Law Student interested in Psych PhD Programs. Please help me!!!

[Idonotwanttopracticelaw]

 

Hi Everyone,

URM (Black); First Generation Student; Incarcerated Parent  

I have a B.A. in Sociology from a large state school. I graduated with a 4.0 and was valedictorian in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Department. During my junior and senior year, I worked as research assistant for two different Sociology professors. As a requirement for the Honors Program, I also had to write an original thesis. 

I spent almost two years working in juvenile court before I went to law school. I was responsible for managing a caseload of 35 court involved youth. Some of my job duties entailed counseling youth, referring them to appropriate mental health services, and providing recommendations to the court. 

I graduate from a top 10 law school in May. While in law school, I have published in an academic law journal, received a writing award for a paper I wrote while taking a class in the Sociology Department, served in student government,  and interned at two premier law firms. (I have done other "less noteworthy" things like work as a grader in the Sociology Department, performed pro bono work, and participated in affinity groups). 

My recommenders will be a notable law professor and two sociologist. I have not taken the GRE yet, but I am sure my math section will not be strong. 

While I do not have a formal background in Psychology, Psychology is the sister discipline to Sociology. I also have a lot of experience working intimately with people who have been impacted by the criminal legal system (while at juvenile court) and "counseling" them.  Would I be a strong candidate for schools like Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton? etc. (It is important for me to remain on the east coast due to family ties). 

Open to any suggestions/feedback 

Thank you for your help!!!!!!

[PsyDuck90]

What kind of psychology degree do you want to get? For instance, Princeton does not have a clinical psych doctoral program. Also, psych doctoral programs work differently from undergrad and law schools. You apply to specific research mentors rather than the program itself, so the more competitive applicants will have research interests that match well with the faculty of interest, as well as a demonstrated history of research productivity. Based on your post, it's also not clear why you want to pursue a psych degree, so I would make sure that is made very clear in your statement of purpose. If you are interested in forensic psychology research, you should check out CUNY-John Jay and Fordham. They have many major researchers in the forensic psych field and are both in NYC. Montclair State also has some forensic faculty. 

Additionally, you need to make sure you have completed the necessary pre-reqs (which you can take at a community college if you didn't take them in your undergrad). 

[Idonotwanttopracticelaw]

This is helpful. I want to apply to a Clinical or Social Psychology program. I am interested in the impacts parental incarceration has on the mental health of young adults, reintegration, discipline, trauma etc. The paper I published in a law journal discusses children's rights and the effects separating newborns from their incarcerated parents has on their development etc. Will the fact that I have published and worked as a RA help my application? 

Edited January 30, 2022 by Idonotwanttopracticelaw

[PsyDuck90]

The RA experience is helpful, but you also have to keep in mind that most applicants will have several years of RA experience, as well as conference presentations/posters and maybe publications in psych journals. You also may want to figure out what your ultimate career goal is. For instance, a clincial degree allows for licensure as a practicing psychologist while a social psych degree is a strictly academic degree (you would not be able to do therapy or assessment). Non-clinical degrees are less competitive than clinical degrees (although all of them are competitive in general). I think your experiences in law can be very intriguing to certain professors (for instance, several faculty at John Jay have a JD and PhD), but you need to be very clear in what your ultimate goals are and how your experience lends itself to a unique perspective in your statement of purpose. 

[Benji204]

1 hour ago, Idonotwanttopracticelaw said:

 

 

Hi Everyone,

URM (Black); First Generation Student; Incarcerated Parent  

I have a B.A. in Sociology from a large state school. I graduated with a 4.0 and was valedictorian in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Department. During my junior and senior year, I worked as research assistant for two different Sociology professors. As a requirement for the Honors Program, I also had to write an original thesis. 

I spent almost two years working in juvenile court before I went to law school. I was responsible for managing a caseload of 35 court involved youth. Some of my job duties entailed counseling youth, referring them to appropriate mental health services, and providing recommendations to the court. 

I graduate from a top 10 law school in May. While in law school, I have published in an academic law journal, received a writing award for a paper I wrote while taking a class in the Sociology Department, served in student government,  and interned at two premier law firms. (I have done other "less noteworthy" things like work as a grader in the Sociology Department, performed pro bono work, and participated in affinity groups). 

My recommenders will be a notable law professor and two sociologist. I have not taken the GRE yet, but I am sure my math section will not be strong. 

While I do not have a formal background in Psychology, Psychology is the sister discipline to Sociology. I also have a lot of experience working intimately with people who have been impacted by the criminal legal system (while at juvenile court) and "counseling" them.  Would I be a strong candidate for schools like Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton? etc. (It is important for me to remain on the east coast due to family ties). 

Open to any suggestions/feedback 

Thank you for your help!!!!!!

Why do you not want to practice law? What aspects of being in a lawyer do you not like, and are you sure you won't encounter those issues working as a psychologist? 

[SoundofSilence]

The advice you received above is very good. The short answer is that it won't be easy to get into a Psych PhD program - you will probably need some undergrad psych courses and possibly some psych-relevant research experience. 

Depending on what you want to do with the degree, you have to seriously consider if it would be worth the time and resource investment or not. Seriously consider avoiding for-profit programs, even if you can afford them.

Grad psychology is not like other fields - the highly sought after institutions you mention might not give you the training you need. PI/lab fit is much more important, and that might be at a less "known" school. Have you seen this guide: https://mitch.web.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/4922/2017/02/MitchGradSchoolAdvice.pdf - it might help you get a little oriented so that we can help you with more specific things.

One other thing - if you want to combine your law experience with psych, that might give you quite a unique and attractive skillset. Look at programs that do combined JD/PhD degrees - since they are probably more familiar with your previous training and experience, and might have faculty that more closely match your interests, such as the Drexel University JD/PhD program in Law and Clinical Psychology or the Stanford JD/PhD — Law and Psychology. 

 

[T.O.hopeful]

Like a few have mentioned psychology programs can really vary across the country and what you research can vary as well, as it will depend on which professor agrees to take you on as supervisor and what their area of research is. Therefore, you should take a look at the psychology department websites of the schools you're interested in to see if there are professors there are doing the kind of research you're interested in. I also want to echo the last poster who said research fit is more important than "school name". I noticed you mainly listed ivy league schools and honestly with doctoral psychology programs, I would not limit myself to just these kind of schools. Look at various schools on the East coast and focus on the research taking place in the departments. Also be sure to check the admissions section of each school to see if you meet all the prerequisite course requirements. 

[SocDevMum]

14 hours ago, T.O.hopeful said:

you mainly listed ivy league schools and honestly with doctoral psychology programs, I would not limit myself to just these kind of schools.

THIS.  Ivy League doesn't necessarily mean better, there are several really outstanding Psych programs on the East Coast that are not Ivy League. Also, not to be a downer, but much of the PhD process is as much about WHO you know as what you have done.  I agree with the multiple posters above - what kind of work do you want to do, that you think you need a Psych PhD rather than a JD to do? Also, why not Sociology? As you mentioned, you already have extensive relevant experience in sociology, and the topic you want to study is extremely relevant to sociology as well. You look like an excellent candidate for top tier sociology programs right now, but for psychology there is quite a bit of "catch up" you will likely have to do to become a viable candidate, especially for Clinical. Lastly - you don't need a Clinical degree to do that kind of research, either, should you decide that Psych is really it for you.  You could easily cover that topic in a Community or Developmental Psych program. I strongly suggest reading up on who is currently doing the work you are interested in across the psychology journals, and see if it's a good fit for you

[t_ruth]

I am a JD who went back to school for a PhD and am now a faculty member. Happy to discuss my experiences and offer some advice one-on-one if you want to PM.