How Many Schools To Apply To?

[irish80122]

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I have contacted the professors I am interested in working with and slowly responses are coming back, and of course some of those responses are unfortunately that they are not accepting graduate students next year (including one of my top choices, unfortunately). I was already low on grad schools but this means I may only have a list of 6-8 programs pretty soon and I am debating if I should start looking under another line of research to just get some more schools on the list.

How many schools are you applying to/would you recommend someone apply to if they are applying to Clinical Psychology programs? Would I be crazy if I just applied to the 6-8 schools just because I know those programs are good matches and I know I would want to go there, but I am not sure about that with other programs? Thanks!

 

[lazure]

For my master's I applied to 8, got into 5 I believe but only 3 were in the real running. For my PhD I applied to 1, got in and took it 🙂
Usually 6-8 is a good number, above 10 is overkill...

 

[irish80122]

Thank you Lazure. Any other opinions? If everyone agrees with this I will be thrilled 🙂

 

[ElektraComplex]

I disagree that anything over 10 is overkill, especially with such low acceptance rates for clinical programs. I've heard a people cite 12 as a nice number, and those who can afford to sometimes go higher. On the other hand, you need to make sure you're not applying to places just for the sake of applying. For each school, ask yourself if you would go there if it was the only place you got in. If the answer is ever "no", then it's not worth the effort and expense of applying.

In the case of not finding enough research matches, too, I wouldn't start trying to find new interests just to bump up the number of apps.

 

[joetro]

I applied to 11 ... there were a couple of more I maybe could have done, but I decided against those programs. I would recommend trying for around 10, but 6-8 is a good number as well. If the other ones you would add are too far a stretch for your interests, or a place you are not that excited about to begin with, then maybe you should exclude them since A) you might not get in anyway if you are not a solid fit and B) you wouldn't go there even if you did get in b/c you didn't like the program as much or you wouldn't be happy with the research that doesn't fit your interests.

 

[bigmood]

I agree with 10 as a minimum. I felt like a good candidate, but I knew that I didn't go to a hotshot undergrad and that acceptance rates are really low even for people a thousand times more qualified than me. I got into 3 schools, so I'm really glad I applied to a bunch. It's a tough game, so increase your odds, but then again, don't apply somewhere you really wouldn't like to attend.

 

[irish80122]

My problem is finding other programs to apply to! I want to study suicide and prevention, which is great, but there aren't all that many programs that have someone who studies it and those that do are really selective (Duke, Harvard, Florida State). The problem is I got another professor who isn't accepting today so I am down to 7 now.

I am going to talk with a couple professors in the field, one who offered to talk with me even though he isn't accepting, and hopefully come up with some more programs. This is just one of those moments where I studied something common like depression!

 

[psychanon]

This is just one of those moments where I studied something common like depression !

Well, depression and suicide are certainly related! If you haven't already, you should consider applying to people who study similar but potentially overlapping topics (such as depression and borderline personality disorder). You definitely could study suicide ideation or behavior in a population of depressed people. It would certainly be appropriate for you to email professors who study related topics and ask them directly if they think that you could look at suicide-related variables as part of their research.

Unfortunately, there aren't a huge number of researchers who specifically target suicidal populations (and many use SI as an exclusion criterion), because of the liability factor.

 

[LM02]

My problem is finding other programs to apply to! I want to study suicide and prevention, which is great, but there aren't all that many programs that have someone who studies it and those that do are really selective (Duke, Harvard, Florida State). The problem is I got another professor who isn't accepting today so I am down to 7 now.

I am going to talk with a couple professors in the field, one who offered to talk with me even though he isn't accepting, and hopefully come up with some more programs. This is just one of those moments where I studied something common like depression!

Hmmm... have you looked into Binghamton or UT-Austin? Also, if you haven't already thought of it, you can extend from suicidality to also include self-injury. Not sure if that opens up any other possibilities, though.

Also, you'd be surprised - there are a number of depression researchers who "dabble" in suicide research.

 

[irish80122]

I will look into those programs and if anyone else has ideas I would love to hear them! I don't mind if the professor just dabbles, just so long as they are interested in it and willing to give it a bit of a go.

There aren't many that do suicide which is ironic because it really is one of the few life or death issues in psychology! That is why I am so passionate about it! We will see what comes of it, but thanks for those recommendations, I will definitely look into those programs while procrastinating tonight!!!

 

[Anon15]

Harvard is extremely selective and not APA approved. I know MANY people who are/have been unhappy with the program. In regards to your research interest, Matt Nock is most likely NOT on additional students. You may want to explore programs that have a focus on Axis II disorders, especially BPD. Try U of Seatle w/ Marsha Linehan. She does a ton of work with BPD and parasuicidal behavior. Good Luck!

 

[irish80122]

I will check out Seattle, thanks. Professor Nock said he wasn't sure if he was taking on students, so I think I will apply anyways and just see what happens.

I know there are pluses and minuses with every program and I will just have to feel them out as I go on interviews (hopefully). Thanks again for your advice.