<p>I was searching for comparisons between undergraduate psychology departments in different schools and ran across this study by:</p>
<p>Neal DJ, Sugarman DE, Hustad JT, Caska CM, Carey KB.</p>
<p>from Syracuse University (unfortunately, my link didn't work. I'll see if I can make a real link)</p>
<p>From 2003, the study found that Syracuse University students consumed more alcohol on the days during the NCAA semifinals/finals than on usual days (SU won the national title that year.) Their conclusion was that college drinking may increase during high-profile sporting events.</p>
<p>Notice that it took 5 researchers to figure this out.</p>
<p>This struck me as humorous. Maybe if I'd've taken some psychology I'd be more impressed.</p>
<p>A segueway to: A different article I found while I was doing the search said Psychology graduate programs have much lower acceptance rates than professional schools. The article said 10% of applicants to Psych grad programs vs. 44% to professional schools. Does this sound correct?</p>
<p>Do you mean professional schools in psychology, i.e., those that grant a PsyD degree? These programs have proliferated over the last 20 years and do typically admit students at a higher rate, in larger classes. They are a legitimate route to licensure for professional practice but do not provide the same depth of academic/research training, are typically more expensive, and do not offer the caliber of financial aid or student support that you find in university based Ph.D. programs. University based graduate programs in psychology are typically much more selective so the difference in these proportions make sense to me.</p>
<p>mmaah
I didn't know there was such a thing - our son just decided to go into Psych. which we know NOTHING about. I thought by professional schools they were talking medical/dental/law. You may be right, I'd never heard of a PsyD degree.</p>
<p>My daughter is finishing her B.A. in psych. and wants to do graduate work in Clinical Psychology in a year or two. I have read that the admissions percentages hover around 5% for those types of (Ph.D) programs. Yikes, that makes getting into Harvard look easy!</p>
<p>Well, getting into Harvard will always be tough probably...but there are many good clinical psych programs and what is important is learning more about the focus of each program and where their graduates end up working. Psychology is a very popular undergraduate major that can lead to many different careers but requires the student to do some real thinking about who they are and where they actually want to be working and what they want to be doing. One can do doctoral level study in Educational Psychology, Counseling Psychology or Clinical Psychology (and a range of more specialized types as well). I would definitely encourage students to look hard at how well schools (Phd or PsyD) support their students with fellowships, etc. While the professional schools can appear to be be a "faster" track to the doctorate, their students are often more debt laden than those who use university programs. Counseling Psychology programs often are a pathway to clinical jobs of all kinds and they are typically less competetive to enter than Clinical Psychology program. Ed Psych has typically been the less "prestigious" track in terms of politics and income levels, but I think school psychologists have the most predictable rate of immediate hires out of grad school....The important step to do first is to talk to professionals who your student would see as career path models...</p>
<p>My PhD from ASU was basically free (I did take out small loans for living expenses, rather than selling my blood, like some students) and my best friend got a PsyD from a professional school with $70K in debts. The ASU program only took 8 students per year though.</p>
<p>My sister in law's brother owns a beer distributorship and his revenues are directly related to the university's sporting events. By looking at the national and local sports calendars, he can tell when he'd better stock up on inventory.</p>
<p>I actually encourage young people to consider the Ed route. They now offer MAs in school counseling, as well administrative posts. Being a Dean in a college setting has so many benefits</p>