The Group Interview as a Selection Procedure

Abstract

The procedures for selection to graduate programs in counselor education are far from pe fect. The degree to which a counselor education program can be selective with its candidates depends of course on the available facilities, staff, and the number of candidates applying for admission. As the counseling field be comes more popular, more counselor educators face the problem of the applicants among those who are eligible (by grade point average, GRE scores, etc.). The problem is not in selecting candidates that meet minimal entrance requirements but in selecting the best among those who qualify for admission. Uni versities are having to turn away applicants who come armed, with the necessary backgrounds (e.g., superior undergraduate grades, good test scores, and glowing letters of recommendation). Yet if a selection com mittee or department were asked its rationale for ad mitting one applicant while denying admission to an other it is doubtful that a clear explanation could be forthcoming. Judgments too often are drawn after a short inter with an applicant which provides little opportunity for the applicant to really relate with people. How then can we improve the selection of counseling candi dates? Can we really predict effective counselors? It is doubtful that there is fool proof method. After all, business and industry, with less than perfect results, has invested considerable time and money in attempting to reduce the chances of training ineffective and incom petent executives. The Counselor Education faculty at the University of West Florida has recently instituted a group inter view procedure for applicants to its program. While there is no controlled research to support its validity, an attempt is being made through this procedure to improve the selection process beyond mere reliance on application forms data and the traditional one to one interview.