Plasticity

Be prepared to answer why you applied to two VERY different programs.

I was surprised by this. Out of the 35 or so people I met when interviewing I remember only two or three being still in undergrad. I was surprised to see so many interviewing with master's degrees.

Some people with 4.0s don't get interviews and people with under a 3.0 do. It is all about a whole, how you fit, and what exactly the POI is looking for. If GPA is considered the weak part of your app, over shadow it with your personal statement, LOR, and research experience. The PhD program I will be attending next year had an average undergrad GPA of 3.8, between community college and my undergrad I was probably around a 3.4. I believe GPA might fall into one of those "screening tool" categories more than anything.

I would say take some time and think about where you would want to specialize (school vs clinical) and if it is something you enjoy, not because of what some test said. Are you happy with your current career?

Nothing wrong with 155! Any specific reason why you want 160? 155 not competitive enough for the programs you have in mind? Where do you believe your weaknesses are? After taking mine the first time I knew my issue was in the reading passages (I'm dyslexic). So I spent the months prior just reviewing the math to stay sharp (did well enough there) but reading some "dense" philosophy writings and "A Tale of Two Cities". It helped me by raise my verbal score 5 points (only 155 but it was enough to help get me in!) with not a lot of real studying. I would also really suggest focusing more on strategies in making educated guesses for questions that you don't know (fill in the blanks) so you can spend time on other questions.

You're looking very competitive but I would retake the GRE to make sure your application gets the review it deserves. What programs are you thinking about applying to and how competitive are they? Do they have cut offs/suggested scores?

The biggest piece of the puzzle is fit, so what are your interests? Why do you want to go the clinical route? Are you more interested in the clinical side of things or research? What are your research interests? Why 10-12 programs? Are there programs you have in mind already and do you "fit" there? The reason I ask is because I was in a very similar boat the first time I applied in terms of research and stats. And I ended up going into a master's program because I really did not know what I wanted to do research and career wise.

Some "20 hour" TA positions are 8-10 hours, some are 30+. All depends. No matter how many hours, those are hours you could be working on research. It's grad school so it is just a matter of making the most of your time. No matter what, I would make sure that you do not go over 20. I've heard too many stories of people who couldn't say "no" and ended up working a lot more than 20 hours (one of the TAs in my master's program was working closer to 40!) and it hurt their applications, classwork, and research. Some profs or advisors will keep pushing to see what they can get out of you so draw some firm lines quickly.

I used to be really stressed by my GRE scores ( all about 65th percentile) and undergrad GPA (3.2 in community college, finished at 3.5). When applying to programs I avoided ones that had cuts offs or "suggested" ("most applicants who were admitted had scores over", etc.) they had cut offs at the 75 percentile and up. In talking with profs during interviews and others in the field, I really learned that the GRE is more of a way to screen out apps since they get so many. In programs that do not have cut offs or suggested scores, you can be a few points below what their "average" is for admitted students. Once your around a decent number, GRE scores do not matter! NO program is going to interview you and then take another applicant because they scored higher on the GRE. In each program I applied to I had GRE scores below their "average admitted" data by 3-5 points, I was also admitted to 4/5 (all fully funded PhD programs, one in clinical, the one I did not get into was a Ivy League neuro program and it was because my lack of bio/chem lab experience). The previously successful applicants in the program I will be attending next year had an average verbal GRE score of 161-162, I scored a 155 verbal. (My CV is not over the top with pubs either). My point, hit the minimum to get your application reviewed, and not thrown to the side, and focus on the things that REALLY matter like your personal statement (this can overshadow almost any GRE or GPA, for good or bad), getting the most out of your research experience, etc.

They won't get you in but they can keep you out.

I was wait listed over a month for the clinical neuropsych PhD program I will be attending next year. It is quite the anxiety-invoking process but don't give up until you get the rejection letter. I was certain I would not get in.

It is an amazing program. I would definitely tell others to check it out as the department, research, and funding is great. Unfortunately the NY's licensing regulations for social workers, school psychologists, etc. are the toughest in the nation. So despite my partner being independently licensed in our state, would have to start from scratch there or stay in our current state (4+ hours away). Fortunately, I had several offers. One of which was a close second and is with a POI I initially applied to work with two years ago but was not accepting students at the time. Funny how things work out.

Was accepted the to Cognitive and Brain Sciences PhD program at Binghamton University. Unfortunately had to decline the offer today despite an AMAZING advisor, and department. Their funding package, and bonuses, was the best one I received (check out the website, couldn't believe it). Binghamton itself was a great small city as well. Hopefully a deserving applicant is able to take the spot!

Are you interested in more the clinical or research side? If you are going to apply for PsyD programs I don't think publications are a priority. A side note, as I've seen many people here apply to programs that were a mix, if you were going to apply to both PsyD and PhD programs then to make sure the PhD programs you are applying to do not have a research focus (clinical-science model of training), that could raise eyebrows. Your apps need to "match up". I only applied to one clinical program out of my four apps and the others were more neuro based and I was asked a lot about why the one clinical program (as I should have been asked since it appears as an odd fit).

Or your undergrad GPA/record is less than optimal for programs you plan on applying to in the future and you need to show your capabilities (and I'm sure there are cheaper places to do this). Don't just go because you have no other options or are unsure what you want to do in the future. I attended a master's program because even though my GPA was decent, I had a spotty undergrad record (semesters off, part time enrollment, etc.) and believed I needed to show I could quickly bang out a master's degree and thesis.

I think this falls into the category of things that we read way too much into and most likely means nothing. The anxiety is real!

If anyone was accepted to UMass Amherst's clinical program and will be attending private message me please. Looking forward to meeting people!