Have a tough decision to make, Help!

[MsAmira]

I'm in a difficult situation. I am currently in my first year of study in a clinical program. Unfortunately, the program appears to not be the right fit for me. The first reason is because I am required to complete a Master's in theology or intercultural studies alongside my PhD in clinical psychology (these are the requirements of the Christian institution I am attending). It's hard for me to justify all the extra courses and cost that will go towards this Master's that I'm not very interested in doing in the first place. The second reason is that the school I am currently in provides very little funding and as an international student, funding is especially important!

So I am looking at applying to the New School of Social Research which offers an MA in psychology and after completing the MA, I apply to their PhD program in clinical psychology (which is an additional 3 years since the MA already counts for the first 2 years). The application process for the NSSR is internal and they typically receive 25-30 applicants from their MA program for the clinical program and select 15-17 students. The website says that maintaining a high GPA (3.7+) and being involved in a faculty's lab gives you a pretty good chance of getting into the clinical program. Also the NSSR provides way more funding than the school I'm currently in.

So my difficult decision is do I leave a clinical program that is not the right fit for an MA program that has a decent chance of advancing into the clinical program (obviously no guarantees). 

I tried to make this post short... any advice would be really appreciated, I'm losing sleep over this! Thanks 

[ickmalion]

The first thing I'm wondering, although its a moot point now, is why you accepted a program that has an additional degree requirement that doesn't float your boat when it isn't even sweetening the deal with some funding. c:

I just had to say that aloud - but I digress...

"Do I leave a clinical program that is not the right fit?" You already answered your question!!

An MA to Ph.D. program is good anyway, especially since you'll get the MA in the interim and may be able to shop around for an even better deal than the MA to PhD track you're on... Also, your research interests may shift and grow with you - another good reason to leave some room for options. Most important, remember that grad school is a lot of work. If you aren't happy where you're at, it could end up poisoning your career potential (e.g., slacking off, dropping out, emotional breakdown from being overwhelmed hating the field, etc.) - we get through grad work by being overly passionate about what we do.

Go get 'em!

[MsAmira]

18 hours ago, ickmalion said:

The first thing I'm wondering, although its a moot point now, is why you accepted a program that has an additional degree requirement that doesn't float your boat when it isn't even sweetening the deal with some funding. c:

I just had to say that aloud - but I digress...

"Do I leave a clinical program that is not the right fit?" You already answered your question!!

An MA to Ph.D. program is good anyway, especially since you'll get the MA in the interim and may be able to shop around for an even better deal than the MA to PhD track you're on... Also, your research interests may shift and grow with you - another good reason to leave some room for options. Most important, remember that grad school is a lot of work. If you aren't happy where you're at, it could end up poisoning your career potential (e.g., slacking off, dropping out, emotional breakdown from being overwhelmed hating the field, etc.) - we get through grad work by being overly passionate about what we do.

Go get 'em!

Thanks for the feedback