<p>Hi everyone!
I am an undergrad, senior and my major is psychology. I want to apply to grad schools for clinical psychology P.hd. this fall so I can begin my studies next fall. My current GPA is 2.92 and I know that it is really low. I am an international student and getting used to the education system here has been tough. I still have to give my GRE but I plan to get really good scores on that and I am working really hard for that. I am also working in a research lab and I am course assistant for a psychology stats professor. I plan to work in one additional lab from this fall. I believe I would be able to obtain three recommendation letters also. So now that you know my background, can you please suggest grad schools for psychology where you know that I might have a sure shot chance to get in? Schools where I can realistically get in! And if you think that I wont be able to get in anywhere, can you please suggest what I should do in that case, like a backup plan, some other master's course or something else? Also do you think giving the GRE subject test for psychology will make any difference?
Thanks!</p>
<p>P.S. If I use this website to make my decision, can you please pick schools from this ranking that would be suitable for me -> Best</a> Clinical Psychology Programs | Top Health Schools | US News Best Graduate Schools
Or you can suggest some other ranking list which you think is better.</p>
<p>It’s highly unlikely that any psychology Ph.D program will accept you with a 2.92 GPA. Do not bother applying this fall.</p>
<p>You need to excel in your courses this coming year, bringing your overall GPA above 3.0 and coming as close to a 4.0 for the year as possible. That will build a stronger application package for next fall’s admissions cycle, demonstrating significant improvement and academic potential. Also, keep pursuing research experiences.</p>
<p>Hi thanks for your reply! So you think i cannot get into any of the really low ranked ones as well? Like City college New York and Drexel? What about a Master’s program? If I try to extend my graduation, I’m not sure what I’ll do! I have done most of my required courses. Do you think I should take easy courses and try to boost my GPA instead?</p>
<p>You can try applying for a master program, but I would take polarscribe’s advice and focus on raising your cumulative gpa above a 3.0. As for taking easy or hard classes I would try a mixture of both. If you are confident in your ability to do well take more challenging classes, but you really need to be on top of the material and do well. Taking a year off to improve your grade also give you more time to study for the GRE and do well ont hat as well. Hopefully this helps, good luck to ya!</p>
<p>Hi thanks for your advice! But one really big problem that I’m facing is that i’m an international student and my parents are financing my education. They are facing a tough time with the finances already and I don’t know if they can stretch out paying for another year. I just don’t know what to do!</p>