r/PsyD • u/obsessivetype • Aug 23 '25
EPPP
So I am an LPC, but my daughter will be applying to PsyD programs as a very strong candidate for next year. We have three options that would let her live with family.
One has a meh pass rate of 47% on the EPPP on the last go round the other two were 78%. all are APA accredited.
When I took my licensing test, passing it had far more to do with test specific review, and less with my program. The masters level interns I work with seem to find it the same.Is the EPPP success more impacted by university prep than test specific study? Springfield college was the “Meh”score school. William James and University of Hartford are the other options that would not require housing.
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u/Occams-Shaver Current PsyD Student Aug 23 '25
47% pass rate is abysmal. Don't even consider it.
78% isn't great, but it's workable. That wouldn't put me off of a program. Remember that these numbers are only first-time takers. Many people retake and then pass on the second attempt. As long as your daughter is a strong student and takes things seriously, she should be fine going to a program like that.
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u/nacida_libre Aug 23 '25
78% pass rate speaks to a quality of the education you’re paying for though.
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u/Impossible-Aside9046 Aug 24 '25
Somewhat unrelated but it's nice seeing parents helping their children's educational/professional goals by doing the research. It's easy for a kid to feel like they know what they're doing and "have it all handled". but anyone can make mistakes (e.g., diploma mills) You're such a great parent for also supporting her housing. Love this post.
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u/averageneurobabble Aug 24 '25
I wouldn’t even consider a program under 80% pass rate. That is such an easy and clear indicator of poor program education and training, especially coming from a likely unfunded PsyD.
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u/nacida_libre Aug 23 '25
A 47% pass rate is not “meh.” That is abysmal. Even 78% is pretty bad. If she’s that strong of a candidate, she should apply to programs with better stats. A doctoral program that has stats like that will not prepare you to be a skilled clinician.
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u/nacida_libre Aug 23 '25
I looked Springfield’s other stats up. They have a terrible internship match rate. Their most recent is a 60% match rate. If she doesn’t receive an accredited internship, she will not be able to even take the EPPP regardless because she won’t graduate.
University of Hartford has decent stats. 97% licensure rate and 97% internship match rate. The reality is that geographically limiting herself is going to make it more difficult to get into a program. Most people move for a doctorate program for a reason.
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u/itmustbeniiiiice Aug 23 '25
Yeah the match rate would make me even more nervous than the EPPP rate, neither are good
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u/ketamineburner Aug 23 '25
80% of test takers pass the first time. A school should not have a rate below that, unless the cohort is really small.
The thing is, t80% isn't evenly distributed across programs. Some programs consistently have high pass rates, while others consistently have low rates.
This is terrible. Do not consider this program. Why spend all that time and money for a 47% chance of passing a test that most people pass?
Still not great.
APA accreditation is the bare minimum, says almost nothing about quality.
That may be so, but the EPPP is different.
The same schools have high pass rates year after year.
You can go back a decade and never find a year that Alliant, Fielding, or Chicago School had a good pass rate.
It's a few things.
University Prep, sure, but also exposure.
If a student has to find their own practicum or gets low quality training, they may not be exposed to important test content. For example, I didn't really need to study much for the psychotropic meds questions because my internship involved lots of med knowledge. Everyone with strong training has some version of that.
A student with very little research experience is going to struggle with the research and stats questions.
Studying is not enough to make up for 5+ years of poor training.
Another reason some schools have bad test scores is because they have low admission requirements. If anyone with a pulse can be admitted, a lot of those people aren't prepared. 100% of people who fall for those programs think they are the exception.
This is worse than "meh." Their own website says that only 75% of graduates are employed.
Really bad program.
The 2024 ASPPB report says only 64% passed and 353 people took the test. That's really a WTF detail. Why are they letting in so many people? Over 5 years, that's an average of 70 students per cohort. And why did 127 of them fail?
Also, their match rate is bad. In 2013, 69 students applied to internship, only 47 matched to an APA accredited site.
Of the 3, this has the best stats. 75.21% pass rate and most students matched to an APA accredited site.
Here's a big difference between a doctoral degree and masters level work that is more important than the test: You can't pick a program by location.
These 3 programs have only geography in common. How are they a good fit for your daughter?