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Kisses of Death in the Graduate School Application Process
Abstract
A survey of psychology graduate admissions committee chairs revealed 5 categories of mistakes applicants make that diminish their probability of acceptance. We discuss 3 strategies that psychology departments can use to decrease the likelihood that students will commit these mistakes in their graduate school applications and provide suggestions that will help students avoid these mistakes.
The ideal student, seen through the eyes of graduate faculty, is gifted and creative, very bright and extremely motivated to learn, perfectly suited to the program, eager to actively pursue the lines of inquiry valued by the faculty, pleasant, responsible, and devoid of serious personal problems.
—Keith-Spiegel & Wiederman (2000, p. 32)
... The field of speech-language pathology has begun to delve into the use of personal statements in the application process with a critical lens (Fuse, 2018;Girolamo et al., 2022;Kovacs, 2022). As a historically and predominantly White profession, expectations of a priori knowledge of what 'strong' writing skills should look like (Appleby & Appleby, 2006), influence how students who aren't provided with this linguistic 'key' are evaluated. Fuse (2018) discussed student perception and noted that one of the main concerns with regard to English language proficiency was in the area of writing. ...
... Rather than viewing disclosures of woundedness or lived experiences with mental health concerns as reasons for suspicion (Appleby & Appleby, 2006), training can focus on the areas of concern for wounded healers and introduce practices to maintain wellness and prevent burnout. This aligns with recommendations for proactive curricular changes to equip CTs with the knowledge and skills to reduce the risk of burnout and integrate self-care into their lives (Thompson et al., 2011). ...
... Rather than viewing disclosures of woundedness or lived experiences with mental health concerns as reasons for suspicion (Appleby & Appleby, 2006), training can focus on the areas of concern for wounded healers and introduce practices to maintain wellness and prevent burnout. This aligns with recommendations for proactive curricular changes to equip CTs with the knowledge and skills to reduce the risk of burnout and integrate self-care into their lives (Thompson et al., 2011). ...
... 31 Traditional viewpoints in graduate programs recommend against disclosures of mental health diagnoses in graduate application materials, with more recent research indicating that perspectives on disclosure can differ by discipline. 32,33 The decision to selfdisclose one's autistic identity appears to be complex for both autistic workers broadly and disabled psychologists. 25,34,35 Alongside this complexity, researchers have found that participants with higher levels of stigma had stronger negative impressions of autistic individuals when an autism diagnosis was disclosed, while those with higher levels of autism knowledge rated first impressions more positively when the diagnosis was disclosed but not when the diagnosis was absent. ...
Background: Due to a combination of thin-slice judgments, ableism, bias, and a focus on allistic (non-autistic) dispositional standards, autistic people may experience admission issues and retention problems in mental health professional fields at higher rates than allistic people.
Method: To better understand their training and gatekeeping experiences, we interviewed 10 autistic mental health professionals and trainees from a variety of mental health professional programs (e.g., counseling psychology, clinical psychology, counseling, and social work). Utilizing reflexive thematic analysis, we generated three themes across our 11 semi-structured interview questions.
Results: Our generated themes included ableism (systemic and interpersonal), personal toll (cognitive load and emotional toll), and protective factors (internal and external). Our understanding of our interrelated themes is informed by both double empathy theory and the minority stress model. Participants in our study also regularly discussed a need for better autistic mentorship.
Discussion: We discuss recommendations for training program advocacy and neurodiversity-affirming practices. Based on our participant answers to strength-based and support-oriented questions, we offer suggestions for autistic mental health graduate trainees.
... Extensive research has identified numerous barriers contributing to the substantial underrepresentation of racial/ethnic minorities and first-generation students in graduate programs (Silverstein et al., 2023;Toyokawa & DeWald, 2020). These barriers encompass pressures favoring immediate employment over pursuing graduate education (Holley & Gardner, 2012;Leyva, 2011), explicit bias and discrimination in graduate admissions (Milkman et al., 2015), inadequate mentorship (Maton et al., 2011), and insufficient knowledge and preparedness for the graduate school application process (Appleby & Appleby, 2006;Cochran et al., 2017). Cochran et al. (2017) explored the hurdles faced by prospective students from racial and ethnic minorities during the graduate program application process. ...
College students majoring in psychology often lack knowledge concerning the amount of education required for their desired career goals. For example, many psychology majors do not realize the necessity of attending graduate school to pursue certain careers. The present study sought to assess the effectiveness of a brief intervention designed to increase knowledge about postbaccalaureate education and careers in psychology and other related fields. Forty-eight psychology undergraduate students attended a graduate school information session in the spring of 2023. During the session they received information about various graduate degrees in psychology and how to prepare application materials. All students completed a knowledge test and career decision-making scale before and after the session. Results showed a significant increase in knowledge about graduate school and career self-efficacy after the session. The session was especially beneficial in reducing knowledge equity gaps based on racial identity and generation status. These findings underscore the potential of brief, cost-effective interventions to enhance career readiness. Educational institutions, especially those who primarily serve students from underrepresented backgrounds, should consider implementing similar programs to support students pursuing careers in psychology or related fields that require postbaccalaureate education.
... Along similar lines, our study replicated the frequently reported finding that letters of recommendation, good grades, and a student's GPA (all are non-HIPs) are highly important for and increase the chances of graduate school admission success (cf. Appleby & Appleby, 2006;Landrum et al., 2022;Littleford et al., 2018). The unique contribution of this paper is the finding that other HIPs are rated as being of only low to moderate importance. ...
Background: Participation in high-impact practices (HIPs) is related to student success and development. Less is known about whether HIPs can increase students’ chances of getting into graduate school in psychology. High-impact practice participation might be one strategy for students to stand out in the competitive graduate school admission process. Objective: We examined (a) the perceived availability of HIPs and (b) the perceived role that HIP participation plays in psychology graduate program admission success. Method: A total of 81 U.S. psychology professors who are involved in graduate program admission decisions rated the availability, importance, and influence of HIPs and non-HIPs (e.g., GPA) on psychology graduate program admission success. Results: Many HIPs are widely available. Of all HIPs, only undergraduate research was rated as very important and strongly increases admission chances. Participation in honors, writing-intensive courses, and applied experiences slightly increased admission chances. Conclusion: Research continues to be the most beneficial HIP when applying to graduate programs in psychology. Non-HIPs (e.g., grades, letters of recommendation) are more important in graduate program admission than most HIPs. Teaching Implications: Students, academic advisors, and faculty mentors can use the results of this study to align students’ HIP participation with postgraduation goals.
... With that in mind, undergraduate students who seek graduate training in psychology may benefit by developing the background and skills to succeed in the competition for acceptance into graduate school (Landrum et al., 2022;Lang et al., 2022). To do so, students and professors need to be aware of what graduate admissions committees are looking for in the applicants they select (Appleby & Appleby, 2006;Littleford et al., 2018). ...
Background
Admission to graduate school in psychology is competitive. It is essential for both undergraduate students who seek graduate training and their professors to understand the key factors that contribute to successful applications for graduate study.
Objective
We aimed to see how the global COVID-19 pandemic affected graduate admissions decisions by comparing the results from nationwide surveys distributed in 2014 and 2022.
Method
A Qualtrics script asked respondents to rate the importance of 16 factors in admission to graduate school in psychology by reporting a percentage value for each factor, adding up to 100% across all factors.
Results
The importance of factors that had figured prominently in the initial sample (e.g., research experience, undergraduate GPA, recommendation letters, and personal statement) increased or remained stable in the recent sample, but all versions of the Graduate Record Exam decreased in importance.
Conclusions
Students who aspire to graduate study in psychology should engage in research and disseminate the results in papers and presentations.
Teaching Implications
Professors involved in training undergraduate psychology students need to provide opportunities for their students to engage in research, and to find outlets for the students to disseminate their findings such as undergraduate journals and regional conferences.
Background
Although psychotherapists' motivations in choosing the profession have been investigated, there is not enough information in the literature about how personal motivations affect their choice of becoming a psychotherapist. For this reason, this study aimed to reveal the reasons why therapists who received a psychiatric diagnosis during adolescence chose this profession and their relationship with the disease.
Methods
To explore this, semi‐structured interviews were conducted with five female psychotherapists in Turkey who had a psychiatric diagnosis between the ages of 12 and 18 years and had at least a clinical master's degree and practical experience. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used in the research.
Findings
Three superordinate themes and nine subthemes depending on these superordinate themes were created: the first theme, ‘Identity’, has three subthemes; the second theme, ‘Why I chose this profession and what I found’, has five subthemes; and the final theme, ‘Being a diagnostic psychotherapist’, has two subthemes.
Conclusion
This study suggests that incorporating therapists' personal experiences into supervision may contribute to improved professional skills, patient interactions and the overall effectiveness of therapy.
Applying to graduate school can be particularly challenging for students from historically minoritized backgrounds due to a hidden curriculum in the graduate admissions process. To address this issue, a team of volunteer STEM trainees established the Científico Latino Graduate Student Mentorship Initiative (CL-GSMI) in 2019 to support applicants from historically minoritized backgrounds. CL-GSMI is designed to improve access to critical resources, including information, mentorship, and financial support, and has assisted 443 students in applying and matriculating to graduate school. Using program evaluation data from 2020 to 2021, we highlight areas in graduate school admissions that can be improved to promote equity and inclusion.
This book is more than a "memoir" of my twenty-three years of experience as a graduate school counselor. It is also the distillation of contributions that thousands of people made to this project, many of whom I do not even know.
Numerous original surveys, some of which were very labor-intensive for those who completed them, were conducted to uncover and validate information that will be of invaluable use to prospective graduate students. The more than 1,500 respondents—graduate school support staff, graduate school faculty, undergraduate faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, American Psychological Association division representatives, and state psychological association and other professional organization staff—gave of their time and expertise so that I might enlighten my readers well beyond the scope of my own experinces. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
identify the components of advising / examine implementation strategies / summarize our recommendations for advising undergraduate psychology majors
what can advisers and advising programs do to assist [undergraduate] students in developing educational plans that reflect their academic, personal, and career needs / address this question by analyzing (a) advising relationships, (b) content areas, (c) resources and training, (d) student diversity, and (e) evaluation / describe the dynamics or conditions for enhancing respect and shared responsibility / describe salient features of decision making (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Most undergraduate psychology majors do not opt for graduate school but attempt to enter the workforce. We surveyed employers in 3 regions of the United States to assess the importance of qualities, skills, and abilities that psychology graduates need. Results indicate that the 5 most important qualities, skills, and abilities to employers are listening skills, desire and ability to learn, willingness to learn new and important skills, getting along with others, and ability to work with others as part of a work team. Faculty members advising students may wish to emphasize the importance of these people and teamwork skills in an effort to ensure that students have a sense of what is important to employers.