I/O Psychology MS Admission Chances?!

[mandapanda8971]

Hi everyone, I'm looking for input on my chances of admission to a Master's program in Industrial / Organizational Psych...I've been in a Master's program for the past year to raise my GPA, but I'm unsure if that will make up for my undergrad performance. Anyone been admitted with a poor undergrad record? Will there be schools that bar admission due to this? HALP!

Snapshot:
- Undergrad B.A. Psych (horrific GPA of 2.9 towards the end, but A's in research methods / I/O psych)
- Currently enrolled in M.S. Organizational Leadership (GPA 3.7)
- GRE Verbal 163
- GRE Quant 155 (retaking in Dec to raise score)
- GRE Writing 5.0
- Two strong recommendations from work (Involved in org change, administrative tasks, leading meetings, etc.)
- One recommendation from M.S. program professor, not as strong due to length of time known

I plan to briefly address undergrad GPA in my personal statement, explaining that I was not in the best mental state and had overloaded myself by working full-time. Thoughts?? Thanks all!

[wecanalldothis2017]

Are you looking to go into a fully funded masters program? Is your overall undergrad GPA a 2.9 or your psych GPA a 2.9? 

Have you been able to gain any experience in an I/O setting? 

As for getting into a masters program, I don't think you will have an issue. However, if you were to apply to fully funded or half funded programs you may have some steep competition. You do have pretty great GRE scores, so I wouldn't retake it unless a lot of your schools rank the Quant section more favorably. 

Coming from someone who's been in I/O background for a while now, I don't think you will have a problem getting into masters programs, as long as you have great letters, amazing statement of purpose, and if you raised your GRE even by a couple more points it could help a little. Since your current GPA is a 3.7 that will be waited more than your undergrad, but as long as you got mostly A's in your psych classes. 

Don't stress too much, as I think you have a pretty great shot at getting into at least 3-5 programs you apply to if not way more. 

[eternallyephemeral]

Can you get more letters from profs? I know it seems as though IO psych programs care about work experience, but the truth is that the admissions committee is still a group of professors and the application process is still extremely similar to other non-applied areas of psychology.

Does your masters have a thesis? Do you have a committee? Have you received any scholarships, presented at conferences, are you preparing any publications for submission?

Have you reached out to any potential supervisors? I think making a personal connection and then addressing your issues with them if they bring up GPA, etc would be easier than hoping to make it through to the next round and then explain your situation (only because you might not make it through the first bit).

Are these professional IO programs (like NYU) or research-based programs? Because I think you wouldn't have difficulty getting into the first type, but the second type might be a lot harder. If you want to focus on research and get into a funded program, then I would start putting a lot more effort towards research opportunities, publishing, etc as schools might say they care about work experience, in my experience it's research aptitude they are looking for.

[mandapanda8971]

wecanalldothis2017 - Overall GPA 2.9, psych GPA better but not great. Around 3.1, 3.2. I'm solely applying to Master's programs as I don't think my background is at the PhD level. I aim to get more research xp and strengthen my academic record during the MS before applying to funded programs. As for experience, I've completed tasks at work that relate to optimizing productivity/training. That will reflect in my reco letter.  Thanks for the tips and reassurance! I'll be retaking the GRE to raise that Q score and possibly the others.

 

eternallyephemeral - I could get more letters from profs, but I feel they won't reflect my work as strongly as recommendations from my fulltime job. If I did get another prof letter, it would be from a professor who has only known me for half a year, and not outside of the classroom. You make a good point about the admissions committee being academics. I noticed that some colleges emphasize the importance of work experience more than other types, perhaps I'll aim more for these. I'll also reach out to a few supervisors to make that initial connection. Most schools I'm applying to are professional based programs with the option of completing a thesis. I'm saving the research based programs for a future PhD when I have more xp! Thanks very much for your input!  

[eternallyephemeral]

23 hours ago, mandapanda8971 said:

wecanalldothis2017 - Overall GPA 2.9, psych GPA better but not great. Around 3.1, 3.2. I'm solely applying to Master's programs as I don't think my background is at the PhD level. I aim to get more research xp and strengthen my academic record during the MS before applying to funded programs. As for experience, I've completed tasks at work that relate to optimizing productivity/training. That will reflect in my reco letter.  Thanks for the tips and reassurance! I'll be retaking the GRE to raise that Q score and possibly the others.

 

eternallyephemeral - I could get more letters from profs, but I feel they won't reflect my work as strongly as recommendations from my fulltime job. If I did get another prof letter, it would be from a professor who has only known me for half a year, and not outside of the classroom. You make a good point about the admissions committee being academics. I noticed that some colleges emphasize the importance of work experience more than other types, perhaps I'll aim more for these. I'll also reach out to a few supervisors to make that initial connection. Most schools I'm applying to are professional based programs with the option of completing a thesis. I'm saving the research based programs for a future PhD when I have more xp! Thanks very much for your input!  

I think youre on a good path with your plan then, especially if the schools have professional based programs with theses as an option. Do you have a supervisor if the thesis is optional? Most of the time, you find this person later on. It might still be good to reach out and contact people, but that might not work in the way you'd expect (or the way I'm used to).