Where does my application need the most improvement?

[aydee14]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hi all.
I just graduated from undergrad and will be applying to "balanced" clinical psych PhD programs. I applied to about 10 Phd/PsyD programs last year, only interviewed at 1 Phd program and 2 PsyD programs. I was accepted to the PhD program, but it was not a good fit, so I decided to go through the application process again. I currently have an unpaid internship as a research assistant, but it is a bit of a drive and I cannot afford to spend the money on gas to get there for much longer.
So, I need a paying job. However, all the psych-related jobs around me are full-time, so I would need to quit the unpaid internship due to conflicting available hours. I am wondering whether I should take a psychology-related job (such as a psychometrist or working with kids on the autism spectrum - the 2 most common in my area) or a part-time job not in my field in order to continue as an RA, in hopes of having one more poster on my CV (publications don't seem likely)

Here are my related experiences so far:
-research assistant in a clinic doing data entry, literature reviews, obtaining informed consent, some analyses, also training new RA's
-research assistant at a well-known hospital psych dept doing data entry, analyses, also was able to sit in on some group sessions. Presented an individual project at my university's poster session
-1 group research project, we did every step of the research by ourselves, with guidance from our instructor
-2 individual research projects, again, every step of the research was conducted independently, with guidance from a professor. 1 of these projects was presented as a poster at a regional conference
-volunteered in a special-needs classroom
-volunteered with people with intellectual disabilities
-I also have other volunteer experiences, not directly related to psychology, but that demonstrate my interests and compassion for others

So, which route should I take? Do I need more research experience (another poster) or more quasi-clinical experience?

 

[G Costanza]

Not really answering your question but my reaction is there must another hole in your application that needs attention if you only had one interview from a PhD program. You seem to have a lot of solid experiences at the BS level.

 

[CogNeuroGuy]

Just my $.02, it seems like you have a nice solid foundation, and I can definitely relate to your situation. I would say that any option would be a viable one, so this is a tough one. If I were in your position, I would probably look into getting on as an author for at least 1 manuscript if you could, even if it is a 3rd+ authorship and possibly an additional poster, perhaps at a more national conference, even as a 3rd+ author, first is always ideal. In terms of your employment dilemma, taking a psychometrist job will greatly expose you to a fragment of the profession of applied psychology and in many opinions from my current mentor and many of the supporting faculty I also work with, having this experience on your CV is a definite advantage to have when facing others who may just have had experience in undergrad assisting grad students or possibly administered a couple of tests here and there. If you can develop a solid foundation in the understand of psychometrics and feel really comfortable in knowing what they are testing, how they interact with other tests, observational data and notes from your mentor, this is in my opinion an invaluable tool to have.

Also, if you find you are liking research and pretty confident in your independence (to an extent), if you haven't tried psychometry, you should at least try it for no other reason than to see if this is in fact a piece of the profession you will want to take part in more, especially as a future independent clinician. As you may have seen in some of the more recent threads, many psychologists will have a preference in one aspect of their job description vs. others (this wouldn't negate becoming competent in the foundations of course). Long story short (too late 😛), I think getting that clinical experience (e.g. psychometry) will really help provide some balance to your CV.

 

[MCParent]

Did you have lots of people read your personal statements? Some of the way you framed your experiences in the post were things that are not always looked upon highly in review of applications. I'm thinking in particular saying that your project as an undergrad was "independent" and you only needed a little "guidance" from a professor. Written wrong, that can make you sound arrogant/naive.

If that is not an issue, I'd default to the "fit" question.

 

[haRtwin]

Not really answering your question but my reaction is there must another hole in your application that needs attention if you only had one interview from a PhD program. You seem to have a lot of solid experiences at the BS level.

This was similar to my reaction.

It's difficult to interpret your application based solely on your research and volunteer experiences. These experiences (particularly research), in general, are a large part of your application; however, there are other components that come into play (e.g., GRE, letters of recommendation).

 

[EmotRegulation]

Psych related jobs probably don't matter so much. In fact, some programs will consider psych-related jobs as a downside because you might have had poor training at those jobs with the idea it's easier to train from the ground up than to unlearn bad habits. Not saying everyone shares this philosophy, just that it's out there. Also, even balanced Ph.D. programs are likely to prioritize research experience over clinical work because students will have to make it through at least a masters thesis and a dissertation...a student who has research experience and expresses interest in research is less of a gamble than the person who talks about wanting to help others. Take home point here is that you'd be well served to stay involved with research and to prioritize research in your personal statement, regardless of your actual career goals.

Also, I'm of the opinion that non-psych related jobs can be a real bonus if they are "spun" correctly. Computer programming experience, customer service, business-world experience--many jobs can speak to skills needed by a psychologist.

 

[aydee14]

Thanks for all of your replies. I do believe "fit" was a big factor for some of the schools, as I was a bit naive when picking schools to apply to last year. My GPA is quite good, 3.7-3.8 range. GREs were good, but I plan to re-take them this year to boost my verbal score, letters of rec and SOPs were also good, I believe.
@MCParent, I definitely did not mean to make it sound arrogant, I just wanted to clarify that the projects were independent, because I have seen in other threads people ask for clarification about how much of the work they did in the research.
I would appreciate more replies, though, too!

 

[MCParent]

@MCParent, I definitely did not mean to make it sound arrogant, I just wanted to clarify that the projects were independent, because I have seen in other threads people ask for clarification about how much of the work they did in the research.

I don't think it did sound arrogant or naive, just that if you were to write it in such a way that it could be perceived that way, your application might suffer. Similar to a problem with persons who want to write about their own mental health experiences--still risks being interpreted as "I'd be better at treating depression because I have it" even if that was not the intention. You want to make sure you're coming across as super open to training in your application.

 

[aydee14]

I don't think it did sound arrogant or naive, just that if you were to write it in such a way that it could be perceived that way, your application might suffer. Similar to a problem with persons who want to write about their own mental health experiences--still risks being interpreted as "I'd be better at treating depression because I have it" even if that was not the intention. You want to make sure you're coming across as super open to training in your application.

Thanks for the tip! That's good to keep in mind.