Hi fieldmate :D I was a psychology major in undergrad and just finished a round of applications to programs. I applied mostly out of field but the Ph.D program I'm attending next year is an interdisciplinary psychology/public health program, so I had to apply to both departments.
Your stats look good, especially that GPA -- make sure to support it with a good GRE score. You want to aim for at least a 1200 for psychology programs.
1. What exactly are the GREs like??? I didn't have to take the SATs and I am nervous.Don't be nervous about it, you will psych yourself out and do worse. I did my senior thesis on self-regulation and people who believe they can't do something often don't do well, and vice versa. With good preparation and practice you can be a whiz at the GRE thing, and it really is not as intimidating as it may seem
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3. How hard is it to skip directly to the PhD?In psychology, it really depends on your background AND the departments to which you are applying. When I visited my program after being admitted straight from undergrad, I found out that in both of my departments, it is uncommon for students to get in without a master's degree (and in the field of public health in general, there are very few programs that let people into Ph.Ds without a master's). But I had two and a half years of research assistantship experience, I had done internships in the field, and I studied abroad and completed an independent study and was completing a senior thesis. (Plus I think I wrote a good personal statement.) My GPA wasn't that high (a 3.4) but I had really high GRE scores. And I know that I had strong recommendations
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Your stats look good, especially that GPA -- make sure to support it with a good GRE score. You want to aim for at least a 1200 for psychology programs.
1. What exactly are the GREs like??? I didn't have to take the SATs and I am nervous.Don't be nervous about it, you will psych yourself out and do worse. I did my senior thesis on self-regulation and people who believe they can't do something often don't do well, and vice versa. With good preparation and practice you can be a whiz at the GRE thing, and it really is not as intimidating as it may seem ( ... )
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5. What else should I be doing to boost my chances of getting into a PhD program?-Take another stats class, if one is offered at your school ( ... )
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