Getting into Graduate School and Life After

1. Getting into Graduate School and Life After Presented By: Dr. Carlee Beth Hawkins Dr. Sheryl Reminger Dr. Frances Shen

2. Overview • What criteria do graduate schools use to make decisions? • What is the difference between Master’s and Ph.D. programs? • What are personal statements? • How to get good recommendation letters? • How to prep for the GREs? • How to research schools?

3. Which criteria is most important?

4. Which criteria is most important? Norcross et al., 2005 & Landrum et al., 1994

5. Why Pursue a Master’s Degree? • Advantages: • Provides multiple training and career opportunities • Less time to earn (2 to 4 years, vs. 4 to 7 for doctoral) • Good option for those who are uncertain about pursuing doctoral degree, or don’t feel as prepared or competitive for doctoral degree (less stringent admission requirements) • Disadvantages: • Career options may be somewhat limited by state licensing and certification regulation • Lower salary ceiling • Master’s students are less likely to receive financial support compared to doctoral students

6. Applying to Doctoral Programs • Determine what is the most appropriate degree for the field that you hope to pursue • To increase your attractiveness as a doctoral applicant: • Obtain broad training and good foundation in core subjects • Maintain good grades • Establish good relationships with professors • Obtain research experience • Obtain internship experiences in concentration areas

7. Percentage of Students Who Apply & Are Accepted Source: Norcross, Kohout, & Wicherski (2005)

8. Questions?

9. Why Do You Need to Write a Personal Statement? • Assessment of communication & writing skills • Get to know you beyond your “stats” • Interest • Enthusiasm • Why this particular program • Assessment of thefitbetween their program and you!

10. How Do You Write an Impressive Personal Statement? • Get their attention! • Focus on specificsand examples, not generalizations. • Typical themes: • Career goals, Why graduate school?, Why this program? • Tailor each statement to the school/program • Follow any instructions • Edit, edit, edit!

11. Letters of recommendation • How many do you need? • Who should you ask? • How should you ask? • Give plenty of notice (2 weeks +) • Be clear about addresses, instructions, and deadlines • Provide statement, GRE scores • If asking professors in the Psychology Department, fill out the “Letter of Recommendation Form” at: http://www.uis.edu/psychology/students/forms/index.html

12. Letters of recommendation • The strongest letters of recommendation: • Include personal knowledge of you • Academic skills • Clinical skills • Research skills • Any honors or awards you have received • Your career interests and qualifications for that career • Are of good quality • Have an established, positive relationship with the writer

13. Questions?

14. GRE: The Graduate Record Exam • GRE website: www.ets.org/gre/ • General Test and Subject Test (Psychology) • Information about the GRE computer-based General Test • Test revised in August 2011 • 3 hour, 45 minute exam • Two 30-minute Verbal Reasoning sections • Two 35-minute Quantitative Reasoning sections • Two 30-minute Analytical Writing sections • “Research” questions are also included • Scoring system has changed with the new revision • Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning scores fall on a 130-170 point scale (average is about 150) • Analytical Writing scores fall on a 0-6 point scale • Check the ETS website for most recent percentile information: http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/scores/understand/

15. Taking the GRE • Where do I take it? • Testing centers in Decatur, Peoria, St. Louis, Chicago • How much does it cost to take? • $205 for the General Test, $150 for the Subject Test • How do I study for it? • GRE practice test books • GRE classes • Sample questions can be found at the ETS website: • http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/about/content/verbal_reasoning • http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/about/content/quantitative_reasoning • http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/about/content/analytical_writing • ETS HAS SOFTWARE YOU CAN DOWNLOAD FOR FREE

16. How to research schools? • Which programs should I apply to? • Explore your career options • Look up information on the web • Be careful to use only “reputable” sources! • See “Resources for Lists of Graduate Schools” handout • Talk to professors or professionals in the community • Consider both master’s and doctoral programs • Consider a mix of desirable and back-up programs

17. Does this all sound intimidating? • The UIS Career Development Center can help! • http://www.uis.edu/career/ • The Career Development Center can… • Help you create a grad school application timeline with all of the schools you are interested in • Help you research schools and programs • Help with resumes, applications, and personal statements • Offer mock interviews for job and school interviews • Help you find valuable experience opportunities that may help you get into grad school

18. Additional Resources • Graduate study in psychology(published by APA every year) • Insider's guide to graduate programs in clinical and counseling psychology(Norcross & Sayette, 2016) • The psychology major: Career options and strategies for success(Landrum & Davis, 2013) • Applying to graduate school in psychology (Kracen & Wallace, 2008) • Getting in: A step-by-step plan for gaining admission to graduate school in psychology (APA, 2007) • The complete guide to graduate school admission: Psychology, counseling and related fields (Keith-Spiegel & Wiederman, 2000) • How are admissions decisions made for clinical psychology graduate programs? (Pashak, Handal, & Ubinger, 2012)

19. Questions?