Discerning the Clinical Psychology Program For You
~QUOTE OF THE DAY~ " You've got to go out on a limb sometimes because that's where the fruit is."-Will Rogers
Now-a-days, students have unique lives and needs that require them to attend a Clinical or Counseling Psychology program that balances out their desire for finances, maintaining a family, securing housing, and advanced training. I recommend that students take a look at several factors before committing to one specific university like acceptance rate of students, admissions requirements, availability of graduate housing (if moving is not feasible to get an apartment or home), graduate assistantships offered, and values/mission of the program.
ACCEPTANCE RATES
First, all students must look at the acceptance rates for each university!!!! The American Psychological Association requires universities to cite documentation of "Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data," which is like a cheat sheet on the operation and execution of the program. Under a Clinical or Counseling Psychology program, you will see this exact title that lists the average years that it takes the programs students to graduate, number of first-time enrolled students, tuition rates, internship match rates, and the percentage of students who were able to become successfully licensed as a psychologist. After looking at this data, students can get a better idea of whether they have a shot at obtaining a spot in the program. To help students get an idea of the number of students accepted at Clinical and Counseling programs (percentage), I am listing a link from the University of North Carolina that shows numerous university admittance rates.
http://www.unc.edu/~mjp1970/Admissions%20Rates.pdf
GRADUATE HOUSING
Commonly, students find that they must attend an out-of-state university. In cases where students must move, there are Clinical and Counseling programs that offer graduate housing. This is a good option for students who may have family back at home but do not desire to commit to buying a home or renting an apartment (signing a contract) in a new state. Several Clinical Psychology programs offer graduate housing, such as California School of Professional Psychology at San Diego, Clark University, Indiana State University-Purdue University, and University of North Texas in Denton to name a few.
GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIPS
Most programs offer some form of graduate assistantship. These opportunities usually encompass being a research assistant, teaching assistant, and so forth. Universities differ on their pay schedule (usually bimonthly), rate, and job responsibilities. Some universities offer stipends for students that work in these positions in addition to waiving tuition; yet, universities that offer such perks will often admit a small number of students (accepting anywhere from 3-10 students on average out of maybe 150 applicants, for example). Students that feel discouraged about these numbers must remember that different universities will have different acceptance rates and financial offerings (i.e., public universities (University of Florida, University of Houston), professional schools (TSPP, CSPP, Argosy), private universities (Yeshiva University, The New School, etc.).
VALUE AND MISSION
ALWAYS ensure that a program fits your values. Some programs focus exclusively on research and advanced training. Other programs have a central mission to train psychologists to help build and strengthen communities that are less fortunate. Yet another type of program may seek to train professionals that work with a particular group of clients like dementia patients in Geropsychology. Make sure that you do your homework on the values and mission of the university. Do you know what types of efforts the resources of the Clinical or Counseling program are used to fund? Does all the money go into training? Who funds the program and what is their agenda for influencing the research at this program? Does this program honor diversity in gender, age, race, sexuality, disability, and so forth? Would I feel enhanced by the training of this program in more than just an academic fashion (personal awareness, client sensitivity, diversity awareness, and community engagement)? What does this program help me to accomplish that other programs cannot offer me? These are all questions that you must ask about a particular program.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Choose a program that works for you! Do not limit yourself to looking at one school that may admit only 2% of students each year, unless that type of school is your dream. Some students have a desire to shoot for the most prestigious programs, which is wonderful. Just remember to stay true to what matters in your life.
For students not quite sure what direction to take, branch out and look at schools that offer different types of degrees (PhD or PsyD). While the PhD has been around longer, PsyD degrees are becoming a lot more common. Some people prefer one over the other, but a word of caution is to remember that a doctoral degree is a great accomplishment in and of itself. Do not let anyone determine which degree type will be best for you. Such individuals offer surface value opinions. Think about it-how many clients are going to care if you have a PhD or Psy D? All clients care about is your experiences, compassion, and competency. Remember, YOU are doing great just making it this far. Think about all those people who cannot even fathom going to graduate school on the Masters level, yet alone working on a doctoral degree. Just follow your heart and dreams and watch it take you far!
Now-a-days, students have unique lives and needs that require them to attend a Clinical or Counseling Psychology program that balances out their desire for finances, maintaining a family, securing housing, and advanced training. I recommend that students take a look at several factors before committing to one specific university like acceptance rate of students, admissions requirements, availability of graduate housing (if moving is not feasible to get an apartment or home), graduate assistantships offered, and values/mission of the program.
ACCEPTANCE RATES
First, all students must look at the acceptance rates for each university!!!! The American Psychological Association requires universities to cite documentation of "Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data," which is like a cheat sheet on the operation and execution of the program. Under a Clinical or Counseling Psychology program, you will see this exact title that lists the average years that it takes the programs students to graduate, number of first-time enrolled students, tuition rates, internship match rates, and the percentage of students who were able to become successfully licensed as a psychologist. After looking at this data, students can get a better idea of whether they have a shot at obtaining a spot in the program. To help students get an idea of the number of students accepted at Clinical and Counseling programs (percentage), I am listing a link from the University of North Carolina that shows numerous university admittance rates.
http://www.unc.edu/~mjp1970/Admissions%20Rates.pdf
GRADUATE HOUSING
Commonly, students find that they must attend an out-of-state university. In cases where students must move, there are Clinical and Counseling programs that offer graduate housing. This is a good option for students who may have family back at home but do not desire to commit to buying a home or renting an apartment (signing a contract) in a new state. Several Clinical Psychology programs offer graduate housing, such as California School of Professional Psychology at San Diego, Clark University, Indiana State University-Purdue University, and University of North Texas in Denton to name a few.
GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIPS
Most programs offer some form of graduate assistantship. These opportunities usually encompass being a research assistant, teaching assistant, and so forth. Universities differ on their pay schedule (usually bimonthly), rate, and job responsibilities. Some universities offer stipends for students that work in these positions in addition to waiving tuition; yet, universities that offer such perks will often admit a small number of students (accepting anywhere from 3-10 students on average out of maybe 150 applicants, for example). Students that feel discouraged about these numbers must remember that different universities will have different acceptance rates and financial offerings (i.e., public universities (University of Florida, University of Houston), professional schools (TSPP, CSPP, Argosy), private universities (Yeshiva University, The New School, etc.).
VALUE AND MISSION
ALWAYS ensure that a program fits your values. Some programs focus exclusively on research and advanced training. Other programs have a central mission to train psychologists to help build and strengthen communities that are less fortunate. Yet another type of program may seek to train professionals that work with a particular group of clients like dementia patients in Geropsychology. Make sure that you do your homework on the values and mission of the university. Do you know what types of efforts the resources of the Clinical or Counseling program are used to fund? Does all the money go into training? Who funds the program and what is their agenda for influencing the research at this program? Does this program honor diversity in gender, age, race, sexuality, disability, and so forth? Would I feel enhanced by the training of this program in more than just an academic fashion (personal awareness, client sensitivity, diversity awareness, and community engagement)? What does this program help me to accomplish that other programs cannot offer me? These are all questions that you must ask about a particular program.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Choose a program that works for you! Do not limit yourself to looking at one school that may admit only 2% of students each year, unless that type of school is your dream. Some students have a desire to shoot for the most prestigious programs, which is wonderful. Just remember to stay true to what matters in your life.
For students not quite sure what direction to take, branch out and look at schools that offer different types of degrees (PhD or PsyD). While the PhD has been around longer, PsyD degrees are becoming a lot more common. Some people prefer one over the other, but a word of caution is to remember that a doctoral degree is a great accomplishment in and of itself. Do not let anyone determine which degree type will be best for you. Such individuals offer surface value opinions. Think about it-how many clients are going to care if you have a PhD or Psy D? All clients care about is your experiences, compassion, and competency. Remember, YOU are doing great just making it this far. Think about all those people who cannot even fathom going to graduate school on the Masters level, yet alone working on a doctoral degree. Just follow your heart and dreams and watch it take you far!
