Colorado State University

• Do I know exactly what I want to do? 
  • Graduate school can be tough, mentally and financially. If you don’t know exactly what you want to do and you aren’t passionate about it, grad school is going to be particularly difficult. 
  • Graduate school admissions committees are also looking for people who know what they want. This doesn’t have to be extremely specific (“I want to be a therapist who works with kids of racial minorities in low income communities”), but it should be specific enough that you can focus your studies on a certain subfield (i.e. more specific than “I want to be a therapist”). 

• Am I intrinsically motivated? 
  •  Deadlines in graduate school tend to be few and far in between, and seldom are a set date without flexibility. Your advisor or professors won’t usually pressure you about your progress on a project, so you must be motivated to complete your work in a timely manner on your own. If the only thing that motivates you right now are your class deadlines, that could prove problematic in graduate school. 

• Do I need a graduate degree for my desired career?
  • If you don’t need one, don’t get one! You’ll save yourself a lot of time and money. 

• How is my mental health currently? 
  • Grad school will push your mental health to its limits. Ensuring you have a strong support system and positive coping mechanisms before you begin graduate school will help put you on the path to success.  

• What is my current financial situation? 
  • Do you have enough money to support yourself if you are not getting a stipend during your time as a student? Is it worth it to take out loans? If there is a stipend, how does it compare to the cost of living? Do you have an emergency fund if something were to happen (your car breaks down, you get sick, etc.)?

As many as you are interested in! We typically recommend applying to 8-12 PhD programs and 5-8 Master’s programs, but you should not apply to a program you know you aren’t interested in, as that just becomes a waste of time and money.

If you are applying to PhD programs, yes! However, this is not necessary when applying to Master’s programs.

An advisor is typically a tenured or tenure-track faculty member. They serve as your mentor throughout your time as a graduate student and are typically one of the main people who oversee your thesis and dissertation, as well as any other departmental requirements.

Be sure to email any potential advisors to ensure they are planning to take students before you go through the application process. This also helps make you more than a name on an application. Your email should include your name, major, current university, and (brief) research interests. Keep it short and to the point.

Things to consider when choosing an advisor:

• Their research interests should align with yours.
• Their mentoring style should align with yours (are they hands on or hands off? Which do you prefer?).
• What have their students done after graduation? Is that a path you see yourself taking?

If you need a graduate degree for your desired career, you can often find out which degree is preferred by asking people in the field and looking at job listings on sites like LinkedIn.

• Think about where you want to live. Don’t apply to a school somewhere you would never want to live – the town is going to be your new home! Once you’ve decided on places you would be willing to live, you can search for universities in those areas.
• For PhD programs specifically, read the current literature. If you know what you want to study, do a Google Scholar search from the past 5 years with keywords related to your research interests. Are there any schools that consistently appear in the search results?
• Database from APA (costs money): https://www.apa.org/pubs/databases/gradstudy
• I/O Psych: https://www.siop.org/Events-Education/Graduate-Training-Program
• Look for accreditations – is it APA or SIOP accredited? Is there a different accreditation that is relevant? Most schools will list this on their websites but you can usually also find this information through third party websites.

It depends on the program, but the range is typically $50-$100 per application.

It’s $205 each time you take the General Test, and $27 per school you send it to (but you get to send it to four schools for free the day you take it)

Keep in mind that you may qualify for a waiver or financial aid, so investigate with ETS and your college to see if you can get assistance.

• Flashcards for math formulas and vocab words, practice tests, practice questions, and practicing pacing.
• GRE prep books: Kaplan GRE Prep Plus, Manhattan Prep 5lb Book of GRE Practice Problems
• Free apps: (search GRE prep and then the keyword) Magoosh, Varsity Tutors, Manhattan Prep GRE, Galvanize

You should take it if a school you’re applying to requires it or if you are not a psychology major.

Check out more information here: https://www.ets.org/gre/subject/about/content/psychology/

Ets.org

At least two months before the application deadline because your scores can take three business weeks to process.

We recommend studying over the summer and taking them in August, before fall of senior year begins. 

The choice is yours, but above all else you must make sure your scores will get to your schools in time (which is why we recommend about two months before the earliest deadline).

The quant and reading sections are scored out of 170 points, totaling 340 points for the whole test. The writing section is out of 6 points.

You get your scores immediately except for writing – that takes about two weeks to grade.

The test is adaptive, which means it gets harder as you do better and gets easier as you do worse.

A standardized 3.5 hour timed test with six sections meant to assess your critical thinking skills:

• Quantitative: geometry, algebra 1 and 2 (2 sections)
• Reading: basically a vocabulary test (2 sections)
• Writing: 2 essays, no resources
• Test section: this does not go towards your score, they are essentially testing questions for future exams

A C.V. is a laundry list of all of your accomplishments in your undergraduate career. A resume is more tailored to the specific institution or role you are applying for. C.V.’s tend to be longer because they include information such as publications, courses you took, and presentations you accumulated over your career.

Any pertinent information! Most common sections are Education, Research Experience, Professional (work) Experience, Publications and Presentations, Mentoring Experience, Teaching Experience, Professional or Academic Affiliations (i.e. Psi Chi)

It is still similar to a resume – only list what you did in various positions in the C.V., and use the personal statement to elaborate on what you learned and how it helped prepare you for graduate school.

Check out some examples on our webpage here.

As long as it needs to be to include everything! They’re almost always longer than one page.

Every program is different, so you need to keep track of each program you apply to. Plan for at least three for PhD programs. Some more competitive or highly research based programs require four recommendations. Most Master’s programs require 2-3 letters.

• Anyone who can reputably speak to your ability to perform as a graduate student 
  • Good options: faculty, internship bosses
  • Try to avoid asking: your boss from the coffee shop, friends or family, current graduate students
• They should be able to discuss your relevant traits such as intelligence, resilience, independence, leadership, drive/motivation, etc.

Give your recommender a few months to write the letter – they may not need that much time, but this also gives you a chance to ask someone else if your first choice says no.

A personal statement is a 500 to 1,000 word essay that explains why you want to go to graduate school, why you want to attend a specific program, and why you are qualified to go. The purpose is to demonstrate that you are ready for graduate school and that your interests align with the specific program you are applying to. 

• Everything they ask for in the prompt!!
• You should speak to your ability to be a good graduate student, including your motivation to apply, resilience, previous experience in research or internships, among other topics.
• Focus on specific examples. Are you resilient? Write about a time that shows that. Are you capable of working independently? Write about the research project you did all by yourself. SHOW, DON’T TELL.
  • See the tab on our website for more resources (here)

See the paper: Kisses of Death: (Appleby, D. C., & Appleby, K. M. (2006). Kisses of death in the graduate school application process. Teaching of Psychology, 33(1), 19-24.)

• Personal mental health: 
  • Avoid “I have severe depression and anxiety so I want to help people who also have that!”
  • Mental health struggles may suggest that you will not be able to finish the program or be a strong student.
• Excessive altruism 
  • Statements like “I want to help everyone” or “everyone comes to me for help”.
  • Focus on your unique strengths as a graduate student instead.
• Excessive personal disclosure 
  • This depends on the manner in which it is written.
  • No need to focus three pages on how you finished school against all odds when you could allude to it.
  • Understand and respect professional and personal boundaries.
• Professionally inappropriate
  • Avoid anything you wouldn’t want to tell a stranger or your boss.
  • Stay away from politics, religion, personal finances, family and relationship issues, etc.

http://psywebserv.psych.colostate.edu/psylist/ra.php

• Where else can I get research experience?
  • Government Internships such as NREIP, ORAU
• Many industry organizations offer internship programs. Browsing LinkedIn and reaching out to any contacts in your field are great places to start looking!

• High GPA and GRE scores
• Publications!! Very few people come out of undergrad with publications, so this will really set you apart.
• Research experience, especially if it’s more than being an RA in an on-campus lab).
• Involvement in other academic activities and leadership positions.

Apply to be a mentee! You can do that here.