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nwn

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    nwn got a reaction from Temperance in Favorite Rejection Quotes from the Results Page   
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    nwn got a reaction from TrustedTheProcess in To MA or not? Toward a PsyD/PhD in Clinical Psychology   
    Apologies for the late reply, work and life has had me too occupied to check TGC lately. Thank you all for responding to my queries.
    I see... that makes sense. I would believe that PsyD programs, on the flip side, would prefer practice-oriented students with some relevant experience then.
    Thank you very much for the advice. It has really shed some light for me. In the end, I have decided to turn down the MA offer at UBC. It takes 2.5 - 3 years to complete, and financially speaking, it is very difficult for me to afford the tuition without any funding / loans, not to mention I will have to spend additional years catching up with the courses for PhD. I highly doubt I'd be able to enter a PhD/PsyD program, but I'll try applying directly to these programs for the Fall 2020 intake. In the meantime, I'll work on improving my GRE scores.
    As for research experience - in my country (SEA), there really aren't as many opportunities in research labs as there are in NA, they are usually allocated for existing (undergrad/graduate) students or would require an MA/PhD. Furthermore, positions in academia (RA / TA / Tutor) here tends to pay peanuts compared to my current job, though I'm aware it'll be a trade-off I have to be willing to make. To be honest, I also have some doubts...I don't mean to devalue the institutions in my country, but would research experience in foreign institutions be recognized by American universities when evaluating applicants? On another note, would working as a research analyst in a local/multinational company also constitute as research experience? 
    p/s @Neverland Congratulations on getting into the PsyD program!
  3. Like
    nwn reacted to dancedementia in Another "help me with plan B" thread :(   
    As an update for the folks who helped me (and for future applicants who may be in my situation): I got a full-time job as a research coordinator in an extremely productive lab at an amazing institution (which I frankly didn't think I had a shot at getting into). I'm honestly more excited about this "acceptance" than the three non-funded PsyD acceptances I had earlier this year, which really solidifies 1) the fact that I'm passionate about research, and 2) that I've made the right choice by declining offers and planning to reapply to PhD programs in a few years.
    Yaaaay
  4. Like
    nwn reacted to Neverland in To MA or not? Toward a PsyD/PhD in Clinical Psychology   
    Hi!
    As an international student who also desires to become a licensed psychologist, I would say master programs don't seem like a good choice for you.
    I applied to several master & PsyD programs this season and eventually regretted spending time on master programs. It occurred to me that I won't even consider them as long as any PsyD program gave me an offer. Luckily, I did get one. 
    So, if you want to go PsyD route, accumulate clinical experience, and research experience for the Ph.D. route.
     
  5. Like
    nwn reacted to Marginally Significant in To MA or not? Toward a PsyD/PhD in Clinical Psychology   
    Sure! PhD programs typically lean heavily towards research, so revealing that your interest leans more towards practice may be perceived as either a mismatch or bring up concerns about whether the person is fine with committing themselves to research for the next 5+ years. Her advice was to basically go a "white lie" route if practice is a primary interest and say that you're interested in both, but lean towards research. There was one program that actually told us to be honest about our career goals during the interview and encouraged us to not lie that we're 100% into research though, so it's not the case for every university and it's fine to reveal that you are primarily interested in practice if you get the perception that the program/faculty won't hold it against you. But if uncertain, it's typically better to lean more towards the research side. They still value clinical experience as well if you have any, but it's the career/end goal that becomes dicey. That said, I can't say if that's the case for PsyD programs, although I would imagine PsyD programs would be fine with students wanting to pursue a career in practice  considering that PsyD programs focus more on practice.
    It's pretty ridiculous all things considered, but I pretty much see it as something we as the "next generation" of faculty members can stop doing since I feel like that encourages bad mentoring and leading graduate students into the wrong career direction
  6. Like
    nwn reacted to TrustedTheProcess in To MA or not? Toward a PsyD/PhD in Clinical Psychology   
    Based on your stats, I would say you don't have to pursue to MA, especially if it's not directly in the field you want to go into. I would say work for a few years, get more productive research outcomes i.e. publications, posters, etc. and maybe work full time in a productive research lab with these opportunities. You have a good GPA and undergrad background in psych, and I personally think a masters is only worth it to improve your GPA before applying. Additionally, there are many research grants that you only qualify for your first year of graduate studies, and I know people that did masters before a phd program that regretted this decisions as they were ineligible to apply for these. My current PI/boss really turned me away from doing a masters and says often it just puts people in debt and productive research opportunities are not guaranteed. Hope that helps and feel free to PM me if you have any questions! I worked full time for 2 years before applying and getting into a Phd program. 
  7. Like
    nwn reacted to dancedementia in To MA or not? Toward a PsyD/PhD in Clinical Psychology   
    Regarding #3 - the point of getting a masters before doctoral is to 1) boost your GPA, or 2) get research experiences. Since you don't have a lot of research experience, you should choose the program that offers you the most opportunities to get that. It might mean doing a masters thesis, or having formal research mentorship with a professor, or cross-collaboration opportunities with other labs or departments.
  8. Like
    nwn reacted to Marginally Significant in To MA or not? Toward a PsyD/PhD in Clinical Psychology   
    1) You can definitely get into a PhD (Can't speak for PsyD as much) in clinical psychology programs with a MA outside of clinical psychology. You would not be disadvantaged, and probably advantaged if anything unless you didn't do well in the program (Assuming it's a general/research-oriented one).
    3) A Masters definitely helps if it can patch up your weak points as an applicant (e.g., lack of research experience, poor undergraduate GPA, etc). Unless you are applying to a program more clinically oriented, research tends to be valued over clinical experience. If anything, depending on the program/university, expressing interested in a practice-oriented career/lean towards practice can potentially hurt you (Or at least that's what my mentor told me). It's not the only option/route to patch up or strengthen your background, but it definitely does a great job doing so.
  9. Like
    nwn reacted to psychology_student_ in To MA or not? Toward a PsyD/PhD in Clinical Psychology   
    Can I still get into a PhD/PsyD in Clinical Psychology program with an MA that is not clinical psychology? Would I be disadvantaged if so? Yes. No you wouldn't necessarily be disadvantaged. Should I enter TC instead of UBC because it's more relevant to clinical psychology? Or should I wait another year and try again? Don't go in debt, go to UBC. I went to a cheap no name master's program and got into a great funded PhD program off of that. Does a Masters really help? As the above poster said, if you're lacking in research and lower grades (and solid letters of references from licensed psychologists/professors), then yes, a masters helps A TON Does an international applicant stand a chance to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology with funding? Lol, yes
  10. Like
    nwn reacted to Jay's Brain in To MA or not? Toward a PsyD/PhD in Clinical Psychology   
    I agree with previous responses that with a non-clinical, experimental program it is still possible to get into a PhD Clinical Psychology program (with caveats). The Masters will help you generate some research traction, perhaps allow you to publish or present at conferences, and that is important for your development when pursuing a PhD later on.
    With that being said, there is a strong likelihood that you will need to supplement your training with clinical courses either way. Anecdotally, I have a colleague who completed her counselling Masters at TC and had to complete the full MA/PhD in Clinical Psychology in the program that I am currently in. I had another colleague who completed a different Masters outside of Psychology and entered at the PhD level. Unless its a direct-entry PhD program with no Masters, most programs that are MA/PhD are lengthier because there are a lot of clinical requirements that are needed during the 2 years of the Masters. The difference between my two colleagues is that the latter's Masters research was more relevant to the clinical lab that he was accepted into. Both of them still had to take the introductory clinical courses regardless of the level that they entered at.
    Either program you choose, a recommendation is to get as much research experience as possible out of it. If you did go to UBC for the research methods program, you should try to merge your clinical interests (what populations are you interested in working with?) with that Masters to show that you have the relevant skills to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology. Likely you will have to take additional courses to supplement anyway, and, possibly, another Masters. If that's the case, maybe the most cost-effective program will be more useful. 
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    nwn got a reaction from feralgrad in Favorite Rejection Quotes from the Results Page   
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    nwn got a reaction from apex45 in Favorite Rejection Quotes from the Results Page   
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    nwn got a reaction from samiamslp in Favorite Rejection Quotes from the Results Page   
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