Tips on Applying to Grad School!

Applying to graduate school can be a daunting experience full of self-doubt and insecurity (though Dr. Veilleux would argue that it is worth it in the end!). One excellent way to combat the negative feelings is to be as armed as possible with information about the process, from selecting programs through managing the in-person interview. Thankfully, there are many sources online for understanding how grad school applications work. See below for some of Dr. V’s favorite sources:

• Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology has a new website (clinicalpsychgradschool.org) with a lot of great information about graduate school in clinical psychology and some important components to think about when selecting a program.  Check it out!!
• Dr. Mitch Prinstein, of the University of North Carollina, has an invaluable “Uncensored Advice for Applying to Graduate School in Clinical Psychology” which includes descriptions of alternate grad programs in related fields (social work, counseling, developmental psychology, psychiatry)
• The book, “Insiders Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology” is an invaluable resource on applied psychology grad programs.
• Dr. Veilleux has presented at the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies conference on how to write a good personal statement for graduate school. She has expanded her advice to a five-page guide on writing a personal statement; download it yourself for some tips!
• Dr. Veilleux has also developed a handout for making an academic CV; download that here as well!
• Careers conducting psychotherapy
• Resources on preparing for and applying to graduate school

As another tip, you might have been given the advice to email prospective faculty members to ask if they are taking a student.  This is good advice only if that information is not posted clearly somewhere online. Some programs post information on which faculty are taking students on the program website, and other faculty (Dr. Veilleux included!) post updated information specifically on their personal websites. If the information is posted clearly on a personal or program website, DO NOT EMAIL THE FACULTY MEMBER TO ASK IF THEY ARE TAKING A STUDENT.  Because if you do, you’re essentially telling the faculty member that you didn’t look at their website and thus you don’t pay attention to details…you don’t want a prospective mentor to think that about you, do you?  Instead, do one of these things:  (1) Do nothing and just apply if the faculty member says they are taking a student–not emailing ahead of time won’t hurt you.  (2) Email a polite but brief introduction, telling the faculty member you are planning to apply.  This email should be informative and friendly and not require a response.  These are nice emails to receive because they are flattering, they put your name on the faculty member’s radar and it requires no additional effort;  (3) Come up with a substantive question about the faculty member’s work (read one of their papers and ask a question about it!  It’s always nice to know people are actually reading these papers!) or the direction of their future research.  This question also should not require a lengthy response–any question that requires a long response is unlikely to be answered because clinical psychology faculty members are often super busy teaching and writing and conducting studies, and additional demands on their time are not going to be viewed positively.