Question for Admitted Students: GPA

[headandheart15]

Hi everyone,

 

Thread title says I have a question, but as you read on you will see that I have multiple questions.

 

I just graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in Applied Behavior Analysis. My overall GPA is a 2.6. However, all of the "bad grades" (C's, one D) are from my general education classes, with the exception of two C's for my major classes. 

 

I have three internships under my belt, a year and a half of research, and I am taking a year off to work as a Behavioral Tutor to children with autism. 

 

I have three professors who have offered to write my wonderful recommendations. As you can see, everything is great, with the exception of the GPA.

 

Has anyone ever come across this situation themselves? Did you get into graduate programs, and if so, which ones?

 

I know I have what it takes to take on a Master's program, possibly even a Doctoral Program, but I am a little nervous about my GPA.

 

I invite any discussion, advice, etc.,

 

Thank you.

Edited May 12, 2015 by headandheart15

[lxwllms]

What type of psychology program are you interested in (school, clinical, biology/neuro, etc)?

[headandheart15]

I am interested in applying to a clinical psychology program, preferably with a child track. 

[psycgrad37]

Hi headandheart15, clinical programs are very competitive. I believe a Master's program might be doable but a PhD with that GPA I don't think could be possible. The min requirement is of at least a 3.0 GPA, usually 3.5 Your saving grace might be a stellar GRE score, great statement, great letters, and your experience. 

[lxwllms]

Clinical psychology programs I believe are one of the most competitive programs amongst all fields. I agree with Psycgrad37. You should aim for a masters and perhaps then try for a PhD.

[_kita]

With your experience, you'd be able to get into a masters program easily enough. For some PhD programs, it will be a bit more difficult. Everything else in your application will need to shine. For some programs, GRE/GPA is a funding cut off source. So you might be accepted, but they might not give you funding. For other programs, they only care about your last two years, your major GPA, etc. There's so much variation that without taking directly with a program (and actually having them answer you), there's no way of knowing. Look at the under 3.0 acceptance thread.

 

 

If you have your heart set on a clinical psychology program, consider sending out a wide girth. when we say very competitive, these programs accept maybe 8 people out of 200+ applicants. Add a few masters programs in there for back up, send out a large amount of applications. Stuff like that will help you get where you want.

[kesgrad]

From what I have heard from speaking with a lot of clinical faculty, you have to have over a 3.5 to even be considered for a Ph.D. program. While it is unfortunate, because most Ph.D. programs receive so many applications, they immediately throw out any with GPAs under a 3.5. Even a 3.5 is low for applying to clinical Ph.D. programs. You will definitely need to go for a masters first and get close to a 4.0 Masters GPA for the Ph.D. programs to let your undergraduate GPA slide. 

[rte0017]

Hello, I was also in somewhat your situation. My overall GPA was a 2.9 when I graduated with my BS in applied behavior analysis. I actually took two years off to be a behavior tutor and applied for this upcoming fall.

I got into Houston-clear lake for their ABA program. I don't know about phD, since I never intended to apply anywhere for that, but I can say that you definitely have more than I do in terms of research (I had none) and internships (unless you count the two years I've been working with the austism spectrum population).

I agree with everyone here, apply for phD and masters programs.

[Mastershaakti]

To be bluntly honest, if you want a minimally funded PhD program in clinical psychology with a 2.6 GPA, you're f**ked. I don't even think a decent masters would accept or help you. First, consider doing something like getting a 2-year funded lab manager position before applying, although those are competitive. This can offset your grades with the best lab experience possible, with maybe even co-authorship on a publication. Second, consider moving to the location of your dream mentor, and volunteer in their lab for at least a year before applying. One reason the GPA is so important is to help paint a picture of what your capable of. If you've already worked well with the mentor, then they might look past the bad grades. Third, save yourself the headache and consider changing your career aspirations to something more feasible, such clinical mental health counseling, PsyD, or even social work. Although fundamentally different, these career areas overlap considerably with clinical psych PhD and is a plausible alternative for those with lower grades.

Edited May 23, 2015 by Mastershaakti

[ck926]

Do you have any publications? How is your GRE? GPA is important, but if you have published research (especially combined with high GRE scores) I think that could offset the GPA. 

[SocialHealth]

For me, my final gpa at my current school probally helped but I also had many years of research experience. In my opinion your overall package is more important than one specific thing. Sure your gpa and gre will be used for "weeding out" at highly ranked programs due to large number of applications. But that shouldn't stop you from applying. If your applicaton is strong in other areas (recommendation letters, GRE scores, research experience, conferences, etc.) you can still get into a school. I got into three, it's possible.