<p>I got a 1260 on the GRE 540 verbal, 720 quantitative, 4.5 analytical, and was hoping to get a Ph.D. at either IU, University of Virginia, UNC, Duke, or Vanderbilt...My gpa is 3.08 but my most recent term was a 3.93 and my freshman year was a 2.16. I am pretty sure that my three letters of recommendation are going to be extremely strong letters for me. However, I am feeling very discouraged after seeing how well so many people have done on the GRE and my gpa pretty much sucks...What are my chances of getting a Ph.D. in social psychology at one of these schools with this and what do you base it off of?</p>
<p>If my chances are absolutely terrible here, what are my chances of getting into a master's of psychology at wake forest or james madison?</p>
<p>I know at my school (Columbia psychology) we don't really consider anyone with lower than a 1200, which you have. A 1200 combined is pretty much the benchmark for psychology Ph.Ds, and you have a 1260, so that's good. Your GPA is low but it appears that it's artificially deflated by your freshman year grades -- junior/senior grades are much more important than freshman year grades. If you show a strong upward trend, I think that would be awesome (you got a 3.93 last term, that's good.)</p>
<p>I will say this, not to discourage you or anything but just to be realistic -- social psychology is <em>extremely</em> competitive, with admissions rates hovering around 10-12%. It's the next most competitive area after clinical. Especially at competitive schools like UVA, Duke, Vanderbilt, UNC, and IU...I wouldn't say your chances are <em>slim</em> but I'd say that you should definitely be concerned with making sure the rest of your application is really tight. You didn't mention your research experience, though, and I'd say that's the most important factor in your admissions (on par with GPA and certainly more important than your GRE scores). What does your research experience look like? Have you done any independent study projects, a senior honors thesis, worked extensively with professors in psychology labs, etc.? What's your major GPA look like? And are you an excellent writer (for the statement of purpose)?</p>
<p>Thank you so much for you advice, your response is somewhat encouraging but it is realistic and I appreciate that</p>
<p>Well I have conducted two research experiments and wrote a paper and gave a public presentation on both and am doing my independent study now and plan to travel to a larger university where psyc majors from my school including myself will present our Independent studies...is that good?</p>
<p>I have some decent ideas on how to write my statement of purpose and know a few professors well enough that will help me refine it, but i'm glad you reminded me that it is so important</p>