Personal and Nonobvious Paths to Graduate School Admission

by: Michael P. Griffin, M.A.
University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
APAGS Member

Five years ago, I was sitting in my room in Baltimore, Maryland, with four letters of rejection opened in front of me on the desk. I was rejected from each clinical psychology program to which I had applied. From that moment of discouragement and despair, I set out to attend those places that had rejected me. Discussing options with my professors led me to attend a masters program in psychology. My professors encouraged me to attend a masters program to strengthen my application via two routes: proving I could excel at a graduate level and developing my research experience. The masters program I attended provided me opportunities to do both, and my application was much stronger as a result. In addition, I was able to fine tune my interests and discover the specialty area I was most interested in pursuing, psychology and law. Three years ago, although accepted to a doctoral program, I was sitting in my room in Williamsburg, Virginia, with two letters of rejection from doctoral programs I most wanted to attend opened in front of me on the desk. Three years later and after having been admitted to my top choice program I now put fingers to keyboard to organize and present my thoughts of what I did and learned to get here, and to offer some pathways for aspiring graduate students who are in the same position I was in five years ago.

The path to graduate school can be daunting. Prospective graduate students sometimes apply to doctoral programs and are easily accepted because they have high GPA and GRE scores, along with experiences and publications that make them desirable to selection committees. However, more often than not applicants find themselves in the position I was in: a less than perfect GPA, decent GRE scores, and a strong desire to turn back time and retake those few courses that diminished their record. Since I am now in a doctoral program I can offer possibilities and hope, especially to those who are where I was five years ago. This article is geared towards those aspiring students who have hard work ahead of them. More importantly, this article is written to provide hope for students who are concerned about their chances of getting accepted into the doctoral program of their choice. I have been successful in my endeavor and there is no reason you should make the same mistakes I made.

Desire and motivation towards attaining admission into a graduate program are the first essential components. The process of applying is involved. If you have wavering desire you may not have the stamina required to do what you must to be accepted. This becomes a circular problem in that low stamina diminishes desire and diminished desire reduces stamina. This point can not be overstated. Without a strong desire to be in a doctoral program for psychology and law I would have given up following my second time applying.

The second criterion of applying to a doctoral program is focus and there are two parts to focus. If you are not focused then you should not apply to doctoral programs. The time, energy, money, and stress associated with applying to programs is considerable. If you are not focused on the tasks associated with the application process, you will run into problems here. Second, your interests within the particular area you are applying to should be focused (e.g., technology within law and psychology). Without this, you will not apply to the programs with the best academic fit, you will not apply to the programs that best fit your working style, and selection committees will discern your lack of focus as a weakness in your application. In addition, you will apply to a far greater variety of unsuitable schools than if you focused on a specific research or career interest. To focus your interests, speak to professors already established in the field, graduate students who are currently searching for their own research ideas, or conduct literature reviews to get ideas. Students with preliminary focus and interests should conduct research in a methods course to get a feel for topics they may want to pursue. If there are not clear opportunities, seek them out by talking with faculty or by contacting researchers at nearby universities. Focusing interest has several positive effects. First, focusing your interest will give you a better understanding of the literature within your field of interest (be it as general as cognitive psychology or specific as jury decision-making as a function of socio-economic status). Focusing your interest will also contribute when it comes to the interview because it can prepare you to speak intelligently about topics pursued by graduate students or professors at your prospective schools. At the least you should be able to discuss their interests competently. I was in a position in every interview of having to know content only tangentially related to my interests. An example of needing to know tangentially related information is one interview in which I was asked what I thought of international/global policing and the role of psychology in determining the effective models of insuring compliance among countries. My interests in jury selection, expert testimony, and technology in the courts did not prepare me to answer the question before me. Luckily, I had read information on the different research on international policing within psych/law while in my Master’s program.

Where to go?
After you have decided that you have an interest in psychology as a career and you have a specific topic in mind, start thinking about what degree you need to attain your career goals. For example, why would you get a Psy.D. if your greatest interest is in conducting research or an M.A. when you really want to see clients in a private practice? It is important to know the different options available. Once you have decided what degree you want, start looking at schools. As with college you may have geographical restrictions, but I suggest that you not limit yourself too much by location. For doctoral programs in psychology and law, for example, there are only a handful of accredited universities and they range in location from the mid-Atlantic to the Deep South to the western deserts. Limit programs first by your interests, then by general degrees offered (experimental Ph.D., clinical Ph.D., Psy.D. etc.), then by specializations, and finally by research interest overlap with professors at each university. Often times as you are researching a professor’s interests to see if they coincide with your own, their website list of published works will not be up-to-date. In this case I recommend that you contact the professor to see if their interests have changed. This is important because articles they have written are not published for several years after the idea was first conceptualized, the research was run, and the article was finally printed. Many university departments are not timely in updating their websites and making current information available. Finally, many professors expect that you will follow their research interests for the duration of time they are your supervisor. This is often done at the expense of your research goals so it is vital that you are interested in their work.

Review your credentials
Although you may have a good idea of what you have already accomplished, look back over the past several years and organize your activities into categories including research experience, practical experience, clinical experience, course preparation, etc. There may be overlap but it helps to organize this information so that you can see areas in which you are lacking as well as areas where you have a distinct advantage over other applicants. This organizational product allows you to seek opportunities that will round out your application. This should be done before you contact professors or programs of interest. When speaking to professors, they may ask questions ranging from “What kind of research experience do you have in the field?” to “Do you have any hands-on experience working with children in a clinical population?” It is better to have a proactive rather than a reactive approach. An example of a proactive answer would be, “I do not have much research experience which is why I have just recently signed on to work with Professor X researching the influence of maternal care on infant development.” An example of a reactive answer would be, “I do not have much research experience, but I would really like to get some experience working with a professor who has interests in maternal care and infant development and I am still looking for opportunities that may be available in the area.” Both answers are fine, but the first shows the professor that you have already made the effort required to proactively seek out experiences to educate yourself and become a more desirable applicant. As a side note, never lie about what experience you have had or try to embellish your accomplishments. Other than the moral issues involved you run into two other problems. The first problem is that the professors may be familiar with the topic you bring up and will ask you specific questions that you will not be able to address. You may start floundering and the professor most likely will either assume you tried to pull the wool over their eyes or will think you are incompetent. The second problem is that psychology is a small community. There is a good chance the professors you are speaking to know the professor with whom you claim to have done this exciting work. When I applied I had work experience listed in my vita and a professor saw that I had worked with a friend of his. The professor contacted his friend to ask about my work ethic and me. I did not have my supervisor listed as a reference, but the professor knew him and wanted his opinion. Imagine how bad that would have turned out if I was trying to enhance my vita and thought I would make myself look more important in the job than I was.

Create a vita and resume
The construction of a vita and resume is something that many people put off until they apply to programs. Some applications do not require a vita and so, students never write one. I recommend writing one before you contact any professors or programs. In fact, creating a vita is one way to organize your experiences and identify your strengths. Take the information you reviewed and organized above and put it on paper in such a way as to make it easy to read, scan, and recognize the important details. My vita includes undergraduate and graduate affiliations, graduation date, and grade-point average. I list published articles, professional presentations, and research experience chronologically followed by clinical/practical experience. I then note teaching experience, honors and awards, and group affiliations. Professors will not read every word so you want the organization of your vita to be easy to follow and you want the presentation of your vita to be professional and free of typographical errors (even if not reading every word, professors notice typos). Create a resume that is a one-page summation of your vita with a dash of personal statement. Highlight the main points of your experience on the resume and, on the top of the page include a brief statement about why you are applying to doctoral programs in psychology. This statement should be revised many times and checked for grammatical errors. I gave my resume and vita to friends, my parents, and professors in my undergraduate psychology department to get feedback. Each individual noted changes they felt I should make and I was able to use that information to my benefit.

Time to contact the professors
This is the moment of truth. You have researched what it is you want to do and where you want to do it, pulled your credentials together and written them up in a professional manner, and proactively addressed the weaknesses in your application. It is now time for the next step. First, make sure the person you want to work with is actually in the department and accepting students. In addition, you should know that contacting professors can be a tricky business. Some professors take vast amounts of time to try and respond with the best information they can whereas other professors never respond at all. Given you do not know what kind of professor you are dealing with I suggest you make an effort to contact the professor but do so in the least intrusive manner. Most professors find email to be an appropriate method for initial contact. If you email a professor and they do not want to talk to you they can delete your email without being inconvenienced or annoyed. Also, they can take a few days (or a month for one professor I wrote) to think about your email and write back to you. If you call them or set up an appointment to meet with them you are taking up a lot of their time at a point when they do not even know who you are. I highly recommend you not send a quick email to professors telling them you are interested in their research and the doctoral program at their institution. Start by writing a letter in some form of word processing software. These programs have grammar and spelling checks that exceed the capabilities of most email programs. In addition, personalize each email with regard to the name of the professor, institution, and why you are interested in working with them. Finally, go through several drafts and have each of those drafts proofread by different people before you send off an email. This is your first contact with the professors, so make sure you send an email that is grammatically correct and concise. The email should be specific but not too long as you do not want to give professors too much to read initially; remember you are trying to introduce yourself to them not tell them your life story. You will find that professors do not respond with the same attention to punctuation, grammar, and content that you do, but do not get lazy or impulsive with your communications with them. Always write your response in a word processor, have people read it over for comments and suggestions, and paste the completed document into the email response. It helps to remember that the professor is not the one trying to get into the program and does not see the need to take time and effort into responding to an email. You should think of each email as part of your application file. After you have made initial contact with professors the two of you may decide you want to meet in person to discuss your interests. Do your homework before you step foot into a professor’s office to discuss your interests. Also, a tempting thing to do is adopt the research interests of the professor with whom you are meeting, but be careful as professors within a department will talk about you and they may become confused as to what your interests are. Be honest about your interests and indicate how you feel your interests coincide with theirs. Be yourself and be prepared and professional.

Creating a personal statement
Writing a personal statement is difficult work because of the multitude of things you have to accomplish. The primary goal of the personal statement is to allow you an opportunity to speak to the application committee and sell yourself to the program. As such, it is important to achieve certain sub-goals in the final product of your personal statement. First, it is important to give a progression of your research interests and experiences that leads up to your applying to their doctoral program. This should include classes or research you conducted that inspired you and work experience that shaped your interests. This is the meat of the personal statement. I prefer to organize this section chronologically because it offers the best story of how you got where you are now. One thing you should not do is list your political affiliations, values, or moral commitments. Although these topics may be important to you, this statement is not being written to push your political agenda, it is being written to describe your journey toward a career in psychology. If one of these topics helped to focus your career goals it is fine to mention that topic, but be careful not to lose sight of the purpose of your statement. Also, if there are weaknesses in your application, point them out in your personal statement but do not be overly defensive or apologize. Discuss weaknesses objectively and succinctly. The second goal of your personal statement is to show how your research interests or career experiences fit well with the doctoral program to which you are applying. I outlined topics in this section of my personal statement including: what is unique about the philosophy or makeup of the program that sparked my interest, what unique resources are available in the program (perhaps a secure medical facility, a mental health center that specializes in treating PTSD, or a juvenile detention center) that I would like to utilize, and with whom do my research interests match? I placed this near the end of my personal statement so as to say, "Now that I have told you all about my interests and me, let me tell you how I think I can fit into your program." If the program accepts students on a mentor basis it is important not to indicate you want to work with everyone in the program. That causes confusion and indicates to the faculty that you are not as focused as you claim. The next sub-goal is making your personal statement stand out from the hundreds of other personal statements. This is largely done through the aforementioned history and match of your interests with the program, but everyone will be telling the application committee about themselves and so it is important to do something to positively set your statement apart from the others. The first paragraph is the best place to fulfill this goal because it can be used to grab attention, set the tone, and creates a working theme throughout the personal statement. More important than the first paragraph is the first sentence. A well-developed first sentence can be the difference between being and not being invited for an interview. What should your first sentence (and your first paragraph) be about? This is a question not easily answered. There is no formula for what professors like and do not like in personal statements. Some professors want to have a personal connection with you through what you write whereas other professors think all personal information should be filtered. I think about this issue as a challenge as it allows you to write something that could be taken either way depending on the professor’s personal disposition. This masterpiece does not have to be a long or complicated sentence but it has to be ambiguous and concise at the same time. An example can be found in the first sentence written by a friend of mine that states, “My first love in life was not psychology.” This is a remarkable introductory sentence. This sentence allows professors to think the writer is sharing something really important to him or allows them to think that he is merely setting the stage for how he began to get experience in the field and they are interested to know how his mind changed. Either way, the professors want to keep reading to see where he is going with this line of thought. The professors will remember that sentence when they are reading other personal statements and when they are deciding whom to invite for interviews. Finally, write and rewrite your personal statements. There is nothing more devastating than a poorly written personal statement. I wrote over twenty drafts of my personal statement before I sent off my application. It is essential to have many people proofread your statement, comment on style, and offer advice prior to submitting it as a finished work.

Recommendations from professors
I have never felt so good about my accomplishments as when I read a recommendation a professor wrote for me. Of course, the fact that I had worked hard to prepare myself for applying to doctoral programs had something to do with the glowing recommendation. Another factor was the fact that the professor had a way with words that I can only dream of attaining in my career. The single most important factor was that the professor was familiar with my abilities, personality, and accomplishments. This familiarity implies a need for two things: working closely with professors prior to applying to graduate school and demonstrating your qualifications throughout that experience. I suggest approaching a professor about a recommendation as early as September for December application deadlines. This gives them plenty of time and does not force them to write a recommendation in November when their schedules are hectic. I also suggest being straightforward when requesting a recommendation. An example of this is, “I was wondering if you would feel comfortable writing a good recommendation for me to send to graduate schools as part of my application.” This approach is preferred because if professors do not feel they know you well they can opt out of writing a recommendation before they get started. In addition, some professors would not mind writing a recommendation for you but it would not be as strong as you would like. Asking whether they would be willing to write a “good recommendation” will control for this. The information you give professors varies based on what they want from you, but generally I made a habit of handing them all the recommendation forms, along with the respective stamped envelopes in order of when they were due to the schools. I also provided professors with a page summarizing when each recommendation was due to the school and what their responsibilities were for each of them. You can fill in professors work address, telephone number, your address, etc. prior to giving them all the forms. I provided professors with a vita, personal statement, and an unofficial copy of my transcript. This provides professors with your interests, experiences, and academic record. Professors vary in their approach toward writing recommendations. Some professors write your recommendation immediately, whereas other professors will put off writing your recommendation (which can make the calmest student anxious). Some professors will share the recommendation with you, whereas other professors will not be as forthcoming. Some professors will put a great amount of time, thought, and effort into writing your recommendation, whereas other professors will merely check for spelling and grammatical errors. There is a fine art to dealing with professors (which I am not sure I have mastered) when it comes to reminding them of due dates, checking the status of your recommendations, and following-up any inquiries they may have without annoying them. You do not want to irritate the professors who are writing you recommendations, but you need to get the recommendations in on time. Unfortunately, there is variation in how you should proceed in this situation because professors differ so greatly in approach to recommendations and personality. My recommendation is to be direct and ask them at the outset how they deal with the timeline of completing recommendations. Make a joke about being concerned that you will annoy them and your desire to do everything on time. This will alleviate some of your stress and allow you to reference your discussion in any follow-up communication. Of course, you may not have to remind the professor, but it is good to plan on things not getting done as quickly as you expect.

Preparing your application
The application process is going digital. You can apply online with a credit card and complete an online form in less than an hour from start to finish including time required to send GRE scores and transcripts from your undergraduate institutions. Each school differs in how they process the applications. Some schools prefer electronic applications. However, if a school does not list a preference I strongly recommend you fight the urge to submit your application electronically. As exciting as technology is I can promise that what you submit, no matter how professional it looks at home will not look the same in your official file. In looking at online applications I have noticed that when they are printed for professors’ review the format can become distorted to the point they are difficult to read, choppy, or look bad. A second reason for submitting a paper application is that you can double-check what you are submitting. I know a girl that attached the wrong personal statement when she applied to doctoral programs electronically. As a result the selection committee at University A received a personal statement discussing how she really wanted to go to University B. That does not get you accepted to a program. Finally, submitting a paper application gives you the opportunity to use nice paper and a laser printer. In other words, you can increase the presentation of your application by submitting it the old fashioned way. This is one more way for you to show how important admission is to you while once again distinguishing yourself from other applicants. Most schools provide applicants with a checklist of what needs to be turned in and where to send everything. I made a practice of marking the checklist several times as I confirmed that I had included the material with my application. Forgetting to include a check for the appropriate amount or forgetting to include your personal statement will significantly slow down the process of applying. Finally, when applying you will have a deadline for which you must have your application to the school. Get your application completed and sent to the school at least a month before the deadline. That way you can confirm that your application was received, complete, and ready for review in time for you to correct any oversights that may have occurred. Also, given the mad rush of applications that comes in at the last minute your application has a better chance of not getting lost in the shuffle if submitted early. Some programs need to send materials to the graduate school before you can be considered or vice versa, you have to send your materials to the graduate school and wait for them to be forwarded to the program.

The staff is amazing
In writing a paper about applying to graduate programs it would be wise to make a comment or two about the people who make this process work, the administrative staff who answer questions, process your application, and set up most of the events during interviews. Consider for one moment that nobody in the program has spoken to you save the professor you want to work with and in preparing to meet with you a different professor decides to look over your file. The professor asks the administrative staff if they know anything about you. If you have been annoying, difficult to get in touch with, rude, or uncooperative, I can assure you that the “personality report” will not be positive. On the other hand, if you are accommodating, appropriate, kind, thankful, and sincere the report to the professor from administration will be that you are a great applicant and the professor should be happy to meet you. In addition, if you have any questions about the application, interview day, etc. the administration staff will work hard to help if you have been pleasant. I certainly made every effort to give the right impression to staff at the programs, which I think helped. Some programs give their current graduate students a say in who is and is not admitted to the program. This is not always a formal policy, but professors will ask their students what they thought of you, would you be someone they would like to work with, etc. As such, it behooves you to continue to consider yourself and “interviewee” when the current graduate students take you to dinner, or when you stay at one of their homes over the interview weekend, etc. Also, spouses and significant others may accompany you on your trip for the interview. This can be problematic in that your meeting with the professor may run over or you may turn down an opportunity to participate in a dinner due to already having made plans with someone you could spend time with any other day. In addition, I have noticed that if you see a professor or current graduate student while showing your significant other the campus it can be awkward. The reason may be that it is unclear as to what your relationship is and, as a result they are unsure whether to ask if he/she is moving with you, looking for jobs in the area, etc. My recommendation is to avoid all this and leave them either at home or in the hotel. In some cases, it may work that the significant other can come and see the place him/herself; maybe suggest they sign up for an undergraduate admissions tour on their own and plan to spend the day alone if they really want to see the school.

After the interview
I remember reading an article several years ago in the New York Times about how nobody writes thank you cards anymore. I agree that it is a shame and with regard to applying to graduate school I think it is ridiculous not to write one. If you are going to put hard work into applying to schools, researching professors' interests, emailing professors, going on interviews, etc. why would you not send a card thanking the professors with whom you met? This past spring I received a card from a girl whom I had met with and who applied to our program. The first thing I did was mention to my professor that I had received a card from her thanking me for my time. We spoke about how nice it was and how it really separates applicants from being "really good" to being "great.'' Even if you send a thank you via email, that is better than sending nothing at all.

After programs make their decisions
You have heard from everywhere you applied and know where you have and have not been accepted. Whether you have been accepted to ten schools or two schools, you have to decide where you would like to go. If you had done your homework in the first place you should be happy to go to any of the schools to which you applied. If you are happy with the schools where you were accepted then "congratulations!" The next step is relatively easy. Look at the pros and cons of each program, weigh those choices, and make your decision. It is important to note that being accepted to ten schools makes the decision process just as difficult as being accepted to fewer or no schools. In such cases you should review your notes from correspondences, interviews, and any other information you have to attempt to find the best match for you. However, sometimes you apply to ten schools and are accepted at two, none, or at a place you have decided you do not want to attend. The reasons for why you would make this decision are numerous: you did not feel like your working style matched with the professor you are slotted to work with, you did not like the school, or it did not feel right. I recommend not settling just because you were accepted. You will be living and breathing the program you attend for the next four years. I was faced with a situation where I was accepted at two schools. One of these schools is a respected research university and was offering a stipend and tuition coverage, but I discovered late in the process (I had not done enough research into the school before applying) that they did not have any faculty or researchers who had experience with psychology and law. The other school offered me admission into a different program than that which I applied for. The decision was extremely difficult, but I decided to take a year off and improve my application and reapply to those programs I thought were a good match. This is where the focus and determination are essential. I ended up spending a year studying for the GRE, gaining psychology and law work and research experience, and honing my application. A year later I was admitted to my top choice and have never regretted taking a year off and turning down the first doctoral program to offer me admission.

The road to graduate school can seem overwhelming, but it is not impossible or even improbable if you are certain of the path you want to take, regardless of your GPA or GRE scores. Applying to graduate programs is a process that is meant to weed out those who are less than determined or focused on what they want to do. As such, there is no reason for you not to succeed in attaining your goal and be admitted to the university of your choice.