Clinical Psychology Information Night!
Not for Seniors Only
Are you a Freshman, Sophomore or Junior
considering Graduate Study in Clinical
Psychology?
WHEN?
WHERE?
TIME?
WHO?
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Science I – room 149
7:30 PM
Professor Stephen Lisman
Distinguished Teaching Professor
BU Department of Psychology
Selected topics
• Differences between M.A., Ph.D, PsyD,
Clinical and Counseling programs
• How to prepare for graduate study in
Psychology
• The application process
• Life in graduate school
• Frequently asked questions and
misconceptions
• Income of Psychologists
• Whatever else you want to ask about
Useful Resources
(click on hyperlinks)
General sources of interest
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http://psyccareers.apa.org
http://psych.hanover.edu/handbook/applic2.html
http://www.psywww.com/careers/index.htm
https://fp.auburn.edu/clinicalpsychgradprogs/
Psi Chi’s excellent resources
• http://www.psichi.org/pubs/search.aspx?categor
y1=7
• http://www.psichi.org/Support/ ….enter search term
(continued)
Useful Resources (continued)
• Differentiating PsyD/PhD, Clinical/Counseling,
etc.
• http://www.psichi.org/pubs/articles/article_171.aspx
Topics to be covered
• Considering a master’s? (below)
• The Unvalidated Graduate School Potential Test
• Important factors in graduate admissions
Conceptions and Misconceptions
• Is grad school just 4-6 more years of
“going to school”?
(what is life in grad school like?)
• Is it more difficult to get into clinical psych
grad programs than to get into medical
school?
• What will my income be?
• Should you even bother to apply?
(see the Unvalidated Grad School Potential Test)
Decisions
• PhD or PsyD?
• Counseling or Clinical?
• Affordable?
• The student with the Top 10 list
• A master’s degree?
c
Clc
Clinical
and Counseling
Psychology Programs
(differences most often are in emphases and are relative, not distinct)
Ccoun
Cou
Col
Cl
Clinical
No. of programs (2009)
Acceptance rates
234
8%
Counseling
66
6%
Where “housed”
Dept of Psychol.
Psych, Counseling, Ed.
Assessment training
IQ, Projectives, Pers.,
Objective, etc.
Career, vocational, etc.
Therapy orientation
CBT, Psychodynamic
Employment
Private practice (Cl>Co)
Rogerian
UCC (Co>Cl)
PsyD or PhD
(from Norcross et al.)
[ Differences are more quantitative – not qualitative, ]
http://www.psichi.org/pubs/articles/article_171.aspx
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Research skills
Length of training…….
Acceptance rates …….
Financial assistance
Loan debt
Licensure exam scores
• The student with the Top 10 list
• A master’s degree?
pros and cons:
Should You Get a Master’s First?
Master's and Myth: Little-Known Information About a
Popular Degree
• where?
Other good Master’s programs
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•
Villanova
St. Joseph’s
University of North Carolina Wilmington
Ball State
Connecticut College
What to look for…
• Read the program data (“Truth in
Advertising”)
• Characteristics of recent classes (e.g., BU)
http://www2.binghamton.edu/psychology/graduate/clinicalpsychology/applicant-data.html
• Research/practice (e.g., “Insider’s Guide”)
• APPIC data -- match rates for internship
• “Fit”
I read your application folder…
• The data on what counts most
(see next two slides)
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Domains of excellence/accomplishment
Uniqueness
Skills
Letters of recommendation
• From whom?
• How to help letter writers to help you
• You worked part time
FAQs
• What should I be doing when? (timelines)
http://www.psichi.org/Pubs/Articles/Article_801.aspx
(continued)
FAQs
• How much weight is given to the GRE?
• http://www.psichi.org/Pubs/Articles/Article_
818.aspx (GRE revisions)
FAQs
• What if my grades were not so good one
semester (year/2 years)?
• What if my research was not clinical?
• What if my recommendations are not from
clinical psychologists?
• What if my statistics grades are weak?
• What if I don’t get in?
THE UNVALIDATED GRADUATE SCHOOL POTENTIAL TEST
Developed by Patricia Keith-Spiegel
This exercise is developed to assist you in exploring whether graduate school is for you. Although this
'test' has not undergone any validation evaluations (i.e., checking to see if the answers one gives are
indeed reliable predictors of graduate school success or failure) the items are based on knowledge of
the graduate school experience and have 'face validity.' The items are so transparent that anyone
could 'fake' a 'successful' profile. However, unless you answer each question in a completely honest
fashion, the results will be of no use whatsoever. Remember, no one will see the results except you,
so you aren't trying to perform for or impress anyone!
Answer each question according to how it applies to you using the following scale:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Slightly
Disagree
No
Opinion
Slightly
Agree
Agree
Strongly
Agree
1. Living on a strict budget for 4 to 7 years while studying most of the time does not bother me at all.
2. I enjoy writing term papers.
3. I hate giving verbal presentations in front of class.
4. I enjoy reading books about psychology even if they are not assigned reading. .
5. I put off studying for a test as long as possible.
Grad School Potential Test (cont’d)
6. On many occasions I have given up desirable social opportunities to study instead.
7 . I expect to earn a very good salary (i.e., $50,000 per year or more) soon after I get my graduate degree.
8 I hate to study.
9. I have trouble concentrating on my studies for hours at a time
10. I read over recent issues of professional journals on a fairly regular basis.
11 I dislike spending lots of time in the library.
12. I have a tremendous drive to enter a profession in psychology.
13. There are other careers besides one in psychology that are also of great interest to me.
14. I intend to work full-time at my career for most of my lifetime.
15. I’m sick of school right now.
16. I get good grades.
17. My grades are far below the capacity I actually have.
18. I have a flair for statistics.
19 I think a PhD would be valuable to have primarily because of the social status it provides (e.g., being
addressed as 'Doctor').
20. I like doing research projects.
21. I dislike being in competition with other students.
22. I can carry out academic projects without direction and assistance.
23. I will have to work at a job during the graduate school years in order to support myself.
24. I am already comfortably competent (or well on my way) with computer skills
and word-processing technology.
25. I get along very well with professors.
Grad School Potential Test (cont’d)
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SCORING
Add up your total score of points from the scale. For items 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, and
23, REVERSE your scoring (i.e., give yourself 7 points for a I answer, 6 points for a 2 answer,
etc.).
KEITH-SPIEGEL'S INTERPRETATION OF TOTAL SCORE
156+ Good graduate school material. Your goals, attitudes, accomplishments, and habits
appear to coincide with what is usually necessary to succeed in grad school.
130-155 You can probably make it if you also make some changes before you start.
78-129 Cause for concern. You may be bright enough, but there are other problems.
26- 77 Carefully reconsider going to graduate school at this time. The picture of a satisfied &
successful student just isn’t there.
Keith-Spiegel adds that she gives the above breakdown because that's what tests like this usually
offer, but that your total score gives only very general guidance. She goes on to say that
'personally, I think that an analysis of your response to each item individually is far more useful
than any overall generalizations based on a total score.