PsyDuck90

Faculty know you are reaching out to multiple professors. The applications request that you list all the faculty you are interested in, and the more successful candidates typically have at least 2 that are good research fits. I would just say that you are interested in x field and excited about y project and you already spoke to Professor A. If they regularly collaborate then they are probably friends and talk anyway. It may seem like you're weirdly hiding something if you don't mention reaching out to the other professor.

You could definitely do a research based MA (culminating in a thesis), which could help your research experience and GPA issues. Some clinical PhD and PsyDs also allow you transfer some credits and your thesis. You could also try to get into a psych lab as a volunteer (or possibly a paid position) to up your research. The GRE and GPA are complimentary, so if you do really well on the GRE it can compensate for the lower GPA.

I think asking your linguistics professor is fine, as she can speak to your research experience and as a student. When looking at interdisciplinary letter writers, it's best to pick someone who is still relevant and knows you well enough to provide an in depth letter because they know you personally.

Any of the solid, reputable PsyD programs will still require research and be as competitive as PhD programs. The ones that are easy to get into are usually diploma mills with poor training. What is your end goal? You can also consider license-eligible masters programs such as MSW or Mental Health Counseling programs. When you graduate, you're able to get a clinical license to practice therapy, including private practice if you're so inclined. They just don't really do assessments and testing.

You could also check out University of Houston, Sam Houston State University, and McGill (although they're in Canada). A good strategy to picking schools is looking at publications of interest and seeing where those faculty teach. You also want to have a somewhat more narrowed focus. When you say forensic, do you mean eye witness testimony, psychopathy, domestic violence, etc.? Forensic is still a relatively broad category. Whether or not to apply this cycle is a rough question. You can always try it and see what happens and get feedback from faculty in case it doesn't work out. The only thing you really lose is money. Faculty don't care if you reapply. That's actually relatively common. Applications are expensive, so a lot of it has to do with your financial situation. Research experience is one of the biggest things they look for. You have some, which is great, but having more never hurts. Having attended one of the schools you listed (not for PhD), I remember the faculty and some of the doctoral students talking during interview season, and research was a big decision making factor in who got interviews. Also, make sure your GREs are good, as a lot of schools use that as a filtering mechanism. Even though you're graduating, can you stay on in your current lab?

I've heard that PhD programs typically prefer more research experience over clinical experience. They typically prefer to train you themselves and often find they have to "undo" prior training practices that may not be the best.

Have you read the social worker code of ethics? I think variances in viewpoints exist in any field (for instance in psychology there are practitioners that have a behaviorist point of view and other who have a positive psychology point of view such as yourself, etc.) As long as you have no inherent issues with the code of ethics social workers abide by, the kind of practitioner you are once you become licensed is mostly up to you. And yes, if you are looking for a master's level licensure, the LCSW is typically more portable than an LPC. LCSWs also have the ability to bill Medicare, which LPCs cannot if I'm not mistaken. Just a side-note, there are no license eligible psychology masters programs. Mental health counseling is a counseling degree so you want to look for CACREP accredited programs. The APA does not accredit MA psych programs.

For doctoral level programs, you really want to pick schools based on research matches, as you're often really applying to work with a certain individual for the following 5 years. I would suggest also looking at the APA website. They list all of the accredited programs in clinical and counseling psych and you can search by state. Also, one of the biggest things that may work against is you is the vast amount of degrees you have. Your SOP should really explain why you want this specific degree, as you seem to have bounced around quite a bit.

You typically specialize later on in your training. You should, however, carve out a specific research interest prior to applying.

I would echo what ResilientDreams said and also add that an MA in clinical psych is really just a stepping stone to a PhD. If you want an MA that you can practice with, then you want a Mental Health Counseling or MSW degree. If you are thinking of going to grad school and shooting for a PhD, then research fit is a major factor. You are typically not applying to the school, but rather that specific faculty member. And due to the competitive nature of PhDs, you usually do not want to geographically limit yourself to just 1 state.

To my knowledge, the clinical psych program does not need to have a specific neuropsych track, but you want there to be faculty that does neuropsych research. The program should also be APA or CPA accredited. You need to make sure your practicums are assessment heavy so that you are competitive for a neuropsych internship and then a formal two-year neuropsych post doc.

I would probably focus on the publications. Also, did you reach out to any faculty from the schools you were rejected from? If you had contact with any of the faculty, you could send them an email asking how to improve your application for next cycle. Faculty get these kinds of emails all the time and are usually willing to give you some information regarding where you can beef up your application for next time.

If you are just interested in clinical practice, then an MA in mental health counseling or an MSW is really the only thing you need. You do not need to spend the extra time that a doctoral program requires. With an MSW, some teaching and research options are sometimes also available, but not as readily as a PhD. You do not need a masters to pursue a doctorate. If you are missing psych pre-reqs or your undergrad GPA is lower than the minimum requirements for applying, then an MA is a good route. I would make sure it is a research based MA where you do a thesis, as research experience is a huge factor in the application process.

I would wait until the fall, maybe around October. Most faculty probably wouldn't be able to tell you if they have the capability and funding to take on students for the next cycle until around then.

It's not an absolute that your experience has to match the current lab, but that does depend on a. The specific faculty member and b. How you can tie your experience into what you want to do. Many of the concepts from research are transferable, so if you can explain how doing task A is something you have a lot of experience with, and it is similar too or the foundation for task B, you can be in good shape. Also, when you look at lab member bios, they are typically focused on what their research interests and projects currently are and not necessarily experience they had prior to coming to this lab, so it will typically be very relevant to the scope of the lab.

What is your specific career goal? Depending on what your specific interests are, you may not need a PhD.

Your statement is where you explain what your goals are and how the school fits into those goals. You want to create a narrative of how everything you've done and the opportunities at that specific university (POI, practicum sites, etc) will help you achieve that goal.

I agree with Clinapp2017. Your credentials seem really good. I just wanted to add that you want to make sure your SOP explains why you specifically want a doctorate when you have your MSW, and showcase the strong research interests. Also, be wary of some of the for-profit schools, as people who have license-eligible masters degrees are their prime targets (you have the PhD but use your masters level credentials for licensing purposes).

As a 1st gen student, I definitely understand the difficulty of navigating a completely alien system. It sounds like you have a lot of research experience, which is really important. You mentioned a potential co-authorship, which is great. Do you have any posters or anything you've presented that's come out of your research? You want to try to present at conferences and get your work out there to show schools that you can produce your own work. Also, when picking programs, you want to focus on research fit more than location. Graduate school is nothing like undergrad in the sense that when you apply to doctoral programs, you are applying to work in a specific lab with a specific professor. You need to apply to faculty who are doing the type of work you want to do. Getting advice on online forums is always great, but I would also encourage you to speak with your faculty mentors at your college. These are the people who will most likely be writing your letters, and they can help you tremendously with this process (at least I was very fortunate to have a faculty mentor who answered a lot of my questions and helped me present at conferences and publish).

I would start off by figuring out what specifically the end game is and then work backwards. What are your actual career goals? What would you like to be doing in your day to day? You can "work with children" in so many capacities, from working as a school aide, doing ABA, or being a clinician. It's hard to say whether or not a program is a good fit if you aren't sure what it's fitting.

It's up to you if you feel the networking opportunity is worth it, but you shouldn't put conference attendance on a CV. However, if you know that a few particular faculty you're interested in will be there and you can speak with them, that may be a good foot in the door. If you volunteer, that may be a different story, but I'm not sure. I would maybe talk to your advisor about that one.

What do you mean by a career in child psychology specifically? If you want to be a clinician, than an MA level degree would have to be either a mental health counseling or social work degree. If you want to be a child psychologist, then you need to do a doctorate, as "psychologist" is a protected term.

Most Psychology doctoral programs are set up in a way that it takes 5 years to complete (4 years of coursework and dissertation and then the 5th year is your year-long internship). Variances are largely based on if your dissertation takes more time to complete (and sometimes if you enter a program with an MA you can count some classes, which can shorten your length of time). I would be wary of any program that promises less time because the amount of information you need to learn and the skills you practice take time, so while you may get out of school faster, you may have a harder time getting licensed in your state if the program doesn't give you all the predoctoral hours you need for licensure.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think the EdD has largely been phased out in favor of the Phd/PsyD. What is the difference between an EdD in Educational Psychology and a PhD in School Psychology? I just tried to Google EdDs on Educational Psychology, and the only results were for online programs like Capella and Walden, and an old program that has been placed in moratorium by Boston University.

Do you have any posters or talks at national conferences? Because of the heavy research component of PhDs, they want to see strong research experience, and a big part of research is sharing the information with the community, which is why people publish or present at conferences. Volunteering may still yield successful products, and if you contribute heavily, you may not be 1st author, but even being 3rd or 4th author means something. Is it possible for you to present any of your past research at a conference?