Graduate school applications will look a little different at every school or degree program, but there are some common application procedures and components that you can expect, no matter what kind of program you are interested in. According to a 2019 survey of psychology graduate programs, the most important features of your application are:

1) the fit between your goals and the specific program, which is addressed in your personal statement

2) the strength of your letters of recommendation, and

3) your grade point average. GRE scores and research, clinical, and work experience are also important (Michalski et al., 2019).

Common Application Components (Schilling, 2019)

Personal Statement – This is an essay where you describe your interests in a particular program, your career goals, and how you have prepared for graduate education, such as coursework, internships, or research experience. Some programs may give specific instructions on what to include; others might leave it rather open.

The most common “kisses of death” in graduate applications are related to the personal statement. These include providing overly personal details, an unclear fit between your goals and the program, and spelling and grammatical errors. A recent study by Landrum et al. (2022) outlines these and other mistakes.

Letters of Recommendation – most programs require 2-3 letters of reference. Depending on the program, you may be asked for letters from professors, research or internship supervisors, or work supervisors. Providing a letter of recommendation from an inappropriate source is another one of the “kisses of death” (Landrum et al., 2022).

Transcripts – you will be asked to submit transcripts that can be used to verify your GPA, to determine if you have taken required prerequisite courses, and to understand how you have prepared for entry into a particular area.

Graduate Record Exam scores – This is a standardized test that covers verbal and math skills, similar to the SAT or ACT. Look carefully to see what is required. Some programs will require only the standard Graduate Record Exam. Some will request that applicants complete the Psychology Graduate Record Exam in addition to the standard exam. There are also a growing number of programs that do not require the Graduate Record Exam at all!

Resume or Curriculum Vitae – You will often be asked to submit either a resume (see Chapter 10 for more information) or a curriculum vitae, also known as a CV. A CV is an academic resume that can be much longer than a job resume. It typically includes information like related coursework, research, volunteer, and clinical experience, and scholarships and awards which may not be part of your standard resume. As mentioned above, proofreading for spelling and grammar is important to make a positive impression.

 

How to Be Competitive for Graduate School

Admission rates for graduate programs range from as high as 35 – 65% for Master’s and Specialist programs to an 8-30% admissions rate for Ph.D. programs. Clinical psychology Ph.D. programs are the most popular programs, receiving around 150 applications per year, and also one of the most competitive programs, with an average admissions rate of 8% (Michalski et al., 2019). When you have decided that graduate school is a possibility for your future, it is important to work towards becoming well-prepared and competitive for your graduate school applications.

General Tips:

Keep your GPA up! 

While some Master’s programs will have minimum GPAs as low as 2.5, it is common for GPA requirements to be set to a 3.0 or higher. Highly competitive programs, like Ph.D. programs in clinical psychology, report that the average GPA for accepted students can be 3.5 or higher! (American Psychological Association, n.d.)

Get involved!

Experience is an important part of graduate school applications and may even help offset a less-than-stellar GPA or GRE score. Consider the type of program you are interested in to determine what kinds of experience would be helpful:

Interested in counseling, therapy, or school psychology? Focus on volunteering, internships, work experience, or experiential learning courses that involve working with people, providing assistance, and bettering people’s lives. This can include mentoring high-risk youth, volunteering at a shelter, part-time work as a court-appointed special advocate, or answering calls for a crisis hotline.

Interested in a Ph.D. or other research-focused degree? Focus on research-related experiences, such as being a research assistant for a professor, completing a summer research program, developing an independent research project or honors thesis, and presenting the results of these experiences at student research and psychology conferences. To be even more competitive, seek out opportunities to work with professors in ways that result in research publications, if possible.

Interested in another area? Consider what kinds of experience would bring you the knowledge and skills that are helpful in that area. For example, experience in coaching aligns well with an interest in sport psychology, while volunteering for a public health organization might be beneficial for a career in health psychology. Business or human resources internships can provide insight for those interested in industrial-organizational psychology. Whatever you are interested in, consider where it applies outside of academia and seek out opportunities to get involved. Your psychology professors and the university’s Career Center can help you find specific opportunities.

Understand Common Prerequisites

Some programs will require that students complete certain undergraduate courses before they can be fully admitted to a program. For psychology-related programs, prerequisites are typically standard courses in an undergraduate psychology degree. A Master’s of Science in Clinical and Counseling Psychology might require coursework that includes an introductory psychology course, research methods and statistics, personality psychology, and abnormal psychology (California State University San Bernardino, n.d.).

For programs outside of the field of psychology, prerequisites may include additional science and math courses or subject-specific topics. For example, a Master’s in Occupational Therapy program requires coursework in human anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, and statistics, along with coursework in abnormal and developmental psychology (Colorado Mesa University, n.d.).

Give Yourself Plenty of Time

In the next section, we will review a general timeline for graduate school applications. Use your time management skills to give yourself plenty of time to apply – ideally, you will want to have Writing Center tutors and, if willing, your letter writers review your application materials. You will then need time to revise your materials and perhaps even seek a second round of feedback.

Often, students wait until the fall of their senior year to begin looking into their graduate school options. They then find themselves trying to gain appropriate experience, apply for programs, and finish their senior year all at once, which can be very stressful. If you think graduate school might be in your future, begin seeking out experience and maintaining a solid GPA early – as early as your sophomore year, if possible. If it turns out graduate school is not for you, having the connections, skills, and knowledge gained from volunteering, internships, or research experience will still be a benefit to your future career.

A Timeline for Applying to Graduate School

The timeline for graduate school applications will vary depending on what kind of program you are applying to. Ph.D. and PsyD programs often have application deadlines in the fall, while Master’s programs may extend their deadlines out to winter or early spring. Below is a general timeline for graduate school applications, from pre-application preparation to program acceptance:

Freshman – Junior Year:

• Consider your career goals and determine what type of education and experience is required to achieve these goals
• Seek out classes that allow you to explore your interests and build the knowledge and skills needed to achieve your goals
• Participate in research, volunteering, internship, and other experiences to build up your skills and experience

Junior Year:

•  Fall – Spring Semesters:
  • Prepare for the Graduate Record Exam
  • Discuss your graduate school plans with your professors to receive advice on how to approach graduate school applications
  • Participate in activities and classes that build your skills and experience
• Summer:
  • Take the Graduate Record Exam
  • Review programs and program requirements and determine where you would like to apply, what materials you will need to submit, and what deadlines you need to meet

Senior Year:

• Fall Semester:
  • Work on your admission materials, allowing yourself time to receive feedback from the Writing Center and your letter writers
  • Contact your letter writers and provide them with information that will assist them in writing letters of recommendation
  • Participate in activities and classes that build your skills and experience
  • Complete the FAFSA application for financial aid for the next academic year
• Fall – Spring (varies by program)
  • Submit your applications by the program deadlines
  • Participate in interviews
• Spring Semester:
  • Receive acceptance or rejection notices from programs
  • Accept or decline your program admissions

What Happens Next? Graduate School Interviews and Acceptances

If a graduate program is interested in admitting you, you may be invited to interview. Graduate school interviews can take different formats – phone interviews, video interviews, and/or in-person interviews. You prepare for a graduate school interview in much the same way as a job interview. You should be able to answer questions such as:

● Tell us about yourself – focus on your interests in psychology!

● Why are you interested in our program?

● What are your career goals?

You should also be prepared to discuss related experience, whether that be volunteer or internship experience, your role in a research project, or what you would pursue next after an honors thesis. Just like with job interviews, you should research who you will be meeting, gather background information on the program and university, and come prepared with questions to ask during the interview.

 

 

After graduate school interviews, you will receive notice of program admission or rejection. For programs that offer financial support, this will typically be sent by April 15th (Council of Graduate Schools, n.d.). You will need to respond to all offers of admission to either accept or decline the offer. In some cases, students who receive multiple offers of admission can use competing offers to negotiate better financial support at the school they most prefer.

What If I Don’t Get In?

Graduate school admission is not guaranteed, even for students who have tried very hard to be competitive for admission. In some cases, very competitive students may receive no acceptances from the programs they apply to. This can happen to due a lack of fit with the programs or an especially strong pool of applicants, but it can also happen for other reasons. For example, the professor whose research fits with a student’s interest may not be accepting students in a particular year or may have changed the focus of their research to another topic. Economic conditions, such as recessions, can also reduce the funding available for new graduate students.

If you are not admitted in a particular year, you need not abandon your graduate school dreams. Continue to seek out opportunities to be involved in the field, consider adjustments to your application strategy and materials, discuss the situation with your letter writers for advice, and try again the following year. It is not uncommon to participate in an extra cycle or two of graduate applications before receiving admission to a program, especially for highly competitive graduate programs.