Will past issues still impact me?

[healthypsych]

Hi everyone,

I am sure you read this here on the forum quite a bit but I have a concern I was hoping you guys would help me with. So when I enrolled into college, I enrolled as a bio major. My first two years were horrible as a bio major as I suffered from severe anxiety (was diagnosed my sophomore year) and I was unhappy in the major. Once I switched to psychology my junior year, my grades were like night and day. I started getting straight A's and A-s and my life really turned around. I knew I wanted to get a PhD in health psych but didnt have enough research experience by my senior year (3 labs in two semesters and a clinical internship and research internship) (as i only switched in my junior year) and my bio grades really dragged down my GPA. My overall GPA was a 3.0 but my psych GPA was about a 3.9 and my last two years my GPA was a 3.76. Anyway, I decided to complete a Master's instead to show I can handle graduate level work. I completed my masters of science in health psych this september at a really well established school (#2 for psych/psychiatry in the world) and I did really well. Because I decided to do it in the UK (I am a dual citizen and health psych is more established there than it is in the US and the program was really strong) the grading system is a bit different. My final grades are to come out in November but I should be getting a high merit or distinction (so either a 3.7 or 4.0). I am applying to doctorate programs now....I know they look at undergrad GPAs...how badly do you think my first two years (back in 2010/2011) will influence me given I have completed a Master's in the same field I intend to do my doctorate in? I know other aspects of my application matters and other than my grades I think my overall application is pretty strong. I am working on improving my GREs but I just wanted to know they wont completely ax me out based on my GPA from undergrad which is dragged down by my first two years as a bio major. I will put in a sentence or two explaining that too in my SOP. Thanks!

[Generic_Applicant]

I'm in a similar situation. Most schools will look at the final one or two years or only relevant credits. I've been okay, I think you should be too  esp if you are going to explain it in your letter

[gellert]

Plenty of people start off as pre-med before realizing they can't make the grades and switching majors.  It's nbd.  It's your last 2 years that matter most.

[SocialHealth]

You'll be fine. I was fine. Just make sure you have everything else in order. PM if you want specifics.