spring2000

Hi! I would say about half of the programs I applied to have a child/developmental focus. I focused more on the faculty member than the program, but I would say almost all of my top choices have a child track. How many programs did you end up finding that fit your criteria?

My schools are in my signature! I'm applying to 13 places and hoping for the best. I know a lot of people who aren't super excited about applying this year so maybe that's why lol

I just meant research experiences where you're coming up with the research idea and then executing it! So a master's thesis could be an example. It can also be something super small and basic as long as it shows you have the capacity/potential to do research independently. And I didn't mean outside of a university, it's usually done under the supervision of a professor/ in a lab that you work in.

I don't think you can ever assume admission to a doctoral program even if your credentials are perfect! From what I've heard and read, getting independent research experience with products is crucial in a master's program, not just a good GPA. And a psych master's would definitely be best especially if you don't have a psych background. Just curious, do you have any specific interests within psychology?

I don't think I have any of those strengths to play up lol! But I do agree that having connections can be helpful. Based on what everyone else is saying it's probably not going to keep someone out of the running

looks like U Mass Amherst is also not accepting students for fall 2021

Thank you everyone! I feel a lot better about everything now ?

Ok thank you! That makes me feel a bit better.

Hello everyone! Hope applications/school/work are going well so far! I've started reaching out to POIs for clinical psych programs this week. I've mostly followed advice gleaned from this forum and talked about my background and experience, my research interests, and my desire to learn more about their work. I've sent out 4 emails so far. One said I sounded like a good fit but wasn't accepting students, and the other hasn't replied. The other two basically said they were "looking forward to receiving my application". Nothing negative, but not very positive either, just a very generic answer. I've read about a lot of people getting super positive responses and informal interviews by reaching out, so I'm wondering what I'm doing wrong in my emails. For the people who have gotten really positive responses, how did you phrase your emails? Or do you think it depends more on the advisor's personality than a perfectly written email? I would like to figure this out before I send out any other emails, so if anyone has any advice for me that would be great! I can also PM the emails that I've sent if it would help.

This is my question too! I know which ones are terrible but that's about it lol

I don't know if this is helpful but something I did was look for programs that allow a mentor from a different program or 2 mentors from different programs since some of my interests are developmental related. I also looked at lab websites in different programs besides clinical to see if there were any clinical students in their labs.

Most of the grad students in my lab applied to around 10 so I think that's a good number especially if your interests are specific. I just thought since I'm not a crazy competitive applicant i should apply for more. Maybe that's the wrong idea tho lol

Yeah I think that's my problem. I keep adding schools that are a close enough fit instead of a rlly good one

I feel like that's such a good number! I'm trying to get my list down to 15 too. And yes 100% I will definitely be broke by December. Can I ask what your process was for choosing schools?

Just curious about how many programs other people are applying to! I'm having trouble narrowing down my list and I thought it might help to have a frame of reference. It would also be great to know what kind of programs you're applying to (clinical, cognitive, etc.). I'm applying to clinical programs and my list has 18 schools atm.

Yeah, I got an email from saying that Fall 2021 admissions have been suspended. I was really excited abt that program too

I agree that my quant score is a weak point. I just haven't had much time to study for it. I will definitely devote more time to it though. Thank you so much for the advice! It's great to hear that I might still have a chance.

Hello everyone! I'm hoping for some feedback on my chances for admission to a clinical psychology program in Fall 2021. I am a senior at a public university majoring in Psychology and Human Development and Family Science with a Spanish minor. Broadly, my research interests are risk and protective factors in the development of psychopathology for ethnic minority children exposed to trauma and adversity, as well as the role of emotion dysregulation in child psychopathology. (Also, if anyone knows of any faculty with similar interests, please let me know! :)) My goal is a research career, so I am interested in programs that emphasize research training (although I know these programs are also more competitive). GPA: 3.9, psych GPA: 4.0 GRE: haven't taken it yet but my practice test scores have been V ~ 160-165, Q - 154 - 159. I could probably raise my quant score if I studied seriously over the next month or two Volunteer Experience - 1 year volunteering for a local sexual assault hotline, connecting callers with info/resources, referring them to staff and law enforcement, brief crisis counseling - 3 years tutoring elementary school kids as a work study job Research Experience - 1 year (2 by the time I graduate) as an RA in a lab that studies ethnic minority families and emotion regulation. My responsibilities include recruiting participants, conducting participant interviews in Spanish and English, coding behavioral observations, entering data, and cleaning data. I also had the opportunity to help review articles for a meta-analysis, and could potentially be third author on it, although I'm not sure how close to publication it is. - 1 year of independent research on discrimination, parenting, and child mental health as a McNair scholar. i am writing an honors thesis on this but it will only be halfway finished by the time I apply - 1 year of independent research on pretend play and child development. i have written a lit review, designed an independent study (did my own data collection and basic analysis) and presented a poster at my school's undergraduate research conference, and written a paper that I am planning to submit for publication soon - just started a research internship in a Human Development lab that studies couple relationships and parenting. i will probably be doing basic RA stuff with some potential to help with data analysis and lit review - just started volunteering in another Human Development lab that looks at the effects of adversity on adolescents' neurobiological development. I will mostly be doing data entry but will hopefully get some exposure to fMRI/brain research, which also interests me - I've received two assistantships from my school for my independent research ($1000 each) I am aware of how insanely competitive clinical psych is, so I would really appreciate if anyone could tell me how I realistically stack up. I'm fully prepared to not get in anywhere and have to look for an RA job, but I figured it was worth applying this cycle. Is there anything I can do this semester to improve my chances? Are my research experiences too unrelated to my research interests? And with the GRE, would it negatively affect my application if I just decided not to take it since so many programs are waiving it? Thank you for any advice you can give me!!!