Reasons for being Waitlisted/Denied

Due to the high volume of applications, we are unable to provide individual feedback.

Here are a few common reasons applicants are not offered positions in student cohorts:

More Counseling-Related Experience Needed — In recent years successful applicants have had a minimum of one year full-time (30-40 hours per week) direct service experience (or approximately 20 hours per week part-time) in para-professional or counseling-related settings. Experiences may be paid or volunteer employment.  Paid employment settings often include therapeutic group homes, partial hospital programs, and school settings that include mental health services. Volunteer settings may include hotlines and volunteer bereavement services. Generally, we find that more effective settings are those that employ supervising clinical staff who are licensed professionals directly involved in the training and supervision of the applicant.

References Not Familiar With Counseling-Related Experience — Some of the most effective reference letters come from licensed clinicians who have observed the applicant’s counseling-related work and who can comment on the applicant’s skills and capacities. Letters of reference from other recommenders can be effective at filling out the application packet’s requirement for three letters. Letters from those who don’t know the applicant — such as professors who have had minimal interaction with the applicant — will tend to be ineffective. Similarly, letters from co-workers, friends, family friends, and personal psychotherapists are not effective.

Incomplete or Insufficiently Reflective Personal Statements/Autobiographies — Personal statements/autobiographies should reflect on how your life experiences and counseling-related experiences have prepared you to begin graduate studies toward eventual license as a psychotherapist. They should make full use of the five pages given to fully explore the question prompt.

Inadequate familiarity with roles and expectations of the profession - Applicants should demonstrate a basic understanding of the field, show evidence of a familiarity with the specific mental health sub-field to which they're applying, and be able to articulate how their background and experiences in the field make them a competitive candidate for admission.  

If you have further questions, we encourage you to attend an information meeting.