What to change about the admissions process for doctoral programmes in counselling psychology from the perspective of applicants

Applicant voices have been absent from research on admissions in counselling psychology programmes. The purpose of this study was to obtain feedback that can inform needed revisions to application requirements and admissions procedures. We distributed an online survey to all counselling psychology doctoral students in Canada, asking what they would change about the admissions process that they experienced. Responses from 49 currently enrolled students, representing about 28% of the entire population of currently enrolled students, were obtained and analysed using inductive content analysis. Responses were grouped into five categories: (i) 'Revise considerations for evaluating applicants'; (ii) 'Introduce interactions with programme members'; (iii) 'Streamline the admissions process'; (iv) 'Improve clarity and communication'; (v) and 'Change financial policy'. This is the first study to investigate the perspective of applicants to counselling psychology programmes and offers a type of experiential data completely neglected in counselling psychology programme admissions research. The results can be used to inform admissions committees in updating outdated requirements and procedures to be more research-informed. We suggest providing applicants with a clearer rationale for admissions requirements, for admissions committees across programmes to better align admissions requirements, and to promote open- houses for applicants to meet faculty and students.