Clinical Phd; What are my chances?

Graduate School
1

My first semester of college I took three classes (got grades A,D,F) received 1.667 gpa but later retook the two classes I failed and got A’s so it increased my GPA to 4.0. Second semester I received 3.46 gpa. I did a Summer session and got a 4.0. Which brings my current gpa to 3.82. Along with my gpa, I also have a couple of withdraws which i fear will look very bad when I apply for psychology programs.

I currently attend a community college and it has been rough for various of personal reasons. In the spring I will be starting at a university as a junior and by the time i apply for a graduate program during my 3rd year I feel like I wont have enough (- or any) credentials to impress the high ranked schools I am interested in.

I’ve been thinking about my chances of getting accepted into a phd program and they seem very slim due to the fact that I haven’t done any research yet… I could do a masters program and then transfer to a phd program but i would prefer to just go straight into a clinical psych program. Im looking for advice. Should I try to get as much research accomplished once I get to the university? I dont know if that would that help my application or would that still not be enough at getting into a top psych program?

2

master’s admission usually requires a 3.0 GPA at reputable schools.

3

My GPA is 3.82…

4

Clinical psychology PhD programs are very competitive. Usually successful applicants have

-At least 2 years’ worth research experience, more commonly 3-4 total (more on that later);
-At least a 3.5 GPA, both cumulative and in psychology;
-Some clinical volunteering experience at a hospital, clinic, psychiatric institute or something similar;
-Good GRE scores (typically more than about 155 in each section);
-Well-defined research interests with a great statement of purpose;
-Excellent recommendations.

As for the research experience: Most students start out by assisting a professor at their university with research as an RA in their lab. But it’s becoming increasingly common for clinical psych PhD applicants to also do an additional 1-3 years as a research associate or lab manager after college - usually in a university psych lab, but also potentially at a think tank, nonprofit, NGO, corporation, etc. - to get more experience. Some do post-baccalaurate programs like the NIH IRTA.

It sounds like you spent three semesters at a community college (fall, spring, summer sessions) and after this fall will be ready to transfer to a university. Then you’ll have four more semesters - spring 2017, fall 2017, spring 2018, fall 2018? So you’d be able to start a PhD program in Fall 2019. That means that from here you have three years to get research experience with professors, which may be enough time (no guarantees, but it’ll make you competitive.)

If you are trying to go in fall 2018 (like if I misunderstood how far along you are), that’s a bit tighter for you, and I’d say it’s likely you’d be expected to take time off post-college if you can’t start doing research until spring 2017.

Regardless, though, you should still try to get as much research accomplished as possible - you should definitely find yourself an RA position when you get to university. It will help your application for sure; you don’t want to start from scratch! Even if you do an MA program in psychology, having 1-2 years of research under your belt will help there, too. (And you don’t need to do an MA in psychology; you’d be better off working as a research assistant for 2 years than spending your money on an MA program, especially if you keep your grades where they are.)