HELP a girl out!

[psychologyhopeful]

Hi, I come here begging for help as a naive 21 year old. I will be getting my undergrad in psychology and a minor in criminal justice this May. That being said I have no idea what I'm doing. I thought I really wanted to do a PsyD ( Not so excited about a Ph.D as  I don't love research nor do I have a lot of background but was still going to apply) BUT I'm coming to understand that it's so much harder than I thought. I am taking the GRE soon, have a low GPA from a serious illness, only about a 3.0 right now, and don't know what to do. I didn't want to do a masters program because I've heard that makes very little difference and I didn't want to waste 2 years only to do another 5 years for whatever future doctorate program  I would do. Any advice? Any easier admissions schools for psyd? Any masters programs I could apply to and then apply to a psyd program that may not make me take as much time?? HELP? thank you so much everyone. 

[PsyDuck90]

Any of the solid, reputable PsyD programs will still require research and be as competitive as PhD programs. The ones that are easy to get into are usually diploma mills with poor training.

What is your end goal? You can also consider license-eligible masters programs such as MSW or Mental Health Counseling programs. When you graduate, you're able to get a clinical license to practice therapy, including private practice if you're so inclined. They just don't really do assessments and testing. 

[JoePianist]

Exactly what kind of career are you wanting? If you're only interested in therapy work, maybe you can consider just doing a Master's in Counseling – you can still become a licensed therapist, and those graduate programs aren't nearly as competitive as doctorate Clinical Psychology programs.

[Jung&Psyched]

I would recommend taking a couple years to work in the  mental health field to find out more about what interests you and what setting you want to be in! I was in your same boat at your age and wanted to just get through schooling as fast as possible. I started a masters right after undergrad and felt totally lost and dropped out after a semester.  I've been working for five years now and am planning to apply for graduate programs for Fall 2019. I have learned so much through working in the mental health field and I feel so much more prepared to pursue graduate studies ! Working I have been able to interact with people from all different backgrounds, with a huge range of diagnoses, and attend trainings on different topics in mental health.  It has really helped me establish future goals and understand settings and populations that I enjoy (and those that I enjoy less haha). 

Best of luck to you 

[psychologyhopeful]

On 8/2/2018 at 11:13 PM, Hk328 said:

Any of the solid, reputable PsyD programs will still require research and be as competitive as PhD programs. The ones that are easy to get into are usually diploma mills with poor training.

What is your end goal? You can also consider license-eligible masters programs such as MSW or Mental Health Counseling programs. When you graduate, you're able to get a clinical license to practice therapy, including private practice if you're so inclined. They just don't really do assessments and testing. 

I want to work in a hospital as a clinical psychologist and want to do the assessments and testing. I know the reputable PsyD programs will require research etc, but  I really don't know how I could get in anywhere at this point.  I've thought about a masters but I don't want to have a private practice or just a clinical license. 

[psychologyhopeful]

On 8/3/2018 at 11:09 AM, JoePianist said:

Exactly what kind of career are you wanting? If you're only interested in therapy work, maybe you can consider just doing a Master's in Counseling – you can still become a licensed therapist, and those graduate programs aren't nearly as competitive as doctorate Clinical Psychology programs.

I am really not interested in becoming a licensed therapist, I want to be able to do assessments and testing etc. Though I have really considered it!

[psychologyhopeful]

On 8/3/2018 at 5:02 PM, liznlex said:

I would recommend taking a couple years to work in the  mental health field to find out more about what interests you and what setting you want to be in! I was in your same boat at your age and wanted to just get through schooling as fast as possible. I started a masters right after undergrad and felt totally lost and dropped out after a semester.  I've been working for five years now and am planning to apply for graduate programs for Fall 2019. I have learned so much through working in the mental health field and I feel so much more prepared to pursue graduate studies ! Working I have been able to interact with people from all different backgrounds, with a huge range of diagnoses, and attend trainings on different topics in mental health.  It has really helped me establish future goals and understand settings and populations that I enjoy (and those that I enjoy less haha). 

Best of luck to you 

Thank you! i am glad to hear another perspective! 

[Jung&Psyched]

2 hours ago, psychologyhopeful said:

Thank you! i am glad to hear another perspective! 

Another thing you may consider is a Phd in Counseling Psychology--they are still APA accredited and you do research but slightly less heavily in clinical. The programs are still very competitive, BUT if you do a masters in counseling psych and then apply for doctorates, that masters will usually knock 1-2 years off your doctorate as long as they accept your masters thesis. That way you may feel less like you are wasting those two years in a masters if they will count towards your doctorate. There are even some counseling psych programs that won't accept you unless you have your masters (University of Memphis and Tennessee State are both that way!).

[psychologyhopeful]

3 minutes ago, liznlex said:

Another thing you may consider is a Phd in Counseling Psychology--they are still APA accredited and you do research but slightly less heavily in clinical. The programs are still very competitive, BUT if you do a masters in counseling psych and then apply for doctorates, that masters will usually knock 1-2 years off your doctorate as long as they accept your masters thesis. That way you may feel less like you are wasting those two years in a masters if they will count towards your doctorate. There are even some counseling psych programs that won't accept you unless you have your masters (University of Memphis and Tennessee State are both that way!).

So helpful thank youu!!!

[PsyDuck90]

You could definitely do a research based MA (culminating in a thesis), which could help your research experience and GPA issues. Some clinical PhD and PsyDs also allow you transfer some credits and your thesis.

You could also try to get into a psych lab as a volunteer (or possibly a paid position) to up your research. The GRE and GPA are complimentary, so if you do really well on the GRE it can compensate for the lower GPA.