I know that having some kind of real-world experience in mental health can make you a more attractive candidate for a Masters application - but specifically what kind of experience would be valuable?

So, as the title suggested, I am currently planning on my research proposal focusing on collectivism culture orientation in relations to extraversion.

Currently I am considering on the BFI-2 and ABPT, but I thought about especially isolating the Extraversion questionnaire? And on the internal consistency validity, any tips on where to find them? Thank you!

I recently graduated but I have no idea what to do next. Is it possible to go to grad school without any prior research/volunteering experience. What did you do after getting your bachelors.

Hey guys,

Are there any onshore international students that are applying for MCP or MPP programs in AUS? I have applied for 20+ unis and I have gotten 1 offer and just 1 interview so far. Both are interstate. I dont seem to get in anywhere in VIC.

Has anyone from the past years share if you've gotten into the VIC unis as an on shore international student?

Thanks!

Hello! I am in the process of applying for Ontario Masters programs in the social or developmental psychology fields (dependent on the school) and I am, to put it simply, terrified. I graduated with my BSc in General Psychology this year- I was Magna Cum Laude with a 3.8 GPA. All of my degree-related courses were finished with an A. Additionally, I am a member of Psi Chi, completed a Senior thesis project, and assisted my professor in soon-to-be-published research. Unfortunately, I do not have much hands-on lab experience, as the university I attended did not have a psych lab.

The reason I am rattling off any accomplishment I can think of is because I am haunted by the prospect of not getting into graduate school. I am worried that my lack of research experience is going to be my downfall here. Programs are competitive, and I know that it will be even more difficult being an international student. I just want this so, so bad.

Does anyone have any application advice/thoughts about my chances of getting into these programs? I'll list the programs/schools I am applying to for more context:

• U of Guelph: Applied Social Psych
• Trent U: Developmental Psych
• Lakehead U: Psychological Science
• Brock U: Social/Personality Psych
• Carleton U: Personality/Social Psych
• McMaster U: Psychology
• Western U: Social, Personality, and Developmental Psych
• Northern Michigan U: Experimental Psychology

I’m applying to PhD programs and while I do have clear research interests in one field (counseling / clinical). Those interests can also cross over to I/O and cognitive so I was going to apply to some of those programs too. Career wise I really just want to work with people, I think I’d love anything in the psychology field.

Like ik shame around falling behind and not followig arbitrary milestones by a certain age is embarrassing, but is it really thattt bad?? I transferred to bachelor of psych honours in the second sem of my 2nd year, and I had to pick a new minor. Which led to me choosing to extend my 3rd year across 3 sems. That took up 2025 + 2026. I was keen on doing an external certification during my leave of asence but deaths in the family and travel abroad ruined that and now Im going back for honours next year.

But to get the grades I want and the experience I need to have a chance at masters, the logical course of action seems to be going for part time. But I feel like finishing honours at 24 and then if Im lucky enough, masters at 25 and 26 is something that everyone around me is pushing back on HARD.

IDK i just feel really stuck, and I know maybe there's a chance if i switch up and lock in that i wouldn't need to go part time, but i don't know if im tough enough or smart enough to handle all of that. It doesn't help that my family has an expectation that I was supposed to graduate with masters by 23, and is already mad about me extending 3rd year... fml

EDIT

I did not expect this post of all my questions to get this much response, I feel like I accidentally created engagement bait in a moment of just overthinking my life. Thank you to the people who gave me encouragements and grounded my thoughts. The people in my family, friends and overall culture are just very heriarchical and controlling in terms of social milestones. Me and others who I know who take less traditional pathways are often at the forefront of dealing with a lot of ridicule, backlash, false rumours and smear campaigns. Especially as women.

I myself know that 26 is a baby and that just because I may take the longer route doesn't mean that it's a moral failure. But when you're surrounded by the pressures I am, it can make you feel like you're a lost cause and there's no hope. The responses helped me get a check on my anxiety and made me feel a lot less "wrong" about wanting to change my timeline.

As for those of you who were enraged for some reason by the concept of a young student feeling confused and "left behind" in a time where, on social media, we're bombarded with 30 million videos of 15 year old CEOs everyday, to the point you felt the need to make snide comments about how I could possibly be affected by social pressure after studying psychology (as if a bachelor is the key to reaching nirvana??), I suggest if you guys want to go into counselling or therapy work, please never take clients from culturally diverse backgrounds. Because you don't have the bandwidth to understand how people come from different walks of life beyond just speaking the sentence.

Hi everyone! I'm currently a high school student taking college courses through dual enrollment, and I'm on track to graduate with my associate's degree in psychology this year.

I've taken several psychology courses and originally kept my notes in Google Docs, but things started getting really messy, as you can imagine. So I decided to make a website called ScholarPsych based on the courses I've taken and other resources I use, such as OpenStax and the Noba Project.

Each module includes vocabulary, key figures, notes, and study tools to help review psychology concepts. It's for anyone interested in psychology or looking to review the basics. I plan to add more advanced material as I continue my education.

https://scholarpsych.org/

Hi everyone, do you think it’s a good idea to take a year-long break to gain more experience before applying to master’s programs? I know it’s quite subjective, I just never thought I would consider it and am feeling very conflicted at the moment. If you have taken a year off after honours (or longer), do you regret it? Did it help with your postgraduate applications? Although I am based in Australia, I welcome any international perspectives.

Wondering how others are going! I've had an interview for Victoria University but haven't heard back from any of the others. Nervous time!

I recently secured a permanent Imaging Support Worker position at my local NHS hospital. It is a weekend-only role, which is perfect for me since I am a first-year psychology undergraduate student (just started in September 2026).

However, I recently read that DClinPsych courses specifically look for support worker roles within mental health settings. This is worrying as I dont know if I was happy about getting a support worker job in the nhs for nothing

I’m trying to figure out what else I can do alongside this job to build my profile. My uni schedule is 4 days a week, with online classes on Mondays and a completely free day on Wednesdays.

Any help or advice on how to make the most of my time and whether this job is actually useful would be highly appreciated!

I’m not really sure how I got into this situation. But originally I majored in psych and wanted to be a researcher. But then as I got into research I saw how cut throat it was and how reliant on social skills it actually was. I fell behind really quickly and although I did well in school and got into a really good college, I always had to spend hours studying and reading things multiple times to understand. I had to take the minimum number of classes and I could not have a job or hobbies. And so I quickly was overwhelmed with the high intelligence it took to advance in the research field as well. I should also mention I have autism. I struggle with talking to people and with facial expressions. I’m 26F and since graduated I’ve been working in special ed but even then I’ve been getting complaints that my reaction time isn’t fast enough and I even have a hard time getting through to kids and coworkers will often gossip about me. And tbh the students with behavioral issues have greatly overwhelmed me. I thought about becoming a therapist but with my auditory processing issues (also very relevant) and social deficits I don’t even think that job is feasible. So overall yea my social skills and feeling easily overstimulated and my auditory processing issues make me feel extremely lost. I wish there was just some job I could just do work for without talking to anyone and just be virtual and based on the work I put in, not my social skills or how friendly I seem. I’m feeling quite concerned and could use some guidance

Posting on behalf of my wife, as we’re considering moving to Australia.

She has a 3-year Bachelor’s in Psychology and a 1-year Master’s in Clinical Psychology from a Dutch University, including a 3-month clinical internship.

She’s also currently working as a Youth and Family Counsellor in Canada, as she can’t become registered here without additional schooling.

We’re trying to understand whether these qualifications would be sufficient for provisional registration through Ahpra, and what she’d need to do to become fully registered.

We know someone with the same length of university education who successfully obtained provisional registration, is this normal?

Has anyone gone through this process with a similar European degree? Would she likely qualify for the 210-hour transitional program, or need the 1,500-hour internship or further study?

Any experiences or advice would be really appreciated. Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I’m an international student trying to get into psychology, and honestly, it’s been a lot. Assistant psych, RA, and PWP roles are so competitive, and having to think about visas and sponsorship on top of that makes it even harder. I’ve often wished I had people to talk to who actually get it.

So I’m starting a small, informal monthly meet-up online. The idea is just to chat about the stuff we’re all dealing with: the job hunt, sharing resources, figuring out our values and identity, different routes towards clinical psychology, and what working in this field is really like.

To be upfront, it won’t get anyone a job. It’s just a space to connect and feel a bit less alone in it all.

International students are especially welcome, but home students are more than welcome too. Clinical, research, or still figuring it out, all good.

If you’re up for it, drop a comment and I’ll reach out to you! I’ll use everyone’s replies to find a time that works for most people.

Would love to meet some of you!

Out of interest, what WAM have people gotten to get into Master’s of Clinical Psychology with? Also is there a chance it becomes easier to get into MCP with the new changes being proposed?

Hey everyone!

I’m currently a junior undergrad majoring in psychology at the University of Mary Washington in Virginia. I’m starting to look ahead at applying to graduate school, but I’m feeling a little overwhelmed on how to position myself.
Unfortunately, UMW doesn’t have a master's or graduate program for psychology, so I don't really have built-in graduate-level networking or a direct pipeline to a master's program right on my own campus.

I want to make sure I’m maximizing my junior year to be as competitive as possible. For anyone who went to a smaller, undergrad-only institution or successfully navigated this transition, what should I be focusing on right now?

Any advice, tips, or insight from current grad students or alumni who were in a similar position would be awesome. Thanks so much!

AUS

Hi everyone, just received an invite to a group interview for ACU’s Master of Professional Psychology, and was wondering if anyone knew what to expect. Group interview stresses me out haha

i’m in my 2nd year of Bachelors of Psychology and I don’t think i’ll get into honours. I know i need at least 70% WAM across all 2nd and 3rd year units but i’m wondering if i need to aim higher (like with honours considering how competitive it is). how competitive is the GD advanced?

also, i heard that most of the unit fees are covered by a HELP loan but there’s a one or two units that you need to pay upfront, is that true?

i’m in victoria, if that’s relevant

Hello,

I'm looking for reviews of the grad dip at UNE as I start next week. what was it like? how bad are the exams? Is there a student chat going that I can join?

I want to apply to a masters in mental health counseling and pursue a LMFT/LPCC license. I’m writing my personal statement based on the prompts given on the university’s site for the program and I explained why this field means a lot to me and why I want to work with a specific population. I avoided saying the usual ”I like helping people” and tried going more into depth by tying it to my own experience. However, I’m having a hard time using the program’s keywords, along with explaining in depth why I chose that specific program without sounding robotic. Any advice on that? What can I do to make myself stand out? I’m doubting myself a lot because the perfectionist in me thinks that it may not be good enough + thinking about the other candidates who may have better ones since it’s so competitive:/

Hey everyone!
I’m starting my first year as a clinical psych major at Koya University in Kurdistan soon. My long term dream is to eventually get a PhD in neuropsychology, but I’m trying to figure out how to actually map that out from hereee.

Since my bachelor’s is clinical psych, I wanted to ask anyone who knows about international grad admissions or studying abroad:
If I say at the very top of my class (like top 3 with our system), how realistic is it to land a decent international scholarship for a neuroscience or cognitive science master’s?

Also, since clinical psych leans a bit more applied and social compared to hard neuroscience, what can i start doing right now in my first year to bridge that gap? like are there specific online courses, skills, or research habits i should build so my application doesn't look weak later on?

would really appreciate any real advice, warnings, or roadmaps if anyone’s done something similar. thanks a lot!

I'm currently in my sophomore year and I'm already working in a research lab (specifically focused on neuroscience and social behavior). i really want to be a clinical neuropsychologist, but i absolutely suck at general biology and chemistry. ive dropped chemistry THRICE now and im debating dropping biology today as I have a D in the class and a C in the lab. otherwise, im an honors student and have a 3.8 gpa, so im not a bad student by any means, and i feel i could get into a clinical psych program pretty easily if i dropped my neuro minor (so id only be required to take one science, so id take physics bc its really easy at my uni). however, i dont know if specializing in clinical neuropsych would then be more challenging if i didnt take bio or chem. im still planning on taking all of the neuroscience classes i can, but just avoiding those that have a bio or chem prerequisite. so please give me your thoughts! i know i could power through but i know itd ruin my gpa, and if i could get to the same place without it, id much prefer that.

also, if yall could give advice fairly quickly id appreciate it bc todays the last day to drop :') i have 4 more exams that i could technically use to get my grade up, but again, i dont know if i have the time with my psych exams being usually the same day or close to, and my research job taking up most of my time.

hello!! i was wondering if anyone has received an offer for adelaide's MCP after the first round of interviews?

i was under the impression that we wouldn't hear back until after the second round, but i've heard through the grapevine that some people have already started receiving offers. just wanted to check if anyone here has heard back :)