hi everyone

Thank you to all who have responded. It's really helped give me perspective about my situation.

Yep, that's what I meant by that bit. I wasn't sure if the people in admissions would look at my experience for what it was or what it was likely to be by the time I started the program, and six months certainly isn't a lot of research expierence so I assume that I'd be too weak in that respect for most good schools to accept me. I had a sense that clinical was tough to get into, but looking at the numbers now I didn't realise how selective it was!

Thanks! Sorry to ask another question, but if I were able to arrange a research position within a month (overwhelmingly likely through volunteering), would it be worth applying this fall to programs with the expectation that I would continue in this position for the next year until the program starts? Or is that probably unlikely to be enough research to get me into a good school? I would prefer to apply this year if possible...

One more question---if I were to apply later this year after obtaining a research position would admissions committees likely consider my research experience to be whatever I have at the time of applying (i.e. a few months), or would they consider it to be how much reasearch I'd have at the start of the program (e.g. a year)? Thanks again

Thanks for the responses everyone! Seems like I'll need to look into research opportunities before applying...

Hi TBL, I have no research experience in psychology and only a moderate amount in political science. I'd expect the elite programs like Harvard and Yale to be out for me, but I've wondered if the high GRE score I'm expecting and my GPA (especially in psych courses) would allow me to squeak into other respectable schools. How do I get research experience given that I recently turned 25 and have been out of school for a few years?

Hi, I need some input and I thought this would be a good place to find it. Throughout my undergraduate career I was interested mainly in political science and psych, and had a tough time deciding which to major in. I eventually chose political science but I took several psych courses and did very well. I ended up graduating with the political science degree and until recently was planning to attend professional school in an area related to political science, having been accepted to multiple Ivys (e.g. Harvard and Columbia) and several other top programs in the U.S. and Canada. However, after much thought and work experience I've realised that I would prefer to pursue a career in psychology, particularly in clinical or forensic psych. This leads me to ask whether I'd have a decent chance of being accepted into respectable PHD programs in the US/ Canada given my relative lack of a psychology background, and if not, what do you think I'd have to do to give me a good chance of getting into such programs? Extra background: -4.1 GPA in political science from a respectable university and top arts student in smaller college before that. No psych research. -I took 9 psych courses (7 upper-level) and got an A+ in each of them, 100 percent in 4 of them, and was the top student in at least 6 of them, which also leads me to believe that I could get some decent letters of reccomendation, at least for someone without research experience. I was 2 courses away from getting a minor in psych but at the time I decided to pursue a different path and didn't think taking those courses, which were lower-year and similar to ones I had already done well in, was worth it. -I am yet to take the GRE (it was a different test for the professional programs I applied to) but am doing very well in practice, tending to score 169-170 on verbal and 167-168 on quant. I have scored in the 99th percentile on every standardized test I've taken and I suspect that I'll be able to score in my practice range on test day. -I recently turned 25 and will have a few years work experience (mainly in government and non-profits) if I start in 2016. Thanks!