Poor/Short LOR am I screwed?

[tania5493]

Hey all I am applying to School Psych MA/Ed.S programs. I graduated this past June 2015 from UCSB, I have a 3.59 GPA from a Psychology and Sociology double major. I got Cum Laude for Soc. and graduated with Honors for my cumulative GPA. I did a lot of volunteering in elementary schools and after school programs throughout my 4 years in undergrad, participated in well-known School Psych professors research project, I did an internship working with kids as well. Right after grad I landed a job as a Behavioral Therapist so I currently have been working about 7 months with children with Autism and related disorders in homes and in schools. I have other non related work experience from college campus jobs, I was part of a club, have CPR and CPI certifications etc. My GRE score is not great by any means, only had time to take it once and got a combined 301 but a good writing score of 4.5  (sad I know, I should have studied more) 

I have the School Psych prof who I worked with writing me a letter as well as Soc professor who knows me well and in which I earned A's for both her classes. I know both of these letters are going to be good. I asked my Clinical supervisor who has her MA to write me a LOR and expected it to be great or decent at the least and she sent me her letter (I know not typical but she did it anyway) she wrote one paragraph probably less than 500 words and didn't even put her contact info. In short although what the letter says is positive it is not a strong letter by any means and looks rather unprofessional. My first app is due in two days so I am screwed for that app but I have another 3 coming up due on Feb 15, 2016. I have asked another prof to write a LOR for me but no word back yet. Am I totally screwed because of my weak GRE Scores and my weak LOR? I'm internally crying as I write.

Edited January 13, 2016 by tania5493

[Love3]

2 hours ago, tania5493 said:

Hey all I am applying to School Psych MA/Ed.S programs. I graduated this past June 2015 from UCSB, I have a 3.59 GPA from a Psychology and Sociology double major. I got Cum Laude for Soc. and graduated with Honors for my cumulative GPA. I did a lot of volunteering in elementary schools and after school programs throughout my 4 years in undergrad, participated in well-known School Psych professors research project, I did an internship working with kids as well. Right after grad I landed a job as a Behavioral Therapist so I currently have been working about 7 months with children with Autism and related disorders in homes and in schools. I have other non related work experience from college campus jobs, I was part of a club, have CPR and CPI certifications etc. My GRE score is not great by any means, only had time to take it once and got a combined 301 but a good writing score of 4.5  (sad I know, I should have studied more) 

I have the School Psych prof who I worked with writing me a letter as well as Soc professor who knows me well and in which I earned A's for both her classes. I know both of these letters are going to be good. I asked my Clinical supervisor who has her MA to write me a LOR and expected it to be great or decent at the least and she sent me her letter (I know not typical but she did it anyway) she wrote one paragraph probably less than 500 words and didn't even put her contact info. In short although what the letter says is positive it is not a strong letter by any means and looks rather unprofessional. My first app is due in two days so I am screwed for that app but I have another 3 coming up due on Feb 15, 2016. I have asked another prof to write a LOR for me but no word back yet. Am I totally screwed because of my weak GRE Scores and my weak LOR? I'm internally crying as I write.

Hi,

I would say apply and see how it goes because you have a lot of great qualities for your application. Of course, you want everything to be as strong as possible but your experience, grades, other letter of recommendations and research experience might overshadow your GRE scores and one bad recommendation.

I am applying to PhD school psychology programs. I have a 300 combined GRE score but I have been working with children with autism for a year and half, one internship with Head Start, a honor's thesis, various presentations and graduated undergrad with honors. I have 6 interview invites so far. We all know that PhD programs are harder and let fewer people in compared to EdS school psychology program. So, I think you will be fine. Just let the positives of your application speak for itself and hope that it is enough.

Good Luck and be positive! 

[horrificmodernist]

From what I've read/heard, having two good letters and one okay one is pretty common. While I'm still in the process of applying to programs myself, as long as the rest of your app (personal statement, writing sample, work experience, etc.) is decent, you should be in good shape, I think.