Hi there! Feeling more than out of my league upon reading this thread but I'm going to give it a go.
I'm a senior with a degree in biology (GPA 3.4) and about 9 hours in psychology (intro, abnormal, developmental, 4.0 for all).
For the past year and a half, I've felt more and more certain that I want to head into the clinical psychology route and even have a few research interests in mind. Again, I was a biology major and have had no psych research experience and little experience with volunteer work involving my fields of interest. I understand that many graduate programs have pre-reqs, which I was already prepared to take at CCs and nearby state universities, but I was wondering what else I could be doing in the future in order to make myself a competitive applicant as I am fully aware of how limited spots in PhD programs.
Should I head the masters route knowing I would be gaining the research experience I lack? Is there some way to gain research experience without having to do earn the masters? I live about 45 minutes outside of DFW, Texas so I'm truly not near many universities or hospitals that are looking for RA's (trust me, I have been searching). Am I just not looking in the right places? I see so many threads advising applicants to rack up more research hours but I am stuck on where and how.
Maybe I've already answered my own question, but I am welcoming any advice that current or aspiring clinical psychologists have to offer. If the masters track is my best or only option, what type of psych masters would be best for going onward to a PhD program? Many thanks!
I'm no expert here, but I've spent the better part of the last year learning about this process. Others will certainly be able to help you more than I can but here's what I rank as important for admission (varying order for different places):
1. Fit with your research experience and interests to the interests of the investigator to whom you are applying (you apply to specific people more so than just the department). Remember, they are bringing you in to help with their work and possibly help them achieve tenure, more funding for novel studies, etc. You have to think of it in terms of what you provide to them that might be better or different than the other 200-600 people applying.
2. Grades/GPA - this is about risk. Higher grades generally means less risk. They are (at funded programs) spending a lot of money on you and don't want to take too many risks. Why admit students with lower GPA's when you don't have to? There may be reasons to do so but you'll have to check all the other boxes. Look up the some programs and check out their average GPA for incoming students. Some places literally have a 4.0 as the AVERAGE (U of Virginia) some years.
3. Research experience - This probably belongs at the top. Quality research with respected faculty members really makes a difference. They are bringing you in to be a student researcher basically. It's like applying for a job and having no experience....more risk.
4. Flexibility - If you restrict yourself in any way, you make this very difficult endeavor exponentially more difficult. Many of the top programs (and in many ways, depending on what you want to do, programs matter) get 300-600 applicants a year and usually offer less than 10 people a spot. Doing some quick math....that's a low % and means a lot of great people are going to get left out.
5. Letters of recommendation - This really is more about #3 as it's like having references for a job. They have no way to know how you work without these. They matter ---- A lot.
6. Luck - No way around it, there's some luck involved. You have control over many things but there are other things that are outside of your control. For example, not every faculty member accepts students in a given year. So if you were looking forward to working with so and so in his brain and behavior lab but he's not taking students...well, that school may now be off your list for that year.
7. Patience - There are lots of people on this forum who have applied 3-4 years in a row before being accepted.
If you know for sure you want to just be a clinician, get a graduate (master's) degree and get licensed. If you think you definitely want to get into a PhD program you have a couple of options: volunteer in a lab and work hard, getting as many pubs and posters out (quality ones) as you can. You can also do what you're doing: try to find an RA job. Get a master's in a clinical field with lots of great research to get some pubs and good letters of reference, and get great grades (near 4.0 is the rule in grad school, not the exception). You can also go to a post bacc program and get some research experience (those will likely be expensive).
I have an MSW and I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. While I have lots of great clinical experience from my career, I have very little research experience. I am volunteering at a local lab in a great university and putting off applying for almost 2 years while I gain this necessary experience. I also plan to crush the GRE, both general and psych. The other thing I have done is start a spreadsheet with over 60 schools and 1-3 PI's at each I may want to work with. That way, when it's time to apply, I can look them all up and tailor personal statements to their interests and weave them with mine. Oh yeah, and I work full time as a therapist at the VA. THIS IS A LOT OF WORK just to get in and even more once you start. But if you really want to do it...these are things that can help. Like I said, others will be maybe even more helpful. This is a labor of love for me and I'm willing to take my time to better my chances. At the very least, find a way to read some research in a field you're interested in and immerse yourself in the language and writing style. Use your time wisely. Many PI's give PDF links to their most recent or relevant work on their faculty webpage. Good luck.