Chubberubber

This might be getting way to personal, but I'm just gonna say it- you could also get married. Now that it's out of my system, to more practical idea- why don't you share your feelings and reservations about continuing the program with your advisor, without saying that you made up your mind to quit . It might alloe you to "test the water" regarding your advisor's potential response thus eliminating some of the uncertainties of option A, and also make a choice of option B less shocking for her should you choose to eventually go that route. Additionally, having had 3 prior students quit, she might have some insights as to what you're going through and perhaps can direct you to resources or options you are currently unaware of.

It varies dramatically from school to school, and from program to program. In some cases professors get almost full control on who they admit to their lab specifically, in others there is some mix where admissions comittee makes the first cut and only then do professors look at application files, and yet in other schools they have even less influence. During my appliction process last year, one professor told me stright up that I seem to be a great fit but that he has no influence over who gets admitted (I didn't get into that program). So basically, it's impossible to gauge the importance of a potential PI's interest to admissions. However, it is always encouraging to know you are being thought of highly!

Yup. not expecting much.

I think you pretty much said it- gain research experience. One possible way to do that is to reach out to researchers/ labs whos work you're interested in, ans just ask them if you could volunteer as a research asssistant. While it will task your schedule, it will be worth it. I don't know what your school's policy is, but perhaps you can even suggest to run studies in your school. Any lab would be extremely happy to have an easy access to its research population...

Honestly, from everything you wrote you sound like an outstanding applicant. GRE scores really are only one part of the total application. Fit with PI and research experience are often more important than that. You can usually gauge which score you should be aiming for by looking at different department's web site .This one from the University of Chicago, shows you're right in the average of their admitted studets from last year, as well as Yale with a range of 550-800 in the old scoring (146-166 in the new scoring). But even in universities like UC Berkeley or Sanford with a higher quant score average of admitted students, will surely look at your application and review it in its totality. I wouldn't get too hung up on the GRE score and apply to schools where you feel like you have the best fit, where you specific research experience be valued and preferably institutions with some connection to your LOR writers. I'm writing this assuming your Q score is your lowest one in the GRE. If you did well in the other parts, you will still be viewed as an excellent candidate, and I'm certain your undergrad GPA and GPA from your Master's program provide further proof of your academic abilities. If you are worried about your Q GRE hurting your application, make sure to highlight your proved record with quantitive research in your SOP. For what's it worth, I got into a very good Ph.D program (albeit in a different field, but one that does require a lot of quantitative research) with a similar Q GRE to yours. But this is only my experience, and I know some luck was involved...

I don't know much about Psy.D, and I guess it has a lot to do with where you're planning on living and working, but my feeling is that you're right to be a little skeptical abot it. If you are really sure that you want to combine research and clinical work, then building up your research experience before applying to a Ph.D program is probably a smart idea. What ever you choose- good luck!

If what you are interested in is purely clinical work, and being a researcher is not that appealing to you, then I think an MSW (and then becoming an LCSW) could be a good way to go. Clinical psych Ph.D programs are insanely competative, long, and heavy on research. Though I'm sure with a lot of hard work you could get into a program, it just sounds like your passion lies elsewhere.

I also did my undergrad abroad, and am now learning the American system. First- "major" in the U.S system usually refers to the main department you are affiliated with, the one that will show up on your diploma. In your case, seems like your major is International studies. To the extent that your Eurasian courses were taken outside of that department, you could perhaps enter it as a "minor". As far as I remember I only reported my total GPA, but many application websites have specific instructions for international students. Don't forget that you will be asked to provide your transcript, so your specific Eurasian studies bacgroud (and grades) will be shown there.

Wierdly inspirational!

I have a terrible case of I.S which is really affecting my social skills negatively. I'm so afraid to sound stuipd that when I finally do say something I actually end up saying it in the worst possible way. I just hope that people around me understand my nervousness... I just need to remind myself that it's not by sheer luck that I was accepted. Still, the thought of dissapointing my POI is terrifying. Luckily I'm in a unique position to sort of "ease in" to the program and get familiar with the department/ lab before it actually starts. However, I'm not sure if it helps the I.S or somehow makes it worse...

Congrats! I don't know much about clinical psychology Ph.Ds, but it seems to me like a good backgroud in neuro will serve you well anywhere in the psych world.

It's perfectly normal to ask to talk to grad students, but make sure to schedule your meeting(s) with them enough time in advance of your visit. Finding a POI is ususally done based on your research experience (which professor's work have you incorporated in your papers/ based your research on/ found interesting during your studies) and/ or by combing through departments faculty pages to see whose work you relate to the most. You might also want to look into where you coulf live with a dog as many on-campus housing options don't allow pets...

Just wanted to add a couple of things to what others mentioned- if you can find ways to secure funding towards your PhD from sources outside of your intended program (such as natrional fellowships/ scholarships) it might significantly enhance your chances. Also- Good GRE and TOFEL scores are pretty important since even a strong GPA from a non US school might not mean much to American universities. Also- independent research experience might beef up your application as well.

Thank you weshh! My international M.A definitely helped my admission exactly for all the reasons you mentioned. Good luck!

While an M.A might not make it easier or faster to complete a PhD, in my experience it makes it easier to get into a program (but my experience is quite limited). I honestly don't think that as an international student I would have made it to a PhD program without a master's degree in the field.