Applying to doctoral program in Applied Biopsyc have only 1 opt for school-not a great gpa what are my chances?

[Kcarbu]

So I am intending on applying to UNO (university of new orleans) doctoral applied biopsyc program in the spring of '13, I intend on taking a year off between graduating with undergrad & applying to really focus on my gre & possibly see if I could try and volunteer in a reasearch lab of a mentor professor in the program as my way of getting my foot in the door. The thing is that I have 3 semesters left in undergrad & know that i will finish out with an overall U-GPA of minimum 3.0-max 3.2. My degree will be in Psyc from LSU & by the time I graduate will have 4 research clinical experience under my belt & 1 possible publication. The professor under whom I am doing research is very well known in the field & fully intend to ask for a letter of rec. along with a personal mentor who graduated from UNO with her BA at a 3.9 gpa, although she never went on to get her masters or doctorate she does own her own business in the psyc field in new orleans, a business that caters to the emotional & psychological needs of the mentally handicapped. & then another letter of rec from a professor. I have yet to take the GRE & unless i have some hidden talent for standardized testing that i dont even know about i dont think i will do amazingly my first time, however I will study and practice for as long as i need to as much as i need to to get a 1200. I am hispanic & UNO does state in their prospective student article for the program that minorities are strongly urged to apply(BUT DO ALL SAY THIS?)

Admission

The program plans to admit 4 to 6 new students each year in the

foreseeable future. (on average 12 though)

-a minimum 2.5 GPA for all undergraduate work

GRE scores of 1000 min.

-Students admitted to the Department’s doctoral programs typically have GRE scores exceeding 1150 (Verbal +

Quantitative) and undergraduate GPA’s of 3.2 or higher. For example, the twelve students

admitted for the 2000-01 academic year had a mean GRE score of 1233 and a mean

undergraduate GPA of 3.64.

-GRE scores and GPA are not the sole criteria considered for admission-DO ALL SCHOOL SAY THIS?

UNO is my only option bc of financials, proximity to home, & that the program fits my needs-fully funded, ONLY program in Louisiana that is even close to neuropsych, also my son is partly the reason for why I need to be in La more specifically in new orleans, my fiance's family owns apt.s down there so we would be living without the cost of rent, allowing me to go to school & there is no other program in La that i want to do. applied biopsyc/neuropsyc is it!

QUESTION IS: WHAT ARE MY CHANCES OF GETTING IN???

i wasnt worried until catching up with a friend from TX a&m with an U-GPA of 3.7/4.0 & is trying to get into MA programs (applied to 12!) & GRE score of 860 & hasnt gotten in to any masters programs across TX & La with min. GRE needed being 800. so what are my odds with a lower gpa & a more difficult program?

THANKS TO ANYONE WHO RESPONDS! I HAVE SCOURED THE INTERNET & HAVE YET TO HAVE FOUND ADEQUATE INFORMATION!

Edited May 8, 2011 by Kcarbu

[nessa]

So I am intending on applying to UNO (university of new orleans) doctoral applied biopsyc program in the spring of '13, I intend on taking a year off between graduating with undergrad & applying to really focus on my gre & possibly see if I could try and volunteer in a reasearch lab of a mentor professor in the program as my way of getting my foot in the door. The thing is that I have 3 semesters left in undergrad & know that i will finish out with an overall U-GPA of minimum 3.0-max 3.2. My degree will be in Psyc from LSU & by the time I graduate will have 4 research clinical experience under my belt & 1 possible publication. The professor under whom I am doing research is very well known in the field & fully intend to ask for a letter of rec. along with a personal mentor who graduated from UNO with her BA at a 3.9 gpa, although she never went on to get her masters or doctorate she does own her own business in the psyc field in new orleans, a business that caters to the emotional & psychological needs of the mentally handicapped. & then another letter of rec from a professor. I have yet to take the GRE & unless i have some hidden talent for standardized testing that i dont even know about i dont think i will do amazingly my first time, however I will study and practice for as long as i need to as much as i need to to get a 1200. I am hispanic & UNO does state in their prospective student article for the program that minorities are strongly urged to apply(BUT DO ALL SAY THIS?)

Admission

The program plans to admit 4 to 6 new students each year in the

foreseeable future. (on average 12 though)

-a minimum 2.5 GPA for all undergraduate work

GRE scores of 1000 min.

-Students admitted to the Department’s doctoral programs typically have GRE scores exceeding 1150 (Verbal +

Quantitative) and undergraduate GPA’s of 3.2 or higher. For example, the twelve students

admitted for the 2000-01 academic year had a mean GRE score of 1233 and a mean

undergraduate GPA of 3.64.

-GRE scores and GPA are not the sole criteria considered for admission-DO ALL SCHOOL SAY THIS?

UNO is my only option bc of financials, proximity to home, & that the program fits my needs-fully funded, ONLY program in Louisiana that is even close to neuropsych, also my son is partly the reason for why I need to be in La more specifically in new orleans, my fiance's family owns apt.s down there so we would be living without the cost of rent, allowing me to go to school & there is no other program in La that i want to do. applied biopsyc/neuropsyc is it!

QUESTION IS: WHAT ARE MY CHANCES OF GETTING IN???

i wasnt worried until catching up with a friend from TX a&m with an U-GPA of 3.7/4.0 & is trying to get into MA programs (applied to 12!) & GRE score of 860 & hasnt gotten in to any masters programs across TX & La with min. GRE needed being 800. so what are my odds with a lower gpa & a more difficult program?

THANKS TO ANYONE WHO RESPONDS! I HAVE SCOURED THE INTERNET & HAVE YET TO HAVE FOUND ADEQUATE INFORMATION!

trying to figure out your chances at one school is really difficult, and nobody here will be able to give you any sort of answer. However, a couple things to keep in mind:

-most PhD programs (any reputable ones, at least) fund you and give you a stipend; it's not much, but you will not have to worry about paying rent or basic living expenses.

-applying to one school is always a crapshoot. do you want to stay in the area or go to a PhD program? one of those is going to have to take priority.

-your research experience is most important, and comparing yourself to others is not very helpful. That said, if someone got an 860 combined on the GRE, I would imagine they would have a hard time getting in to graduate programs.

[neuropsych76]

trying to figure out your chances at one school is really difficult, and nobody here will be able to give you any sort of answer. However, a couple things to keep in mind:

-most PhD programs (any reputable ones, at least) fund you and give you a stipend; it's not much, but you will not have to worry about paying rent or basic living expenses.

-applying to one school is always a crapshoot. do you want to stay in the area or go to a PhD program? one of those is going to have to take priority.

-your research experience is most important, and comparing yourself to others is not very helpful. That said, if someone got an 860 combined on the GRE, I would imagine they would have a hard time getting in to graduate programs.

I just want to echo what nessa said because I feel it's spot on.

Getting into grad school is tough, and just applying to one school makes it much more difficult.

You have to ask yourself if you really want to go to graduate school? Going to grad school means you have to sacrifice some things. If you really want to go to grad school, I would strongly consider applying to more programs.