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I fucking love it! (I just started though, so my viewpoint might change in a few years, haha.) I finally get to be around people who share the same passion and interests as I do. Are there moments where I hate my life? Sure, but stress in life is a given. All I know it that I'd rather be doing this than anything else (housewife, office job, retail, etc.). Here's a book I recommend that helped me conceptualize grad school better before I committed: https://www.amazon.com/Getting-What-You-Came-Students/dp/0374524777
Maybe a copy of One L? Might be slightly old, you should probably skim it first. I read it at like 28 so sex/language/etc wouldn't have leapt out at me.
A PhD is Not Enough! A Guide to Survival in Science by Peter J. Feibelman Amazon link
Make Your Mark in Science: Creativity, Presenting, Publishing, and Patents, A Guide for Young Scientists by Claus Ascheron and Angela Kikuth Amazon link
Dr. Desai's book on Multiple Mini Interviews. It provides example responses and how to respond to various scenarios.
https://www.amazon.com/Multiple-Mini-Interview-MMI-Strategies-ebook/dp/B01C4FP99A
If you’re serious about clinical psychology then give this book a go. It’ll give you a run down of these kinda of questions and so much more. Are you talking about the pros of skipping your masters? Well actually I would say that skipping your masters is the norm. I can actually only think of two programs that require a masters first. Pepperdine and Philadelphia School of Osteopathic Medicine. Maybe John Jay as well? Anyway, if you’re interested in clinpsych, it all matters about what you do on your way there. I’d say most people do their masters to get more clinical experience, research experience, or to make up for a low undergrad GPA. On the other hand some people though don’t want to jump right into a doctorate program and have a plan to do their masters first for career development reasons. Or if you’re just interested in psychotherapy, I suggest just doing your masters. I’m a current applicant applying to PsyD and PhD programs (I’m in socal by the way), and I’m trying to skip my masters and a gap year to save time and money. I have a good GPA, research, and clinical experience and I know my end goal. I see no reason to get a masters first which will just run me two years and more debt.
They asked me the same question (why PA) 3 consecutive times in 3 diff ways. I also rambled and answered some other questions poorly. For my MMI I felt a lot better. I used this book (https://www.amazon.com/Multiple-Mini-Interview-MMI-Strategies-ebook/dp/B01C4FP99A) for MMI prep and watched a bunch of MMI scenarios on youtube when I got tired of reading. Hope this helps.
I just graduated from grad school! I didn't think the GRE was terrible, mostly just exhausting from being how ever many hours long it was (my brain says 6 but that doesn't seem right, hahaha). I just bought a GRE prep book that had access to a website and an app that had flashcards of vocab words. I spent a summer where I was only working part time (20 or 30 hours) and would just study for an hour or so every day and then would do at least a section of a practice test on Saturday/Sunday. It was manageable and I did pretty well.
Re: applications, I only applied to one school so I'm no use there. I used a book (https://www.amazon.com/Graduate-Admissions-Essays-Fourth-School/dp/1607743213) to help write my admissions essay. They have a method where you basically write your essay in the better part of a day that worked for me.
My school did rolling admissions, but I still wanted to be in the first group, so I submitted my application pretty early.
I read this about a year into grad school (previous version). It's got some good general advice on how to think about your time and what to do with it to succeed.
https://www.amazon.com/PhD-Not-Enough-Survival-Science/dp/0465022227
I second what the other commenters have already said. I stopped by to say that, when I was preparing to apply for programs, I found this resource to be very helpful: Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology: 2020/2021 Edition
Read this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Graduate-Admissions-Essays-Fourth-School/dp/1607743213/
Everything I did is in that book. It was suggested to me by a professor whose research team I was in during undergrad.
I enjoyed this book: Multiple Mini Interview (MMI): Winning Strategies From Admissions Faculty https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C4FP99A/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_COAQBbN856MEV
It’s well reviewed and rated. It has a ton of examples to help get you thinking about what kinds of questions you might get and how you could answer. The book, as well as most others will advise you to not try and over prepare or memorize answers. Instead, if you choose to practice, practice your answer structure. Restate the scenario in your own words to make sure you understand it right, talk through all of your thought process in a coherent and sympathetic manner, and answer the question as honestly as possible. Don’t give the answer you think they want to hear, answer how you truly feel. Leave 2-3 min for any follow up questions depending on time allotment.
Beyond that the best advice I’ve heard is to make good eye contact, be present with your interviewer, don’t make up an answer if you don’t know, and convince yourself you’re just happy to be there and don’t let the nerves ride you.
Is there a particular school you're looking at?
Also theInsider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology has a pretty thorough listing with whatever GRE info is available for each school.
You can select a clinical psychology graduate program based on the amount of research involvement you’d like to have. Some programs encourage more than others.
I strongly recommend this book and getting a good advisor before applying to grad school though: https://www.amazon.com/Insiders-Graduate-Programs-Counseling-Psychology/dp/1462548474/ref=asc_df_1462548474?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=526763498393&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7439058847938103632&hvpone=&hvptwo=&h...
Gotcha! I had a course that gave me the same impression, although, it’s not necessarily true. A lot, if not most, PhD programs are equally research/practice based. Sometimes you might even find one that leans more towards practice than research. I highly recommend this book to help you during your journey of finding doctoral programs. :) Also, don’t feel pressured into getting a masters degree just because you don’t have research experience. The time you take during a masters degree is the same amount of time you can spend gaining research experience.
Gotcha! I had a course that gave me the same impression, although, it’s not necessarily true. A lot, if not most, PhD programs are equally research/practice based. Sometimes you might even find one that leans more towards practice than research. I highly recommend this book to help you during your journey of finding doctoral programs. :) Also, don’t feel pressured into getting a masters degree just because you don’t have research experience. The time you take during a masters degree is the same amount of time you can spend gaining research experience.
> You won't be competitive for non-diploma mills if you apply this upcoming cycle. (Not "likely won't"-- won't.)
This is simply incorrect. An overall GPA of 3.8 is sufficient to get into most average to good Psy.D programs.
You are however dead in the water for Ph.D programs without having conducted any research.
Also, what were your GRE scores? I recommend the Insider's Guide for information on psych doctoral programs, it goes into extreme detail.
Academic side of academia? Not sure what that means, but it sounds like an unhealthy reason to do a PhD, FWIW.
If you're serious about finding your way in academia, I recommend the book <em>A PhD Is Not Enough!</em>
the reference manual is computer based too. For your scratch work you'll be given a laminted test book, and marker, similar to this.
It's ultimately going to depend on which program you apply to how much they care about your GRE/work experience/whether you have a masters or not. My program mostly cared about research experience and GRE score. Your results may vary. I believe the Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology will list the GPA range and averages for accredited programs in the U.S.
Time of day is personal preference. For me I knew I'd get really antsy all day if I had to wait so I scheduled an 8am test, waking up at 5a and giving myself time to wake up and get mentally ready. I did all my studying from 5a-7a as well which helped train my body to perform at that time.
Laminated practice pad linked here
Markers linked here
The practice pad is laminated legal size grid paper. You could make your own if you aren't able to find the above in stock. I believe you get 5 double side pages worth. If you run out, you can get another pad but you have to use up your test time to get it- helpful to practice with the pad and writing small enough to not swap pads if you don't have to.
This is also a useful book: https://www.amazon.com/Insiders-Graduate-Programs-Counseling-Psychology/dp/1462541437 - it's for both Clinical and Counseling Psych programs of all kinds. It'll answer basically every question you might have.
Definitely find a research job first, as the others said - I particularly recommend finding a research position somewhat related to your clinical and research interest. Even better if you can get a research assistantship at the lab you want to end up in! But also consider applying to some of the (few) reputable Masters in ClinPsy if you have the money. One place that does this is Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine - you can simultaneously apply to both PhD and MA. They have some really good research labs there, but the downside is it's extremely expensive. I got offered the MA but turned it down because $$$.
I got this to practice with. It was the exact same thing I had during the test. I recommend you get one to practice with while studying so you don't have to adjust while testing: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0979017580/
I don't think this is a good reason to go for a Ph.D. You can do everything you want on your own, technically. Do you already work at an academic institution with a grad program? You can grab syllabi of interesting classes, and then just work your way though the reading lists. You can do this without the pressure of assignments, comprehensive exams, writing a dissertation, etc.
If you have broad interests within Lib & Info Sci, then a Ph.D. makes less sense because you'll be forced to narrow your idea down to that one small topic you are to become an "expert" in and write your dissertation on.
Unless you are in a job that needs a Ph.D., or unless you want to be an "academic" and either teach and do research full time, I think based on what you've said here a Ph.D. might not be for you.
Again, you can gain the knowledge you see by sending out some friendly emails to the right people, and doing the reading, without all the loneliness and stress that comes with a Ph.D.
This is, of course, my $.02 and YMMV.
Oh yeah, ANYONE thinking about graduate school really should read this excellent book. It will help you think about why and where to go (if that is your path).
Okay, so a few things comes to mind reading your post, and the first is to remember to breathe. You will figure this out, and you do not need to go directly from a B.S. to a graduate program.
I am less familiar with Psy.D. requirements as I went the Ph.D., but I am curious about why you want to get a Psy.D., what your career goals are, and what other degree paths you've explored?
As far as finding programs, this book is recommended as a good starting place. Googling Psy.D. programs could get you some information. The best factor is going to be fit and aligned interests. What areas of psychology are you interested in pursuing? Finding faculty who share those interest is usually the best way to go about this process.
I have more advice I could give, but I think it would be best to better understand your interests and career goals to really target the advice for you, specifically.
Correct.
Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology: 2020/2021 Edition (Insider's Guide To Graduate Programs In Clinical and Psychology) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1462541437/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_95S11HQ6AY9HEEJXSBSC?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/Multiple-Mini-Interview-MMI-Strategies-ebook/dp/B01C4FP99A/ref=nodl_
I’ve heard good things about this book. But a Reddit user also gave a AAA summary of it on a r/premed post. Just google MMI prep Reddit and it should pop up.
My MMI is in a few weeks too. I actually interviewed here in 2019 and got waitlisted. One aspect of feedback on my MMI was that in a specific scenario (essentially: you’re a clinic manager and your subordinate was reported for talking bad about patients). When I did it, I approached it too much like a ‘boss’.
One price of advice in reference to this that I used on my MMIs this year (at a DO school I was accepted to) was to remember they’re looking at how you would be a doctor. I had a VERY similar scenario this year where my subordinate was always late to work. Instead of approaching it like last year where I focused o. Fixing the problem from a business aspect, I instead focused on how to help the employee
“why do you think you’ve been late so often? Is there something going on at home you’d like to talk about”
“Is there something I can do to help you to get back on track”
Etc. I felt this was WAY better received, and again, I got accepted to the (DO) school few weeks later.
This was kind of a ramble, but my general MMI advice is to approach every scenario with the mindset that this is all a facade to see how you treat patients and employees. Focus on the person, and how YOU can help them, instead of TELLING them what to do.
Maybe this is obvious to everyone but me, but it wasn’t during my first MMI and it definitley hurt me a bit.
Disadvantaged how? To get into grad school? I assume a high GPA and recommendation letters from your professors would be a higher priority.
I recommend this book if you are serious about grad school:
Getting What You Came For: The Smart Student's Guide to Earning an M.A. or a Ph.D. https://www.amazon.ca/dp/0374524777/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_QPCZ4ZY4ZYR4HX6EE3YV
Unclassified students get lowest priority for course registration but I typically got into the classes I wanted in science even the waitlisted ones. I don’t think profs care what program you are in. I thought about grad school but after reading this book and living in Acadia Park (grad student housing), I decided against it. I felt I did not have the fortitude to survive that journey: Getting What You Came For: The Smart Student's Guide to Earning an M.A. or a Ph.D. https://www.amazon.ca/dp/0374524777/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_XE5NGX6522RFM4MGVKM5