<p>Hi Everyone
I am an undergraduate majoring in psychology. I am planning on applying to graduate schools for clinical psychology Phd next Fall, in 2014. I have had a really low cumulative GPA so far, 2.92. But I plan to really improve it from this semester, a 4.0 every semester if possible. I have about 3 semesters including summer before I apply next fall and I'll be taking 21 credits each for Fall and Spring and 12 or less for summer. If I keep a 4.0 in each of these terms, I'll end up with a 3.2-3.4 cumulative GPA before application time. I'm studying really hard for GRE and plan on getting killer scores, 700 and above, and will also most likely give psychology subject GRE. I have been working in a Quantitative psych lab and will be joining two clinical psych labs from fall onward. I am interested in mood and personality disorders and the use of mindfulness or MBCT to help people with these disorders. Both my clinical psych labs involve both these topics. Also, I plan on doing an undergraduate thesis in quant psych and have already secured an advisor.
Considering this, what do you think of my application for the graduate school? Is it strong? Is it lacking something? What are the areas I can improve? I know my GPA will drag me down but I can only improve and show that I have caliber. Also what colleges and universities do you think I should target? Which universities are least likely to throw out my application just by looking at my GPA? Also please suggest some opportunities that I can pursue in summer that can help set my application apart.
All help and advice is appreciated!
Thanks!</p>
<p>I forgot to mention that I have also been course assistant for psychology stats courses and I will be assistant for introductory psychology in spring and forward. I plan to apply to programs in Fall 2013, so any kind advice will be great.</p>
<p>I hate to steal polarscribe’s thunder, as s/he is really known for preaching this on this forum, but it is not possible to chance Ph.D. admissions due to the nature of the Ph.D. application process. It’s even more impossible (if you get my meaning) when you are throwing around speculative GPAs or GRE scores. I’m not trying to be harsh here, but I have tons of advisees every semester who always “plan” on getting 4.0s or nailing their boards and about 25% of them, if that, manage to come anywhere close to following through on their goals. Those goals are hard to achieve under ideal circumstances, and if life intervenes, as it so often does, even the best laid plans can crumble. I think that you need to involve your faculty in your plans, get their advice, and work on developing a plan that you can execute if you aren’t admitted to a program that you like. Your professors will really be your best help here.</p>