<p>Hello everyone!</p>
<p>So here is my story and where I think I want to go from here:</p>
<p>Did my undergrad at Indiana University-- B.S. in Biology with a 3.67 GPA. My lowest grades were a C in Honors Organic Chemistry Lab, C+ in Honors Organic Chemistry 2, and B+'s in many of my upper level Bio classes. No research experience.</p>
<p>GRE: Q790 V530 W4.5</p>
<p>Currently at IU with a year left in a dual master's program: Master of Science in Environmental Science & Master of Public Affairs, some research experience but not in the sciences, GPA 3.9.</p>
<p>Since starting this graduate program, I've discovered that I'm totally passionate about psychology but haven't been able to narrow down my interests just yet. I'm currently in a graduate level jdm psych course (for credit) and will be auditing another grad level social psych class next semester. I'm currently trying to decide between pursuing a doctorate in social psychology, consumer psychology, or social neuroscience. I am planning on meeting with the social neuroscientist here to get advice on what steps I need to take to go that route, but thought I'd see if you guys had any advice. </p>
<p>If I have to take a year or two to take undergrad or grad level classes and get lab experience, I will do so but am not sure if it would be best to retake classes I got Cs in, take subject GREs, pursue a certificate/postbac/masters? program first or just be a nondegree seeking student, etc. I'm considering taking or auditing undergrad level social psych and/or neuroscience this summer. </p>
<p>Any tips and/or suggestions?</p>
<p>Slow down a bit.</p>
<p>My advice is to first get some research experience. Social psychology is very competitive; social neuroscience less so, but still pretty competitive, and successful applicants often have 2-3 years of research experience beyond the bachelor’s degree. Your first goal is to get research experience. You should also get some research experience because that is what’s going to tell you whether you actually need to get a doctorate in psychology. Taking a class is much different from doing the actual work of a psychologist.</p>
<p>Also, you will need to take a foundation of classes in psychology. You need to at least take intro psychology (1-2 semesters), social psychology, research methods, and intro to statistics. If you are interested in neuroscience, you should also take 1-3 classes in that field as well. If you are interested in doing work on mental health disorders in the field, abnormal would also be advisable; if you are interested in social cognitive neuroscience, cognitive would be a good choice; if you have interests in developmental social neuroscience, then developmental would be a good addition.</p>
<p>1) The best option is to get a job as a lab manager in a psychology or psychiatry lab for 2-3 years. OR you can use your MS/MPA to get a job as a research associate in a related field. Take some classes as a non-degree student to fulfill the requirements, and then apply if you still want to.</p>
<p>2) Second-best option would be to do a master’s or post-bacc program in psychology, where you can get research experience with a professor in addition to taking classes. The downside to this is that it’s expensive.</p>
<p>3) Another option is to take some classes as a non-degree student and volunteer as a research assistant while you work some unrelated or semi-related job to pay the bills.</p>
<p>Personally, I would do 1 or 3 and only do 2 if you can’t get in by doing the others. The reason is cost - you want to minimize debt.</p>
<p>I took the honors intro psych course in undergrad. I was planning on auditing the foundational social psych class over the summer (not taking it for credit for financial reasons, but I think if I were going to take one of the classes for credit it would probably be better to take grad level social perceptions class as opposed to the undergrad level social psych class… yes?) and possibly the foundational neuroscience course as well. I haven’t done any research methods courses, but I’ve taken statistics as an undergrad through the math department, grad level statistics through my department, and grad level data analysis in my department (A’s in all classes). </p>
<p>Is it reasonable at all to think that I would even be ABLE to get a job as a lab manager in a psych lab without any psych experience?</p>