Happy to be a member on the forum
I have one more year left of my undergraduate degree and I'm really beginning to get nervous about applying for psych MA/PhD/PsyD programs because I just feel I do not know enough yet. Ever since my first year of university I have known that I wanted to be a therapist of some sort. As of right now, I plan on applying for clinical psych programs in Canada either next year or the year after that (I might take a year off in between). However, despite asking questions and digging up as much info as I could, I still feel somewhat confused regarding exactly what types of programs I should be applying to. As someone who is very interested in mental illness in general (along with helping others free themselves from their mental illnesses/other issues) I figure clinical psych would be a good fit for me, but I have also been told that counselling psych programs are a great option for someone with my interests. In Canada, we have very few PhD options in counselling psych and my advisors at school have been really unclear about the difference between these programs and clinical psych programs. Additionally, because I do not plan on going into academia, it seems as though a PsyD would also be a good fit for me. However, once again, there are almost none of these in Canada and this leads me to question whether or not it would be wise to go abroad (either to the USA or Europe) to complete my clinical training?
I think I have a good GPA.. I have gotten mostly A's and A+'s (I believe the actual number is about 3.9). As for experience, I have none for work. However, I have volunteered in labs, served as an RA for a professor and I will be completing my own independent thesis this upcoming year which will lead to poster presentations (hopefully). My LOR's will be pretty good because I have formed some great relationships with profs in my department. As for the GRE, I have not given it much thought yet but plan to write it sometime within the next two years!
Should I stick with clinical psych or would it be wise to also apply to counselling psych programs? Would leaving the country be an acceptable thing to do for graduate school if I find a program abroad that suits me better than any of the ones in Canada (e.g., a good psyD program). Are my grades/research experience and volunteer work acceptable for gaining admission, or should I up everything a notch? Sorry if these are nube questions LOL...but I kind of am one