Hey all! I’m at such a crossroads in my life and it gives me so much anxiety. So here are some things about me.
I live on the island of Guam. I obtained my Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and a minor in biology from the University of Guam about two months ago. I managed to acquire a 3.95 GPA. I have yet to take the GREs, although I have some prep from an undergraduate research program at the University of Virginia. I will take it eventually, but I need to freshen up some more. I’ve had one poster presentation at the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology (as co-author), I had a digital presentation at the Leadership Alliance Symposium, and I have one research publication in my university’s undergraduate journal.
All horrible bragging aside, I personally do not feel like I am fully prepared for grad school. I know I want to go, but the prospect of me not being able to get in scares me. If I do not get into a PhD program, I would have to settle for a Masters, which would be ok if it wasn’t for the fact that most Masters programs are not fully funded. There are Masters programs here at UOG for Counseling and Clinical Psychology, but I personally feel like those may not fit my needs and would limit my scope of research. And if I do decide to pursue a Masters instead, it would mean not only juggling to pay for tuition and fees, but also find a place to stay and pay for living expenses, which I do not have the luxury of since I am not well-versed in life on the mainland. I can’t even imagine finding a job! I personally do not know where to begin my life. I know my first steps are to study for the GREs, begin emailing professors I am interested in working with, write my personal statement, and work for this entire year to save some money. But I’m honestly becoming very anxious about everything! I feel like I should have taken my GREs a while ago and that’s what frustrates me.
Is anybody feeling the same way? Does anyone have any advice, especially for a person stuck on an island and wanting to really get my name out there for professors to see? What even are my chances of getting into grad school? I appreciate any honest feedback.
It’s not about should have. It’s all about making a plan.
You have a plan. Take it, one day at a time.
Thinking of everything to do for every day if the next six months would overwhelm anyone.
Make your plan. Fit it into chunks, month by month, week by week.
You did great, have a great GPA, great profile. Keep doing what you’re doing.
Don’t stress about the GRE. It’s not one-and-done like in the dark ages. You can take it multiple times, if necessary. (Assumes that it is offered locally several times per year.)
If you are a US citizen (yes, I know Gaumanians are citizens - my grad school roomie was from Guam – but not sure of your personal status), you could borrow funds to pay for a MA/MS thru the GradPlus program. (Not recommending debt per se, but is an option.). You could also contact individual Uni housing offices and ask about Grad Student housing.
fwiw: you would be a diversity candidate, and that is always a plus factor. Good luck.
With a 3.95 GPA and an undergrad major of psychology, you are unlikely to need a master’s degree in psychology to be competitive for a psychology PhD program. What will actually prepare you or make you look better is doing more research after undergrad, such as being a lab manager or research coordinator. The traditional place to do this is in psychology labs at universities, but you can also do it in labs in other departments (like neuroscience, psychiatry, nursing, public health, etc.) or even at non-university locations (like think tanks, nonprofits, health agencies, NGOs, government agencies or even for-profit companies depending.) There are also two-year post-baccalaureate programs you can do to get research experience - the NIH IRTA is an example of one.
All this to say - as a top student with solid research experience, it would be rather easy for you to decide to get paid for gaining more experience instead of paying for it. (Because truly, the thing of value from the master’s program would be the research experience and connections with professors, not the degree itself.) Many successful applicants to counseling and clinical psychology PhD programs have worked as lab managers or research coordinators for 2-3 years between college and graduate school.
If you are applying in the fall of 2018 to begin in the fall of 2019, you are not late on your GREs - in fact, you are very early. You would be fine waiting until the spring or early summer of 2018. That’ll give you plenty of time to retake them in the fall of 2018 if you need to.
To me, an undergrad GPA of 3.95 suggests that you are ready for graduate school. Whether this be directly into a PhD program, or to first do a Masters, is hard to say (I am not that familiar with psychology as a major).
In my experience funding for Masters programs in the US is iffy. You might want to consider schools in the US and also consider schools elsewhere, such as in Australia or Canada. Once you get a Master’s, then at least from what I have seen PhD programs are usually funded.
It is normal to feel a bit “deflated” after getting a four year degree – something that you have worked for very hard suddenly is over. “What do I do now” is a normal feeling at this point. I think that you are going to work this out and do well.
@DadTwoGirls Typically in the US, a student who wants a doctorate goes straight into a funded PhD program. The first 2 years or so of that program are spent completing master’s coursework, and the student earns the master’s aling the way in the PhD program. But they are funded from the start. Often they are TAs for one or two of those first 2 years to earn their funding.
If a student doesn’t get into a funded PhD program, sometimes they will pay to get a master’s, then take a shot at PhD programs. But those master’s are almost never funded. So this student definitely should be targeting PhD programs now so they get funding.
OP, you certainly have the GPA, which is great. Study up and take your GRE. Not sure about Guam, but in the US you can schedule it when you are ready (not just on set dates). And of course, @juillet – as always – has given great advice on beefing up your research/lab experience.
If you haven’t found it yet, the gradcafe website is a great resource.
Thank you all for the wonderful constructive feedback (and the slight boost of ego… err… confidence). I was also told to really work my personal statement/letter of intent, because it is the basic selling point of my whole predilection and desire to be in a PhD program. Any advice on this? Again, I appreciate ALL of your feedback (harsh or otherwise).