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Nothing is make or break and there are many paths to grad school!

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Academic Preparation

• Try to maintain a strong GPA, especially in psychology & related methods courses.
• Take statistics, research methods, and advanced seminars if possible.
• Build relationships with faculty through mentorship and/or involvement in research.
• Attend department talks, colloquia, journal clubs, and lab meetings when possible.

Research Experience

• Join a research lab (or labs!) and commit to it (or them).
• Work toward increasing your responsibility in a research setting
  • e.g., data cleaning → to running participants → to analyses → to co authorship
• Complete an independent study or thesis if possible - something that indicates you can work independently as a researcher.
• Present at undergraduate research conferences if possible.
• Aim for poster or paper co‑authorships when opportunities arise.

Professional Development

• Explore subfields (clinical, cognitive, developmental, social, neuroscience, etc.) and find what interests you.
• Read recent papers in your area of interest.
• Attend graduate school info sessions.
• Join Psi Chi or psychology‑related student orgs.