I am looking for advice on what I can do to help my chances of getting into a PhD in school psychology program in the US.
I’m Canadian, I did a B.A. in Psychology at a well reputable university but my cGPA was 2.8. I then went to a smaller university to get my honours thesis and did well in those classes and I received a second B.A. in Psychology because I transferred my credits from the first school. I have lots of research experience at different places (hospital, mental health centre, research facility) and I did psyched assessments for children and youth at a private clinic for 4 years. While working as a psychometrist I also completed a M.A. in experimental psychology. I’ve presented at 4 conferences and my name is on another poster presentation. I have two publications (not first author) and my first first author paper just got accepted to the journal with minor revisions so it will be published this summer.
This is my 3rd application cycle. I applied to PhD in school psyc programs this past year, reached out to all the profs and met with many before submitting my application. I applied to 7 schools, had 4 interviews, and was waitlisted at 2 schools. Ultimately I was offered an alternate program basically a masters to be a certified school psychologist. I accepted it to start gaining clinical skills, boost my CV with the practicum experiences and I’m going to get involved with prof or PhD student research when I’m there.
Is there anything anyone can think of that I can do to increase my chances? Should I apply this fall and then apply again next fall (when I’m in second year) if I don’t get in? Any other tips for how to boost my app? Thanks in advance :)