Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

Sayette, Mayne, and Norcross provide the prospective graduate student with a wealth of concise and valuable information all in a single source. The book not only provides would-be clinical and counseling psychologists with a detailed description of crucial information for every accredited program in the country but also detailed advice to help the reader gain admission. This book could be the difference between acceptance and rejection. While brutally honest in its assessment of candidate credentials, the book supplies invaluable advice as to how to improve your qualifications. There is light at the end of the tunnel. This book is a must have for anyone planning on applying to clinical or counseling doctoral programs. It's tylenol for your application headache. Spread the word.

This book was not at all useful to me, although it may be useful to some of you.

About a third of the book is taken up by information about different types of psychology programs such as clinical, counseling, biopsychology, and social work, and in helping you decide which of those is right for you. This is useful if you have only a general interest in psychology and want more information, but is not at all useful if you have already decided on a sub-discipline.

Another third of the book is taken up by instructions for applying to clinical and counseling programs. For instance, it suggests classes you should take and activities or clubs you should participate in. If you are already a senior, or have already gotten advising from psychology professors, this information will not be useful. They also give sample personal statements, which could be a helpful starting point if you have no idea how to write a personal statement. However, I think it would be just as effective to write you statement without the book and then ask one of your professors to read over it and give you feedback.

The last third of the book is taken up by information about specific programs. I only looked at the clinical ones, so I can't give any feedback on the info. about counseling programs. The book lists a series of research interests one might have, such as "mood disorders" and lists schools with faculty who have this research interests. I am interested in aging, especially alzheimer's disease. Using the book, I found programs that supposedly shared those intersts, but when I went to some of the school websites I could not find any listed faculty with those interests. Instead, I ended up googling my interest "aging" and "dementia" and using the advanced search function to restrict the search to domains ending in .edu. Using this method I was able to find plenty of schools to apply to. I suggest you save yourself the price of the book, and do the same.

Basically, this book can serve as either a first source of information about psychology careers, or as a poor substitute for advising from actual psychology professors.

I am a graduate student in a top-notch clinical psychology Ph.D. program. I used this book extensively and found it to be very helpful. It is a "must-buy." However, readers should be aware that it CANNOT substitute for individual advice tailored to your particular interests from someone who both knows about graduate school in psychology and knows you as well. Also be aware that the individual program information, while reasonably accurate, changes very quickly. Use the guide first to identify a fairly large group of programs you're interested in. Then request information from those programs. That having been said, the book is a tremendous resource and worth more than its weight in gold.

I bought this book last February when I decided that I wanted to change careers and pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. This book provides you with an excellent step-by-step guide on how to gain admission to your desired school - I've read a lot of these books now and this one is the best by far. It's an especially good resource for those who were not psychology undergraduates, like myself - the book tells you what classes to take to gain the knowledge necessary to transition to a psychology career,the level of research experience needed and feasible ways to obtain that experience, as well as estimations of the financial costs that you will inevitably incur during the application process. And most of this is just in Chapter 1. I will be first in line to buy the 2005/2006 edition-

For anyone interested in clincal or counseling graduate study, this book is essential. These areas are extremely competitive and one cannot go into the process "blind." The general APA guide can be useful, but it covers many areas and mainly gives the basic facts on all programs. On the other hand, this book is very specialized. It gives information on the programs, but also includes invaluable information relevant to clinical and counseling psychology training. It has information on the programs, but also tells you how to prepare yourself, so you get in to those programs.

I am interested in clinical health psychology and this book was a great help. It has a useful index of programs by subject area. It also has a self-rating from programs about how strongly they emphasize research or clinical practice. It is essential to find schools that will provide you with the experiences you are looking for.

Overall, this book will help you find programs that suit your needs and maximize your potential for getting accepted to them!