I Applied to 22 Psychology Doctoral Programs. Here’s What I Wish I Knew.
When you finally get into a program, it feels like you can breathe again. The first leg of the journey is over. You step away from the applications, the interviews, the rejection emails, and the endless “should’ve, would’ve, could’ve” thoughts, and you finally have space to reflect. Now that I am on the other side, here is what I wish I knew before applying to doctoral programs in psychology.
Apply broadly
You have probably heard this a million times from mentors, and even if you read Mitch’s guide. You need to apply broadly, which means all over the country, if you can afford it. Given the competitiveness of clinical psychology (generally a < 1% acceptance rate), to give yourself the best shot, it is advised NOT to limit yourself geographically. I applied all over the country and really worked hard to stay in the city I lived in, but unfortunately, that did not work out. I will be moving about 3 hours away from where I live, but still such a win to remain on the East Coast. Some regions (Chicago, the East Coast, California) are more competitive than others, so if you do not apply broadly, be prepared to take a few cycles before getting that ‘A.’
Applications are expensive; ask for waivers!
If you read my other blog post, you may remember I applied to over 22 schools for the 2026-2027 school year. The average application cost is about $60 if you apply directly on the university website; if you apply through PSYCAS, it’s about $125. Very quickly, the cost can add up to more than $1200 dollars. Luckily, I was eligible for a waiver at pretty much all the schools I applied to due to serving a term with AmeriCorps and being Pell Grant-eligible. Waivers go super early, so as soon as applications are open, ask and explain why you are eligible for a waiver. Some will have you select a box on the application to waive your fee; others will require a letter. In total, I paid about $400 dollars for all applications and transcripts.
Be prepared to write… A LOT
I wrote so much more than I expected I would. This was my second cycle, so I had a ton of good materials, but I wanted to make sure everything was perfect, so I ended up rewriting and writing a lot of my statements and materials. Also, some applications had multiple short responses. Some people just tweak their statements for each school, but I ended up writing one for each. This was mostly for the PhDs because I had to tailor my interests to the supervisor’s research.
Stay off of Reddit
Stay off of Reddit! I am being SO serious. Reddit can be helpful at times for resources, but many subreddits, namely r/psyd and r/clinicalpsychology, can be very damaging to your self-esteem. Many people would anonymously scold me for my GPA, tell me I had a very small chance of ever getting into any program, and were simply mean. This can be very discouraging for first-generation students, and I’d urge you to look elsewhere and join Discord communities if you're seeking a more supportive environment.
Those classes you took in high school dual credit will follow you
This is the BIG stinker! I did an early college high school program, which meant I started community college at sixteen. Unfortunately, the grades were less than stellar (sub-3.0), and I know this hurt my interview rate. Oftentimes, I forget about my associate's degree GPA because those grades were nearly 10 years old and have never interfered with anything in my academic and professional career, but they followed me and really hurt my chances when applying to such a competitive program.
