Lisa44201

To get into a reputable grad program (MA/MS or PhD), you need to take the GRE. You can try for a Master's program, but with a GPA of <3.0, it's going to be tough; you'd need to ace the GREs. A Psychology GRE score will not strengthen your app at places that say they don't look at the Psych GRE; really, Universities that say they don't look at the Psych GRE mean just that. I do think a Master's will be the best route, with a few caveats: it will need to be from a solid brick-and-mortar University, not online; and you need to do a Thesis, to get hands-on research experience.A solid grad GPA and research experience can help mitigate the low undergrad GPA if you choose to apply to PhD programs once you have a Master's degree.

Congrats!!! Not all Master's programs are unfunded (I went to a funded program), but I would say the vast majority are. Funding in grad school also can mean either TA or RA positions; you may have to apply to those. Another option is, once you've accepted the offer, e-mail your POI and ask for the e-mail address of someone in his/her lab. That person can help answer questions you might have, and potentially also give you advice on things like housing.

As long as you didn't say that about your POI, it's not terrible.

No, when they're that little, they cry a lot even if they love you. My second daughter did not sleep through the night until she was 13 months old; when she woke up, she screamed; there was no ignoring her until she went back to sleep. Every night. For over a year. Good times.

If you're in a Master's program in Psych now, your undergrad degree won't be that big a deal. Your research experience is a definite strength.

Your Verbal is low, sure, but your Quant is not too terrible. I'm guessing you're submitting TOEFL scores as well; hopefully people can look at a TOEFL score and figure out you're taking the GRE in a non-native language. If you don't get in this time, reapply next year, but apply to more schools. Even if you had great GRE scores, you've still applied to only two schools.

You can absolutely go shooting alone. Honestly, you should go shooting alone. You will be a better shooter than if you're constantly looking for feedback from someone you're trying to impress. I've been the lone female at the gun range on several occasions. It's calming, requires focus, and you can usually get some tips from the Rangemaster or the old-timers who hang out at the range. The last time I went, one of the old-timers asked me if I was a cop. I thought that was great! Anyway. People become whole on their own, then they get into a relationship. If you don't have a good grip on who you are outside a relationship, you're not going to have an identity in a relationship, either. That sort of identity crisis has shades of BPD to it, and that's a dark, dark road to go down. You said you were interested in personality disorders; you know the prognosis on those is really poor, right? Best case scenario, they're in treatment for years. Thought you should know. Relationships that last beyond the honeymoon stage aren't about constantly trying to make the other person happy; that sort of fawning attention gets old very quickly. The closest analogy I can think of is a Labrador puppy. Those things are cute as all git-out... for a little while. One of the things about being in a relationship for any length of time is you need your own interests. My husband does carpentry projects as a hobby; he built me a passive solar window heater for Christmas, and is working on plans to build tables for our living room. That's his gig - I have no interest in that stuff, but I'm glad it makes him happy. I sing in the church choir, shoot handguns, and knit (huh, written out like that, it sounds odd). Why not make a commitment to being single for a year? Yes, then you'll be 24; you'll be 24 in a year either way. Go to ladies' night at the range. Take a karate class. Go to a drum circle. Volunteer at an animal shelter. Learn to hoop-dance. Find something you wouldn't normally do, and go do it.

Next year's AdComms aren't going to know that you applied to a different concentration last year. They don't dig through their files to see who's applied more than once. I would avoid doing clinical work, and focus on research. If you were even remotely interested in Counseling, then volunteer work in a clinic might matter; for most of the other psych divisions, research experience is more important.

If you minor in Psych, you might have a shot at a Quant program. You might need to do a Master's in Psych to make up for the courses you'd miss as an undergrad, but it's a valid option. (I'm in an Experimental, Quant-heavy program.)

b.) I was 32 when I started my PhD program. If you're too old at 25, I'm decrepit c.) I am now attending a University that rejected my application when I originally applied two years ago. Each application cycle is an independent event; what matters is that you're a more competitive candidate when you re-apply. a.) & d.) Apply to some Master's programs, too. I'm not sure what your other stats are (GPA, GRE, etc.); but on the off-chance you don't get into a PhD program during that app cycle, a Master's program will keep you in the game academically, give you a chance to do more research, and give you a link back to the States. A Master's in Experimental would be better than Clinical.

No, Clinical programs by and large don't pay much attention (if any) to clinical experiences/extra-curriculars. Your research interests and experiences are much, much more important. As far as schools go, start reading published research about your topic. Look at the authors of those studies. Figure out where they teach. Apply there. In Psychology, the name of the institution doesn't matter nearly as much as research fit with a specific POI.

In answer to your third question, Yes; in answer to second, No, not for assessment/diagnosis. For what you want to do, I would suggest going Clinical in a program with a strong Neuro focus, then doing your post-doc in a Neuro-intensive facility. You'll do some therapy work in school as part of your degree program, but it won't necessarily mean you do it in your career.

There's a chance that PhD programs won't take all the credits from your Master's program. On the other hand, with your Bachelor's degree being in a different field, it may strengthen your application. Additionally, finding good paying jobs with a Master's in I/O is very possible. There are some funded Master's programs out there.

The grad student housing here is quite popular. It's not SoHo, but it's functional, and close to campus. They have their own laundry facilities, too.

I would get an idea of what's available (and lose the superstitious thinking; your looking at housing has no bearing on the AdComm's decision). I officially knew where I was going in February of last year; I drove out in March to look at housing. I got to the landlord's office shortly after 10AM; he had rented out eight places that morning; I looked at three places, decided on one of them, signed the lease, and handed him the security deposit - and this was for a move-in date of June 1. He has his tenants state in writing whether they plan to renew their lease in December. I live in a small college town (population: 48,000) with a large University (approximately 28,000 undergrads); due to personal circumstances, I am quite picky about housing (I have two small children, so local schools and quality of the neighborhood are more important than they would be to someone without kids; I also have two large dogs, so I need a full house, as opposed to an apartment); if I were in a larger city / didn't have the dogs, it would not have been as difficult. I highly recommend www.hotpads.com for housing; I've used it for several moves. They also have an app.

In smaller towns with larger schools, landlords are already leasing places for the fall. I signed a lease on the place we're currently living in in March, for a June 1 move-in date, and I was very, very lucky to get it. Did anyone mention security deposits? That's a month's rent up front. So, if you're renting a place for $500/month, the landlord would want $500 before you move in.

I wonder if you understand the difference between a therapist and a social worker; a social worker who sees clients in a private practice is not a therapist. You said something about getting set up in private practice so you could pick and choose your clients: what is your target population? What sort of problems do you think you'll be seeing as a social worker? Please understand, I do think that getting out of your corner of the universe will be good for you. I'm not sure about social work, but hey, I'm not on the AdComm for a social work grad program. The dichotomy with you is interesting. You alternately bemoan the town in which you live - no relationship prospects, no job prospects, etc. - then panic about what life might be like somewhere other than there. Interesting. What do you do when you move away from your parents? You get a grip. You eat Kraft Mac & Cheese until you learn how to cook (or until you find a roommate who's a chef - true story, and 10 years later, we had kids & got married). You figure out laundry by (hint! hint!) reading the instructions on the inside cover of the washing machine. You don't look back. I would also suggest you find a therapist in grad school.

I took it as an adventure (I moved from NY to MO to OK). Just realize that Kansas is going to be a bit different than Cali, and be open to experience. I've fallen in love with the Mid/Southwest.

I would call the University and explain the situation, including the fact that you've done the majority of your formal schooling in English.

Assuming for the moment you do not get in (and FWIW I think it's a little early to be completely pessimistic), your apps from this year will have no bearing on next year's app cycle. In other words, it doesn't matter at all if you applied to a school this year, and apply to that same school next year; they are completely independent events, and AdComms will not go digging up this year's app to compare it to next year; what matters is that you improve who you are as a candidate, and you have a solid plan for doing so. (I am currently attending a University that rejected my application when I originally applied three years ago.)

Yeah, this. And maybe it's because PsychGirl1 and I are in Psychology, and I can't for the life of me imagine a PI forgetting about a student getting kicked out of a program (including PIs that go overseas for a semester for research). Cripes.

If you choose not to apply, I do not think e-mailing them is necessary.

The website says I've reached my quota of upvotes for the day.

Full disclosure: this post originally was incredibly snarky. There is never a perfect time to have a baby. Doesn't matter if you're married or not, doesn't matter if you're in school or not. You can waste your life waiting for that next promotion, for the market to come up a little more, for one more degree, one more publication, a tenure track position to come up.... Things could always be better. My sister and her husband had been married for the better part of five years before she got pregnant with their first child. My sister was in her fourth year of a Doctoral program. She brought up the topic of kids and life schedules and such with her adviser, and he flat-out told her she should get pregnant then. Do not wait for graduation, do not wait for that perfect job. The timing will never be perfect. It's a lot easier later in the grad school career than it is the first year or two, but there are folks out there who have kids their first year (or in undergrad, even, as I did). Pinkster: When you counsel people professionally, your opinion stays out of it. It's called professional distance. You do not get to state your opinion on your client's behavior and then proceed. That is unprofessional, and it will get you fired. You will deal with people who do a hell of a lot worse than get pregnant in grad school, and you keep your opinion to yourself. If you want to howl about the unfairness of other people having stable relationships that lead to them having children while simultaneously successfully completing their graduate studies, make your own thread.

Not comparing myself to my cohort.