Am I qualified to apply to a Clinical Psychology Program (Masters and/or PhD)

[JRename21]

 I am about to receive my Bachelors of Arts Degree in Communications concentration in Journalism, with a minor in Psychology. I have decided that I want to apply to Grad School for both Masters and PhD programs for Clinical Psychology. I am applying to a few ivies such as Columbia, Harvard, UPenn and Cornell. Based off my credentials, would I have a shot at being accepted?

I believe I am but I feel like this platform would know better and of course having faith.

I do have work experience in the medical field aspect working with the NJDOH for COVID vaccinations and will be starting a new position at RWJBH Hospital.

My cumulative GPA right now is a 3.40

My Major GPA is 3.0 (Journalism)

My Minor GPA is 3.67 (Psychology) I only have to take 15 credits of Psychology for my minor since I received AP credit from high school.

From Winter 2020 to Spring 2021, I have maintained all straight A's in my classes.

I of course want to obtain a 4.0 again for the Fall 2021 semester which will be my last semester since I will finish a semester early. Once my 6 credits transfer over to my school from summer courses and if I get a 4.0 again in the Fall, my final cumulative GPA will be 3.51, my major GPA would be 3.18 and my minor GPA will be 3.8.

Even right now, most if not all my schools do not require or it is optional to submit GRE scores, but I do plan on taking the general GRE and Psychology subject test.

Edited June 29, 2021 by JRename21

[PsyDuck90]

Do you have any research experience? Clinical Psychology PhD programs are very competitive, and applicants typically have several years of research experience along with a few posters/publications. Also, research fit is the biggest factor in acceptance. Are you applying to these programs because they are ivies or because there are faculty doing research you want there? Master's programs are a bit easier to get into than PhD programs, but you want to consider your goal with the masters. Are you using it as a stepping stone for PhD apps? If so, a program that provides strong research mentorship is best. If you want to practice after getting your Master's, you need a program that leads to licensure (most often mental health counseling or social work). Aside from a few states (such as Texas), a master's degree in psychology is not a license-eligible degree. 

[JRename21]

55 minutes ago, PsyDuck90 said:

Do you have any research experience? Clinical Psychology PhD programs are very competitive, and applicants typically have several years of research experience along with a few posters/publications. Also, research fit is the biggest factor in acceptance. Are you applying to these programs because they are ivies or because there are faculty doing research you want there? Master's programs are a bit easier to get into than PhD programs, but you want to consider your goal with the masters. Are you using it as a stepping stone for PhD apps? If so, a program that provides strong research mentorship is best. If you want to practice after getting your Master's, you need a program that leads to licensure (most often mental health counseling or social work). Aside from a few states (such as Texas), a master's degree in psychology is not a license-eligible degree. 

I do have research experience since I have done multiple research papers within the Psychology courses and English courses I have taken. I have not a 'thesis' per say since I was only a psych minor. I do want to be a Research Assistant eventually, but based off my research, requirements fell into needing a Bachelor's Degree (Which I wont have until January 2022). 

 I am applying to some Ivy PhD programs because the faculty does conduct the research I am interested in, along the lines of Cognitive, etc., since I want to focus on Global Health and Mental Trauma. I do not mind if I go into a PhD or Masters, but if I start with Masters, I do want that to lead into a PhD. I am not in a rush to necessarily practice, but I wanted to make sure I was on the right track.

[Clinapp2017]

For PHD programs you will want to get some research experience with results in tangible products (e.g., first-author presentations at national/international conferences; even better would be authorship or even first-authorship on a publication in a good peer-reviewed journal). Ideally this research should be related to the research you want to pursue in your PhD. 

 

Some master's programs (maybe 2 year ones?) will provide you with some opportunities to get that research experience but at a potentially large cost. Getting a job as a research assistant or clinical research coordinator in a lab that studies something you are interested and working in it in 2+ years may be the most logical way to get that research experience with the products you need for PhD programs. Even getting a master's degree without the research products won't make you very competitive in itself. There are some 1 year master's programs in psychology that may position you better for these RA jobs, as I feel like usually these research jobs take applicants who got very hands-on experiences in research during college (i.e., not just doing papers for classes, but actually working in labs and gaining very specific skills that are used in research). 

 

Also, I am not sure exactly why you have the focus is on Ivy leagues, specifically. There are some excellent masters and clinical PhD psych programs (arguably better than the Ivies) out there that you may want to consider. Ultimately, having a good fit with your PhD mentor (assuming you go that route) will be infinitely more important to your happiness and productivity than the name of the institution. 

 

I hope this helps. Feel free to DM me or reply with any questions! 

Edited June 29, 2021 by Clinapp2017