neuropsych76

Well first off, I think taking a year off to collect your thoughts and decide what exactly you want to do would be very beneficial since you seem to be bouncing around so much. You are right in some spots though. Clinical psych is SUPER competitive and the job prospects are just so-so. Funded programs have admission rates around 5% and if you don't get into a funded program, you may have 200k plus in debt. That said if you really love what your doing then it is worth it. I'm getting a PhD in cognitive neuroscience and even though its my first year, I love it. It is stressful and I know it will only be more stressful but I love learning and doing research in my area. To me, the fun outweighs the stress. I would suggest looking into masters in counseling. If you only want to do private practice and are not so excited about research that may be the way to go. You can still practice psychotherapy and some are arguing that masters are the better route since they are less competitive and insurance companies do not want to pay extra for PhD's since the research suggests that psychotherapy outcome is the same for masters and PhD level providers. Good luck!

I would definitely try to make your research goals as specific as possible. Your outline seems fine but schools want to know that you are a good fit for them. Good luck!

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I hate to be a debbie downer but I think you don't really have a lot of research experience compared to other successful applicants. Social psych is very competitive but like others said it really depends on your GRE score and fit.

My guess is that if it is an isolated incident you won't have to worry about losing TA funding or getting kicked out. But it is something you would need to change for your next TA session.

I agree with grimmiae said but I would also add to stay away from online clinical psychology degrees. Getting high in debt will be very tough for the uncertain times of clinical psychology.

Do they want you to take the psychology subject test? If schools recommend it then you would be hurting your application by not having it. Luckily I was only considering one school (university of new Mexico) that strongly reccomended that subject test. I asked around and apparently it's super hard to get in there without taking it even with a stellar application. That's just one example so maybe others can comment on this but I would recommend taking it even though it isn't much fun

Fair enough you can know you are interested in something without physically doing it. Though I would disagree obtaining the skills necessary to do research in quant psych is a barrier for undergrads. A close friend of mine was a math/psych major and worked in a quant psych lab for a summer internship before heading off to a quant psych phd program.

If you haven't done any quantitative research before how do you know you'll want a phd in quantitative psychology?

You would need a book like this: http://www.amazon.com/Graduate-Psychology-American-Psychological-Association/dp/1433805359 It will have some of the quantitative programs listed and number of applicants/ avg GRE scores ect. You still need pretty high overall stats despite it being a small field. I would compare it to experimental psych PhD programs.

Yeah, three degrees at one place is a bit much. Seems like both places are close to equal so i'd go to the new place (unless you absolutely love where you are and would hate to move but even then i'd still move lol).

When I teach I'm really hoping to be silly. I'm already pretty big goof outside of class and I know students like/respect teachers who make them laugh every once in awhile. The trick is to be funny but not too funny

I think your experiences will help you and as long as you have the pre-reqs you should be fine. I would consider taking the psych GRE if you have the time/money because it looks good for non-psych majors to take it (as long as they do well of course). Good luck!

Yes, I would definitely pursue an RA job instead of a masters program. A masters program could be good if it was heavily research focused in your area and was all or mostly paid for. But of course those are hard to find! You seem to have a good grasp on what you need to do! Best of luck!

You could also apply to masters programs as a stepping stone to phd admission. But you don't want to attend a masters or phd program that you end up regretting. Finding ra jobs can be tricky. You might need to look outside NYC, good luck!

Hi there, Your GPA is a little low but nothing to be overly concerned about. I would say that only having 6 months of research experience is more problematic for PhD program applications. I would definitely take some time to work in a lab, build your resume, and refine your interests. Afterward, you'll be much more prepared for the application process and have some more insight on what schools to apply to!

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I hope I can meet some grad school friends because all of my old friends are 700+ miles away!

Yes I believe you include all of your undergraduate coursework, even if it's from different schools. I remember some applications actually had spots to put different GPA's from different schools attended.

I use the websites many other posters have already mentioned. I'll also throw in a plug for international books. I just got my first one today and it was in great condition, the cd that came with the book was fine, and it was about 150 bucks cheaper than normal.

Basically, if you go to a clinical psychology program that is not APA accredited you will have a very tough time finding a internship and job. APA accreditation is the minimum requirement also so you'd want to aim for schools with high internship match rates.

That sums up professional schools for clinical psych in the us very well. It's definitely a problem for clinical psychology as more and more students will have tons of debt with questionable training

Do you know how many of the schools listed in the clinical bunch are online/professional programs though? That would definitely change the statistics. I would think it would be more level if all of the programs in psychology listed in the stats were funded PhD to prevent outliers.