• School Reputation
• Geographic Location
• Type of Program (PhD, PsyD, EdD)
• Field of Study (e.g., developmental psychology, social psychology)
• Balance Between Research and Practice (mainly for applied psychology programs)
• Any Required Undergraduate Coursework
• Diversity Representation in Faculty and Students
• Number of Applications
• Number of Offers
• Number of Incoming Students
• Mean/Median GRE Verbal
• Mean/Median GRE Quantitative
• Mean/Median GRE Analytical Writing
• Mean/Median Psychology Subject Test
• Mean/Median GPA
• Mean/Median Psychology GPA
• Mean/Median Last Two Years GPA
• Number of Program Faculty
• Theoretical Orientation (for clinical/counseling programs)
• Program Tracks
• Percentage of Students Receiving Full Tuition Waiver
• Percentage of Students Receiving Assistantship Only
• Percentage of Students Receiving both Full Tuition and Assistantship
• Annual Cost of the Program (considering tuition waivers/assistantships)
• Research Areas Available
• Faculty Members Name You Are Interested in Working With
• Grant Activity
• Personal Interview Required/Optional
• Teaching Experience Available (since many will end up in academe)
• Percentage of Students Applying for Internship Accepted to APA Accredited Site (Clinical/Counseling/School Psychology only)
• Percentage of Students Licensed (applied programs only)
• Mean/Median Time to Completion of Program
• Placement of Students Upon Graduation (e.g., academe, research institutes, practice)
• Attrition rate
• Accreditation (regional and APA)
a list of possible variables to consider. Once you have your worksheet ready, begin filling in the blanks. Although the variables are easily filled, evaluating the meaning of some of the variables may be more difficult. As a result, we provide some pointers to help in your evaluation of the personal meaning of the information.
Application and Acceptance Rates
The number of applications to a program and the program’s acceptance rate are easily understandable variables. The evaluative information they provide can be invaluable. In fact, acceptance rates are significantly different based on program type.
For example, research-oriented programs (e.g., experimental psychology) have fewer applications and higher acceptance rates (although still rigorous) while practice-oriented PhD programs have larger numbers of applications and lower acceptance rates. Additionally, freestanding PsyD programs (i.e., those that are not affiliated with a university, although they may use “university” in their name) accept approximately 50% of their applicants, university-based PsyD programs accept approximately 41%
of their applicants, Boulder-Model clinical PhD programs accept approximately 10%
of their applicants, and APCS Model clinical PhD programs accept approximately 6% of their applicants (Norcross et al., 2008). Looking at the information in a different way, the higher the acceptance rate the higher the likelihood you will get into the program. From another perspective, the higher the acceptance rate, the higher the likelihood that people who are not qualified will get into the program. The reason this last piece is so important is that being accepted into and even graduating from a program is not the end of the story. You will also need to find a job, and for those in the clinical, counseling, or school psychology fields, you will also need to get licensed.
Although this is covered in another chapter, suffice it to say that students from PsyD programs with higher acceptance rates have significantly lower scores on the tests necessary for licensure compared to PhD graduates (Kupfesmid & Fiola, 1991;
Maher, 1999). In fact, the correlation between the mean score on the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP; the national licensing exam) and a program’s acceptance rate is – 0.64 (Templer & Arikawa, 2004).
This information does not mean that you should not apply to PsyD programs.
Remember, the first author (Helms) has a PsyD degree. Rather, it means that the higher the acceptance rate, the lower the quality/rigor of the program generally, resulting in graduates not prepared for the rigors of the licensure process or the professional practice of psychology. These concerns are so real that one of the original proponents of the Vail Model strongly encouraged a merciless evaluation of existing programs with implicit hope that weak, ineffectual, and poor programs be eliminated (Peterson, 2003). Given the time, energy, and financial resources expended by students for their educations, we eagerly welcome this prospect.
Grade Point Average (GPA)
Recent research indicates that the average minimum required overall GPA of applicants in 2003–2004 was 3.11 for doctoral programs and 2.92 for master’s programs (Norcross
et al., 2005). The associated minimum required Psychology GPA was 3.17 for doctoral programs and 3.05 for master’s programs. However, the minimum required is significantly different than what is actually accepted. In fact for these same years (2003 –2004), the study found that the actual overall GPA was 3.54 for applicants accepted to doctoral programs and 3.37 for applicants accepted to master’s programs. For some programs (e.g., clinical psychology PhD programs), the actual overall GPAs can be close to 4.0.
In summary, you will want to look at the statistics of students admitted to the program in recent years. If your GPA is substantially lower than the mean or median listed (i.e., more than 0.2 points lower), you probably will not be a viable candidate.
Additionally, our experience tells us that students often inaccurately believe that desire to go to graduate school will somehow make up for GPA or GRE inadequacies.
Succinctly put, this is not the case.
Graduate Record Exam and the Psychology Subject Test Although it leaves a bad taste in most students’ mouths, standardized admissions tests are an important part of the application to graduate school. The importance is predicated on its ability to compare students from a wide variety of educational experiences/universities. You know as well as we do that a 3.8 GPA at one school does not mean the same thing as a 3.8 at another school. In fact, students with the same GPAs at the same school may differ. Think about a peer you may know that only takes the “easy” professors and the “easy” electives. Now you are getting a sense about why it is important to have a measure that is consistent across individuals and across situations. The General Test (sometimes referred to as simply the GRE) and the Psychology Subject Test of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) are the two examinations most often required by graduate programs.
The General Test of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is a computer-based exam developed and marketed by the Educational Testing Service (ETS; 2008). The General Test consists of three components: Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, and Analytical Writing. Both the Quantitative and the Verbal Reasoning components have a score range from 200 to 800 and are scored in 10-point increments. The Analytical Writing component, introduced in 2002, has a score range from 0 to 6 and is scored in half-point increments.
According to ETS (2008), the Verbal Reasoning component of the General Test is intended to measure examinees’ abilities to “analyze and evaluate written material and synthesize information obtained from it; analyze relationships among compon-ent parts of scompon-entences; [and] recognize relationships between words and concepts”
(www.gre.org). In terms of the Quantitative Reasoning component, ETS says that it is intended to measure examinees’ abilities to “understand basic concepts of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis; reason quantitatively; [and] solve problems in a quantitative setting” (www.gre.org). The Analytical Writing component measures examinees’ abilities to “articulate complex ideas clearly and effectively; examine claims and accompanying evidence; support ideas with relevant reasons and examples;
sustain a well-focused, coherent discussion; [and] control the elements of standard written English” (www.gre.org).
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In terms of graduate school, 74% of doctoral and 57% of masters programs in psychology require the General Test (Norcross et al., 2005). Although the minimum required combined Quantitative Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning score averaged 1066 for doctoral programs and 952 for master’s programs, 1183 was the actual mean General Test score for incoming doctoral students. For incoming master’s students, 1055 was the actual mean General Test score (Norcross et al., 2005). Keep in mind that this includes both applied psychology and experimental psychology programs.
That is, the mean General Test scores for clinical psychology programs tend to be significantly higher than mean scores for experimental psychology programs. This leads to an important point. The minimum requirement is rarely enough to attain an admission offer. In fact and as you can see, the minimum required score is over 120 points below the actual score of admitted doctoral students.
For the Analytical Writing component, Briihl and Wasieleski (2004) reported that only 35% of psychology graduate programs utilized the score in their admission decisions. However, this may change in coming years as familiarity with this relatively new component increases. In other words, you will still want to study and do your best on it!
The Psychology Subject Test of the GRE is currently a paper and pencil test given three times a year (ETS, 2008). Although the specific dates change annually, the testing months are typically April, October, and November. Students often choose the October administration because it allows enough time to submit scores to graduate programs as well as enough time into the Fall semester to learn some of the advanced coursework covered by the exam that they may be currently taking. For actual test dates, visit www.gre.org.
The Psychology Subject Test has three content areas that cover all areas of psychology with varying degrees of emphasis (ETS, 2008). It consists of approximately 205 –215 questions with five answer options. When scored, the test produces two subscores (i.e., experimental and social) that range from 20 to 99 and a total score that ranges from 200 to 990. According to ETS (2006), the three content areas with respective topics and percentage of questions on the test are:
• Experimental Subscore Area
• Accounts for approximately 40% of the questions
• Covers Learning, Language, Memory, Thinking, Sensation and Perception, and Physiological Psychology
• Social Subscore Area
• Accounts for approximately 43% of the questions
• Covers Clinical and Abnormal Psychology, Lifespan Development, Personality, and Social Psychology
• Other Areas
• Accounts for approximately 17% of the questions
• Covers general areas (e.g., history and Industrial-Organizational Psychology) and Measurement and Methodology.
Norcross et al. (2005) reported that 29% of doctoral and 13% of master’s psych-ology programs require the Psychpsych-ology Subject Test. Mean minimum required scores
were 552 for doctoral programs and 495 for master’s programs. Actual mean scores of incoming graduate students were 633 for doctoral programs and 577 for master’s programs. This 80+ point discrepancy is yet another reason to ignore the minimums and focus on the averages of recent incoming students.
In terms of associated costs for the tests, the General Test currently costs $140, and the Psychology Subject Test costs $130. However, the costs do not stop here. An official report of your scores must be sent to the graduate programs. These cost $20 per report.
These costs are certainly disincentives to take the tests more than once. However, many students do retake the test in hopes of obtaining a higher score. According to ETS (2008), scores typically increase about 20 points on the General Test. Of course, your score may also go down. Keep in mind that generally speaking, an additional 20 points on your score will not typically make a difference in your viability for a program.
Students mistakenly hope that scoring those additional 20 points will help them reach the minimum required or the average of incoming students last year. We have already covered the issue with the required minimum (i.e., ignore those scores). Curiously, students sometimes miss the fact that an average score for incoming students means that scores were generally surrounding that score with some falling above and some falling below. Schools reporting median scores can be easier to evaluate in that half of the incoming students score better and half score worse than that score. However, whether it is the mean or median, scores likely tightly bunch around those scores (i.e., have very small standard deviations). In other words, it is highly unlikely that 20 points will make a difference. As a result, we recommend against retaking the test unless something traumatic happened during the testing (e.g., you passed out or had a heart attack). Remember too that all scores for the past five years are reported to the programs. This means that the schools will see every attempt you make and may wonder why you took the test more than once.
In terms of preparing for the General Test, there are hundreds of books, online resources, and programs that can help in your preparation. However, we do give the warning that some of the strategies available are costly and unproven. As a result, buyers beware! Regardless, some of the basic tried and true strategies include taking as many practice tests as possible (and under test-like conditions), memorization of words that have been on the test in the past, improving writing skills for the Analytical Writing component, and studying basic algebra and geometry skills.
In terms of the Psychology Subject Test, you have been preparing your entire under-graduate education. However, you will need to prepare much more. One mistake students make is that they wait until their last semester or final year to take the
“harder” psychology coursework (e.g., physiological psychology). As a result, much of the information on the test will be completely unfamiliar. Our suggestion is to take as much of the core psychology coursework prior to your senior year and save your electives for the senior year. Additionally, studying your text books and taking as many practice Psychology Subject Tests as possible will likely prove useful.
Students also ask about how much time they should spend preparing for the tests.
In general we recommend concerted weekly effort for six months. For the first month or so, you may only devote a few hours every other day for the test. This amount will increase to everyday as the test approaches. You will want to note that we mean intense studying during these times and not simply light reviews of the components.
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Stipends Versus Loans Versus Eventual Salary
Most good programs provide financial assistance to their graduate students. Financial assistance can come in the form of:
• Tuition waivers: No tuition is charged by the university. Sometimes registration and other fees still apply but are minimal.
• Research assistantships: You will work in a faculty member’s research lab in exchange for a stipend (i.e., a certain amount of money that can help defray living expenses).
• Teaching assistantships: You will teach undergraduate courses in exchange for a stipend. Under supervision, you may teach a variety of courses from Research Methods to Introduction to Psychology.
• Scholarships: Due to your undergraduate record and GRE scores (relative to other incoming students) you may receive additional financial awards.
Unfortunately, not all programs offer these types of assistance. In fact, some pro-grams report providing financial assistance, but when you read the fine print, all they provide is access to student loans or an extremely small percentage of students are awarded stipends or assistantships (e.g., only one or two students get stipends or tuition waivers). In reviewing the variables on programs, percentage of students receiving tuition waivers, assistantships, and both will give you insight into a program’s financial commitment to students. In general, good programs will not admit students that they are unable to support at least partially.
In terms of the data, Wicherski and Kohout (2005) reported that 68% of the 2003 doctorates had debt related to their education when they graduated. However, the differences in debt level are striking (and disturbing to some) when viewed through the lens of program type: 74% of those in the practice-oriented subfields (e.g., clinical psychology) and 54% of those in the research-oriented subfields (e.g., social psychology) reported some level of debt. For those in the practice-oriented subfields, the median level of debt was $67,500. For those in the research-oriented subfields, the median level of debt was $22,000. That is a huge difference! Wicherski and Kohout also looked at degree type. For those receiving their PsyD degree, the median debt level was $90,000. Their research shows that this is a $37,000 increase in the median debt level for this group in only 6 years. For those receiving their PhD in clinical psychology, the median debt level was $50,000. This was an increase of $14,000 from their survey 2 years earlier.
The piece we encourage you to take away from this variable is in relation to even-tual salary. Loans must be repaid, and at this level of debt, a substantial chunk of your salary will go directly to your loans for many years (decades) after graduation.
It is also important to compare debt level to expected salary. In the same survey noted earlier, Wicherski and Kohout (2005) note that the median starting salary for those new doctorates was $52,556. Out of context, this amount seems quite substantial.
For those graduating with substantial debt potentially due in part to nonsupportive programs (e.g., programs not offering tuition waivers), this amount diminishes rapidly.
Unfortunately, our experience is that students are often blinded by their desire to attend graduate school – at any cost. This experience is further complicated by programs that prey on this desire.
Research
This variable refers to both the amount of research required and the type of research occurring in the program. The type of research is rather straightforward. What topics are the faculty members pursuing? This information is often readily available via the faculty member’s web page or via a literature search for his or her publications.
A program’s web page may also have a link to the respective faculty member’s vita, a rich source of information. (Developing your own vita is discussed in an upcoming section of this chapter.)
In terms of the amount of required research and reminiscent of the discussion of the various models of training, some programs require heavy amounts of research and others require very little. In reviewing the faculty in the program, some insight into this variable may come from the faculty member’s website. For example and if listed, do the faculty co-author papers, posters, and publications with students? If so, how many do they collaborate on each year? Some programs have a website devoted to current graduate students’ activities. This resource can provide information too. An additional piece to consider is the outlet for their publications. Are they publishing in the top journals in the field?
Once this information is compiled, you will need to decide how important research productivity and experience are to you. If you plan on pursuing a research-oriented career (e.g., academe), the heavier the research requirements and the more plentiful the opportunities to conduct research in graduate school, the better it will be for you in the long run.
Grant Activity
Closely tied to the research area, grant activity is an important variable to consider.
Grant activity refers to the number, monetary amount, type (government or private), and duration of financially sponsored activities of faculty members. Large, multi-year government grants indicate a stable program and associated faculty on the grant.
It can signify to you that the program will be able to financially support you in your studies. Depending on the program, the stipend that pays you for your teaching assistantship or research assistantship as well as covers your tuition may come directly from a grant.
Time to Complete Program
Program websites often note the length of their program. As we noted, research-oriented programs are typically 4 –5 years long, and practice-research-oriented programs are 5 – 6 years long typically. However, the program’s curriculum may not match the average length of time it takes its students to complete the program. In truth, the
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listed curriculum can be aspirational rather than typical. As a result, it will be more
listed curriculum can be aspirational rather than typical. As a result, it will be more