One Semester’s End Means Planning for the Next

Many college psychology majors will be ending the semester in the next few weeks. Some will be graduating and then heading on to the next stage in their lives, which may mean work, travel, or graduate school. But other psychology majors will be heading into their sophomore, junior, or senior year come August and September. Instead of waiting until the fall semester to prepare for the coming year, quite a few plans can be laid before the current semester is over. Here are some suggestions to help students work ahead so that their fall semester goes smoothly.

Recommendation letters. Quite a few students, particularly seniors, will want to secure letters of recommendation come fall, whether for employment or graduate school. Instead of waiting until then when everyone else asks, why not secure your list of referees now? Drop by faculty offices during office hours now and ask your adviser or instructor if he or she will be willing to write a letter on your behalf come the fall. Do this in person and promise to provide each recommender with a resume, list of courses in psychology you’ve taken with the grades (a complete transcript is even better), and a brief narrative outlining your future plans and goals (e.g., graduate school for an MA, PhD, MBA, and so on, or the desired work you seek). After you meet with the faculty member, send a thank you email and promise to send these materials once you return to campus.

Obtain experience in a lab or on a research team. Have you had any research experience yet? If not, now is the time to approach faculty members to see if you can join their labs or research teams. Don’t select at random—make sure you have an interest in the topic being explored by a particular faculty member. Make an appointment to discuss whether any openings are or will be available in the fall and know how many hours per week you can be available. You should be able to demonstrate that you are interested, conscientious, and reliable—and that you have a sincere interest in learning about doing psychological research.

Internships or field study opportunities. If you plan to do an internship in the next semester or academic year, it is never too early to identify your placement. Doing so early means that you are essentially reserving a space in the setting while also behaviorally expressing your sincere interest in the place. Keep in mind that some internship sites, particularly those that work with minors (e.g., schools, YMCAs or YWCAs) will require a legal background check. Waiting until the fall may be too late—now is the time to get the paperwork started so you can begin at the site once the fall semester arrives.

Prepping for grad school admissions. Most graduate programs will require you to complete one or more standardized tests. You can take the test in the fall but you should use the summer months to prepare. You can do that by purchasing a workbook(s) that will help you become familiar with the nature and demands of whatever tests you have to take. Some students may want to enroll in the prep class in order to more seriously study for and to learn strategies for taking these graduate admissions exams. Don’t wait—the summer can be the perfect time to become comfortable with theses tests so that you can take them early on in the fall.

Begin the graduate school search now, not later. Senior year will be too crowded with work and activities to really do a thorough search of graduate program possibilities. Use the summer months to identify the programs you are interested in and then you can use your free time this summer pulling together applications and necessary materials (e.g., writing a draft of your personal statement).

Begin the job search now, not later. Before you leave campus for the summer, make an appointment at your college or university’s Career Services Center to learn what you can do in advance to prepare for the job search. You can certainly use the summer to draft a resume and to begin to narrow down the sorts of careers that interest you. You might work with a counselor in the career center now and then bring back materials for him or her to review in the fall.

So, there are many steps you can take now to make your next semester and your future more organized and much less hectic. Take the time now before the current semester is over to get a start on the next one. You will be glad you did—and so will the faculty members and administrative services your work with--for more suggestions, see Dunn & Halonen (2017).