Community Service and Leadership - Suggested ways to show?

Paying for College
1

I have an idea of how I can show leadership, but I doubt what I have in mind would impress most.

And I’m already doing some community service, by teaching self-defense free of charge - but again, I’m doubtful if this would help much with getting scholarships.

What are suggested ways of showing both, what organizations should I get involved in or what are some ideas of things I can start/run on my own to show these two traits?

If I don’t get scholarships, I won’t be able to finish my education; therefore, this is essential.

I have the pell grant now, which can cover my undergrad - but the field I want requires at least a masters, and I’d like to go for a doctorate. The specialty I’m currently interested in requires having a doctorate to get licensed.

And apart from that, I’d like to finish my undergrad in 2 years - with the pell grant alone, it will take 5-6.

Thanks!

2

A couple of things…do community service that you really care about. Don’t just do something to “impress”.

Second…it sounds like you are currently an undergrad. Did you receive need based aid other than the Pell Grant from your college? If not, did you really think it would be possible to complete FOUR years of required courses in TWO?

You say your Pell grant covers undergrad? But then you say it will take 5-6 years with only the Pell. That doesn’t make sense. What’s the deal? Does your Pell cover your full cost of undergrad…or not?

And lastly, for admittance into grad school, “community service” per se is really not what schools are looking for. You might find that meaningful volunteer work related to the field of study would be good to have…or significant and long term shadowing of a professional in that area.

3

I did not get anything except the pell grant this semester, I decided just weeks ago I wanted to go to school at all.

Pell grant gives me enough for 12 hours per semester, no more. That’s 10.3 semesters even if I drop my minor, hence 5-6 years.

For community service, I meant for applying for scholarships - not for getting into school. There are a number that want the candidate to display community service.

Volunteer work in my field - I’d prefer that. I haven’t gotten any advice yet as to what (if anything) is possible to volunteer doing in counseling psychology; I asked one therapist about a certain idea, she said that wouldn’t help and gave no related alternative suggestions.

Of course, I can’t do counseling without a license, and I’m clueless much beyond that about what else might exist.

4

Work on your grades, study for the GRE, try to get some research experience, this will have a bigger impact on getting funding for grad school.

5

Thanks, nw2this.

Is research going to still be very helpful if I go for Psy.D rather than PhD?

6

Yes…research is important for a PsyD.

Keep in mind that many PsyD programs do not provide funding.

With regard to shadowing…this might be difficult with a private practice clinical psychologist. Most folks do not want someone watching their therapy sessions.

Would you be able to shadow a school psychologist? That might be more possible,mesoeciallynifmyounare an undergrad psych major. We had college students who came once a week to shadow our school psych for, say…a semester.

7

Right, Psy.D isn’t usually funded - that’s why I’m trying to focus more on private scholarships. Research still good for those?

Thanks for the school shadowing idea! Do you know of more options?

8

Get a job where you work with people. You will need to do that if you become a psychologist. I’m thinking things like camp counselor. Or better yet…get lifeguard certification…pay is good for lifeguards. Maybe do EMS training, or CNA training. You can earn decent money…and will be working directly with people.

This is the downside to doing an online Bachelors program. If you were enrolled in a brick and mortar college, the program would have opportunities for you to see more of the field…although I will say…bachelors psych students in my neck of the woods don’t get much of that…grad students do.

But at a brick and mortar school…you might have the opportunity to have a mentor who would be able to help you.

Getting outside scholarship money to fully fund a PsyD program will be a challenge, in my opinion.

9

I have a photography business, so I work with people now :slight_smile: Unfortunately, if I move - my business dies. And there’s not a single Psy.D in my state, so I’d have no option except to do it online. That means doing APPIC afterward, ugh…

(I have multiple physical disabilities, so switching occupations won’t work. The job I have now is often a challenge. Psych isn’t physically demanding :slight_smile: )

Just don’t make enough to pay for school without supplement of scholarship.

As for research being helpful for outside scholarship money?

Thanks again!

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Honestly…doing a PsyD online is probably not a great idea…if that even exists anywhere. To be a psychologist, you need practical,experience, and ability to interact with and work with the professors.

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I don’t think there are many “acholarships” for graduate level education. You need to work more, borrow more, or pursue a degree where funding is often offered in the form of TA, RA, or fellowships. Great grades, string research experience, and string grad school admission test scores are your best bets.

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I agree on-campus is better, but I don’t see an alternative.
After finishing the masters work, I can begin interning - and I can intern while doing Psy.D work, as I understand.

There are online offerings, but only … 4? Univ. of Rockies is one.

There is even ONE online psych school that’s APA accredited, but it’s a PhD program.

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I’m not familiar with the PsyD, but I suspect that there is funding for PhDs in Psychology, so maybe go where the money is. Take statistics to help get research jobs in grad school.

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I really don’t want to, but I may have to. Guess I’ll see where I’m at in (hopefully) 2 years.

15

Are you talking about paid interning? If so, I don’t think you will be doing that after your masters.

16

If you are looking at graduate program in psychology (clinical/counseling, etc), you are surely aware of how competitive they are. Funding has gotten tighter and tighter, with grant money dwindling and reimbursement for clinical services declining. Many programs that are worth their salt like to see that you have worked in the field in some capacity before applying to grad school (research assistant, mental health associate at an inpatient facility, etc). To be honest, it is very unlikely you will be able to fund a graduate degree with outside private scholarships. Funding for graduate training typically comes from federal traineeships, research grants money, teaching/research assistantships, or funding after which in exchange, you promise to work in an underserved area for a few years. Sometimes the military offers funding but with significant disabilities that is not likely an option.

When I was in grad school, I had a few years of grant supported scholarships (public health service traineeship funding that was provided by my grad program- I didn’t apply for it) and then I worked at the local VA while in my later years of graduate training. Then, after internship, applied for and won an AAUW scholarship. All that said, I still has some loans that had to be repaid over 10 years. And this was a long time ago, back when reimbursement in the field wasn’t so challenging.

If I were you, I’d work backwards. What is your final goal? If you want to be a practicing clinician, in what state? What licensure will you need, and what will you need in order to qualify to apply for that. If you stop at a masters degree, you will likely be able to be licensed (in most states) as a licensed professional counselor (LPC), Licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) , or, if you go the social work route instead of psychology, as a MSW or LCSW. Most states do not offer psychology licensure at the masters level.

If you decide to pursue a Ph.D., I agree that there is likely more grant funding available in Ph.D. Than Psy.D. Programs, as depending on the research level of the institution (R1, R2, R3) the faculty typically have to generate a certain amount of grant funding. This is probably not true for many Psy.D. Programs, and likely also not true for some online programs, since faculty are often part-time or adjunct.

If you pursue a Ph.D., read up on whether your state will require an APA approved internship or will accept an APPIC internship or one you set up with a private practitioner or facility. Since internships are harder and harder to get, many state licensing boards are being les stringent with what they will accept as an internship. Also, many will require a post doc nowadays too. So, if I were you, I’d work backwards and see what you will need for the different levels of licensure. And nowadays, with the increased impact of managed care on many clinical services, reimbursement rates for doctoral level providers isn’t much more than for masters level providers, and often isn’t worth the extra cost to get that advanced degree.

There are a few online programs, such as the Fielding Institute, that have gained better acceptance in the past years. But they will not have any funding available and again, outside scholarships , unless you are willing/able to commit to working in an underserved area, are probably pretty modest, if it exists at all.

Sorry for the length of this and to sound a bit pessimistic, but you should go in with your eyes open. I had a student working with me during his grad training who was married with a kid or 2, in his early 30s and over $200K in debt and climbing. He hoped to get an internship (IIRC, it might have been a fellowship) with a VA, but one of his classes was an online class and they would not accept it. Period. This was a few years ago, and things may have changed, especially with increased needs for clinical services at VA hospitals and clinics, but that was what he faced back then.

Remember- outside scholarships at the grad level are hard to find, and the “leadership”" component is probably for undergrad scholarships, not grad funding. Good luck.

17

jym, mental health associate? That’s not possible to get experience with as an undergrad, is it? (considering a graduate degree includes masters…)

I think I can get LPC-MH in my state at the masters level, but I know I can’t take the title “psychologist” without a doctorate.

https://dss.sd.gov/docs/licensing/lpc_mh_reciprocity_app.pdf … Seems a masters in psychology would satisfy for LPC-MH?

My primary reason for wanting a doctorate is the extra opportunities that offers me. I can do psychometrics, private practice (no supervisor), I’d be more employable (more knowledge / people will doubt me less/less likely to be elitist over me).

But also, and this is secondary: the extra training would be nice. It’s secondary because I’m a learner - I’ve learned dozens of subjects without school - I became reasonably proficient after 3 weeks of programming, for example; a school would not have gotten me there so quickly. I do better when left to my own methods.

I can learn on my own, but in this case it would be nice to prove what I've learned via the degree.

Today, I found out I might be able to continue doing programming (what I did before) despite my disabilities, if I move to a different sub-field that wouldn’t require much typing. If that works out, perhaps I could use it to pay for most of my doctorate.

I also do portrait photography, but that’s not stable.

18

A mental health associate is , at least here, a fancy term for a person who works on the inpatient units to help with the patients. Usually only requires an undergrad degree.

19

Yes, as I said in my post above, a terminal masters (in counsleing or a related field of psychology- probably arent too many terminal masters in clinical but havent checked lately) will typically be sufficient for licensure as an LPC or LMFT.

If you are independently licensed, even at the masters level, you should be able to work without supervision. But you still need to complete your training, internship, post doc (for Ph.D.), supervised experience, or whatever your degree and licensure requires. I understand and appreciate the benefits of a Ph.D, but it sounds like it may be too costly for you.

20

To clarify, you can do many of the things you want with a license at the masters level. Probably not testing (thought in my state there was just a big turf battle over this and LPCs got some limited testing opportunities within the scope of their training, but not for diagnostic purposes), and you will have plenty of time to learn as your license will require ongoing continuing ed. I am all for Ph.Ds. I have one. Got it a long time ago. But many things have changed in the field and in healthcare reimbursement that make it practical in many cases (and more affordable) to stop at the masters level, especially if the likelihood of admission to a doctoral level program that offers some funding is a realistic concern.