applying for psychology as internatinal student

[shahravan]

hi.

i study master of clinical psychology. i have many question but first one , i want ask you, anybody knows that universities in us accept ielts score؟

[Much Anxious Very Waiting]

Perhaps you could address this question to the "International House of Grads" forum. 

 

I think TOEFL is much more commonly accepted.

 

Are you applying right now to Masters programs in Clinical?

[shahravan]

thanks for you'r reply. no, i studied clinical in my country and i want apply for phd in us, mayby cognitive psychology. i'm reading about applying but i'm confuse now. what is important for applyin as internatinal student, for example, how important it is to have article? or how important it is GER subject score?

[Chubberubber]

Hi Shahravan, 

Here's what I learned- U.S psych programs require almost exclusively TOEFL (or at least 2 semesters of academic studies in English) AND for you to take the general GRE like everyone else. I advise you to contact departments you are interested in applying to ahead of time to ask if they could give you a general idea of what scores they're looking for on both the TOEFL and the GRE. While the TOEFL score is usually a mere pre-requisite (meaning- you need to get above a certain score, often 100, to be eligible for the program), your GRE score is what determines your level of competitiveness. In short- it doesn't really matter how good your TOEFL score is (as long as it's good enough), but the quality of your GRE score matters a lot. 

 

GRE subject test in psychology, as far as I know, is not required for most programs and definitely does not replace the general GRE. I haven't taken the subject test and still got invited to interview. However, it is usually recommended and can serve to better your chances. Same goes for publishing- not required but if you have published it would make you more competitive (again- I haven't published yet, but have given presentations in my field). 

 

A big problem for international applicants is funding. If you can secure outside funding for your education (or, conversely, if you have a way of obtaining a green card) than you absolutely should do it. Look at TakeruK's last reply to this thread: 

 

Hope that helps. Will be happy to answer any more questions as best as I can!

[shahravan]

Hi Shahravan, 

Here's what I learned- U.S psych programs require almost exclusively TOEFL (or at least 2 semesters of academic studies in English) AND for you to take the general GRE like everyone else. I advise you to contact departments you are interested in applying to ahead of time to ask if they could give you a general idea of what scores they're looking for on both the TOEFL and the GRE. While the TOEFL score is usually a mere pre-requisite (meaning- you need to get above a certain score, often 100, to be eligible for the program), your GRE score is what determines your level of competitiveness. In short- it doesn't really matter how good your TOEFL score is (as long as it's good enough), but the quality of your GRE score matters a lot. 

 

GRE subject test in psychology, as far as I know, is not required for most programs and definitely does not replace the general GRE. I haven't taken the subject test and still got invited to interview. However, it is usually recommended and can serve to better your chances. Same goes for publishing- not required but if you have published it would make you more competitive (again- I haven't published yet, but have given presentations in my field). 

 

A big problem for international applicants is funding. If you can secure outside funding for your education (or, conversely, if you have a way of obtaining a green card) than you absolutely should do it. Look at TakeruK's last reply to this thread: 

 

Hope that helps. Will be happy to answer any more questions as best as I can!

hi , wooww you'r answer ,surprise me. completely answer ever thanks. i heard that GRE subject is important for internatioanl student.i don't know,it is true or not!

i have one article that will be pubished in indian jornal( international journal of current life science),my question is important article, which was published in magazine?

in fact i dont have enough money for education in us and i dont have green card. i'm looking fund for living and studing. i heard that most phd programs have fund. if you have information about the fund and tell me how take the fund, i'm very grateful.

 

glad to meet you, thanks a lot

[Chubberubber]

Just realized I didn't mention it in my previous post- I'm an international applicant as well. So everything I said is based on my personal (though admittedly limited) experience. To answer your questions:

1) I'm sure a good score on the GRE subject could help, but I don't think it's mandatory. If you have limited resources (I know I did) I would advise you to invest in getting a good score on the general GRE and not take the subject GRE. I'm not sure, but it's possible that a sub-par subject score could hurt your application...

2) Having an article published is very good (for Ph.D applications and generally in academic life!  ), but again- not mandatory. If you can sumbit a translated version of your published article as a writing sample (as part of the gard school application) that could be great!

3) U.S universities do provide funding, but it is often only for U.S citizens or legal residents (green card holders). I believe it is so because a lot of the money that universities use to fund PhD students comes from the federal government. It's quite possible that at least some departments have independent resources that they can use to fund international students, but you should contact individual departments and ask in advance (do that before you apply so you don't end up spending money on an application for a school you won't be able to attend). Every school is different when it comes to funding so there's no one single answer. 

Edited January 20, 2015 by Chubberubber

[shahravan]

Just realized I didn't mention it in my previous post- I'm an international applicant as well. So everything I said is based on my personal (though admittedly limited) experience. To answer your questions:

1) I'm sure a good score on the GRE subject could help, but I don't think it's mandatory. If you have limited resources (I know I did) I would advise you to invest in getting a good score on the general GRE and not take the subject GRE. I'm not sure, but it's possible that a sub-par subject score could hurt your application...

2) Having an article published is very good (for Ph.D applications and generally in academic life!  ), but again- not mandatory. If you can sumbit a translated version of your published article as a writing sample (as part of the gard school application) that could be great!

3) U.S universities do provide funding, but it is often only for U.S citizens or legal residents (green card holders). I believe it is so because a lot of the money that universities use to fund PhD students comes from the federal government. It's quite possible that at least some departments have independent resources that they can use to fund international students, but you should contact individual departments and ask in advance (do that before you apply so you don't end up spending money on an application for a school you won't be able to attend). Every school is different when it comes to funding so there's no one single answer

 

thank you for your generous response