Advice for Prospective Clinical PhD?

[LavenderGoat]

Hi everyone! (first post! Hope I'm doing this right)

I'm currently a rising junior Psychology major with a counseling and art minor. Though, due to all my AP's and rigorous class schedules I'm technically a rising senior credits-wise (if that's important at all). I'm interested in pursuing a clinical psych PhD for Fall 2022. I'd like your advise on what I can do moving forward to help make myself as competitive as I can be in preparation for applications. 

My overall GPA is: 3.602 (which I know I absolutely should work harder on. I've heard the last two years matter the most?)

I'm currently in a clinical research team where I'll be able to have more opportunities to present posters at conferences (had covid-19 not hit I would've been able to do my first presentation). I will also be going to a university in Edinburgh, Scotland for a month to do research in cognitive/social psychology (Summer 2021). This program is one that I've paid for so I'm not sure if that diminishes the value of the experience as opposed to research done in an American university where I competed against other applicants. My advisor also recommended I do an honor's thesis my senior year since I'd have the time to work on it. 

I'm also involved in two clubs and two non-profit organization which are relevant to my pursuit in psychology. I do understand that extracurriculars don't matter as much though. I've also been a TA for one psychology course (psychology of adjustment) and will be a TA for abnormal psychology Fall 2020. I've taken an introductory course in R and intend to continue to use R along with SPSS for data compiling. 

Is there anything else I can be doing? I have a lot of data from my team and another team (I requested from) that I could theoretically work with and write a research paper on myself but it seems very daunting as a newbie. I had applied for several summer research programs that I was aware were competitive, given the prestige and stipend, and it was very disheartening to either be rejected or not receive a response. So now other than GRE studying I'm left feeling like I'm not doing enough in this quarantine summer. I hope nothing I said comes off as a humble brag by any means! I recognize that I've achieved some stuff but I still don't think it's enough. Is anyone else in a similar situation or perhaps have been through this and can answer as someone coming from the other end? 

Thank you and I hope everyone's staying safe!

Edited July 8, 2020 by LavenderGoat

[PsyDuck90]

Keep working on the research stuff. Your GPA is honestly fine. As long as it's 3.5+, you're usually in good shape, especially if your psych GPA is higher. Do you have a faculty mentor who would be willing to help you write a manuscript with the data you have? No one would expect you to be doing that on your own as an undergrad (or even an early year grad student). 

Edited to Add: Also, try spending the rest of your undergrad thinking about your specific research and clinical interests. While this may evolve and change (and most likely will), having a clear idea that you can articulate in your statement of purpose during application season can go a long way. 

[LavenderGoat]

I'm not sure but I can definitely ask around! I'm pretty close with a few professors who may be willing to help. Thank you so much for your response!

[Mickey26]

Cute avatar haha

Definitely try and get as much research experience as possible. I don't think faculty/committee members would care that you paid for a research experience, as long as its research experience. 

And yeah, you aren't expected to just churn out a first author research paper from the get-go. Ask your current/former lab/faculty members if there's a pub you can help on with and get co-authorship for (2nd, 3rd author, etc). That way, you can gain some experience navigating HOW to write a manuscript first, before attempting your own. You'll also probably have a lot of hand-holding on your first paper and that's totally fine-- see if there's a grad student who's able to teach you the ropes  

So goal for you right now is to keep up your good work, see if there are some conferences you can present at (virtual ones count too!!), and publish peer-reviewed papers if you can! Sounds like you're on the right track. Best of luck

[Clinapp2017]

10 hours ago, LavenderGoat said:

Hi everyone! (first post! Hope I'm doing this right)

I'm currently a rising junior Psychology major with a counseling and art minor. Though, due to all my AP's and rigorous class schedules I'm technically a rising senior credits-wise (if that's important at all). I'm interested in pursuing a clinical psych PhD for Fall 2022. I'd like your advise on what I can do moving forward to help make myself as competitive as I can be in preparation for applications. 

My overall GPA is: 3.602 (which I know I absolutely should work harder on. I've heard the last two years matter the most?)

I'm currently in a clinical research team where I'll be able to have more opportunities to present posters at conferences (had covid-19 not hit I would've been able to do my first presentation). I will also be going to a university in Edinburgh, Scotland for a month to do research in cognitive/social psychology (Summer 2021). This program is one that I've paid for so I'm not sure if that diminishes the value of the experience as opposed to research done in an American university where I competed against other applicants. My advisor also recommended I do an honor's thesis my senior year since I'd have the time to work on it. 

I'm also involved in two clubs and two non-profit organization which are relevant to my pursuit in psychology. I do understand that extracurriculars don't matter as much though. I've also been a TA for one psychology course (psychology of adjustment) and will be a TA for abnormal psychology Fall 2020. I've taken an introductory course in R and intend to continue to use R along with SPSS for data compiling. 

Is there anything else I can be doing? I have a lot of data from my team and another team (I requested from) that I could theoretically work with and write a research paper on myself but it seems very daunting as a newbie. I had applied for several summer research programs that I was aware were competitive, given the prestige and stipend, and it was very disheartening to either be rejected or not receive a response. So now other than GRE studying I'm left feeling like I'm not doing enough in this quarantine summer. I hope nothing I said comes off as a humble brag by any means! I recognize that I've achieved some stuff but I still don't think it's enough. Is anyone else in a similar situation or perhaps have been through this and can answer as someone coming from the other end? 

Thank you and I hope everyone's staying safe!

My thoughts:

 

-GPA is fine, definitely keep doing well in your last two years

-Keep pushing on getting posters/talks from these research experiences; a paper would be even better. 

-Awesome about TAing and R! R is FAR superior to SPSS, so keep working on that. 

-Right now: use that data from your team to start writing that paper and definitely study for the GRE/psych GRE. 

 

 

[LavenderGoat]

@Mickey26

Thank you! And you're absolutely right, a first author paper from the get-go is a bit too much for my level right now. I hate to inconvenience any faculty members right now since it's break but I hope they don't mind too much me asking around ? Maybe I'll make another post when I have a better idea of what my thesis may be and ask for the guidance of graduate students.

@Clinapp2017

I'm glad to hear that R is better than SPSS. The learning curve is a bit rough but it has so many more options than SPSS! Thank you for your advise! ?

[Mickey26]

7 minutes ago, LavenderGoat said:

@Mickey26

Thank you! And you're absolutely right, a first author paper from the get-go is a bit too much for my level right now. I hate to inconvenience any faculty members right now since it's break but I hope they don't mind too much me asking around ? Maybe I'll make another post when I have a better idea of what my thesis may be and ask for the guidance of graduate students.

@Clinapp2017

I'm glad to hear that R is better than SPSS. The learning curve is a bit rough but it has so many more options than SPSS! Thank you for your advise! ?

Academics are never on break  haha

Quite frankly its their job to mentor students/trainees. So ask around and see who's willing to help! But be cognizant that some faculty might have limited capacity at the moment due to childcare, online courses, what have you.