Applying to Clinical Psych phd programs with a low GPA

[clio2012]

I'm determined to become a psychologist (with a clinical psych phd), but I'm feeling discouraged about my chances of getting into a funded program. I have a low GPA that seems to preclude any chance of consideration at any school, given how fierce the competition is. 

 

The Bad: I have a 3.2 undergrad GPA. That's not even the worst part though. After my father died my freshman year, I became the legal guardian of my younger brother. I worked to support him and myself while still in school and it definitely hurt my ability to do well in school. Not to mention, I suffered from severe depression during this time.  I struggled to keep up in my courses, but eventually I was placed on academic suspension and separated from the university for a year. I wish I could explain all of this in my application without being completely unprofessional, but I've been advised against it. However, without any context it looks like I just fucked around during my undergrad years. 

 

The Good: I am in a psychology masters program right now. I have a 4.0 GPA and hopefully will finish with it (or something close to it). I haven't taken the GRE yet, but I'm getting about 165Q and 165V on my practice tests. I've studied a bit, but I haven't really applied myself just yet, so I'm pretty sure I can raise those scores a bit. For research experience, I've worked as an RA in a lab for about a year (part-time), and I will also have completed my Masters thesis by the time I graduate. I'll work in the lab full-time over the summer, and if its necessary, I might try to find a full-time research position after getting my masters. However, I'd rather go straight to the phd program (if I have any chance of getting in somewhere). Also, I'll have pretty great letters of recommendation from Harvard psychology and psychiatry professors. 

 

The Stuff I'm Not Sure About: I don't know whether the strength of one's undergraduate institution helps or not, but I went to an Ivy League school. I'm not sure if this hurts me or not, but my masters will be from from Harvard's extension school. I take graduate courses with Harvard professors, and its fairly rigorous, but admission is open to all. I'm not sure whether the mixed reputation of the school will hurt me. Lastly, I'm not really clear about whether affirmative action is part of the graduate admissions process at all, but I do know people of color are sometimes "recruited" for clinical psych programs. Can anyone explain what the status is of affirmative action in graduate admissions? I'm a person of color, and I just want to know if that comes into play at all or not. 

 

I really appreciate any comments or advice anyone has to give. I feel like no matter what I do to overcome it or distance myself from it, my academic suspension and undergraduate gpa will kill my chances of a phd program. I'm planning on applying to MSW programs as well, but I really want to be able to do research as well as practice. Thanks for reading my wall of text :/

[SweetSam]

Sorry for not really answering your questions. In the past, I have found a lot of information from SDN: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/doctoral-applicants-read-first-helpful-threads.714255/.

 

I do want to speak to the affirmative action question. I too am a person of color who has gone through the application process before (and currently). Some schools do say that they encourage people of minority groups to apply to increase diversity within the programs, but I would not put too much weight into that. I've read (Insider's guide to graduate programs in clinical and counseling psychology) that being a minority, in some cases, may get your application to be reviewed more closely or even invited to interview but the most important part about the selection process is the research match and your ability to be successful in a program. So, although your minority status may get you past a certain point in the process, you should still be a competitive applicant.