I am in the last semester of my undergrad. I am graduating with my bachelors in Psychology and a minor in autism studies. I wish to complete a PhD in clinical psychology, I am aware of how competitive it is. What are my chances and how can I be more competitive ?
My major GPA is a 3.98 and my minor GPA is a 3.90.
GRE scores are no longer required for the grad schools I am interested in.
I have been volunteering as a research assistant for about 3 years in various labs. I am the current EEG lab manager at my university.
Throughout my undergrad I have presented at 6 different national and regional conferences. Two of which I presented my original work at. I am working on writing the manuscript for my original work in hopes of getting published in an undergraduate journal.
I am in the process of being published as a co author and currently working as 2nd author for another project.
Currently, I am apart of 5 research teams and have been apart of 7 in total.
Also, I have been working in a clinical setting as a registered behavioral technician for 5 years. I am experienced in diagnostic assessments for ASD,data collection, and data analysis. I currently work in a residential treatment facility for neurodiverse adolescences.
Weekly, I receive 2 hour clinical training and mentorship under the direction of a clinical neuropsychologist.
Additionally, I volunteer 4-8 hours weekly at a traumatic brain injury clinic.
My research interests are developmental, clinical diagnostic, and experimental approaches to child and adolescent psychopathology. In short, abnormal child psychology.
What do your professors and faculty advisor tell you? That will be infinitely more helpful than some strangers on the internet. If you are indeed “apart” of 7 research teams, you clearly know enough people in the field to get their advice.
Interesting. My daughter applied (but for PsyD, not PhD) last fall, and while all of them were Psych GRE optional, at least half where she applied asked for the GRE - and basically implied that it was only due to the Covid situation.
Why do you believe an anonymous website over actual professionals in your field? The ones who will be writing those crucial LoRa? If your list of prospective programs aligns with their recommended programs (you did talk to them about what programs they thought would be a good fit for you, yes?) that is much more meaningful than any of our opinions.
In addition to the local guidance you have received, some of this information may be helpful: Psychology - Graduate School - Hamilton College. From what you have written, it appears you can safely disregard the information on GREs. Nonetheless, the discussion regarding creating personal contacts seems important.
As a personal opinion, you appear prepared and passionate, and therefore likely to reach your goals.
It will come down to whether your research aligns with the University you are applying to. That is all. I would also keep your eye on grad school requirements, if you are applying for 2023, as my DD, many have not announced whether or not they will require GRE scores for the next cycle.
My DD is applying to Grad school next fall and we have not found this. Many are not requiring GRE for fall 22, but they are putting back the requirement for Fall 23. She is in a prep class now and taking them next week. Several of the schools she is interested in have a minimum requirement.
As in - applying late 2022 for 2023 admission, or having applied for admission in fall 2022 - in which case she would have had her interviews and should have results within days?
@Aspirepsych To clarify, when I said that you are very competitive, I meant exactly that. You do not need to add any new activity, nor do you need to improve your GPA. You have the type of profile of the applicants which PhD programs like seeing among their applications.
Now, it all boils down to how you present yourself in your application, how you reach out to potential advisors, and to finding programs and advisers which are good fits for you.
As @collegemom3717 wrote - there is little that we can do to help you at this point. We can, at best, provide very general advice, and you no longer need that advice. Now you need the very specific advice of the people who know far more about you than you should reveal here.
Good luck - based on what you posted here, you have what it takes to get a PhD, so go do it, and come back here in some 5-6 years and tell us about it.