jynx

YES! I actually came to the forum today to start a thread like this, only to find that there was already one here. I'm feeling super stressed and overwhelmed and having some serious impostor syndrome. Everyone in my program (especially my advisor!) is extremely nice and helpful, which, although I really appreciate it, actually makes me feel even worse for being so lost. I've been getting nothing but advice and support and I still feel like I have no idea what the heck I'm doing. My lab is starting a research project and is trying to get me involved in it, but I feel like they overestimate me even when they try to hold my hand. They even picked out a part of the project for me to do, but I have no idea how to do it or how to even get started. So I'm wondering, did I somehow mislead them during application season into thinking I knew how to do this already? Nobody else in my cohort seems to be having as tough a time as I am, and they all have more research experience than I do... I think the worst part is I have absolutely no idea what is expected of me. It's so disorienting and stressful. I can't tell if I love grad school or hate it yet...so far I have been vacillating between the two from moment to moment.

I've heard Rutgers has a top notch, funded PsyD program. Don't know where else, though...I don't think there are very many. Have you considered clinical PhD programs? I don't know a ton about PsyD programs, but I'm attending a clinical PhD program, and I think fully funded, reputable PsyD programs are about as hard to get into as clinical PhD programs. Your psych grades are kinda low, but all your other experience is great, and will probably make you stand out as an applicant. Write a really awesome SOP about those experiences and get great letters of rec and I think you should have a good shot. Also, if you're not great at standardized tests, I'd suggest getting a GRE prep book before you take it - it will help. If good PsyD programs are as hard to get into as clinical PhD programs, though, it really is a total crapshoot - I got interviewed at the highest and lowest ranked programs I applied to, and only one in between (out of 14 programs). I haven't heard that PsyDs are going to be eradicated. I was under the impression that PsyDs were actually gaining acceptance. Again, though, I don't know a ton about PsyDs. I'd recommend checking out the Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology. In addition to walking you through the entire application process, it talks about the different types of programs, and it has detailed info on (I believe) every APA-accredited program in the country. That should answer some of your questions and help you find programs to apply to.

I emailed everyone I applied to work with, and I don't think it made any difference in terms of getting accepted. But, as others have said, it certainly can't hurt, and it is a must if you're not sure if they're accepting students. Just make sure to keep it short.

Happy to lend my experience here. I got accepted to a clinical psychology PhD program that I will be starting in a couple weeks (yikes!) 1. It is almost definitely true that if you get an MA first, you will have to start over again when you do your PhD. There are some rare exceptions to this - for example, I think Pepperdine's doctoral program requires an MA prior to admission. But, generally speaking, the only reason to get a master's if you intend to pursue a doctorate is if you have a mediocre GPA or letters of rec, because those years during your MA program would give you a chance to get better grades/make relationships with faculty. 2. See above. Also, what makes you sure you don't want to be a counselor? Helping people cope with "situational problems" is basically what they do. Also, if you're interested in working in a school setting, counseling is probably the way to go. I'm not recommending one path over the other since I don't know your interests very well, but it's important to thoroughly consider all of your options. 3. YES! Get The Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology. This book is a lifesaver. It has extensive information on every aspect of the process, from deciding what kind of program to go into, to choosing a particular program, to interviews, to thank you letters, to accepting an offer. I don't know how I would have made it through the process without it. 4. Depends on what your goals are. As a stepping stone to a PhD program, I would again say no, unless you have weaknesses you need to make up. As a terminal degree, maybe? I don't really see how an MA in general psychology would help you, but if your interest is primarily in working with clients, you might want to consider MSW and MA programs in counseling. This is not an area I know a whole lot about, but I know you can have a career working with clients without a doctoral degree, and if you're not interested in research, a doctoral degree is probably not worth it. 5. This is hard. My advice: make friends with a grad student or faculty member who will read your SOP for you and give you feedback. I think my SOP bounced back and forth between me and a grad student friend of mine for 7 iterations before it was done. Having someone to help who knows what's up is absolutely invaluable. They're also super helpful for all the other aspects of the process. More general advice: remember the purpose of the SOP is to distinguish you as an applicant. Talk about the specific experiences you've had and how they have affected you. SOPs usually have pretty stringent word limits, so make every word count. This is surprisingly difficult! 6. You don't really need to worry about this at this point. Doctoral programs in clinical and counseling psych (excluding freestanding professional schools, which I strongly recommend against) are so competitive that you can't really afford to be picky about geographical location. Other advice: Again, if you're not strongly interested in research (like, at least 50/50 research/practice), a PhD is probably not for you. Programs only want to admit students who really want to do research, and even if you do get in, you won't be happy, because you'll be spending a ton of your time doing research. A PsyD is a good option to consider, but be careful to do your homework and apply to reputable schools. PsyD programs at freestanding professional schools often have lax admission standards, huge class sizes, and poor internship match rates. On top of that, they don't provide funding, so students end up $100,000-200,000 in debt for a degree that, frankly, does not provide enough earning power to make it worthwhile. If you're going into a doctoral program, I would recommend only applying to fully funded programs, unless you have a wealthy family that's going to put you through school or something. To echo what grimmiae said, doctoral programs in this area (particularly clinical) are absurdly competitive. You hear how competitive it is, but it doesn't really sink in until you're halfway through the process, and you get a sense for what a 3-5% acceptance rate really means. I'm not trying to discourage you, but it's important to be realistic about this. You will need to work hard, not only on your applications, but also using the remaining time in undergrad to make yourself as attractive an applicant as possible. That means building at least one good relationship with a professor (usually by working in his/her lab), getting some clinical experience, getting a high GRE score, and maintaining a high GPA. If you're planning on applying to PhD programs, at least about a year of research experience is absolutely necessary. Also, narrow down your interests: what population in particular are you interested in and why? I realize you're applying in the next few months, so there may not be enough time left for you to get that experience and build those relationships if you haven't already. If that's the case, I would actually recommend making the most of your senior year, and waiting to apply until next fall. Applying to grad school is very expensive and time-consuming, and it is definitely worth it to wait a year if it will significantly help your application. I hope this wasn't too discouraging, but I didn't want to sugarcoat it. For what it's worth, although the whole application process pretty much sucks, it's totally worth it If you have any other questions, feel free to send them my way and I'd be happy to answer them!

Having just gone through the Clinical Psych PhD application process, I have a couple tips: 1. Only apply to places where the research fit is rock solid. There will always be other candidates whose qualifications are as good or better than yours, so I think most of the time it comes down to fit. 2. You should apply to more programs, as Clinical PhD programs are ridiculously competitive. Even if you have stellar qualifications (published, GRE over 1500, GPA above 3.8, great letters of rec, etc.) you should still probably apply to at least 10 programs. There are so many excellent applicants that it is really a total crapshoot, no matter how great you are. Is there a reason why you need to restrict your search to the northeast? Expanding your area will give you a lot more options. Those are the main things I can think of right now...feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions and I'll be happy to help

I would say A, B and X as well. I don't think the fact that you were an intern will hurt you at all, especially since you were "the best intern he'd ever had." Sounds like you will have some extremely impressive LORs!

I agree 100% with everything waddle said. Going to law school probably won't help you get into a PhD program, and it may hurt you. It's certainly not worth the debt you would incur in the process. Plus, it sounds like you already have totally adequate research experience to get into a PhD program (you don't need to do a senior thesis - I didn't!). In all honesty, even this statement sounds to me like you're very unsure about what you want to do. It's great to have several things you're passionate about, but before you pursue an advanced degree, you need to narrow down your interests. What kind of career are you interested in? Do you want to teach, write policy, practice law, do research, or something else? What kind of degree do you need to do what you want to do? With that in mind, which field is most conducive to that career path? You can either pick one or find a way to combine two or even all three, and then seek out graduate programs that are doing research in that area or one closely related to it. Also, I understand feeling embarrassed about asking for LORs for a PhD program right after asking for them for law school, but you shouldn't let that hold you back. I'm sure if you sit down with your recommenders and explain your situation, they'll understand. In fact, they may have insights that could help you figure out your career path a little more clearly.

A master's is not really worth it if your ultimate goal is a PhD in clinical psych, IMO. It doesn't really give you an edge over students who are coming straight out of undergrad, and it's unlikely that a significant amount of the coursework you did for your master's would transfer. When I was interviewing for clinical psych PhD programs, the vast majority of other applicants invited to interview did not have a master's. The only reason I'd recommend going for a master's first is if you have a low undergrad GPA or no solid letters of rec, as a master's program would be a place for you to fill in those gaps. You don't need to get a master's degree just to prove that you're interested in research - if you pursue research opportunities in undergrad and have a well-written SOP that details why you are interested in research, you should have no problem. Edit: I wrote this based on my experience applying to programs in the US, but rereading your post it seems like since the situation is different in Canada, you weren't asking IF you should get a master's, but what kind of master's you should get. If this is the case, I'm sorry I can't be much help, as I'm not familiar with the Canadian system.

I agree with the previous poster. Prestige is a non-issue when choosing between such highly respected programs as Stanford and Berkeley, and I think you're right that it's better not to stay at your undergrad institution for grad school. Plus, like the previous poster said, it does sound like you are feeling inclined towards Berkeley but are getting a little hung up on the rankings. I'd definitely go with Berkeley if I were you.

If everything else is equal besides what you mentioned, I would go with the program you're already accepted at. It sounds like the program you're waitlisted at is only marginally better (if at all), and if you're in love with the first program and think you will be happier there, I would definitely go there. Not only is your happiness intrinsically valuable, but you will probably end up feeling less stress and ultimately do better work as a result if you're happy where you live.

Getting a Master's would be kind of a waste, since you'd basically have to start over when you started a PhD program. I'd advise taking a year to get more research experience, maybe get published, retake the GRE, or whatever it is you need to do to strengthen your application. My plan B was to try to get a research job, apply for a Fulbright scholarship and go study mindfulness in India, or if I didn't get the Fulbright, take a year off to teach English abroad before reapplying. I was pretty ok with the idea of not getting in anywhere once I made myself a plan B that I was really excited about. I imagine clinical neuropsych is similar to clinical psych in terms of how selective it is, so I definitely can relate. And, I myself was first on the wait list and I ended up getting in, so there is definitely hope for you! Good luck!

I think the best thing you can do is just be candid about this. Everything you've said sounds completely reasonable to me, and I think if you explain it to your prof the way you've explained it here, you should be fine. Your heart is definitely in the right place, so there is no need to excessively edit yourself. I also think it would be fine to mention that your department requires a B to pass, because that's entirely relevant to your concern about passing.

Just thought I'd add another happy ending - I didn't get any first offers, but I was accepted off the wait list at one of my top choices last week, and I'm very happy to say I accepted the offer

Although it's ideal to have research experience that's relevant to your interests, I don't think it necessarily needs to be. I got into a clinical psych program with my only research experience being three quarters in a developmental psych lab that was not applicable to my interests at all (although I had good relevant clinical experience, and there are no clinical researchers at my school). So, try to get relevant experience if you can, and if you can't, make the most of what you can get and try to come up with ways to connect it to what you're interested in (if possible). Research skills apply across a variety of different settings, so any research in psychology is going to be helpful.

Between applying to 14 schools and flying out for 3 interviews, my total cost was probably somewhere in the vicinity of $2500-$3000. Pricey, but ultimately worth it!