<p>just wondering if anyone has any experiences/future intentions about applying to clinical psych phd programs?</p>
<p>I have had experience applying and evaluating applications. What is it that you want to know?</p>
<p>i'll be applying this fall to clinical phd programs (my heart is set on clinical phd- im not really interested in the psyd), and i'm pretty overwhelmed by the sobering 5% acceptance rates at most programs. </p>
<p>i have tons of questions, but my first is, ive been debating whether or not to retake the gre (i took it 2 years ago)- i did pretty poorly on the verbal but very well on the math- 600V 750Q. My goal is to break 1400- is it worth it to take again? or do those 50 points not really matter in the grander scheme of things?
[for your reference, my basic stats: 3.78gpa at a top liberal arts school, 3.8 at an ivy for my masters. one published book chapter in a psych textbook as the sole author, one article under review at a prestigious journal as the lead author. currently working on a psychiatric research study at yale.]</p>
<p>do you think im a decent candidate?</p>
<p>if there was one thing that you would recommend somebody do to increase their chances of getting in, what would that be?</p>
<p>One reason totake the GRE's again is to avoid getting "cut off" by programs that have minimal levels of achievement on the GRE's before ever reviewing your application. You can probably raise your scores with some additional prep so it is worth it. Your research background is quite good for someone at your level and this will make you a very attractive candidate for many programs. The key is to find out what programs have faculty who are working in the same content area where you have done your research. You may know this already from doing your lit review for your chapter or study. If not, ask your advisor for where else similar work to yours is being done. What is your masters degree in? A masters can be a help or a hindrance depending upon the Ph.D. program and the nature of the MA you will receive. If you let me know what programs you are thinking about I may have some idea about their receptivity to a master's degree.
As for what I generally tell students about increasing their chances of getting in, I find that they need more research experience. You seem to have that covered very well so it may be getting that GRE V up as far as you can.</p>