<p>For unforseen financial/transcript reasons, my fin aid is being cut off in 2 semesters. I quickly switched from political science (bio/pre-med before that) to psychology after I decided I didn't have the passion or finances for law school (but I really am passionate about psych, got a 7 on IB psych exam in high school and wrote my extended essay on the correlation between schizophrenia and violent crime). The problem is, because I just switched my major I only have a year to find internships, do research, extracurriculars, etc. And my GPA isn't going to be very high (less than a 3.5). I know the competition for grad admissions is extremely tough and I'm not sure what I want to specialize in yet (I'm interested in abnormal/clinical psych and research. I also think being a therapist for chronically ill patients or children would be a great field for me; I am really compassionate and my sister has chronic illness). </p>
<p>So my question is...what can I do to prepare for grad school, or am I better off starting in a master's program and then working my way to grad school? If I do well on the GRE will that help my chances or am I just out of luck because of my poor GPA (pre-med chem classes KILLED my GPA) and the fact I have to scramble to get done with my degree? Can I do research for a year and expand my opportunities? I'm open to any suggestions as this is all sudden and new to me, thanks.</p>
<p>It may be that you will benefit from taking some extra time to do research, write, pick up courses, and develop faculty relationships. That could be in a master’s program, or maybe just working with researchers if you can find a position. On the other hand, I don’t think anyone in a psychology PhD program is going to particularly care what grades you got in pre-med weeder courses. Many universities have GPA cut-offs for graduate programs, but the cut-off is way below 3.5.</p>
<p>You should really start by discussing this question with your teachers at the college where you are. They will be in a position to give you good advice, and it’s a great lead-in to asking them to write letters of recommendation for you (now or in the future), or to help you find a research position. There’s a lot of networking involved in an academic career: Start now.</p>
<p>One thing you do have to think hard about is which direction you want to go. At many places, the experimental psych people barely talk to the clinical psych people, and the programs may be housed in completely different schools within the same university. Clinical psych programs are a lot more like professional school than like research PhD programs. You may also want to look at clinical-psych-adjacent programs like masters degrees in counseling, or MSW. Many holders of those degrees do the same kinds of therapeutic work that PsyDs do.</p>
<p>You could certainly take a year or two off after graduation and do internships or volunteer in a lab or even work as a psych research asst if you can find such a job.</p>
<p>You don’t have to have been perfect and do it all in 4 years. Admittedly, I know more about experimental psych than clinical, and clinical does seem more like a vocational track, like JD/MD etc with tough admissions and possibly less funding plus that entire other arm, PsyD, which is self-funded.</p>
<p>One word of wisdom, if you apply for a masters, do your FAFSA early, like January so you have hit the deadlines for all the school. Some schools will give a work study funding for grad students, my DD got $7500 in WA her first year of a masters and was hired to work in her prof’s lab so it was perfect; add to that TA or dorm RA $ and you can avoid a lot of loans</p>
<p>Thanks for your input guys! Made me feel a lot better. I have been freaking out because my school is super frustrating. They have completely miscalculated parts of my financial aid package and are trying to cut me off in about 30 credit hours. </p>
<p>I should be looking at a 3.2 GPA overall, much higher in my major though. Hoping for about a 3.8 in my major.</p>
<p>The thing is though, how do I go about finding a research position if I already have graduated? Can I still do undergrad research once I graduate because if I don’t enroll in a master’s or phd program then I’m technically not a grad student. </p>
<p>Thanks somemom for the info about financial aid-so helpful! :]</p>
<p>First of all, if you are interested in a PhD in psychology don’t waste your time on a master’s degree in psychology. There aren’t very many of them and the vast majority of PhD programs are going to make you start over anyway - at most they may count a semester’s worth of courses. It also doesn’t help your case very much, not like doing research will. There are a few exceptions - if you go the clinical route, an MSW can look nice; if you were interested in neuroscience, a biology or neuroscience-type master’s could be okay; if you wanted to do computational psychology or quantitative psych, some kind of master’s in comp sci or a quant field could be nice. But a general master’s in psychology isn’t going to be very appealing.</p>
<p>Psychology admissions committees will be far more concerned with your major GPA than your overall GPA. They don’t care if you got a C in freshman chemistry. If you have a 3.8 in your major then you should be okay.</p>
<p>You can still do research as a lab assistant or research coordinator once you’ve graduated. And you can possibly get PAID for it. The way to do it is to start asking around at the labs at your university or at a nearby large university to see if any of them are looking for a research assistant or lab coordinator. Lab/study/project coordinator is really the job you want - they’re in charge of administrating and running the multitude of studies that go on in the lab (study/project coordinators are usually hired for one or two projects; lab coordinators may manage all the projects in the lab). The ones at my university generally work like 10-6 jobs and are involved in a variety of projects within the lab. The lab coordinators at my lab have been very successful in gaining admission to top graduate schools, even clinical programs (we’re a social lab).</p>
<p>Some more experimental focused labs may hire part-time research assistants or lab techs, especially ones that have more technical stuff - like taking care of rats or other lab animals.</p>