Becoming a competitive applicant to clinical psychology doctoral programs (Part II: Applying) | with Dr. Barry Farber & Daisy Ort

In this episode, I interview Daisy Ort, a 4th-year clinical psychology PhD candidate, and her doctoral advisor, Dr. Barry Farber, about the graduate school application process. We focus mainly on clinical doctoral programs (particularly PhD), but also touch on other routes (e.g., PsyD, MSW, MFT, LMHC).  This is Part II of a two-part series. In Part I, we covered preparation: what do you need to do before it actually comes time to apply? In Part II today, we will cover the actual application — the process and its materials.

Our guests:

Daisy is currently a 4th year clinical psychology PhD student at Teachers College, Columbia University. Besides having gone through the process herself, Daisy has helped countless students through every stage of the grad school process.

Dr. Barry Farber has been on doctoral admissions committees at TC for over 40 years. He reviews hundreds of applications every single year and really understands what makes for a successful application. He was also the Director of Clinical Training for 25 years.

To read more about Daisy and Barry, go to their lab website here.

Resources mentioned in last week's and this week's episode:

• Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology
• Psych Mic Grad School Panel
• Magoosh test prep 
• Kaplan test prep

Topics we cover (see chapter markers to click time stamps)

• 00:00:00: Intro
• 00:04:52: Some questions covered today
• 00:06:33: How to compile your list of schools
• 00:09:46: How picky can you be?
• 00:12:27: Turning down an offer… to do or not?
• 00:16:27: When will I know if faculty are accepting students? 
• 00:17:15: Sending emails to potential advisors
• 00:21:15: Lessening the financial burden of applying
• 00:23:39: How many schools to apply to?
• 00:25:53: CV—Communicating your readiness
• 00:28:27: Personal statements—standing out
• 00:41:17: GRE
• 00:47:30: Letters of Recommendation
• 00:50:51: Embellishing your interest in research?
• 00:54:41: Grades & GPA
• 00:57:34: Assessing program/faculty fit
• 01:01:54: Final words of hope & comfort 

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Music by: Adam Fine