Web site resource for doctoral applicants

[MCParent]

Hi, all,

I've been working with a team that has recently completed putting together a resource for applicants to doctoral programs in clinical and counseling psychology.

http://psychologygradschool.weebly.com/

This resource is unique in that it gathers together a wide range of information relevant to applicants and provides it in a concise, collected form so that applicants don't have to search through many sites for info. We also talk about issues such as debt and likely income following graduation, and how to read program C-20 data and APPIC internship match rate data.

Feedback on the site is definitely welcome! It's pretty malleable and I can try to add content that people think might be useful. I'd REALLY like to have people write short articles as contributors, so if you're interested, let me know.

I've been getting the word out about this to groups like psi chi, but if any folks would like to shoot a message to their psi chi presidents about this, that would be great (it would likely get a lot more traction as a direct message to someone in your own program, rather than untargeted announcements from someone they don't know).

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[pavlove]

this is a wonderful resource - definitely circulating this to the undergraduates in my lab/department. I am especially a fan of the "myth busters" section, having fielded many of these questions from my own RAs recently.

I don't have much else to say other than: thank you!

 

[InNae]

Thank you! This no doubt will be a fantastic resource for our students and a massive time saver for our faculty and advising office.

Others who advise students/postbaccs regarding grad school: what would you say are the most common misconceptions about graduate training? (besides "my friends will call me doctor" )

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Thank you! This no doubt will be a fantastic resource for our students and a massive time saver for our faculty and advising office.

Others who advise students/postbaccs regarding grad school: what would you say are the most common misconceptions about graduate training? (besides "my friends will call me doctor" )

I definitely see folks who underestimate the difficulty of getting into grad school (particularly for funded programs) and the average time to completion. There's also relatively little knowledge/understanding about the internship imbalance, although that's seemingly improving of late.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Agreed about the competitiveness of a program, as many students assume they will get in bc they have a 3.5+ GPA (though lack research experience, a good research match, etc).

 

[InNae]

Per another thread and AcronymAllergy's post above, I'm reminded of how many students seem to think that doctoral training is just more classes a la undergrad plus some clinical training. This leads to the odd perception that everyone should be able to finish the doctorate in the same number of years as undergrad plus internship (i.e., 4+1).

Recently, on being asked where he plans to be 5 years from now, a student applying to clinical doc programs this fall said he plans to be in a faculty position at that time. Such a plan would require getting in the first time (year 1) and then successfully completing the doctoral program + internship + successful faculty job search in 4 years.

 

[MCParent]

Per another thread and AcronymAllergy's post above, I'm reminded of how many students seem to think that doctoral training is just more classes a la undergrad plus some clinical training. This leads to the odd perception that everyone should be able to finish the doctorate in the same number of years as undergrad plus internship (i.e., 4+1).

Recently, on being asked where he plans to be 5 years from now, a student applying to clinical doc programs this fall said he plans to be in a faculty position at that time. Such a plan would require getting in the first time (year 1) and then successfully completing the doctoral program + internship + successful faculty job search in 4 years.

Thanks for the feedback!

I'll see what actual data I can dig up on that and then make an infographic or something.

 

[CheetahGirl]

Thanks for the feedback!

I'll see what actual data I can dig up on that and then make an infographic or something.

Yes, I agree, I would report average time to completion for programs. (There's another thread about the variability between programs to completion..5-7 years.) Also, many programs have the maximum number of years to completion (usually 8), after 8-years you have to prove some sort of personal grievance to your program (like death of a spouse, sometimes-not always - birth of a child, significant bodily injury, etc.) to explain why you couldn't finish in a reasonable amount of time or you could be dismissed. Usually programs' student handbooks will detail these maximum number of years to completion.

 

[cara susanna]

Per another thread and AcronymAllergy's post above, I'm reminded of how many students seem to think that doctoral training is just more classes a la undergrad plus some clinical training. This leads to the odd perception that everyone should be able to finish the doctorate in the same number of years as undergrad plus internship (i.e., 4+1).

Recently, on being asked where he plans to be 5 years from now, a student applying to clinical doc programs this fall said he plans to be in a faculty position at that time. Such a plan would require getting in the first time (year 1) and then successfully completing the doctoral program + internship + successful faculty job search in 4 years.

Haha, for a faculty job? Most people I know on the academic path wait at least their fifth year before applying to internship because they want to rack up publications (myself included).

 

[InNae]

Haha, for a faculty job? Most people I know on the academic path wait at least their fifth year before applying to internship because they want to rack up publications (myself included).

Right? I had to draw on my years of clinical training to control my facial expression when he said that. I was intentionally 5+1, as were most of my classmates.

 

[syzergy]

Great resource! I'll definitely send this out to my undergrad RA's.

One thing though, the grey text on the white background is a little hard to read. Am I getting old?

 

[MCParent]

Great resource! I'll definitely send this out to my undergrad RA's.

One thing though, the grey text on the white background is a little hard to read. Am I getting old?

If you had trouble I assume other people might too; it looks clear to me but there might be differences by monitors/displays. I just changed it to black text.

 

[syzergy]

If you had trouble I assume other people might too; it looks clear to me but there might be differences by monitors/displays. I just changed it to black text.

That's a good point. I have a massive monitor so the resolution might be a bit off. Black looks great!

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Thanks for the feedback!

I'll see what actual data I can dig up on that and then make an infographic or something.

Graphs/images for comparison of data can really be impactful, as some ppl do better w visual representations of data.

 

[KillerDiller]

Just wanted to bump this thread because I noticed today that the website now appears on the first page of google results when searching for "psychology graduate school." Sadly, there are still sponsored links at the top of the page for places like Walden , but the more we drive this up, the more access people will have to objective information on how to evaluate programs.