schoolpsych_hopeful

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In addition to studying words, I practiced the strategies in the Princeton Review book. They focus a lot on process of elimination and other good strategies you can use to find the answer when you don't necessarily know the meaning of the word. Remember that the GRE is just one part of your application. Don't stress about it too much

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You're right, a master's in psych is much more rare than a PhD. Out of curiosity, what is your goal career-wise in getting a master's? How would you like to use it? Here's some programs I found through the APA's gradstudy website listed under Health Psychology: Central Connecticut State University: http://www.ccsu.edu/page.cfm?p=1785 Carleton University: http://www2.carleton.ca/psychology/ Appalachian State University: http://www.psych.appstate.edu/ Wisconsin, University of, Stout: http://www3.uwstout.edu/programs/msap/index.cfm Wisconsin, University of, Milwaukee: http://www4.uwm.edu/letsci/psychology/ The New School for Social Research: http://www.newschool.edu/nssr/psychology/ Texas State University-San Marcos: http://www.psych.txstate.edu/ Northern Arizona University: http://www.nau.edu/~psych/index.html

Good for you for planning ahead! You're at a huge advantage by thinking about grad school this early. I think most people take time of between grad school and undergrad to get more research experience if that area of their resume is lacking. Personally, I took time off because I wasn't really focused enough on one particular area to apply to grad school. It's not impossible for someone to be accepted straight out of undergrad. Your credentials are impressive. Research and clinical work/volunteer experience are really important in a clinical application. I'd say you definitely have a chance to be admitted to a clinical program. This might feel far away, but start thinking about the GRE. Plan to take it next summer, when you aren't taking any classes. Give yourself lots of time to study, and study hard. Most clinical programs will want to see a score around 1300 combined. When looking for schools to apply to, you should focus on research match. Apply to schools with faculty whose interests match yours. Talk to your thesis advisor and the grad students in your lab for advice on where to apply. "Fit" is much more important than program rank.

All of the test prep company CATs (Kaplan, Princeton Review, Barron's) are going to be harder than the real thing. They have a very strong incentive to make you think you are worse than you really are (so you will buy more books). The Powerprep software will give you the most accurate score/level of difficulty.

I agree with fuzzylogician, it doesn't sound like you're ready to apply to grad school. You could probably get into a Master's program if you applied this season, but it sounds like you're really unsure as to what type of program you'd like to do. I mean, what is your ultimate goal career wise? Why do you want to go to grad school? If you can't answer those questions somewhat somewhat definitively, you're not ready. Personally, I am taking two years off between undergrad and grad school for similar reasons. I was pretty sure I wanted to apply to Clinical Psych programs, but since they're so competitive I knew I'd need more research experience. I accepted a position as lab manager of a Developmental Psych lab, and I love it. Getting more research experience made me realize what kind of programs I really wanted to apply to (more developmentally focused than clinical). So, I really recommend getting more experience (research, work, or otherwise). It will help you figure out what you do/don't like. And it's much cheaper to work for a few years than to pay tuition in a Master's program

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I know we already talked through PM, but I wanted to respond here incase others are curious... As long as you score about 1000 overall, you should be okay for Ed.S. programs. PhD programs would like to see a higher score, probably between 1100 and 1200. I studied for about a month, at little everyday. I used the Princeton Review's book for general strategies (like process of elimination, etc). I used Barron's to study the verbal and math, their math review is really comprehensive.I also used the ETS Powerprep software to practice. That software gives the most accurate score of all of the practice tests out there. The score I ended up getting was 600V/800Q, but don't let that scare you! Keep in mind that that score is a lot higher than any School Psych program would require or expect. I think my high score was mostly just good luck (that's higher than I got on any practice test). Of course, remember that the GRE is not the be-all end-all of getting into grad school! Your other qualifications (GPA, essays, letters of rec, etc) are much more important. A deficit in one area can be made up with high performance in another.

I've seen this before, and it's an awesome resource. Highly recommended to applicants of all fields.

Thanks for clearing all of that up! You've been very helpful

It really depends what field of psychology you are interested. Clinical psych, for example is, much more competitive than others. And do you have research experience? Your GRE is good, and that can certainly help mitigate the low GPA. As for transferring departments at the PhD level, I'm not sure how that would work. I mean, do your research interests overlap between the two?

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I didn't even think of that! Hmm, well I think I'm more concerned about the letters that need to be mailed in. Maybe I'll give the actual date for online letters, and fib a bit for the ones that will be mailed. Thanks for the advice!

When giving your materials to your LOR writers, do you give them the actual deadline? Or do you give them a date that's a few days before? I'm leaning towards giving them some wiggle room, and saying the apps are due 10ish days before they actually are. Anyone else doing this?

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From what I've seen on this board, it generally doesn't help any. See the thread below:

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