3.3 GPA...should i freak about it?

[ceeceeroni]

Hello!

I am in the process of submitting applications for Ph. D, Psy. D, and MS programs in School Psychology which are  all second-tier programs.

 

I have mediocre research experience yet my teaching experience has been solid.

Also, I have strong letters of recommendations (though one professor is not from psych department and the other is ph.d. candidate for psych). I am too concerned about my gpa as it is around 3.3 - 3.5 (psych major gpa: 3.68). My gre is :165 (Q), 152 (V), 4.0 (AWA). 

 

Should I bother applying for ph.d or psy.d programs due to my low gpa? 

I need some advice from y'all! 

Edited December 8, 2013 by ceeceeroni

[lewin]

I don't know anything about school psychology or the specific requirements of those programs, my experience is in experimental psych. So keeping that in mind....

 

To be frank, it's not just the GPA. For research programs, teaching experience matters very little, only research counts. Teaching is more like a quaint side project. (Though I hope school psychology programs value it.) I'd also be concerned about a letter from a PhD student. There are two ways to judge letters: Content and source. Even if they words are glowing, they're from somebody whose opinion won't carry much weight. Everybody understands it's hard to get three letters though, so if the other two are fine this might be okay but I'd try to get another one from a real professor if you can, maybe. As a PhD candidate I wrote a letter or two for my research assistants, but my PI reviewed and signed them because he's important, I'm not.