Mitch’s Uncensored Advice  
                   for Applying to Graduate School 
                      in Clinical Psychology 
                        Revised 2022 
               Want more advice?   Info on getting a postbacc, surviving 
               your first year of grad school, and 28 more chapters with 
               advice on your whole psychology career is available in 
               3rd Edition of The Portable Mentor:  Expert Guide to a 
               Successful Career in Psychology.  Available at https://
               www.amazon.com/Portable-Mentor-Expert-Successful-
               Psychology/dp/1108794386, or just click this box! 
       Thanks are due to many undergraduate and graduate students for their exceptionally useful 
       feedback on this document, and their endless supply of excellent questions that I have attempted 
       to address.   
       Extra thanks are due to former graduate students Drs. Sophie Choukas-Bradley, Caroline 
       Adelman, Whitney Guerry, and John Guerry, for their input on the Interview section, including 
       sample questions to ask/be asked. 
       Good luck to everyone! 
                                  -Mitch Prinstein, Ph.D., ABPP
                                                  Mitch’s Advice for Applying to Grad School 
                                                                  Page 2 
                       Applying to Graduate School in Clinical Psychology 
          Introduction. Applying to Graduate School in Clinical Psychology 
          Section 1.  Do You Really Want to be a Clinical Psychologist? 
              Social Work   
              Counseling     
              Marriage and Family Therapy
              School Psychology  
              Masters in General Psychology 
              Counseling Psychology   
              Developmental, Social, Cognitive Psychology, and Neuroscience 
              Psychiatry 
              Clinical Psychology    
                   Research and Clinical Work in Clinical Psychology 
                       Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology   
                       Clinical Adult Psychology 
                       Clinical Health Psychology and Pediatric Psychology 
              Ph.D. vs Psy.D. 
              To Postbacc or not to Postbacc?
          Section 2.  Applying to Doctoral Ph.D. Programs in Clinical Psychology 
              Obtaining Research Experience 
              Obtaining Clinical Experience 
              How the Admissions Process Works 
                   Educational Background 
                   General Match to Program Values and Training Experiences 
                   Specific Match to a Mentor and Research Program   
                       The Personal Statement 
                       The Diversity Statement 
              Contacting Potential Mentors:  Sometimes a Good Idea 
          Section 3.  I Just Got an Interview for a Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program
          What do I do?! 
              Scheduling the Interviews  
              What if I am Applying During a Worldwide Pandemic? 
              What Will Happen During These Interviews?  
              Questions To Ask Potential Advisors  
              Questions To Ask Graduate Students  
              Talking About Research 
              Structured Interviews 
              Questions You May be Asked  
              Other Interviews  
              Other Factors   
              How to Make Your Decision   
                                                  Mitch’s Advice for Applying to Grad School 
                                                                  Page 3 
          Section 4.  Frequently Asked Questions 
              About the Field 
              About the Application Process 
                                                  Mitch’s Advice for Applying to Grad School 
                                                                  Page 4 
           
                      Applying to Graduate Schools in Clinical Psychology 
                                   Introduction 
           
           
          Psychology is the most popular major on many college campuses.  Each year, thousands of 
          students apply to graduate schools with hopes of pursuing a career in mental health science or 
          practice.  Yet, as compared to other types of graduate programs (e.g., law, medicine), remarkably 
          little information is available to help students determine the career path that offers the best match 
          to  their  interests.    Specific  practical  advice  on  how  to  successfully  navigate  the  application 
          process also is lacking.   
           
          This brief guide is designed to provide an overview of different types of possible career options 
          in the mental health industry, as well as specific information about the application process for a 
          common option:  the clinical psychology doctoral (Ph.D.) program.  Since posting the first 
          version of this document over 15 years ago, I am thrilled that it has been a useful resource for so 
          many people interested in this field that I love.  The widespread dissemination of this document 
          has exceeded even my wildest hopes for helping students and trainees.  Now it is time to offer 
          this update to reflect the ever-changing field of clinical psychology, and hopefully help a new 
          generation of students.   
           
          But  before  we  begin,  I  should  offer  an  important  disclaimer  here.    The  text  below  simply 
          represents my opinions and impressions of the current state of the field, and of the application 
          process for clinical Ph.D. programs.  In no way should this informal advice be used to replace 
          actual data or specific information provided by professional organizations in the mental health 
          field, individual doctoral programs, or even advice from other professionals.  I feel best prepared 
          to comment on Ph.D. programs in clinical psychology that subscribe to the scientist-practitioner 
          or  clinical  science  models  of  training.    My  experience  exclusively  is  with  the  admissions 
          processes and training goals of these types of programs, and I cannot speak directly to programs 
          that have adopted distinctly different training models.  However, because so little information is 
          available to students interested in mental health careers, I have offered some general opinions 
          and impressions below that I hope will be beneficial, if used in the proper context.  In many 
          places, I have offered some hyperlinks to websites that can provide more detailed information.