Feature Interview for May 2009

Our first installment of the Interview of the Month featured Dr. Dave Mumby, Associate Professor of Psychology, at Concordia University, in Montreal.

Posted May 6th, 2009

Dr. Mumby has served on graduate admissions committees and also spent some time as the Ph.D. Program Director in his department. He teaches undergraduate and graduate-level courses, and has been a graduate advisor and mentor for several Master’s and Ph.D. students. Dr. Mumby is also an academic advisor, and the author of the bestselling book, Graduate School: Winning Strategies for Getting In With or Without Excellent Grades, which has helped thousands of students apply successfully to graduate or professional school.

We asked Dr. Mumby (DM) for his thoughts on several topics related to the process of getting into graduate school. Here is part of our conversation:

MGS: What inspired you to write your book?

DM: I wrote the book because when I became an academic advisor, I realized that students I came into contact with had all the same misconceptions that I had when I was applying to grad school many years ago.

I also realized that there was very little information out there to help students through the process. There was definitely an information gap that someone needed to fill. That was in 1997, but during the past 10 years, a few other guidebooks on the topic of applying to graduate school have been written. Its important to keep in mind, though, that the advice that students need today is not significantly different from what was needed 10 or 20 years ago. The general process of preparing for, and applying to graduate school, and the way in which successful applicants are chosen, has not really changed significantly.

MGS: Do you think people who attend graduate school are more likely to succeed later in life?

DM: Not really. I don’t think life is so simple. Graduate school is not for everyone, and there are many definitions of success and even more ways to become successful.

MGS: What would you say is the greatest problem with the way most people go about applying to graduate school?

DM: One of the common general problems is overestimating the role that high grades have in getting into a graduate program. Of course, good grades are important. But other factors are just as important, and whether or not your grades are exceptionally high, your chances of being accepted are slim if other things are weak. Many good students will work very hard to achieve top grades in all their classes, while doing little else to prepare for graduate school

Some of the things one should do in addition to performing well in their classes include: getting involved in research or some other scholarly activity carried out by professors in your department, preparing properly for the standardized qualifying tests, and making appropriate contacts at prospective graduate programs.

Personal qualities and character attributes are also high on the list of criteria used in selecting applicants to graduate programs. These will be reflected in your letters of recommendation and in your personal statement.

There are a few other problems that I see over and over again, but I think they all result, in some way, from a general lack of understanding what selection committees are looking for and how the decisions are made about who gets in and who doesn’t. In one way or another, this lack of appreciation for how the selection process works leads many students to place too much emphasis on the importance of grades, and not enough on those other factors that determine whether an application to graduate school is successful.

MGS: What are some of the important things someone can do to increase their chances of getting into the graduate program that’s best for them?

DM: It’s really important for students to realize that they have to do their homework before they apply to any school or program. The process starts with having a very good idea of what types of specific advanced training you want. Do your longer-term goals require a master’s or a PhD in the first place? Graduate training is not necessary for every type of career.

If you have established that it is necessary for you to grad school, the next step is to figure out where the matches are between your interests, your objectives and the people out there doing research in the field that you are interested in. Students need to understand that different programs differ in terms of the specific areas of expertise they can offer training in, and that varies as a function of the expertise of the faculty members in that department

MGS: Any general advice you would like to give students who are just thinking about graduate school, but still uncertain about whether they will pursue it?

DM: Hard to give a simple answer to that question. I guess my most general advice would be to make sure you have a longer-term career plan in mind before applying to graduate school. Once this is established, find the right programs that best fit your career goals. Not only will this information help you get into the right program, but it will also make you more convinced that the next several years of hard work and commitment to pursue an advanced degree are worthwhile.

MGS: Okay, I’d like to go from those general questions to a couple of more specific ones. Your book covers all the important parts of the typical graduate-school application package, such as transcripts, reference letters, and personal statements, as well as other things. But I was surprised to see that you also had a lot to say about several less-obvious things. One example is the way in which one fills out application forms. Can you give us a general idea of how this can actually make a difference in the success of an application?

DM: Some students treat application forms as a mere formality that serves the obvious and necessary function of organizing data about applicants. But, making mistakes on application forms can be detrimental in ways that most people fail to consider. When information is missing or incorrect, it may suggest to some people that the student is not careful, or cannot understand simple instructions. In this way, incomplete forms or forms with inaccurate or inappropriate information can make a bad impression. It’s often the first impression, too, and that’s all the more potentially damaging.

MGS: Where do you see students going wrong when it comes preparing for the standardized qualifying tests, like the GRE, LSAT, MCAT, etc?

The most common mistake is simply to begin preparing too late. If you wait too long to take the tests, you will not have enough time to fully prepare. These types of tests require many hours of practice in order to become familiar with the types of questions that are asked, so that you can answer them accurately and quickly. Many students end up doing poorly because they don’t prepare well enough.

Stay tuned for the next installment of the interview, which will appear in July 2009.