<p>Son wants to be a psychologist - probably a diagnostician. He's visited 8 schools. All have stressed the importance of research and say that he won't get into grad school unless he has a lot of research under his belt as an undergrad. </p>
<p>Is it REALLY that hard to get into a graduate Psych program?</p>
<p>After teaching for a while, I decided to go to law school. I had great undergrad grades from an unknown school, okay LSATS and I applied very late. I got into 2 of the 3 law schools to which I applied....probably would have gotten into the third one had I been in state instead of OOS. Bottom line: getting into law school was easy.</p>
<p>Have things changed terribly? Is it truly difficult to get into graduate Psych programs these days?</p>
<p>I don't know, but I can tell you my DD got into her psych grad school with no problem, despite an unconventional finish to her UG and she did it after doiing volunteer research with a prof at the school. She did the volunteer research to determine whether she liked it, it was not done as a resume builder, it was about her learning more about the options; she also volunteered at a D/A Tx program, she was trying to learn what she liked and she got in that next fall, the prof talked her into applying.</p>
<p>If he is concerned, do some research and keep in mind, he can do a terminal masters and then move on to a PhD program, it is the PhD programs that are tough for admissions, but the successful completion of a master plus research and hopefully good recs rather proves you are serious and know what will be expected, so you are a safe candidate who knows what they are getting into with the PhD committment</p>
<p>It's very, very different, more than a matter of hard vs. easy.</p>
<p>Law school admissions are based largely on grades and LSAT scores. Not necessarily easy, but very straightforward.</p>
<p>PhD admissions are less straightforward. Grades and standardized test scores are used more to filter applications than to actually decide who to admit. A PhD is a research degree, so yes, research is essential, as I believe it should be - the skillset needed to do research is very different from the skillset needed to ace your classes, and why on earth would a program bother with a student who doesn't know what it's like, whether he enjoys it, whether he's any good at it? In many ways it's an apprenticeship to a professor, so naturally they care a lot about the recommendations of professors the student worked with as an undergrad. Programs differ in their focus, much more than law schools do, so they look at the statement of purpose to help determine whether the student fits well with this particular program.</p>
<p>Now, as far as actual difficulty goes...it sounds like your son wants to be a clinical psychologist. And clinical psych admissions are very, very competitive, with acceptance rates frequently in the single digits, so yes, it is very difficult.</p>
<p>I'm gonna get flamed like crazy, but why on earth are parents still involved in the graduate applications of their children who are, I would imagine, in their mid twenties by now? Is that really healthy?</p>
<p>No flames, but I guess I wasn't clear about the purpose of this thread. We are trying to figure out where Son should go to undergrad. Research opportunities are stronger at some schools than others. I'm trying to figure out how much weight that should have in the decision making process. Should Son choose a school that is the best "fit" even if he may not get as much research time, or should he choose the school with the most research opportunities that may be further down the list of his favorites? That's the reason for the question.</p>
<p>clinical psych phds are about the most competitive programs these days. the average acceptance rate is less than 10%, and there are a bunch programs that are in the 1-3% acceptance range.</p>
<p>no flames, I am here because I have one who will be a freshman UG, but I also have one who is doing a terminal masters, both to get the research experience for admissions purposes, but even more importantly to get the experience to determine what she wants to do. A masters is a shorter commitment than a PhD, it allows a student to be more certain of their PhD decision and to actually accomplish some real research as opposed to the UG experience which can sometimes end up being resume building (I said sometimes!) My DD did not do any research in UG, she chose a major she did not end up liking, added psych after she fell in love with it as a breadth requirement and the terminal masters is important in her path.</p>
<p>Not every one goes directly from UG to PhD.</p>
<p>If CC had been up and running strong I would have known much better how to advise my oldest; kids are really busy living life, if an empty nester parent can do a little research, then pass that info on to them that's a good thing. I have one kid looking at PhD and one at Med School, there is a lot ot know to do it "right" I have no problem and no embarrassment over asking things here- I just email the info to my kids, it's up to them what they do with it. If I had the life experiences to know what to tell them, I would tell them, since i don't know the answers, I can learn some here.</p>
<p>It worked outstandingly for UG admissions for D2 & D3</p>
<p>also, by far the most important piece of the admissions puzzle is faculty match. you can have a perfect application stats wise, but if your research interests arent clearly specified and match a faculty member (who is accepting a student that year), you wont get in.</p>
<p>I dont think there is anything wrong with parents doing some research on behalf of their kids. My dad does it alot and I appreciate it just because he often comes up with ideas for my education I might not have come up with alone. However, there are a bunch of helicopter parents all over CC who are not interested in doing some light research to help their kids but are obviously directing their young adult's applications which I find inexcusable. </p>
<p>Neither missy or somemom seem guilty of this though based on their replies so I would imagine that both their children are well served by their participation in their applications.</p>
<p>If my thirty somethings ask about parenting and I dont know the answer I research it to give them an answer. Its the same with my husband when they ask him a techie or finance question. I dont think its any different with grad school info, thats all I offer is information, they are on their own for everything else. My rising senior is working 40 hours a week on a research project this summer and working part time. He just wants to be pointed in the right direction and since he would be the first for grad school we don't have a clue. Call me crazy but I love researching anything. No flame here just an explanation.</p>
<p>Assisting with ongoing research. Getting your name put on a paper depends a lot on luck, the willingness of a professor to include other names on a paper, and luck.</p>
<p>Well I would actually recommend medical school...
Become a psychiatrist, They sit there and prescribe meds and continue updates on the meds. You will earn doctor pay as well. </p>
<p>You will make roughly $30k more with a PhD in Clinical Psychology as well .</p>