Clinical Psychology PhD- Chance of Acceptance

[bandluver]

I will be applying for clinical neuropsychology PhD programs in the Fall. I currently have a 3.94 GPA with a Neuroscience major and a Latin American Studies minor.
I have worked in 3 research labs although none of them are clinical psychology based: one was sustainability (got my first name on a publication although the journal is low-ranking), one is a behavioral neuroscience lab (got 2nd author on a publication but it is a lit analysis/review and not a real “experiment”), and a public health lab where I will be writing a manuscript to submit for publication (although it will not be published by the time I apply for programs-it will likely be completed and under review) and where I see clients in a hospital setting.
I also have another publication of a lit analysis style paper in public health.
1 year of intensive training and volunteering in a suicide hotline as a phone counselor.
This summer, I will be spending 3 months at a prestigious university doing research through a special summer program and hopefully get a publication or two out of that.

I know that clinical psychology is extremely competitive and most students do not get into these programs straight out of their undergraduate years. What I think is holding me back the most is that I am not in any clinical psychology labs, however, I am hesitant to leave my current labs because I do not think I could make any useful contributions to a Clinical Psychology lab in such a short period of time. Plus, I really enjoy the research that I do in the other labs and I am learning a lot in them even though they aren’t exactly what I want to do with the rest of my life.

Anyone know what my chances are for acceptance into a graduate clinical psychology program based on the above information? Should I just accept that I am going to have to work in a lab after graduation? What else can I do to improve my chances besides great GRE scores and personal statement?
Should I drop a lab that I am currently in for a Clinical Psychology one?

I have yet to take the GRE…

Thank you so much in advance!! Any feedback means the world to me!

[collegemom3717]

paging @juillet!

[juillet]

Oh hai!

The tl;dr is that I think you are an average to above-average candidate, BUT clinical psychology is so competitive that planning to work in a lab post-college isn’t a bad plan.

-The sustainability lab experience may not be super helpful unless what you did there is relevant to psychology. It’ll kind of depend; some people will consider it evidence that you can work in a lab and know the structure of research. (In other subfields this would be true but wouldn’t matter as much; the competitiveness of clinical psychology makes this a factor).

-The behavioral neuroscience lab is totally fine. Your research experience doesn’t have to be exactly directly in clinical psychology - especially given that your interest is in clinical neuropsychology, I think this fits well enough.

-Having authorship on a publication isn’t ubiquitous amongst undergrads, but it is more common. That said, I think your publication is still a win but you are correct in assessing that a literature review isn’t as impressive in an application as a research report.

-All in all it sounds like you have 3 publications, which is unusual (in a good way) for an undergrad. Even though two are literature reviews, that’s still good and it’s evidence that you know how to pull together and synthesize a lot of information.

-Is the public health lab’s work related to psychology? Public health labs can be fine to excellent for getting into psych programs; lots of public health researchers are psychologists themselves.

How long have you been working in labs? In other words, how much research experience combined do you have? And do you have sustained experience in any one lab? That’s sometimes what hurts students; professors like to see sustained experience in one lab (1 year at least; 2 is better) because that shows you can work on something and contribute in an extended period of time and develop relationships. It also shows a sustained interest in something specific.

-Anything you work on in the summer will almost certainly not be published, or even submitted, in enough time to make a difference on your application. Focus on building a good relationship with your summer PI so you can ask them for a recommendation letter, though!

Is this your first summer research experience?

I can’t really comment on chances, as admissions are so variable and competitive. Like I said, I think you’re an average to above-average candidate. Without the publications, I’d say your applicant status was kind of meh; with the publications, you look more attractive in general, but two of them being lit reviews makes them more of a toss-up in how professors will interpret them (the quality will really make a difference, too).

If I were you, what I would do is focus on a slate of programs that you would really love to attend with an eye towards also identifying other post-college options - like NIH IRTA, the NIGMS PREP program (most of these are more biomedical but I’d poke around a bit), or working as a full-time research assistant/associate or lab manager in a lab that does research very closely related to clinical psych/neuropsych. The application season for PhD programs (including prep work and interviews) is usually like August to February whereas the season for post-baccalaureate options is usually like January through April/May, so you can do this without it being too overwhelming - and in fact, by the time it comes time to start thinking about postbac options in earnest, you may already have a decent idea of your chances based on how many interviews you get. That may help you decide how to focus your postbac application plans.

The other thing to remember is that the whole point of the application process is to sort of assess where you are so I wouldn’t shy away from launching a full-scale, carefully chosen effort to get into clinical psych schools. Of course you have to do as budget allows. But also know that it’s common (very common!) for clinical psych applicants to take 1-2 rounds before they get accepted somewhere. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try this year; but you may want to shape your approach differently knowing that.

Thirdly, use this summer research experience as an opportunity to prep for your application cycle. Ask your PI lots of questions about grad school admission; if you can, try to draft a statement (or at least an outline of one) and get your PI and/or a senior grad student or postdoc in the lab to give you some feedback. Doesn’t matter if it’s not a clinical psych lab; you can get targeted feedback later but what you need now is structural feedback and ideas.

And no, don’t drop your lab. Continuity is important, and so is following your interests.