cookderosa Wrote:>.


I have an ego boost for you. Here is a link to a top clinical psychology program with VERY tough admission standards:
Admission to Clinical and Counseling Psychology Degree Programs

alissaroot Wrote:That IS an ego boost. How did you know I have a crush on Cornell? I don't imagine ever being able to go there, but their open enrollment certificate programs interest me. Now that I suddenly only have a handful of exams left, I had better start researching graduate schools more closely! How exciting! I never would have imagined this all six months ago. When they announced the closing of my factory, I went home and cried. Now I think it is going to end up being the best thing that ever happened to me. It was just the kick in the rear I needed to move forward with my life, rather than standing still. I can't wait to see what happens next.

alissaroot Wrote:That IS an ego boost. How did you know I have a crush on Cornell? I don't imagine ever being able to go there, but their open enrollment certificate programs interest me. Now that I suddenly only have a handful of exams left, I had better start researching graduate schools more closely! How exciting! I never would have imagined this all six months ago. When they announced the closing of my factory, I went home and cried. Now I think it is going to end up being the best thing that ever happened to me. It was just the kick in the rear I needed to move forward with my life, rather than standing still. I can't wait to see what happens next.

marianc. Wrote:Congratulations!!!! I didn't see your prior posts. What did you use to prepare and for how long? Are you using this for grad school or a second degree?

alissaroot Wrote:I used all the prep books out there, Princeton Review, ARCO, REA, Kaplan, etc. I also watched the Yale lectures, which I think helped me answer a lot of questions. I studied for about nine weeks, and it was pretty much psychology, psychology, psychology for every waking moment during that nine weeks. I made flashcards of my own in addition to the IC ones, and I wallpapered my kitchen with diagrams of the brain, neurons, and sensory systems. I was like a woman obsessed. I worked really hard on this. I bought all those books (used), but my total cost, including the testing fee, was still less than $250 for 27 credits (3 are duplicated by what I already had) eighteen of those are upper level. Nice for my wallet!

I also think that guessing on the ones you don't know is good strategy. Of course, try some practice tests with and some without guessing, to see what it really does to your score. My lowest scores were on the ones where I did not guess for fear of the scoring penalty. It is a little heartbreaking to subtract a bunch of points for that penalty, but my overall score improved so dramatically, it was clear that I needed to guess.

Other books I would recommend:

Psychology by Peter Gray

The Norton Psychology Reader by...Gary Norton, I think?

Intro. to Psychology by Atkinson, Atkinson, Smith, and Bem

I am actually using this for my first degree ever, but I plan to do something with open enrollment for a Master's, or I might just go for a certificate somewhere. This is not the way to go for everyone for their first degree, especially if a person plans to pursue a highly competitive grad school program. I don't see that in my personal future, so no biggie for me. It would just depend on what you plan to do with your degree and your own personal situation. But if you are taking it for grad school purposes, my advice is still good. If my methods were effective for someone with hardly any prior knowledge, and a lifelong 'C' student at that, imagine how well someone smarter with more basic psychology knowledge could do? It IS possible to do well on the GRE, as long as you work hard at it. A little tenacity goes a long way.

Also, I received a response about whether or not I need to take anything else to declare a major in psychology, and the adviser said that my score was high enough. I thought I would still need Statistics, at least, but she didn't tell me to take anything else. So I still think I am going to leave it be for now. I think it's like eighty bucks to change majors and have everything "reevaluated" so I might as well just wait to see how the GRE Literature likes me.