Profile Evaluation?

[coffeeman123]

Hello, my friend asked me to post this for her so she could see where she should look at applying. 

She is looking to specialize in developmental or family psychology

Undergrad: T40 R1 in the South

Major: Psych

Minor: Sociology, 12 credits in stats 

Major GPA: 3.85

Overall GPA: 3.71

GRE: 167 V 158Q 

Type of student: NonPOC woman, first time in college

Research experience: 1 semester with a grad student in psych. 

Awards: Dean's list, graduating with honors, senior thesis 

Miscellaneous: none

Jobs?: Worked 35 hours a week for entirety of undergrad 

Any general comments are appreciated, thank you guys!

 

 

[PsyDuck90]

The limited research experience may be an issue. Was she able to present any posters or anything? Usually applicants have around 2 years of research experience. 

[coffeeman123]

yeah unfortunately nothing like that, i figured that would  be the biggest downside but I did not know how different my field, poli sci, was to her field. Is there a range of colleges she would likely fall in rankings wise? 

[SoundofSilence]

You mentioned she did a senior thesis. Did she publish some of her work / present a poster somewhere? 

Her limited research experience might not be enough for competitive grad programs in clinical psychology, however, they may be enough for some less competitive developmental programs, especially if her previous experience is a good match to those POIs/labs. 

Her GPA and GRE scores are definitely competitive, especially since you said she worked so many hours during her undergrad. Is her work related to what she wants to do? (as in, did she work with children? or with families?)

What I would advise your friend is to first figure out what she wants to do after the degree, to get a better sense on what steps to do next. Also, she might benefit more from personalized advice from someone who knows her - such as the thesis supervisor, academic advisor, previous professor - they might be able to guide her and even propose some programs that are a good match.

[hrj_BA]

Does NonPOC just mean...white? 

[SocDevMum]

Right off the cuff, I would say she should not apply to PhD programs this cycle.  However, a Masters program would likely take her on. Or, if she doesn't want the potential expense of a Masters, she should absolutely apply for a post-bacc research position in a lab doing work that is at least similar to her long term goals.  A one or two year post-bacc would position her nicely for applying to PhD programs in the next cycle.

[Psyche007]

On 10/6/2020 at 7:18 PM, coffeeman123 said:

 Jobs?: Worked 35 hours a week for entirety of undergrad 

 

 

Was this work related to the field? 

[coffeeman123]

On 10/9/2020 at 2:45 PM, Psyche007 said:

Was this work related to the field? 

Unfortunately not, it was at a restaurant. 

[Psyche007]

3 hours ago, coffeeman123 said:

Unfortunately not, it was at a restaurant. 

Extract the psychology from it. What did she learn about people?

There are people who actively learn all kinds of lessons from life and those who just passively experience it.