Jung&Psyched

Hey all, Just a couple questions for you, as I am beginning to delve into the application process for Fall 2019! 1. One of the masters programs I am hoping apply to "recommends" taking the psych GRE. Has anyone else taken this and can share their experience (study tips, difficulty of test)? I am struggling with whether or not I want to spend the money of ANOTHER test (about to take the general GRE for the second time) when only one school wants it and it is only recommended, not required. Thoughts on this? Would it really knock my application badly not to do it? I had a pretty rigorous undergrad in psych ...not like I am coming from a completely different field ! 2. How far in advance should I reach out to professors for LORs? I have been out of school for six years so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that professors I worked more closely with will remember me. 3. How soon should I start contacting POIs about whether or not they are taking applicants for 2019? Thanks !

I don't know anything about the specific programs, but I would take into account cost of living for the area. Living in Muncie is going to be way less expensive than living in DC or Chicago, so that would be a big factor to consider for me !

I have been curious about it @dancedementia! It wouldn't be a first choice, but hearing all these rejections makes me nervous ! I may consider something non-accredited as a back up to my back up haha. However, I have seen on some forums that most people don't recommend it as @Clinapp2017 mentioned above. I feel like the programs that have made it to the "accredited on contingency" point by the APA would be at least a little safer, but most are psyds with a price tag that makes me sweat !

Just thought I would share ! Yesterday, while continuing the search of programs to apply to (ah, the things we do in our spare time), I stumbled across a new program at UHCL. It is a psyd and requires that you already have a masters to apply. They are not yet accredited (I think this will be their third year), but are offering $17,000 per year in assistantships. Just thought it might be a good option for anyone willing to take the risk of an unaccredited program, its rare to find that kind of funding for psyd!

I've heard great things about Magoosh and am planning to buy it in the next couple of weeks. They supposedly guarantee a five point improvement or your money back (I'm really hoping all five of those points end up on my quantitative score haha). There is also a GRE prep online course offered through ed2go, I haven't heard anything about it, but its only $109 so I'm going to give it a try ! I looked at the Kaplan courses but just couldn't justify the cost....

Agreed (with Hk328), I work for a mental health agency and all of our clinicians are masters level. If everyone had to have a doctorate to provide therapy, there would be even poorer access to mental health care than there currently is. Sadly it's true that they do not get paid much, but they do the work because they are passionate and believe that they can effect positive change through there careers. It's not a scam , simply a different career that focuses on direct clinical practice rather than research or teaching.

Oh good to know! I was actually just perusing their website the other day, and though that their program looked really promising and offering funding is a huuuge plus. Adding it to my list !

Wahoo! Excited to see others are starting to plan for applying this fall! I'm looking at Counseling Psychology programs. I'm planning to apply to: Auburn Northern Az Central Arkansas U of Kentucky U of Nebraska Texas Tech (reeeeeeeach school) Worried about : Quantitative GRE score (retaking in June after doing some online prep programs), low undergard GPA, limited research experience Not worried about : Experience working in the mental health field, LORs, and my verbal & writing GRE scores. Planning to apply to four or five masters programs too since doctorates are so competitive and my research experience is lacking! Primary research interests are resiliency & protective factors, personal growth initiative, and how religion effects seeking mental health treatment.

I am also in search of good MA/MS programs to prepare for doctoral studiese. Some that I have found that seem promising include Southern Illinois at Edwardsville, Illinois State, U of Memphis, and New Mexico Highlands. Wake Forest, William and Mary, and UNC - Wilmington all have awesome programs, but are nearly as competitive as a lot of the doctoral programs I've looked at. Hope this helps! If anyone else has ideas, I would love to hear them !

Thanks for your replies! I I will be contacting local universities this week to see if there are any volunteer RA positions available! I've applied to part-time paid RA positions, but they are so competitive here that I haven't even been able to get an interview :(.

@PNIplz, not in your program, but I do currently live in Lexington (and LOVE it) , so if you have any questions about the area or good/bad areas to live in, feel free to shoot me a PM. Congrats on getting into their clinical program, I've heard fantastic things about it

Hi all, I'm looking for some advice on gaining research experience. I am hoping to apply to MA/MS Programs in Counseling Psychology (I've got my eye on UK and Southern Illinois for my top choices) for Fall 2019, with the end goal of eventually getting my PhD. My undergraduate GPA was pretty terrible, but my GRE scores are solid, I am re-taking the two psych courses I did poorly in, and by the time I apply I will have four years experience working as a Mental Health Case Manager. I'm hoping I can get accepted going the masters route and show I am capable of good grades and go from there. So my question is, even for masters programs most say research experience really strengthens your application....where should I look to find research experience ? I did two research based courses in undergrad, and in one I worked with a team to create and run an experiment and presented for Psi Chi...but that's the extent of my research and that was almost five years ago. I've tried applying to some part-time research positions at the local university, but they are limited and I have had no luck getting interviews. Any ideas of where else to look? Will universities take on volunteer research assistants ? What have other people's experiences been with admissions to MA/MS programs (do they look a lot at research, are they generally competitive, will a good GRE help to balance out a poor GPA?)? Thanks all!