UMass Boston

[PhDClinical]

Has anyone seen the UMass Boston clinical application requirements? They require a SOP of about 1000 words and expect you to be able to address all of this:

• What are your career objectives?
• How will a PhD in clinical psychology advance those objectives?
• In what ways does the UMass Boston Clinical Psychology Program address your particular academic, career, and personal goals?
• What do you foresee as your primary activity five years after receiving your PhD degree?
• What professional and academic experiences, and what experiences in the rest of your life have especially prepared you for the challenges of graduate school and for a career in clinical psychology?
• What personal strengths do you bring to your graduate level studies?
• What personal limitations or hurdles must you address in order to complete graduate school?
• What research, relevant to the Clinical Psychology Program, are you interested in pursuing at UMass Boston?
• What research experiences of yours have prepared you for research work in the Clinical Psychology Program?
• Please describe a published work (e.g., an empirical study, a theoretical paper, a book) in psychology or a related field that has had a significant impact on your thinking. Explain why you found this work so meaningful.
• Are there any aspects of your application that you would like to expand on or explain?

Do they really expect you to answer all of these questions adequately in fewer than 1000 words? My SOP is currently 1300 and I have only addressed 4 of these. 😡

I think I might turn in a separate diversity statement that will cover a couple of these, but I don't want to deviate from their requirements....

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[PrisonPsych]

I've got a couple of statements like that - some even want it in 500 words! Frustrating...

 

[PsychPhDone]

I recall getting the job done in about 2 pages. Not sure of the word count, but I tried to keep it to the point. And it certainly wasn't easy!

 

[cardamom]

Everything except the article one, and maybe the five years after the PhD one (but I saw that on several apps) and maybe the weaknesses one seem like things that should be in any personal statement regardless. A short length limit always sucks, but some of those you may be able to answer simultaneously, and I doubt you are expected to go equally in depth on all of them.

 

[psyed4clinPhD]

I'm applying here too. But after the SoP that could only be 500 words, this one seems easy. I was so hard to cut down for that one, so I know what you are going through....

Good luck with it Just remember you can gloss over some things (ex. 5 years from now I can see myself teaching, researching, etc.) Do you mention any classes or labs in your SoP? If so, can you use a paper/article you read as part of that as inspiring you? Then you could link it in with a pre-existing paragraph 🙂

 

[PhDClinical]

Thank you for all of your replies. I actually just found a school that limits me to 500 words (George Washington) and am quite frustrated. I honestly think the only person who could acurately represent him/herself in 500 words or fewer would be a very unqualified candidate.

Any sense of how bad it is to go over the limit? Do many people do it? Will I not look competitive going up against people who ignored the limit and were able to represent themselves well?

 

[PrisonPsych]

Thank you for all of your replies. I actually just found a school that limits me to 500 words (George Washington) and am quite frustrated. I honestly think the only person who could acurately represent him/herself in 500 words or fewer would be a very unqualified candidate.

Any sense of how bad it is to go over the limit? Do many people do it? Will I not look competitive going up against people who ignored the limit and were able to represent themselves well?

Frustrating as it was, I didn't allow myself to go over by a single word or line for any schools that had a word limit or a page limit. Being concise but effective is a skill like any other, and clearly if they're limiting you this may be something they're assessing. Personally, if they give you a limit, I'd stick to it.

 

[psychanxiety]

Frustrating as it was, I didn't allow myself to go over by a single word or line for any schools that had a word limit or a page limit. Being concise but effective is a skill like any other, and clearly if they're limiting you this may be something they're assessing. Personally, if they give you a limit, I'd stick to it.

Ditto. I've heard this can lead to an automatic toss. Most schools I applied to had a 2 page (double spaced, 12pt font) page limit, which is about 600 words. I stuck to it very very carefully. Think about it- if you were the admissions committee (which is composed of very very busy professors) would you want to read 250 applicants' 20 page autobiography? I'm actually surprised UMass Boston wants to read 1000 words. The goal of the personal statement is to get you an interview, which is when you try to more thoroughly show who you are.

 

[psychgirl77]

Thank you for all of your replies. I actually just found a school that limits me to 500 words (George Washington) and am quite frustrated. I honestly think the only person who could acurately represent him/herself in 500 words or fewer would be a very unqualified candidate.

Any sense of how bad it is to go over the limit? Do many people do it? Will I not look competitive going up against people who ignored the limit and were able to represent themselves well?

I had a school that had a 500 word limit and I emailed the graduate secretary to ask her about it. She said it was fine to go over the limit and that it wouldn't be a problem unless it was longer than a page and a half. I ended up being accepted to that school even with my longer statement. So if you're desperate you could email them to ask.