Do I even stand a chance for grad school? (master's or PhD)

[bibidibabidibu]

Hi everyone! I am a 3rd year undergrad studying psych and criminology right now.  I need some advice whether if I even have a chance at getting into a graduate school with my profile.

I'm thinking about going into a clinical psychology or forensic psychology field. 

1. GPA: 3.6 out of 4.0 scale, I will probably be able to boost my GPA to 3.7 by the time I graduate (and a high possibility of graduating with honors in university level and then my majors too)

  I have been listed on dean's list a couple of times but my GPA went downhill last semester when I was going through a personal loss in my life

2. research experience: 2 years in criminology department (one was an independent honors project with a mentor professor and the other one is still on-going, it's gonna take more than a year or two)

For research,  I think I can get a psychology research position next semester so it could cover up my lack of research experience in psych department. I don't have any research publication or a conference presentation of my own. 

3. GRE: It's not a huge problem.  I'm mostly worried about my GPA because I feel like it's too low. 

4. Internship: I will have an internship over this coming summer (psych) and probably get another one the following semester (crim) so I will have two.

5. volunteer: I have a lot of volunteer experiences in the mental health and client-services fields. I'm also a community service chair for Psi Chi in my school so I kind of have to be involved in volunteering. 

6. study abroad: I mean, I'm an international student, so technically my undergrad years in U.S. count as "study abroad" but I did go to China during my sophomore year of highschool.

 I don't know if this is gonna be any helpful but I'm a trilingual-English, Korean, and Mandarin Chinese

Oh, during summer breaks, I usually go to Korea to see my parents but I have quite a few experiences there. I was an assistant director in a multicultural center, and a camp assistant for another one. And a few other indirectly related experiences like being a tutor since I was 16 years old. (I'm 21 rn)

I might have a couple of things that I forgot to mention but can anyone please tell me if it is worth the shot for me to apply for master's or PhD with my GPA and other things that I listed?

My friend told me that I need to have at least a 3.8 out of 4.0 and I'm freaking out about it because that means I have to have at least all A/A+ for the rest of my school years. Is this true?

So basically  I just had the worst existential crisis of my life over the last 6 hours and I can't sleep now

If anyone could tell me what are the aspects that I need to work on more, I'd appreciate a lot!

Thanks for reading this long ass thread

Edited November 11, 2017 by bibidibabidibu

[ContentFaces]

6 hours ago, bibidibabidibu said:

Hi everyone! I am a 3rd year undergrad studying psych and criminology right now.  I need some advice whether if I even have a chance at getting into a graduate school with my profile.

I'm thinking about going into a clinical psychology or forensic psychology field. 

1. GPA: 3.6 out of 4.0 scale, I will probably be able to boost my GPA to 3.7 by the time I graduate (and a high possibility of graduating with honors in university level and then my majors too)

  I have been listed on dean's list a couple of times but my GPA went downhill last semester when I was going through a personal loss in my life

2. research experience: 2 years in criminology department (one was an independent honors project with a mentor professor and the other one is still on-going, it's gonna take more than a year or two)

For research,  I think I can get a psychology research position next semester so it could cover up my lack of research experience in psych department. I don't have any research publication or a conference presentation of my own. 

3. GRE: It's not a huge problem.  I'm mostly worried about my GPA because I feel like it's too low. 

4. Internship: I will have an internship over this coming summer (psych) and probably get another one the following semester (crim) so I will have two.

5. volunteer: I have a lot of volunteer experiences in the mental health and client-services fields. I'm also a community service chair for Psi Chi in my school so I kind of have to be involved in volunteering. 

6. study abroad: I mean, I'm an international student, so technically my undergrad years in U.S. count as "study abroad" but I did go to China during my sophomore year of highschool.

 I don't know if this is gonna be any helpful but I'm a trilingual-English, Korean, and Mandarin Chinese

Oh, during summer breaks, I usually go to Korea to see my parents but I have quite a few experiences there. I was an assistant director in a multicultural center, and a camp assistant for another one. And a few other indirectly related experiences like being a tutor since I was 16 years old. (I'm 21 rn)

I might have a couple of things that I forgot to mention but can anyone please tell me if it is worth the shot for me to apply for master's or PhD with my GPA and other things that I listed?

My friend told me that I need to have at least a 3.8 out of 4.0 and I'm freaking out about it because that means I have to have at least all A/A+ for the rest of my school years. Is this true?

So basically  I just had the worst existential crisis of my life over the last 6 hours and I can't sleep now

If anyone could tell me what are the aspects that I need to work on more, I'd appreciate a lot!

Thanks for reading this long ass thread

You are going to be fine! You have lots of great experiences. As long as your GPA for last two years is solid (3.7 is great), you'll have a really good chance.

[PokePsych]

Annyeonghasseyo! Sorry - I'm in Seoul haha.

Your GPA is not low - it is for sure above the cut off scores. Sure GPA matter - but its not the only thing. Good qualifications on other things can offset 'weaker' scores - although a 3.7 GPA is not weak. I think your volunteer experiences are good for sure. Do you have any specific area of clinical you want to head in? Maybe you can use your international background as an advantage (there's a lot of things going on about diversifying clinical psych as theres a growing awareness about that therapist and the like should be more mindful about cultural or minority differences in terms of expression and so on. Also complaints can be vastly different across cultures). 

Also who's this friend? A successful grad student? A prof? Or just another regular student who found something online? 

But do note clinical is generally hard - and the GPA is not going to be a reason why to reject you. Rather it's just the sheer number of qualified applicants like yourself that are the problem. Do make some SWOT analysis (google if you don't know what it is) about your profile, and start focusing on your strengths and build on them and see if you can cover a bit of your weaknesses. However, do focus on what sets you apart - this is what I've been told is the biggest selling point. 

[fritolay]

your GPA is fine -- anything above a 3.5 is good (i got into programs with a 3.2)

[HigherEdPsych]

While GPA is a relevant, there are many other factors that are more important, including your GRE scores, research experience, letters of recommendation, statement of purpose/application material, clinical experience, etc. (and likely in that order, too).