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No, definitely not .

I haven't outright read my letters, but all of them said that they wrote me outstanding letters of recommendation. One of them basically told me everything she put in it. That being said, I'm still so curious to see what people wrote and if they did say anything negative. Ugh!

Yeah, they seem awfully quiet this year!

University of Oregon, clinical: 1/26/15 UNC Chapel Hill, clinical: 2/13/15

Absolutely, but only over PM, because that is apparently the proper protocol.

Yeah, that's kind of how I feel at this point... It feels like perhaps it's not the smartest decision by the school to wait until the last minute to extend invitation invites, because they could lose out on a lot of potential students that may already be getting offers.

I emailed their coordinator on 1/16 asking about interview invites and this was the response I got: "Faculty are still reviewing files. You will be contacted by a faculty member if you are invited for an interview." Hope this helps. (They sure are taking their sweet time aren't they?) You know, I honestly was wondering the same thing! Though, to be fair, I think most people's POIs only take 1 person a year, so it may make things feel a bit more competitive. I think people want to know other people's POIs to either a) scope out the competition, or, most likely, see whether their POI already made invitations, indicating that the applicant didn't make the cut. As for the secrecy, well, I think most people like to keep the information close to the vest, just in case (though I still haven't figured out why it's THAT big of a deal). EDIT: that is not supposed to be a smiley face with sunglasses but the letter "b" with a ")" following it. Apparently, emojis are more important than lists to the gradcafe!

Oh, I definitely agree about the epigenetics aspect and the gene expression dilemma. Polymorphisms just seem, to me, to be nature's little experiments .

I PMed you that very very sensitive information.

Well this is a freaking fantastic google doc!!

I got interview invites for University of Oregon and UNC Chapel Hill (Clinical Ph D)!

Holy crap, thank you so much!

I've been offered invites to U of Oregon and UNC Chapel Hill for clinical psychology! Now, just waiting on any other programs, but these are my top programs so I'm happy.

I just talked with a current grad student at a relatively good university, and they gave me some really good pointers. First of all, everyone is going to be pretty nervous, and is going to be worried about their chances. This leads to a lot of posturing, and people tend to compete with their fellow prospective applicants by saying what their own amazing research experiences entailed. He told me that is a real turn off to anyone listening, and told me to try and not brag or even really discuss my previous research experience in group settings. Another great piece of advice is treat EVERYONE with the same respect you would give to your POI, at EVERY moment. He told me that he had someone pull out their cell phone while he was interviewing them. That person was great to the professors, but was awful to someone he didn't see as his superior. Needless to say, he did not get an offer. Also: if you're offered a drink at a social event, have a beer--no more, no less (unless you don't drink). You don't want to come off as someone that can't socialize (won't drink), or someone who has no boundaries (drinks way too much). As for my own (novice) advice, answer questions in ways that reveal a lot about you in subtle ways. For example, a common question is "why are you interested in the research you're interested in?" My answer would be: I have known I have wanted to research depression for a really long time, but I particularly became recently interested in genetics associated with genetics. This is because so many other biological markers, such as cortisol, or fMRI activation can be bi-directional. It's hard to tell if the depression causes the biological dysregulation or if the dysregulation causes the depression. With genetics the direction is clear and causality can be inferred: genes cause things, the environment doesn't change your genes (barring gene expression). It's a great way to have something concrete that can be translated into intervention methods." With that, I have showed that I understand the biology (something of particular importance to the places I've applied), know something about interpreting data, and can see the big picture of research (intervention methods). Finally, I echo the sentiment to ask a lot of questions; it shows you are interested in the program. Just remember, if you're there, then they think you're an awesome candidate. They don't have all the power, think of it more as a first date than an interview: do they seem like a good fit for you? Finally, finally, there's a LOT of good information on this website: https://clinicalpsychgradapp.wordpress.com/ and there's a FANTASTIC document from a clinical psych prof offering advice from applying to interview tips here: http://www.unc.edu/~mjp1970/Mitch%27s%20Grad%20School%20Advice.pdf

Ahh, yes, there is also a 4-5k scholarship award for summer research. I just know that Chapel Hill is a (relatively) expensive place to live--even in comparison with the nearby Durham.