WAMC: What Are My Chances

[psychpotato]

You didn't mention what kind of programs you're applying to. Regardless, I think you're in good shape. I'd highlight any empirical projects you've taken the lead on (or a really big role on), especially your thesis or anything that's resulted in a product (pub/pres).

Thanks! I'm planning on applying to Clinical Psychology PhD programs. I haven't decided on the exact schools yet since it will depend on which professors will be accepting students. In general I plan on applying to programs with a larger emphasis on research than clinical training.

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[PsychPhDone]

Thanks! I'm planning on applying to Clinical Psychology PhD programs. I haven't decided on the exact schools yet since it will depend on which professors will be accepting students. In general I plan on applying to programs with a larger emphasis on research than clinical training.

Great -- put your efforts into a great personal statement and solid GRE score then. I'd aim for 70th percentile on both V and Q.

 

[MHK2017]

Hi,
First time posting here. I'm in round two of the grad school application process currently. Last year I got into a few counseling programs and a Psy.D program but decided after going through the interview process that they were not for me. After a lot of research I decided that a Ph.D in Clinical Psychology is the route I believe is the best fit for me to take. However... like all on this thread, I am looking for advice.
GRE: 152 on both quant and verbal, I will be re taking it soon though. Writing score 4

GPA 3.2

Major- B.S- Dual major in counseling and chaplaincy with a minor in Theology

Research experience: 1 year volunteering in an experimental psychology lab at a nearby university. Will have potential 2nd or 3rd authorship on a publication shortly.

3.5 years experience working at a community mental health center- 1.5 years as a full time case manager.

Worked as a hospital chaplain responding to traumas at an inner city hospital for six months.

My research interests include helping relationships, CBT, and children living with SED and adults living with SPMI.

What are my chances of getting into a Ph.D program?

Any recommendations on programs? Both PHD/Masters

Any advice on how to be a stronger applicant besides study super hard for the GRE? ( that's what I'm currently doing)

 

[psych.meout]

Hi,
First time posting here. I'm in round two of the grad school application process currently. Last year I got into a few counseling programs and a Psy.D program but decided after going through the interview process that they were not for me. After a lot of research I decided that a Ph.D in Clinical Psychology is the route I believe is the best fit for me to take. However... like all on this thread, I am looking for advice.
GRE: 152 on both quant and verbal, I will be re taking it soon though. Writing score 4

GPA 3.2

Major- B.S- Dual major in counseling and chaplaincy with a minor in Theology

Research experience: 1 year volunteering in an experimental psychology lab at a nearby university. Will have potential 2nd or 3rd authorship on a publication shortly.

3.5 years experience working at a community mental health center- 1.5 years as a full time case manager.

Worked as a hospital chaplain responding to traumas at an inner city hospital for six months.

My research interests include helping relationships, CBT, and children living with SED and adults living with SPMI.

What are my chances of getting into a Ph.D program?

Any recommendations on programs? Both PHD/Masters

Any advice on how to be a stronger applicant besides study super hard for the GRE? ( that's what I'm currently doing)

Your GPA isn't terrible by any means, but it's definitely on the lower side compared to the mean/median GPAs of admitted applicants. Unless you absolutely destroy the GRE, you might need to complete a master's program to make yourself more competitive.

You mention that you've had a year of experience in a research lab and will have a publication soon, but what exactly did you do in this lab? Were you doing mostly data collection, entry, and coding or did you have any more substantive duties? Some people compensate for their lower GPAs and GREs with stellar research experience and productivity, but, depending on your duties, you may not have enough to give you enough of a boost.

 

[MHK2017]

Your GPA isn't terrible by any means, but it's definitely on the lower side compared to the mean/median GPAs of admitted applicants. Unless you absolutely destroy the GRE, you might need to complete a master's program to make yourself more competitive.

You mention that you've had a year of experience in a research lab and will have a publication soon, but what exactly did you do in this lab? Were you doing mostly data collection, entry, and coding or did you have any more substantive duties? Some people compensate for their lower GPAs and GREs with stellar research experience and productivity, but, depending on your duties, you may not have enough to give you enough of a boost.

I did the data entry and coding and all of the general stuff, I was also a key player in designing the study that I am now writing the manuscript over and have done literature reviews over other potential research in the lab as well as helped give feedback for other study designs.

What sort of GRE scores do you think would give me a good boost? If I get in the 160's range? Or higher?

 

[RagingShadow]

I had some medical issues in undergrad, that have hopefully been resolved, that prevented me from doing summer internships or summer research experience. I did hold internships and do research during the school years. Where would I address this in my application/should I even bring it up?

 

[psych.meout]

I did the data entry and coding and all of the general stuff, I was also a key player in designing the study that I am now writing the manuscript over and have done literature reviews over other potential research in the lab as well as helped give feedback for other study designs.

What sort of GRE scores do you think would give me a good boost? If I get in the 160's range? Or higher?

Well, your research experience does sound good, but I'd still be somewhat skeptical of my chances if I was you, even if I had perfect GRE scores, i.e. 170/170/6.0.

It wouldn't hurt much to apply and see where the chips fall if you can afford the time and expense of applying.

 

[singasongofjoy]

I had some medical issues in undergrad, that have hopefully been resolved, that prevented me from doing summer internships or summer research experience. I did hold internships and do research during the school years. Where would I address this in my application/should I even bring it up?

I probably wouldn't even bring it up. If you've got experience, you've got experience - whether it was during the summer, or during the school year.

 

[singasongofjoy]

Question about research. I used to be premed and did clinical research in cardiology. Would clinical psychology phd programs value publications in unrelated fields at all?

Yes. It shows you know how to process works. It's still quite relevant to showing you will be able to do the work required to get publications in your field. Also, obviously I don't know the topic of your pubs more specifically, but cardiology can be quite related- health psychology, etc. As a psychology intern I rotated through a cardiology clinic.

 

[gradstudent933]

Hello, its my second round of applying to clinical psych PhD programs- all rejections last year- so I'm hoping to get an idea of whether my goal of getting in to a fully-funded research-focused program (like UPenn, Yale, Stonybrook, BU) is possibly attainable or whether I need to lower my standards or wait another year to re-apply. Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

BS and MA in psychology
Undergrad GPA: 3.6 (general) 3.8 (psych classes)
Grad GPA: 4.0
Masters thesis (a condensed version is currently under review at a decent journal)
GRE: 155Q 162V 4.5W 780Subject - though I have been been aggressively studying all summer and will re-take in 2 weeks

Research experience: 2.5 years as an RA, 1 year as a part-time coordinator, 6months as a full time coordinator
Clinical Experience: 1 year

Posters: 6 (2 as first author)
Verbal Presentations: 2 (1 as sole presenter)
Publications: 2 (1 as 1st author) - 2 under review (1 as 1st author)- though not sure if that's appropriate to cite on CV
I'm co-authoring 4 additional papers in preparation right now but I'm not sure if there is a way to work that in to my app

LoR: 2 will be outstanding from researchers I've worked with closely for 2.5 years and 1 will be good but weaker because I haven't worked with this professor since undergrad (btw can a postdoc fellow write a rec?- that would give me a better 3rd option)

Standout skill: statistics (3 courses undergrad, 5 at the graduate level)- will be attested to in my LoRs

Potential weaknesses: GREQ score, 3rd LoR, I'm applying to work with researchers who specialize in depression research (etiology, risk, comorbidity with anxiety) but the bulk of my research experience is in suicide risk

Thank you for taking the time to read!

 

[singasongofjoy]

@gradstudent933 I think your stats look good (ideal to bring up the GRE quant but not a dealbreaker, you can still get into some decent programs with that percentile). But even for people who are super strong applicants, applying is still to some degree a numbers game, particularly at those programs that are inundated with applicants every year. My approach is it's always good to apply to a mix of places- your long-shot dreams, and an array of "the stats make this sound like a decent program but I don't know that much about it so it's worth applying and checking it out in person," You don't have to look at it as lowering your standards but more as like information-seeking adventures. I ended up loving a program I didn't know much about and wasn't initially that keen on until I went in person; ended up going there. But stick with the well-funded options for sure, wherever you apply.
You might be able to find a way to weave into your application somewhere that you enjoy writing and mention generally papers in teh review process or currently working on. Or, if your letter writers are ppl you are working with on those projects maybe they could mention it; that would probably be easiest way to include that info pre-interview.

 

[RagingShadow]

@gradstudent933
You might be able to find a way to weave into your application somewhere that you enjoy writing and mention generally papers in teh review process or currently working on. Or, if your letter writers are ppl you are working with on those projects maybe they could mention it; that would probably be easiest way to include that info pre-interview.

In all the CVs I've looked at from people I know who've gotten into grad school in the last few years (neuroscience program, behavior analysis masters, several psych phd programs I dont remember specifics of) they all had sections for Publications, Manuscripts in Preperation, Manuscripts Under Review.
Is that not a good idea? Or a less common practice?

 

[deleted343839]

In all the CVs I've looked at from people I know who've gotten into grad school in the last few years (neuroscience program, behavior analysis masters, several psych phd programs I dont remember specifics of) they all had sections for Publications, Manuscripts in Preperation, Manuscripts Under Review.
Is that not a good idea? Or a less common practice?

It's fine. Putting the "in preparation" and "under review" papers under one heading is OK too. Just make sure that anything "in preparation" is something that is really progressing and that you're prepared to discuss in detail. Don't use it for CV padding.

 

[gradstudent933]

@gradstudent933 I think your stats look good (ideal to bring up the GRE quant but not a dealbreaker, you can still get into some decent programs with that percentile). But even for people who are super strong applicants, applying is still to some degree a numbers game, particularly at those programs that are inundated with applicants every year. My approach is it's always good to apply to a mix of places- your long-shot dreams, and an array of "the stats make this sound like a decent program but I don't know that much about it so it's worth applying and checking it out in person," You don't have to look at it as lowering your standards but more as like information-seeking adventures. I ended up loving a program I didn't know much about and wasn't initially that keen on until I went in person; ended up going there. But stick with the well-funded options for sure, wherever you apply.
You might be able to find a way to weave into your application somewhere that you enjoy writing and mention generally papers in teh review process or currently working on. Or, if your letter writers are ppl you are working with on those projects maybe they could mention it; that would probably be easiest way to include that info pre-interview.

Thank you so much for the insight!

 

[Harry3990]

Hello guys!
I’m a Psychology specialist, and I'd be greatly indebted if you could offer me some advice/point out some weaknesses.

I'm applying to Psy.D. programs at:
- Rutgers
- PGSP-Stanford Consortium
- Widener
- LaSalle
- U Indianapolis
- Xavier
- Loyola University Maryland
- U Denver

GRE:
- V: 164
- Q: 162
- Analytical: 4.0
- Psychology Subject: Haven’t taken it yet

Undergrad GPA:
- 3.8

Research Experience:
- 1 year RA at a child development lab: coding videotapes, preparing clips for facial expression analysis program
- 1.5 year RA at a behavioral lab: running participants, ethics proposal
- collaborated with a prof. on a study over the summer (no significant results): designing and implementing of study
- worked on a “mini-thesis”: analyzing data & writing up a formal report

Clinical Experience:
- trying to get a volunteer position at the counseling/distress hotline
- will have around 2 months of experience by the time I apply

Thanks a lot!

P.S. If it matters, I'm Canadian.

I'd say you're definitely a competitive applicant for those programs. Any pubs or poster presentations? If not, that's the only major area that seems to be lacking to me. Even if you could submit an abstract for a poster presentation this year and put it on your CV as "abstract submitted/accepted," I would think that would help.

My main other comment, which is not an uncommon response around here, is WHY are you only applying to PsyD programs? Your research experience and other stats make you somewhat competitive for funded Ph.D. programs. And if you already have some interest in clinical research (which it seems like you do based on your experience), why wouldn't you try for FUNDED clinical/counseling Ph.D. programs? Just a thought. Finishing with low/no debt because you were paid to complete the program as opposed to paying a lot of tuition for the schools that you list is a pretty tremendous difference in financial burden once you start working. You will get as good or better clinical training at most APA-accredited clinical Ph.D. programs compared to Psy.D's

 

[Sentient_Taco]

Hey everyone!
I recently graduated with my BA in psych and would be grateful for any advice with how to strengthen my applications.

GRE: 160/155

Undergrad GPA: 3.87 (I did drop research methods the first time I took it, but passed it next semester with an A)
Magna Cum Laude
I also won a department award for outstanding graduaring senior.

Research experience:
6 months helping conduct a study on an intervention plan for incoming college freshman with Autism. My role was essentially a peer mentor.
1 year in a social psychology lab, coding and entering data and recruiting participants. I'll have 2-3 poster presentations by next summer, one being at SPSP.
An honors thesis which didn't end up panning out, but I'm planning on running a second trial.

LOR's:
1 stellar, 2 very strong

School's with research I've been interested in: UCLA, UCSD, Colorado-Boulder, DePaul, U-Washington, Pitt, U of I (MS in Psychology Science)

My main concerns are how coming from a relatively unknown (tier 3) university with the research experience I have would affect my chances at a top-50 program and my general lack of neuropsychology lab experience (most of the labs I'm interested involve neuro). Basically, am I aiming too high right now?

For what it's worth, I've tried applying for about 6 RA, RS jobs but nothing has worked out so far.

 

[PsyNeuro37]

Hey everyone!
I recently graduated with my BA in psych and would be grateful for any advice with how to strengthen my applications.

GRE: 160/155

Undergrad GPA: 3.87 (I did drop research methods the first time I took it, but passed it next semester with an A)
Magna Cum Laude
I also won a department award for outstanding graduaring senior.

Research experience:
6 months helping conduct a study on an intervention plan for incoming college freshman with Autism. My role was essentially a peer mentor.
1 year in a social psychology lab, coding and entering data and recruiting participants. I'll have 2-3 poster presentations by next summer, one being at SPSP.
An honors thesis which didn't end up panning out, but I'm planning on running a second trial.

LOR's:
1 stellar, 2 very strong

School's with research I've been interested in: UCLA, UCSD, Colorado-Boulder, DePaul, U-Washington, Pitt, U of I (MS in Psychology Science)

My main concerns are how coming from a relatively unknown (tier 3) university with the research experience I have would affect my chances at a top-50 program and my general lack of neuropsychology lab experience (most of the labs I'm interested involve neuro). Basically, am I aiming too high right now?

For what it's worth, I've tried applying for about 6 RA, RS jobs but nothing has worked out so far.

Your stats are solid, but the competition at those programs is incredibly high. I'd recommend adding some programs that have neuro opportunities/research, but are either newer programs or in a less desirable location. Toledo, Eastern Carolina U and Florida International U are all potential ones that you might be competitive for if your fit is good. Also depending on your financial situation there are some PsyD programs with neuro opportunities that I think you'd be competitive for. I definitely think the paid RA route would be great to make you more competitive like you said. I'd reccomend leveraging your connections and asking some of the PI's in the neuro labs you work in if they know of any opportunities, and maybe they'll help put you in contact with someone. Also, I wouldn't worry so much about the name of your undergrad university, it's such a small factor. As for the whole "top-50" thing I'm not sure where that comes from. If it's US News I wouldn't put any stock in their rankings at all for what university provides good neuro training. You want to focus more on Access to diverse neuro practicum, neuro reaserch, neuro coursework and APA match rate.

 

[js90015p]

I am updating my previous post as some of my stats have changed:
GPA: 3.6
Psych GPA: 3.9
GRE Q: 157
GRE V: 156
GRE Writing: 4

Research: 2 years experience in two separate labs. 1. a social psychology lab which I am involved in a number of research projects, one of which is my thesis and an article for publication in progress. 2. a neuropsychological lab that focuses on pediatric cancer research in which I have been involved in a few projects, all within neuropsychological research. I have 2 poster presentations and a manuscript in progress.

Clinical: I have worked with a neuropsychologist in a hematology/oncology clinic for a year, where I learned to administer, score and report neuropsychological evaluations.

I am looking to apply to Clinical Ph.D. programs and I am not limited by location, or number of schools I can apply to. I hope to find a school with a strong health psychology focus, however, that hasn't seemed to be a problem in my search so far. What are my chances of getting in this application cycle?

 

[pandapanda]

I'd say you're definitely a competitive applicant for those programs. Any pubs or poster presentations? If not, that's the only major area that seems to be lacking to me. Even if you could submit an abstract for a poster presentation this year and put it on your CV as "abstract submitted/accepted," I would think that would help.

My main other comment, which is not an uncommon response around here, is WHY are you only applying to PsyD programs? Your research experience and other stats make you somewhat competitive for funded Ph.D. programs. And if you already have some interest in clinical research (which it seems like you do based on your experience), why wouldn't you try for FUNDED clinical/counseling Ph.D. programs? Just a thought. Finishing with low/no debt because you were paid to complete the program as opposed to paying a lot of tuition for the schools that you list is a pretty tremendous difference in financial burden once you start working. You will get as good or better clinical training at most APA-accredited clinical Ph.D. programs compared to Psy.D's

Hello Harry 3990, thank you so much for your reply and advice!

I had indeed been aiming for Ph.D. programs (in social psychology) during my first few years of university, hence the multiple research experience and lack of clinical experience. However, I had a change of heart towards the end of my third year, and decided that I did not want do research for the rest of my life. Instead I wanted a career in clinical psychology (not counseling because I’m personally less interested in what it entails daily). Since that’s the case, I did not see any reasons attending programs that are heavily research-oriented.

That being said, I was rejected by the distress line. I am currently looking elsewhere. I doubt that I’d get into any of the aforementioned programs if I have 0 clinical experience by the time I apply…

 

[Harry3990]

However, I had a change of heart towards the end of my third year, and decided that I did not want do research for the rest of my life. Instead I wanted a career in clinical psychology (not counseling because I’m personally less interested in what it entails daily). Since that’s the case, I did not see any reasons attending programs that are heavily research-oriented.

My rebuke to this, which you will see repeated many times by others on this forum, is that many funded clinical psychology Ph.D. programs consider themselves to be rather balanced in terms of clinical and research experience. It is the difference between a scientist-practitioner model and a scholar-practitioner Psy.D. model. I'm generalizing here, but much of the time this means that you will get comparable or better clinical experience and training from clinical Ph.D. programs with the added research experience (where in a PsyD program you will might get similar clinical training but without the research). Most graduates from clinical Ph.D. programs end up going on to primarily clinical jobs as opposed to research jobs because (1) there are more clinical jobs as opposed to tenure-track jobs, (2) many people discover they feel similarly about preferring to do a primarily clinical job (academia isn't for everyone), and (3) people are also sometimes willing/interested in doing research for 4-5 years as a way of paying for graduate school but really always intended to go into clinical (not a bad trade off for saving $150-200k). See this thread for discussion about why student load debt sucks really bad and for a cautionary tale of what not to do: Psychologist with $385,000 in student loans . Clinical psychologists do not make enough money to justify the tuition expense at some of these schools.

That said, if I were you, I would focus this next year on getting a poster or two or a publication out before applying the following year. With that, you would be moderately competitive for clinical phd programs with your GPA and GRE scores (both are pretty solid).

That being said, I was rejected by the distress line. I am currently looking elsewhere. I doubt that I’d get into any of the aforementioned programs if I have 0 clinical experience by the time I apply…

HOWEVER... if you are REALLY set on applying to the programs on your list and are not concerned about the expense (or happen to have a trust/college fund that will mean that you will not be going into crippling debt), you are pretty competitive for those programs even without any clinical experience. I know of people who got into some of those programs with negligible clinical experience and worse GPA/GRE.

 

[psych.meout]

Hello Harry 3990, thank you so much for your reply and advice!

I had indeed been aiming for Ph.D. programs (in social psychology) during my first few years of university, hence the multiple research experience and lack of clinical experience. However, I had a change of heart towards the end of my third year, and decided that I did not want do research for the rest of my life. Instead I wanted a career in clinical psychology (not counseling because I’m personally less interested in what it entails daily). Since that’s the case, I did not see any reasons attending programs that are heavily research-oriented.

That being said, I was rejected by the distress line. I am currently looking elsewhere. I doubt that I’d get into any of the aforementioned programs if I have 0 clinical experience by the time I apply…

As has been previously mentioned, clinical PhD programs provide as good, if not better, training than PsyD programs and most grads end up in clinical practice of some kind. There is a paucity of tenured faculty and other predominantly research positions out there compared to the number of grads from PhD programs, let alone all clinical programs.

You don't really need much clinical experience to get into good, funded clinical PhD programs. I had pretty extensive clinical experience in general before getting into grad school, but especially in comparison to my cohort. At least one has no clinical experience outside of assisting in research with clinical populations.

 

[sashie]

Hi everyone! I'm a Canadian clinical psychology (PhD) hopeful with plans to apply to both Canadian and American schools.

Undergrad GPA - 3.9
Psychology GPA - 4.0
GRE - 155V/155Q/5.5W

Research Experience:
*Overall 4.5 years of research experience, will be 5 years by the time I apply
- Paid full time research assistant for 3 summers in professor's lab (research on alcohol consumption and social norms among university students)
- Paid full time research assistant for 1 summer at the Center for Addictions and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto (research on smoking cessation)
- Volunteer for a gambling research organization (will be 7 months by the time I apply
- Volunteer in various research labs (3) at school during my undergrad

Publications:
- Will hopefully have two by the time I apply (one second author, one first author)
- Will have 1-2 "in progress" manuscripts

Letters of Reference:
- 1 from professor I've worked with for the entire 5 years
- 1 from my CAMH supervisor (research project scientist)
- either 1 from another professor I've worked with OR my supervisor from the gambling organization (haven't decided yet)

Canadian Schools - York, Ryerson, OISE, Concordia, McGill, Ottawa, Western, Queens

American Schools - UoPittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, South Florida, UT Austin, Arizona State

Research interests - addictions (primarily alcohol; psychological focus), mood disorders in general, trauma, social media and mental health

Concerns:
- My GRE scores aren't very competitive and my Psych subject score sucks (69th percentile; some schools don't require it). I'm hoping my research experience makes up for it
- I don't have any conference poster presentations
- I have clinical experience working at a children's hospital and a children's rehabilitation hospital but that experience is from high school. I don't have any recent clinical experience, will this be a drawback when applying? Should I try to find a placement for the Fall to put on my CV?

Thanks

 

[MindfulStudent]

Hey guys, I wanted to hear your opinions.

I am currently a senior psychology undergrad with a minor in statistics. I really would like to earn a clinical psych Ph.D. without taking a gap year. I am a transfer student, so I am not sure how that will appear to grad committees.

Institution 1 GPA: 3.0 (I had a horrendous freshman year..I was 17 and not ready for college, but earned 3.2-3.5s every semester after)
Institution 2 GPA: 4.0 --- I anticipate maintaining my 4.0 for my final year. I believe I have a solid work ethic.

I still not have taken my GRE, but I plan on studying my butt off this semester and taking it in October-Novemeber. I would have taken it this summer, but I have been busy and had some medical issues.

Research experience:
-1 semester research internship with a social psychologist who's interested in mindfulness and social relations and health/well being. I offered to work with him this summer and the fall.. but he is horrible with emailing. I will track him down if I have enough time.

-Volunteer summer research work with a highly esteemed professor in the field of addiction doing data entry. I plan on working with her again this fall and spring semester.

-Volunteer summer research work with a business school professor who is interested in mindfulness and leadership. I will be doing IRB protocol for him soon. I will be doing federal work study research assistantship with him this fall and spring.

-I am going to meet with a nursing school professor and do a lit review on mindfulness interventions with pregnant women with SUDs for her.

My research interests involve mindfulness. I am interested in clinical applications of mindfulness. How can clinicians engage depressed and or anxious populations to meditate or do yoga? Can technology be an aid in increasing mindfulness behaviors? Are mindfulness interventions effective for preventing SUDs? Can contingency management combined with mindfulness based CBT be effective for treating SUDs? etc.

Letter of recommendation:
I believe my research experience with various professors will lead to strong letters.

I really would like to attend my current institution due to research interests match. If not I have thought about UCSD and UCB. I would like to stay in the south or head to the west coast. In my eyes, I don't see a point of applying to a program where there is not a concrete research match.

 

[Neuronerdery15!]

Good night, everyone. I have a Bachelor's in Psychology with a minor in Neuroscience and an M.S. in Clinical Psychology that emphasized Neuropsychology. I have done some research with two professors and am not published yet, but we will be working on that eventually. I'm desiring a PhD, but with my GPA and no GRE taking any time soon to predict how well I would do, do you think I'm screwed? I'm thinking of applying just to Clinical Psych programs given my background to see if that would be more favorable than to a Clinical Neuropsychology PhD program, but am not sure. I have had some amazing interviews( Mayo Clinic, the U of Minnesota), but am still waiting to hear back from some places. I'm also wondering about Argosy University Twin Cities PsyD program, what are the APIPC rates, as well as how graduates are doing after graduation from that program? I only have about 2 years of clinical experience( in in-home settings), 9 months in an outpatient program doing cbt and psych testing, and another few months in two different hospital settings doing group therapy sessions and psychosocial summaries.

 

[Temperance]

I'm also wondering about Argosy University Twin Cities PsyD program, what are the APIPC rates, as well as how graduates are doing after graduation from that program?

From 2009-2016, the average percentage of placements in either APA-accredited or APPIC internships was 87.7%, with a range between 65% and 100% (source). More concerning is that they have poor APA match rates, ranging from 17% and 56%. Only 66% of graduates have gotten licensed. That's not yet going into how much it costs to attend.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Good night, everyone. I have a Bachelor's in Psychology with a minor in Neuroscience and an M.S. in Clinical Psychology that emphasized Neuropsychology. I have done some research with two professors and am not published yet, but we will be working on that eventually. I'm desiring a PhD, but with my GPA and no GRE taking any time soon to predict how well I would do, do you think I'm screwed? I'm thinking of applying just to Clinical Psych programs given my background to see if that would be more favorable than to a Clinical Neuropsychology PhD program, but am not sure. I have had some amazing interviews( Mayo Clinic, the U of Minnesota), but am still waiting to hear back from some places. I'm also wondering about Argosy University Twin Cities PsyD program, what are the APIPC rates, as well as how graduates are doing after graduation from that program? I only have about 2 years of clinical experience( in in-home settings), 9 months in an outpatient program doing cbt and psych testing, and another few months in two different hospital settings doing group therapy sessions and psychosocial summaries.

Mod Note: Merged into the WAMC thread.

Quick response: keep in mind that there's currently no need to obtain a Ph.D. specifically in neuropsychology, or to attend a program with a formally-identified neuropsychology track, in order to be a neuropsychologist. It can help in getting you training experiences in grad school, but I'd venture to say that even with the proliferation of such tracks, most neuropsychologists are still attending "regular" clinical or counseling psych programs. The key is just to get quality neuropsych training while in grad school (in addition to learning how to be a clinical psychologist more generally), and to then continue that training on internship and postdoc.

And as Temperance mentioned, the APA-accredited internship match numbers for Argosy Twin Cities (which should be available on their website) don't seem promising.

Based on what you've said, it seems like you're possibly restricting your geographic area to MN? If so, I'd strongly suggest widening it considerably. Most folks will end up moving for grad school, again for internship, and possibly once more for fellowship. Staying in the same location for 2 of those 3 isn't impossible, but you're stacking the deck against you in terms of obtaining admissions and subsequent quality training if you're geographically restricting yourself before even applying for a doctoral program.

 

[WisNeuro]

Good night, everyone. I have a Bachelor's in Psychology with a minor in Neuroscience and an M.S. in Clinical Psychology that emphasized Neuropsychology. I have done some research with two professors and am not published yet, but we will be working on that eventually. I'm desiring a PhD, but with my GPA and no GRE taking any time soon to predict how well I would do, do you think I'm screwed? I'm thinking of applying just to Clinical Psych programs given my background to see if that would be more favorable than to a Clinical Neuropsychology PhD program, but am not sure. I have had some amazing interviews( Mayo Clinic, the U of Minnesota), but am still waiting to hear back from some places. I'm also wondering about Argosy University Twin Cities PsyD program, what are the APIPC rates, as well as how graduates are doing after graduation from that program? I only have about 2 years of clinical experience( in in-home settings), 9 months in an outpatient program doing cbt and psych testing, and another few months in two different hospital settings doing group therapy sessions and psychosocial summaries.

If you'd actually like to have some job flexibility, I'd stay away from Argosy in the Twin Cities. From my experience, their grads are stuck getting hired in the less desirable institutions within the Cities. It's a ticket into a lot of debt and diminished job prospects.

 

[singasongofjoy]

Good night, everyone. I have a Bachelor's in Psychology with a minor in Neuroscience and an M.S. in Clinical Psychology that emphasized Neuropsychology. I have done some research with two professors and am not published yet, but we will be working on that eventually. I'm desiring a PhD, but with my GPA and no GRE taking any time soon to predict how well I would do, do you think I'm screwed? I'm thinking of applying just to Clinical Psych programs given my background to see if that would be more favorable than to a Clinical Neuropsychology PhD program, but am not sure. I have had some amazing interviews( Mayo Clinic, the U of Minnesota), but am still waiting to hear back from some places. I'm also wondering about Argosy University Twin Cities PsyD program, what are the APIPC rates, as well as how graduates are doing after graduation from that program? I only have about 2 years of clinical experience( in in-home settings), 9 months in an outpatient program doing cbt and psych testing, and another few months in two different hospital settings doing group therapy sessions and psychosocial summaries.

I think when your thread got merged with the WAMC the gpa info was lost- your original thread title said your gpa is 3.3, yes? Is that your gpa from your undergrad, or your masters program?

 

[deleted874602]

Some honest feedback would be very appreciated! Here are my stats:

B.S. in Psychology (May 2017)
Undergrad GPA: 3.9
Psychology GPA: 3.9

GRE verbal: 158
GRE quant: 156
GRE analytical: 5.0

Research experience: designed and managed my own project on implicit cognition. Did all of the data collection and analysis myself.
Poster presentation: presented at an APS conference
Currently working on getting a short report published

Clinical experience:
-Interned for a summer at a residential home for women recovering from addiction

Work experience:
-I lead the Peer Education team at my college. We did a lot of prevention research and programming on our campus.
-I was a TA for a psychology professor one semester

Current position: Laboratory coordinator for the CDC until next fall

Programs I'm applying for:

Temple
Kent State
Emory
UCSD
Duke
Vanderbilt
Notre Dame
U of Albany

I'm also applying to masters programs in experimental psych just in case!

I am currently working on applications for PhD programs in Clinical Psychology for 2018. I applied to 6 programs last year, hoping to start graduate school this fall, but I didn't even get any interviews. What do you think my chances are now that I've had a bit more experience and will have had a solid year working at the CDC??

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

From 2009-2016, the average percentage of placements in either APA-accredited or APPIC internships was 87.7%, with a range between 65% and 100% (source). More concerning is that they have poor APA match rates, ranging from 17% and 56%. Only 66% of graduates have gotten licensed. That's not yet going into how much it costs to attend.

Good post. Just one thing to clarify....APPIC match rate shouldn't matter. APA-cred is the minimum standard in a growing number of states. APPIC membership is not an acred and it significantly limits a person in their career. It's important for prospective students to understand this difference in training and how it impacts their career options.

 

[Psychisfun43]

I’m a Psychology Major and Leadership Studies minor. Am I a competitive applicant to these programs? I posted before but I have updated information and have changed my schools.

I'm applying to Psy.D. programs at:

- Rutgers

- PGSP-Stanford Consortium

- Widener

- Roosevelt University

- U Indianapolis

- Xavier

- Prof school of Psych in Chicago

- U Denver

- Yeshiva

- Baylor

- University of Indiana Pen

- Indiana State University

I have visited most of these schools and have outreached to all of them. Emailed professors of interest.

My Letters are from all Ph.D. Clinical Psychologists. One is a faculty member who knows me personally very well. The second one was my supervisor at the rehab clinic. The third one is a mentor who we know each other for years. Who I have always looked for advice and knows my work ethic.

GRE: Taking it in 2 weeks! Wish me luck

- V: Range is 159-164

- Q: Range is 160-165

- Analytical: Don’t know yet

- Psychology Subject: Haven’t taken it yet

Flagship University in my state

Undergrad GPA:

- 3.8

- 3.70 Psych GPA

Research Experience:

- 1.5 year RA at a child development lab: Running participants, encoding data and grading tests

- 1 year RA at a neuroscience lab: running participants, organized data and managed genetic material

- 1 Year RA clinical lab: Evaluating similar symptoms between Autism and Schizophrenia. Running participants, weekly meetings and started from conceptualization.

Clinical Experience:

- Worked at a leading Rehab Center shadowed pain psychologists, biofeedback, psychiatrists, and psychologists. Worked with clients and interacted with them. Heard their stories.

- Worked at a Teen Mental Health Clinic for LGBTQ. Held a club for teens who are at risk which was a therapeutic environment

- Volunteered at the ER. Worked with physicians and Nurses.

- Worked for a Forensic Psychiatrist managed medical records and shadowed testing.

 

[WisNeuro]

GPA is good, research experience and clinical experience are good, just hinges on the GRE. I'd kick out a few of the diploma mills on your list there, cough *Chicago* cough. Also, any reason you are not widening the umbrella to include PhD programs? If your answer is something about not wanting to do research, the amount of research you'd do at a balanced PhD program is equivalent to what you would do in most reputable PsyDs.

 

[Psychisfun43]

GPA is good, research experience and clinical experience are good, just hinges on the GRE. I'd kick out a few of the diploma mills on your list there, cough *Chicago* cough. Also, any reason you are not widening the umbrella to include PhD programs? If your answer is something about not wanting to do research, the amount of research you'd do at a balanced PhD program is equivalent to what you would do in most reputable PsyDs.

Hey WisNeuro, It's been a while. Any suggestions in regards to the Ph.D's in which schools to look into?

 

[psych.meout]

Hey WisNeuro, It's been a while. Any suggestions in regards to the Ph.D's in which schools to look into?

Buy the insider's guide and cross reference programs that rate themselves as balanced with those which have faculty doing research in your areas of interest.

 

[WisNeuro]

Hey WisNeuro, It's been a while. Any suggestions in regards to the Ph.D's in which schools to look into?

It's literally dozens. And, that has to be narrowed down by your interests and career goals to find good fits.

 

[pandapanda]

My rebuke to this, which you will see repeated many times by others on this forum, is that many funded clinical psychology Ph.D. programs consider themselves to be rather balanced in terms of clinical and research experience. It is the difference between a scientist-practitioner model and a scholar-practitioner Psy.D. model. I'm generalizing here, but much of the time this means that you will get comparable or better clinical experience and training from clinical Ph.D. programs with the added research experience (where in a PsyD program you will might get similar clinical training but without the research). Most graduates from clinical Ph.D. programs end up going on to primarily clinical jobs as opposed to research jobs because (1) there are more clinical jobs as opposed to tenure-track jobs, (2) many people discover they feel similarly about preferring to do a primarily clinical job (academia isn't for everyone), and (3) people are also sometimes willing/interested in doing research for 4-5 years as a way of paying for graduate school but really always intended to go into clinical (not a bad trade off for saving $150-200k). See this thread for discussion about why student load debt sucks really bad and for a cautionary tale of what not to do: Psychologist with $385,000 in student loans . Clinical psychologists do not make enough money to justify the tuition expense at some of these schools.

That said, if I were you, I would focus this next year on getting a poster or two or a publication out before applying the following year. With that, you would be moderately competitive for clinical phd programs with your GPA and GRE scores (both are pretty solid).



HOWEVER... if you are REALLY set on applying to the programs on your list and are not concerned about the expense (or happen to have a trust/college fund that will mean that you will not be going into crippling debt), you are pretty competitive for those programs even without any clinical experience. I know of people who got into some of those programs with negligible clinical experience and worse GPA/GRE.

Thank you so much again. And I have read a lot on this forum about the more balanced PhD programs. However, I looked into some on the Insider's Guide and did not like their structure. I also like the shorter duration of the PsyDs... A 7-year program just seems to be dragging it...

 

[pandapanda]

As has been previously mentioned, clinical PhD programs provide as good, if not better, training than PsyD programs and most grads end up in clinical practice of some kind. There is a paucity of tenured faculty and other predominantly research positions out there compared to the number of grads from PhD programs, let alone all clinical programs.

You don't really need much clinical experience to get into good, funded clinical PhD programs. I had pretty extensive clinical experience in general before getting into grad school, but especially in comparison to my cohort. At least one has no clinical experience outside of assisting in research with clinical populations.

Thank you! That is a relief to hear. However, I've also read stories of people getting rejected (regardless of stellar GPA & GRE & even pubs) because of a lack of clinical experience. That being said, I know these are all anecdotes and am still glad to hear that it is not impossible to get it without any clinical experience.

Actually, another factor for not applying for PhDs is that I don't wanna have to lie about my relative lack of interest for research during the interview or on the statement of purpose.

 

[psych.meout]

Thank you! That is a relief to hear. However, I've also read stories of people getting rejected (regardless of stellar GPA & GRE & even pubs) because of a lack of clinical experience. That being said, I know these are all anecdotes and am still glad to hear that it is not impossible to get it without any clinical experience.

Actually, another factor for not applying for PhDs is that I don't wanna have to lie about my relative lack of interest for research during the interview or on the statement of purpose.

It's ok if you aren't super enthused by research and ok that you don't want a career as a researcher. Most graduates even from clinical science programs are in some kind of clinical job, if not doing exclusively clinical work. There are just aren't enough tenured faculty positions for even just the grads of clinical science programs to have them. Really, the only issue is if you want to just do therapy, because completing a doctoral program is far too expensive in terms of time, money, and energy for the lackluster remuneration you'd get doing therapy alone.

That said, research experience is still really important. Actually doing research provides a profoundly better education in being a good consumer of research that not doing so. Your ethics and professionalism require you to use the best evidence-based practices possible and you need to be up to date on the latest research, which includes being able to fully understand and critique it. This is not as simple as being able to read peer-reviewed journal articles. You need to really understand methodology, statistics, and clinical psychology to fully comprehend these articles, especially when there is sketchy stuff going on that most non-experts would miss.

Thus, maybe you need to rethink your perspective about research. This is not to say that you should convince yourself that you want to be a researcher or faculty. Rather, consider what utility research has for your future goals and how having some degree of focus on doing research in grad school serves those goals and your values of being the best psychologist you can.

 

[WisNeuro]

Thank you so much again. And I have read a lot on this forum about the more balanced PhD programs. However, I looked into some on the Insider's Guide and did not like their structure. I also like the shorter duration of the PsyDs... A 7-year program just seems to be dragging it...

The extra year you spend will come in handy when you don't have to re-apply for internship and are much more competitive for more jobs. Also, most PhD programs are 5+1, 5 years of grad school and 1 year internship.

 

[singasongofjoy]

Thank you so much again. And I have read a lot on this forum about the more balanced PhD programs. However, I looked into some on the Insider's Guide and did not like their structure. I also like the shorter duration of the PsyDs... A 7-year program just seems to be dragging it...

Yes, 7 year program does seem to be dragging it. But the only (very few) people I know who took that long, well, it was more an effect of them dragging it out themselves for whatever reason. Like WisNeuro said, most programs are going to have 5+1.

 

[pandapanda]

The extra year you spend will come in handy when you don't have to re-apply for internship and are much more competitive for more jobs. Also, most PhD programs are 5+1, 5 years of grad school and 1 year internship.

Do hospitals/private clinics/other employers still prefer PhD over PsyDs these days?

 

[WisNeuro]

Do hospitals/private clinics/other employers still prefer PhD over PsyDs these days?

Depends on the institution/practice. There is a big practice in town here that almost exclusively PsyD, but there compensation/benefits package is.....not good. The VAs I've been at were definitely very PhD heavy. And, the two AMCs that I have been affiliated with were almost 100% PhD. So, answer is, depends. I'm somewhat biased, but the numbers speak for themselves PhD, on average, leads to lower debt, more career flexibility, and higher salary.

 

[psych.meout]

Do hospitals/private clinics/other employers still prefer PhD over PsyDs these days?

It's not so much that some places are preferring PhDs over PsyDs out of principle, bias, or some other factor. The real issue is that many PsyDs are from large programs with poor clinical and research training, poor match rates, and other inferior outcomes. This is not to say that there are no great PsyD programs (e.g. Rutgers and Baylor) or crappy PhDs (e.g. Alliant), but rather that there are more good PhD programs than bad ones and vice versa for PsyD programs. Thus, the preference for PhDs over PsyDs is more about a preference for better training than a preference for a particular kind of degree.

 

[deleted343839]

I also like the shorter duration of the PsyDs... A 7-year program just seems to be dragging it...

5 or 6 years is typical for most programs. If you are concerned, every accredited doctoral program's web site includes a page that lists their stats, including average # of years to complete the program. Some of these might surprise you.

 

[pandapanda]

5 or 6 years is typical for most programs. If you are concerned, every accredited doctoral program's web site includes a page that lists their stats, including average # of years to complete the program. Some of these might surprise you.

Hmm... Based on the advice so many of you have given me (and the looks when I told my Profs that I was applying for PsyDs), I have decided to apply for a mix of PsyD and PhD programs, in case I change my mind down the road. However, I gave up the chance I had at completing an undergrad thesis... Is not having one going to seriously hurt my chances?

 

[deleted343839]

Hmm... Based on the advice so many of you have given me (and the looks when I told my Profs that I was applying for PsyDs), I have decided to apply for a mix of PsyD and PhD programs, in case I change my mind down the road. However, I gave up the chance I had at completing an undergrad thesis... Is not having one going to seriously hurt my chances?

No. It's a nice thing to see especially if you can turn your thesis into a poster presentation or something, but it's not going to make or break your application.

Choose wisely.

 

[psych.meout]

Hmm... Based on the advice so many of you have given me (and the looks when I told my Profs that I was applying for PsyDs), I have decided to apply for a mix of PsyD and PhD programs, in case I change my mind down the road. However, I gave up the chance I had at completing an undergrad thesis... Is not having one going to seriously hurt my chances?

Nope. I didn't do a thesis in undergrad and I got into my top choice program and received offers from several other programs as well.

 

[deleted343839]

Nope. I didn't do a thesis in undergrad and I got into my top choice program and received offers from several other programs as well.

BTW, off topic, but is this your first year? Is it everything SDN prepared you for?

 

[Indiana_Jane]

Nope. I didn't do a thesis in undergrad and I got into my top choice program and received offers from several other programs as well.

Same for me!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Indiana_Jane]

Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile[/QUOTE]

Hmm... Based on the advice so many of you have given me (and the looks when I told my Profs that I was applying for PsyDs), I have decided to apply for a mix of PsyD and PhD programs, in case I change my mind down the road. However, I gave up the chance I had at completing an undergrad thesis... Is not having one going to seriously hurt my chances?

I butchered this multiple quote post. I was in the same boat at psychmeout, so you definitely don't have to do an UG thesis.