Colorado Technical University

Chances getting into a Doctoral Program?

I'm about to end my Junior year and I have started looking at some schools i want to apply for Graduate school. I know my grades aren't great and I was wondering what are my chances of getting into a Doctoral program (Clinical Psych perhaps). I'm getting my BA in Psych and I have cumulative 2.9 GPA, I did a student-group research project and have not taken my GRE's yet (but studying). Is there anything that I can do to improve my chances?

Public Comments

1. It depends on where you are in your degree. If this is your final year, then probably not. If you've got time left, then make the most of the years ahead of you to improve your grades. If you've had any mitigating circumstances, you could state those on your application. Get the best references you can. Your activities out of the classroom is the best way to make up for it (although stellar grades and standardized test scores are the way to go PRIMARILY). I think that you'll have to do a master's degree first, then go for the PhD. I think that's what you should be counting and focusing on. Make sure you apply for lots of masters' programs as well.
2. Clinical Psych is more competitive than other graduate psych programs. If you have related experience (working in couselling within a hospital for example), that might balance out the grades. Some grad school focus on your last year of studies, so examine all the admission criteria carefully. Finally, if you know a prof well in a targeted clinical psych program, they may agree to work with you (which holds some weight in grad school). Good luck!