The Complete Guide to Graduate School Admission

Psychology, Counseling, and Related Professions

Patricia Keith-Spiegel, Michael W. Wiederman

• Publisher: Psychology Press
• Year: 2000
• eBook ISBN: 9781135673413
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Education in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Should I go to graduate school? How do I choose where to apply? Are my grades and accomplishments good enough to get in? Who should I ask to write recommendation letters for me, and how should I approach these people? How do I write my "personal statement?" When will I hear my fate, and how should I make my final decision? These are just a few of the many questions to which this well-researched, thorough, and extremely user-friendly book offers answers. Students who are contemplating graduate training in psychology, counseling, and related fields are often apprehensive and confused about applying to graduate school, but this book takes the guesswork and anxiety out of the process.

The tone and features (such as the Q&A format, timeline for application-related tasks and activities, and special advice for special populations) that made the first edition so successful, eliciting hundreds of thank-you notes and e-mail messages to the author, are just as evident in this new edition. The book has been thoroughly updated to include coverage of new topics such as use of the internet and e-mail, as well as changing trends in the professions. The most obvious difference is that the book is now significantly shorter as a result of meticulous rewriting, making it even easier to use.

There have been attempts since the publication of the first edition to copy the format of this book, but none of the others have successfully duplicated the depth of research-based advice and the supportive style that make this book the guide of choice for thousands of graduate-school bound students and their advisors.

Part I
Overview of the Pursuit of Graduate Study

CHAPTER 1
HOW DO I GET THE MOST FROM THIS BOOK?

The term graduate school conjures various images, both positive and negative, among those contemplating extending their education beyond the bachelor’s degree. For some students, it is hard to even imagine what graduate school entails. If you wonder whether you are the only one who is confused and nervous about graduate school application, rest assured that you are not alone!

One might expect that people with a bachelor’s degree (or students nearing the completion of their bachelor’s degree) would be reasonably well-attuned to the emerging shape of their future and knowledgeable about the resources that would guide them toward their goals. However, many students experience bewilderment and apprehension about their immediate future. Although they typically feel a strong sense of interest in, and commitment to, their chosen field and are fairly confident they will eventually settle into a career related to that field, the issue of whether or how to seek graduate training can be overwhelming. It is not uncommon for students to feel anxious and to procrastinate.

We can help you. We believe that the large majority of students who are willing to assess their status conscientiously and realistically and then to make their decisions very carefully will be able to continue their education beyond the bachelor’s level. If you are to be among these students, you must work hard on the various tasks involved to achieve this goal. We see our role as providing you with the information you need to select and apply to graduate schools. When you know what you are doing and why you have to do it, the process will seem much less mysterious and burdensome. Informed decision making will maximize your chances of acceptance because you will apply to programs for which you are well suited. Also, we tell you what common mistakes graduate school applicants often make. The majority of these mistakes are the result of ignorance or misinformation, all of which are preventable.

We also aspire to debunk some persistent but inaccurate myths, such as the following:

• You have a better chance of being accepted into a graduate program in your own town or state than outside of your own state. (The opposite is usually true.)
• If you want to get into a good clinical program, you should accumulate lots of prior clinical experience. (Too much actually can be inappropriate or counterproductive.)
• You cannot do anything with just a master’s degree. (Yes, you can.)
• You cannot get into any PhD program unless you have at least a 3.5 grade point average (GPA) and very high Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores. (The stronger your credentials the better, but there are many options for the more average student.)
• A good strategy is to keep your grades high by only taking courses in which you know you can get an A. (This is a really bad idea!)

In the following chapters we explain why these views are inaccurate, but please finish reading this chapter before jumping into the core “howto” material. You will get far more out of the book if you are familiar with its game plan and terminology. We later definefrequently used terms.

Target Readers

Our advice and the information we offer are relevant to students in any of several different circumstances:

• Undergraduates at any point in their education who will apply to a doctoral or master’s program in any area of psychology or an allied behavioral or social science (e.g., sociology, neuroscience) or mental health (e.g., counseling, social work) field.
• Students who have already earned an undergraduate degree, including those who are currently enrolled in terminal master’s degree programs and who aspire to doctoral training.
• Current graduate students seeking to change programs.
• Students who have already earned a degree, bachelor’s or otherwise, and are seeking to return to academia after having been away from school for a while.
• Students whose previous applications to graduate programs have failed and who need fresh application strategies.

Our training and experience are in psychology, so we are most familiar with that field and the process of gaining admission to psychology graduate programs. Accordingly, we write primarily with applicants to psychology programs in mind, including those interested in clinical, counseling, industrial/organizational, social/personality, developmental, experimental, educational, and school psychology. However, the information and advice contained in this book also apply well to those seeking graduate degrees in some aspect of counseling (e.g., marriage and family counseling, substance abuse counseling, rehabilitation counseling) or clinical social work.

The book is woven around a dialogue between ourselves and an imaginary graduate school hopeful. We easily recognize this make-believe student, not only in the many hundreds we have counseled but in longago versions of ourselves as well.

Sometimes I wonder if going to graduate school is what I really want to do right now. Is there any way to be sure?

A graduate degree can be the right path for a number of reasons. One reason is simply the desire to continue studying in an area that one finds absorbing. Undergraduate training often ends when students are still only up to their ankles in the subject matter in which they wish to fully immerse themselves. There is still so much to discover and contribute, and graduate training opens up opportunities for knowledge advancement. Zest for learning, then, is a good reason to seek an advanced degree and perhaps is the one that will best sustain you.

Another common reason for wanting to earn a higher degree is to reap the employment opportunities that accompany graduate training. Job applicants with advanced degrees have an advantage over those without them, and many careers require an advanced degree to qualify at the minimum entry level. Those who want to work in a professional capacity in psychology or related fields typically will need to earn a master’s or doctoraldegree.

Finally, as a group, people with advanced degrees make more money—at least over the longer haul—than those without them. So, love, employment, and money are all common motivations for seeking advanced degrees.

Graduate school, however, is not for everyone. Regardless of the reason for seeking advanced training, one must be very motivated. Persistence and enthusiasm are the markers of students who complete advanced educational programs. Those who are interested in graduate school solely because of the social status that those letters after their names will bestow may not be able to endure the rigorous journey. Those who like the idea of having an advanced degree and what it can do for them, but who intensely dislike all that goes into getting it—such as reading, writing, working in the library, and studying—should reexamine their goals. Those who are attracted to a number of careers and remain confused about which direction to take would probably benefit from ca-reer counseling or taking a break until they become more focused. Otherwise, they could be among those who drop out of graduate school.

Often, though, students who doubt their graduate school aspirations are, in fact, masking low self-confidence. They want very much to continue their education but are overwhelmed with the application process or have negative perceptions of their capabilities. They may have received a negative comment about their chances of success from one of their educators, and that feedback may have had a profound impact even though it was, in fact, unwarranted. With the knowledge this book provides, we hope to pull anyone in these categories out of the rut. (For those with doctoral degree aspirations who remain unsure of themselves, we suggest considering the “master’s-first” plan as detailed in chap. 5.) If your doubts about graduate training persist, you may wish to consider taking a year or more away from school. Sometimes it is hard to go back to school after you have worked at a job, but those who are truly committed do get around to it eventually and, by that time, have attained additional maturity and valuable experience. Even first-year graduate students with gray hair are not uncommon!

Glossary of References to Survey Data and Recurring Terms

Throughout the book we refer to survey data as the basis for some of the advice we provide. This information comes from several original surveys by Patricia Keith-Spiegel conducted in 1989–1990. These surveys included questionnaires completed by faculty around the United States who were involved in graduate student selection committees, students successfully enrolled in competitive PhD programs, undergraduate faculty who wrote letters of recommendation for applicants, and administrative and secretarial staff who processed application materials and inquiries from applicants. Additionally, we extracted information from 360 applications to graduate programs in psychology in the United States and Canada. Of course, we have supplemented these data with our personal experiences working with students who are applying to graduate programs and serving on graduate selection committees.

A few terms and abbreviations, some of which may be unfamiliar in the context in which they are employed, will show up again and again. Frequently used abbreviations include GPA (grade point average), GRE (Graduate Record Examination), APA (American Psychological Association), and APS (American Psychological Society). The term graduate school is often used in this book to refer to the total concept of graduate training institutions, including programs and the universities or freestanding professional schools that house them. In short, graduate school is used when a generality is intended.

Graduate program refers to the specific program of study, usually administered within an academic department (such as the Department of Psychology or the Department of Social Work) or by a school, division, or college (such as the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences or the Division of Education), each of which is made up of several related departments. Some graduate programs are interdisciplinary, which means that several departments or schools within the university contribute to and administer the program. Occasionally, a graduate program may be cooperative, offered by two departments from two different universities. Most academic departments or schools offer more than one program, each with its own selection committee. For example, a particular psychology department may offer doctoral programs in five areas—clinical, developmental, cognitive, social/personality, and physiological—and perhaps even a terminal master’s degree program in counseling.

Although postbaccalaureate (post-BA or BS) degrees involve a potentially confusing array of abbreviations, we primarily refer to the four most commonly bestowed in psychology and closely related fields: the PhD (Doctor of Philosophy), the PsyD (Doctor of Psychology), the EdD (Doctor of Education), and the MA, MS, or MSW (Master of Arts, Master of Science, Master of Social Work, or, as more commonly stated, the master’s degree). A terminal master’s (or master’s-only) degree program is a fullycontained program created for that degree and not as a stepping stone to a doctoral degree within that same program. Most terminal master’s degrees are offered at institutions that do not offer the doctoral degree. Terminal master’s degree students wishing to go on to a doctoral program usually have to transfer to another school.

Professional schools are often free-standing, private institutions focusing on graduate training in one or a few select applied areas. Sometimes psychology professional schools operate in association with a traditional university, much like dental and medical schools. Growing numbers of professional schools train students at the master’s and doctoral level to do applied work such as counseling and psychotherapy.

Selection committee is the general term used in this book to refer to graduate program faculty members who recommend to their all-university admissions office which applicants will be accepted into their program. Sometimes, for the sake of variation, we use the terms evaluators or evaluation committees instead. The actual programs themselves may label the selectors by yet other names, such as admissions committee or graduate committee.

People for whom this book is written are referred to mostly as applicants or, sometimes for the sake of variation, candidates. An application essay is a commonly requested written assignment, usually consisting of two or more typed pages, included with the application to a graduate program. Application essays that request a focus on the applicants educational goals are often referred to as statements of purpose.

Referee refers to a person, typically a professor or practicum supervisor, who agrees to support an applicant by providing a letter of recommendation. All-university describes something that pertains to the entire campus, not just a specific degree program. For example, you will usually have to fill out an all-university application form (issued by the all-university Admissions Office) as well as a supplementary application form (issued by the department or program to which you apply).

The term postapplication simply means that a program’s application deadline date has passed. The preselection interview takes place after applications have been processed and is used by some graduate programs to further evaluate applicants who appear promising. An alternate is an applicant who has been favorably reviewed by a selection committee but is not among the first tier of accepted candidates. As applicants who are ranked in the top group decline their offers, alternates are issued acceptance letters.

With this basic set of terms, we are armed to begin the graduate application process. That journey begins by assessing what you should do and when, which is the focus of the next chapter.

CHAPTER 2
WHAT SHOULD I BE DOING WHEN?

Having a long-range perspective with a clear sense of timing is the key to effective graduate school planning. Most graduate programs reject far more applicants than they accept, but you can greatly enhance your chances by doing the right things at the right time.

An ideal timetable can be devised easily, as we have done in this chapter. We understand that such a timetable may make you feel inadequately prepared at this point in your education. However, we provide suggestions for those who missed some of the steps. You can, to some extent, minimize certain shortcomings.

I am a first-semester senior already. I probably can’t meet the requirements of an ideal timetable.

That is precisely the predicament. The ideal timetable is geared to the student who is just starting college and who has little else to do except prepare for graduate school. Needless to say, such a student probably does not exist!

This is not to say that a model timetable is useless to real students. The timetable provides a general set of activities, some of which are desirable, though not mandatory, placed in the most reasonable order. Thus, regardless of your status, we suggest that you review the ideal timetable carefully and check off everything that you have already accomplished. The closer the dates when applications are due, the more likely that compromises will be necessary. Shortcuts may have to be devised, but you should never use these if the option to do the task more thoroughly is still open. We describe how to do all of these things properly as well as how to cut corners when absolutely necessary, or how to compensate when some experiences are absent from your record altogether. Also, it is almost always acceptable to start anything you can handle earlier than the timetable suggests.

The ideal timetable is geared toward the student seeking entry into a competitive doctoral program. The items that are especially important for prospective doctoral students are marked with an asterisk. Applicants to master’s programs may not have to comply with the marked items as early, as thoroughly, or even at all, although these could not help but strengthen a master’s program application.

A number of the timetable items (e.g., B6, D5, and F4) describe activities that will greatly enhance your chances of finding the best program for you. Try not to shortchange these, because where you decide to do your gradua...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• About the Authors
• Part I Overview of the Pursuit of Graduate Study
• Part II Enhancing Your Chances—For Those with Some Time
• Part III Making Your Choices
• Part IV The Application Process
• Part V The Postapplication Period