Deciding where to apply??

[blacklab155]

I recently have been looking into PhD programs for clinical psychology or counseling psychology, and I am a little lost in deciding/finding which programs to apply for. I know a big thing is faculty research areas, but other than that I have no idea what to look for, how to know if I would be competitive or not, or how many to apply for. I'm graduating with my undergrad in psychology in May with a 3.9 GPA, senior thesis with a written publication and conference poster, and some research experience but nothing in a formal lab setting (small school, no lab research opportunities). Any advice is appreciated!!

 

 

[PsyDuck90]

Yes, research fit is one of the biggest factors, as you are rarely applying to the program as a whole and more so applying to work with a specific faculty member. You can start by going onto the APA website that lists all of the accredited programs. Go to the individual websites of different programs and peruse faculty. One of the easier ways that I found when I was making my list was to look at publications in my area of interest and seeing where those faculty are located and then looking at those programs. A lot of people also recommend buying The Insider's Guide Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology. This book describes all programs and ranks them on a scale of research vs clinical emphasis. I personally did not use it and just went off of information from school websites, but a huge number of people find it very beneficial. APA accredited programs are required to report student outcome data, so many have a page or PDF that described outcome data in regards to internship match rate and licensure rate. The majority of them also include data on how many applications they receive, how many students they accept each year, and the Quant, Verbal, and Writing GRE scores and GPA. This can give you a sense of how you stack up to the average accepted student for that program. Most people apply to between 10-15 programs given the low acceptance rate. The stats are that you have about a 1-2% chance of being accepted to any one program, and about a 10% chance overall. Having a mix of R1s, R2s, and even R3s is recommended. R1s are usually the most competitive. 

[Katie B]

Honestly, what @PsyDGrad90 said nails down a lot of it! I would also consider making a list of what qualities are most important to you in a program and then you can use that list as a comparative tool when you're researching a particular program. Additionally, location and funding were two important factors to me when I was compiling my list of programs to apply to so be sure to keep those in mind if they're important to you as well! Don't forget to account for cost of living, practicum opportunities, things to do, and safety when you're looking at location. You may not live there forever, but 5-6 years is a significant portion of your life to be miserable in a place. 

Lastly, I would recommend checking out the website of the APA division of your research interest. Many of them have links to programs or professors doing research/ having specializations in your area of interest. So if you know you're interested in pediatric psych like my friend, check out Division 54's site, I know that they have a list of programs specializing in pediatric psych!