Hi grad cafe,
I am applying for clinical psychology programs and have been to a few interviews, BUT I keep wondering whether I am answering the correct way, particularly when it comes to the "Why this program?" question.
I chose my programs based on faculty interests and faculty interests alone. That means I do not care about the length of the program. I do not care if it is a small town. I do not care where the program is geographically. I do not care if faculty or students are "nice". I do not care about anything else other than the POI's research interests aligning well with mine -- it is a very small and growing field and I do not want to compromise.
With that said -- I am sure I have drafted some lame excuses as to why I applied to the program because I know there is pressure to come up with good ones. Some reasons I have come up with are: faculty interests, the coursework (even though I know most of is APA required), low cost of living of the town, access to decent practicum size, etc.
I have a couple more interviews coming up and want to make sure I ace them.
Would you mind suggesting some reasons I might be able to use during my upcoming interviews? I know they may not necessarily apply to the schools I am interviewing at, but it may give me a better idea as to what I am supposed to answer.
I appreciate your help on this stressful process and wish you all good luck on your own applications/interviews.