V: 650 Q: 600, Is this a good score?

[JohnP]

I'm trying to get into a Masters Program for Clinical Psychology or I/O Psychology. I know I can break 700 on the Verbal, but feel like I got lucky with the 600 on the math portion. Who knows, maybe if I get myself a tutor I can keep my math score at or above 600 and get a score over 1300. Should I retake? My college GPA was a measly 2.9 (graduated college in 1995). I've taken 4 pre-req's at a JC and received all A's (I'm 38 years old now). My work experience is 12 years in outside sales. The first six years I worked as a straight commission print salesman and the last six I worked as a pharmaceutical sales rep consulting psychiatrists and behavioral pediatricians on ADHD medications. I feel my work experience is strong, I feel my college GPA is weak, I feel my GRE scores are slightly above average. I just don't know what schools I'm qualified to apply for. It's quite a daunting task to have all these possibilities while at the same time knowing what to do with what you have.

[cherubie]

EDIT: Wait, I just realized you're going for a Masters, not PhD. In that case, maybe it's a little less rigorous. But I'll leave my comment up any way for anyone interested in PhD programs.

Take my opinion with a grain of salt, but here goes:

I used to be interested in clinical psychology, and have done some research on it, and from what I saw, the number requirements are very rigorous. It is one of the most covetous graduate programs, and thus very selective and hard to get into. I've had people told me that I need "a 4.0 and 1600" (their words, not mine). Although that is exaggerating it, but from a clinical psych PhD and PsyD students in my lab, you do need very good numbers. To be frank, (and again, I'm not an adcom) your numbers are not impressive. Although you have a lot of work experience, it wasn't direct lab work or clinical volunteering. A PsyD student in my lab is an international, got a 1580 (or so he said), graduated from the top high school of his nation, and had a masters when he applied (and got into) his current program. The PsyD program here is ranked somewhere 30 or 70-something, it is not the top of the line. Another student, a PhD clin psych, graduated from an Ivy League and had work experience in a lab. I don't know about his GPA/GRE's, but since the PhD program he's in is 3rd in the nation, I'm sure they weren't too shabby.

So not to discourage you, but a low GPA and your GRE may not get you too far; because clin psych has so many applicants, they do tend to use numbers as weeders. To answer your original question, a 1250 isn't a bad score, but it's not great (esp for the program you're interested in). A 600Q is below average, so more than 50% of test-takers got higher than you. A 650V is decent, above average. The PsyD student said that clin psych programs usually look for 700V (again, his words). He also participates in interviewing potential clin psych students too.

Edited January 5, 2011 by cherubie

[TheDude]

Find the studentdoctor forums. There is a whole setup for students looking to be admitted into clinical Ph.D. programs. People there have been admitted with 1200-1300 GRE scores. As mentioned, clinical is very unlike the other subfields in psychology. GRE scores that are in the 1400-1600 aren't required for many top programs in these other fields. Your score probably isn't going to get you in a tier 1 school, but it won't rule you out in other programs.

Search that site for the anecdotal proof.

Shoot Edit: I went on a Ph.D. rant. I have not heard of Clinical Master's. Do you mean an LCSW? Either way, I won't sugar coat it... your GPA is of concern, even for Master's programs.

Edited January 5, 2011 by musicforfun