Applying for Clinical Psychology

[venusfly5]

Hi there,

I want to apply for Clinical Psychology at various schools across Ontario for this coming fall. I attended McGill University in undergrad majoring in Psychology, and did not obtain a high GPA (3.23). I have had over a year of experience working as Research Analyst and Assistant at Sunnybrook, contributed to a publication, and have had one of my own independent research projects published in the Journal of Psychiatry. I have certifications in both CBT and Talk Therapy. Right now I have taken an additional 10 undergraduate courses at Ryerson to improve my GPA, which is now at a 4.0. I wondered if anyone could provide me with any advice on how I can proceed further, or the likelihood of my acceptance given my initial undergraduate GPA. Thank you so much!

 

[PurpleTurtles]

The likelihood of being accepted really varies from one year to the next. Last year I had no interviews, while this year I've been interviewed at my top 3 choices, despite not many changes to my application. Similarly, one year you might be one of the first people rejected and the next you may be a top choice candidate. It really depends on the applicant pool and the qualifications of the other people being considered. 

With that said, it seems you have a fairly solid application. Assuming your GRE scores are also fairly solid, I'd say your application seems pretty competitive and you'll likely do well. If not, there are always things you can do to improve your application (more publications, more diverse experience, new roles, etc) for the next years.

[venusfly5]

8 hours ago, HopefulFutureGrad said:

The likelihood of being accepted really varies from one year to the next. Last year I had no interviews, while this year I've been interviewed at my top 3 choices, despite not many changes to my application. Similarly, one year you might be one of the first people rejected and the next you may be a top choice candidate. It really depends on the applicant pool and the qualifications of the other people being considered. 

With that said, it seems you have a fairly solid application. Assuming your GRE scores are also fairly solid, I'd say your application seems pretty competitive and you'll likely do well. If not, there are always things you can do to improve your application (more publications, more diverse experience, new roles, etc) for the next years.

Wow, thank you very much for that response!

[Inez_Only]

Going through a similar experience myself. I graduated with a CGPA of 3.7 (on a 4.5 scale, so closer to 3.2 or 3.3. on a 4.0 scale) and my last 60 credit hours are about the same GPA. I graduated in May 2016 and took an extra semester of courses at the same university to boost my GPA a bit. I spoke to my advisor and many other psychology faculty members and graduate students at my institution as well as other institutions in Canada and the U.S. Overall I've received mixed feedback. I've been told by many psych faculty and grad students that my GPA is fine as long as I can get high GRE scores, and that I definitely have a high chance of getting into a clinical program because I have a lot of research experience in different labs, departments outside of psychology and in community-based organizations.

If you have solid GRE scores and good reference letters I'd say you're a pretty competitive applicant and definitely have a chance! Also one of the best indicators of having a high likelihood of getting in is communication with professors you're interested in working with. If you're really good at communicating your interest in their research and lab, and keep in contact while showing continued interest (especially showing interest in how you can incorporate your own research ideas into current projects), you'll do great! 

Good luck! Hopefully I'll see you in the future! I'm also interested in applying to clinical programs across Ontario

[Jay's Brain]

On 1/18/2017 at 1:34 PM, venusfly5 said:

Hi there,

I want to apply for Clinical Psychology at various schools across Ontario for this coming fall. I attended McGill University in undergrad majoring in Psychology, and did not obtain a high GPA (3.23). I have had over a year of experience working as Research Analyst and Assistant at Sunnybrook, contributed to a publication, and have had one of my own independent research projects published in the Journal of Psychiatry. I have certifications in both CBT and Talk Therapy. Right now I have taken an additional 10 undergraduate courses at Ryerson to improve my GPA, which is now at a 4.0. I wondered if anyone could provide me with any advice on how I can proceed further, or the likelihood of my acceptance given my initial undergraduate GPA. Thank you so much!

 

The one thing I would advise is to check with the schools that you are considering on what the GPA requirements need to be for prospective applicants. A lot of the clinical psychology programs in Canada and Ontario expect at least an A- in the final two years of undergrad, for example. Check to see if your Ryerson grades will count as your "last two years", and how they adjust the grading for students who have attended multiple institutions. 

Beyond that, I think the fact that you have certification in CBT is a great boost! The schools are very much interested in students who have experiences that are directly related to what you are planning to go into. You seem to have a great CV to build your application on, and should be able to answer the questions that come your way in terms of describing your clinical experiences.

Hope that helps, and good luck!  

Edited January 23, 2017 by Jay's Brain

[anicho44]

Does anyone know of clinical psychology programs that have faculty working with eating disorders? I have been researching but I only found 2-3 programs...any recommendations?

Edited January 25, 2017 by anicho44

[Jay's Brain]

3 hours ago, anicho44 said:

Does anyone know of clinical psychology programs that have faculty working with eating disorders? I have been researching but I only found 2-3 programs...any recommendations?

Check out Dr. Jennifer Mills at York University in Canada!

Edited January 26, 2017 by Jay's Brain