Thank you so much for this thoughtful answer!! We will be visiting and can hopefully gather the information we need to see if this is somewhere she can see herself. It is so nice to hear positive things about Oxford - I think it would be a good fit for her but she needs to see it for herself to see if this is where she wants to be or can see herself. How are the dorms there?
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Some are newer than others. My sonâs first year everyone had to have a single since it was under Covid rules. He didnât care if his floor was gender inclusive and thus was assigned a hall as such with inclusive bathrooms. This turned out to be funny since he happily used any one on his hall and never saw another person. Turned out the everyone else was going to the single gender restrooms. He room was large though not massive. Even had there been two people it would have been adequate size. Dorms have A/C. My dad and I thought it was funny because my first dorm in ATL is now a single and then was a double and really is walk-in closet size. My room could have fit in his four times.
His second dorm was temporary housing and he chose to live there so not something that you will see.
There are some older dorms that people would complain about but according to my son those too would have been adequate.
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Itâs not important. But because typically class sizes are around 20, it is important to having finished the required prerequisite courses (which is pretty extensive), the major GPA, a good GRE score, having had internships in the field, possibly some form of patient contact (even if not strictly in the field), etc. In my daughterâs program, I believe there were two students accepted directly from undergraduate school - and I believe it is not atypical for candidates to building up their rĂ©sumĂ© for a year or two first, showing their commitment to the profession.
In the latter context, Emoryâs attached hospital system, and other universities and institutions in city of Atlanta in general, do offer opportunities for relevant summer and/or full-year undergraduate internships that can help when applying to grad schools.
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Each of the schools being considered by op would have reasonable access to hospitals.
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If she likes close-knit settings, Richmond and Emory Oxford would likely be the way to go.
In terms of prestige, theyâd be equivalent.
One way to alleviate the âsmall townâ feeling in Oxford is to take a class that includes travelling.
You can look at the major: how much bio&chem does it include? are there options? is there a club or honor society she can reach out to?
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Would a better âskin in the gameâ / incentive be if you said that any savings from choosing the less expensive school be available for professional school (since she wants to go down a path which needs it)?
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That sounds like a great idea. I know that Oxford has a shuttle to Emory I think they can use to take a class there but would have to ask while on tour.
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That sounds like a great idea but I feel like my daughter is not mature enough to be that forward-thinking - I donât know many 17-year-olds that are. She wants what she wants right now and thinks it will all work out and grad school seems eons away and that she can take care of her own expenses during grad school but we all know that is not how it will likely work.
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Just donât forget - itâs a long drive. It might get old quickly âŠ
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You are correct. One class can be taken in Atlanta and the shuttle can get you there but need to really plan out the schedule so as to not miss classes on either end.
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I had originally envisioned her potentially staying at home for NC State but I think that is no longer part of our plan - if she goes to NC State - we are now leaning to for her to dorm since the staying at home part could be clouding her judgment. Maybe that is what could be turning her off from being local and she is trying to keep polite? We will be touring NC State and both Oxford and Emory Colleges this month. She has already been to both Richmond and GW. My only worry about Richmond is I have heard it tends to be cliquey and I donât see her fitting in with a major Greek crowd.
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I think all of her options are good ones. I do think it would be nice for her to live in her own dorm at least for first yearâŠeven where her brother is. If she decides to go there, they can make that decision about living in the same place for her second year.
Itâs nice that she can visit again these places.
Looking forward to hearing her decision!
And I agreeâŠ.you have a terrific employer!
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@DigitalDad is spot on. My daughter defended her dissertation in clinical psychology last year. While her undergraduate degree is from a highly selective LAC, where she did three years of research and from which she graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude, she still wound up working as a research assistant in a lab for two years before grad school. Her first application cycle resulted in a waitlist and an admission to a program that was not well funded. She chose to work another year and was admitted to her first choice, fully funded program on her second application cycle. There was only one student who entered that PhD program directly from undergrad, and it was not at all unusual for students to go through a second application cycle. Google Mitchâs Guide, which may be somewhat dated but is still useful for those considering graduate work in psychology.
Many, many schools offer undergraduates the opportunity to become involved in research and build relationships with professors who can write solid grad school recs. Assuming undergraduate GPA and GRE scores at or above the PhD-granting institution cutoffs, the research experience an applicant brings, their publications and conference presentations/posters, and the goodness of fit with the mentor are the biggest factors in admission to clinical psychology programs.
Important to keep in mind that even full funding for clinical psych isnât especially generous at most institutions, so itâs wise to minimize undergraduate debt. Most PhD programs do not permit students to work outside jobs, and they wouldnât have time to do so anyway.
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Emory has a strong Psych program and a strong clinical psych program. But that choice requires two years in Oxford, so a visit is a must. Also, examine the course catalog to make sure that she wonât have to take the bus to main campus for classes.
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It is a long route for sure. I hope you donât mind my asking - but does your daughter think it was worth it? Do the employment opportunities and pay potential make it all worth it? Back to grad school - does she feel that her college connection gave her any kind of leg up when applying to graduate programs? My daughter has been obsessed with mental health for years and has worked as a counselor and day care worker for the last 2 years as well and has taken an interest in the mental well-being of children in particular. Her dad, a physician, since the path to PsychD/PhD is so long feels that the medical route to psychiatry is more financially rewarding however - she is NOT a heavy sciences person and definitely NOT a math person at all so I just donât see her having that kind of patience to get through the med-school pathway to psychiatry.
I totally agree - the rural setting (not the small size) could be a deal breaker for her. I am also trying to set up visits with the Psych department to see what her path could look like. They have been so cooperative at Emory and called already to arrange a zoom meeting to have that discussion even before she goes.
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That would be an appealing arrangement to her. DC is such an exciting city. I hope we donât have to visit GW a second time since it was a over year ago and she does not really remember how she felt (so she says) if she cannot make up her mind after visiting NC State and both Emory campuses.
My daughterâs undergraduate professors were very helpful in her grad school application process, as were alumni (one of whom offered her an opportunity to shadow him in his practice, which is rare). She has just accepted a postdoc fellowship which begins in the fall (sheâs currently on her predoctoral internship year). It has sometimes been difficult for her to see some of her undergraduate friends earn big salaries in other fields, but she wouldnât have been happy (or successful) in consulting or finance. She feels she is doing meaningful work, which is important to her. But the transient nature of clinical psychology PhDs who move several times before they can really begin their careers isnât easy.
Am sure your daughter knows that thereâs a fair amount of facility in statistics required for clinical psychology. And itâs quite possible that sheâll wind up developing other career interests and choose a different major altogether, or major in psychology and not pursue a PhD. (If her interest is largely providing therapy, she should consider pursuing LPC, MSW, MFT programs.)
Any of the colleges to which your daughter has been admitted will offer tremendous opportunities, and while itâs wise to consider her postgraduate plans, itâs also good to keep her options open at this point.
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Congratulations on your daughterâs achievements! She clearly is driven in her field and has succeeded. I hope my daughter retains the same passion she has now but you are absolutely right - there is no telling where she will end up. Thank you for all of your guidance and advice.
I had to check with my wife, if she was using the handle @yauponredux 
, because her daughter is almost a mirror image to mine, except for being 3 years ahead.
My daughter had also graduated SCL and ΊBK from an Yvy. While there, she had interned for a long-term study at a state psychiatric institute one summer, served as a research assistant full year at another long-term neuropsychology study at a different T20 university, and had a self-directed course at a psychiatric practice in the city for a semester. She also had 5 years of part-time (turning quasi-full-time when the pandemic struck), intensive hands-on patient contact, with line-leadership roles â albeit in emergency medicine.
There you go. One key difference: My daughter was not targeting the research side, so chose Dr. of Psychology (PsyD) instead of PhD, as her terminal degree in Clinical Psychology. That might explain further why she was able to secure 3 interviews right out of college, without first having published or worked as a research coordinator.
Yes, my daughter was adamant on those both points, too.
Like @yauponredux, her stated driving force was the desire to serve patients. In my daughterâs case she had expressed interest in veterans and other underserved groups with oversized needs.
One of her Psychology professors/advisers in college spent a good amount of time in laying out career paths and various professions in the field, which was very helpful to my daughter. Iâm hesitant to try to answer your question - as we donât have first-hand experience yet - but my daughter tends to make very reasoned decisions and she felt that this a wide field, with many different ways to practice and the income potential will support the lifestyle she strives for.
She got good letters of recommendation from her full-year internship, her Ivy professor and her emergency medical service.
Her professorsâ networks had also been the what pointed her to internship at the other university, and her clinic placement. Assuming those were important factors in her successful application, then yes, her undergraduate professors probably did play an important role in the ultimate outcome.
As you can see - SO MUCH goes into an application. Itâs impossible to say if a head of the program at grad schools took any notice of the âprestigeâ at all, consciously or subconsciously, or if and to what degree âprestigeâ had in any way helped opening doors to opportunities during the undergraduate years. Itâs entirely possible that it was everything else on my daughterâs application.
Certainly, among her cohorts at graduate school, there is not a noticably large share of big-name colleges to suggest that they are over-represented.
FWIW, Emory Hospitalâs network is one of the âgo toâ places for clinical internships for doctoral candidates in Clinical Psychology for the various Atlanta-based universities.
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