8BitJourney

I know it's expensive but if this is really your dream expanding to 5 schools at least will be worth the extra $600. I don't come from money either but even counseling programs are getting more competitive.

So you're right that your interests fall into multiple categories and honestly I think you can take multiple paths and still reach the same place. Since you really want to work with brain data then cognitive, clinical neuropsych, or neuroscience would probably be the most straight forward path. A more research oriented counseling program could work but you'll have to comb through their class offerings and find a POI who explicitly does this work. If you enter a grad program to leads to some sort of licensure (clinical neuropsych, counseling, clinical social work, mental health counseling) then it'll probably also be easier to work with people on these skill sets (essentially taking on clients). If you follow the cognitive or neuroscience path then you won't be able to practice (unless you get a lcsw first or something) but you can consult to teach people about the practices you develop/adapt. But it sounds like you want to provide treatment rather than just train other clinicians in an intervention and for that you definitely need to be licensed or risk getting into a lot of trouble.

Ditto I also work with clinical/counseling psychologists in juvenile justice reseach (my previous post doc supervisor was actually a lawyer who became a clinical psychologist and I applied to a few justice focused labs, getting into one of my top choices). I don't think you should worry about a JD hurting your chances and in fact it will probably be a strength. What may be tough is if you don't have enough research experience and applying to only 1 program. Even for the most competitive applicant limiting yourself geographically (especially if its a large city like Boston, Chicago, SF. or NY) and to such a small number is a VERY big gamble. By chance are you applying to NYU? I wish you luck though! Feel free to PM if you have any questions about clinical/counseling programs or Juvenile justice labs!

I can only speak as a US student but Its generally seen as a bad idea as there aren't many ways to authenticate the equivalency of foreign programs to the US based programs. Then its made more complicated by licensing requirements which vary from state to state and what setting you want to practice in. The better route would be to apply for a summer grant or something similar.

Hey! Congrats on getting into a program (I remember you from this app cycle). So my non-answer answer is: it depends on the program. Some programs want their students to build their networks by applying outwardly to other programs and it makes sense. You get to meet a new circle of PI's, new students, potentially plant new roots in an area you could practice in the future. Other programs don't mind if you continue working at that institution. This rule may be more applicable for the UG --> Grad transition than to the masters --> phd transition. Best thing to do is to just ask someone like your supervisor or the internship coordinator at your program whether or not it would be seen favorably. That way you won't have to guess and/or waste an app fee.

Community mental health is defindefinitely one of the toughest sections to go into and I'm glad that you were able to see some of the negative aspects and do some soul searching. I'm also in a similar field (with some advocacy thrown in) and I hope it hasn't dissuaded you too much! Btw th eres a move in the field towards the RDoc so you should check it out. Also sorry if this is too nosey but I'm wondering which schools you were considering? We may end up running In The same circles at some point (pm if you're comfortable with it)

No problem. Sorry if this is too nosey but I'm curious why you didn't apply last cycle then. If you have some pubs and presentations and your gre scores are good I don't see why you shouldn't apply this cycle while working in the pricate sector job because regardless of which route you take your supervisor may or may not be familiar enough with you to advocate well on your behalf to admissions committees. And saving some money is always a plus.

Its so ridiculously competitive that I'm going to apply but wont hold my breath this cycle but its important for everyone applying to know that many people don't win it their first try. So do your best but don't stress too much!

First off why do you want to do a clinical psych PhD and is there an easier/quicker way to do that without the long, arduous, expensive journey? I don't want to dissuade you but its important info to know to give you better advice. Also what field are you aiming for within clinical and are you aiming for PP, research or academia? If you've had quality research experiences before then I don't see a new RA position adding much more. If you've only done grunt work in those 7 years then pushing for more productivity (pubs, posters) as an RA would be ideal.

First off, if you have a question only post in relevant existing threads/create a new one and don't bump old ones. And it depends on what doors that degree can open and what her goals are. Also I'm assuming she wouldn't be a doctoral student in the US so you might need to specify what country she'll be getting her degree from.

What even is this thread? OP are you looking for advice? A second opinion on your diagnosis (I don't believe that's allowed on the forums or ethical)? Trying to figure out the end game of the post.

If it makes you feel better I was waitlisted at a top clin psych program behind 1 other applicant. Reasoning? This person had 1 more year of being out of undergrad and in the field than me. Legit, we were so similarly matched that seniority won and if I applied the next cycle I'd have a huge advantage. So while you don't want to wait for 10 years, 2-5 yrs post-bac won't hurt at all if you have a good reason and were still engaged in research or anything remotely clinical.

I was like that last cycle as it was my second and my pubs were still in prep. The best thing you can do is have a back-up plan (paid RA gig) and tell yourself that it happens to MANY people and that no one in the field judges you for it. When I thought I wasn't getting in this year (On my 2nd try) my mentors stressed that sometimes it comes down to faculty flipping a coin to determine who they want because so many great applicants apply and that it comes down to how your combination of great traits matches up to others and that you can't control (short of emailing POI and slyly asking what future projects will be). Just breathe, do your research on the faculty, and in the meantime continue to be productive. I still kick myself thinking of all the times I wasted worrying instead of getting stuff done or practicing self-care.

American here. I know that in my Uni a lot of professors expected you to take their class before you could even volunteer in their lab much less work so generally most people didn't start in labs until the second half of their freshman year at the earliest. The only exceptions were those who had existing research relationships from high school. I'm also pro 'wait-till-second year-then-take-a-year-off-after-graduating-if-you-don't-have-enough-experience' rather than have to deal with the adjustment to undergrad on top of a lab as I feel like your first year can give you some of the easiest throwaway classes you'll have. Many American grad programs (at least the more research heavy ones that I applied to) are now expecting 1 or two years post-bac experience from applicants so another thing to consider rather than volunteering your first year. But you have a better idea of what you can handle so go with what you feel is right.

A sub 3.0 is going to be an extremely tough sell as most schools will automatically cut those apps as there are so many applicants (a 3.5 minimum is preferred and even then you still have many hurdles). On top of that, having 2 mediocre letters will really hurt you. Do you have anyone else who can write any for you? From the previous cycle I think my letters really helped me overcome my meh grades. Also I'm a little unclear on this but are you in a master's program right now and that's where the 3.0 is from? If so then I'd be aa bit more worried. If it's from undergrad and you have had experiences since then the it'll be tough (and probably take multiple application cycles) but possibly doable.

School websites/employment portals are always helpful. ihirementalhealth is also useful along with the SANS google group. You could also cold email a lab you're interested in with a brief into and reasons why you're inquiring on open positions (also attach an updated CV). The biggest problem is many places prefer to do internal hires so if you find a very relevant lab you may have to volunteer for a bit before the possibility of a paid position comes up. I personally was not up for the debt of a masters program and since you already have some research experience I don't think it would be incredibly useful for that. What it could be useful for is working on a fellowship application, having a high graduate gpa, and narrowing your interests as they're kind of all over the place (not an insult I want to do everything too lol. but for the sake of applying to grad school you should narrow it to one field).

I would take a year or two off and seek a paid RA (or even better coordinator position). Better yet if its in a relevant area. This way you can have your pub on your CV, take on more independent roles and save money for grad school while paying back some of your debt. For reference: my gpa was a 3.5 (3.7psych), 4 years of research plus honors thesis, and 2 NIH fellowships and I still had a tough time and had to apply twice (finally got into a juvenile justice psych lab). Its not easy so rather than roll the dice and spend a ton of effort and money on apps I would wait.

I'm going to echo everyone else sentiments and say that tradition is a big factor. At my undergrad both a BS and BA were offered and while it was highly encouraged that you did empirical research in both (and it was up to you to make it rigorous) the focus was different. For the BAs there was an emphasis on interdisciplinary work with sociology, linguistics, and the fine arts. for the BSs the curriculum aligned more with math, comp sci, and chemistry. My friend who went to Yale explained to me that regardless of what courses you took along with your core psychology course you came out with a BA. I'm guessing this is similar for some MA and MSc programs and the important thing is to look at the course offerings and requirements.

1. I'm not an international student so I don't know if they'd used tier funding but for domestic candidates usually the base funding is the same and the department can elect students for additional fellowships/scholarships but you really need to comb through the financial aid/funding at each school to get a better picture. I only applied to fully funded schools so this may differ for other people. 2. Not really. Some of the best PhD programs in the US are public (UNCs, UCLAs, UConn etc) but that doesn't mean that private schools aren't fantastic as well (Harvard, NYU etc). Most people are more concerned about the program fit and program/PI productivity/R1 vs. R2 or 3 status. The biggest difference I think is in tuition if the program isn't fully funded. A private school will be far, far more expensive. 3. Match your interests to the PI and honestly rank schools that are dream, fit, and 'safety' (P.S I rarely thing safety schools exist in this field but I needed a name for the last category). The process is too competitive to not be careful with this. 4. Your GRE may or may not be problematic based on the school. A good one won't get you in but a bad one can sometimes keep you out; especially so for international students because of how many apply to US schools. Most people advise to aim for a 315-320 but if all other parts of your app are fine you should be good

Imposter syndrome kicking in mad hard right now. I got into grad school, great funding package and taking a quick vacation and all I can think about is: why haven't you published as first author? why don't you have an external fellowship? stop wasting time on self care go start a charitable community based foundation, go blow up the death star!!!! Ugghhhh...

Yep though for next year they'll be adhering to the regular December deadline I think. Though its a complete crapshoot on funding and accreditation to enroll in a brand new program, no matter what assurances they give (sorry MSU its true).

PM'd you

So a little background on myself: throughout undergrad I was clinical psych phd or bust. No counseling, no school and no social work. However, in my second cycle, after going through programs with a fine tooth comb and 2 of my top choice giving me offers (1 clin and 1 couns) I went with the counseling program. Yes they're some 'drawbacks' if you want to call them that but the line on what research is done in the two types of programs are blurring (and I also interviewed at forensic psych focused labs housed in clinical and counseling departments in the US).

This last app cycle I interviewed with a clinical student who went on to win it and he applied as a clinical psychology student. I honestly think that if your advisor is willing to support your application and can guide you into safe territory for the reviewers then its probably worth a shot

Sorry that your previous attempt wasn't successful. This last cycle was pretty brutal. As for your questions I really feel like your GRE had more to do with not getting to the second round rather than your experience. Many schools use a minimum GRE and GPA to weed out applicants and a GRE below a 300 is going to be a red flag especially if you only applied to top-tier clinical programs. Where did you apply to and how was your fit with those professors? If you plan to re-apply to clinical there are many programs that incorporate both cognitive and clinical or education and clinical but are still housed in clinical departments but why not go for school psych or counseling psych?