FeelGoodDoGood

What are your research interests within psychology? Are there people at each (or even any) of the schools in Florida who would be a good fit for your research interests? Without knowing that, it's impossible to say anything more than "anyone has a chance at getting in". Research fit is key when it comes to Ph.D. programs so narrowing your goal to a single state without considering that is not a good application strategy/approach.

You won't be one of the oldest first years. I know a handful of late 20s early 30s RAs in the lab I was in last year that are entering programs this fall. In my own incoming cohort there's at least one who is almost 30. 
Contrary to how it may seem on TGC and SDN, it's equally common to enter a phd program in your mid-late 20s as it is to go straight from undergrad (like I'm doing). On the flip side, I'm worried about being the "baby" of the group, but as long as I'm 21 there won't be any kinds of events I can't go to that others in my program will. When I worked in a clinical setting during college, it sucked being left out of colleague bonding activities because everyone was 24-27 and I was 18. Even if one doesn't drink, not being allowed in these venues is still a barrier. 
I can't find the thread right now but I know there is an active one for "older" students, though posters in that thread tend to be late 30s+. 
tl;dr I think you'll be fine on the age front

Would not recommend. 
I worked with Kelsky, and I found the experience disappointing. A lot of people complain about her bedside manner (which is indeed atrocious), but that wasn't my main concern. Rather, I was dismayed by her poor work ethic. I could tell she wasn't actually reading my material closely, or she was passing it to different people through different rounds. Thus, I would get completely different advice from one draft to the next. Like, I would be told to mention X in a certain paragraph, so I would mention X and send it back. Then I would get feedback like, "WHY would you mention X in this paragraph? THIS DOESN'T GO HERE!" It's a bit like telling a dog to sit and then roll over and then screaming NO NO I SAID SIT when they start to roll over. 

(And I'm not joking about the all caps thing. That's how she writes a lot of her marginal feedback, no exaggeration.)

The experience basically works like this. You contact her, and she'll put you on the calendar for about six or ten weeks later, depending on her schedule. She makes you pay far in advance for editing three documents, and it's usually around $400 to $500. She'll take you through four drafts of these documents but no more. She also won't answer any questions you have about her feedback.

You send her the first draft of the first document, usually your cover letter. She gets back to you and tells you it's terrible. You're doing everything wrong--you're being a "liberal arts mush" or writing a "weepy teaching paragraph." Sound familiar? Yeah, because these are the points on her blog, and apparently they’re mistakes that everyone makes. Even if you’re absolutely sure you don’t make them, guess what, you do. She then tells you to go read her blog posts and rewrite your letter. 

You make some changes. For draft 2, she'll praise you for taking her suggestions. Then she'll make really vague and minor suggestions like "cut this," "para too long, cut 20 words," "don't put your contact info in your final paragraph." If she doesn't like things, she'll seriously write NO NO in the margins or STOP THAT. I thought that was sort of hilarious. Imagine giving that kind of feedback to a student! And my students don't pay me $500 to look at 8 pages of writing.

About halfway through working with her, I got nervous with some of her suggestions, because they were so at odds with the advice I’d gotten from my department, so I ran some of them by my advisor. Advisor was like, "Who is giving you this terrible advice?" (And my advisor sits on job search committees every year. Is not exactly out of touch.)

When I gave Kelsky my next draft, I made a marginal note in my letter that, after consulting my advisor, I decided not to follow some of the advice she was giving. Big mistake. When I got the next draft back, she basically unloaded with both barrels, saying that my letter was embarrassing and would insult the intelligence of any search committee I sent it to, and then she implied that my advisor was an idiot. (Those were the words she used: “embarrassing,” “an insult,” and “cliched.”) That was the end of our time together. 

Aside from her interpersonal communication skills (which suck), her inattention to detail was incredibly disappointing. In one draft, certain things would be fine. But then, in the next draft, there'd be all these ~problems. Like, for two rounds, all with certain paragraphs would be hunky dory; then, in the final round, every word of a particular paragraph would be WRONG or NO NO NO.

She claims to be good for the humanities, but I don’t feel like she really knows what’s up in my discipline. She's an ex-anthropologist. She kept criticizing my dissertation paragraph and telling me that no one in my field would have any idea what I was talking about. She also said that my claims were too large and ridiculous. But I don’t know how she would know such a thing because she isn’t in my discipline—not even close. I wouldn’t presume to know the first thing about what makes an anthropology dissertation compelling. But Karen supposedly knows the humanities inside and out. She knows all fields. She knows more than your dissertation advisor about the current trends in your field—even though she left academia 6+ years ago.  

But like I said, it wasn't the personality issue that bothered me so much; it was that her advice was unpredictable, inconsistent, and way too generalized. She clearly was phoning it in, and I think that people deserve better for $500. For $500, I want my documents edited and worked over. I don't want to be told that "this is fine" in one draft and then "WTF is THIS?" in the next.

I’m also pretty sure that she’s not actually doing most of the consulting. I mean—think about it. She told me she has “thousands” of clients. She also just published a book and writes a weekly column for the Chronicle Vitae. I don’t know anyone who consult with an enormous number of clients all while writing a book and cranking out weekly columns. Either someone else wrote the book or someone else is doing the consulting. Or she’s just doing the consulting really badly these days. In any case, I would not pay her for her services now, knowing what I know.

Like the above poster, I’ve seen a lot of people from my program get jobs, and I have their letters. Their letters break all of Kelsky's sacrosanct rules. They have dissertation paragraphs that are too long; they combine their second project paragraph with their professionalization paragraph; they tailor in really bland ways. They even write letters that are more than 2 pages! And yet, they got good jobs. So I really have no idea.

I don’t have any problem with the way Kelsky makes a living. Like, I read those threads on the CHE forums, and it seems like a lot of people accuse of her profiteering off a bad job market and preying on graduate students’ insecurities. I don’t care about that; in the free world I think she has a right to make a living any way she sees fit. I also don’t care that she’s bullying or insensitive. I mean, yeah, it's unprofessional and immature as hell (and "keeping it real" doesn't mean being a jerk), but if she's a bully who still provides a quality service that gets you shortlisted, then who cares. But she doesn’t provide a quality service. She doesn’t hold up her end of the bargain. And that’s what’s truly egregious about her whole operation, at least from my perspective. She took my money and gave me a crappy service in return. I’m $500 poorer with very little to show for it. Like the previous poster, my letter did get *better*—but it’s difficult to say if this is Kelsky’s doing or if this is because I ran it by a ton of people after Kelsky spooked me with her advice. If that’s the case, then she inadvertently made it better by forcing me to crosscheck her recommendations. Really, my own legwork made it better; Kelsky didn’t even do any line edits.

I hired her and would recommend her with some serious reservations. First, I'll say that my documents were better after working with her. That said, for what she does, she overcharges. She charges by the hour--4 drafts, an hour on each. It's clear, however, that she doesn't spend anywhere near that amount of time on them. For the first draft, she sends a form letter telling you to read her book/blog posts more carefully, with maybe a sentence pointing to some problems areas in your document (e.g., your letter needs to be better organized; it's emotional, self-aggrandizing, etc.) She does line edits on the subsequent drafts, but they are mostly cosmetic, and, not surprisingly, geared to making your document hew more closely to her template. In any case, I found it hard to believe she spent more than a half hour on any of the drafts. On top of that, she is needlessly brusque and condescending (I realize she's being "real," but for what she charges I think a kinder approach is not too much to ask for). But her advice is solid, and, as I said, the documents came out better--not much better, but better all the same. The problem is that she charges a lot of money for what she does. And she can, because what she's selling is a (false) sense of control to scared grad students at the mercy of a baffling system. The reality, though, is that, while there are certain rhetorical tricks out there that are helpful, the system is finally opaque and variable. I've read cover letters and statements from a number of friends who are now employed at top universities, and a shocking number of them break Karen's most sacred "rules," sometimes, it seems, all of them. In the end, the decisions of search committees come down to so many factors that are out of your control: do they like your topic, do they like your advisor, have you published enough? What Karen offers can help, but only a little bit. So, if you've got the money, then sure, go for it, but don't get your hopes too high.

School: University of Iowa
Program: Counseling Psychology
-Great School and Program
Hope it opens a spot for someone on the waitlist! 

Aside from the usual advice (study for GREs, get excellent grades, research experience, etc.), I think the component that is arguably the most important is: find a fantastic mentor (or two, as I did). I made sure to strategically seek out mentors (a few years ago) who would prepare me the best for the application process and graduate school. Without them I truly do not think I would have been admitted in my first round. Not only did my mentors provide me with invaluable research opportunities (conferences, posters, publications, amazing LORs, etc.), but also they really helped me through the application process. They helped me understand the process of choosing the right schools for me, they looked over my SOPs and scholarship proposals, and they gave me an incredible amount of moral support! 
Feel free to PM me if you want any other advice.  

We recently had interview day at my program. After the day ended, we met with all the faculty members and were asked to briefly provide our thoughts and any potential red flags we noticed about applicants. Feedback included social awkwardness, being under dressed, saying judgmental things, asking great questions, being personable, having admitted to not being interested in research, being (un)able to coherently discuss their research interests, (not) being a good fit, etc.
No matter how casual your interactions with current graduate students may seem, remain professional; the faculty will likely ask for their input on you. The moment you step on campus, act as though you are being interviewed the entire time. If you are staying with a current grad student, the same advice follows. Don't say anything to anyone that you wouldn't say to a faculty member. I know of several instances where students or staff affiliated with a program told faculty about unfavorable things applicants said/did, which resulted in rejections (admitting to not liking research, fighting over where to sleep at a grad student's apartment, being mean to a secretary, etc).

Thanks!! It was really nice and a weight off my shoulders. I will send good vibes your way so that you'll get good offers! 

@artsy16 I got an offer from my top choice, so I'm pretty stoked. Still going to another one next weekend just to gain some clarity, but I think my decision is made. I totally agree. The interviews are exhausting! I'm an introvert so the whole day feels like I'm out of my element, but I think I do alright at interviews. Good luck on your next two!!! 

I got my first interview invite! I was really surprised this early in the game. Good luck to everyone! Keep the Counseling Psych page going strong. 

As mentioned before, it can be seen as indecisiveness. You need to tie in the programs with your end goals, and not just look like you're in school for the sake of being in school. 
 
Clinical Psychology is a hands on field. Do you have any professional work experience? If not, you'd be better getting a psychology masters or a Mental Health Counseling (maybe with a marriage & family concentration) where you will have internship/practicum experiences. Also, work for summer camps/part-time with clients. If your sociology masters provides those experiences, then you may be able to explain why you went with that specific program. 
 
You have to get some research in there. Preferably, research in your interest area. Be very proactive in talking to professors about this ASAP. I've talked to everyone in my masters program, and no-one is conducting research I can help with. Luckily, with the flexibility, I can do two research-focused independent studies. But that is not ideal. 
 
As others have said, your scores are not *necessarily* a detriment. They are adequate scores. But you need to strengthen your application with direction, focus and experience. 

Nobody can answer a question formulated this way. You are asking people to predict your future. How can I know whether the U of Chicago "brand" will help you finding a job assuming that you do "decent" work? If you have the impression that graduates of the "Big Three" can get jobs no matter what, then it's the wrong impression.
 
You should just look for a place where you have a good fit and that you are happy to attend. Then do your best work, and see what happens.

You do realize for something to be a disability it has to disable you, right?
 
As in, "illness i got over and am fine now" or "illness that i can live with and function at a totally normal level with treatment" is not even in the same league as a disability.
 
Saying it's unfortunate that your life wasn't permanently changed to make you disabled - as in unable to function normally on a continuing and on going basis - is the epitome of everything that's wrong with the mindset this place fosters.

Just a quick update, I found a very informative book about careers in psychology in the US in a book called "Careers in Psychology: Opportunities in a changing world", by Tara Kuther and Robert Morgan (2012).
 
This book is a good starting point to anyone who wants to pursue a career in psychology, to anyone who practised psychology in another country and wants to know the specificities of psychology in the US or to anyone who wants to change a career. The information is divided by area (clinical, developmental, social, health, sports, etc. psychologies) and degree (major, bachelor, masters, doctorate) as well as information of some job titles and descriptions, further readings, websites and salaries.

Hi Soflostudent,
 
Let me start by first saying, I was in a similar position (with different interests) last year. I was in my senior year, and although I had prepared significantly and always knew I wanted to go to grad school, I was disillusioned. I sat down to write personal statements for schools, and just felt as though I couldn't accurately discern what it was that I wanted to do. SO--I took time off, got a research position (one that would set me up nicely for graduate school), and soul-searched. I saw a career counselor at my school, took personality tests, read books about careers, researched my options. Just to give you an idea I was thinking about English, Public Health, and Education...it was a rocky time of discernment. I also talked to SEVERAL people in various fields that I was interested in, oh and the kicker, I stopped reading the negativity on message boards.  Being out of school, with less responsibilities also helped.
 
So my advice, like Mr. Bugles', is to go back to the root of your interest in psychology. What got you amped up about it in the first place? Also, definitely research different fields, talk to professionals and professors in other departments. I made a list of what I wanted in a potential career as far as day to day responsibilities. Another thing--don't think of picking a career as a life-long sentence. So many people have a career that evolves over their lifetime. Maybe you want to first try dietetics and then go into some kind of health psychology--something like that. It definitely helped me when one of my research mentors told me that she finally figured out what she wanted to do 15 years AFTER her doctorate.
 
So take the pressure off yourself and explore a little bit! I would recommend contacting someone in the dietetics dept at your school and just asking these questions!!

Hi Meen521!
 
Let me just say I was in a very similar position when I graduated. Throughout my undergraduate, I prepared for a PhD program (and felt very pressured to achieve it right away). Long story short, I sat down to write my personal statements my senior year and I still had many questions about myself and what it was that I was even passionate about. I didn’t want to go to a PhD program that wasn’t a good fit for my career goals, so I decided to take a gap year. I should probably mention that this decision originally made me feel like a failure (which is a totally unhealthy way of looking at it, but that’s the mindset I was in). When I started getting questions from everyone about my plans post-graduation it wasn’t fun to have to grapple with my lack of plans! Not to mention not having the same support of friends while in college made things really hard.
 
During my gap year I kept doing research (which I figured would be helpful any direction I went) as well as another job to help ends meet. As for what you should start with career wise—it’s a tough market. Find something that seems halfway decent and seems plausible for your career goals…it doesn’t have to be crazy awesome. For example, I was doing higher education program evaluation research. This is definitely NOT my dream job, but it paid me and helped me develop quantitative skills. It’s counterintuitive, but sometimes you have to figure out want to do by figuring out what you DON’T want to do.  Even when I worked retail for a brief period this year, I gained valuable data and learned about myself. The trick is to take something from every job you have (even if the job is totally crappy!)
 
So throughout my gap year, I explored many different directions I was interested in (public health, education, English, psychology, counseling, social work). I read about these professions, talked to professionals, took career assessments, talked to graduate students, shadowed, got personal therapy—the works. I talked to a career professional in my school’s career office, and she told me that most people switch job/careers 5-6 times throughout their life…which seems like it would be even more for millennials. Even if you start to do one career, you’re not chained to it for life. For example, if you did do something with cognitive psychology, there’s probably a number of directions you could take it besides academia.
 
The point is, go crazy exploring things. Try things out. Volunteer. Talk to people whose careers seem cool. Remember what got you interested in psychology in the first place (this one was key for me). Don’t look at your lack of solid plans as a failure—look at it as an opportunity. ALSO—I don’t see my gap year as a smashing success—I made A LOT of mistakes…but it’s OK that I made mistakes. I also learned a lot about myself, and I’m entering a great program in the fall.
 
Feel free to PM if you want to talk more in depth.  
 
FGDG

Hi Meen521!
 
Let me just say I was in a very similar position when I graduated. Throughout my undergraduate, I prepared for a PhD program (and felt very pressured to achieve it right away). Long story short, I sat down to write my personal statements my senior year and I still had many questions about myself and what it was that I was even passionate about. I didn’t want to go to a PhD program that wasn’t a good fit for my career goals, so I decided to take a gap year. I should probably mention that this decision originally made me feel like a failure (which is a totally unhealthy way of looking at it, but that’s the mindset I was in). When I started getting questions from everyone about my plans post-graduation it wasn’t fun to have to grapple with my lack of plans! Not to mention not having the same support of friends while in college made things really hard.
 
During my gap year I kept doing research (which I figured would be helpful any direction I went) as well as another job to help ends meet. As for what you should start with career wise—it’s a tough market. Find something that seems halfway decent and seems plausible for your career goals…it doesn’t have to be crazy awesome. For example, I was doing higher education program evaluation research. This is definitely NOT my dream job, but it paid me and helped me develop quantitative skills. It’s counterintuitive, but sometimes you have to figure out want to do by figuring out what you DON’T want to do.  Even when I worked retail for a brief period this year, I gained valuable data and learned about myself. The trick is to take something from every job you have (even if the job is totally crappy!)
 
So throughout my gap year, I explored many different directions I was interested in (public health, education, English, psychology, counseling, social work). I read about these professions, talked to professionals, took career assessments, talked to graduate students, shadowed, got personal therapy—the works. I talked to a career professional in my school’s career office, and she told me that most people switch job/careers 5-6 times throughout their life…which seems like it would be even more for millennials. Even if you start to do one career, you’re not chained to it for life. For example, if you did do something with cognitive psychology, there’s probably a number of directions you could take it besides academia.
 
The point is, go crazy exploring things. Try things out. Volunteer. Talk to people whose careers seem cool. Remember what got you interested in psychology in the first place (this one was key for me). Don’t look at your lack of solid plans as a failure—look at it as an opportunity. ALSO—I don’t see my gap year as a smashing success—I made A LOT of mistakes…but it’s OK that I made mistakes. I also learned a lot about myself, and I’m entering a great program in the fall.
 
Feel free to PM if you want to talk more in depth.  
 
FGDG

I am in a counseling psych PhD program and our program also offers an MS in counseling psych. Funding is available but very hard to get as PhD students get priority, thus most MS students are not funded. Research opportunities are ample--I usually see the opposite thing, MS students not taking advantage of them. 
I'd go with counseling psych if possible if your end goal is a PhD program, as counseling is accredited by CACREP and the PhD programs in counseling psych are accredited by APA. That means MS programs in counseling psych tend to align more with APA standards.
The main reasons not to do Experimental Psych, in my opinion, are the introductory counseling skills classes and practicum. With a MS in counseling psych you will have intro skills classes that most PhD programs then will waive; also, you will do a full year of practicum and then you can count those hours toward your AAPI internship application. Otherwise you'll have to get those classes and prac hours in the PhD program which will make the whole endeavor longer.

Agree. There are a handful of funded programs, so those should be prioritized. I actually chose an unfunded program over a program I was accepted to with full funding and a stipend, because the other program seemed like a MUCH better fit for me (and it was). People in my program minimized cost by getting paid to do things that were great additions to our CVs (working as assessors for studies, TA'ing, paid part-time RA positions at our university or universities/hospitals nearby, etc) or working within the department (great way to get to know the faculty and admissions process for grad programs). I also lived at home and commuted. And my program also gave a handful of scholarships when they extended offers which helped a lot. Overall, I graduated with less debt than a year's worth of college, and I felt it was a solid investment. Also, if I had decided that a PhD wasn't the best decision for me, then I had more career options with my master's when re-entering the work force. If I had to decide again, I'd make the same choice. Again, tough decision, and it really comes down to what is best for each person.

You definitely do NOT need a master's degree. But as someone switching into the field, I found it very useful. First, it gives you a taste of what a PhD program and a career will be like in Psychology. Second, you can start getting strong LORs and networking within your subfield, so that when it's time to apply to PhD programs, you have a strong sense of who is who, what programs do what, and where you want to end up (and with who). All subfields have political drama, cliques, and crazies, and applying blindly isn't necessarily the smartest way to approach it. Third, you get to design your own thesis and go through the whole defense process. Fourth, you get exposures to different areas of Psychology- I didn't even know about Health Psychology until my master's program, and now I'm in a Clinical/Health PhD program.
 
There are plenty of people who switch into the field without doing a master's, but I found it invaluable- it helped me get into my top choice PhD program, and made me a lot more comfortable and confident coming in. In a PhD program, you're expected to be fairly independent and know your stuff. Without that experience, I would be pretty lost right now.
 
At the end of the day, it's best to consider all the options and decide what is best for you!

Hi Soflostudent,
 
Let me start by first saying, I was in a similar position (with different interests) last year. I was in my senior year, and although I had prepared significantly and always knew I wanted to go to grad school, I was disillusioned. I sat down to write personal statements for schools, and just felt as though I couldn't accurately discern what it was that I wanted to do. SO--I took time off, got a research position (one that would set me up nicely for graduate school), and soul-searched. I saw a career counselor at my school, took personality tests, read books about careers, researched my options. Just to give you an idea I was thinking about English, Public Health, and Education...it was a rocky time of discernment. I also talked to SEVERAL people in various fields that I was interested in, oh and the kicker, I stopped reading the negativity on message boards.  Being out of school, with less responsibilities also helped.
 
So my advice, like Mr. Bugles', is to go back to the root of your interest in psychology. What got you amped up about it in the first place? Also, definitely research different fields, talk to professionals and professors in other departments. I made a list of what I wanted in a potential career as far as day to day responsibilities. Another thing--don't think of picking a career as a life-long sentence. So many people have a career that evolves over their lifetime. Maybe you want to first try dietetics and then go into some kind of health psychology--something like that. It definitely helped me when one of my research mentors told me that she finally figured out what she wanted to do 15 years AFTER her doctorate.
 
So take the pressure off yourself and explore a little bit! I would recommend contacting someone in the dietetics dept at your school and just asking these questions!!

I think it's a pretty good program. I mean, they have an internship and a thesis requirement. Additionally, the research being done by one of the professors matches my own. I don't know what other colleges would think of it when it comes to applying to PhDs, but I chose it because of how it matches my own interests. If you can wait without losing funding or your spot, I would. There's no harm in waiting and you can take the time to make a well informed decision. You spent plenty of money applying, so don't jump the gun! Take time to talk to grad students and professors in both programs

Someone in this thread has the "belief in a perfect world" thing going on to an extreme.  Clinical psychology PhD admissions are brutal, much more so than most other psychology programs, and many have argued them to be the most competitive graduate program for admission (what is it, like an average of 5% acceptance rate?  But usually you have to name a potential mentor who is probably taking only 1 student).  It is not uncommon to see and hear stories about highly qualified applicants getting passed over multiple years and even applicants with less experience get in right out of undergraduate.  If it really were the best students, this would not be the case as many people with good grades/GRE scores go out into various settings for a couple years to gain extra experience, present/publish, etc. to help their application stand out more so than a college senior with similar academic credentials.
 
Most clinical psychology PhD programs are just like other PhD programs, based on mentorship models and the biggest weight in the decision of whether or not to admit you is based on the potential mentor you selected and his/her decision.  A faculty member may invite 4+ of the top applicants for his/her lab to interview, and from there, as they always say, it boils down to who is the best "fit."  Over the years, I have begun to question what that means and have gradually seen that it generally is an umbrella term used to broadly define the subjective criteria desired by the individual who is evaluating an applicant; what he/she values most in a graduate student and which student most closely emulates that.  This can be a number of things, such as overlapping research experience/research goals, career goals, grades/GRE scores, it can even be based on things like the professor's impression of your undergraduate institution, letter writers are his/her close colleagues, your personality, or pre-existing relationship with person of interest (it's naïve to think that these things do not get people admitted over others).
 
Despite what some may think, so much is out of the applicants' control, and because of the way the process works, there are highly qualified students that do not get admission offers at all during multiple application cycles, and less qualified students who luck out on the "fit" aspect or a wait list works out in their favor the first time they apply.  If it were just based on the best students, there would be no interviews or personal statements.  You would just send in your transcripts/GRE scores, letters of recommendation and a resume/CV and they would just admit the people with the highest grades, test scores, most publications and presentations and base it off that.  Domino's assessment above is spot on.
 
And of course, there are easier ways out to get a degree to practice, like masters programs or PsyD's but I suppose if one is so concerned about trusting a health professional for getting into grad/med school not being an uber-student, you could always ask to see their transcripts from their undergraduate degree before consenting to anything if it concerns you that much.

So by your logic I should feel blessed with a third rated surgeon who failed anatomy but got into medical school because it is a "game". Also obviously I want a loser "psychologist" who "game" into grad school and somehow become licensed and I am suppose to trust that person with my mental health. Right.....

Hi Soflostudent,
 
Let me start by first saying, I was in a similar position (with different interests) last year. I was in my senior year, and although I had prepared significantly and always knew I wanted to go to grad school, I was disillusioned. I sat down to write personal statements for schools, and just felt as though I couldn't accurately discern what it was that I wanted to do. SO--I took time off, got a research position (one that would set me up nicely for graduate school), and soul-searched. I saw a career counselor at my school, took personality tests, read books about careers, researched my options. Just to give you an idea I was thinking about English, Public Health, and Education...it was a rocky time of discernment. I also talked to SEVERAL people in various fields that I was interested in, oh and the kicker, I stopped reading the negativity on message boards.  Being out of school, with less responsibilities also helped.
 
So my advice, like Mr. Bugles', is to go back to the root of your interest in psychology. What got you amped up about it in the first place? Also, definitely research different fields, talk to professionals and professors in other departments. I made a list of what I wanted in a potential career as far as day to day responsibilities. Another thing--don't think of picking a career as a life-long sentence. So many people have a career that evolves over their lifetime. Maybe you want to first try dietetics and then go into some kind of health psychology--something like that. It definitely helped me when one of my research mentors told me that she finally figured out what she wanted to do 15 years AFTER her doctorate.
 
So take the pressure off yourself and explore a little bit! I would recommend contacting someone in the dietetics dept at your school and just asking these questions!!