Advice to Prospective Graduate Students

Here are a few pieces of advice for prospective students who are applying to our program and are interested in working with Dr. Harvey:

1. Make sure that your goals are consistent with our program's mission and that your research interests fit with my area of expertise. Our program values high quality research and clinical training and our mission is to train clinical scientists. This program is a good fit for students who are interested in becoming clinical researchers who seek to contribute to our knowledge base in clinical psychology. If you are primarily interested in becoming a practicing psychologist, there are many wonderful programs out there that would be a better fit for you. (Though students who graduate from our program are also qualified to practice as a clinical psychologist after completing relevant licensing requirements.)

2. I am looking for students who are bright, highly motivated, and are a good fit for our program and my area of expertise. Students who write well, have strong math skills, and are excited about doing research are particularly good applicants. You can demonstrate these qualities through a well-written essay, high grades, strong research background, good GRE scores, and strong letters of recommendation. It's ok if you haven't done research in child clinical psychology; I simply want to see that you have had good research experiences and that you've really enjoyed doing research.

3. I know that some books and articles about getting into graduate school recommend emailing professors with whom you are hoping to work. I can't speak for other professors, but this definitely won't improve your chances of my inviting you to an interview, so I would strongly recommend putting that effort into your application instead--that's what will really matter.

Working with graduate students is one of my favorite parts of my job so I really enjoy reading applications of potential students. Thank you for the care that you put into them!