Research in too many labs?

[PsycUndergrad]

I'm taking at least a year off before applying to clinical psychology programs. I've been in my current lab for almost a year and plan to volunteer there for the foreseeable future.

The problem is, my undergrad institution is not great and research opportunities are lacking. I managed to get into two other labs before my current one but they had nothing to do with clinical psych and I didn't stay long (a semester in one lab, 8 months in the other). I left the first two labs because I wasn't interested in them at all and neither let undergrads move beyond doing basic tasks. I also did a summer of research at a medical school. And now I'm probably going to join another lab that I'm interested in, but the research still isn't my main area of interest. 

Will it look bad that I've kind of jumped from lab to lab? I know I need more experience, but I'm afraid that adding another lab will make me look really unfocused since my experience has been in a bunch of vastly different areas. I know doing paid research or increasing my hours at my current lab would be better options, but neither is possible unfortunately. 

[Guest joshw4288]

Rather than coming across as unfocused, I think what comes across is that you have explored a variety of areas to find your interest. What matters is the experience and training you receive and the recommendations that will develop from your experience in the lab, not so much what the focus of the lab was. 

[hd397]

I think if you can just make your statement sound clear and focused, and have a thoughtful answer prepared in case you get asked about it in interviews, you should be ok. Just try to think of some good things that came out of those experiences that you can talk about, and how they may have shaped your trajectory.