Q: What steps should I take to become a competitive candidate for top graduate schools in psychology?
A: Awwww…. the million dollar question. Although there are no hard, steadfast rules or guarantees, there are a number of steps that successful applicants to graduate programs tend to take. Along with some tips from the website of the University of California-Berkeley, here is the quick and dirty guide to covering your bases for admissions to research-based psychology Ph.D. programs:
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DO take Core Psychology courses.
At a bare minimum, be sure that you have taken (and passed with high marks) undergraduate courses in Introduction to Psychology, several advanced courses in the area to which you will apply, and a course in research methods and statistics.
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DO have prior research experience.
Research experience often comes in the form of a research assistantship. Whether independent study, working within a lab as an R.A. (lab is just as fancy academic way of saying a group of students and professors who collaborate together on research), or writing a Senior thesis, prior research experience is key! Some students also take an alternate route through volunteer or paid work in the form of hospital internships, suicide/crisis hotlines, or educational work with children, for example. And even still, some students opt to take a year or two off after undergrad and work within the field before attending grad school. Each of these paths have proved successful in gaining admission to grad school.
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DO have advanced knowledge of your subfield of psychology of interest.
Although some universities do not require the GRE Psychology Test for admissions, if they do, you better bet your bottom dollar that they’re looking closely at those scores. If you want to be a Clinical Psychologist and bombed that portion of the GRE Psychology, your chances aren’t looking too great. If you want to attend a research-based doctoral program in any area of psychology, you also better post decent scores for the research methods and statistics portion of the GRE Psychology Subject Test.
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DO submit a strong personal statement and good letters of recommendation.
I cannot stress enough how important these two elements of your overall application package figure in the grad school admission process. When talking about entrance to highly-competitive universities, oftentimes the overwhelming majority of applications have exceptionally high GPAs and GRE scores. These two pieces will NOT get you into grad school by themselves. Instead, use the personal statement to advocate for yourself, showcase your critical thinking skills, and present thoughtful analysis of your research interests. A well-written letter of recommendation is just icing on the cake.
