Chances of Clinical/Counseling Psych PhD Acceptance?!

[kmeredithc]

I'm currently an psychology major (starting my senior year this coming fall 2015) at a respected public state school in New Jersey. I am planning to apply to Counseling and Clinical Psychology PhD programs on the east coast this coming fall and would like to know my chances! I'm interested in youth development, after-school programs, parent-child relationships/family, and positive psychology. Here are some of my stats:

 

-Associate's in Liberal Arts from community college: cumulative GPA 3.85, Psychology GPA 4.0.

 

-Bachelor's Degree Current GPA: 3.83

 

-Haven't taken GRE yet - this is my biggest concern, as I do not do well on standardized tests. I took a cold practice test and scored 148 on quant, 152 on verbal.

 

-This summer I'm working in a research lab at my college focusing on memory and aging.

 

-I have worked in another lab for 2 semesters doing research on emerging adulthood, engagement, adjustment, and community health working with minority youth. Currently waiting to hear whether I've been awarded a student-faculty research award I applied for a few weeks ago. My mentor and I are hoping to submit work for publication next fall and present at a conference (hopefully before apps are due!)

 

-Next fall I will be doing a clinical internship at an intensive out-patient program dealing with women and female youth with emotional disturbances and other severe psychological issues.

 

-Volunteered for one semester at a group home for adults with developmental disabilities.

 

-Have worked for 2 years at a child development center (a daycare).

 

-I will most likely be a TA for cognitive psychology next spring.

 

-I can get strong letters of recommendation.

 

So, mostly I am worried about my GRE and not having any presentations or publications as of yet.  Please let me know what you think!

 

Thanks!!

[_kita]

The only part you really need to worry about is that GRE score. For several PhD programs, the have rather high standards.I would suggest aiming for a 160 in both categories. 

 

 

Everything else looks fantastic. 

[emh289]

Most of the highest ranking clinical/counseling PhD programs have average GRE scores of around 160 for verbal and 155 for quantitative. Probably the best thing you could do is to focus on getting your scores up, as the admissions committees instantly throw out more than 50% of applications based on GRE/GPA alone. If I were you, I would research the schools to which you want to apply to get a sense of their score requirements (they should have admitted student data on their website) and then study like a mad (wo)man. I used Magoosh as a study aid and it did me well. Good luck!! 

[kmeredithc]

Thank you both for your prompt responses! I'm looking into programs mostly on the east coast ranging as north as Boston to as south as D.C. I know these are some of the toughest to get into, and the GRE scores are very high. I've heard of Magoosh, I'll definitely look into using that! Thanks!

[Jay's Brain]

Hello fellow cognitive (memory)-related researcher!

Like the other two mentioned, you do have a strong application! The weaker part is your GRE, and, unfortunately, it's one of those things that you must grind through during your application process. Having done the GRE multiple times, I realize that your condition on test day makes a big difference. The time I did better, I had a good night's sleep and had more positive thoughts going into it. Don't let your own anxiety, and knowing that the GRE is important to your application, affect you too much. Like psychkita said, aim higher and you'll have a more than solid application.

 

In terms of the lack of publication/presentation, I went into my application cycle this year with no publication (just a couple of manuscripts in progress) and 2 conference presentations. That's not a whole lot either. I think more than anything what helped me a lot was more statement of interest and my strong LORs. If you've established great relationships with professors that should only help you.

This might be a little bit out of the field, but take a look at some of the clinical psychology schools in Canada too. There's a lot of very strong research here, especially in the cognitive psychology and neuroscience-related fields.

Otherwise, don't stress out and enjoy the ride of your graduate applications. Good luck!

[healthypsych]

Ha, I think you and I went to the same undergrad! I was in a Memory and Aging lab too! I applied to counseling phd programs and got into a few but ultimately turned them down because i wanted to go towards a more health psych route thanks to a professor at my undergrad. If you and I did go to the same school, let me just say that the school name itself goes a long way because a lot of the faculty are from the east coast (for networking purposes this works out well for you). Don't worry too much about the GREs. I took them twice. The first time in August before my senior year where I had a minor hospital stay before that so I wasnt exactly prepared and then I took them again in October after only prepping for two weeks. My score jumped 20 points from these resources: 
 

1. Download the practice GRE exams from ETS. Take one because they are the most similar to the actual thing. This is to get a feel of what your base score is.

2. Download magoosh for math and sign up for memrise for vocab. Both of these websites are incredibly helpful. For memrise, find Baron's 800 vocab words. Magoosh is all around great because it gives you an estimated range of what you may get on the actual GRE. The math is generally harder on magoosh than on the actual test so it prepares you well. 

3. ETS GRE prepbook has a great list of formulas to know. It is in the back of the book. Also the GRE tends to reuse essay questions so it really is great to have a book that has practice questions. 

 

Good luck and PM if you have any questions  

[Username_92]

Just to add to what healthypsych said, here are the links to the essay topics. It seems like a very long list, however, most of the topics are repeated with different instructions. 

 

https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/issue/pool

https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/argument/pool

[kmeredithc]

Thanks for the resources!!

[cagedbird77]

OP, keep in mind that GRE scores are only one part of the application. Looking over your list, you sound like a strong applicant! My advisor for my doctorate program specifically said that GRE scores were one of the last things that they looked at when admitting students. I'm sure other programs might do this differently but it's something to keep in mind! I mean, you still need to do decently well on them but don't fret too much over the test. Like someone posted earlier, definitely take one or two practice tests before the real thing. I took two full length practice tests and learning how to pace myself was really valuable. Good luck and I'm sure you'll do great

[kmeredithc]

Cagedbird77, thank you for your input!!

[kmeredithc]

Hey again,

 

So I just took ETS's practice GRE after studying very hard for 2 months. I only scored a 154 on verbal and 151 on quant. I take the actual GRE next Friday. I am freaking out because these are not at all the scores I wanted and really thought my studying would pay off.

 

Is there any way I could still get into a clinical/counseling psych PhD program with these GRE scores and my stats from my original post above??

[_kita]

Hey again,

 

So I just took ETS's practice GRE after studying very hard for 2 months. I only scored a 154 on verbal and 151 on quant. I take the actual GRE next Friday. I am freaking out because these are not at all the scores I wanted and really thought my studying would pay off.

 

Is there any way I could still get into a clinical/counseling psych PhD program with these GRE scores and my stats from my original post above??

 

 

Check into the programs and see what they say about GRE requirements. Some, GREs are only a 'part of the application package' for others, eligibility is based on it. You may be able to make it into a program, but that might disqualify you outright from others.