What are my chances? Please help!

[Elle7077]

Hi everyone,
This site has been such a comfort to me, as I don't know too many people personally going through the application process at the moment, and so I'm so happy to have discovered this!
I was wondering if I could get some feedback, what you guys think my chances of being accepted into at least one clinical psych program.
I went to an ivy league college, and had a science major and thus not the greatest GPA- 3.4. I took a bunch of psych courses and did pretty well in them. Throughout college I did research with a few different professors: the first summer i won an award to do research in a medical lab, and then after that i did mostly psych related research (but have not completed any theses). Since I graduated about a year ago, Ive been doing research and am in the process of conducting an independent study. I took the GRE twice- the first time got a 1360, and the second time, a month later, a 1470. My combined score is a 1510 (i know some schools look at ur 2 best scores so mine would be V: 740 M: 770). I know these are good scores and I'm not trying to sound show offy...I am just so nervous about my overall applicatione because it seems so many applicants have superior gpa's and more completed, published research. If you can offer any advice or words of comfort i would so appreciate it! Thanks!

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[JockNerd]

Here's the formula to get your chances:

(GPA*.1)+(GRE*.2)+(LOR quality*.3)+(Research exp*.4)

Just kidding Your app sounds competitive to me. That GPA isn't really that low and your GREs are great. Just make sure you apply to places where you have a strong research match! Research experience is great. Not all that many people who are applying have actual published work anyhow, so I wouldn't loose sleep over that.

 

[socialcog]

I think you are well positioned to apply. I would be hard pressed to think that admission committees would not take notice of you. Your next move, and arguably most important, is to have a well defined research focus and find your faculty, contact and have a 'science-y' conversation with them. When that is complete I think you will find yourself a very competitive applicant.

I am applying for Fall of 08. I wouldn't want my app next to yours.

good luck.

 

[joetro]

You may want to check on the schools you are applying to, in order to see if they have a GPA cut-off that you don't meet. But the rest sounds good.

 

[amy203]

Totally agree with what everyone else here has said. In addition, in your personal statement, you should talk about why your interest changed from your major in college to psychology. At this point, you might want mention what the average GPA was for your major at your school and how your GPA compares. For instance, my brother is an engineering major and his GPA is only about a 3.0. However, the average GPA for his major at his school is about a 2.8. Psych majors tend to have higher GPAs on average, but I think this has more to do with the classes being relatively easy, rather than psych students being better students.

 

[Elle7077]

thanks so much. i have not read of any gpa cutoffs at the schools im applying to. im not sure about the average gpa for my major- though it is definitely not as high as psych. just to clarify- you think it would be a good idea to mention my gpa in the personal statement? wouldn't that draw even more attention to a weak point? and also, in the cases where personal statements can only be 500 words, is it important in those essays to mention it as well? Thank you for your responses!

 

[JockNerd]

just to clarify- you think it would be a good idea to mention my gpa in the personal statement?

In my opinion your gpa really isn't anywhere near low enough to justify that. You're below the mean, but I'd say still well within the normal range of successful applicants. I wouldn't spend any PS space qualifying it.

 

[socialcog]

Totally agree with what everyone else here has said. In addition, in your personal statement, you should talk about why your interest changed from your major in college to psychology. At this point, you might want mention what the average GPA was for your major at your school and how your GPA compares. For instance, my brother is an engineering major and his GPA is only about a 3.0. However, the average GPA for his major at his school is about a 2.8. Psych majors tend to have higher GPAs on average, but I think this has more to do with the classes being relatively easy, rather than psych students being better students.

I predict that because your GRE is so strong, the admissions committees will presume that you are not an academic liability--not that a 3.2 even conveys that. Furthermore, you have more than enough critically important elements to your background that will offset any 'weakness' your GPA might elicit. Seriously, you are in great shape!

 

[razzled]

A lot of schools use the GRE's to redeem students with lower GPA's. Your GRE score clearly indicates that you're a smart cookie...and should clear up any doubts your GPA might cast (not that your GPA is even that bad).

 

[amy203]

thanks so much. i have not read of any gpa cutoffs at the schools im applying to. im not sure about the average gpa for my major- though it is definitely not as high as psych. just to clarify- you think it would be a good idea to mention my gpa in the personal statement? wouldn't that draw even more attention to a weak point? and also, in the cases where personal statements can only be 500 words, is it important in those essays to mention it as well? Thank you for your responses!

There's an example essay in Graduate Admissions Essays by Donald Asher where the person discusses their GPA in comparison to the average for their program (it's an engineering major applying to law school). If you're not comfortable with actually mentioning your GPA, you can just talk about how challenging your major was (put a positive spin on it). You'll need to take some time in your personal statement to explain how your background in (whatever your major was) still prepares you for graduate school in psychology. Talking about the rigorous nature of your major could be a roundabout way of explaining why your GPA is a bit low (most schools look for a 3.5), without ever having to actually mention it.

 

[Elle7077]

thats a great idea. thanks everyone for the advice!

 

[deleted176373]

Hi everyone,
This site has been such a comfort to me, as I don't know too many people personally going through the application process at the moment, and so I'm so happy to have discovered this!
I was wondering if I could get some feedback, what you guys think my chances of being accepted into at least one clinical psych program.
I went to an ivy league college, and had a science major and thus not the greatest GPA- 3.32.

You're gonna be fine... I was getting interviews with less than what you had from pretty good schools. (U of Kansas, Alabama, Maine, Michigan State, etc.) I had a 4.0 average from an unremarkable school but a 1300 GRE combined... I would have traded your 1470, 3.2 Ivy for my 1300, 4.0 secondary state university GPA any day!

Your application essays and letters of recommendation are FAR more important than the GRE/GPA... Everyone has solid scores, anything above a 3.25 is just noise in the process. They are going to count the difficulty of the school as part of the weight assigned to the GPA.

Mark

 

[lilies05]

what is generally considered a "good" score on the GRE?

and what score is generally "good enough" to make your GPA look better?

i know about 2 people who scored about a 1400 on the GRE, from what i can tell anything above a 1300 is pretty fantastic. is that general consensus?

 

[deleted176373]

what is generally considered a "good" score on the GRE?

and what score is generally "good enough" to make your GPA look better?

i know about 2 people who scored about a 1400 on the GRE, from what i can tell anything above a 1300 is pretty fantastic. is that general consensus?

1200 is what you need bottom end to feel ok. 1400+ can help compensate for lower GPA's. 1300's along with a solid GPA is a pretty comfortable place to be really.

If you are in the 1300+ range, you are in good shape for most programs except the very top tier (top 10.) You really need a 1400+ to break into the top 10 programs. 1200's will get you looked at by most programs.

Mark

PS - I'm married to someone who walked in cold and got a 1440 GRE... six months of studying and all I get is a lousy 1300! (I brought that up from a 960 kaplan pretest.)

 

[amy203]

what is generally considered a "good" score on the GRE?

and what score is generally "good enough" to make your GPA look better?

i know about 2 people who scored about a 1400 on the GRE, from what i can tell anything above a 1300 is pretty fantastic. is that general consensus?

This is a tough question. A general rule of thumb for the GRE is to shoot for at least a 600 on each section and a 1300 overall. However, you have to consider your score within the context of the rest of your application, i.e. - how low is your GPA?, how much research experience do you have?, how good are your letters of rec?, etc. It also depends on the type of program you are applying to (heavy clinical vs research emphasis, overall competitiveness of the school).

 

[Elle7077]

this is more of a technical question- when the applications ask you to fill in your gre scores for each section and the date, do you fill in your latest scores? or your best ones? (some programs specify which but most do not)

 

[JockNerd]

this is more of a technical question- when the applications ask you to fill in your gre scores for each section and the date, do you fill in your latest scores? or your best ones? (some programs specify which but most do not)

I'd just give the most recent. I think the purpose of that question is more to make sure that you aren't giving 8-year-old test results.