The Complete Guide to Graduate School Admission: Psychology and Related Fields

The ultimate handbook for those seeking advanced degrees, this step-by-step guide provides definitive "how to" information for successfully selecting and gaining admission into master's and doctoral programs. Reflecting the author's extensive experience as a graduate school counselor, this valuable book offers solid data drawn from exhaustive surveys of people involved in all aspects of the application process. Every task facing the prospective graduate student is covered, from deciding where to apply -- to deciding where to attend. Applying to graduate school can be a confusing, frustrating process; this clear and comprehensive guide will make that process easier, and in all likelihood, more rewarding.


Table of Contents:
Contents: Preface: "A Letter to My Reader." Part I: Overview of the Pursuit of Graduate Study in Psychology and Related Fields. Introduction: A User's Guide. Timetable & Checklist. Other Applicant Categories. What Are "They" Looking For? What Do You Want?: More Than Just a Matter of Degree. Part II: Enhancing Your Chances -- For Those With Some Time. Attracting Support of Others. Academic Factors and Strategies. Research and Practicum/Field Experience. Professional Organizations and Meetings. How to Do Your Best on Tests. Part III: Making Your Choices. Gearing Up to Go Fishing. Get Out of Town!: The Case for Applying to Schools Away From Home. Part IV: The Application Process. What to Do as Soon as You Decide Where to Apply. Letters of Recommendation I: How Important Are They? Letters of Recommendation II: Best Sources. Letters of Recommendation III: How and When to Ask. Letters of Recommendation IV: What Information to Provide to Referees and How to Follow Up. Filling Out Application Forms. Statements of Purpose and Other Essays I: What They Are Like and How to Prepare Them. Statements of Purpose and Other Essays II: Doing Them! When and How to Send Your Applications. Part V: The Post-Application Period. Waiting It Out. The Preselection Interview I: Preparing Yourself. The Preselection Interview II: The Experience. How to Accept (and Reject) Offers. Twixt and Tween: The Dilemma of Alternate Status. Handling Rejection and What to Do Next. Epilogue: Going Ahead -- A Look Down the Road. Appendices: Additional Graduate School Training and Career Planning Resources. Notes for Selected Student Groups: Women, Underrepresented Ethnic Minorities; Gays and Lesbians; Physically Disabled Students; Foreign-Born and International Students. What Departments Can Do to Assist Their Students With Graduate School Plans. How to Create Your Resumé. Evaluators' Survey: Items and Descriptive Data. Final Selection Survey: Items and Descriptive Data. Letter Writers' Survey: Items and Descriptive Data.


Review :

"This book is...a classic for students and faculty....I give the second edition...an unqualified "thumbs up" on several counts: organization, readability, content, and usefulness. This revision...definitely in step with graduate training in the 21st century...you will find this book to be thorough, accurate, and directly on target. Use it with the complete confidence that you and your students will benefit immensely."
—Contemporary Psychology

"Successfully maneuvering through the graduate school application process is one of the most daunting exercises many students will encounter. This book has been a sanity-saver both for perplexed students and their advisers since it was first published. In this new edition, the authors have streamlined the presentation of the material and added critical new information. The coverage of undergraduate preparation for graduate school, choosing candidate programs to consider, screening programs for their appropriateness for the individual's needs, and dealing effectively with the host of nuts-and-bolts issues entailed in applying to graduate school, is still excellent. The advice here might very well mean the difference between acceptance and rejection, making this book an absolute must for students who have any inkling that they might want to go on to graduate school--no matter what the stage of their academic careers, freshman to senior year--and for any faculty members who advise such students. Buy it; study it; use it. Quite literally, with no exaggeration whatsoever, this book has the potential to change lives."

—Patrick Cabe, Ph.D.
University of North Carolina at Pembroke

"I wish I could have had this book when I was thinking about applying to graduate school. The fear and anxiety that derive from not knowing what you need to do in order to apply to, and be accepted by, a graduate school are relieved by the practical, straightforward, positively stated advice and information offered by the authors. It should be required reading for any undergraduate psychology major who is contemplating graduate study. We owe it to our students to make certain that they know about this book and what it offers them."
—Jeff Bryson, Ph.D.
San Diego State University

"For the past 10 years I have been giving lectures across the country on getting into and succeeding in graduate school. I have found this book indispensable in that endeavor. This is a practical guide to both the student and the faculty advisor. The authors answer all of the relevant questions pertaining to graduate school (and, perhaps just as important, they ask questions many of us have never thought of). Students anywhere in the application process will benefit greatly from this prized revision."
—Joe Horvat, Ph.D.
Weber State University