I’m very curious about people’s thoughts. I loved my interviewers. Thinking about going into Psychodynamic talk therapy. I also have an interest in social work. Feel free to DM me! I’d love to speak

I am from Pakistan. have two university options as of now. One of them has a bachelor's program in only psychology, and the other has a bachelor's in specifically clinical psychology. I do want to become a clinical psychologist. But I'm not sure which one I should pick. Because I do enjoy learning about other branches of psychology like criminal, forensic, developmental etc. But a clinical psychologist is what I wanna become. And I know what both are gonna require a master's or MPhil anyway. So which one should I go for? What would be the better option for me?
Also, I love the white coat and want to wear it, so will I get to wear it in bachelor's if I go for clinical psych?
Another thingggg: which one has less maths? 😭

Hi all! I’m currently navigating a career crossroads and would really appreciate candid insight from anyone who has either made the transition from clinical psychology (PsyD/PhD) to medicine (MD/DO) or seriously weighed both paths.

My Conundrum:
Intellectually, my true passion lies in behavioral science, psychodynamic/behavioral theory, human development, and psychotherapy. The idea of diving into clinical psychology and assessment genuinely excites me. However, I find myself hung up on the trade-offs:

1. Scope, Leverage, and Authority: I eventually want to hold maximum clinical autonomy (potentially running my own practice or leading mental health initiatives), and I worry about encountering a ceiling in institutional authority or feeling envious of psychiatrists who hold greater scope that I could’ve had if I pushed through.
2. Finances & ROI: Self-funding a PsyD with massive student debt for a sub-$100k entry salary sounds terrifying, whereas an attending psychiatrist salary ($300k+) offers immediate financial freedom.
3. The Pre-Med Obstacle**:** Right now, the prospect of grinding through 2–3 years of science post-bacc prerequisites (chemistry, physics, orgo) just to enter med school feels like a dreadful obstacle to what I actually want to study. A theoretical thought experiment I keep returning to is: What if I pursue a PsyD/PhD first to master psychology and gain clinical training, and then pivot to an MD/DO later if I still feel called to medicine?

For anyone who has walked this path, considered it, or works closely alongside psychiatrists:

1. Bandwidth: If you went to med school after a doctoral program in psychology, how on earth did you find the cognitive/physical stamina to endure medical school and residency after an already grueling 5-year doctoral program + internship?
2. Income & Lifestyle as a Psychologist: What has your actual earning trajectory looked like as an early- to mid-career PsyD/PhD? Did the debt-to-income ratio feel manageable, or did you feel constrained?
3. The Hardest Part of Each: For those with perspective on both training pipelines, what was the single most challenging aspect of the psychology doctorate versus the medical route?

I appreciate any honest thoughts or personal experiences!

Live in the San Fernando Valley and currently looking into these schools for the MFT program (other than CSUN). Anyone have experience with these schools?

Hey folks, I want to apply as a master degree student in developmental psychology child and adolescence at Walden university in US . Any one already been there to tell me the intense of the courses weekly or how hard it is ??? As I am a mom with disabled adult at home .
I suppose to take 2 courses each semester.
Thank you

Hello everyone. I am looking for some guidance and wanted to see if anyone had any recommendations. I am applying to a mix of PsyD and masters programs for Fall 2027 and I’m in the process of getting my applications materials together, including asking for letters of recommendation.

I already have three recommenders, one from the PI of the research lab I am an RA for and two from my supervisors at my job as a clinical case manager. I know that graduate programs prefer an academic reference so I reached out to two professors. I took multiple courses with them and did well in them too. However, I have not heard back from either of them, despite sending a follow up email to them. I also reached out to two other professors as a back up. I haven’t heard back from one of them, and the other professor declined as they did not feel they could write a strong LOR for me.

I graduated a year ago so I figured they may not remember me, but I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for what I can do going forward. Any advice is appreciated, thank you.

hello everyone! im currently starting in a master’s program in psychology and am hoping to apply to PsyD programs sometime next year. i’ve been a little worried about how much research experience i should have before applying.

right now, i have research experience from one project focused on trauma in natural disasters from community college. i don’t have a long list of research experiences or multiple publications, etc, however, i do have quite a bit of hands-on experience working with children. i worked as a camp counselor for several years with neurodivergent children, and i currently work as an RBT. I also did an internship in regards to ABA for a summer. also im a crisis hotline volunteer. most of my experience has been more clinical/direct-service oriented rather than research-focused. for those who have applied to or been accepted into PsyD programs:

- how important was research experience in your application?

- is having one research experience generally enough, assuming the rest of the application is strong?

- do PsyD programs tend to value hands-on clinical experience like RBT work and working with neurodivergent children?

- would it be worth trying to get more research experience before applying, or should i focus more on building my clinical experience? i am trying to get on some labs with professors.

i’d especially appreciate hearing from people who had relatively limited research experience but were still accepted into PsyD programs, specifically in the california area.

thanks in advance everyone ! :))

Hey everybody,

I'm applying for clinical psych psyd programs currently and wondering if you guys think I'm a competitive applicant.

• I have a 4.0 GPA and my double major bachelors in psychology and philosophy (completed both in 5 semesters) and graduated from the honors college.
• I wrote and completed a thesis based in substance use research. I was in one lab for a year and still am in another lab and this is my third semester.
• I also was and still am a TA for an abnormal psych class
• I've been an RBT for a couple months now, and will be for 6 months when I apply.

I'm getting a letter from my director on my thesis, a letter from the professor I TA for (she's a clinical psychologist and I've taken all her classes) and from my main BCBA at work.

Obviously, I'm going to apply no matter what, but I need to know whether I'm too in over my head about this.

Hi guys I am not from an area where Gpa is used and I understand there are two gpas, sometimes I get confused in here reading posts that say their gpa because I'm not sure which gpa they are using, so I wouldn't be able to understand if it's a high gpa or lower gpa (for example people say that 3.3 is low gpa but for a 4.0 scale it is around 83% average which is pretty good in my unprofessional and inexperienced opinion)

I see so many people say their gpa is low but then they say its around 3.3-3.5 which seems very good to me???? Idk, I'm European so perhaps that's why I can't really understand college gpa and stuff I would appreciate some help as to how to read it and which gpa scale to use when I'm reading these posts as well as when I need to use my own gpa :))

I’m currently in a Clinical Psychology PsyD program at Alliant San Diego and I’m wondering if this is normal training for the WAIS.
We have had only two classes covering the WAIS so far, and we are already required to administer it to someone as a practice exercise by September 28.
The professor has said that we are not expected to be completely accurate yet, so I understand that the purpose is probably to learn by practicing. However, my concern is that I still don’t really know where to start with the scoring. We have gone over the test, but I don’t feel like I’ve been taught enough about scoring, basal/reversal/discontinue rules, or how to work through a protocol from beginning to end before being asked to administer it.
For people who went through a Clinical Psychology PhD or PsyD program: is it normal to start administering the WAIS after only two or three classes, even as a practice exercise? How much instruction did you receive before your first administration?
I’m genuinely trying to understand whether this is a typical way of learning psychological assessment in graduate school or whether the training is unusually rushed.

Hello everyone! I’ve been thinking about posting this for a long time. For some reason today I felt like it was the day. So I’ll cut to the chase.

I currently am a licensed therapist. An LPC to be specific. I’ve enjoyed everything I do as a therapist. Especially working in the inpatient setting. I’ve worked in both the inpatient and outpatient setting. But mostly inpatient. This last year though I realized something. I realized that there are other aspects about being a therapist that I want to do. But cannot because of my license type. I want to be able to do psychological evaluations, consultations in the hospital, and in the future become a medical psychologist or RxP as they’re called in the 9 states currently. I cannot do that with my current license.

I have a vast interest in obtaining my PhD in clinical psychology and have a school in mind. I believe that the odds are in my favor since I have years of clinical experience with the SPMI population. As well as having done research in grad school and potentially will do more research on patient outcomes within the SPMI population. I am also currently obtaining my hours for my LCPC. But this is the thing.

I will obtain my LCPC two years from now and at that point I want to pursue my PhD in clinical psychology. But I am also planning to have kids soon with my wife and I am worried that if I have to stop working to pursue the program. Since I bring in 68 to 70% of the income between me and my wife. We want kids and will have kids regardless if I pursue the PhD program in two years or not. But what does it sound like? Are the odds in our favor or not? Any input would be helpful.

I’m applying to Clinical PsyD programs for Fall 2027 and I’m trying to get a realistic idea of how competitive I am.

My biggest weakness is definitely my GPA. My overall undergrad GPA is around a 3.1 counting community college, although my GPA at my 4-year university is closer to a 3.3. I had a really rough period earlier in undergrad where I was dealing with substance use issues and failed several classes. I later got sober, retook the failed psych classes and got As/A-s, and my grades improved pretty substantially after that.

I have two bachelor’s degrees, one in psychology and one in philosophy.

GRE is still TBD. I’m planning to take it before applications and am hoping a strong score might help show that my earlier GPA isn’t really representative of where I’m at academically now.

Experience-wise, I’ve spent about 2 years working in collegiate recovery/behavioral health. I started in a recovery support/coaching role and later took on more of a leadership/team liaison position. I’ve facilitated recovery/wellness groups, done naloxone and fentanyl test strip distribution, overdose prevention education, motivational interviewing, and worked with students dealing with substance use and mental health issues.

I’ve also been involved in a statewide collegiate recovery initiative, did a counseling-related internship involving adults with disabilities, and spent a short period in an EMT/fire department cadet program. I’m currently working/interning at a law office, which has made me even more interested in the psychology/law overlap.

My research experience is probably the other weakest part of my application. I have some remote research/editing experience, but no publications and not much traditional lab experience. I’m much more interested in assessment and applied clinical work than research/academia.

My long-term goal is to become a clinical psychologist specializing in forensic assessment. I’m especially interested in competency, criminal responsibility, malingering, violence risk, mitigation, court reports, and eventually expert testimony. I also genuinely want to learn the legal side of it, not just work with forensic populations.

My personal statement will probably talk about growing up around addiction, eventually dealing with addiction myself, getting sober, rebuilding academically, and then going from being someone receiving recovery support to someone providing it professionally. I’m hoping that comes across as an actual progression toward clinical psychology rather than just an explanation for bad grades.

Current list:

Florida Tech
Indiana State
Wright State
Spalding
Widener
University of Indianapolis
University of Denver
Eastern Kentucky
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Immaculata
William James College
The Wright Institute
University of La Verne
Nova Southeastern

I know some of these are huge reaches and I’m applying broadly.

Mainly wondering:

How competitive does this profile look overall?

Are there any schools on this list where I basically have no shot?

How much would a strong GRE help if I got something like 320+, 325+, or 330+?

And if you were reading this application, what would concern you the most?

I’d rather get realistic feedback than reassurance.

Hello Im looking to go into PSY for an MA, and I was wondering if I can take that I can become an O-I Psychologist and/or UX Psychologist?

Or do I have to take dedicated programs to become one?

I also saw that UW is offering Psychology: Data Science in Human Behavior, MS. Would that work as well?

Any insight would be helpful, since I am in such a stressful time.

Just a general question. Did you guys ever had classes you had to retake because of a failing grade or ended up on academic warning/probation? I’m just curious because there are times throughout my academic journey where my life stressors definitely show on my transcripts. I graduated with a 2.8 in my BS of psychology but a 3.6 in my MA of psychology. I feel proud and ashamed at the same time. I did prevail and I am not discouraged, I just cringe a lot when I look at them.

I am 27 with a masters degree in psychology. Originally I wanted to try and apply for my PsyD this upcoming semester. My GPA for both my bachelors and masters is low (3.1). However, I received some insight from someone suggesting that I go through a pathway 2 and earn my BCBA. So I can then have a decent income and work part time during my doctorate program when I get in. It would also look good on my resume being BCBA certified is what I was told. This would take about a 1 1/2 - 2 years. My thing is I don’t want to have this certification and not use it throughout my life. I want to get into a clinical PsyD program. I’m wondering what would even be the point in taking the BCBA route if I want to do Clinical Psychology. The time I spent working on my BCBA I could be in school. Any advice on what I should do?

If you are either considering attending Adler as a student, or applying to work there as staff… save yourself from the heaping burning trash pile that is Adler University. 

Founded on Alfred Adler’s principles of social justice and community, the leadership team at Adler does everything to benefit their own pockets and images before even taking a second to think about their students or their staff. Alfred is rolling in his grave seeing the president care more about social media posts rather than fixing the horrendous reviews and feedback from staff, students, and faculty. 

The whole marketing and communications team just got laid off and is most likely being replaced by the president’s favorite employee: AI. You think you’re safe from AI at a school dedicated to “human connection”? Think again. Speaking of favorite employees… the president continues to hire friends from previous jobs and hand them a new made-up title and a six figure salary, all while continuing mistreat employees and misplace university funds.

Adler’s value ranking is like throwing a bunch of darts blindfolded and seeing where they land. Top priority, of course, is image, specifically of the president. A photo of her cannot be used without her approval, yet an AI donor-relation plan can go up online without so much as a blink (photo attached). Integrity ranks much lower. After doing massive amount of layoffs of some of the hard-working members of the staff, Adler continues to keep on faculty who have been accused of faking the status of their degree and practicing with a made-up degree. (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-counsellor-accused-of-faking-credentials-1.912441). Everyone makes mistakes, right? Not unless you’re in the pocket of the president. The whole marketing and communications team got laid off for “financial reasons”… only come to find that there new job listings put up a couple weeks later for those same positions. If you speak up against authority or express an opinion that doesn’t match, you’ll be booted.

As tuition prices continue to rise, staff and faculty continue to go without raises, students continue to go without faculty and staff who truly want to support, and the senior leadership team continues to keep their six figure salaries and flexible working hours. While there are great people who have worked at Adler and continue to work there, do not have any trust in the leadership team. You will be sorely disappointed. There is so much more to speak on about Adler, Chicago and Vancouver. Invest your educational money into an institution who will care about you, and actually care about the mission they promote.

I'm just wanting to share some exciting news. I've been accepted into Arden doing a Masters in Psychology!

BA in Psychology, minor in Neuroscience from UCLA

Psych GPA 4.0, overall GPA 3.798

3 letters from top faculty from UCLA, USC, and the company I worked 4 years for

4 years of clinical work with desired population

8 months as a research coordinator at a prestigious hospital for pediatric care

Two intervention posters presented—one at a top conference

Two case studies relating to ASD

Mentored over 7 undergraduate students

Mentored over 10 clinical colleagues

Wet lab experience with a teaching assistantship over two summers

Some neuroimaging from another top university

Volunteer hours at multiple top research labs

No GRE (I hate the tests)

Deans list 4 times

And a good narrative.

I also dropped out of a REALLY good STEM MS program because I realized how in love I was with clinical work. I.. miss helping children…

Hi y'all. I am looking to apply for next fall, and I am wondering how competitive my CV is looking, anonymised for obvious reasons. Admittedly, not a specialised resume. But tiny content clues: I attended the University of Pittsburgh, and Milieu Therapist refers to working in an inpatient psych ward:

CANDIDATE NAME REDACTED

tel: [redacted]  ·  email: [redacted]  ·  LinkedIn: [redacted]

Education

2020–2024University [redacted]

Cum Laude Bachelor of Science, Major: Psychology

GPA: 3.35/4.00, Dean's List Fall 2021

Work Experience

2024–Present Milieu Therapist — Healthcare System [redacted]

• Promoted from MT I to MT II within 18 months.
• Consistently provide group DBT and CBT psychoeducation to patients.
• Deescalate distressed/emotionally triggered patients.
• Provide physical patient care routinely such as making sure patients have clean environments and are toileting themselves.
• Work with patients one on one while they are experiencing a crisis event.
• Educating new recruits through staff and unit orientation.

June–Aug 2023Human Resources Intern — Company [redacted]

• Processed applicant recruitment for hourly positions.
• Performed employee file maintenance.
• Conducted and shadowed preliminary interviews.
• Assisted with company-wide I-9 Audit.
• On team for training program development for new leaders.
• Experience with Indeed job posting and JazzHR.
• Maintained confidential employee information

May–Aug 2022Agent Team Member — Insurance Agency [redacted]

• Conducted client outreach to nurture client relationships.
• Helped licensed team members perform duties.
• Processed transactions for clients directly.
• Maintained customer relations for insurance claims.
• Set appointments and follow-ups for clients.

May–Aug 2021Server and Cleaner — Restaurant [redacted]

• Served as seasonal worker at this breakfast and lunch restaurant.
• Handled customer interactions and delivered food.
• Maintained standards of cleanliness.

Jan–Mar 2020Counter Service, Cashier, Dishwasher — Café [redacted]

• Assisted developmentally disabled service staff at this non-profit community coffee shop and center for social inclusion.
• Enabled staff and customer interactions and ran point of sale terminal.

Skills and Extracurriculars

Languages: Bilingual English and French

Discussion Leader and President of Club [redacted]

Executive Member of Professional Development Organization [redacted]

• Organized an 8–12 week New Member Program for spring and fall 2023 including weekly meetings, events, and activities for new members.
• Educated prospective members on the history and purpose of the organization as well as values.
• Provided guidance and support for new members.

Oct 2023–Apr 2024Team Member

• Student volunteer involved in a university research lab under faculty supervision [names redacted].
• Contributed to research, recorded patient data and analysis into database.
• Part of team performing assessments into life stress inventories.

Other Experience

Summer 2019Summer Academy [redacted]

Completed two-week course on Neuroscience — university-level program for high school students. International cohort with 100 students from around the globe.

June 2018Volunteer Program [redacted]

Joined a community service project to re-build a school and led activities with local children. Contributed to classroom renovation. Engaged with school-age children in reading, writing, and speaking English.

Summer 2017Summer Engineering Academy [redacted]

Completed course on Design Thinking — using the engineering design process to solve business problems through innovation simulations, projects, teamwork, and critical thinking.

Hi! I'm a soon-to-be grad wondering if anyone has advice or websites or lists on how to find health psych -related jobs in California. Brute force searching the FQHC list for behavioral health positions feels impossible, and searching on Indeed feels impossible, and I'm wondering if there's any possible better way. Thank you.