Need help! Undergraduate for a PhD in Psychology

Graduate School
1

Hello everybody!
I am currently choosing an undergraduate program in Psychology. My ultimate goal is a PhD and academic career. And I am completely lost. How do I know which uni will help me to get into graduate school? I am actually hoping to join a decent graduate program. And by ‘decent’ I do not mean Stanford or any top-ten programs in the field, I mean something from top-50.

And here is the catch: I have enough money only for a cheap state school. How do I choose then? I understand that engaging in undergraduate research is crucial. But I cannot evaluate and compare schools. Please, help me!

What should I look for? What is important when choosing one’s undergraduate program? My current options: University of Montana, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, some schools that only offer MA in Psychology and no PhD (it’s a bad sign, right?), others have not sent their decisions yet. What do you think of these schools? Which is better? I am waiting for a decision from a uni whose graduate program is in top-20 (state school). But I am not sure whether I can get in and it is… will, more expensive. Is it worth it? Are there any cheap good schools with a lot of research going on I might have overlooked?

How do I judge research opportunities in each university before I get there?

I do not care for location, climate, sports, city size etc.

I am most interested in research/experimental/quantitative psychology, maybe behavioral neuroscience. I am not going to do counseling, school psychology etc.

Any comments appreciated, even if you tell me it is stupid to even imagine myself going to grad school with this background. Thank you.

P.S. I do not want to explain my background but I am not eligible for any financial aid from universities or my home country, and graduate SoPs will be tough.
P.P.S. Unfortunately, no interesting programs in my home country. I chose US unis because of more course offerings.

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Hi, WeirdOne (that’s an interesting moniker):

Here’s what I can offer you…when looking at universities for Psychology, don’t worry yourself whether they have a Master or PhD program, especially a PhD program. If you decide to stay on for a Masters and have good grades, you shouldn’t have a problem getting in, providing you can pay for it. As for a PhD, you most likely won’t be applying to your undergrad school’s PhD program.

I say this, because my son will be graduating from a state school in May and is currently interviewing for several PhD programs. Two are out of state and one is in-state. He thought about applying to his undergrad school, but the professor who’s been mentoring him since freshman year advised him not to. The school prefers not to take its own grads, because there is only so much they can be taught.

My son’s area of interest is very specific and there are a limited number of schools doing research in that area. He also narrowed it geographically, preferring not to live on the other side of the country. Honestly, watching him go through the grad school application process was tough. He’s bright, ambitious, experienced, published, but so are many others applying. The first school he interviewed at chose 18 applicants out of more than 300. The professor he interviewed with told him right off the bat he was young and that would be a disadvantaged, but he was more than qualified and that was why they’d asked to meet with him. We have no idea at this moment if he’ll be accepted.

He did say that the other applicants came from schools in Texas, Canada, California, Italy, Iowa, New York, etc. Some were from Ivy League schools, others from state schools. So if you’re looking at undergrad schools, see if research opportunities are available, since experience is important. And find a professor who is willing to mentor you, or at least will pass you onto grad students in his lab who are willing to do the same.

I don’t think your dream of going to grad school is stupid. Why shouldn’t you pursue it? If it doesn’t work out, at least you tried. And it’s definitely better to try than to live with the regret of not trying. I wish you the best of luck and much success.

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I would recommend waiting until you’ve received all of your acceptances, then coming back here and asking again. In brief, I would attend the highest-ranked undergrad program (or perhaps grad program, and adjust accordingly) in psychology that you can comfortably afford. I say this now, because you ideally want to maximize your chances of being accepted to a graduate program that funds you. Psychology at the doctoral level is very competitive, but not out of your reach. It is to your advantage that you are so focused at your age.

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Any good solid undergraduate program in psychology can help you get into graduate school. It certainly does not have to have a PhD program - I went to a small liberal arts college with no graduate programs whatsoever and still got into a top 20 social psychology PhD program. What’s important is the opportunity to get research experience with professors who are actively doing research. Montana and UW-Milwaukee are both RU/H universities, which means that they have a high level of research output - they likely have professors actively doing psychological research that you can assist.

Don’t worry about the ranking of the school’s graduate program. You are looking for an undergraduate program; the rankings don’t always perfectly map onto undergraduate education. I would say that you shouldn’t stretch yourself financially to go somewhere you can’t afford. You can get into excellent PhD programs from anywhere, as long as you have the right drive and experience; you can certainly get in from Montana or UW-Milwaukee, and probably most of the other schools you are considering too.

If you are interested in quantitative psychology, you might consider schools that have majors or minors in statistics (or at least courses in mathematics and statistics), since you will want to complete at least the calculus sequence (3 semesters), linear algebra, and 1-2 classes in mathematical calculus-based statistics to be fully competitive. Both Montana and UW-Milwaukee have statistics programs embedded in their math departments. (There doesn’t need to be a formal minor - you just need to be able to take the classes).

I’m also a bit concerned that you apparently don’t care about anything else about the college (location, climate, sports, etc.). You are going to be living there for four years. Educational opportunities are important but, like I said, you can get a solid psychological education anywhere, and good research experience in most places. Don’t be afraid to also consider the non-educational factors in making a decision.

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Julliet, thank you so much! It was very helpful and encouraging.

I did not mean that I do not care about climate and location at all, of course I narrowed my choices to acceptable temperature range etc., that’s just less important to me. I lived in several countries and in different cities, and I loved them all. I am sure I will find something interesting everywhere.