Book excerpt: In Graduate Study in Psychology: Your Guide to Success author Tara Kuther takes the reader step-by-step through the graduate admissions process. She begins with posing the question of whether graduate school is right for everyone and the differences between pursuing a master's degree or a doctoral degree. The following chapters contain information regarding what graduate school is like, how to evaluate and choose the right graduate program for you, and what graduate schools are looking for in an applicant. Kuther also addresses how to improve an applicant's chances of getting selected for graduate school by improving credentials and obtaining research and applied experience during college. This book offers advice on how to seek financial aid to fund graduate education and a timetable for complying with admission application requirements. There are chapters that detail how to study for the Graduate Record Exam, how to write an admissions essay, how to prepare for interviews, and how to ask for letters of recommendation. Each chapter concludes with tips from graduate students about each challenge encountered. Graduate Study in Psychology closes with an appendix of resources and recommended readings and websites to help the reader at each stage of choosing, applying to, and succeeding in graduate school.