CherryDarlingg

Hey OP! I am currently in a funded PhD program in Clinical Psychology and my undergraduate GPA was just under 3.0. I had a very difficult freshman year for personal reasons, and those resulted in significant academic struggles. As some previous posters have mentioned, my last two years were both over 3.5 and the marks I received in my psychology courses were consistently high - not high enough to get my GPA over the 3.0 mark though. Knowing the likelihood of getting into any program with this GPA, I worked in a research position for 2 years before getting my MA where I got a 4.0. I also worked part-time and in 2 labs and made sure to study my ass off for the Psych GRE. After graduating from my masters program I worked in a clinical position for another 2 years. I applied to PhD programs after only a year of working (no offers, 2 interviews and waitlisted at both schools). Last year I applied to 7 schools, interviewed at 2 again and was accepted at both when offers first went out. I remember being in your position and thinking I had completely f****ed up my chances of having the career I wanted. Anything is possible if you're willing to put in the time and work - and it was a lot of work. Your journey to a PhD might not look like everyone else's, but if you have enough drive and passion to be here you'll figure out a way - either by stacking your CV with experiences and a masters and/or getting published and throwing yourself into research. You will not get into the schools that automatically weed out undergrad GPAs under a certain number and all of the previous posters are right that it decreases your overall chances. Thankfully there are others that look at the whole picture and there are ways to stand out. Happy to give you more info in a DM! Xoxo