At Crossroads in Professsional Life

[alaique]

Hello all,

 

This is my first post here and regretfully it's not on a positive note. This is not a "what are my chances" post as I have read that thread amongst countless others.

 

I come to you with a sombering reality of uncertainty in my future. I had a horrible undergrad in psychology at UCSD (2.7GPA) and graduated Spring of 2013. Although I did work in a cognition lab I don't believe I did anything meaningful there besides conduct experiments. When I look at requirements for a Psy. D in Clinical Psychology at even the average schools my heart sinks. The positives I have going for me is that I worked in a Mental Health Clinic for 7 months and am on good terms with the director (LoR possibly). I also volunteered at Kaiser in the Emergency Department for 7 months as well (LoR possible too). I got 151 V and 147 Q on GRE last year and am retaking them this year at end of November.

 

I've thought about my clinical experience coupled with good GRE's and LoR's as a way to compensate for my horrendous GPA.

 

My main worry/question is should I go ahead and apply to the schools or should I look into doing an MA before applying to Psy. D. I've read from many other topics that MA can kind of be looked at as a fresh start to put you in better contention for grad school (con: total cost of both programs). But even for MA I feel I don't have a strong candidacy to get accepted seeing as how 3.0 is considered "minimum".

 

 

What do you guys think?

 

Many thanks.

 

[Lisa44201]

Apply to Masters programs anyway.

 

I would ask you to define "average" PsyD program; PsyD programs with good reputations, that will put you in a good position to become a licensed practitioner, are few (for EPPP passing rates by program, seehttp://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.asppb.net/resource/resmgr/EPPP_/2012_ASPPB_Exam_Scores_by_Do.pdf).

 

You may be in a better position career-wise with a Master's degree than you would be with a PsyD from certain programs.

[alaique]

Hey Lisa,

 

Thanks for a super fast reply! Don't you think that if I did get into a Master's and did well 3.6+GPA and then applied for a Psy. D that it would be better in the long run?

[Lisa44201]

It depends on the quality of the program - both the Masters program and PsyD. The EPPP pass rates for many PsyD programs are awful; and without that, you cannot get licensed. The thing to consider with Masters programs is that they have a reputation for grade inflation, so it's a matter of proving yourself to doctoral programs.

[juilletmercredi]

I think what Lisa was trying to say that if you want to pratice as a clinician, you may even just want to stop at the MA altogether and get licensed as an LPC.  I perused the list and it appears that the final word on EPPP pass rates for PsyD programs is mixed; some have higher pass rates than others.  The pass rates at those for-profit institutions (Argosy, Alliant, etc.) are almost universally awful, but the pass rates at some PsyD programs at legitimate university like University of Denver and Pepperdine are better.  For instance, Loyola College at Maryland's clinical PsyD program has a 91% pass rate, and Rutgers' program has a 99% pass rate.  There are also some low pass rates among PhD programs, too - like Andrews University's 46% or New Mexico State's 58%.  I think here, it's going to be more about school and program quality than the actual letters behind your name, with the caveat that PsyD programs are much more likely to be at lower-reputed schools and for-profit institutions.

 

However, PsyDs are almost never funded and will be 4 years of loans when an MA in mental health counseling - or an MSW and a licensed clinical social worker designation - may get you to the same goal.  I would first wonder why you want a PsyD instead of a PhD in clinical or counseling psychology.  When I talk to students, I find that in the majority of cases either the PhD (which is usually funded) or an MA that provides master's-level counseling licensure is a better choice than the PsyD.

 

However - whether or not you are competitive now depends on the quality of the PsyD.  Some PsyD programs will take you now, given your clinical experience and your research experience (btw, "running experiments" is pretty much all undergraduate RAs do anyway!  So you're in good company).  Others - particularly ones located at good nonprofit institutions - will want to see you get an MA first with a higher GPA.

[alaique]

The main reasoning I have behind pursuing a Psy. D vs. Ph. D is that I am not too keen on the research aspect of it. I understand that both require research time but the latter requires more of it.

I am more interested in the scholar-practitioner model rather than scientist-practitioner.  

 

Also I have the idea that you are more likely to have gainful employment with a Psy. D vs MA/MS.

 

What do you think??