Best Route to PsyD

[mbrand]

Hello I have the end goal of obtaining a PsyD focused in clinical psych.  I have been doing some research on different programs and am having some difficulty getting a clear idea of my options.  I have a couple things going for me and a couple things going against me.  Firstly my undergraduate GPA is not great it's a 2.97 from University of MA, Amherst.  I went in as  Mechanical Engineering major, botched my freshman year and then switched to Psych.  What my transcript does reflect is once I switched to Psych I took a pretty rigiourous clinical course track including graduate level practicums and did well.  I also have great letters of reccomendation, and pretty intensive work history in the field.  I have yet to take the GRE but typically test well and am willing to try until I get a score I am satisfied with.

 

Ideally I would go straight into a PsyD program, however I dont know if I would even be considered with my current GPA.  I would also like to go to certain programs that are APA accredited which may even harder to get into.  So my thoughts are to start a masters program and transfer into a PsyD program once I show that I can do the graduate coursework and have an established GPA with my graduate program.  This or obtain a masters then go for the PsyD.  

 

So I am trying to figure out what the best route to do this would be.  I could get a year long certificate in trauma studies showing that I completed graduate courses, but this may not help my standing.  I am looking at Counseling Psych MA, as this is a practical degree and can lead to LMHC licensure if I eventually do not head towards the PsyD.  I am not so much interested in the MSW route, but am open to the MA in clinical psych but worried that the degree itself is not very pratical if for some reason my education ends there.  Any insight or advice from people who have pursued the PsyD track on what my best option is to increase my chance of being accepting to a good program?

 

Thanks!

Mike