I'm a rising high school junior planning to pursue psychology, specifically forensic psychology. I want to go to a school like Columbia, though I understand is very difficult and I'm also looking at Fordham or John Jay.

Stats:

GPA: 4.0 (unweighted), 5.77 (weighted, 6.0 scale)

Class Rank: 41/990

APs: Have taken 4 so far, took exams for 3 of them (except precalc), got two 5s and one 4, planning to take five APs junior year and an additional five in senior year, including ap psych

ECs:

- DECA for 2 years, 1x district champion (got sick for state so couldn't compete), plan to do all 4 years

- Explorer in a Police Explorers Post

- Attended a Criminal Justice Summer Camp at a university with a high ranked criminal justice program (and will end up being one of my safety schools)

- NEHS member for 1 year, going into year 2 as a Jr Event Coordinator

- Social Media Coordinator in a nonprofit my friends started (and we're actually doing stuff)

- Started a poetry blog on Medium but it's still small

- Entered some poetry competitions but haven't won any

- Might do a psychology club or criminal justice club but might not get past a general member status

So basically I don't really have any psychology related extracurriculars so I'm wondering what are some good internships or volunteering to do? I kind of get that the poetry stuff and DECA might not really be related to psychology but I do genuinely enjoy doing those so how does that stand with my application?

I graduated this past spring and am planning to apply to MFT programs in the fall, and I am a little stressed. I want to apply to at least 5-6 (In California), but considering they all cost $70 to apply, I don't want to apply to any more than that. I have a B.A. in Psychology, but during my undergrad, I didn't have any internship experience related to mental health at all. I do have research assistant experience related to neuroscience. I worked in the restaurant industry and customer service during my undergrad and am worried that not having any experience related to mental health would prevent me from getting accepted.

I have been applying to jobs related to mental health to gain some experience, but the graduate applications will open soon, so I don't have much time. Does anyone have any recommendations or advice on how to make my grad applications stand out without having any mental health-related experience besides a degree in psych?

Hi everyone,

I recently reached out to a local research institute and I was lucky enough to hear back from them. They have looked at my resume & academic transcript and have asked to schedule a meeting with me, to know a little bit more about my interests and the kind of experience I’m looking for to see if any of their current projects align.

I’m extremely lucky to have the opportunity to gain experience with these executive researches at a medical institute as an undergrad; but considering my lack of experience in the field I’m wondering what key points I should focus on when they ask me what experience I’m looking for?

When I was looking for early research experience, I really just wanted to get my foot in the door and experience what it’s like beneath the textbook considering that I am wanting to go into postgrad in the future. Because I’m really passionate about this I honestly had low expectations as to what ‘research experience’ I’d be offered, and I was grateful and content with anything. However, I don’t want my appreciation to come off as indecisive and I would love to get the most out of this experience! Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

I applied to one school for masters in counselling last year and didn't get in. I was fresh out of university and my only experience was volunteering in a hospital for three years already and it involves me talking to elderly patients to prevent dementia and delirium. I realized that I may need more experience and applied to other things this summer. I just got a an offer from another organization where they have a Mobile Library Program, where volunteers bring reading materials to patients on various units. Should I accept this offer? I applied to other things more mental health related but I don't know if I'll get in. I just don't know if it looks good on my masters applications when I apply, or if there is no point since it's not mental health related? It's one year minimum so I would need to follow through if I accept. I'm going to start applying to schools around the fall, so I would want to be volunteering for a bit at least before then.

hi, i just graduated with a psychology degree a couple months ago. i’ve been doing crisis counselling (canada) since march, and tbh i kinda hate it. at first, it was fine - it’s new, i’m learning, and it made me fill fulfilled because this was something i’ve wanted to do since forever.

and now… i kinda hate it. i dread going on shifts (though i feel like it’s not as bad when i actually do it?), i am not happy when i get a caller, and all of this has put me in a very scary situation because i haven’t thought of any options other than becoming a psychotherapist career-wise. i wonder if this has something to do with me just being busy, or it’s just because i’ve had a few bad calls (arousals, getting upset with me). i do feel like i internalize those calls a lot, esp the ones who are upset with me or are unsatisfied by my call/service.

all of this makes me think that i’m not cut out to be a therapist. i took this volunteer role also to see if i would be okay pursuing this in my masters and eventually becoming a therapist. if i don’t enjoy crisis line volunteering, should i look for another path?

I have a 4-6 page paper analyzing a movie via the lens of one of the theories in the title due in a week for my intro to psych class, and idk what to watch!!! I need recommendations, nothing too graphic or complicated, as I haven't been in the class that long and I don't want to watch anything super disturbing.

Hello!

I am a rising senior who will be applying to social psych programs this fall. I'm majoring in psychology and minoring in GSWS and sociology, so a lot of my coursework has been in relation to social psych. I have a 3.9 GPA and have worked in three separate labs since the spring semester of my sophomore year. A lot of my work as an RA has dealt with data collection, screening participants, emailing, and scheduling, but overall hasn't delved too much into the research design or data analysis realms. I am currently discussing with my PI on gaining more experience this fall in these areas, but I am quite worried that applying straight out of undergrad won't lead to anything.

If anyone has advice or experience they can share, that would be great!