Hi there! You’re right about at the point I was at in undergrad when I started figuring out my list of schools, and it sounds like you’re in a great position to be thinking about grad school. The particular area of psychology I wanted to go into (I/O) has its own website (siop.org) with a ton of information on graduate programs, including tips on applying and links to program rankings. I used the SIOP program database and ranking information to find links to specific program websites, as well as to get an idea of what schools might be “safe bets” versus “long shots” for me to actually get into. Based on the projects I’d been involved with in undergrad and prior personal experiences, I had a general idea of what topics I wanted to study, and began to look for faculty who were doing similar research. It’s a long process of searching program databases (depending on the area of psychology you’re interested in, it’s likely that there’s a similar website with program rankings for the programs you’ll be applying to), then searching specific schools’ program pages, looking at faculty research interests, and weighing other factors (is the campus urban or rural? what does the funding situation look like once I get there? can I collaborate with faculty other than my advisor? how long will it take to complete my degree? etc.). I used Microsoft OneNote to keep track of information on all the programs I was considering, and I recommend doing something similar, just because you’ll inevitably end up with more information than you’re able to process.
I ended up narrowing down my list of schools to six based mainly on my interests in the faculty members’ research, likelihood of funding, and likelihood of acceptance (those were the big three, but of course, I’m sure there were other factors I was considering at the time as well). The schools I applied to were all over the country, as I wasn’t tied down to staying in Michigan. (I applied to schools in Michigan, Oregon, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.) I was able to visit two of those schools prior to being accepted at them, which helped a lot (both in terms of my ability to make an informed decision, as well as—I’m pretty certain—my eventual acceptance). I realize traveling to schools may not at all be realistic depending on your situation, though. Regardless, I would definitely recommend not being afraid to email faculty, graduate students, or graduate program coordinators with questions you might have about their program. You can even start sending out emails before you’ve made your final decision to apply to a specific program. (I must make the caveat to this recommendation that you should ALWAYS double check the program website to make sure you’re not asking any questions that could be easily answered by a quick visit to their homepage.)
Phew! I hope that this was helpful for you, and feel free to let me know if you have any other questions! If anyone following me has any other words of advice, please chime in with your comments. Good luck on your grad school search!
One Fine Day pdx 