What to do next? Clinical Psychology MA/Ph.D Programs

[apricot_wombats]

Hello,

This is my first time posting a thread on here, so I'm not sure if I'm doing this right. I am in need of some advice.

I am currently a 4th year undergrad student at UChicago and have a 3.1 cumulative GPA (3.4 Psychology)
I have not taken my GRE yet, but intend to do so next summer, to apply next Fall for graduate programs in clinical psychology.
I have worked in Psychology labs for about 5 years now, but have no publications or presentations (hoping to have a couple done by the end of this academic year). I currently work with a prof as her only undergrad research assistant, so not a research lab per se.
My primary research interest is suicide/self-injurious behaviors.

My question is--where to go from here? I know I want to end up in a Clinical Psych Ph.D program, but that is certainly a long shot right now, mostly because of my low GPA. Is there anyone here who could possibly recommend any Clinical Psych MA programs with faculty with similar research interests?

Absolutely any help would be deeply appreciated.

[MemphisMeli]

University of Memphis has a Masters in General Psych, but we have a couple professors who study suicide. Might be worth a look. www.memphis.edu/psychology

 

 

[TommySotomayor]

Why such dark interests, bro??

[psyched64]

Hi, I know some people who were in the same boat as you. What one person I knew ended up doing was strengthening their research interests for a year and getting more involved in research (presenting posters, joining an extra lab and asking lab professors for more work to strengthen their relationship for a strong letter of recommendation in the future). You mentioned that you're hoping to have a couple done by the end of the year, so that's great! It will definitely help strengthen your application and your CV. There's a thread on this forum for PhD students who got into programs with sub/low GPA's as well. Hopefully there's something in there that you find helpful. I'm not sure if it's just for Psychology or for other subjects though.

Are you planning on pursuing a Clinical Psychology MA program instate? Or is there a specific geographic area you want to stay in? 

[swil92]

I would also check out Villanova and Wake Forest - not sure if there is anyone there interested in suicide, but I have heard of students getting funding. Also consider doing a terminal masters degree in quantitative psychology - you'll be just as marketable because you will have obtained quant skills. I would absolutely try to get at least four poster presentations on your CV. Also, have you done an honors thesis? It is important to do your own independent research projects, start to finish (that makes you look good).

[LLsApps]

Thought I would throw out a recommendation for one of the other suicide/self-injury-focused master's labs that I know of - Dr. Brausch at the Psych Sciences M.S. program at Western Kentucky University.