The Importance of Personal Statements in Counselor Education and Psychology Doctoral Program Applications

Abstract

Personal statements are an important component of applications for counselor education and psychology doctoral programs. However, a paucity of empirical information exists about what types of content are viewed favorably and how this content influences admissions decisions. In the current study, 97 faculty members from clinical psychology, counseling psychology, and counselor education doctoral programs completed an online survey about how favorably they viewed content included in personal statements. Respondents viewed personal statements as the most important component of an application, and there were no significant differences in favorability ratings of content or stylistic issues across program types. Recommendations for those mentoring students applying to graduate school and faculty reviewing applications were provided.

The Autonomy-validity Dilemma in Mechanical Prediction Procedures: The Quest for a Compromise

“…Participants were presented with each applicant's high school GPA, an admission test score, and a personal statement. We used these predictors because they are commonly used in college admission procedures (Davis et al, 2018;Niessen et al, 2018).…”

The innovative breakthrough of neurocounseling through overview of phobia student’s brain waves

“…The findings of the Counseling Expert (Davis, Doll, & Sterner, 2018) reveal that counselor misconceptions lead to inconsistencies in the performance of counselors, inadequate programs and ineffective counseling service delivery programs. In the 21st century, counselors as one of the helping professions are required to show that all services performed actually produce significant outcomes, not least counseling (Montes, 2013), If these demands have not been reached optimally, then appear in the personal feeling counselor inferior because of the assumption that the counselor has not been said to be professional as the standard applied by other helper professions (psychologists and psychiatrists) as in the following quote.…”

Crafting Compelling Personal Statements

“…Although a different graduate education pathway, virtually all doctoral programs in psychology and counseling require the submission of a personal statement. It is consistently rated as the most important document when selecting doctoral students [8]. In these situations, discussion of the candidate's research interests and understanding of the field were considered paramount in being selected [8].…”

“…It is consistently rated as the most important document when selecting doctoral students [8]. In these situations, discussion of the candidate's research interests and understanding of the field were considered paramount in being selected [8]. With 97 respondents from the 367 polled (26% response rate), factors viewed positively included discussion of one's strengths and eagerness to learn more in the field as well as better alignment between one's interest and the program goals, while factors such as unprofessional tone, exaggerated altruism, poor writing, and lack of awareness of the program's goals were deemed damaging [8].…”

“…In these situations, discussion of the candidate's research interests and understanding of the field were considered paramount in being selected [8]. With 97 respondents from the 367 polled (26% response rate), factors viewed positively included discussion of one's strengths and eagerness to learn more in the field as well as better alignment between one's interest and the program goals, while factors such as unprofessional tone, exaggerated altruism, poor writing, and lack of awareness of the program's goals were deemed damaging [8]. In a 2006 study polling the chairs of graduate admissions committees in psychology, four areas of concern emerged as damaging: excessive altruism, excessive self-disclosure, being professionally inappropriate, and a focus on personal mental health.…”