Romedy

Roughly half of the credits from my first degree (B.S. in Mathematics) transferred and were counted toward my second degree (B.A. in Psychology). I had a long meeting with an academic advisor who specialized in non-traditional students transferring credits, which helped greatly. Still, I averaged 14 credit hours / semester to complete in 2 years. Was not the easiest thing, but was worth it.

Like previous responses have pointed out, my concern is with your research history/experience. I made the switch from business/sales to psychology in my early 30s. I ended up having to get a second undergrad (in psychology) and a master's degree in psychology before I was competitive enough for PhD applications. The major hole in my application was research. If you have a publication or two, then you are competitive. If you have several poster presentations, then you are competitive. I was admitted to a PhD without a publication, so it is doable, but my other metrics were better than yours (e.g. GPA). I wish you all the luck in the world, but also want to prepare you for a rejection. I knew that clinical psych was the right path for me, so I stuck to it. In the event you are rejected, reach out to your rejections and ask for feedback on your application. If you find a really good fit, then let them know to expect your application again next year. Hopefully, though, you'll get in this year and not even have to worry about that!

I completed a Masters in the US before applying to PhD programs. I was not a competitive applicant out of undergrad (I was a non-traditional student and did not do much research at the undergrad level) and so needed the Master's degree to be competitive for PhD applications. I was able to waive a couple courses, but my PhD will still be a 4+1 (4 years on campus/externship, 1 year APA internship) model. That said, my coursework is somewhat lighter than some of my classmates and I have more time for research. I will also be able tos tart my dissertation much sooner than my classmates. For me, it came down to my future job. If you can do what you want with a Master's degree, then why go on? If you need a PhD for the job you want, then do what needs to be done to get the PhD.

GRE scores are only a part of the process, but an important one. In my experience, name recognition is a good way to combat low GRE scores. By name recognition, I mean getting in contact with potential mentors and their labs so they know the name on the application and, further, want to interview you. You can also address low GRE scores in your personal statement. Make sure that your provide an explanation and not an excuse if you do this. It may be too late to retake the GRE for this cycle, so (for now) avoid talking about retaking the exam. Ultimately, you want a potential POI to want to interview you. Sending an email (Just wanted to make sure you are accepting a student for the Fall of 2020) and briefly explaining your interest in their lab (specifically how your ideas extend their research) seems like a good bet. Ideally, you'll start an email chain and pique your POIs interest. Hope this helps, and best of luck!

I made the switch from a business/sales career to psychology in my early 30s. I ended up having to go back and get a second undergrad degree in psychology, but this only took 4 semesters. I then applied for PhD programs, but did not receive a single interview, and so applied to and was accepted into a master's program. It took 2 more tries to gain admission to a PhD program after completing my master's degree. I'm currently 37 and a first year student in a clinical psychology PhD program. Here are some things I learned (often the hard way!). I hope you find them helpful. 1. Research experience is the great equalizer. If you want to get into a PhD program in Psychology, get involved in a research lab, and preferably multiple labs, right now. Publications and posters count for quite a lot. Sure, GPA and GRE are important, but research is what gets you interviews and, subsequently, offers. Start thinking about questions that are interesting and meaningful to you. If you are having trouble with specific questions, then start with broad concepts. Read recent research papers with those keywords. As a general rule, you want to be included on at least one publication and have a few poster presentations when you apply for PhD programs. Again, this is a general rule. I got into a PhD program without a publication, for example. I'll say more about this in point 4. 2. Do not place too much weight on your age. This one cuts both ways. I often worried that I was too old, wouldn't fit in, or graduate programs would be hesitant to accept a "old" person. I found, over the course of 3 application and interview phases, that programs valued my business background with respect to time management, leadership, and "big picture" approach to research and grants. However, I did feel that I spent more time during the interview process answering the "Why now?" question (when compared against my PhD interview peers; I made it a point to ask about their experiences). My advice? Go out of your way to completely answer why you are making a career change in your personal statement. The more you can root this in recent academic experience, the better. 3. Don't expect your past academic history/performance to count for much. My first degree was in math. I was in the honors college and completed a senior thesis that was presented at a national conference. This essentially added nothing to my current PhD applications. Recent academic work, including GRE scores, are valued much more highly than past (<5 years) academic work. Many graduate programs required a psychology degree, so my math degree was not helpful. However, this provided me the opportunity to "prove" that I was every bit as good academically in my 30s as when I was 20. 4. Be ready to relocate. I understand wanting to stay in an area, but the reality of graduate work in psychology is you apply to a person more than to a program; this is especially true at the PhD level. I had to decide whether staying in one place was more important than chasing my goals/dreams. Your specific research interests may not be represented in New York City. Ultimately, if you have to stay put, then look up the faculty of local universities, catalog their research interests, and get involved in their research area. The potential problem here is that you may not be passionate/motivated in the research areas that are close to you. 5. Be prepared to get rejected. Psychology is competitive. Over the 5 years I applied to graduate programs (and got rejected 4 times), I felt that I kept getting older, but the other applicants stayed the same age. To translate, I was getting older and always competing against folks in their early-to-mid 20s. I followed-up with every single rejected application, asking for feedback and ways that I can improve. Then, over the subsequent year, I went out and improved that part of my application. I knew that a PhD program was the right thing for me and I was unwilling to accept some other kind of career. Use that as motivation and not frustration. 6. What is the specific job that you want? Now that you have read my novella, make sure that the degree you are seeking is consistent with the job you want. I was not sure from your post what field in psychology interests you and/or what specific job you want. You can then work your way backward and lay out a 5-7 year plan to make it happen. I know this was quite long, but I hope it has helpful information. Best of luck!

I've applied to 12 programs each of the last 3 years, reapplying to certain places (Programs and PIs I really like: Tennessee, Kansas, Ole Miss) but changing the others. This will mark year 4, and to say I am frustrated is putting it mildly. I've continued to be active in research labs where I got my master's, but none of these have led to publishable articles (It is a very small, terminal master's program at a very small midwest university.) However, many of these projects have resulted in posters and oral presentations. I've also conducted mock interviews with the faculty at 2 different universities to improve my interviewing, as I received 7 interviews last year (but zero offers). I have 13 poster/oral presentations (3 more pending this fall), an unpublished empirical master's thesis, and 1 manuscript about to be submitted for publication (although the faculty advisor thinks it is likely to be rejected.) My metrics are quite good: B.S. Mathematics (2005) 3.53 GPA B.A. Psychology (2015) 4.0 M.A. Psychology, clinical emphasis (2018) 4.0 GPA GRE 163 Quant, 162 Verbal, 5.5 writing This year I am applying to: Kansas, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Kent State, Toledo, Missouri-Columbia, St. Louis University, Alabama-Birmingham, and Southern Miss (Counseling). Research interests in the areas of depression, anxiety, and emotion regulation, specifically in adolescent and young adult populations. Additional interests in technology, mobile devices, and gaming as potential vehicles for intervention. My career goal is to be a university professor. A Ph. D. is a lifelong goal, but I'm seriously wondering if it is time to accept that I am not meant to get into a clinical program. Is the only way to improve my application through getting 3-4 publications? I'm not convinced that is doable in my current environment, and so I am looking for other alternatives.I'm grateful for any feedback.

This will be my 3rd (and final) round of applications. I applied out of undergrad in 2015 and received 0 interviews. I got a master's degree with a clinical emphasis and reapplied last year (2018). This time I received several interviews (7!) but did not receive an offer. I'm a non-traditional student (BS in math 2005, BA in psych 2015, MA in psych 2018) and will be 36 this November. Hence why this is likely to be my final application year. My long-term goals are to work in academia, so I am pursuing a clinical Ph.D. I think the major problem with my application is I have broad research interests but lack a clearly-defined research program. This is actually false, as I would like to better understand the incidence rate of psychopathology in the gaming community, particularly in professional gamers, and work to develop/validate interventions aimed at the adolescent/young adult populations likely to engage in gaming culture. As best I can tell, there are 2 researchers (1 in ANZ, 1 in the UK) who conduct this type of research. To the best of my knowledge, no one in the U.S. currently works on these topics. I have had some success reaching out to individuals like Steve Il,ardi at Kansas, but these sites are highly competitive and I am dubious that I can gain admission to a top-25 program. I would greatly value any advice/help/feedback you can offer. I'm not quite ready to give up on this lifelong dream, but financial, family, and age restrictions have placed a timer on me. Thank you in advance!