Screening for Pervasive Intolerance in Admissions Candidates

This paper describes the Pre-Admission Workshop, which is designed as a screening procedure to achieve optimal selection outcomes for graduate study in counseling. The workshop not only assesses the academic potential of the applicants, but also allows for observation of multicultural competencies developed by Sue, Arredondo, and McDavis (1992). It gives counselor educators the opportunity to address an applicant's ideology that may be racist and unamenable to remediation. The rationale for the admissions screening model is that stronger attention should be given to malignant personality characteristics that are resistant to change and would call for the interventions that go beyond the scope of the graduate preparation programs. The workshop approach to graduate admissions is experimentally based and is intended to supplement the traditional measures used to select candidates for degrees in counseling. Sample questions and criteria for evaluation are included. Preliminary qualitative results of the pilot workshop suggest that the experience is beneficial, positive, and an excellent introduction to the counseling program. (JDM)