How much chance do i have ?

[HaikaShen]

Hi , i am still in high school and i do really think that I'm looking far in the future, but that's what I'm told to in school this year. To talk shortly about me ,  I am from Canada , i live in Québec and i am going to an English college, even if i speak french.

 

Basically, my problem, what actually makes me worry is that how hard is it to finish these studies to become psychologist ? I mean, in Canada the 3 first years at the University aren't really hard apparently..It's most likely the 5 years after who are the harder. I've heard and saw statistics that only a few persons get chosen to study for these 5 years ... Honestly, i really wanna study in it. What scares me is ...what if I'm not chosen ? I would have spent all this money for studying something i like, yes, but in the end, isn't good enough ? I really think i can make it, but still , such a low chance to be chosen...

I wanna know if it's really that hard, what are they looking for and maybe it's different in America, but  at least tell me if you, those who are really interested in psychology, do you think it's really hard ? I know going to my college will be fine and the three years in the University too..but what about the five last years ? Do i have any chance to make it when there are so much people who want to make it like me ?

[homonculus]

You are in as good a position as any of the people who actually make it. Since you know what you want, you can start participating in research as an undergrad and do all the things most of us wish we had known would help us. 

As for the 5 years after your undergrad being harder--yes. But if you do well as an undergrad--well enough that your professors recommend you highly and a graduate program is interested in you--you will be fine. It seems intimidating right now because it is far off. You get there slowly without realizing how far you've come, and one day you will be in a PhD program enjoying your research, and it will hit you.

My advice for now is to look at what type of psychology program you want to get into eventually (you can even ask questions here or do some Google searching), and find what a competitive applicant looks like. Get involved in research as soon as you can, do an honours program if you can, etc. But most of all, don't stress about grad school yet! You have some of the best years of your life coming up, and enjoy them. Preparing for grad school is great, but leave the obsessing for when you apply (and constantly refresh the results page). 

[HaikaShen]

Thank you very much Homonculus ! I've thought about it actually but i think i'll contact some psychologists  and ask them if i can simply meet them to talk more about what they do, how they made it through the University and maybe i could find some kind of research to do with some of their tips ! I'm already searching about psychology stuff, but i think i'll wait a bit before wanting to be part of a research, I'm not even studying yet for real !

It's a bit hard to not stress since I'm scared to not pass, even if i tell myself I'll work hard !

[GingFactor]

I'm pretty sure that I am the graduate student version of you, HaikaShen....

I started looking at a career in psych when I was a Jr. in High School. The process is very intimidating, but you have to remind yourself that the reason grad school looks so scary right now is because you haven't been prepared for that yet; you have been prepared for undergrad studies. Once you go through undergrad studies, grad looks a little less daunting. 

I did my bachelors in psychology and it was a breeze. I got to live the stereotypical 'college life', had a great time, did fairly well in my psych studies (not so much in my general studies), and felt moderately prepared for grad school. Currently I am in a masters program (clinical psych) which is 2 years long (7 months to go currently!) and I am in the process of applying to PsyD programs for the next 5 years of study. 

That is all to build context for what I am ultimately trying to say... I'm not going to lie or sugar coat it. Grad school is hard, it's initially scary, it's a huge transition, and it's like nothing you have ever done before. But it is the most rewarding thing you'll ever do. You'll be immersed in a culture of people that are the most hard working people you'll meet, they're dedicated and driven. You get to be around professors that do exactly what you want to do and that in and of itself is inspiring. It's hard, but very do-able. It's do- able because you'll be doing what you love and what you are passionate about. What makes grad school enjoyable is that you aren't spending those 5 years only in a classroom. Most programs have you do a year of course work and then year 2-4 you are in the field working with clients and then year 5 (or 6 for some specialties) is out on internship (where you get to make money finally!) with no classes.

Homonculus said it best, you are in a great position looking into the future so you can set yourself up for success. My number 1 piece of advice: find work in the mental health field. I took some time off and did this and it taught me A LOT about what I truly wanted to do. You get to see all the different kind of work people do with with a mental health background (therapy, case management, psychologists with different specialties, probation, correctional work, family therapy, couples counseling, and many more). I initially thought I wanted to be a master's level therapist and then that has transformed into studying forensic psychology and going to get a PsyD.

Hope that calms some stress about your future.

People with no goals risk falling into holes because they have no path, people with goals  can see the obstacles they will face to follow their dreams and correct their trajectory to be successful.

[HaikaShen]

Thank you it does help me ! I know i'll work hard for this, it's just i'm still not sure how to do everything ! I did some research about what i had to have to do the last 5 years in psychology and it asks a lot of things.... I have to do a letter of motivation, letters of recommendations, some research, some director have to be with me i think ....

Jeez x-x I think i'll meet a real psychologist to ask this person what it means XD Otherwise i  found in my other research that studying in psychology will cost me $32 000 ( Canada money ) and only 12 students are chosen ( for one university ) otherwise it's around 5% to 8% of all the requests...

I was told that we really need psychologist, then why only 12 students ?

[GingFactor]

If you study for your PhD your attached directly to a faculty member in the research lab. They can only manage so many students so PhD cohorts are really really small. Plus, (in America at least) most PhD programs, not all  though, are fully funded (grants for research pay tuition); so in that respect there is only so much money to go around therefore making cohorts have to be small. PsyD's however, typically have cohorts of at least 25. The University I'm at runs 50-55 in each cohort and I heard of a school in Florida that takes 80 students each year. 

PsyD is really competitive, PhD is even more. Gotta figure out if you want to be a researcher or a clinician more so you can see where you fall on that end.