Fall 2022 Clinical Psychology PHD Apps: GRE, Psych GRE No Longer Required or Viewed, So Now What?

[p.h.d.bound]

Hi all!

First time posting here on gradcafe, but I have a few questions regarding the Fall 2022 cycle for Clinical Psychology programs and I am hopeful that some of you may be able to help me answer them.

I majored in Development Sociology and minored in Human Development and Inequality at an Ivy (3.54 GPA), and before that I went to a community college where I took 6-7 psychology courses. All throughout that time, my math grades were my worst (B's, B-'s etc) and while I took many psych classes, I don't have all the core psychology courses under my belt. Originally, I was studying to take the GRE, Psych GRE with plans of scoring greatly! Lol, but then the pandemic happened and I've noticed for all programs I've looked at that GRE scores won't even be viewed anymore. Wondering if this will hurt my chances of getting in because this is my second go around and last time I was told by a POI that my poor math GRE score along with lower math grades overall affected me. I also know that some colleges want you to have core psychology courses if you did not major in psychology. So my question is, now what? If faculty won't look at GRE scores then how can we prove ourselves if we need certain classes/didn't do well in stats classes? Also, any other advice for people who are no longer in college and are working to improve their resumes/applications? I graduated December 2019, have 5 years of experience as a psychiatric technician in a behavioral services unit, and am currently working for a non-profit as a caseworker, so all my work experience has been relevant, but I would love to do some kind of psychology research on the side...

 

 

 

 

[PsyDuck90]

Do you have any research experience? Research experience, with products such as conference posters and publications will help to show skills in statistics. Also, can you retake some stats courses, maybe at a community college, to show that you have basic stats knowledge?

[alts98]

If all you got were Bs in math that's not a bad grade and not something you should worry about. Focus more on getting research and then you can always mention something about your low math grades (which don't seem that low to me) in your personal statement. If you can take some additional courses at a community college that can also help! 

[expensiveswimmer]

I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it to reapply this cycle. I should have at least 2-3 publications by December and I think that was the key thing that was missing in my last app (I only had one in press). I'm still trying to figure out if I should take the GRE or not - a lot of places make reporting "optional" but a good score can help your application (I guess??). I don't really know though. 

@p.h.d.bounddefinitely try to find an RA gig if you have the time!! It'll help you narrow down what you're interested in studying for your PhD and give you some ideas for potential research projects. My RA gig has HUGELY impacted my research interests and my ability to get publications.

[p.h.d.bound]

On 3/23/2021 at 6:32 PM, PsyDuck90 said:

Do you have any research experience? Research experience, with products such as conference posters and publications will help to show skills in statistics. Also, can you retake some stats courses, maybe at a community college, to show that you have basic stats knowledge?

I did do 3 research projects during my undergrad. They were sociology related, but applicable to the field within psychology which I would like to go into, which is focusing on vulnerable groups. However, it did not involve any quantitative work on my part, mostly just literature reviews, interviews, transcriptions, and I did do 3 poster presentations. I was thinking about looking into community colleges for stats, but I also wondered about these online for credit courses you can take through edx.org because they are more specified towards psychology. Do you know if those are viable for college application purposes?

[p.h.d.bound]

21 hours ago, alts98 said:

If all you got were Bs in math that's not a bad grade and not something you should worry about. Focus more on getting research and then you can always mention something about your low math grades (which don't seem that low to me) in your personal statement. If you can take some additional courses at a community college that can also help! 

Thank you! Addressing this in my personal statement is a good idea, along with maybe taking some courses over again to demonstrate I am working to improve my quantitative skills... Do you have any suggestions for finding psych research work postgrad?

[p.h.d.bound]

14 hours ago, expensiveswimmer said:

I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it to reapply this cycle. I should have at least 2-3 publications by December and I think that was the key thing that was missing in my last app (I only had one in press). I'm still trying to figure out if I should take the GRE or not - a lot of places make reporting "optional" but a good score can help your application (I guess??). I don't really know though. 

@p.h.d.bounddefinitely try to find an RA gig if you have the time!! It'll help you narrow down what you're interested in studying for your PhD and give you some ideas for potential research projects. My RA gig has HUGELY impacted my research interests and my ability to get publications.

2-3 publications sounds really good to me! I am not 100% sure about the GRE either but from what I've gathered looking at the programs I want to apply to, as well as random ones, it seems like schools that will even look at your scores are going to be the exception.

Are you currently in college? I graduated Dec 19 and am not sure how it works applying for RA positions no longer being a student... I have worked on 3 sociology projects but I'd like to get a psych one under my belt.

[alts98]

2 hours ago, p.h.d.bound said:

Thank you! Addressing this in my personal statement is a good idea, along with maybe taking some courses over again to demonstrate I am working to improve my quantitative skills... Do you have any suggestions for finding psych research work postgrad?

Try applying for jobs through multiple ways. I highly recommend LinkedIn and Indeed as a lot of research positions are advertised there, which includes full-time and part-time, depending on your preference. Input words like "research assistant", "clinical research assistant", and maybe a keyword depending on your interests. I used to check every day for new postings to make sure I didn't miss any (but I had a lot of time on my hands, you could try checking once a week). You can also cold-email professors in labs you would be interested in working in by asking if they have any positions available- they might say yes or they may say they only have part-time/volunteer positions, which is still useful! In my experience, they were usually quick to respond and never had a bad interaction, some even were willing to forward my information to other labs that might be hiring. You can also check on job portals of universities/hospitals to find open positions. Let me know if you have any other questions! 

[p.h.d.bound]

On 3/25/2021 at 2:15 PM, alts98 said:

Try applying for jobs through multiple ways. I highly recommend LinkedIn and Indeed as a lot of research positions are advertised there, which includes full-time and part-time, depending on your preference. Input words like "research assistant", "clinical research assistant", and maybe a keyword depending on your interests. I used to check every day for new postings to make sure I didn't miss any (but I had a lot of time on my hands, you could try checking once a week). You can also cold-email professors in labs you would be interested in working in by asking if they have any positions available- they might say yes or they may say they only have part-time/volunteer positions, which is still useful! In my experience, they were usually quick to respond and never had a bad interaction, some even were willing to forward my information to other labs that might be hiring. You can also check on job portals of universities/hospitals to find open positions. Let me know if you have any other questions! 

Thank you so much, this was very helpful.

[kat.nat96]

Does anyone have a list of schools that are not requiring GRE for 2021/2022?

[PsyDuck90]

1 hour ago, kat.nat96 said:

Does anyone have a list of schools that are not requiring GRE for 2021/2022?

I'm sure most schools have probably not made that decision yet, as they haven't even finalized their current incoming class. Getting in is mostly about research fit, so you're far better off looking for faculty that fit with your research lists and narrowing your programs of choice that way rather than basing it off of who's still requiring the GRE.