Anxiety overload!

[lesleeannc]

I was wondering if any of you would like to share your stories of being an undergrad. I am just a mere sophomore working towards my B.A. Between worrying about keeping my GPA up and trying to figure out what and how to do research when I'm not even really interested in the research part (is that bad?) I'm becoming a bit frazzled. Eventually someday I just really want to talk to people and help them but I know I don't want to just limit myself with counseling. I'm interested in working with children, teens, adults and with everything from Bi-Polar to Schizophrenia. I don't know if I should take a specialized track like Family/Children or just get my B.A in Psych and go from there. I know I need/want to go to grad school but don't know for what degree. I wouldn't mind having my own practice someday but wouldn't like that to be my only career choice.

Okay. I'm blabbering on and on but with the school year starting in 2 days and my counselors already pushing the GRE topic, I'm filled with anxiety already.

So if anyone could share their stories or a word of advice or just a laugh or anything that would great.

Also, I'm so happy to have found this board!

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[erg923]

A Ph.D. in clinical psych is not your only option here. LCSWs and other masters levels providers provide therapy to a wide variety of patients and populations. They are however, limited to counseling/psychotherapy for the most part. Some can practice independently, some can not, depending on the state. You say you don't want to limit yourself to therpay, but I think the key question may be....what else do you want to do? It is true that a Ph.D in clincial or counseling psych does open up many more doors, as well as better pay.

It is not bad that you are not passionate about research. I do not want a academic career either. However, I feel the current trend of separating the 2 into seperate entities is not a terribly good thing. There is alot more to resesrch than gathering data and writing a paper. The value of it, and the knowledge derived from it is much deeper. Namely, it makes you a good scientist and a more solid critical thinker! Understanding a theory/phenomenon from its roots, why you are doing what you are doing, and the mechanisms behind its actions. And even if you are doing mostly clincial work, it is your responsibility to this field and to your patients to be a scientist in your work. Theoretically, the clinical part of the training should be just as integral and just as a contributory to developing the scientific mindset as the pure research part of grad school is.

 

[tears for susan]

Im a senior in the process of applying to Psy.D schools (an option you should consider as well). Here are a few things i have picked up from my experiences:
-Keep your grades up, make sure your professors know you on an intimate level. Simply by getting A's in my classes, professors asked me to TA (or i asked them and they were aware i was an excellent student) for them, to be apart of their research group, etc. Just by getting good grades, more doors can open. Its a chain reaction, ie. if you TA once and do well, then the prof will ask you to do it again, or for other classes, or other opportunities.
-I have never really liked doing research but got kind of sucked into it. In fact, my biggest problem right now is trying to get out of it while all of my profs and peers are pressuring me to stay in, and aim for a Ph.D as opposed to a Psy.D. I think alot of undergraduate research positions are boring menial tasks such as data entry, but being that it doesnt require a ton of effort, its a pragmatic way to get some titles on your resume. In fact, its almost maditory depending on what you want to do. You might even end up really liking it. But even in a counseling MA program, the curriculum is still based on science, and having a strong background in research and statistics is a very beneficial thing for addmission.
-Try stuff out, see what you like. Do internships or any psycholgoy related positions you can find. This will help you narrow down what it is you like doing and what it is you dont like doing. A couple of years ago, i thought i was set on behavior analysis. I enjoyed learning about it so much, but when i become a respite worker i soon realized that i hated the occuptation of it. Conceptually it is awesome, but in practice, most jobs are geared towards working with children with autism and other developmental disorders, which is what i quickly realized to be the wrong choice for me.
-For a B.A. choosing a general track should be fine, i think thats what most undergrads do. You are just a sophomore so you have time to figure out what you want to specialize in. Dont waste it though, start doing internships and research stuff. Even if you dont like it; even if you are applying to a counseling program, having a bunch of research on your resume looks good to graduate schools.
-Assuming you wont take the GREs until you are entering senior year, i dont see the point in rigoriously studying for them now. But one thing that you should do, and i wish i did, is start learning new vocab (specifically, ones that are likely to appear on the GRE). Get a GRE study book that has a list of high-frequency words and learn one or two new words a day. Make flashcars of them, review every now and then to ensure you have retained their definitions, and practice using them. If you start doing this now, you will greatly thank yourself later. Im at the point where i am rote memorizing 500 rote words, and i would have had a bigger advantage if i had instead started learning and using these words a long time ago.

 

[cara susanna]

You don't necessarily have to study vocab. You need to study what you feel you're weak in. If that's vocab, then study vocab. For instance, I barely studied at all for verbal because I knew I would have an easy time with it. All of my energy was directed towards quant.

As for research, don't knock it until you try it. If you have tried it and didn't like it though, that's okay. As others have said, there are plenty of degrees in which you can be a counselor without a heavy research component.

 

[lesleeannc]

Im a senior in the process of applying to Psy.D schools (an option you should consider as well). Here are a few things i have picked up from my experiences:
-Keep your grades up, make sure your professors know you on an intimate level. Simply by getting A's in my classes, professors asked me to TA (or i asked them and they were aware i was an excellent student) for them, to be apart of their research group, etc. Just by getting good grades, more doors can open. Its a chain reaction, ie. if you TA once and do well, then the prof will ask you to do it again, or for other classes, or other opportunities.
-I have never really liked doing research but got kind of sucked into it. In fact, my biggest problem right now is trying to get out of it while all of my profs and peers are pressuring me to stay in, and aim for a Ph.D as opposed to a Psy.D. I think alot of undergraduate research positions are boring menial tasks such as data entry, but being that it doesnt require a ton of effort, its a pragmatic way to get some titles on your resume. In fact, its almost maditory depending on what you want to do. You might even end up really liking it. But even in a counseling MA program, the curriculum is still based on science, and having a strong background in research and statistics is a very beneficial thing for addmission.
-Try stuff out, see what you like. Do internships or any psycholgoy related positions you can find. This will help you narrow down what it is you like doing and what it is you dont like doing. A couple of years ago, i thought i was set on behavior analysis. I enjoyed learning about it so much, but when i become a respite worker i soon realized that i hated the occuptation of it. Conceptually it is awesome, but in practice, most jobs are geared towards working with children with autism and other developmental disorders, which is what i quickly realized to be the wrong choice for me.
-For a B.A. choosing a general track should be fine, i think thats what most undergrads do. You are just a sophomore so you have time to figure out what you want to specialize in. Dont waste it though, start doing internships and research stuff. Even if you dont like it; even if you are applying to a counseling program, having a bunch of research on your resume looks good to graduate schools.
-Assuming you wont take the GREs until you are entering senior year, i dont see the point in rigoriously studying for them now. But one thing that you should do, and i wish i did, is start learning new vocab (specifically, ones that are likely to appear on the GRE). Get a GRE study book that has a list of high-frequency words and learn one or two new words a day. Make flashcars of them, review every now and then to ensure you have retained their definitions, and practice using them. If you start doing this now, you will greatly thank yourself later. Im at the point where i am rote memorizing 500 rote words, and i would have had a bigger advantage if i had instead started learning and using these words a long time ago.

You pretty much just gave me all the information I needed! Thank you so so so much!

Oh and one more question; Is asking to TA as a sophomore a little early?

 

[tears for susan]

unusual in my experience, but not necessarily too early. If you have the grade and a prof is letting you TA now, then you should just do it.