I’m a rising junior at a very small school in New England that, while beautiful, isn’t necessarily academically prestigious. I’m dead set on getting my PhD in clinical or counseling psychology once I graduate, and I recently compiled a list of programs/schools I’m interested in.
Some quick stats:
Major: psychology
Minors: biology and neuroscience
GPA 3.9/4.0
Extracurriculars: honors program, VP of psychology club, VP of research (international psych honor society), another unrelated national honor society, student tutor (biology 100/200 levels and psych 100/200 levels), off campus job, campus conduct hearing board member, orientation leader (2x), pre-health club
Internships/jobs: have worked an off campus retail job my entire college career, last summer I did a social psych summer research internship at a local college, this summer I’m participating in a mental health practicum/internship at one of the nation’s top 5 ranked psychiatric hospitals (M-F working in the hospital). Looking to get another internship at a local hospital during the school year
Research experience: a bit lacking, set up to do research alongside one of my psychology professors this upcoming year
Other relevant info: graduating a semester early
Some of the schools on my list include: Brown (my #1, yikes), Yale, Johns Hopkins, Boston College, Columbia, Boston U, UNC-CH, Princeton, etc.
I was just wondering if it sounds like I could have any chance getting into the programs at these more prestigious universities, especially when I’m coming from a school that isn’t very well-known?
Not sure that Brown is all that highly ranked (see link below), but the answer is no, your small school won’t be a hindrance – just keep up the excellent grades and ace the GRE. Clinical Psych is extremely competitive. But beyond that, undergrad research is key – the more, the better. Graduating early is of no value, and actually maybe be a negative as it reduces the opportunity for you to participate in on campus research. Aim for presentations, and see if you can get your name on a research pub or two.
btw: Boston College does not offer a Clinical Psych program, just a Counseling program thru its Education School.
Do you have a faculty advisor? If so talk to him/her about your plans and what you want to study in grad school. Ask for advice—you will need faculty letters of recommendation and this would be a good way for one of your professors to get to know you and provide advice on graduate programs in your field. Ask about funding as well—what programs offer graduate teaching assistantships or research assistantship. These will cover your tuition and provide a monthly stipend. If you have a strong GPA and high GRE scores, your undergraduate school should not hinder you from entering a top graduate program in your field.
You have a chance. I’d say that you’re an average to slightly below average candidate. That’s no real fault of your own; it’s just that clinical psych has gotten so crazy that many (most? Has to be at least close to half) successful applicants work as lab managers for psychology labs - or some other form of research - for 1-3 years after college. You’re at even more of a disadvantage, because by the time you graduate in December 2020, you’ll only have 3 semesters of research experience.
The mental health practicum is really good, so keep up with that, and your GPA is excellent. I think your competitiveness rely heavily on your ability to clearly articulate your research and career goals in your personal statement, as well as your letters of recommendation.
Clinical psych grad school hasn’t recently gotten competitive it has been so for decades. There are a very limited number of slots and. I knew many people in college who applied to both medical school and clinical psych programs. All got into medical school. One clinical psych grad school.
Coincidentally, I am married to a clinical psychologist. His road there was a long one, but he’s been licensed for 25 years now.
What you are doing is great. You will need to really ace the GRE. And then it still will be difficult. I have a stats PhD and many of my colleagues in grad school were in the clinical psych program. All of them worked in labs and such after college for a year or two. Or three. Clinical psych degrees are first and foremost research degrees. The clinical part is secondary.
Can you share with me what your career goals are? What draws you to that line of study?