Keep it simple: Information sources students use when choosing school psychology programs

Abstract

Those tasked with recruiting students to school psychology programs have limited resources. Yet, they need to identify which sources of information prospective students will use to inform their choice of school psychology programs. A survey was developed to measure which information sources school psychology students consider when applying to graduate programs and to determine which demographic factors contribute to the types of information used. The survey was administered via email and completed by 406 current school psychology students. An exploratory factor analysis found three factors related to General Information, Program Details, and Student Outreach. Overall, students highlighted the importance of general information that is available on the website. Student outreach efforts were less preferred, though students did value the opportunities to talk with faculty members such as the program coordinator. Effects of race, gender, first‐generation status, and in‐state status were not significantly related to student information preferences. Results suggest that programs should consider creating high‐quality program, departmental, and university websites as the most effective way to provide information to prospective students.