your past experiences when writing your SOP, as a well-written statement can go a long, long way toward getting you noticed (as an example: my advisor randomly quoted portions of my SOP 4 or so years into my training). This is assuming you're generally competitive in other areas, though, such as GPA, GRE scores, letters of rec, and base quantity of research experience.
 
kbl824 said:
I am probably being way too early and don't understand a lot of the lingo, but I could really use some advice from those experienced in the field to help me out. I'll throw in the stats I have so far to establish a baseline:

Major: Psychology, English (double major)
Status: Junior undergrad with 2 classes until senior, the last year of which I will spend on the English second major (psych classes are done)
GRE: I haven't taken it yet but plan on beginning to study this summer
GPA: 4.0 (I don't know if I need a different number here, but I have never gotten a B as a final grade if that helps).
Goal: Ph.D. program upon graduation, will consider Master's then Ph.D. if needed
Schools to apply: I do not have a list of schools to apply to yet. I would like to stay in the East or Northeast, and I will happily consider international offers since I travel 50% of the year to Europe (which will come to a halt with graduate school I suspect).

Recommendation letters: 2 from professors
Research experience: Outside of research required for class completion, only employment-related (explained further down). I did just get accepted for RA at LSU's psych department. It's only 1 day per week and unpaid/uncredited, but I read somewhere that I really need actual research experience to stand out from the crowd. This voluntary position should net me 1 year in experience (RA in schizophrenia and other mental conditions).
CV: Plenty of volunteer work, professional board member positions (professional women's org and a child abuse charity), animal shelter volunteer, years of work experience in varying fields (residential, industrial, and commercial construction, commercial and industrial property management, law enforcement, aggregates, commercial concrete, animal advice, four books authored and published (children's books, poetry collection, and one novel that was nominated for an award), and other various fields).

Focus: I need a focus. I grasp schizophrenia and narcolepsy well and am interested, but my true passion involves animals. Whether it's assessing the relationship between humans and animals, picking apart breed-specific legislation, or evaluating the relationship between a lack of awareness/training in police officers who shoot dogs, I know I would be much happier doing research that involved animals. My job involves writing hundreds of articles on animals, so I have a lot experience in that area to add in (perhaps around 200+ articles on varying species and topics that I included above). I'm also interested in investigating the connection between abusing animals and how that evolves into harming humans. I'm also proficient at solving other people's problems (just not my own, ha ha), so I also considered counseling. I am open to teaching; reading work from other students throughout the last three years has made me cringe (no spelling, no grammar, doesn't follow directions, can't properly formulate an APA reference after 3 years of college, etc.).

I do not know what sub-specialties/areas might apply to me, so I thought it best to ask where I might fit in. Obviously I'm an adult student. I was at LSU at 16 as a pre-med, but I was not properly equipped to be in a college setting at that age. Gathering years of experience and hopefully some of those CV details will help, but I'm spending a large amount of money to earn a doctoral degree doing something I love instead of something I sort of like. I'm not in it for the salary; I want to be happy and help others.

I apologize if my post is not in the appropriate thread or area, but it seemed like a good fit here since I am focused on entering a Ph.D. program within one year. I could really use some direction/advice from people further along in the graduate scheme.

Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...

my question for you is, why psychology? it is clear that you are passionate about animals - just curious if you ever considered vet school.
 
tmlansin said:
Thanks sooo much !! That helped incredibly. So, did you do your masters first?
Click to expand...

No, I didn't do a masters first. I worked in a lab full-time for 3 years by the time my applications went in. You will probably find that the consensus around this forum and others is that do a masters if you need research experience and/or have low undergrad grades. I was fortunate enough to get paid for my research experience, but I understand those positions are extremely rare even on a volunteer basis. BTW, most people who I met had less research experience, usually about 1-2 years post-bac. 3+ years post-bac seemed to be on the higher (and probably unnecessary) end.

What I meant by "undergrad" is referring to individuals applying in their senior year of undergrad, such as yourself. Also, my comment of 9/10 being post-grads are based on my experience. In fact, I can only think of ONE individual of the 20+ that I met during my interviews. This individual happened to have a number of posters/pubs and was invited to 10+ interviews. I found it very inspiring and impressive. One of four candidates who was interviewed at my lab (for a PhD program) was also still an undergrad.

So as I mentioned, it's not impossible and I do not believe you need 5 years of research and first-authored papers and 10 posters just to apply. As long as you have enough research experience to be able to articulate your interests and show some depth of understanding for the field you want to study.

Just a word of caution also: if you aren't a psych major, make sure you take all the big required courses for psychology. I ran into this problem and had to take several undergrad courses to fulfill pre-req requirements.
 
bpsydme said:
No, I didn't do a masters first. I worked in a lab full-time for 3 years by the time my applications went in. You will probably find that the consensus around this forum and others is that do a masters if you need research experience and/or have low undergrad grades. I was fortunate enough to get paid for my research experience, but I understand those positions are extremely rare even on a volunteer basis. BTW, most people who I met had less research experience, usually about 1-2 years post-bac. 3+ years post-bac seemed to be on the higher (and probably unnecessary) end.

What I meant by "undergrad" is referring to individuals applying in their senior year of undergrad, such as yourself. Also, my comment of 9/10 being post-grads are based on my experience. In fact, I can only think of ONE individual of the 20+ that I met during my interviews. This individual happened to have a number of posters/pubs and was invited to 10+ interviews. I found it very inspiring and impressive. One of four candidates who was interviewed at my lab (for a PhD program) was also still an undergrad.

So as I mentioned, it's not impossible and I do not believe you need 5 years of research and first-authored papers and 10 posters just to apply. As long as you have enough research experience to be able to articulate your interests and show some depth of understanding for the field you want to study.

Just a word of caution also: if you aren't a psych major, make sure you take all the big required courses for psychology. I ran into this problem and had to take several undergrad courses to fulfill pre-req requirements.
Click to expand...


Thanks so much! I really need to think about this. I need to do a lot of research! Good thing I started now. I don't even know what a "poster" or "sop" is. Thank you, that was so nice of you to help me and I really appreciate it!
 
My senior year I started taking graduate courses at my university (18 credits completed) they were funded through a graduate position I took. In August my college lost the funding so I decided to stop taking classes not being able to afford them .

Graduate GPA of 18 credits: 3.95
Undergraduate GPA Health Science: 3.0
Undergraduate GPA 2nd Degree Rehabilitation Studies: 3.8
Presentations: 4 mostly at other schools
Publications at Time of Application: 1 Co-Authored Textbook with professor anther in progress
Work Experience: 8 years working in counseling settings (domestic violence, crisis counselor, and crisis counseling)
Research Experience: 2 years but only on my own thesis
GRE: Taking prep class this summer and then taking in fall

I could complete my master's in one year if I decide to go back. I would apply to exclusively PsyD programs as with my lack of research experience I don't think I should bother with other programs.

Any suggestions would be so appreciated!
 
Hello,

I plan to apply to several counseling psych. PhD programs this fall. I applied a few years ago, and got several interviews but no acceptances. Since then, I have enrolled in and nearly completed an MS in mental health counseling. I'm curious about where I stand in terms of the numbers. I feel like my chances are good

Undergraduate GPA: 3.76 (Psych)
Master's GPA (So far): 4.0 (Mental Health Counseling)

GRE V: 670
GRE Q: 610
GRE Analytical Writing 6.0

Master's thesis involving a novel application of a therapeutic technique with a small sample (Good fit with POI's research at my first choice, U. Maryland).

4 publications (1 first author, 1 second author, 2 third author), 1 about to be submitted to a journal
5 professional conference presentations (3 of them at APA)
2 undergrad. conference presentations

Research experience: 2 years as undergraduate lab member, 1 year as volunteer RA, 2 year as paid part-time RA doing psychological research at a medical facility

Clinical Experience: 600 hour supervised mental health counseling internship

Teaching experience: Stats/research methods tutor for two semesters during undergrad, Teaching assistant for one undergrad course

Here is my current list (needs to be expanded)
University of Maryland
SUNY Buffalo
Duquesne University (Clinical)
SUNY Albany
McGill University

I would really appreciate some feedback on this. I've been through this process before and I want to make sure I make it this time. Thank you!
 
Sisyphus09 said:
Hello,

I plan to apply to several counseling psych. PhD programs this fall. I applied a few years ago, and got several interviews but no acceptances. Since then, I have enrolled in and nearly completed an MS in mental health counseling. I'm curious about where I stand in terms of the numbers. I feel like my chances are good

Undergraduate GPA: 3.76 (Psych)
Master's GPA (So far): 4.0 (Mental Health Counseling)

GRE V: 670
GRE Q: 610
GRE Analytical Writing 6.0

Master's thesis involving a novel application of a therapeutic technique with a small sample (Good fit with POI's research at my first choice, U. Maryland).

4 publications (1 first author, 1 second author, 2 third author), 1 about to be submitted to a journal
5 professional conference presentations (3 of them at APA)
2 undergrad. conference presentations

Research experience: 2 years as undergraduate lab member, 1 year as volunteer RA, 2 year as paid part-time RA doing psychological research at a medical facility

Clinical Experience: 600 hour supervised mental health counseling internship

Teaching experience: Stats/research methods tutor for two semesters during undergrad, Teaching assistant for one undergrad course

Here is my current list (needs to be expanded)
University of Maryland
SUNY Buffalo
Duquesne University (Clinical)
SUNY Albany
McGill University

I would really appreciate some feedback on this. I've been through this process before and I want to make sure I make it this time. Thank you!
Click to expand...

I think you have pretty good chances, but your Q GRE score may hurt you... I would think you'd want to try for at least the 50th percentile, around 650... but ideally more like 700. Additionally Duquense is completely focused on phenomenological and existential psychology... very psychodynamic. Does that match your interests?
 
PsySeeker said:
I think you have pretty good chances, but your Q GRE score may hurt you... I would think you'd want to try for at least the 50th percentile, around 650... but ideally more like 700. Additionally Duquense is completely focused on phenomenological and existential psychology... very psychodynamic. Does that match your interests?
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply, PsySeeker! I have been wondering about the Q score, and thinking that maybe I ought to retake the GRE. Previously, with these same scores (but minus my Master's degree, all my pubs and research experience), I interviewed at some good schools like Arizona State and U of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. I want to be as competitive as possible, so I guess I'll have to consider retaking. Yuck!

I've added a few schools to my list. Here's where it stands at the moment:

SUNY Albany
U. Akron
Cleveland State
Howard
Lehigh
U. Maryland
Duquesne Clinical
SUNY Buffalo
McGill U.
 
somedaypsych said:
my question for you is, why psychology? it is clear that you are passionate about animals - just curious if you ever considered vet school.
Click to expand...

I was a pre-med at LSU at 16, so I considered the medical route. I also considered vet school, but the overwhelming amount of compassion and empathy I have for animals prevents me from being comfortable pursuing a profession that requires me to perform surgery on them.

Considering all of my personal limitations, I have narrowed the area of interest to examining the relationship between people, animals, and breed-specific legislation, or further examining the relationship between people and companion animals. As I said before, I'd be most happy pursuing psych if it deals with animals, but I am equally confident I can excel in therapy or other solutions with which I have a great understanding, such as schizophrenia and narcolepsy (which also effects dogs).

I guess I'm really looking for two answers here:
1. What subspecialty of psychology deals with the relationship between animals and humans that is not subjected to canine behavior? I imagine it's social psychology, but I'm not sure.
2. What graduate schools will allow me to pursue this course? I have searched until I have a headache, and almost every result keeps pointing to a canine behaviorist. I don't want to be a canine behaviorist. I want to take a closer look at people, their pets, and topics such as breed-specific legislation.

If anyone can provide a direction for what I'm looking for, I offer you my sincere gratitude.
 
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kbl824 said:
I was a pre-med at LSU at 16, so I considered the medical route. I also considered vet school, but the overwhelming amount of compassion and empathy I have for animals prevents me from being comfortable pursuing a profession that requires me to perform surgery on them.

Considering all of my personal limitations, I have narrowed the area of interest to examining the relationship between people, animals, and breed-specific legislation, or further examining the relationship between people and companion animals. As I said before, I'd be most happy pursuing psych if it deals with animals, but I am equally confident I can excel in therapy or other solutions with which I have a great understanding, such as schizophrenia and narcolepsy (which also effects dogs).

I guess I'm really looking for two answers here:
1. What subspecialty of psychology deals with the relationship between animals and humans that is not subjected to canine behavior? I imagine it's social psychology, but I'm not sure.
2. What graduate schools will allow me to pursue this course? I have searched until I have a headache, and almost every result keeps pointing to a canine behaviorist. I don't want to be a canine behaviorist. I want to take a closer look at people, their pets, and topics such as breed-specific legislation.

If anyone can provide a direction for what I'm looking for, I offer you my sincere gratitude.
Click to expand...

I see what you are saying. Unfortunately, this is an area I know nothing about.

I would encourage you to gain more research experience. You will need more than 1 year to be competitive. And who knows, maybe you will stumble upon something that is as rewarding for you as your work with animals.
 
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