To start off, say a little about yourself, your interests, undergraduate degree and what you are doing now.  “My name is Taylor McAulay and I am from Summerside, Prince Edward Island. I received my Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Psychology at the University of New Brunswick in May 2019 and currently I am enrolled in the Masters of Clinical Psychology program at Acadia University. My research interests are quite broad but have primarily focused on using exercise as a mental health treatment method and the positive developmental effects of extracurricular activities on youth.”

Would there be anything you would have done differently during undergrad to better your chances of being accepted into your program?  “I didn’t decide until the end of my third year that I was interested in pursuing psychology in graduate school and, more specifically, clinical psychology. Because of this, when I applied for graduate school right out of my fourth year, I lacked the extensive volunteer and research experiences that many schools are looking for. If I was able to do my undergrad again, I definitely would have taken more opportunities to volunteer and conduct research in psychology-related areas so that I could better hone my research interests and be a more competitive applicant for graduate school.”

How did you prepare for the application process?  “I found that each school has different requirements for the application process. Because of this, I began by making a list of schools that I wanted to apply to, the deadlines, and the required documents that needed to be submitted with each application. That way, I was able to keep track of when each application was due and what documents were required with it.

For psychology programs, a lot of schools require you to submit a personal statement and CV with your application. While I was preparing these documents, I had one of my professors review them so that she could give me a better idea of what the admissions committees are looking for.

Lastly, I started looking ahead at the application process a few months in advance. When it comes to grad school applications, it’s never too early to start prepping!”

What factors played into your decision to attend graduate school?  “For the majority of my undergraduate degree, I didn’t know that I wanted to pursue graduate school. When I got to my third year, I began to sit down and research potential career opportunities for someone with an undergraduate degree in psychology. I knew that I really enjoyed learning about psychology, but I wasn’t sure what career paths you could pursue with it. This is when I first came across clinical psychology as a potential career option. I started looking more into what a clinical psychologist does, the training that it requires, and the undergraduate requirements needed. From there, I met with my academic advisor (who happened to be a licensed clinical psychologist) and she was really helpful in explaining the career to me and introducing me to a few clinical psychology graduate programs across Canada!”

Was there an event/organization/experience that you were involved in that helped solidify your interests in pursuing graduate school?  “I would say the experience that solidified my interest in graduate school was taking the Basic Research class that is offered at UNB. For those who don’t know, Basic Research is a course that is offered in your third year where you get paired with a professor and conduct a mini research project for the semester. This was one of my most influential experiences because it was my first real experience with conducting research in psychology. Up until this point, I didn’t quite understand what conducting research in psychology entailed, and that scared me. I knew that research was a large component of graduate studies in psychology, and I didn’t know if I was prepared for that. However, after taking this course, I realized that research isn’t anything to be afraid of and is actually really fun!”

What would be your most impactful experience during undergrad? “One of my most impactful experiences during my undergrad came from my Honours research. I was studying the effects of exercise on wellbeing in a sample of undergraduate students with elevated levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. In order to do this, I participated in eight weeks of group therapy and exercise sessions with these students. This experience allowed me to build meaningful connections with the participants, witness the benefits of therapy and exercise, and ultimately, better understand how exercise works to improve overall wellbeing.”

Taylor can be reached at tmcaulay@unb.ca for further questions.