The General Time Sequence for Making an Application

Freshman, Sophomore and Junior years of undergraduate school:

• Become involved in the research projects of the faculty. One result of this involvement should be a letter of recommendation from the faculty members with whom you work.
  
  
• Get experience doing clinical work. You may have an internship or practicum as part of your major in Psychology. If not, make sure to volunteer or work part-time in a psychology clinic. These experiences should also result in a recommendation letter from a supervisor in the clinic.
  
  
• Work hard and get the best grades possible.
  
  
• Study for the GRE and MAT examinations. Check the Resource section of this site for GRE and MAT study guides.
  
  
• Take the GRE examinations in the Spring of your Junior year. If you do poorly, taking them at this time will give you another chance to take the test and improve your score before your application deadlines. Arrange to have the scores sent to all the programs on your list.
  
  
• Investigate Clinical Psychology programs in the Spring and Summer and decide on a set of programs to which you will apply. Examine the web sites of the programs and request brochures and application forms. Consider visiting the campuses. Many Universities conduct open house events that will included representatives from the Clinical Psychology training program. Contact the enrollment or admissions offices of the University to find out when these will occur.
  
  
• Plan your strategy for acquiring financial aid. If you have already taken loans for undergraduate school then you are familiar with the process. Estimate your costs as accurately as possible. Make a list of all the deadlines for financial aid applications at all of the programs you will be attending.
  
  

• In September or October of your senior year, ask your recommenders to write their letters in support of your graduate school applications.
  
  
• Estimate the cost of conducting the application process and gather these funds. Costs include the application fees, charges for transcripts and travel costs for interviewing.
  
  
• Take the GRE in October if you have not done so already.
  
  
• Construct your Vita.
  
  
• Construct your Personal Statement.
  
  
• Complete the applications.
  
  
• Order transcripts from every institution you attended.
  
  
• Submit your applications before the deadlines.
  
  
• Make a list of the e-mail addresses and phone numbers of the people who manage the applications for each program. Each program has a secretary or other staff member who handles the applications within the Psychology department. These are the people you will need to communicated with during the interview and acceptance phase of the application.

Your Senior Year: January to April 15

• Wait by the phone for programs to call you for interviews.
  
  
• Check with programs to make sure they have received your application, letters of recommendation, transcripts and GRE test scores.
  
  
• Attend all the interviews to which you were invited.
  
  
• Make your final ranking of the programs.
  
  
• Wait by the phone for acceptance calls, especially on April 1.
  
  
• If you are accepted by a program, contact all those you ranked lower and tell them that you have been accepted at another program and will not attand their program. This opens slots at those programs for other applicants. It is a great help to the programs in managing the applications.
  
  
• Inquire about your standing with each program if you have not been given an acceptance by April 1.
  
  
• If you have been accepted by a program, make sure to take the acceptance of the program before April 15. If you do not tell the program you will take the offer by this date, the program can rescind the acceptance.