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Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology: 2020/2021 Edition (Insider's Guide To Graduate Programs In Clinical and Psychology)?
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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.
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
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.
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.
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 $$$.
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
OP- this is an amazing resource. Breaks down everything you need to know including acceptance rates. Kinda gives me a panic attack as well 😂 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_cp_api_glt_fabc_KPCY5YMHCZ4EQFBKN4AE?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Your stats aren’t horrible, but clinical psych programs are incredibly competitive. Especially the fully funded programs. Depends on the program you’re looking for too. Are you looking for clinical science programs (research orientated) or more balanced programs? If you’re looking for the former well those are the most competitive. I would suggest retaking your GRE, taking a gap year to get more presentations and publications out or doing a master’s first. If you’re looking for a balanced program, those are still competitive but you’re not entirely out of the game. You’ll have to look into each program and see for yourself if you have their minimum requirements. This book is a lifeline. Couldn’t recommend it enough.
In order to provide any useful advice, we'll need to get a better sense of WHY you want a PhD. Or put a different way: What do you see yourself doing once you finish your degree? Are you conducting research? If so, what kind (e.g. animal, social psych, etc)? Or are you doing primarily treatment/therapy? What does your career look like after you obtain that doctorate?
The reason these questions are important is that there are many different programs out there with different admissions benchmarks depending on what outcome you're trying to achieve. For example, if you want to be a research psychologist after you graduate, your 3.4 GPA and lack of publications will likely hinder you, and the most useful advice would be to present posters at conventions and/or publish.
If you're looking to do something in the treatment realm, your clinical experiences will carry much more weight, but be warned that high quality clinical psych PhD programs usually have higher mean GPA and publication benchmarks.
PsyDs may be a viable alternative, though the main downsides are 1) the majority of PsyDs are not fully funded (some have partial and/or full scholarships) 2) There is a much wider range in quality of programs (e.g. degree mills) 2a) While top PsyD programs like Baylor or Rutgers have very strong research curriculums, other programs do not 3) some bias against PsyDs in the field due to #2 and historical preference for PhDs.
And the advice I give to every undergraduate seeking career advice/looking into doctoral programs: buy the latest edition of the Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology since it will describe each program in detail in terms of training, admissions stats for recent cohorts, graduation rates, EPPP pass rates, etc.... which will help you see which programs fit your interests, how you stack up compared to their average admitted student, where your weaknesses are, etc....
So I worked as a VERY successful CPA in one of the big 4 global accounting firms. I was just about to make partner. I was party of global leadership. I was making great money. I was successful. I was miserable. I hated getting out of bed in the morning. I had done this career because it was steady and reliable. But I felt the same as you... almost the same story (but I’m in my late 30s). So I quit my job and I’m back in school for psychology now. Here’s what I learned:
almost any psychology career needs some sort of post-baccalaureate. Either a masters or a PhD or a PsyD. There’s a big difference from country to country on job/school requirementsso I can only speak about the US... if you’re somewhere different then need to read up about there.
In the US, it depends what kind of job you want on whether you need a masters vs doctorate. Read this. It goes into good detail about types of careers and what degrees are needed and then what you need to get into programs. You may also want to read this. You don’t need an undergrad in psych to get into masters or PhD programs but you DO need to have the required basic classes and statistics experience and have an idea of what you want to do. You also need research experience to get into most PhD programs.
-so for me... I went back to school where I got my undergrad and am taking the additional classes to get a psych major. That way I get the opportunity to learn what I want to specifically do in the field, get research experience, and have teacher recommendations to get into a post-bacc program. I think this path has been helpful
Never too late. Good luck. Feel free to ping me if you have any other questions.
I graduated June 2020 with my undergrad in Psychology as well, and I just started graduate school last week. I got accepted into a very competitive clinical psychology MA/PhD program that only accepts 5 students a year. So I have a bunch of tips and suggestions for anyone looking to apply. Also, feel free to PM me if you (or anyone reading this thread) have any questions and I will be happy to help out. Just a few tips and resources below:
As a starting point, I highly recommend buying a book called the "Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology". It walked me through every step of the application process and was an extremely helpful resource. It also lays out a variety of different programs and degree options that are easier to get into than clinical psychology (ex. counseling and PsyD programs typically have a much higher acceptance rate) and it provides a great overview of all the programs in the U.S.
Application deadlines are usually in December and interviews run Jan-Apr before the program starts in September. So if you wanted to go back to school Fall 2021/2022, you would have to submit your applications by December 2020. ( 9/10 school that I applied to had December deadlines, but some schools might have later ones) .
I was the only student in my cohort that came straight from undergrad, but this is rare. The majority of people take time off before applying. Some of the other students took 3-5 years off to make sure they had lots of clinical experience, research experience, teaching experience, high GPAs (a few took more courses to bump up their GPA), and publications. If you are confident that you have enough experience and have people who could provide you with strong reference letter, then I suggest you apply this year. If not, maybe take a year or two off to really load your CV before applying. Also the application fees can add up and can be quite expensive depending on how many schools you are applying to. Just another thing to consider.
Don't be so scared of the GRE. Every student dreads it, but it's just something you got to get over with. Many schools don't weigh it heavily in their final admission decision. Also, if you shine in other areas, then lower scores on the GRE don't really matter as much. Like my GRE scores were absolute shit, but thankfully my GPA and previous research experience made up for it. You will be surprised how little schools actually care about GRE scores, so I wouldn't worry about them too much. I know a lot of schools this year are not asking for the GRE because of COVID. So if you really want to avoid the GRE, then maybe consider applying this year. Also, I think the book I mentioned above lists the GRE requirements for each U.S. school, but with COVID and all each school's requirements might have changed. I would go to the program's website to check their current requirements.
After you've done your research on which degree/program is best for you, then the school research comes in. It is super important to make sure that the program you are applying to is accredited (see the website link below)!
Instead of researching schools, you can also shop around for a supervisor. This is mainly how I chose which schools I applied to. Check the faculty section of each school and try to find a supervisor who shares the same research interests as you. Since you will have to work with that person for years, search their name on Rate My Prof to make sure they're not a total asshole lol. Most importantly, reach out to supervisors in advance!! Email templates and instructions are all provided in the book I mentioned.
Lastly, this unfortunate COVID quarantine circumstance is a kind of a blessing in disguise for anyone applying to graduate schools as the application process is pretty demanding and can sometimes feel like it's a full-time job. So use this time wisely!
Best of luck!! Hope this was helpful :)
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