<p>Okay, so I am finishing up my sophomore year of college. I started off with a major that didn't suit me and recently switched majors to something that I'm more comfortable with and like better. However, due to depression and majoring in something I was not very good at, I now have 5 C's and 3 D's on my transcript. In order to bring my GPA to a 3.0 or above, I must make and maintain all A's for at least three consecutive semesters. I know if I take a few extra summer courses or an extra year of schooling I might be able to do better and have a better chance of raising my GPA, but money is an issue as well as time. I want to go to graduate school for psychology, and am afraid that with that transcript and a possible GPA of 2.8-3.1 will not get me into any school. For current graduate students who may or may not have struggled themselves, do you have any advice? I know I'm only about to be a junior, but pulling up a GPA is harder than it sounds, not to mention when you have a track record like mine. What should I do?</p>
<p>If your final GPA cannot go higher than a 2.8-3.1, you won’t be very competitive for PhD programs in psychology. But fear not, because there are many routes you can take other than going straight into a PhD program. In fact, I would recommend NOT going straight through, due to some personal experiences (I did go straight from undergrad to grad school).</p>
<p>My advice is first, make the rest of your package as strong as it can possibly be. If you have not already started doing research, start now. Yesterday. Cultivate relationships with professors that can give you excellent (not just good, but STRONG, EXCELLENT) letters of recommendation. Do very well in your major courses. Sometimes, a strong major GPA (3.6ish+) can offset a low cumulative GPA. Get high GRE scores, and start drafting a personal statement in the summer between your junior and senior year so you can spend a lot of time editing and perfecting it.</p>
<p>The most important thing is those research experiences, so connect with a professor and investigate REU programs. You can find REUs on the NSF website.</p>
<p>Then, in your senior year, apply widely. Apply for some selected PhD programs that are an excellent fit, but also apply to some reputable MA programs in psychology (and related fields - social work, for example). An MA program is a great way to demonstrate that you can complete the work of a graduate program.</p>
<p>Also, apply for jobs. A great interim job for a potential psychologist is working as a lab manager for a psychology or psychiatry lab. Some psychiatry labs also pay research assistants, so look for those kinds of jobs, too. There may be ones in related fields - like public health has research coordinators, and you may find a project on mental health. People who take these jobs often present, and sometimes get publications, and are thus very successful in gaining admission to graduate school. Also, if you are a lab manager at a university, you can sometimes sit in or take some graduate classes for free. IMO, this is even better than getting an MA in psychology, because it includes more research experience and does not cost money.</p>