8BitJourney

If you can re frame it a bit so it falls into the eligible category it should be fine. I'm counseling PhD and while its technically eligible I'm careful how I frame my intervention work.

I have!  Not going to lie I'm sure my odds are pretty slim but at least I wont have to wait in agony for too long. We'll know early January whether we proceed to the next stage
 

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.
 

I met with my class colleagues yesterday and everyone is very friendly.  

Why not do a post-bac/masters to get the required classes out of the way? Many schools have a required number of credits done as a psych major so if you don't have those then you may have some difficulty with enrollment. Also, do you have a projected gre score? Because you'll need a high one to offset a lower gpa. And, IMO, solid rec letters aren't enough for clinical psych anymore. Can you take a year or two off?

No reasearch experience is going to be a tough sell for any legitimate American clinical psycholoy programs or higher tier social psych programs (the same for Canada I've heard). 2 years is the minimum I'd recommend and maybe a year if you have very high gpa/gre scores. This is mostly because these field are so competitive that it doesn't make sense to take someone with no research experience over an applicant who's already learned how to help run an entire lab. I would say take off 2 years, find a paid research position (which allows you to save some money for app fees and interview travel), get yourself on 2 posters or preferably a publication and then apply. HTH!

I can't even... I need to stop watching the news and focus on my "summer" paper.

But for the record- Fuck Nazis.
 
In another slightly related note, a girl posted something about how if you don't have to care about politics, it is because you are privileged.  While I agree to some extent, I also think it is important to not get too wrapped up in politics that we neglect our lives and the ways we can make a difference.  Me reading one more article about white privilege or the alt-right isn't going to help our country.  If I *personally* really believe black lives matter, then what *I* need to be doing is spending more time on learning how to teach effectively, because at least 75% of my students are black and being the best teacher I can be is what will really help them in the long run.  
All in all, if you find yourself privileged, stop posting about it and trying to convince everyone you are better than them because you woke, go out and do something!  As much as we all wish we could punch the Nazis, you don't have to do that to give them a big FU.  Teach ESL to immigrants who need it. Work for an after-school program tutoring underprivileged kids.  Volunteer at a homeless shelter for battered women.  Do something! And NOT just for Instagram likes!  Stop just bemoaning the state of things and trying to make the government force everyone to be equal when you won't even go to the "bad side of town" for fear of getting dirt on your shoes.  At risk of sounding cliche- BE the change you want to see in the world.
(Note, this isn't directed at people who bemoan the state of things and try to fix it, just the ones who post articles about white privilege in one sitting and post Instagram pictures of their $5 latte in the next- all while saying they don't have money to give or time to volunteer.  It's all about assuaging their guilt so they don't have to actually do anything.)

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.

I have to disagree with the other posters. I think you are in the right. You said you "agreed on a thesis topic." I do not think a student-advisor relationship is so one-sided that students cannot have a say in what she/he studies. Part of a thesis is that students learn how to formulate his/her questions and topics. If you are using your advisors grant money to fund your research that is one thing. But if you are not receiving any money or stipend for this, I do not think this is right. As someone who has completed a master's based thesis, the summer is a crucial time especially if you TA during the school year so I get that you are frustrated that your advisor is not around. I know that advisors have other responsibilities, but they need to balance this with supporting their students. If you can't come to an agreement, I have known several students who have switched advisors. It's been done before. Try to speak to the graduate advisor to mitigate this situation. 

I think it can depend on how much you feel you can accomplish in a year. It took me at least a year to build up from doing grunt work to being able to get on research projects and gain the independence to conduct my own. For sure at least a year, but two would be a good safe zone I think

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!

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.
 

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.

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. 

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.
 

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.
 

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.
 

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.

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.

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.

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?

*flips table* Are you serious?!! Bout dang time!! Medical schools have has that for years and my med friends do not understand why psychology still has individual apps.