Applying to clinical Ph.D. without experience

[ahffk]

So I recently graduated with a 3.87 from a top tier undergrad with zero experience in clinical psychology research. I have about 2 years of experience in various I/O and cognitive psychology labs, but even then, I don't have any independent research/publication/conference/poster experience. I decided on clinical psychology after two undergraduate courses relevant to clinical psych, volunteering at a center for sexually abused children and AIDS hospice, and working as a mental health specialist at a psychiatric institution. I want to do research. How would my lack of research experience and publication in clinical psych hurt my chances? I originally planned to apply for programs this fall, but now I am having second thoughts on if I am ready in terms of competitiveness. I already graduated, my applications for lab manager positions did not work out because of my lack of experience in clinical, and now I have a job I have to attend to while I try to strengthen my application. Do you guys think I will need an extra year (apply for Fall 2016 admissions) to be competitive enough and what can I do to get there?

[Applemiu]

I think that your profile is quite strong. Do you have good LORs? It all depends on what you will do this year to strengthen your application. Even if you decide to wait I would definitely try one or two places to get a feel for the process.

[whatsinmind]

You can definitely still apply for Fall 2015 if you can make your application show your interest, passion, and focus in clinical psychology. You have great numbers and extracurricular experience.

 

Your rec letters and personal statement will be extremely important in this case --your previous professors need to speak to your ability to work in a different discipline and your personal statement will attest that you have ideas and skills that can be applied to clinical psych. 

 

Lab manager jobs are hard to come by, but is there anyway you can volunteer as a research assistant in a lab that matches with your research interests? Most principal investigators are happy to have free labor and this will do wonders to strengthen your application --even if it is only a couple hours 1-2 times a week because you have another job. I would talk to your professors/advisors from your undergrad institution and ask if they have recommendations and/or if they can connect you to researchers looking for help. If you are able to secure this type of experience, I would definitely not wait until the next cycle, you would have a strong enough application to apply now.

[ahffk]

I think that your profile is quite strong. Do you have good LORs? It all depends on what you will do this year to strengthen your application. Even if you decide to wait I would definitely try one or two places to get a feel for the process.

 

I'm not sure... I do have three professors (lab PI's and class teachers) who wrote my LOR before. What do you think would be the best way to strengthen my application this year in time for the fall applications if I were to try? I am just a little scared, looking at all the admission rates for clinical programs. I never considered applying to 1 or 2 as a test run before though, and I think it might be a good idea so I will definitely keep that option open. Thank you for your response! 

 

You can definitely still apply for Fall 2015 if you can make your application show your interest, passion, and focus in clinical psychology. You have great numbers and extracurricular experience.

 

Your rec letters and personal statement will be extremely important in this case --your previous professors need to speak to your ability to work in a different discipline and your personal statement will attest that you have ideas and skills that can be applied to clinical psych. 

 

Lab manager jobs are hard to come by, but is there anyway you can volunteer as a research assistant in a lab that matches with your research interests? Most principal investigators are happy to have free labor and this will do wonders to strengthen your application --even if it is only a couple hours 1-2 times a week because you have another job. I would talk to your professors/advisors from your undergrad institution and ask if they have recommendations and/or if they can connect you to researchers looking for help. If you are able to secure this type of experience, I would definitely not wait until the next cycle, you would have a strong enough application to apply now.

 

Thanks for the advice! I am little bit wary about volunteering as RA for a short amount of time weekly for a small span of time (until the end of application process) though. Would that make much of a difference in that case then for the fall admissions?

Overall, I am just concerned about not just my lack of clinical psych research experience, but also my COMPLETE lack of independent research/publication/poster conference experience. Like, it's not just the lack of clinical experience the admissions will have to frown on, but the lack of indepdendent research/publication/power conference experience too. The above responses were very encouraging, and I thank you all, but with the cut-throat competition in the clinical psych field, I am still unsure. 

[Applemiu]

I'm not sure... I do have three professors (lab PI's and class teachers) who wrote my LOR before. What do you think would be the best way to strengthen my application this year in time for the fall applications if I were to try? I am just a little scared, looking at all the admission rates for clinical programs. I never considered applying to 1 or 2 as a test run before though, and I think it might be a good idea so I will definitely keep that option open. Thank you for your response! 

 

 

Thanks for the advice! I am little bit wary about volunteering as RA for a short amount of time weekly for a small span of time (until the end of application process) though. Would that make much of a difference in that case then for the fall admissions?

Overall, I am just concerned about not just my lack of clinical psych research experience, but also my COMPLETE lack of independent research/publication/poster conference experience. Like, it's not just the lack of clinical experience the admissions will have to frown on, but the lack of indepdendent research/publication/power conference experience too. The above responses were very encouraging, and I thank you all, but with the cut-throat competition in the clinical psych field, I am still unsure. 

I think you need to : 

-focus less on the negative

-focus more on the process

If you volunteer as RA, well, first of all you can put it on your CV, talk about it on your SOP, and just live the experience and see how you like it. Then if you don't apply or you don't get in this cycle, you can keep working as RA, gain more experience and maybe present a poster or attend a conference. 

This is a general useful resource:

http://psychology.barnard.edu/sites/default/files/inline/gradstudyhandout.pdf

Don't be scared! Most people apply more than once. It is a number game, and largely imponderable. 

[Generis]

Definitely give it your best shot this time around, but clinical programs that are research driven heavily value previous research experience, especially for clinical. One of the reasons for this is that there is a big difference between working with a population that clinical psychology serves and conducting clinical psychology research. Colleges stress that previous research experience because of the slews of people who apply because they want to help people and feel that connection to clients, but once they begin to submerge themselves in that research lifestyle they realize that they don't like it, and they drop out.

 

Maybe if you were able to craft your application to show that you understand this research way of life and that it motivates you, that could help push you through. Are there areas in clinical psych you are particularly interested it? You could try to talk about your experience in IO and cog, and link that to your interest in clinical.

 

Best of luck!

[whatsinmind]

 

Thanks for the advice! I am little bit wary about volunteering as RA for a short amount of time weekly for a small span of time (until the end of application process) though. Would that make much of a difference in that case then for the fall admissions?

Overall, I am just concerned about not just my lack of clinical psych research experience, but also my COMPLETE lack of independent research/publication/poster conference experience. Like, it's not just the lack of clinical experience the admissions will have to frown on, but the lack of indepdendent research/publication/power conference experience too. The above responses were very encouraging, and I thank you all, but with the cut-throat competition in the clinical psych field, I am still unsure. 

 

Applemiu and Generis said it, you definitely need to have a more positive outlook. The application process is always hard, but you seem to have the qualifications and you should feel that way or it won't come out in your application.

 

In response to your concerns about lack of experience, I think the biggest priority is finding a lab to simply volunteer in. Research experience is crucial in the admissions process for any PhD program; however, I think many admissions committees are more forgiving about lack of posters, publications, or other forms of independent research, especially if you are a recent graduate from your bachelor's. While it would be a tremendous advantage to have posters/conferences/etc, this may be impossible for some applicants for various reasons (lack of resources in their labs/undergrad institutions, dept's strong focus on grad students vs. RAs, etc).

 

Besides, poster/publication citations, your capacity for independent research could be demonstrated through other components of your application such as your letter of recommendations and your other research experience. Did you interview patients for a study? Did you help analyze the data afterwards? Did you contribute to writing the IRB proposal? Even if it doesn't relate to clinical psych directly, your duties as a research assistant in other labs show that you have the ability to work independently. 

[ahffk]

Super belated (I haven't been checking back here), but thanks to everyone (Applemiu, Generis, and whatsinmind!) for their constructive and very encouraging feedback! 

 

Applemiu and Generis said it, you definitely need to have a more positive outlook. The application process is always hard, but you seem to have the qualifications and you should feel that way or it won't come out in your application.

 

In response to your concerns about lack of experience, I think the biggest priority is finding a lab to simply volunteer in. Research experience is crucial in the admissions process for any PhD program; however, I think many admissions committees are more forgiving about lack of posters, publications, or other forms of independent research, especially if you are a recent graduate from your bachelor's. While it would be a tremendous advantage to have posters/conferences/etc, this may be impossible for some applicants for various reasons (lack of resources in their labs/undergrad institutions, dept's strong focus on grad students vs. RAs, etc).

 

Besides, poster/publication citations, your capacity for independent research could be demonstrated through other components of your application such as your letter of recommendations and your other research experience. Did you interview patients for a study? Did you help analyze the data afterwards? Did you contribute to writing the IRB proposal? Even if it doesn't relate to clinical psych directly, your duties as a research assistant in other labs show that you have the ability to work independently. 

 

Unfortunately, my 2 yrs of research experience consisted of data collection, organization, scheduling, developing assessment material.... anddd yahh. that's about it lol. Lots of running subjects, some literature review. Which is why I am so worried.

 

 

I think you need to : 

-focus less on the negative

-focus more on the process

If you volunteer as RA, well, first of all you can put it on your CV, talk about it on your SOP, and just live the experience and see how you like it. Then if you don't apply or you don't get in this cycle, you can keep working as RA, gain more experience and maybe present a poster or attend a conference. 

This is a general useful resource:

http://psychology.barnard.edu/sites/default/files/inline/gradstudyhandout.pdf

Don't be scared! Most people apply more than once. It is a number game, and largely imponderable. 

 

So I took this advice (thank you!), and have decided to do volunteer RA work at a community psychology lab (even though I wanted to clinical... this was the closest thing I could manage to get myself into). However, I haven't done anything in it yet.... which is not good.

 

 

To update, my current standing is:

- 3 LOR's from my previous research lab professors

- 3.87 overall GPA

- 3.94 psych GPA

- GRE of 164V/161Q

- 2 yrs of minimal research experience in 3 labs (i/o psych, applied cog, cog)

- volunteer experience with PTSD children

- work experience with clinical population (PTSD, ASD, schizophrenia, OCD, MDD, etc. etc.)

 

I am planning on applying for Fall 2015.........definitely not confident, thanks to the lack of significant research experience, but my sliver of hope comes from admissions mentioning how the most important thing is "fit" as expressed through my personal statement. So here are my questions:

1. How exactly do you show "fit" without citing specific research experiences that is related to POI's current research, considering I don't have any? Am I just supposed to say that it SOUNDS exciting (will that suffice for "fit")?

 

2. With the updated and brief description of my potential application, do I have a chance for these crazy competitive clinical psych programs?

 

3. Is there a current psych grad student who would be so kind to read over my things/give advice? Because then, you are awesome.

[when]

Super belated (I haven't been checking back here), but thanks to everyone (Applemiu, Generis, and whatsinmind!) for their constructive and very encouraging feedback! 

 

 

Unfortunately, my 2 yrs of research experience consisted of data collection, organization, scheduling, developing assessment material.... anddd yahh. that's about it lol. Lots of running subjects, some literature review. Which is why I am so worried.

 

 

 

So I took this advice (thank you!), and have decided to do volunteer RA work at a community psychology lab (even though I wanted to clinical... this was the closest thing I could manage to get myself into). However, I haven't done anything in it yet.... which is not good.

 

 

To update, my current standing is:

- 3 LOR's from my previous research lab professors

- 3.87 overall GPA

- 3.94 psych GPA

- GRE of 164V/161Q

- 2 yrs of minimal research experience in 3 labs (i/o psych, applied cog, cog)

- volunteer experience with PTSD children

- work experience with clinical population (PTSD, ASD, schizophrenia, OCD, MDD, etc. etc.)

 

I am planning on applying for Fall 2015.........definitely not confident, thanks to the lack of significant research experience, but my sliver of hope comes from admissions mentioning how the most important thing is "fit" as expressed through my personal statement. So here are my questions:

1. How exactly do you show "fit" without citing specific research experiences that is related to POI's current research, considering I don't have any? Am I just supposed to say that it SOUNDS exciting (will that suffice for "fit")?

 

2. With the updated and brief description of my potential application, do I have a chance for these crazy competitive clinical psych programs?

 

3. Is there a current psych grad student who would be so kind to read over my things/give advice? Because then, you are awesome.

1. In your statement of interest, I would make clear that you know the POI's research well, articulate why you are interested in it and what exactly you would be interested in researching further (and why). Even without research experience, this should show that you are knowledgable and interested beyond just a superficial level.

 

2. I think you definitely have a chance. Not all successful applicants have clinical research experience, and a lot have even less actual clinical experience than you. My only concern is that you didn't write an undergraduate thesis (from what I can gather), whereas most applicants will have, but that does not put you out of the running by any means. The rest of your assets are good. Again, study your areas of interest well (especially your POI's work, but definitely other research in the area in order to gain a greater depth of knowledge) and convey this knowledge in your statement of interest and potential interviews. Also make sure that the LORs you have are the strongest they can possibly be i.e. tactfully ask them if they are able to give you a STRONG letter (most people will be honest here), and if not, try to find others.

 

3. Sure, send me your materials and I can try to take a look at them.

 

Other than all this, keep a lookout for labs that are more in line with your interests. The experience you are getting in your current lab is not bad at all - even if you're not actually doing anything yet, it's more experience on your CV visually, though obviously try to get as involved as possible. Wherever you are, push your involvement and if you're involved enough and get to know your lab director and colleagues, you can broach the subject of being an author on a paper or poster. Should you not get into a clinical program this year, it would be a great thing to have your name on any kind of paper or poster. I've seen many RAs come and go from labs, but the ones that end up making the most of their experience in terms of helping them in the future are the ones that are always visible and reliable, take time to get to know the lab director/grad students and their work, and express their interests in involvement with more than just a "use me for anything" attitude. There is a LOT of advantage in getting to know people and making connections, so do your best to get your name out there in a good way. Connections make an enormous difference, in my opinion, and sometimes get overlooked because it's not one of these things that can be created out of nowhere according to some hard and fast rules.