Fall 2018 Hopeful... look at my CV and tell me what you think

[starburst]

Hi all, I'm in the process of narrowing down a realistic list of schools to apply to clinical programs for Fall 2018. I am open to both PhD and PsyD, but tend toward PhD because I don't know if I have the financial means to pay out of pocket/take a loan for PsyD.

I graduated magna cum laude from Rutgers University with a BA in Psychology, GPA 3.7 overall; 3.89 in psychology; psych GRE 740 and i am taking the general GRE at the beginning of May. i did some neuroscience research w/ zebra finches for a year but did not produce anything. lots of leadership positions within the honors programs, and worked at Bayer Pharmaceuticals for a year while attending school (originally wanted to go to med school).

Here's what I've been up to during my post-bac period (2 years)

-care manager in the dept of psychiatry at a major hospital

-clinical research asst at a youth a/d clinic; i do diagnostic intake and post assessments (ADIS/CDRS), serve as confederates for exposures, oversee the undergrad RAs, and lots of research; recently submitted my first poster to ABCT

-TAed for a semester in quantitative methods in psychology

i'm primarily interested in anxiety and depression treatments. training wise i am fine with cbt/dynamically mixed schools, want to just get the most of my experience before going off to externships/internships. 

 

What are your questions/impressions on these experiences overall? What would you recommend for me to get into a top program? 

 

[Clinapp2017]

I'd say you have a pretty strong application assuming your General GRE scores turn out well. Do you have any pubs or poster presentations at conferences? That would be beneficial and show your commitment to research vs just clinical work.

 

That being said, I think the Statment of Purpose you write will need to tie all of these experiences together and explain why clinical psych phd is the next logical step. A strong SOP is really what put me over the top (so says my new mentor anyways), so I think that's what separates the successful applicant from the pool of very very very qualified people. 

Edited March 22, 2017 by Clinapp2017

[starburst]

Thanks for the feedback! I hopefully will be presenting that poster I submitted to ABCT this November is San Diego... and I'm working on writing up an IRB protocol with one of the clinicans at the hospital I work at to do some outcomes research on the clinic, so a lot of potential stuff that I hope comes to fruition. I'm also working on writing up a paper with two of the grad students in my lab.

[metalpsychperson]

40 minutes ago, starburst said:

Thanks for the feedback! I hopefully will be presenting that poster I submitted to ABCT this November is San Diego... and I'm working on writing up an IRB protocol with one of the clinicans at the hospital I work at to do some outcomes research on the clinic, so a lot of potential stuff that I hope comes to fruition. I'm also working on writing up a paper with two of the grad students in my lab.

Sounds like you're on the right track. Just keep it up and choose the schools you will be applying to wisely. Don't limit yourself geographically unless you absolutely have to, and pick schools that you have a good shot at getting into (with the exception of one or two reaches - I got into my reach school so it's possible). And of course pick programs that are a good fit with your interests and experience, and emphasize this good fit in your SOP.

For the GRE, Magoosh is by far the best study aid and well worth the money. I don't think I would have scored near as well as I did if it weren't for Magoosh.

[fritolay]

Hey there! I am also a Rutgers alum who just completed this application cycle after taking a year off to gain more experience. Your credentials look pretty great! My only suggestions would be to make sure GRE scores are competitive, work hard on your SOP, obtain EXCELLENT recommendation letters, and try to get authorship on a publication.

For the most part, I got into almost all Psyd programs that I applied to and 1 PhD. To be honest, I'm surprised I even got in this round. With your credentials so far, I think that you would find some more success applying to funded phd programs.

High quality research experience is definitely key