3.45 GPA for clinical psych PhD program?

[al416]

Hi all,

I have 3 years of post-bac experience in a schizophrenia/substance use/mood disorder research clinic at Yale and 160/158 on GRE. I completed an undergrad thesis and also have 1 year of undergrad research experience. However, my undergrad GPA is a 3.45 (from SUNY college). Do I even have a chance of getting in to an APA accredited clinical psych PhD program with my undergrad GPA? I feel like even if I take the GRE again and improve my scores, my undergrad GPA could always be a hinderance in acceptance to one of these programs.

Please let me know your thoughts and if you have any advice, past experiences, or suggestions. Any feedback is GREATLY appreciated!!!

Thank you!!

[PsyDuck90]

That's really not that bad. Also, APA-accreddited programs are required to report outcome data. You should be able to find admissions data that shows how many applications the program gets, how many they admitted, and averge GRE scores and GPA for the incoming cohort for each of the last few years. 

[al416]

Thank you for your response! I have looked into this, and my GPA is close to some of the averages, but for the majority lower than the averages for most programs. Hoping to bump up the GRE a bit to compensate for this.

Many thanks!

[hrj_BA]

Hi! I'm also someone on the same boat. Not applying this cycle, but I think what you should consider is that even if you fall below average on the reported data, you need to remember that this is an AVERAGE of ALL accepted students. Meaning that while some will be above, others will be below. Don't discredit yourself just because you don't necessarily fit the bill. GPA is only one metric of admissions ? good luck to you! 

[Clinapp2017]

On 10/22/2020 at 6:41 PM, al416 said:

Thank you for your response! I have looked into this, and my GPA is close to some of the averages, but for the majority lower than the averages for most programs. Hoping to bump up the GRE a bit to compensate for this.

Many thanks!

I think your 160/158 is fine. What was your AW score? 

 

Also, do you have any posters or publications from your long time in research? That would bump up your consideration by faculty at the funded programs more than just a few points on the GRE would. 

[alts98]

The fact that you have a combined 4 years of research experience is good and may outweigh your GPA. From what I have seen on most psych PhD program websites, the minimum is 3.5 which you are pretty close to. If you have a good GRE score and that much experience in a reputable university and good letters of recommendation you should be competitive enough for some interviews!   

[al416]

On 10/26/2020 at 8:22 AM, hrj_BA said:

Hi! I'm also someone on the same boat. Not applying this cycle, but I think what you should consider is that even if you fall below average on the reported data, you need to remember that this is an AVERAGE of ALL accepted students. Meaning that while some will be above, others will be below. Don't discredit yourself just because you don't necessarily fit the bill. GPA is only one metric of admissions ? good luck to you! 

Thanks very much for this encouraging, helpful feedback. Good luck to you as well!! :)