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Sounds really solid. As long as you apply broadly and to enough programs, it's very likely you'll get accepted somewhere as long as you have a good fit.
WAMC: What Are My Chances
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- admission admission chances advice advice needed advise anxiety applicaiton application advice bachelor of arts behavioral chance of acceptance chance of admission children clincial psychology clinical clinical psych clinical psych phd clinical psychologist clinical psychology clinical psychology phd clinical psychology psyd college admissions competitive counseling psycholgy doctoral doctoral programs exeperience funded gpa grad grad school grad school admissions graduate graduate admissions graduate programs graduate school gre improve chances low gpa ma counseling masters masters degree masters program mental health mft new york non traditional phd phd advice phd clinical psych admissions phd counseling psych admissions phd counseling psychology phd gre phd prep post bac psy.d psych psychiatry psychology psychology doctorate students psychology phd psychology psyd psyd psyd admission research research experience school psychology school-clinical child psychology wamc worry
Sounds really solid. As long as you apply broadly and to enough programs, it's very likely you'll get accepted somewhere as long as you have a good fit.
Hey,
Looking for some info regarding chances. thank you!
GPA: 3.96 from large state school
GRE: 157v 151q 5awa
Research: RA positions in 4 labs in neuroscience/neuropsych over 4 years (2 years full time as an RA at ivy league institution; 4 years and counting involved in Neuroscience lab)
Clinical: 2 internships/1 full time year at top 5 psychiatric hospital as mental health worker
Publications: 10 Journal articles published/in press/in review / 17 posters (3 first author)
3 strong LORs from PIs and supervisors
Schools:
Michigan State
UNLV
Binghamton
University of Cincinnati
Umass Boston
Indiana University
University of New Mexico
University of Florida
University of Missouri
Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Emory
Temple
Washington U
Looking for some info regarding chances. thank you!
GPA: 3.96 from large state school
GRE: 157v 151q 5awa
Research: RA positions in 4 labs in neuroscience/neuropsych over 4 years (2 years full time as an RA at ivy league institution; 4 years and counting involved in Neuroscience lab)
Clinical: 2 internships/1 full time year at top 5 psychiatric hospital as mental health worker
Publications: 10 Journal articles published/in press/in review / 17 posters (3 first author)
3 strong LORs from PIs and supervisors
Schools:
Michigan State
UNLV
Binghamton
University of Cincinnati
Umass Boston
Indiana University
University of New Mexico
University of Florida
University of Missouri
Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Emory
Temple
Washington U
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WAMC: Masters Counseling Psych programs (NYU/Columbia TC/Lewis & Clark)
Hi all! I am in the process of applying to a bunch of counseling psychology masters programs and was hoping you all could elaborate on my chances of admittance.
I graduated as a pre-med student with a degree in neuroscience from a highly respected liberal arts college. (GPA 3.5). I have 3 years research experience however the majority of that experience is from working in radiobiology labs as a research assistant (as you probably guessed my previous career path was heading towards medical school so all my experience was geared towards med school admittance). I have also worked as a clinical oncology research coordinator for about a year and a half. In terms of volunteer experience I just started with an organization answering a hotline for LGBTQ youth - by the time I apply I will have worked there for about 4 or 5 months.
I did take a handful of psych courses in undergrad and excelled in them, I also got plenty of exposure to psych in my neuro courses. My concern however is that my background in psych is lacking.
I want to attend the best program I can get into because I want to eventually pursue a PHd and want to set myself up right. As a side note I have not taken the GRE, I am primarily looking at programs that don’t require them (the main reason is I don’t believe I have enough time to take the GRE before apps are due and I want to start school ASAP, it also looks like a lot of quality programs don’t require it)
Right now my top choice is a toss up between NYU and Lewis & Clark, but I am also looking at TC Columbia, Fordham, UC Denver, and University of Vermont. Based on what I gave you would I be a competitive applicant or should I put it off a year and look for more research experience that relates to mental health?
Question part 2.
My end goal is to obtain a PHd so I can both practice as a mental health counselor and do research. However, I am worried that i won’t be able to afford a doctorate program after obtaining debt from a masters programs (because of course none of these masters programs are funded). Are the majority of PHd programs funded or is it difficult to find funding?
Hi all! I am in the process of applying to a bunch of counseling psychology masters programs and was hoping you all could elaborate on my chances of admittance.
I graduated as a pre-med student with a degree in neuroscience from a highly respected liberal arts college. (GPA 3.5). I have 3 years research experience however the majority of that experience is from working in radiobiology labs as a research assistant (as you probably guessed my previous career path was heading towards medical school so all my experience was geared towards med school admittance). I have also worked as a clinical oncology research coordinator for about a year and a half. In terms of volunteer experience I just started with an organization answering a hotline for LGBTQ youth - by the time I apply I will have worked there for about 4 or 5 months.
I did take a handful of psych courses in undergrad and excelled in them, I also got plenty of exposure to psych in my neuro courses. My concern however is that my background in psych is lacking.
I want to attend the best program I can get into because I want to eventually pursue a PHd and want to set myself up right. As a side note I have not taken the GRE, I am primarily looking at programs that don’t require them (the main reason is I don’t believe I have enough time to take the GRE before apps are due and I want to start school ASAP, it also looks like a lot of quality programs don’t require it)
Right now my top choice is a toss up between NYU and Lewis & Clark, but I am also looking at TC Columbia, Fordham, UC Denver, and University of Vermont. Based on what I gave you would I be a competitive applicant or should I put it off a year and look for more research experience that relates to mental health?
Question part 2.
My end goal is to obtain a PHd so I can both practice as a mental health counselor and do research. However, I am worried that i won’t be able to afford a doctorate program after obtaining debt from a masters programs (because of course none of these masters programs are funded). Are the majority of PHd programs funded or is it difficult to find funding?
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Overall, you look competitive, but that quant GRE might get you prematurely cut from some of these programs unless you can get their attention ahead of time (connections through LOR-writers?). Any chance you can retake that and get it a bit higher? Have you taken any advanced-ish stats classes to demonstrate you have the quant skills necessary?
Hi everyone,
I posted on this site a few years ago and took all of the great advice received to prepare for clinical psych programs. I am now hoping to get some feedback on how competitive I may be for the upcoming cycle. Thank you
GPA:
Undergrad- 3.3
Masters (Counseling)- 4.0
GRE: I have taken it twice and my best scores are...
V- 157
Q- 156
AW- 5
Research:
-Lab 1 (1.5 years)-4 posters (2 first author) and 1 publication under review (1st author)
-Lab 2 (9 months)- 1 poster (first author)
Clinical:
-1.5 years mental health counseling at a private practice
-6 months volunteer counselor at an after school program
Miscellaneous:
-Disabled veteran
-Taught English overseas
Letters:
3 strong letters (2 from professors at the labs I work in and one from my masters' program)
School List (all clinical PhD and align well with my research interests):
Eastern Michigan State U
Southern Illinois
U of Illinois @Urban-Champaign
Ohio State
U of Notre Dame
Kent State
U at Bufalo
U of Houston
Auburn
U of Southern Florida
Georgia State
UC Berkeley
Yale
I posted on this site a few years ago and took all of the great advice received to prepare for clinical psych programs. I am now hoping to get some feedback on how competitive I may be for the upcoming cycle. Thank you
GPA:
Undergrad- 3.3
Masters (Counseling)- 4.0
GRE: I have taken it twice and my best scores are...
V- 157
Q- 156
AW- 5
Research:
-Lab 1 (1.5 years)-4 posters (2 first author) and 1 publication under review (1st author)
-Lab 2 (9 months)- 1 poster (first author)
Clinical:
-1.5 years mental health counseling at a private practice
-6 months volunteer counselor at an after school program
Miscellaneous:
-Disabled veteran
-Taught English overseas
Letters:
3 strong letters (2 from professors at the labs I work in and one from my masters' program)
School List (all clinical PhD and align well with my research interests):
Eastern Michigan State U
Southern Illinois
U of Illinois @Urban-Champaign
Ohio State
U of Notre Dame
Kent State
U at Bufalo
U of Houston
Auburn
U of Southern Florida
Georgia State
UC Berkeley
Yale
Last edited:
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Hi everyone,
I will be applying to Psy.D programs for 2017 and I thought I'd be a competitive applicant but after looking at some of the posts here, I'm not so sure. Here's what I've got:
Overall GPA: 3.89, Psyc GPA: 4.00. I've made A's in my Statistics course and Research courses.
GRE Scores: Verbal 164, Quantitative 150, Writing 4.0. I have not taken the Psychology GRE.
3 letters of recommendation have been guaranteed by 3 psychology professors I've had classes with/did research with.
Research experience:
This one I'm a little unsure about. Last summer I helped a grad student with collecting data (helping her with rat experiments), spent 40+ hours helping her and one of my professors who's writing a letter for me oversaw all of this. I also aided that professor with rat lab duties during the summer, but during the school year she suggested I help another professor with her research since it was more geared towards clinical psychology which I was more interested in. I know my name wasn't included in that grad student's paper so I'm not sure if the help I provided is even applicable to put on a resume? I will be discussing this with my professor, though, so hopefully she'll be able to give me a straight answer.
I did help with running subjects/coding the data for the clinical psychology professor for both the fall and summer semesters, and my name was included in that final paper. I also created a research poster presentation based off of that data and presented that poster at an Honors conference. I have been an Honors student since Freshman year btw, if that makes any difference.
I am currently working on an empirical research paper for my Honors Capstone project which I will be required to present during the fall semester.
Volunteer experience:
I currently volunteer at a domestic violence shelter and work the hotline, in which I provide women fleeing DV with resource information, referrals, and crisis intervention/counseling over the phone. I've so far completed 85 hours of volunteer work, and will have probably around 140 hours completed by the time I apply for Psy. D programs.
I suppose helping my professor at the rat lab also counts as volunteer experience? I wasn't paid and I didn't receive any credit for doing it.
Other things:
I've served on my school's IACUC since the last two semesters and will continue to do so for this school year.
Do I seem like a competitive applicant or is this all quite standard for Psy. D applicants? Any comments will be appreciated!
I will be applying to Psy.D programs for 2017 and I thought I'd be a competitive applicant but after looking at some of the posts here, I'm not so sure. Here's what I've got:
Overall GPA: 3.89, Psyc GPA: 4.00. I've made A's in my Statistics course and Research courses.
GRE Scores: Verbal 164, Quantitative 150, Writing 4.0. I have not taken the Psychology GRE.
3 letters of recommendation have been guaranteed by 3 psychology professors I've had classes with/did research with.
Research experience:
This one I'm a little unsure about. Last summer I helped a grad student with collecting data (helping her with rat experiments), spent 40+ hours helping her and one of my professors who's writing a letter for me oversaw all of this. I also aided that professor with rat lab duties during the summer, but during the school year she suggested I help another professor with her research since it was more geared towards clinical psychology which I was more interested in. I know my name wasn't included in that grad student's paper so I'm not sure if the help I provided is even applicable to put on a resume? I will be discussing this with my professor, though, so hopefully she'll be able to give me a straight answer.
I did help with running subjects/coding the data for the clinical psychology professor for both the fall and summer semesters, and my name was included in that final paper. I also created a research poster presentation based off of that data and presented that poster at an Honors conference. I have been an Honors student since Freshman year btw, if that makes any difference.
I am currently working on an empirical research paper for my Honors Capstone project which I will be required to present during the fall semester.
Volunteer experience:
I currently volunteer at a domestic violence shelter and work the hotline, in which I provide women fleeing DV with resource information, referrals, and crisis intervention/counseling over the phone. I've so far completed 85 hours of volunteer work, and will have probably around 140 hours completed by the time I apply for Psy. D programs.
I suppose helping my professor at the rat lab also counts as volunteer experience? I wasn't paid and I didn't receive any credit for doing it.
Other things:
I've served on my school's IACUC since the last two semesters and will continue to do so for this school year.
Do I seem like a competitive applicant or is this all quite standard for Psy. D applicants? Any comments will be appreciated!
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Why are you only applying to PsyD programs?
Also, any chance you could retake the GRE? Your verbal score is very good, as if your GPA, but your quant score may get you automatically removed from consideration at certain programs, regardless of whether they are PsyD or PhD.
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I don't have the research experience to apply to PhD programs, and I will be completing my undergrad degree this spring semester. There are multiple reasons keeping me from taking a gap year to boost my resume. I suppose I do need to retake the GRE... I just worry that it will be waste of money since I don't know if I can get my quantitative score any higher. I studied for many, many hours using practice quantitative questions and still obviously struggled with that section. But I suppose I should at least take the GRE once more. Thanks for the input!
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I understand not wanting to take a gap year, but you might just be wasting your time and money applying this time, as your quant score might not make the cut for many programs (though I could very well be wrong) and you don't seem to have enough research experience to overcompensate for it. In that case, you would likely be applying at least a year later anyways, so taking a gap year now to improve your CV would be the more prudent move.
If you were accepted to a PsyD program that is willing to take you at this point, it would likely saddle you with too much debt to surmount later and might not prepare you well enough for an APA-accredited internship and/or post-doc and licensure anyways.
It's your choice to make, but I'm not the only here who would advise you about these same things.
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Again, thanks for the input. I will work on improving my GRE score and obtaining more research experience before applying, and if I still don't get accepted into a good program, I suppose I will be forced to take a gap year anyway.
Bump
Looking very solid. I would just make sure all the programs don't have "hard" cut off GRE scores and you are within 10-15% percentile points of their average. Rock that personal statement and you should have some interviews. Good luck!
Thanks for taking the time to respond. That's good news and I will check up on that. Cheers!
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Not sure why you are going to spend the time and money on MA program instead of applying directly to PhD programs after spending the next year getting some research experience in a psych lab and getting your GRE scores. You already have some solid research experience in other fields and admission people will value that.
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I think it's part of a trend here on the boards of people wanting to start grad school immediately and being willing to accept any school that will have them instead of deferring gratification to improve their chances of getting into the best programs possible.
As you noted, Neuronerd028 definitely has a lot of research strengths, so it probably would not take much more than one or two years to improve on that and get good GRE scores.
In the past three years my program has accepted about 8 students with master's degrees versus 3-4 from undergrad. I will say the caliber of student is VERY different (organization, independence, etc.) and I can see more PIs/advisors looking more favorably toward master's students in the future (this year 3/4 1st years have master's degrees). Interesting because 4-5 years ago an applicant with a master's degree was almost looked down upon as "not being able to cut it" the first time around in applications. Anecdotal yes, but there is a clear difference in my program.
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That's not really what I was saying. I think master's programs can be very good ways for applicants to get more research exposure and even have opportunities for substantive productivity, e.g. posters and publications. They can also be a good way to demonstrate one's academic abilities, especially if they had a somewhat less than competitive undergraduate GPA.
What I was alluding to earlier are those people who literally say that they just want to get started as soon as possible, regardless of what the programs are like, what the cost and debt of such programs are, etc. They are also frequently not very receptive to what actual psychologists here tell them after they've specifically solicited said advice.
Oh, ok. I agree, see a lot of the same thing on other boards. Part of me wonders if it is just panic and trying to avoid paying back loans.
I'm interested in neuropsych focused PhD/PsyD programs, so I was wondering how I stack up compared to most applicants at these schools. I know the funded PhD programs are a pretty huge stretch, so I'm more curious what my chances are for non-funded programs like Palo Alto/Rosalind Franklin as well as the PsyD programs I listed.
PhD:
University of Florida
Howard University
University of Houston
Northwestern
Palo Alto University
UTexas Southwestern
University of Cincinnati
University of Rhode Island
Rosalind Franklin
PsyD:
Florida Institute of Tech
Widener
Yeshiva
University of Denver
Wright State University
Pacific University - Oregon
Nova Southeastern
Roosevelt University
La Salle University
University of Indianapolis
GPA: 3.5 (upward trend)
Psych GPA: ~3.7
GRE: 155V 156Q
Research/Clinical experience:
2 years of summer/winter breaks interning/assisting in research for a neuropsychologist at an AMC
1 poster presented at INS (2nd author) another just submitted to INS for the upcoming conference (1st author)
1 year as a RA in a psych lab (worked directly with children and adults with anxiety disorder. Got to administer some assessment among other things)
1 semester interning for a non-profit that helps formerly homeless (did client intakes and such)
Will be coauthor on a published paper, but that almost definitely will not be done by the app deadline.
PhD:
University of Florida
Howard University
University of Houston
Northwestern
Palo Alto University
UTexas Southwestern
University of Cincinnati
University of Rhode Island
Rosalind Franklin
PsyD:
Florida Institute of Tech
Widener
Yeshiva
University of Denver
Wright State University
Pacific University - Oregon
Nova Southeastern
Roosevelt University
La Salle University
University of Indianapolis
GPA: 3.5 (upward trend)
Psych GPA: ~3.7
GRE: 155V 156Q
Research/Clinical experience:
2 years of summer/winter breaks interning/assisting in research for a neuropsychologist at an AMC
1 poster presented at INS (2nd author) another just submitted to INS for the upcoming conference (1st author)
1 year as a RA in a psych lab (worked directly with children and adults with anxiety disorder. Got to administer some assessment among other things)
1 semester interning for a non-profit that helps formerly homeless (did client intakes and such)
Will be coauthor on a published paper, but that almost definitely will not be done by the app deadline.
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Your stats look pretty good, but they would be substantially better with a coauthored publication. It would definitely be better to get into a fully-funded program in a year or so when you have more experience and a publication than to get admitted to an un-funded program in this cycle. Any chance you could wait at least one year and apply then?
I plan on applying to a couple accelerated master's programs too, so it's definitely something I am considering!
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Here's an awesome resource to get all of your questions answered about doctoral programs in clinical psychology:
http://clinicalpsychgradschool.org/
Good luck, all!
http://clinicalpsychgradschool.org/
Good luck, all!
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I wanted to delete a previous thread.
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Hi everyone,
I'll be applying for Clinical Psych PhD programs next Fall (applying for Fall of 2018), and I wanted to get some preliminary feedback on how my chances look.
Undergrad institution: Highly regarded state school (R1 university)
GPA: 3.79 (3.9 psych)
GRE: 165V, 154Q, no AWA yet (just took today but expect above 5), 760 subject
Research experience: Recently began 2-year position as research coordinator of a university-based child psychology clinic that treats children in the child welfare system. Worked for 2 years as an RA for this clinic in undergrad. Coordinated a study for PI and have since presented 2 posters and written a senior honors thesis on the data. 2 papers in prep for publication (first author).
In order to gain more experience in a strictly research-based setting, I spent a year as an RA in undergrad working on emotion regulation fMRI research. I am also currently volunteering for a few hours a week in a lab that studies the effects of early adversity on emotion regulation. Hoping to collaborate on a poster in this lab, as well.
Clinical experience: Through my research coordinator position, am co-leading a support group for recently adopted children.
Letters of Rec: 3 great letters of rec - 2 PIs in current lab and 1 professor from undergrad (well-known child psychology professor)
Tentative programs (will change depending on professors' funding next year):
SDSU/UCSD
University of Washington
University of Oregon
UMass Amherst
UNC Chapel Hill
University of Georgia
University of Delaware
University of Rochester
University of Central Florida
Stony Brook University
University of Minnesota
University of Denver
UCSB
Arizona State
I understand that many of these are highly competitive programs, but I have chosen them specifically for research fit; I hope to study the effects of early adversity (namely abuse & neglect) on emotion regulation. After my results on the GRE today, I'm hoping to to retake it and improve my quant score. If I can reach a 160Q or above, how do my chances look? One concern is that several of these labs have more of a neuro bent than my 1 year of fMRI research experience may qualify me for. Should I try to gain some more experience by dropping my current volunteer lab for one with more of a neuro focus?
Any insight would be appreciated!
I'll be applying for Clinical Psych PhD programs next Fall (applying for Fall of 2018), and I wanted to get some preliminary feedback on how my chances look.
Undergrad institution: Highly regarded state school (R1 university)
GPA: 3.79 (3.9 psych)
GRE: 165V, 154Q, no AWA yet (just took today but expect above 5), 760 subject
Research experience: Recently began 2-year position as research coordinator of a university-based child psychology clinic that treats children in the child welfare system. Worked for 2 years as an RA for this clinic in undergrad. Coordinated a study for PI and have since presented 2 posters and written a senior honors thesis on the data. 2 papers in prep for publication (first author).
In order to gain more experience in a strictly research-based setting, I spent a year as an RA in undergrad working on emotion regulation fMRI research. I am also currently volunteering for a few hours a week in a lab that studies the effects of early adversity on emotion regulation. Hoping to collaborate on a poster in this lab, as well.
Clinical experience: Through my research coordinator position, am co-leading a support group for recently adopted children.
Letters of Rec: 3 great letters of rec - 2 PIs in current lab and 1 professor from undergrad (well-known child psychology professor)
Tentative programs (will change depending on professors' funding next year):
SDSU/UCSD
University of Washington
University of Oregon
UMass Amherst
UNC Chapel Hill
University of Georgia
University of Delaware
University of Rochester
University of Central Florida
Stony Brook University
University of Minnesota
University of Denver
UCSB
Arizona State
I understand that many of these are highly competitive programs, but I have chosen them specifically for research fit; I hope to study the effects of early adversity (namely abuse & neglect) on emotion regulation. After my results on the GRE today, I'm hoping to to retake it and improve my quant score. If I can reach a 160Q or above, how do my chances look? One concern is that several of these labs have more of a neuro bent than my 1 year of fMRI research experience may qualify me for. Should I try to gain some more experience by dropping my current volunteer lab for one with more of a neuro focus?
Any insight would be appreciated!
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I went to a small liberal arts college, 3.75 GPA & 3.8 Psych GPA. My GRE scores were 169V, 161Q, 4.5AW, and 790Psych.
I'm looking to apply to funded clinical PhD programs again this fall. I've applied twice before without any offers of admission, but I was waitlisted as first alternate at multiple programs this past year. My POIs told me it was close between me and the people who were offered the positions first, but they had more research experience than I did (more than 1.5 years at the time).
I will have about 2.5 years of research experience working on a couple of different studies by the time I submit applications, but I am unsure if I will have any pubs by this year's application deadlines. The biggest and most ambitious study I'm working on is close to being finished and I'll be third co-author of three on it, but it looks like it will come down to the wire whether it will be published before the December 1 deadlines. I also have several years experience as a psychometrist, which informed my interest in neuropsychology.
The programs I'm interested in include:
Eastern Michigan University
Kent State University
Marquette University
San Diego State University/University of California-San Diego
Ohio University
The Ohio State University
Washington State University
Notre Dame
Northern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University
Indiana University-Purdue University - Indianapolis
University of Nevada - Las Vegas
University of Nevada - Reno
University of Mississippi
University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Kentucky
University of Cincinnati
University of Toledo
University of Arizona
University of New Mexico
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
University of Iowa
University of South Florida
University of Florida
These are all based on fit with POIs and my interests in mindfulness and neuropsych, though I'm not sure yet if the specific POIs at many of these schools are taking students with this cohort yet. I also tried to include programs of diverse acceptance rates, so that I don't pigeon-hole myself and get rejected simply because I only applied to highly selective programs.
So, what are my chances at getting in without the publication? Do I have enough experience with research (e.g. helping design the studies and protocols, recruit participants, administer the protocols, collect, code, and enter data, statistically analyze the data, and write the manuscripts) to make me competitive or do I still need pubs or presentations to get in?
I'm looking to apply to funded clinical PhD programs again this fall. I've applied twice before without any offers of admission, but I was waitlisted as first alternate at multiple programs this past year. My POIs told me it was close between me and the people who were offered the positions first, but they had more research experience than I did (more than 1.5 years at the time).
I will have about 2.5 years of research experience working on a couple of different studies by the time I submit applications, but I am unsure if I will have any pubs by this year's application deadlines. The biggest and most ambitious study I'm working on is close to being finished and I'll be third co-author of three on it, but it looks like it will come down to the wire whether it will be published before the December 1 deadlines. I also have several years experience as a psychometrist, which informed my interest in neuropsychology.
The programs I'm interested in include:
Eastern Michigan University
Kent State University
Marquette University
San Diego State University/University of California-San Diego
Ohio University
The Ohio State University
Washington State University
Notre Dame
Northern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University
Indiana University-Purdue University - Indianapolis
University of Nevada - Las Vegas
University of Nevada - Reno
University of Mississippi
University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Kentucky
University of Cincinnati
University of Toledo
University of Arizona
University of New Mexico
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
University of Iowa
University of South Florida
University of Florida
These are all based on fit with POIs and my interests in mindfulness and neuropsych, though I'm not sure yet if the specific POIs at many of these schools are taking students with this cohort yet. I also tried to include programs of diverse acceptance rates, so that I don't pigeon-hole myself and get rejected simply because I only applied to highly selective programs.
So, what are my chances at getting in without the publication? Do I have enough experience with research (e.g. helping design the studies and protocols, recruit participants, administer the protocols, collect, code, and enter data, statistically analyze the data, and write the manuscripts) to make me competitive or do I still need pubs or presentations to get in?
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I had posted this in a different subforum, but I now see that this is the proper thread to contribute in: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...-psychology-but-i-have-some-concerns.1221709/
Please advise if you can. I'm open to all considerations, favorable to my personal ambitions or not. Thank you.
Please advise if you can. I'm open to all considerations, favorable to my personal ambitions or not. Thank you.
I'm interested in cognitive and clinical PhD programs, and wondering if its worth going all out this year, or applying to a couple schools and trying to improve my CV/GRE for the next round. I've had pretty disparate research experiences, but I'm hoping to use that to find someone at each school who's open to working with me. I used the same references for my current job as I'm using to apply, so I can at least be confident that none of them thought I was awful, but I'm not sure how many of them would be willing/have time to tailor their letters for each school.
For reference, here are the schools I'm considering, with Harvard being a clear reach
Boston University
UMASS Boston
Boston College
Harvard
UConn
University of Saskatchewan
University of Ottawa
St. John's University
Suffolk University
Syracuse University
University of Florida
University of Maine
University of Rhode Island
Temple University
University of Massachusetts—Amherst
Clark University
U of Vermont
GPA: 3.7 liberal arts college, Psi Chi member
Psych GPA: 3.7
GRE: 166V 158Q 5AWA
Research experience:
Presented a meta-analysis at a statewide research conference, wrote a quasi thesis paper in community college
1 year in cognition based lab for undergrad, worked with eye trackers, presented a poster at school's research conference
1 summer as a data analysis intern at a sleep lab
1 semester senior research seminar on alcohol use, 4th author on a published paper in an APA journal, 5th on one under review
1+ year as an RA at a weight control lab on a behavioral intervention study, still working here but no pubs
Clinical experience:
7 years working in a psychiatric group home as a general aid, got to do some social work/interventions
1 summer as a clinical intern at a substance abuse treatment facility, ran groups and assisted with treatment planning
Any advice is greatly appreciated; thank you for your help!
For reference, here are the schools I'm considering, with Harvard being a clear reach
Boston University
UMASS Boston
Boston College
Harvard
UConn
University of Saskatchewan
University of Ottawa
St. John's University
Suffolk University
Syracuse University
University of Florida
University of Maine
University of Rhode Island
Temple University
University of Massachusetts—Amherst
Clark University
U of Vermont
GPA: 3.7 liberal arts college, Psi Chi member
Psych GPA: 3.7
GRE: 166V 158Q 5AWA
Research experience:
Presented a meta-analysis at a statewide research conference, wrote a quasi thesis paper in community college
1 year in cognition based lab for undergrad, worked with eye trackers, presented a poster at school's research conference
1 summer as a data analysis intern at a sleep lab
1 semester senior research seminar on alcohol use, 4th author on a published paper in an APA journal, 5th on one under review
1+ year as an RA at a weight control lab on a behavioral intervention study, still working here but no pubs
Clinical experience:
7 years working in a psychiatric group home as a general aid, got to do some social work/interventions
1 summer as a clinical intern at a substance abuse treatment facility, ran groups and assisted with treatment planning
Any advice is greatly appreciated; thank you for your help!
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What are my chances? I want to research substance use disorders/alcohol use disorders/addictive behaviors, anything from individual differences, treatment, etiology, you name it.
Interested in Clinical PhD. programs at the following Universities:
Research Experience
Also won an undergraduate research award, which included funding for conducting this study.
Work Experience
GPA= 3.64 ( Including Neuroscience classes because I wanted to challenge myself, dumb decision). Psychology GPA: 3.9. 4.0 in all semesters but my first semester in school at the age of 25.
GRE: (V) 157/75% (Q) 160/76% (W) 5.0/93%
Letters of Rec coming from:
Interested in Clinical PhD. programs at the following Universities:
- Arizona State
- University of Arkansas
- Florida State
- University of Georgia
- Illinois Institute of Technology (wished they had better funding)
- University of Kentucky
- University of Montana
- University of North Carolina - Wilmington
- University of Pittsburgh
- Rutgers
- University of South Florida
- Texas Tech
- University of Washington
- Wayne State University
Research Experience
- 2 Years micro coding for a longitudinal study examining daily text messages from teenage participants. Coding for social aggression, substance use, deviance, sexual behaviors, and prosocial behaviors.
- 2 Years in a psychophysiological lab examining participants physical reactions to text messaging (specifically when they cannot reach there phone and see who sent the message and what it entails).
- 2 Years examining college students interaction with Facebook, coding for interactions with posts on the participants facebook page that involve substances and alcohol.
- Created my own research lab as an undergraduate examining college age students stigmatization of heroin, cocaine, and alcohol users/abusers as they relate to controllability beliefs, exposure to users, and personal substance use. Findings suggest stigmatization is highly related to controllability beliefs, contributing to Weiner's (1988) attribution theory.
Also won an undergraduate research award, which included funding for conducting this study.
Work Experience
- 2 Years at the Center for Students in Recovery on campus, mentoring students, creating programming, and organizing fundraisers for local recovery homeless shelters.
- 2 Years as a recovery Advocate at a local Sober Living Home. Involving dispensing medication, general household order, and mentoring and communicating with residents in recovery from substance use disorder, sex addiction, schizophrenia, and social anxiety. Texas Peer Recovery Support Specialist Trained for this job.
- 2.5 years volunteering at a rehabilitation center for kids 12-17 seeeking recovery from substance use disorder.
- 1 year- volunteering leading group check-in meetings at a Recovery High School.
GPA= 3.64 ( Including Neuroscience classes because I wanted to challenge myself, dumb decision). Psychology GPA: 3.9. 4.0 in all semesters but my first semester in school at the age of 25.
GRE: (V) 157/75% (Q) 160/76% (W) 5.0/93%
Letters of Rec coming from:
- Dean of the Graduate School and I was in her lab for 2 years.
- Psychology Department Head- Mentor for my personal research lab
- Professor- Undergraduate TA for Statistics course.
Hi All,
I am not as qualified as most folks here as this is my second attempt at grad school. The first attempt was in pursuit of a career in pharmacy, and though I went so far as getting into a program, I decided it wasn't the right fit for me and have been working since then.
I graduated with a molecular & cell biology major with an emphasis in neurobiology back in 2010 with a gpa of 3.865. Since then, I've taken general psych (for non-majors), personality psych, social psych, intro to stats, and research methodology in psych and gotten A's in all.
I am looking into applying for clinical psychology programs somewhere down the road, ultimately ending up with a neuropsychology subspecialty, because brain and behavior is where it's at for me.
I am nearly devoid of research and clinical experience. I did participate as an undergrad RA for a semester facilitating a simple psychological computer experiment and doing data entry and simple data coding, but I am fully aware this is way below the standard.
Looking at the specs here, I kind of feel like a lost cause because I lack so much at this point, although the persistent optimist in me keeps encouraging me to go forth. I'd appreciate your perspective...
I realize this is not a conventional WAMC inquiry, but I wasn't sure where else to put myself out here... THANK YOU!
Edit: I realize my post didn't even contain any questions... Haha. I am planning to reach out to program advisors and get their advice on how I can catch up to build a competitive application, but I'd appreciate your advice here as well. If anyone's been in a similar boat, that would be reassuring to hear...
I am not as qualified as most folks here as this is my second attempt at grad school. The first attempt was in pursuit of a career in pharmacy, and though I went so far as getting into a program, I decided it wasn't the right fit for me and have been working since then.
I graduated with a molecular & cell biology major with an emphasis in neurobiology back in 2010 with a gpa of 3.865. Since then, I've taken general psych (for non-majors), personality psych, social psych, intro to stats, and research methodology in psych and gotten A's in all.
I am looking into applying for clinical psychology programs somewhere down the road, ultimately ending up with a neuropsychology subspecialty, because brain and behavior is where it's at for me.
I am nearly devoid of research and clinical experience. I did participate as an undergrad RA for a semester facilitating a simple psychological computer experiment and doing data entry and simple data coding, but I am fully aware this is way below the standard.
Looking at the specs here, I kind of feel like a lost cause because I lack so much at this point, although the persistent optimist in me keeps encouraging me to go forth. I'd appreciate your perspective...
I realize this is not a conventional WAMC inquiry, but I wasn't sure where else to put myself out here... THANK YOU!
Edit: I realize my post didn't even contain any questions... Haha. I am planning to reach out to program advisors and get their advice on how I can catch up to build a competitive application, but I'd appreciate your advice here as well. If anyone's been in a similar boat, that would be reassuring to hear...
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Clinical Experience is not nearly as important for funded PhD programs as research experience and productivity are, so you should look for research assistant or research coordinator jobs or at least look for some volunteer opportunities that will allow you to be tangibly involved in research for at least a year or two.
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Hello all,
This is my second attempt at applying for funded PhD programs, but it's been a blessing in disguise--found out between Spring and now that I need another major surgery before getting out of the military, so I wouldn't have been able to attend anyway! I also started working several hours a week in a highly-acclaimed lab at a nearby university, so I'm hoping 2017 will be my year.
WAMC?
V: 158 Q: 157 W: 5
UG GPA: 3.8 (Political Science, SJSU)
21 units in Psychology post-BA: 3.9 GPA
Research Experience:
1. Two semesters of working in a political science research setting as an undergrad, exclusively data collection
2. 8 months (~350 hours by time of applications) working in a psyc lab studying adolescent anxiety and efficacy of assessment measures. Proficient in Qualtrics, Intraface. Conducted assessments with parents and teens, some coding as well. Will hopefully result in very strong LOR, in addition to 2 strong LORs from UG professors (who are heavy researchers and can hopefully speak to my ability to excel in that kind of environment)
Publications:
1. Pending publication in the US Naval Institute (peer-reviewed journal for issues regarding the military/sea services), analysis of prior studies examining the intersection of military mental illness and veteran criminality
Clinical:
1. Suicide Prevention Coordinator for my command; conducted numerous briefs on prevention and intervention
2. ASIST-certified trainer: taught several classes on suicide intervention to members of the military (chaplains, health professionals) and mental health providers
Interests:
1. Intersection of veteran mental illness and veteran criminality, efficacy of treatment in lieu of incarceration for non-violent offenders
2. Re-traumatization in military/veterans (esp how pre-service trauma primes active duty military to develop military-related trauma pathologies)
Some schools I have on my list are:
George Mason
U of Tulsa
U of Utah (lab I'm applying to encourages military applicants)
Memphis U
U of Central Florida
U of Toledo
U of North Carolina Greensboro
ASU (if they are taking applicants for new Veterans Wellness Research Center)
U of Arkansas
U of Florida (waitlisted for interview last year before more recent research experience)
U of Wyoming
U of Mississippi
Auburn U
Appreciate any insight. Let me know if there's anything I left off.
This is my second attempt at applying for funded PhD programs, but it's been a blessing in disguise--found out between Spring and now that I need another major surgery before getting out of the military, so I wouldn't have been able to attend anyway! I also started working several hours a week in a highly-acclaimed lab at a nearby university, so I'm hoping 2017 will be my year.
WAMC?
V: 158 Q: 157 W: 5
UG GPA: 3.8 (Political Science, SJSU)
21 units in Psychology post-BA: 3.9 GPA
Research Experience:
1. Two semesters of working in a political science research setting as an undergrad, exclusively data collection
2. 8 months (~350 hours by time of applications) working in a psyc lab studying adolescent anxiety and efficacy of assessment measures. Proficient in Qualtrics, Intraface. Conducted assessments with parents and teens, some coding as well. Will hopefully result in very strong LOR, in addition to 2 strong LORs from UG professors (who are heavy researchers and can hopefully speak to my ability to excel in that kind of environment)
Publications:
1. Pending publication in the US Naval Institute (peer-reviewed journal for issues regarding the military/sea services), analysis of prior studies examining the intersection of military mental illness and veteran criminality
Clinical:
1. Suicide Prevention Coordinator for my command; conducted numerous briefs on prevention and intervention
2. ASIST-certified trainer: taught several classes on suicide intervention to members of the military (chaplains, health professionals) and mental health providers
Interests:
1. Intersection of veteran mental illness and veteran criminality, efficacy of treatment in lieu of incarceration for non-violent offenders
2. Re-traumatization in military/veterans (esp how pre-service trauma primes active duty military to develop military-related trauma pathologies)
Some schools I have on my list are:
George Mason
U of Tulsa
U of Utah (lab I'm applying to encourages military applicants)
Memphis U
U of Central Florida
U of Toledo
U of North Carolina Greensboro
ASU (if they are taking applicants for new Veterans Wellness Research Center)
U of Arkansas
U of Florida (waitlisted for interview last year before more recent research experience)
U of Wyoming
U of Mississippi
Auburn U
Appreciate any insight. Let me know if there's anything I left off.
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I’m applying to a wide range of schools (9 clinical, 1 counseling), some difficult and some not so difficult, and I want a rough estimation of my chances in general. What do I need to improve on? How do my credentials look? Any advice?
Psych Major; Statistics Minor
Somewhat prestigious university (top 3 in Ohio)
GRE: V: 159, Q: 158, A: 5
Cum GPA: 3.44, Last Two Years GPA: 3.67, Major GPA: 3.5
Research: Clinical, social, positive, cognitive, and neuroscience.
7 Research assistant projects across two labs for 1.5 Years
3 Personal research projects across 2 labs since 1.5 years ago, one project in what I’m interested in pursuing
2 publications (1 article, 1 chapter) both in what I’m interested in
Letters of recommendation
3 extremely strong academic letters, one from a professor at a different university than my own who I sought after and worked with.
Clinical Internships
2 Internships, 1 at Ohio’s largest mental health private practice and the other at an adoption agency.
4 original presentations at various conferences
3 lab management positions in three separate labs
3 tutoring positions (psych 101, stats, experimental design) lasting for 1.5 years collectively
Vice president of psych club and 2 other leadership positions
6 instances of mental health advocacy through volunteer work
2 work study positions lasting 3 years and still going
Psych Major; Statistics Minor
Somewhat prestigious university (top 3 in Ohio)
GRE: V: 159, Q: 158, A: 5
Cum GPA: 3.44, Last Two Years GPA: 3.67, Major GPA: 3.5
Research: Clinical, social, positive, cognitive, and neuroscience.
7 Research assistant projects across two labs for 1.5 Years
3 Personal research projects across 2 labs since 1.5 years ago, one project in what I’m interested in pursuing
2 publications (1 article, 1 chapter) both in what I’m interested in
Letters of recommendation
3 extremely strong academic letters, one from a professor at a different university than my own who I sought after and worked with.
Clinical Internships
2 Internships, 1 at Ohio’s largest mental health private practice and the other at an adoption agency.
4 original presentations at various conferences
3 lab management positions in three separate labs
3 tutoring positions (psych 101, stats, experimental design) lasting for 1.5 years collectively
Vice president of psych club and 2 other leadership positions
6 instances of mental health advocacy through volunteer work
2 work study positions lasting 3 years and still going
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- Jan 4, 2016
- Messages
- 179
- Reaction score
- 334
Hello all,
This is my second attempt at applying for funded PhD programs, but it's been a blessing in disguise--found out between Spring and now that I need another major surgery before getting out of the military, so I wouldn't have been able to attend anyway! I also started working several hours a week in a highly-acclaimed lab at a nearby university, so I'm hoping 2017 will be my year.
WAMC?
V: 158 Q: 157 W: 5
UG GPA: 3.8 (Political Science, SJSU)
21 units in Psychology post-BA: 3.9 GPA
Research Experience:
1. Two semesters of working in a political science research setting as an undergrad, exclusively data collection
2. 8 months (~350 hours by time of applications) working in a psyc lab studying adolescent anxiety and efficacy of assessment measures. Proficient in Qualtrics, Intraface. Conducted assessments with parents and teens, some coding as well. Will hopefully result in very strong LOR, in addition to 2 strong LORs from UG professors (who are heavy researchers and can hopefully speak to my ability to excel in that kind of environment)
Publications:
1. Pending publication in the US Naval Institute (peer-reviewed journal for issues regarding the military/sea services), analysis of prior studies examining the intersection of military mental illness and veteran criminality
Clinical:
1. Suicide Prevention Coordinator for my command; conducted numerous briefs on prevention and intervention
2. ASIST-certified trainer: taught several classes on suicide intervention to members of the military (chaplains, health professionals) and mental health providers
Interests:
1. Intersection of veteran mental illness and veteran criminality, efficacy of treatment in lieu of incarceration for non-violent offenders
2. Re-traumatization in military/veterans (esp how pre-service trauma primes active duty military to develop military-related trauma pathologies)
Some schools I have on my list are:
George Mason
U of Tulsa
U of Utah (lab I'm applying to encourages military applicants)
Memphis U
U of Central Florida
U of Toledo
U of North Carolina Greensboro
ASU (if they are taking applicants for new Veterans Wellness Research Center)
U of Arkansas
U of Florida (waitlisted for interview last year before more recent research experience)
U of Wyoming
U of Mississippi
Auburn U
Appreciate any insight. Let me know if there's anything I left off.
I had a different emphasis, but I applied to several of the schools on your list, had similar stats, and received offers. Auburn was very competitive (for the POI I applied to). Arkansas has a collegial and cooperative environment, and Wyoming is in a somewhat isolated (but beautiful!) location. I'm wondering if you have any posters as a result of your research experience?
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What is your research interest? I see that you listed several domains under research, but I'm curious as to what you're interested in focus-wise. Your experiences seem very diverse and I think it's great you have so much research experience; it's all about how your present your experiences & how they will serve you in graduate work.
Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
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Thanks for the response
I don't have any presentations or posters. I'm pushing for some but likely none will come to fruition before applications are in. May I ask who you applied to at Auburn? I am interested in Dr. Weathers. Wyoming is a good match for me too, since they work with the VA for clinical work throughout the program. I don't mind being in the boonies ! ETA: would you be comfortable sharing what schools made offers and where you're at now?
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You have a lot of psych experience for an undergrad. (Have you had time for anything else??) Compared with others applying straight out, I think you're in relatively good shape.
The only concerns I see here are GPA (some places use a strict 3.5 cutoff), maaaaybe quant GRE (some places prefer 75th percentile, though I don't think you're far enough off to merit a re-take), and number of programs you're applying to. If you really want to get in this year, make it 12-15, and preferably closer to 15 since you're an undergrad. When applying, I recommend you really play up the lab involvement in research and your stats minor (unless that's not a good fit for the type of program you're applying to). Best of luck!
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Hello all,
This is my second attempt at applying for funded PhD programs, but it's been a blessing in disguise--found out between Spring and now that I need another major surgery before getting out of the military, so I wouldn't have been able to attend anyway! I also started working several hours a week in a highly-acclaimed lab at a nearby university, so I'm hoping 2017 will be my year.
WAMC?
V: 158 Q: 157 W: 5
UG GPA: 3.8 (Political Science, SJSU)
21 units in Psychology post-BA: 3.9 GPA
Research Experience:
1. Two semesters of working in a political science research setting as an undergrad, exclusively data collection
2. 8 months (~350 hours by time of applications) working in a psyc lab studying adolescent anxiety and efficacy of assessment measures. Proficient in Qualtrics, Intraface. Conducted assessments with parents and teens, some coding as well. Will hopefully result in very strong LOR, in addition to 2 strong LORs from UG professors (who are heavy researchers and can hopefully speak to my ability to excel in that kind of environment)
Publications:
1. Pending publication in the US Naval Institute (peer-reviewed journal for issues regarding the military/sea services), analysis of prior studies examining the intersection of military mental illness and veteran criminality
Clinical:
1. Suicide Prevention Coordinator for my command; conducted numerous briefs on prevention and intervention
2. ASIST-certified trainer: taught several classes on suicide intervention to members of the military (chaplains, health professionals) and mental health providers
Interests:
1. Intersection of veteran mental illness and veteran criminality, efficacy of treatment in lieu of incarceration for non-violent offenders
2. Re-traumatization in military/veterans (esp how pre-service trauma primes active duty military to develop military-related trauma pathologies)
Some schools I have on my list are:
George Mason
U of Tulsa
U of Utah (lab I'm applying to encourages military applicants)
Memphis U
U of Central Florida
U of Toledo
U of North Carolina Greensboro
ASU (if they are taking applicants for new Veterans Wellness Research Center)
U of Arkansas
U of Florida (waitlisted for interview last year before more recent research experience)
U of Wyoming
U of Mississippi
Auburn U
Appreciate any insight. Let me know if there's anything I left off.
I am not familiar with most of the schools on your list, but the main thing that stands out to me is that your research experience might be lacking compared with other applicants. I really like to see applicants having been in research long enough to have seen a project "from start to finish" or at least been involved in all stages of research, and I'm not sure that can be done in less than 1 year. With that said, I think if spun correctly, your military experience and letters will speak to your character. Make sure that at schools that aren't as veteran-friendly/familiar that you don't equate your military MH training to clinical psychology training. Both important but different. Instead focus on what you liked about it, what questions it raised for you, and what you want to learn and contribute to in the field.
If you don't get in, I'd recommend finding a research coordinator position for a year or two and then reapplying.
Thank you for your service, and good luck!
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I am not familiar with most of the schools on your list, but the main thing that stands out to me is that your research experience might be lacking compared with other applicants. I really like to see applicants having been in research long enough to have seen a project "from start to finish" or at least been involved in all stages of research, and I'm not sure that can be done in less than 1 year. With that said, I think if spun correctly, your military experience and letters will speak to your character. Make sure that at schools that aren't as veteran-friendly/familiar that you don't equate your military MH training to clinical psychology training. Both important but different. Instead focus on what you liked about it, what questions it raised for you, and what you want to learn and contribute to in the field.
If you don't get in, I'd recommend finding a research coordinator position for a year or two and then reapplying.
Thank you for your service, and good luck!
Thanks so much for your response! You're right--I haven't devoted as much time as I should have to research. Given my career path thus far, it's been difficult to balance full-time military with lab assistantships, and often my schedule pushes 60 hours a week. I'm hoping this relative deficiency can be off-set by some of my academic accomplishments, like being the "Undergraduate of the Year" for my graduating class, as well as my military experiences. I know I am capable of succeeding in rigorous environments--the military does a good job of molding us into competent multi-taskers and incredibly hard workers!
Speaking to the letters of recommendation--my Deputy Commanding Officer wrote letters last cycle, and I submitted them in tandem with my professors. While I know the former can't explicitly detail anything academic, I felt he was a good "character witness" to the amount of effort and passion I've invested in my command. Do you imagine this kind of letter would be welcomed, or seen as out-of-place when applying this round?
Also, I really do appreciate your support. I am so proud to serve, and I hope to continue giving back to my troops by doing this kind of doctoral work.
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Thanks so much for your response! You're right--I haven't devoted as much time as I should have to research. Given my career path thus far, it's been difficult to balance full-time military with lab assistantships, and often my schedule pushes 60 hours a week. I'm hoping this relative deficiency can be off-set by some of my academic accomplishments, like being the "Undergraduate of the Year" for my graduating class, as well as my military experiences. I know I am capable of succeeding in rigorous environments--the military does a good job of molding us into competent multi-taskers and incredibly hard workers!
Speaking to the letters of recommendation--my Deputy Commanding Officer wrote letters last cycle, and I submitted them in tandem with my professors. While I know the former can't explicitly detail anything academic, I felt he was a good "character witness" to the amount of effort and passion I've invested in my command. Do you imagine this kind of letter would be welcomed, or seen as out-of-place when applying this round?
Also, I really do appreciate your support. I am so proud to serve, and I hope to continue giving back to my troops by doing this kind of doctoral work.
I'd probably prefer letters that speak to your specific skills related to research in graduate school (so profs you've done research with, and profs who may have had you in their classes, especially research methods or upper level courses), but that's just my angle. If that's not a possibility, then your Deputy Commanding Officer might work. I'd make sure his letter offers "character info" that really maps onto the skills you'll need to succeed in graduate school. Examples of critical thinking and balancing lots of tasks would be good additions to effort+passion.
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I took the GRE yesterday and scored a 162V, 151Q despite months of studying for quant. Depressing. Though I had been improving a great deal in my practice tests, the anxiety on test day really got to me and I found myself panicking during the quant sections. I do have faith that my analytical writing score will be relatively strong at least.
I have almost 5 years of work experience in health administration at the top cancer center in NYC. My undergrad GPA was only 3.43 (in non-psych area) but I have a 4.0 post-bacc GPA in several psychology courses that I have taken while working full-time. I have a lot of volunteer experience with a writing therapy program and a bereavement camp for adolescents but I lack concrete psych lab experience. However, despite my work experience being more administrative, it is all in the translational research area and I have helped the MD/PhDs I work for submit over 20 grants, schedule patients on various clinical trials, and I have also single-handedly organized a NIH-oriented grant writing course for our junior faculty members. I plan to argue that for what I lack in wet lab experience, I have in grant writing potential that might help me more down the road. However, I'm now very worried that my GRE score will keep me out of the running...
I have specifically targeted Counseling Psychology PhD programs and a few Clinical Health Psychology programs that are great matches for my research interests: psycho-oncology and health psychology.
I'm applying to the following programs:
Uni of Minnesota's Counseling Psych PhD
Boston Uni Clinical Psych PhD
Uni of Maryland Counseling Psych PhD
Boston College Counseling Psych PhD
U of Miami Clinical Psych, Health Track PhD
UC Denver Clinical Health Psych PhD
U of Denver Counseling Psych PhD
Northwestern Feinberg Clinical Psych PhD
UT Austin Clinical Psych PhD
Back-ups: - Drexel (Masters) - Villanova (Masters)
With the exception of Minnesota & Northwestern who say they want at least 70% in both V & Q, my GRE is still within range of the averages for most other programs (albeit on the low end) or only 2-3 points below their lowest average GRE score.
Thoughts on my chance for admission to one of these programs?
I have almost 5 years of work experience in health administration at the top cancer center in NYC. My undergrad GPA was only 3.43 (in non-psych area) but I have a 4.0 post-bacc GPA in several psychology courses that I have taken while working full-time. I have a lot of volunteer experience with a writing therapy program and a bereavement camp for adolescents but I lack concrete psych lab experience. However, despite my work experience being more administrative, it is all in the translational research area and I have helped the MD/PhDs I work for submit over 20 grants, schedule patients on various clinical trials, and I have also single-handedly organized a NIH-oriented grant writing course for our junior faculty members. I plan to argue that for what I lack in wet lab experience, I have in grant writing potential that might help me more down the road. However, I'm now very worried that my GRE score will keep me out of the running...
I have specifically targeted Counseling Psychology PhD programs and a few Clinical Health Psychology programs that are great matches for my research interests: psycho-oncology and health psychology.
I'm applying to the following programs:
Uni of Minnesota's Counseling Psych PhD
Boston Uni Clinical Psych PhD
Uni of Maryland Counseling Psych PhD
Boston College Counseling Psych PhD
U of Miami Clinical Psych, Health Track PhD
UC Denver Clinical Health Psych PhD
U of Denver Counseling Psych PhD
Northwestern Feinberg Clinical Psych PhD
UT Austin Clinical Psych PhD
Back-ups: - Drexel (Masters) - Villanova (Masters)
With the exception of Minnesota & Northwestern who say they want at least 70% in both V & Q, my GRE is still within range of the averages for most other programs (albeit on the low end) or only 2-3 points below their lowest average GRE score.
Thoughts on my chance for admission to one of these programs?
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I am applying to some PhD and PsyD schools in the Los Angeles area. I have also considered an MS in Counseling Psychology. Below are the schools I am looking into:
PhD Psych
USC
UCLA
UC Santa Barbara
PsyD
Fuller
Biola
Masters in Counseling for LPCC
Mount Saint Mary's
Loyola
As far as my stats, I have worked as a Recreational Therapist in inpatient psychiatric hospitals for two years and now have two years of experience as a clinical research coordinator. In undergrad I had a cumulative GPA of 3.3 and a Psych GPA of 3.5. I just took the GRE and my quantitative score was 145 and verbal was 148. I'm still waiting on my writing score but understand I may need to take the GRE once or twice more.
What are my chances of getting into any of these programs mentioned above?
PhD Psych
USC
UCLA
UC Santa Barbara
PsyD
Fuller
Biola
Masters in Counseling for LPCC
Mount Saint Mary's
Loyola
As far as my stats, I have worked as a Recreational Therapist in inpatient psychiatric hospitals for two years and now have two years of experience as a clinical research coordinator. In undergrad I had a cumulative GPA of 3.3 and a Psych GPA of 3.5. I just took the GRE and my quantitative score was 145 and verbal was 148. I'm still waiting on my writing score but understand I may need to take the GRE once or twice more.
What are my chances of getting into any of these programs mentioned above?
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2015
- Messages
- 2,603
- Reaction score
- 2,803
Firstly, what exactly is it that you want to do as a career, i.e. what do you want to do with a doctorate? Why have you selected those schools? Do you have good fits with potential mentors at each program and with the programs themselves?
Secondly, you probably won't meet the cutoff for most funded programs with that GPA, definitely not with those GRE scores. You definitely need to retake the GRE and you should look into doing an experimental masters, so you can get a stellar grad GPA for you applications and possibly more research experience.
Thirdly, you should apply to programs more broadly than just the LA area. While it's not impossible to get into good schools in that area after you improve your stats, you are just handicapping yourself by geographically restricting yourself like that. Even with perfect GRE scores, 4.0 GPA, multiple publications and presentations, and other impressive stats, you could still not get accepted to any of those programs due to poor fit or tough competition, especially in the LA area.
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2016
- Messages
- 35
- Reaction score
- 73
What are my chances? I want to research substance use disorders/alcohol use disorders/addictive behaviors, anything from individual differences, treatment, etiology, you name it.
Interested in Clinical PhD. programs at the following Universities:
Research Experience
Also won an undergraduate research award, which included funding for conducting this study.
Work Experience
Grades and Scores
GPA= 3.64 ( Including Neuroscience classes because I wanted to challenge myself, dumb decision). Psychology GPA: 3.9. 4.0 in all semesters but my first semester in school at the age of 25.
GRE: (V) 157/75% (Q) 160/76% (W) 5.0/93%
Letters of Rec coming from:
Interested in Clinical PhD. programs at the following Universities:
- Arizona State
- University of Arkansas
- Florida State
- University of Georgia
- Illinois Institute of Technology (wished they had better funding)
- University of Kentucky
- University of Montana
- University of North Carolina - Wilmington
- University of Pittsburgh
- Rutgers
- University of South Florida
- Texas Tech
- University of Washington
- Wayne State University
Research Experience
- 2 Years micro coding for a longitudinal study examining daily text messages from teenage participants. Coding for social aggression, substance use, deviance, sexual behaviors, and prosocial behaviors.
- 2 Years in a psychophysiological lab examining participants physical reactions to text messaging (specifically when they cannot reach there phone and see who sent the message and what it entails).
- 2 Years examining college students interaction with Facebook, coding for interactions with posts on the participants facebook page that involve substances and alcohol.
- Created my own research lab as an undergraduate examining college age students stigmatization of heroin, cocaine, and alcohol users/abusers as they relate to controllability beliefs, exposure to users, and personal substance use. Findings suggest stigmatization is highly related to controllability beliefs, contributing to Weiner's (1988) attribution theory.
Also won an undergraduate research award, which included funding for conducting this study.
Work Experience
- 2 Years at the Center for Students in Recovery on campus, mentoring students, creating programming, and organizing fundraisers for local recovery homeless shelters.
- 2 Years as a recovery Advocate at a local Sober Living Home. Involving dispensing medication, general household order, and mentoring and communicating with residents in recovery from substance use disorder, sex addiction, schizophrenia, and social anxiety. Texas Peer Recovery Support Specialist Trained for this job.
- 2.5 years volunteering at a rehabilitation center for kids 12-17 seeeking recovery from substance use disorder.
- 1 year- volunteering leading group check-in meetings at a Recovery High School
Grades and Scores
GPA= 3.64 ( Including Neuroscience classes because I wanted to challenge myself, dumb decision). Psychology GPA: 3.9. 4.0 in all semesters but my first semester in school at the age of 25.
GRE: (V) 157/75% (Q) 160/76% (W) 5.0/93%
Letters of Rec coming from:
- Dean of the Graduate School and I was in her lab for 2 years.
- Psychology Department Head- Mentor for my personal research lab
- Professor- Undergraduate TA for Statistics course.
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2015
- Messages
- 81
- Reaction score
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Take this with a grain of salt, since I'm an applicant myself, but I think your scores and experience in research are fabulous. You'll at least get some interviews, assuming your Statements are all good and the fit is strong. I think you stand an awesome shot!!
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2016
- Messages
- 179
- Reaction score
- 334
Could you say more about what you mean when you say you created your own research lab?
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- Joined
- Jan 4, 2016
- Messages
- 179
- Reaction score
- 334
Thanks for the response
ETA: would you be comfortable sharing what schools made offers and where you're at now?
I did not apply to Dr. Weathers! Feel free to PM me!!
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- Joined
- Mar 24, 2014
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Looks like pretty good stats to me. Writing grants is a very valuable skill to have in this field. When I have my own company going down the road, I am definitely going to want to have someone with that experience working with me. If you know how to bring in the dollars, let someone else do the math!
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2016
- Messages
- 35
- Reaction score
- 73
I guess that misworded that. It is weird writing on a forum, been years. I created a first research project and then sought a professor to mentor me, my school would not allow someone getting an undergrad degree to conduct large sample research on their own. From there the professor and I conducted a study and now have recruited other undergrads to conduct at least one future study that I am interested in. This is separate from the professors research and her lab. She is the official and top of the ladder oversight but the studies are mine and she gives me guidance when I ask and the oversight to make sure I am doing things correctly.