Rick120020

When iI first enrolled in college, I withdrew within the first semester because my parents couldn't afford it as my parents were struggling to pay the mortgage. I then worked full time for the rest of the year in order to save to go to college again. I enrolled in a new college that was far less expensive but the financial issues continues. We were basically losing our home to the bank and my parents were even being threatened with legal charges so it goes without saying that this became a very stressful time for me and it was hard to focus on my school work. I was also a biology major on a premed track at the time due to pressure from my parents to become a doctor. Anyway, I ended up with a 2.9 for my first two years of college. However, since then, our financial issues have been mostly resolved and i switched my major to something I genuinely enjoy - psychology - and I've earned a 4.0 for my last two years in college; although my overall is still only a 3.45. I plan to apply to a clinical PhD program and I'm worried about my initial grades and GPA. Would it be ok to mention my circumstances somewhere in my application (not so much as an excuse but just to give them a bit of context around the situation)? or do they not want to hear it?

I'm planning to apply this upcoming Fall so I've started researching programs and schools to see what kind of research they're doing, they're requirements, and average GRE scores and GPA of accepted applicants. What I've noticed is that there's hardly any difference between "top 10" schools and say a 35th ranked school in regards to average GRE scores, GPAs, and % of applicants accepted. Can anyone shed some light this?

This is all really great information! Thanks everyone! I'll continue my good progress, research more schools/faculty, and hope for the best

Hey everyone! So here's my situation and I apologize in advance for the length of this. I'm a senior at the University of Illinois. I'm a psych major but I started off as a biology/pre-med. Right now I'm really interested in clinical psych and would like to apply to a PhD program. Here's the thing though: I screwed up my first 2 years and got 3 C's (general chemistry 1 and 2 as well as pre-calculus), 1 W (calculus), and an F (organic chemistry). To be completely honest I received these grades for mainly 2 reasons. 1) I was pretty depressed throughout my first two years of college and this affected my greatly 2) Biology was not my real interest. I was simply guided to that route by my parents. Thus, I had no motivation to study or do well in the classes. Paired with my depression, this as a recipe for disaster. I kept trying though because like I said, it was somewhat expected of me to become a doctor. It took 2 miserable years and an F on my transcript to realize that I was making a huge mistake. After that I changed my major to a psychology - something I have always loved and sought out help for my depression and I have drastically improved. I definitely believe I am a totally different person and student now. My psychology GPA by graduation should be a 4.0 by graduation, my gen-ed GPA is a 4.0, and my overall should be around a 3.48. My GPA for my first 50 credit hours was a 2.9 but for my last 70 it's a 3.95. The only classes i have received something lower than a B in are the physical science ones that I mentioned. As for research and such, I have been doing extensive medical research with an emphasis on patient psychology. I have been doing this for over 3 years and have received an NIH supplement grant to do it. I have presented a poster at 3 conferences (one national [awarded honors], one regional, and one local) and have attended serval others. I have experience with iIRB documents (such as submitting protocols) as well as formal research training. I am also submitting a paper for first author publication within the next month or so. I have also had a large hand in the development of a patient education application (Apple store) geared towards individuals with low literacy. I have two mentors, one is a physician the other is a psychologist and both have stated that they would be more than willing to write me a letter of rec. Aside from this research I have also been assisting a graduate student with his study for the past year, I have also participated in 2 summer research programs, and I have been a psychology tutor for the past 3 months. I'm currently trying to gain some clinical experience as well although I'm not sure how that will go. So now my real question: do I have a chance at a top 10 program? My dream school would be Berkley as I love the research they're doing there but my second choice would be U of I. Assuming I do well on my GRE, do I have a chance? or is there no point in applying? Also I'm not sure if this matters at all but I'm male and hispanic... Thanks in advance for all you're input.

Thanks everyone! I appreciated all the advice and I feel a whole lot better about applying. I'm going to keep working hard and see what happens. I have put a lot of effort and thought into my undergrad psychology career and I know this is what I want to do. I'll be sure to express that more strongly and clearly on my application. Thanks again!

Hey everyone! I'm a senior at the University of Illinois. I'm a psych major but I started off as a biology/pre-med. Right now I'm really interested in clinical psych and would like to apply to a PhD program. Here's the thing though: I screwed up my first 2 years and got 3 C's (general chemistry 1 and 2 as well as pre-calculus), 1 W (calculus), and an F (organic chemistry). To be completely honest I received these grades for mainly 2 reasons. 1) I was pretty depressed throughout my first two years of college and this affected my greatly 2) I was in over my head. I'm by no means a person who is good at quantitative science. I hated these "hard" science classes and performed poorly as i lacked motivation to study (both because of the depression and because I wasn't enjoying the material). I kept trying though because it was somewhat expected of me (family) to become a doctor. It took 2 miserable years and an F on my transcript to realize that I was making a huge mistake. After that I changed my major to a psychology - something I have always loved and sought out help for my depression and I have drastically improved My psychology GPA by graduation will be around a 3.9, my gen-ed GPA is a 4.0, and my overall should be around a 3.5. My GPA for my first 50 credit hours was a 2.9 but for my last 70 it's a 3.8. The only classes i have received something lower than a B in are the physical science ones that I mentioned. As for research and such, I have been doing extensive medical research with an emphasis on patient psychology (eg. I've been investigated various psychological and social factors that contribute to patient non-adherance and I have proposed several interventions to address the issues). I have been doing for 3 years and have received an NIH supplement grant to do it. I have presented a poster at 3 conferences and have attended serval others. I hope to have something published by the end of the year. I have also had a large hand in the development of a patient education application (Apple store) geared towards individuals with low literacy. I have two mentors, one is a physician the other is a psychologist and both would be more than willing to write me a letter of rec. I want to take the GRE soon but considering my bad grades I don't even know if it's worth it. Obviously I wasn't planning on applying to a top tier school but do I have any chance of getting accepted even to a middle or bottom tier program? Thanks in advance for all you're input.

Great advice. I'll give it my best shot and hope for the best.

I'm currently a junior psychology major however I started as a biology premed major. I was in way over my head as I struggled with most science classes. I received two C's in Gen. chemistry, an F in organic chemistry and a W in calculus. During my sophomore year I took a psychology class and I loved it so I change my major. My gen Ed is a 4.0 and my major GPA right now is a 3.8. I have three years of research experience at my university, I have presented two posters at a conference and research forum, I have received supplemental NIH grant funding for my research. I do expect to have something published by the end of my senior year. I work with two PI's. One is a physician the other is a researcher with a PhD in clinical psychology. Although most of my research is medically geared I do provide a lot of emphasis on the psycholohical and social aspects of healthcare, treatment, and patients. Almost all the people I work with are either physicians or psychologist. I'm not sure this is relevant but I also design a low literacy educational program for people with certain illnesses which is targeted towards minorities. I'm now interested in clinical psychology and would like to earn a PhD in it. However, I'm not sure if I could get excepted into any programs. If I need to I can retake organic chemistry and have my old grade replaced. I only failed the course because I missed the final. So do I have a chance or should I just forget about it and try something else? Thanks!