<p>This is a little weird because even though my posting record says that this is my first post, I actually have been here before - when I was applying to college for undergraduate study. I need a bit of advice as to how to go about applying myself to become a stronger candidate for graduate school. People have said that I’m worrying about applying too early, but from my experience, it’s NEVER too early to begin preparing for the future. </p>
<p>I am entering my junior year at a private, religiously-affiliated school in Texas. I entered college thinking that I was going to go to medical school, so I began taking the basic courses for premed reqs. (general bio/chem, genetics, labs). Midway through organic chem, I realized that it just wasn’t for me. I switched my major to psychology, a field that I actually like and am very adept at learning (I already had AP credit, which drastically shortened the amount of classes I was behind). </p>
<p>However, therein lies my problem. Because I am late coursewise (but will still graduate in 4 years), I will not be able to take the capstone and lab courses until my senior year - when I intend to apply for grad school. I haven’t had a chance to be involved in research up to this point (the biology dept. only wanted biology majors working in their labs, and the psychology dept. at my school apparently doesn’t do active research such as run a lab or anything of the sort - so no working with professors on projects.) Ironically, the major is research-oriented. The main source of research experience comes from those capstone courses, where the students design, perform, and present their own experimentation. </p>
<p>I am very serious about going to grad school. My interest subspecialties are biopsychology/neuropsychology or industrial/organizational psychology. I eventually want to end up working at NIH for my career. The only problem is that I am not exactly sure on where to start in the process in looking for grad schools. I looked at the US News Report on the best grad schools in both of those specialty areas, and have tried to make some contacts as well as reach out to do research at those institutions before my senior year, to get some experience under my belt. (as a side note, I am a very strong student otherwise. My GPA is almost a 3.6 - at my school, that is very difficult for science majors…we have a very large core set of classes to go through in addition to any major you choose, and the science majors tend to be larger than the others. I also do a lot of volunteering - many of the other courses I must take are service-oriented.)</p>
<p>In short, here are the questions that I have:</p>
<li><p>Because I was so late in switching majors, should I <em>seriously</em> look at taking a year off to build up research experience? If I do, would it be better to try to find work in a lab program that I would eventually like to become a student at? Does it matter whether you work at a university or another professional institution?</p></li>
<li><p>GRE: I plan to take the GRE in march (before my senior year) to see how I do, and also because I will be trying very hard to get into a summer research program (don’t want to have to worry about studying for the GRE so that I can focus on my research). Is this a good idea, or should I wait and take it in October of my senior year, like most people (at least that I know that have gone to graduate school)? </p></li>
<li><p>Since I had planned on declaring my major as biology before, I have an extensive background in the field (it is now a minor). Will that have any substatial positive influence on making my case to being accepted to work with a faculty mentor, and hopefully being accepted to the program?</p></li>
<li><p>Do the higher ranked schools scrutinize WHERE you completed your undergrad? How much does that matter?</p></li>
<li><p>In the event that I apply and am not accepted to a program, can I ask on what grounds I wasn’t accepted? If I go back and fix those things and reapply as a “stronger” candidate, how does it look to them? Does it show dedication or will they think “doesn’t this person know when to give it up”?</p></li>
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<p>I know this was scattered and kind of long, but I’d appreciate any information and advice given. My advisor and professors, though knowledgeable, are not well versed in the field of study and the career path that I would like to pursue, so most of the information I have has come from the outside (faculty advisors in graduate programs, the APA, internet).</p>