First of all I have my undergraduate degree in Information and Library Science (Hungary SZTE) . I would like to study psychology and I woudnt mind starting from the beginning but as I ve already have undergrad. degree if I start new undergrad. my already low chances of getting any financial aid are going to be non existent. 
which is fair enoughâŠ
I was thinking maybe start working on GRE and special GRE Psyhology and gain some experience in that field first. (Volunteerly participate in recearch (if I can) or go somewhere where I can help out people with mental diseases) and Then try to apply to graduate program.
Or should I just start a college ,which is more affordable, for 2 years and then try to transfer to university? I also dont want to hide my degree even if it is kind of holding me back right now but I feel like it would not be fair to othersâŠ
Which way should I approach this ? Any suggestion how I should go from here would be much appreciated. Thanks
Contact the department of the program youâre applying to. For masters level or psyd level, ask their requirements. For ph.d. programs, those often depend on the faculty member youâre applying to, but Iâm having a hard tome imagining that a professor would take someone without some sort of background in psych into a ph.d. program. Itâs possible, but that would be the exception. ph.d. programs are the most competitive programs and so they will want to see that you have smarts and commitment and ideas. This will be harder if not impossible without some sort of formal education as background. Psych from outside of the profession looks often different from how it looks from inside the profession. Outside it often looks a lot like social work; youâre in psychology to âhelp peopleâ. Inside, thereâs a lot of hard research, ideas, and skills to learn.
For ph.d. youâd need to show usually great GRE scores (because youâre competing with other committed top people) plus great grades in undergrad or in masters program, plus some experience in your life tht shows commitment and that you understand what youâre getting into. This could include Clinical work; working with certain populations like handicapped people or people with psychiatric disorders outside of a clinical setting (maybe community support program as a volunteer); working in a lab setting in a way that sets you apart, that sort of thing. You should know enough about psychology that you understand what itâs like from the inside. You should be somewhat fluent in what sort of questions are being asked, and some of the methodologies that are being used to answer these questions at a research level.
As for international, I donât think anyone cares what country youâre from as long as youâre an interesting, qualified candidate.
Thank you Dustyfeathers. For now I am only trying to get in to a master/graduate program. I can only imagine that Ph. d. Level is even more challenging. My hope is to do master first and once I am in, it should be a little bit easier to gain relevant experience to the next step( ph.d.). Do you think that they would look at my undergrad grades or focus would be on my highschool grades ? My undergrad. grades are better. I will definitely look into graduate programs and try to find the best fit and prepare according to their requirements. Once again thank you so much for useful information.
Undergrad probably. Not high school.
GREs probably but the masters and psyd programs are much less competitive. Not very competitive at all. If this is your chosen route to get into a phd program, do really well in all of your classes. Retake the GREs to get a top score. Spend time working in clinical settings and/or volunteering with an appropriate group and/or working in a lab setting.
Be sure that your profs know you well enuogh to write you a top letter of recommendation.
Working in Hungary with a population could be interesting for US researchers for cross cultural studies. Maybe there are refugees you can work with, or psych patients there, or women with post-partum depression or something else relevant, whatever it may be. This would be interesting, I think, for people here.
You should note that masters degrees and psyds are expensive. really expensive.
phd programs are often funded through grants by the researcher who has taken you under his or her wing. The top programs have this. lower programs are expensive.
I am living here in the US since last July. However I might move to Japan for year to teach English so I am hoping to start prepare for Gre and Gre psychology in this âgapâ year. I am also considering using this year to start working on those work experiences as well. About the cost of grad programs you are absolutely right. I have sent out few emails to different unis asking about their psyc. programs in general and regarding the financial situations they all sugested to also apply and start working assintantship, Administrative assistantship during period of grad program. The weekly 20 hours that I would have to work could cover a lot of tuition, books, etc. Thank you for your advice, it clarified a lot.
Depending on what kind of masterâs degree you want, some programs have prerequisite coursework in psychology. A research masterâs degree in general psychology may not require that you have too many classes in psychology, but will probably expect you to have some. A practice-based masterâs - like school psychology or mental health counseling - will have specific coursework requirements (usually, itâs 5-7 classes in psychology, plus potentially some others). Either way, for maximum competitiveness I recommend that you take at least 3-4 classes in psychology before you apply. They can be undergrad courses. Generally they should be introductory psychology, research methods, a statistics course and then one other elective course in psychology, preferably in the area youâre interested in (e.g., social psychology, developmental, cognitive, etc.)
Before you start preparing too hard for the Psychology GRE, check and see how many schools you are thinking about applying to actually require it. You may be surprised to know that a lot of PhD and MA/MS programs in psychology neither require nor recommend the Psychology GRE. For example, neither Cornell, Michigan, nor Stanford require Psychology GRE scores. Minnesota only recommends it for certain departments, and UCLA only requires it for their clinical program and recommends it for some other subfields on the basis of specific circumstances.
Thank you Julliet. The only reason why I would take Psychology GRE is lack of any prerequisite coursework in psychology from my part. Unfortun. Even If I only take few undergrad courses in psyc that would cost about 5-7 grand in US easy( probably more) as international student ( which I know it is not a lot and I shouldnât be whining about it compare to annual tuition etc.) but right now I just cannot afford it. Do you think it would help having Psyc GRE anyway or it wouldnât change a thing if it is not requirement ?
My biggest fear is that as you said without having any prerequisite coursework, I wont be able to make even their list regardless of chosen programs because I am coming from such a different background. I did write my final thesis on Relationship between Positive Psychology and Reading but I am afraid that doesât really count by any mean.
To be honest I am not aiming for top master programs or Universities as I am pretty much an outsider compare to those who have been studying psychology for 3 or 4 years (undergrad psyc), however I would like to get into descent program where I can learn a lot and potentially find research program that I can participate and maybe apply to Ph. D. if everything goes well.