Are you planning to attend graduate school? Take a few minutes to respond to the following items (write your responses down on a piece of paper) and then check how you scored.

 

1.  Are you confident that you can write an effective personal statement for your application to graduate school? (Yes or No)

2.  Do you know what information your resume' should contain? (Yes or No)

3.  Do you know who to ask for letters of recommendation, and the kind of information those letters should contain? (Yes or No)

4. Do you know how to get to the "interview" stage in the graduate admission's process?  (Yes or No)                         

5.  Have you ever been interviewed over the telephone?    (Yes or No)                

6.  Can you identify at least five questions you will likely be asked during interviews? (Yes or No)               

7.  Do you know how to assess your strengths and to find the best graduate program for your interests?  (Yes or No)                        

8.  Do you know how to find out about various funding options, like graduate assistantships, fellowships or scholarships?  (Yes or No)                       

9.  Can you identify three or more things you can do after you submit your applications that can substantially improve your chances of getting admitted? (Yes or No)                       

10.  Can you identify three or more differences between clinical and counseling psychology? (Yes or No)

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11.  Which of the following best describes the difference(s) between a Ph.D., and a Psy.D.?

                        a. a Ph.D. is a research degree and a Psy.D. is a practice degree
                        b. a Ph.D. program can be APA-approved whereas a Psy.D. cannot
                        c. a Ph.D. can be licensed to practice psychology but a Psy.D. cannot
                        d. all of the above

12.  Which of the following is the most likely starting salary for a beginning professor in psychology?

           a. $45,000                  b. $55,00            c. $65,000           d.  $75,000

13.  How informed do you feel about your knowledge regarding the graduate school application process?

           a. very uninformed      b.  somewhat uninformed       c. somewhat informed    d.  very informed

14.  On average, doctoral programs in clinical or counseling psychology accept what percentage of their overall applicant pool in any given year?

         a.  roughly 3%               b.  roughly 10%          c.  roughly 30%             d.  roughly 60%

15.  The average GPA of all incoming doctoral students in all areas of psychology is _______

         a.  3.3                           b.  3.5                          c.  3.7                           d.  3.9

16.  What percentage of clinical and counseling psychologists go into private practice?

          a.  25%                       b.  40%                        c.  65%                       d.  80%

17.  Which of the following courses is required by the greatest number of doctoral programs in clinical psychology prior to applying for graduate study?

          a.  statistics                                                            b. experimental methods/research design
          c.  abnormal psychology/psychopathology     d. history and systems in psychology

18.  For doctoral programs in clinical psychology, which of the following factors is viewed as the most important type of undergraduate preparation

         a.  computer knowledge and skills                      b.  human service experience
         c.  research experience                                         d.  Psi Chi membership

19. Out of all the doctoral degrees in psychology awarded each year, Social Psychology, Developmental Psychology, and Experimental Psychology each generate about the same percentage; what percentage is that?
            a.  3%                          b. 7%                c.  15%                        d.  20%

20.   The average GRE scores of first-year graduate students in psychology in master's program are _____, whereas the average scores for doctoral programs are _________.

           a.   880; 1290                b.   1010; 1340              c.   1196; 1278               d.   1033; 1206

21.  On average, APA-approved doctoral programs in clinical psychology receive about _______ applications per year

                     a.  85                                   b.  135                c.  230                           d.  360

22.  Which of the following types of programs has the strongest demonstrated commitment to multicultural issues?

                               a.  clinical psychology               b.  counseling psychology
                               c.  school psychology                d.  cognitive psychology

23.  Regarding financial aid, approximately _____ percent of Psy.D. students receive assistantship or fellowship support, compared to roughly _____ percent of Ph.D. students

a.  35%; 90%                 b.  50%; 50% c.  50%; 70%               d.  60%; 40%

24.  If you wanted to become licensed to practice psychology you could you complete your degree in all of the following areas except

                   a.  Psy.D. in clinical psychology                          b. Ph.D. in school psychology                          c.  Ph.D. in industrial/organizational                   d. In any of these areas

The following areas of psychology represent research fields. Can you identify different research settings in which each of the following might work?

25. Social Psychologists (Yes or No)

26. Developmental Psychologists (Yes or No)

27. Psychobiologists (Yes or No)

28. Cognitive Psychologists (Yes or No)

29. Experimental Psychologists (Yes or No)

 

Check to see how you scored

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The Grad Prep Quiz above is based on the instument reffered to in the following reference:

Neimeyer, G. J., Lee, G. A., Saferstein, J. and Pickett, Y. (2004). Effects of a graduate preparation program on undergraduate psychology majors. Teaching of Psychology, 31 (4), 247-252.