Will you be taking a graduate student into your lab this year?
I do NOT plan to admit a graduate student in the Fall of 2014.
What makes a good grad student?
First and foremost, good graduate students are passionate about their work. This is important because the research process can take a long time from start to finish, there is often not much positive reinforcement along the way, and it can be easy to get distracted. Passion for what they do helps sustain students through this process. Good students are also highly motivated to succeed and willing to work very hard. Being smart, curious, a good writer, and having good quantitative skills also helps.
What are your top tips for students interested in applying to a psychology graduate program?
- Fit between your research interests and those of the advisor you are applying to work with is probably the most important aspect of your application. Not just in terms of your stated interests, but also in terms of your experiences. For instance, if someone is interested in studying alcohol disorders in graduate school, the most competitive students often have worked in an alcohol research laboratory as an undergraduate.
- I would also recommend doing as well as possible on the GREs, particularly the verbal section. This is one of the few ways faculty can compare students across a level playing field.
- Remember that most people do not get into graduate school the first time they apply. Our doctoral program in clinical psychology only accepts 3-5 students from approximately 350 applications every year.
- I would also recommend verifying that the faculty member you would like to work with plans to accept a graduate student that year.
Do you take people straight out of undergrad?
It is somewhat unusual for me to take someone who just received their undergraduate degree. I like to admit people who have worked as post-bac RAs for a year or two because if they still want to do research after working full time for a couple of years, that is a good sign.
When (if ever) is the best time to get an email from an applicant asking: 1) if you are taking students next year; and 2) just expressing interest in your work as a way to say please look at my application?
A month or two into the fall semester. Too early and faculty won't know if they are able to admit a student. I think it is OK to express interest in my work--just try to be concise. It is useful to say specifically why you are interested, rather than just saying you admire it etc. I also think it is a great idea to attach a CV, as that is a good way for me to quickly see what sorts of experiences a student has had.
Do you hate these emails? Do you like them?
I don't mind them.
When (if ever) is the best time to get an email from a faculty mentor suggesting that I should look at a particualr applicant closely?
Probably right around the application deadline. Much earlier than that, and I would likely forget! So, best to catch the advisor near the time when he/she starts looking at applications. And, at least at Texas, we don't start looking at applications until after the deadline (which is usually early to mid Dec, which means I usually don't look at them until after Christmas early Jan).
Other useful resources:
