Is grad school possible at this point?

[ReturningStudent]

I received a bachelor's in educational psychology about a decade ago.  I never worked in the field, nor have I worked since, as I've been raising children.  I've looked at graduate school options recently, and I wouldn't even know how to apply given that most ask for professional references, which I don't have.  I finished my degree online and never even really knew any of my professors.  When I say there's no one to ask, that's not me being lazy, there truly isn't. 

My GPA was decent, around 3.6.  How do I go about getting into grad school when all I have is a piece of paper that says that a decade ago I managed to make it through some psych classes?  Should I retake some classes to up my GPA? Should I take classes to demonstrate current abilities? Volunteer?   I'm not even sure where to start.

 

[ResilientDreams]

@ReturningStudent

My friend is a non-traditional student who received her bachelor's in English and then worked in an unrelated field for ten years. She decided she wanted to switch to psychology, and began volunteering in the same lab as me. She volunteered and took classes for two years before successfully being admitted to a PhD program and a master's program (she ultimately chose the master's program). I'm not as familiar with educational psychology specifically, but I would suggest volunteering and taking classes as your two main starting points.

Best of luck!  

[SendMeAnEmailPlz]

I wouldn't waste money on post-bacc classes, your GPA is fine. You could audit classes if you're curious.

Volunteering is definitely a good start to get a feel for your interests. Reading academic journals can be helpful as well. To get into a masters program, you really just need to take the GRE and cobble together a couple letters of rec. Masters programs typically have fairly low admissions standards. PhDs take quite more legwork, require research exp., and are extremely competitive.

[ReturningStudent]

3 hours ago, Jung Boy said:

I wouldn't waste money on post-bacc classes, your GPA is fine. You could audit classes if you're curious.

Volunteering is definitely a good start to get a feel for your interests. Reading academic journals can be helpful as well. To get into a masters program, you really just need to take the GRE and cobble together a couple letters of rec. Masters programs typically have fairly low admissions standards. PhDs take quite more legwork, require research exp., and are extremely competitive.

A PhD is something I've wanted to pursue for the past ten years, however, I am in no position to even attempt that at this juncture.  I had hoped with a successful master's degree I could re-visit the idea in the future.  

There are definitely master's programs that seem like I could get into them, SNHU is one of them.  THey're mostly online but have residence requirements that I could easily meet living in New England.  I'm leery of something that appears too easy, though.  I'm not sure I'd get a job by taking most of my master's classes online.  I'm not really sure how to suss out if it's a viable program (or any others that are similar).  Taking classes online would be a major bonus for me, but not a requirement.

[PsyDuck90]

If your ultimate goal is a PhD, I would caution against an online MA. If you go for an MA, you want a research component. Online programs have a reputation for not providing the best training (even SNHU) so many doctoral programs will not take an applicant with online credentials that seriously because they have their pick of candidates. Also, it will be much harder to forge close relationships with faculty in an online program vs a traditional program. 

[cannonwalker]

I'm curious about this: spending ten years raising children is a difficult, long-term project. It's educational psychology adjacent. Is it possible to translate the enormous value of the experience that's taken up most of your adult life to an application? I guess, if I was an admissions committee I would want someone who had good grades when they were in school, could demonstrate they were smart via GRE performance and good writing, and had developed the grit from 10 years of parenting.

 

[ReturningStudent]

3 hours ago, cannonwalker said:

I'm curious about this: spending ten years raising children is a difficult, long-term project. It's educational psychology adjacent. Is it possible to translate the enormous value of the experience that's taken up most of your adult life to an application? I guess, if I was an admissions committee I would want someone who had good grades when they were in school, could demonstrate they were smart via GRE performance and good writing, and had developed the grit from 10 years of parenting.

 

I wish!  I have four children 10 and under.  I've been giving a lot of thought lately to my next act, so to speak.  I think having children solidified my desire to help children, either in a therapy setting or possibly even a guidance counselor for a school.  I'm a decent writer, as in, I've had things published.  No, nothing anyone has heard of, but still.  I'm grateful I have that on my side, since I don't seem to have much in my favor.

I suppose a PhD isn't really a requirement for pursuing either career objective.  I considered social work. but I'm not sure I have the grit for that.  With kids of my own, I cry when Lightning McQueen pushes the aging Hicks across the finish line in "Cars".  

[VickyG]

I also graduated a decade ago, with a bachelor's and a master's degrees in unrelated fields. I am applying for PhD in psychology in the coming application season.

A couple of months ago, I wrote to 3 potential advisors about my background. 2 of them replied and gave me some practical advice: a) a writing sample related to psychology is not essential, but it could be helpful; b) (since I didn't have any thesis relating to the field) there may be multiple benefits of conducting a small-scale study that results in a writing sample; c) academic references are generally preferred, it doesn't matter if they are your supervisors in a degree program or not.

I started volunteering in a lab in a local university after hearing from the professors. I have read nearly a hundred research papers and contributed in various ways to a project. It was not as difficult as I thought it would be (it's not easy - but as long as you took the first step, the rest comes naturally). My next step is to ask the lead investigator of the project to write me an academic reference. I would advice you do the same.

Hope this helps. All the best to your dreams.

 

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p.s. Though my background isn't in the field, part of my experience is related to their research interest, and both professors think I have merit. My feeling is that it all depends on how you present it.

[t_ruth]

I'm in Ed Psych and was a returning student! Feel free to reach out via PM