My suspicion so far seems to be that there aren’t. I have yet to hear people talking about them in the same way that they do for undergrad, and it’s also my understanding that grad programs are extremely small (though I’m going for my Masters, not sure if that influences the size thing). Is grad school just hard to get into for everyone?
They are but in a different way. You should have at least one school that you would like to attend and that is likely to admit you. The difference is that the the department is more important than the university for a graduate degree.
I hate to be ‘that’ guy, whatever that means, but is it possible to find a school that’s “likely to admit me” (for an MA in psych/counseling) when I have a 2.97 GPA (3.01 major), no close relationships with anyone in my undergrad psych department, and no relevant research experience?
I’m an incoming senior, by the way.
Well, there might be some ‘safety’ schools that are “likely to admit you” but they may not be schools you want to attend.
I have a sort of different take on safety schools for graduate school; IMO, whether or not someone goes to a ‘safety school’ depends on their profile and their career goals. Graduate school is still at this point an optional endeavor - it’s not like you HAVE to go to have a gainful middle-class career.
Some people just really want an MA or a PhD regardless and they don’t really mind where they get it from. That’s a valid choice, and those people might choose to go to the best school they can get admitted to - including a lower-ranked ‘safety’ if their stats aren’t great.
But if you have a specific career goal, like academia, then your choices might be different. Academia is very prestige-focused and in order to work as a professor especially in a saturated field like psychology, you should get your PhD from a top-ranked department (or at least a good solid mid-ranked one with an excellent advisor). I personally wouldn’t recommend someone going to a lower-ranked PhD program if their goal was to be a professor BUT if they couldn’t become a professor, they’d rather do something that didn’t require the PhD. They’re unlikely to get what they want.
In your case, what do you want to do? Do you want to be a master’s level therapist? There may be some programs that will admit you if you can find three recommenders - you don’t necessarily need research experience for that (although some clinical volunteering experience would be nice). Also check out MSW programs, as clinical social workers can do therapy. In your case it may be worth it for you to work with your bachelor’s degree in some social services related job for 1-3 years while taking a graduate class or two to prove your ability to achieve.
That’s some good advice, thank you. I do want to be a therapist, and an MSW has been something that I’ve been considering. I have no interest in being a professor, and given how little interest I have in research I don’t think a PhD is right for me either. MAYBE a PsyD.
Is it worth it to start applying for schools this fall, then?
If you want an MSW or another terminal degree like MAT, MATESOL, etc., then the affordable, easy-to-get-into place may be perfectly fine. Talk with the department/institution in question about career placement, licensing exam pass rates, and the like. And talk with your own department about historical admissions rates for the programs you are thinking about.
Yeah, licensing is the main goal now, I think.