Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology: 2000/2001 Edition

This book was RIGHT on about pretty much every aspect of applying to graduate programs in Clinical Psychology. My favorite aspect is that the programs each rate themselves on how research-oriented they are. Where else can you find that information?! Great book!

This book provides (almost) everything you need to know about the selection of schools out there that meet your needs. The most common thing I hear from fellow classmates is that "I need to go to a grad school with a great reputation to be, in my mind, a great psychologist." This book does a great job at providing detailed information on nearly 300 grad programs, and with a clear rating system for research or practice oriented students, it makes sure you're eliminating programs that DON'T meet your needs, regardless of their reputation. Afterall, what's the point of going to NYU or Columbia if they don't have any professors/research grants/practica sites that you're interested in?! There is some good advice on how to best prepare yourself for the hard times ahead at grad school and also on how to make yourself look the best you can to potential schools. This book does not, however, give everything you need to know about each clinical/counseling psych program out there...it provides the framework for narrowing down your choices and figuring out what you want out of a very long (and expensive) education path to a rewarding career. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in clinical/counseling psych as a career, especially those early into their undergraduate psych education. The earlier you prepare for this difficult and tiring process, the better off you'll be.

I carefully followed this book's recommendations throughout the entire application process. I applied to eleven APA accredited doctoral programs in clinical psychology and was accepted at EIGHT of them! The book's detailed suggestions were tremendously helpful and probably contributed to this remarkable outcome. However, I found it important to use other sources of information as well, since some data in the book is inaccurate. Inadequate information on how to select the "best-fit" school from among multiple offers was the book's greatest shortcoming. P.S. Don't worry about typing the application forms - just use very neat printing or handwriting. Type everything else, however.

Although I was a highly qualified applicant a year ago, I didn't know the real "tricks" to getting into a Ph.D. program. Therefore, I was rejected by all 10 programs to which I applied. After finding this book (thank you, thank you, thank you to the authors!) and following its instructions, I have received 3 offers and will begin attending Columbia's clinical psychology program this fall. Hooray!

This book had been totally invaluable during my search for the right doctorate program in Counseling Psychology. You need this edge during this grueling application process. YOU HAVE TO GET THIS BOOK IF YOU ARE APPLYING THIS YEAR. The only drawback to this book is that some of the GRE scores were a little understated with some schools and overstated with others. This is most likely due to inaccurate info from the schools themselves.