anxietytreadmill

Thank you for your kind advice! I've been considering that option a little more heavily as of late, as I don't think I don't have the resume just quite yet. Any advice on getting a paid RA position/where to look for one?

Hey all, So I have been trolling the threads here and reading previous posts, and was hoping to get some personalized feedback. Before I ask any questions (I have a few) here are my stats: Major/Minor: Psychology with a Business minor at an large R1 GPA: 3.3 cumulative, 3.68 major. Didn't switch into psychology until my junior year, and I didn't have a real interest in my major (business, hence why I have the minor) my first two years. Along with that, I had a parent pass away my freshman year, which didn't help matters. GRE Scores: Taking the test in August. A 315-325 and at least a 4.5 is achievable based on my practice test results. Research experience: 1 full school year in a lab. I'm working in two labs this summer (one of them the same one), will start in a third lab in the fall, and I will be doing a supervised, independent project with a thesis starting this fall as well. I also am conducting research in an unrelated field and will be presenting at a conference in November. This is an independent project, and is more of a qualitative endeavor. Research interests: I am interested in political psychology and human development and public policy. Within political psychology, I am interested in: the influence of religion on how conservative politics are shaped, the protestant work ethic and how it influences voter attitudes towards progressive politics, dog-whistle politics, racism, and fear of diversity, and individual vs. group morality and behavior. Within development and public policy, I am interested in: the mass incarceration "system" and how it affects the development of children affected by it, education policy, climate policy (pretty much anything within this topic gets me excited, I love development and I think policy is a great way to spur change) So, my questions are as follows: 1) What are my chances of admission to top 25-30ish PhD in either area? Beggars can't be choosers I know, but as academia appears to be quite the beast, I don't think I would want to go to a school any less prestigious. 2) Is my research experience competitive? To elaborate more on what I actually have done; I basically gained experience in the standard undergrad RA drill during the school year (running participants through the an experiment) and this summer I am working on coding spoken word and text. I'll be working on the supervised project mostly with a profs grad student, and am jumping in on a study as a part of his dis. A pub may or may not come out of this, but regardless it would not be there by the time application season rolls around. The conference presentation is for a literature related field, and is all independent. 2) How forgiving will admissions committees be of my lower gpa, given my circumstances? My GPA has only gone up since I have switched majors, and have never been below a 3.0. 3) I have loads of campus/community involvement and leadership experience, is this worth mentioning? 4) Are my research interests specific enough? As in, should I know right now what I would write my masters thesis on? I'm passionate about these two topics and love learning about them, and would absolutely enjoy pursuing vocational training in either area. 5) If I was denied admittance to a PhD, am I competitive for a top masters program? If yes, how in the hell do you pay for that? I will graduate with some debt from undergrad, and am astonished at how someone (who doesn't come from wealth) manages to shell out $60,000+ to pay for a masters program. S/O to you if you are still with me on this post thus far. Please let me know if further elaboration on any of my experiences are needed, and I will happily provide. Thank you so much!