Low grade in statistics class

[Clinpsyc01]

I'm a fourth year undergrad thinking of applying to grad school next year. I had intended on applying this year, but I have a pretty big problem with my application. I absolutely bombed my advanced statistics class. By this, I don't mean that I got a B or something- I passed, but I legitimately did very, very poorly in the course. I don't know what happened since I got A's in my other research methods and stats classes. The semester in question was rough overall for a number of reasons, but nothing that I could cite as a legit reason for my performance. I don't think my grade in the class was an accurate representation of my ability, but there's nothing I can do about that. 

Anyway, I'm not looking to make excuses for my grade. I just want to know if there's any way to salvage my situation. My GPA is still around 3.75, and I'm retaking the stats course now and will most likely get an A this time. Should I try to take some more math/stats courses next year and do well in them? I can add a statistics minor if I take three more classes. Would this help prove that I'm not actually an idiot when it comes to statistical analysis? I can't take my department's graduate statistics courses because space is very limited. Would a really high quant score on the GRE help? 

I want to apply to clinical, which is why I'm panicking about this. I know that this was probably the most important course in my degree. Is there anything I can do? Or will this be a huge red flag on my application no matter what I do to fix it? I'm starting to think I should just apply to medical school instead, even though I'd really prefer not to. 

[Psych_Law]

I wouldn't give up on your dream just because of one class did not go the way you thought it would. This one class cannot define you. Yes, I would say a good GRE quant score would do you some good. 

Do you think if you took a different stats class another semester that you would be confident in getting an A? That might be a good idea as well, just to show you know what you're doing despite that one class.

My GRE quant score is not representative of my statistical knowledge, so I put some emphasis in my SoP about the 4 different stats classes I took and how I was a TA for a stats course and taught other students the material while increasing my confidence in statistical knowledge. 

So I think you could do something similar if you work hard to get a good GRE quant score, and just do it the other way around: show that your GRE score and potential other stats class is a better indicator of your ability to do well in graduate-level statistic work. 

 

Edited November 15, 2015 by Becks_Psych

[CogPsych2015]

I had a similar situation, though my low grade was in the basic Stats course and I took the advanced to make up for it (though, the advanced wasn't on my transcript when I applied). I had a lot of research experience, and so I just asked one of my letter writers to address the grade in his LOR. I didn't want to waste space on negative stuff in my SOP, but wanted it to be addressed. I figured it would work best if someone who knew my real-life Stats knowledge (i.e., first hand application of Stats knowledge to research) would be the best person to say that I didn't really suck at Stats. Apparently it worked :). Don't panic, one bad grade won't tank an otherwise solid application.

[child_health]

There are some schools in Canada (specifically Ontario) that really wants to see applicants' abilities within research methodology courses. From my experiences, OISE (UofT) really stressed how important it is to do well in statistics and research methods during one's undergraduate studies in order to be competitive in some of their programs. This is especially true if you are interested in more research oriented PhD programs (ie: OISE for SCCP, McGill Clinical) in comparison to more clinically oriented PhD programs (ie: Concordia). However, there is always room to explain your situation (no matter what you consider to be a "good" reason or not) in writing or through communication. I also think that if you can show your level of work in other stats courses, you should be fine.