How do I get into graduate school | What do graduate schools want? | Application process | Undergraduate timeline

What do Graduate Schools Want?

Most graduate schools go through a two-step selection process, in which they first eliminate applicants whose "numbers" (grades, GRE scores) aren't high enough. After that, candidates are closely examined to determine their qualifications and match with the program. Particia Keith-Spiegel (1991), in her excellent book "The Complete Guide to Graduate School Admissions: Psychology and Related Fields," surveyed 110 individuals on selection committees in high-status Ph.D. programs in Psychology, asking them what they valued most in applicants. Some of the highest rated qualifications (rated by the people making the decisions) include:

• Research experience (resulting in publication or presentation, or as a research assistant).
• Match of the applicant to the program.
• Clarity and focus of the well-written statement of purpose.
• A supportive mentor.
• Applicant knowledge and interest in program.
• Underrepresented group membership.
• Statistics and research methodology courses taken.
• Natural sciences courses taken.
• Honors or merit scholarships.
• Personal contact with applicant.

Of course, very few applicants have all of these qualifications.

What about Community Service and Clinical Experience?

You may notice that Community Service and Clinical Experience were not listed in the list (above) of what graduate schools want. This is largely because non-clinical graduate programs generally don't care about clinical experience (although a bit won't hurt). Most clinical programs, however, do rate experience as somewhat important.

La Sierra students are at an advantage, here, because community service is an integral part of the University Studies curriculum. Clinical programs expect most of their applicants to have participated in at least some form of community service.

"Clinical" experience is a nice touch to your application to graduate school, but not necessarily a requirement. To do "clinical" work (note that "clinical" is in quotes--you won't be a therapist at the undergraduate level) you need to be working with psychology clients under the supervision of a licensed psychologist or social worker.

If possible, you should try to do service working with populations that you hope to work with in your career. For example, if you want to work with children eventually, try to work with children now; if you want to become a geriatric psychologist, try to work with older people now.

Although some clinical experience at the undergraduate level is good, too much can actually be a disadvantage; graduate programs like students that they can mold into psychologists, rather than students who think they already know everything. So, though you should get some community service and clinical experience if you are planning on going to graduate school, don't neglect other aspects of your undergraduate career--like grades and research, for example. And by all means, don't say that you have "done therapy," were an "intern," or have experience as a "psychologist." Those terms all have specific meaning, and an undergraduate student can't honestly say that they have that kind of experience.

Characteristics of Successful Graduate Students in Clinical Psychology

Descutner and Thelen (1989) asked 79 faculty members from nine APA-approved clinical psychology graduate programs to describe a successful clinical psychology graduate student by rating 25 characteristics and behaviors on a 6-point scale ranging from not important (1) to very important (6). These characteristics and behaviors (and their average ratings) are listed below in decreasing order of rated importance.

It is no surprise that faculty in clinical psychology programs place a premium value on graduate students who work hard, possess good social skills, and write well. However, a surprise does occur with the fourth and fifth items. Most students preparing for graduate education in clinical psychology assume that clinical and counseling skills will be much more valuable to them in graduate school than their ability to perform research. NOT SO! Descutner and Thelen's data clearly indicate that potential clinicians should work equally as hard to develop their research skills--in courses such as experimental psychology, statistics, computer-assisted research, and directed senior research--as they do to develop their clinical and counseling skills. Another interesting finding from this survey is that the ability to handle stress and display discipline are rated as more important to graduate student success than either good grades or high intelligence. Apparently graduate faculty prefer to work with emotionally stable students who can produce consistently above average work and meet deadlines than with highly intelligent, straight "A" students who are personally and academically erratic, unorganized, or unpredictable. Undergraduate students who suffer from stress and who have a difficult time managing their academic and personal lives in a disciplined manner can develop the skills to overcome these deficiencies through classes (e.g., Stress Management) or personal counseling.

Portions of this page were adapted with permission of Herbert Friedman, College of William and Mary.

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