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Chowder

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  1. I posted here a few months ago about my chances of getting into a funded Clinical Psychology program and received lots of helpful responses. Thanks to your feedback, I'm now feeling much more motivated to start applying again. Here's my slightly updated background: Canadian Research interests: use of mobile apps in mental healthcare (especially among adolescents), forensic/legal psychology BSc. in Psychology (Upper Second Class Honours) - final year thesis on memory awarded First Class Honours M.A. in English Studies (Distinction) - thesis on the linguistics of deception awarded 'A' Postgraduate Diploma in Education (English) 2 years of teaching experience abroad (ESL) - current job ~3 years of paid research experience (areas: Education, Psycho-Education, Youth Studies, Linguistics) 2 years of student lab research experience (Cognitive Psychology) 1 poster presentation at an international peer-reviewed conference on forensic psychology (as solo author) 1 symposium presentation in the Education field (as fourth author) Volunteer experience as a teacher in youth correctional facilities My top choices of schools are UBC Okanagan, SFU, and UVic because my research interests are in line with some of the faculty there and I'd like to stay on the West Coast. Between now and next fall, I'll be working on raising my admittedly awful GRE scores (155V, 144Q, 3.5AWA), but I'm also wondering if there is anything else I could do to improve my chances at admission. I'm based in Asia until at least the start of July; should I start emailing labs or POIs about possible opportunities to work for them in the summer? I'm just a bit worried about my experiences being seemingly all over the place. Thank you!
  2. Sorry to hijack this thread, but I have a relevant question: what if the publication/poster is not related to clinical work? Would it still be looked at positively? Also: That's what happened after I finished my undergrad. My supervisor had encouraged me to publish my thesis, but I was busy with a move and so didn't get a chance to do so. Is it ever too late? (I did turn my Master's thesis into a poster presentation, but sometimes I think I should have aimed for a journal article. Alas.)
  3. Everyone's advice here has been wonderful so far! I'm so glad I posted. Thank you all. Agreed. Right now, I feel like my first priority is to improve my GRE scores and then identify all the skills from my existing experiences that can be applied to clinical work for my personal statement. Still sounds like a long way to go, but I've been feeling slightly better after reading all these tips, so I reckon that's already a good start. I've heard mixed reviews about Magoosh: some swear by it while others think it only gets you passing scores. You lot are quite convincing so far though, I might just look into registering for it! I have an extremely short attention span when it comes to mathematics because I'm not at all confident with formulas, so a part of me thinks this is a huge reason why I'm so discouraged from applying to graduate schools. I keep expecting myself to fail and having to retake the GRE again and again, which, as you've mentioned, does not come cheap! Thanks for the recommendations! I have a few books that friends have so kindly lent me, but I just don't know where to start. As soon as I crack a page open, nerves hit me. SIGH. This is such an encouraging reply, thank you! Yes, I think I'll check out Magoosh. It sounds straightforward enough—I wouldn't want to have to deal with more confusion alongside math! These are all really great tips. Thanks for sharing your experience! It's good to know that balancing between life and studying for the GREs is possible because these days, I barely have time to myself. I do get about a month off in the summer, so that will likely be my hardcore revision period. Which study guide do you find most useful? I have a few and have no idea which one to start with.
  4. Hi! Thanks for your reply. Yes, I realize I will have to do better this time round with researching more programs and applying to them. My discouragement came from what people have said about my credentials, however. I've been told my experience is not relevant enough for a successful clinical psych application. I should clarify that I'm actually a Canadian living abroad, but have international qualifications as I studied university in England. Is this a problem? As a Canadian, I should still be seen as a 'local' applicant for schools in Canada, although my overseas degrees might suggest otherwise. Definitely need to work on figuring out how to package the explanation for my career shift. Ideally, I'll be staying in North America after finishing the PhD (never got used to life in Europe or Asia), but I like to keep the door open, hence my caution about applying for programs that will be recognized where I currently am too. Here, an Educational Psychology qualification will only allow you to work in school settings and so forth. Sounds like it's different in Canada/U.S.?
  5. Thanks for sharing! Did you get funding for the counselling program? And which forensic-focussed labs did you interview at, if I may ask?
  6. Thank you all for your kind responses! I actually only applied to three schools, one of which was UBC Okanagan. I've been particularly interested in this program because it's one of the few departments that offers clinical-forensic research, of which the PI I wanted to work with is an expert. I've met said PI before at a conference and chatted, and it seems like our research interests are a good fit, but I guess you're right—my GRE scores brought me down! I know that going for school or counselling psychology programs seems like the sensible thing to do, but I'm just not as passionate about either stream as I am about clinical psychology. I've lurked about these forums long enough to know that passion plays only a minor part in surviving the long journey of grad school—without it, I might as well not get started! I am planning to re-take the GRE again, but my problem is that my teaching job really does not allow me to set aside time for studying, as I'm always busy marking and prepping. I'm particularly lacking confidence for the Quantitative section because I practically don't remember a thing about high school math and thinking about relearning everything gives me a lot of anxiety. (I'm fine with doing research statistics though.) You've raised a very important question—my clinical research interests are all over the place. I do, however, particularly want to study the use of mobile apps in mental healthcare (especially for adolescents). I see myself being more of a researcher with occasional consulting gigs in the future than just a practitioner, hence I've been looking at PhD programs more than PsyD ones. To be perfectly honest, when I was an undergrad, I thought I'd finish my degree and just leave psychology for good, hence the job hopping! I did, however, enjoy doing research, so my first job straight after graduation was as an RA for an IT in education project. But as time passed, I realized the specific type of research I enjoyed doing was psychological research, specifically forensic. My undergraduate and MA theses were on aggression and forensic linguistics, respectively. Only went into education after teaching some young offenders in a prison as a volunteer and really liking it. While teaching pays well where I live and I certainly am loving what I do, it's not my passion. So for me, going for a doctorate in psychology was never the 'logical' step, just one that I've come to WANT to take. As for why I'm choosing clinical over forensic programs, simply put, I'm not sure I necessarily want to work in forensic settings in the future. I do know that I want to do research that contributes to mental health overall, having been affected by it my whole life (not necessarily myself). Besides, over here in Asia, forensic psychology isn't that big; those working in the field typically have a clinical background. Perhaps this is more of a practical thing? Not sure if my above explanations make sense, but if they don't, I guess I have a lot of reflecting to do!
  7. I've previously been told I stand a better chance of getting into licensure/MA than doctoral programs. Seeing that I haven't been successful with my applications so far, I'd like a second opinion from this forum. Here are my credentials: BSc. in Psychology (with Upper Second Class Honours) - final year thesis awarded First Class Honours M.A. in English Studies (with Distinction) - thesis awarded A Postgraduate Diploma in Education (English) 1 year teaching experience (ESL) - current job 3 years research assistant experience (education, psycho-education, youth, linguistics) 2 years student lab research (cognitive psychology) 1 poster presentation at an international peer-reviewed conference (as solo author) 1 symposium presentation (as fourth author) Other irrelevant work/internship experiences (I've tried many fields) As a side note, past professors and supervisors have all commended me on my writing and eye for detail, and would always encourage me to get something published (but I never ended up doing so because work got in the way). Unfortunately, I'm terrible with standardized tests, so my attempts at the GRE have been rather poor (155V, 144Q, 3.5AWA). I know my background might seem better suited for school/educational psychology programs, but do I have a shot at clinical programs too? Any recommendations for schools that fit my profile (regardless of stream) or even just tips to strengthen my application would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!
  8. Out of curiosity, has anyone heard back from UBC Okanagan yet?
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