GRE and Clinical Psych (Canada) - should I retake?

[Neurophilic]

Hi everyone,

I took the GRE yesterday and I have horrible test anxiety. Normally I use water to mitigate my symptoms, however as most of us know, this isn’t allowed in the testing centres.. long story short I did HORRIBLE on the GRE with 150V and 156Q (AWA TBA). Anyway, I am wondering what are my chances of admission to a Canadian Clinical Psychology program? 

I have a BSc in Neuroscience and Mental Health as well as Psychology and my GPA is 3.9, I have over two years experience in a clinical research position at a hospital, research experience with the government, executive position at a university society, volunteer experience at a mental health hospital, conference poster presentation, two TAships etc.. and according to my professors, I will have amazing letters of recommendations.

Now I know the GRE is not everything to the application, but I would hate if it weakened it. I plan on applying to the following:

York U (Neuropsych)

McGill

U of Toronto 

Western

 

Thanks for the help!!

Edited September 24, 2017 by CanadianNeuron

[Clinpsyc01]

Do you think you could do better if you took it again? I was really anxious the first time that I took it, but improved quite a bit the second time just because I knew what to expect, etc. If you think you could improve your score, I would recommend rewriting. 

You're an otherwise strong applicant, but those are some of the most competitive schools in Canada, and it's hard to say how it would affect your chances. I've always heard that a general rule of thumb is to score above the ~60th percentile, but that's purely anecdotal and I'm sure it varies from program to program. Clinical admissions are impossible to predict and it's possible that a great research fit and strong application could offset your GRE. 

You should also check to see if the GRE is optional at McGill since it's in Quebec. 

I don't think this was very helpful, but I wish you the best of luck on your applications! It might help to discuss it with any clinical faculty members you know  

[Neurophilic]

Thanks for the reply! Do you mind if I ask how much you improved and what you used as a resource? I was basically utilizing Magoosh, however I heard the 5lb Manhattan book helped many improve by a few points. I’m just worried about time. I have to begin studying for the Psych GRE plus being in full times studies. I guess that’s grad school for ya - constantly busy. 

Sigh. 

McGill requires GRE if you’re not French. I will also be applying to Ottawa U as they don’t require it, however I’m really aiming for York. 

Edited September 24, 2017 by CanadianNeuron

[Clinpsyc01]

14 hours ago, CanadianNeuron said:

Thanks for the reply! Do you mind if I ask how much you improved and what you used as a resource? I was basically utilizing Magoosh, however I heard the 5lb Manhattan book helped many improve by a few points. I’m just worried about time. I have to begin studying for the Psych GRE plus being in full times studies. I guess that’s grad school for ya - constantly busy. 

Sigh. 

McGill requires GRE if you’re not French. I will also be applying to Ottawa U as they don’t require it, however I’m really aiming for York. 

If I recall correctly, I improved by 5 points on verbal and 3 on quant. I used the Manhattan 5 lb book and thought it was great. I also bought a package of 6 practice tests from Manhattan Prep which were super helpful. I found that taking practice tests helped me more than studying because I got used to answering the questions in the allotted time, instead of just learning the material. 

If it's any consolation, the psych GRE shouldn't be a big deal. Not to say that you shouldn't study, but if you have a 3.9 in a psych degree, you should be able to do very well with a little studying! 

[ContentFaces]

On 9/24/2017 at 10:19 AM, CanadianNeuron said:

Hi everyone,

I took the GRE yesterday and I have horrible test anxiety. Normally I use water to mitigate my symptoms, however as most of us know, this isn’t allowed in the testing centres.. long story short I did HORRIBLE on the GRE with 150V and 156Q (AWA TBA). Anyway, I am wondering what are my chances of admission to a Canadian Clinical Psychology program? 

I have a BSc in Neuroscience and Mental Health as well as Psychology and my GPA is 3.9, I have over two years experience in a clinical research position at a hospital, research experience with the government, executive position at a university society, volunteer experience at a mental health hospital, conference poster presentation, two TAships etc.. and according to my professors, I will have amazing letters of recommendations.

Now I know the GRE is not everything to the application, but I would hate if it weakened it. I plan on applying to the following:

York U (Neuropsych)

McGill

U of Toronto 

Western

 

Thanks for the help!!

I would retake. I recently had a conversation with a POI at York who said no applications would be considered under the 80th percentile across the board. 

Do as much as you can, but don't let your grades slip. It may take a couple of application rounds to get in, but it will all be worth it in the end!

[Neurophilic]

Thank you everyone! I have decided to retake. I am confident my scores will increase as I only studied for 3 weeks. Since this is the rest of my life, there’s really no taking chances. 

[cochra13]

On 9/27/2017 at 12:05 PM, ContentFaces said:

I would retake. I recently had a conversation with a POI at York who said no applications would be considered under the 80th percentile across the board. 

Do as much as you can, but don't let your grades slip. It may take a couple of application rounds to get in, but it will all be worth it in the end!

This might be too little too late, but I think "ContentFaces" provided some misinformation. I applied to the York Clinical Psychology program this year (Fall 2018) and got accepted. My GRE scores were 152V, 156Q, and 4.5 written (sooo.. not very good at all!). But my GPA is 4.33 and I have tons of experience in both research and field work. I also have published work. I guess my point is, GRE scores are not everything! And I don't believe any Canadian program ever truly applies a GRE cut-off, because the more subjective parts of an application can be much more impactful than anyone realizes. Bottom line, My GRE scores were horrible but I still got rated very high on the short-lit of over 100 applicants, and was given an official offer from York. 

[Neurophilic]

29 minutes ago, cochra13 said:

This might be too little too late, but I think "ContentFaces" provided some misinformation. I applied to the York Clinical Psychology program this year (Fall 2018) and got accepted. My GRE scores were 152V, 156Q, and 4.5 written (sooo.. not very good at all!). But my GPA is 4.33 and I have tons of experience in both research and field work. I also have published work. I guess my point is, GRE scores are not everything! And I don't believe any Canadian program ever truly applies a GRE cut-off, because the more subjective parts of an application can be much more impactful than anyone realizes. Bottom line, My GRE scores were horrible but I still got rated very high on the short-lit of over 100 applicants, and was given an official offer from York. 

Thanks! I was actually rejected this year, but i have no publications. I just submitted a manuscript so fingers crossed it will help for next year . I'm certain this was my biggest weakness. 

I accepted a clinical research position in psychosocial oncology for the next year. Will definitely help. GPA will probably climb to 3.95/4. 

I did get a 5.5 for my written, so I'm not sure if it's worth retaking. My top choice is Ottawa and the GRE is not required.

Congrats on your offer! 

Edited April 9, 2018 by Neurophilic

[ContentFaces]

1 hour ago, cochra13 said:

This might be too little too late, but I think "ContentFaces" provided some misinformation. I applied to the York Clinical Psychology program this year (Fall 2018) and got accepted. My GRE scores were 152V, 156Q, and 4.5 written (sooo.. not very good at all!). But my GPA is 4.33 and I have tons of experience in both research and field work. I also have published work. I guess my point is, GRE scores are not everything! And I don't believe any Canadian program ever truly applies a GRE cut-off, because the more subjective parts of an application can be much more impactful than anyone realizes. Bottom line, My GRE scores were horrible but I still got rated very high on the short-lit of over 100 applicants, and was given an official offer from York. 

I got the sense from that POI that it was their specific cut-off, not across the board for york. Congratulations!