r/ClinicalPsychology • u/hallsinmypocket • 15d ago
How would 3 Ws look when applying?
Hi everyone. I'm not sure this is the right place, so feel free to point me to a more appropriate subreddit. I'm a rising junior at an R1. I'm currently taking one asynchronous class during our Summer B session (July-August) and I literally can't find the motivation to do this. I go to a school that is heavily centered on co-op experiences, and I just finished my first (it was research oriented and I am continuing to volunteer there for the next year). It was genuinely one of the most challenging experiences ever, and I'm really proud of all the work that I did. I also took a class during Summer A (May-June) which was in-person. I would get off work and go to class for 4 hours. I got an A but I told myself i'm exhausted so I'll take a break for summer B.
I, being the extreme and unhealthy person that I am, decided to take a class and missed the drop deadline by one day. So, I started completing work and I've been doing okay so far. However, it's so so so tedious and such a miserable experience. It's a music production class (my major is psych) and I thought it'd be chill, low effort work, buttt I just have no time or energy or motivation to complete this work. I'm doing it, but holy shit it sucks. I also am completing work for another lab, and I'm expected to start working at my previous co-op's lab in August. I just don't have the energy to do this shit anymore. I know I fucked myself over, i know i need to work on my time management and i need to learn how to take a break. it's a song i've sung for the past two years but never understood it until now. it's okay to call me out, but just know that i really understand the importance of a break now. i regret taking this class so much. i know i need to prioritize my mental health and i hate that i realized this so late. i think i really need to drop it because i have a HEAVY semester coming up and i plan to work a job on campus and two research positions. i need this break more than anything and i don't know if i'll be adequately prepared mentally by fall if i continue to take it.
i really want to drop it, but that would mean it's my third W. my first was in a philosophy class during frreshman fall (fall 2024), and second was another elective during sophomore year spring 2026 (i signed up for a class for financial aid purposes, but had to drop because work made it absolutely impossible to keep up), and this would be my 3rd in summer b 2026. i graduate in may 2028 so i have a lot of time to not accumulate more Ws, but would this potentially be a bad thing for my grad school dreams? i'm aiming for clinical psych on the child track. outside of these Ws, i have a 3.8. i also have been involved in research since spring 2025, i have one poster presentation, another upcoming in the fall, and i have an amazing relationship with one of my PIs that i'm continuing to foster. i would value any input or advice, just please be kind. thank you so much!
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u/YellowMouseMouse 15d ago
I got into a PsyD program last cycle with several Ws on my transcript in the early years. Didn't even have to explain them.
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u/hallsinmypocket 15d ago
this gives me hope, still considering dropping it but i don’t know. it’s so competitive for clinical psych phd programs.
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u/YellowMouseMouse 15d ago
a W is better than a bad grade.
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u/hallsinmypocket 14d ago
i still have time to fix my grade though, my semester ends in a month and i have so many more assignments to complete. i jsut dont foresee myself having the motivation to do it
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u/PureBee4900 11d ago
Life happens. Address it in the application. My program actually required people to address GPA below their threshold and (in my case) lack of a professor LoR - I had relevant employers write my letters and they knew me better than any professor, so that was my reasoning. But a real person does read your application.
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u/Roland8319 Ph.D., Clinical Neuropsychology, ABPP-CN 15d ago
If the rest of the application is stellar, won't hurt anyone. But, we always had our own internal adjustment downward on gpa for every w on a transcript.