Psychology How competitive of a PsyD applicant am I?

[AcronymAllergy]

I honestly have no idea, so I would really appreciate the help!

Current Credentials
Sex- Male
Undergrad GPA- 3.9 (I also graduated from a pretty solid university [Washington University in St. Louis] in 3 years)
Psych GPA- 3.8 (I was an Anthro Major and only took a few psych courses [Intro, Developmental, Abnormal, Psych Stats] but I am planning on taking the rest of the prerequisite classes as night classes this year)
Masters of Social Work (MH Concentration) GPA-3.9
GRE-320 (160 Verbal + 160 Quant)
Clinical Experience- Practicum for MSW: 1) 3 months working in a clinic for substance use disorder 2) 6 months working at a residential eating disorder facility 3) 1 year working in a college counseling center
Research Experience- I've taken courses where I had to write final research papers (both research methods and on statistics), but that’s it
Letters of Rec- Decent, not amazing but not horrible

I was planning on applying to the following schools:
Reach: Rutgers, Denver, GW, Loyola, Yeshiva, Pepperdine
More My Range: Adler, Carlow, Chatam, Chicago School of Prof., Hartford, Indy, JFK, Pacific, Palo Alt, Roosevelt, Spalding, Widener, Wright State, Wright Inst

I know more research experience would help, but I really don't want to stop doing clinical work just to beef up my resume. I have a couple questions:
1) Would I would be okay applying as I am now?
2) Would working part-time and doing research part-time would help me a lot if I did it for a year before applying?
3) Would it help me a lot more if I did it for 2 years?
OR
4) Would it actually make a big difference if I only did research (full-time) for 1 or 2 years and held off on clinical work for a while?

Thanks so much for the help!

You may get more responses in the Psychology forum's "What Are My Chances (WAMC)" sticky thread, which can be found here: WAMC: What Are My Chances

As you've said, the lack of research experience is likely to substantially impact the competitiveness of your application at most programs, particularly those offering funding. Getting one or two years' worth of part-time research experience could go a long way toward improving your odds of acceptance, as your numbers themselves are solid. The MSW and clinical experience may not help much outside of some Psy.D. programs, but at the very least, it could allow you to speak from a more informed position regarding your clinical and research interests.

Also, I would encourage you to look into balanced Ph.D. programs in addition to Psy.D. programs. You'll broaden your program pool, increase the likelihood of receiving funding, and still receive equitable to greater amounts of clinical experience. If you opt to apply to balanced Ph.D. programs, you will need research experience. The same can generally be said of higher-tier Psy.D. programs, which in function are rather similar to balanced Ph.D. programs.

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[futureapppsy2]

Any decent PsyD program will require actual experience with research, and if you are going that route, you’ll be competitive for some balanced PhD programs as well, especially if they have a good research mentor match for you. Honestly, unfunded PhD and PsyD programs simply don’t make sense financially, so I’d highly recommend only applying to and attending programs that provide you with a tuition waiver and stipend each year.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Thank you so much! I'm very new to this platform and I didn't know that thread existed! I also really appreciate all of your help, it makes a lot of sense!

Anytime. Like futureapppsy2 mentioned above, I also highly recommend funded programs, as the debt from unfunded programs is restrictive at best and untenable at worst. If you're able to gain 1-2 years of research experience (part- or full-time), your application should be competitive at multiple funded programs; you'll just want to be sure you apply widely (geographically) to advisors/labs that match your interests.