What is a Competitive Quant GRE Score for School/Ed Psych?

[Crimson Wife]

My professional interest (language-based learning disabilities) lies in an area that overlaps School/Educational Psychology and Speech & Language Pathology. I am considering shooting for the moon and applying for the local PhD. in School Psychology program but I am unsure whether I'd need to retake the GRE to up my quant score.

When I took it in 2015, I only prepped the verbal because SLP mainly looks at the verbal score and only cares that the quant is >50th percentile. I scored a 154 (55th percentile) just taking it cold. My old expired GRE score from when I was a senior in my 1st undergrad was 720 (80-something percentile) so I know that I can do significantly better if I relearn all the math I've forgotten. The question is whether it makes sense to invest the time & money in prepping for and retaking the GRE to up my quant score. I don't have a sense for how important the quant section is for School Psychology. Is it going to be a "deal breaker" if I apply with the high verbal and mediocre quant?

[t_ruth]

First, your choice between ed and school psych should probably be driven by your desire for a clinical or academic career path. School psych PhDs can and do go into academia (in school psych programs mostly), but they also have the option of practicing as school psychologists, which involves clinical training and exams. Ed psych PhDs go into academia or industry and are generally not clinically trained.

Re: the GRE, most programs have cut-offs for scores and may only be able to take a limited number of students below the cut-off. If you are looking instead for "competitive" score thresholds, this varies wildly and is almost always compared to other applicants. For example, top GRE scorers may be granted competitive university-wide fellowships. Another place top scores may matter is for particular PIs. I do fairly quant work, and I value the kind of logical reasoning that may be demonstrated by high quant GRE scores, so it matters a bit for me, but others in my program don't care at all...

[Crimson Wife]

I am too old to be going into academia. If I were to do a PhD., it would to become a child neuropsychologist (if I could land a fellowship in that subspeciality) or an educational psychologist. Not interested in clinical psychology/counseling. I want to do assessments for learning and developmental disabilities & in my state that is in the scope of practice for licensed psychologists rather than speech & language pathologists.

There is a severe shortage of qualified evaluators for deaf & hard-of-hearing children with additional special needs. I had to fly cross-country with my "deaf plus" child in order to have her evaluated at Johns Hopkins' Kennedy Krieger Institute because there wasn't anybody qualified in my area (and there are ~3 million people living in my metro area).

I took Testing & Measurement this summer, which was quant-heavy (basically a stats class with a psychometrics focus) and got an A. I also did well (B+ to A) in 3 terms of calculus during my 1st undergrad. So I *CAN* do quant work when it's needed. I just have forgotten all the algebra & geometry that the GRE tests but I haven't used in decades. I feel confident that with targeted test prep I could raise my score by several points, hopefully 160+.

[t_ruth]

On 8/20/2017 at 0:14 PM, Crimson Wife said:

I am too old to be going into academia. If I were to do a PhD., it would to become a child neuropsychologist (if I could land a fellowship in that subspeciality) or an educational psychologist. Not interested in clinical psychology/counseling. I want to do assessments for learning and developmental disabilities & in my state that is in the scope of practice for licensed psychologists rather than speech & language pathologists.

This sounds like School Psych more than Ed Psych. What you describe *is* clinical work.

I went back for my PhD at 31 and work as tenure-line faculty in an R1 now...there are plenty of people older than me who also do, so I don't think age is a factor for everyone
I hadn't taken any math/stats courses for over ten years before I took the GRE and was able to score very well after about four months of prep, so it certainly can be done. I would look at profiles of people in the type of programs you want. If you are location-bound, it's probably a good idea to make connections to faculty in your area now before applying. Having a faculty member on the lookout for your application is huge.

[Crimson Wife]

No, I mean I have no interest in the typical Clinical Psych work diagnosing mental health disorders like depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, personality disorders, etc. and providing ongoing psychotherapy for those. If I go into psychology rather than SLP, it would only be School Psychology to minimize the coursework and training in touchy-feely therapy/counseling that is just not a good "fit" for my skillset. 

I want to do psychoeducational and hopefully neuropsychological assessments. In my state, if I wasn't able to land a fellowship in neuropsychology and get certified in that specialty, I would become a Licensed Educational Psychologist after working a couple of years in a school setting.

[t_ruth]

I'm not sure you are understanding what I'm saying. The work you are describing as a school psychologist is clinical work. I can guarantee you that. Performing assessments is clinical work. This does not mean you attend a program in "Clinical Psychology," It just means you graduate and become a sort of clinician (although you can also go into academia/research). Part of the School Psych PhD program is a clinical internship.

What some states call a "Licensed Educational Psychologist" is actually a School Psychologist. In my field, Ed Psych, most do not engage in clinical work--although it looks like in some states you can transition from an ed psych program to earn your LEP (like California: http://www.bbs.ca.gov/app-reg/lep.shtml), but none of the Ed Psych programs I know will train you for this--School Psych programs do. In Ed Psych programs, such as the one in which I am a faculty member (R1, within a College of Ed), our graduates go on to academia or to work in think tanks or school systems/other organizations in data analysis or program development/evaluation (non-"clinical" work).

Edited August 26, 2017 by t_ruth
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[topsailpsych]

On 8/19/2017 at 5:42 PM, t_ruth said:

I do fairly quant work, and I value the kind of logical reasoning that may be demonstrated by high quant GRE scores, so it matters a bit for me, but others in my program don't care at all...

t_ruth, what qualifies as a high quant score for your lab?  I got a 156 and while I'm on the clinical side, I'm interested in both research and clinical practice, so I may be applying to some more quant oriented labs. 

[t_ruth]

On 8/29/2017 at 5:43 PM, topsailpsych said:

t_ruth, what qualifies as a high quant score for your lab?  I got a 156 and while I'm on the clinical side, I'm interested in both research and clinical practice, so I may be applying to some more quant oriented labs. 

For my program, anything about 155 quant would be fine. Others might want above 160. Really, it's a threshold thing. Better is better, of course, but I'm more concerned with the research match and statement.