Graduate School

Too early to consider a graduate certificate?

Well, on the topic of adding stuff to a graduate program of study, I’m about to contradict myself. You CAN add stuff to a graduate degree program, primarily through the use of a graduate certificate to take up any elective spots, and if correctly placed they can enrich the overall program. I am seriously considering adding Cognitive Science as a graduate certificate if I am admitted to the Clinical & Community Psyc program at UNC-Charlotte.

Cognitive Science Program: http://cognisci.uncc.edu/content/view/3/2/

A Little Nervous

I just finished reading some information about the UNC Charlotte graduate program in Clinical Psychology and learned that only five students are accepted into the program each year. This makes me a little nervous about my likelihood of being accepted. My undergraduate record is not that good and it certainly doesn’t show a complete dedication to psychology, since I’ve changed majors several times and my academic record reads a little bit like it belongs to a dissociative personality disorder patient, especially in the earlier section. All of the documentation for the program makes it sound like the expected result for an applicant is to not be accepted. I worry that there are applicants that will send their applications that will have GPAs of 3.8 – 4.0 who are tons more qualified than me and have a much more concrete psychology track on their record.

Maybe I am overreacting a little. My grades for my actual psychology work are actually pretty decent, and since declaring the psychology major I have stuck with it and my academic record has been at least mostly focused on it.