Jay's Brain

It's hard for self-doubt to not rear its ugly head during the application cycle. Your accomplishments and profile is impressive and you don't even have to worry about the cutoff for the GRE since you're above it on all three sections! There's less for you to worry about compared to other applicants given what you have described about your accolades! I would say the most important thing for you now is to find the best research and supervisor fit. This is a two-way street and you want to make sure that the programs you are applying to can be mutually beneficial. Good luck!

Rather than connect the dots at face value between emotions/perception and trauma (although I agree that you can browse through the literature like @sassyyetclassy suggested -- emotions and trauma are clearly well-linked), perhaps you can explain the skills you developed over the two years that you spent with that lab. Two years is not a short period of time, and hopefully you were able to build a strong background of knowledge and experiences from that role. Those skills, the populations that you may have worked with, and the theory that you used during your work, may be transferable to your current interests in trauma research.

Connect with the Clinical Directors or graduate department at the universities hosting the programs you are interested in applying to. As most have already stated in this thread, a lot of students with an experimental psychology background often have to redo a Masters (but can use some of their previous credits). That being said, if your current research and area of focus aligns very well to what you plan to pursue, there is a possibility that you can be directly entered into PhD and only have to do some of the Masters-level courses. I have colleagues who had this exemption despite their previous Masters and were able to enter the PhD program directly. Best of luck!

@BrainBizarre No problem! Feel free to DM me if you have more questions

1. I think including the new experiences you've accumulated will certainly be a great place to start. You have an additional year of experiences that should not be undermined, especially if they are relevant and you can speak to why it has helped with your growth as a future clinical psychology student. Did you ask for advice and feedback when you weren't successful? If you received some suggestions, those would be areas of growth and you can show how you've strengthened your skills in those areas. 2. Each year it is a fresh slate with new students applying. Treat this as a new year, and don't go off on the fact that you applied last year. If there are professors you applied with that encouraged you to apply again, you may want to reach other to them again. Those connections are important, but remember that they are not guaranteed. 3. Seek out more help from your mentors who can give you better advice about how to refine your proposal. Find ways to tweak it, perhaps with more updated theory or a stronger rationale that this body of research is relevant to the area you are applying to. Applications are often tough and grueling, but don't be discouraged! You've applied once and received responses and that's a positive! Good luck

Hey Canadian here so can help! There's currently 1 English Canadian and 1 French Canadian schools that are accredited by the CPA for a full-fledged Neuropsychology program. These are York University and Université de Montréal. Both of them offer programs that ascertain that you will receive the clinical training to declare competency with the college of psychologist in that province (Ontario for York, Quebec for Montreal). As part of their programs, you will also receive general clinical training that allows you to also declare comptency as a clinical psychologist. As others have said, an important part of this is the internship at the end of your graduate studies where you will likely focus on neuropsychology. Going to a program that has a clinical neuropsychology stream indicates to those internship sites that you have the background training to be a competitive trainee (coursework, clinical skills, practicum training, etc). There are other clinical programs across Canada that also offer neuropsychology streams, but those are not yet accredited by the CPA.

Most students interested in a graduate degree will end their studies having completed an honours thesis or a substantial project. That is a GREAT way to show future supervisors that you are able to do independent research, which is a needed skill once you become a graduate student. As you are early in your degree, I would suggest looking at the research labs at your school and contacting the professors to see if they are able to take on volunteer research assistants. Take a look at labs that broadly study topics that interest you or you want to learn more about. Don't hesitate to explore multiple options as you develop your research interests. Remember, having these initial experiences become stepping stones for more concrete experiences (such as your eventual honours thesis) later in your degree. Good luck

One other possibility is to look for PsyD programs that emphasize on the clinical training and less/no research. There are pros and cons, with one being that you are not usually funded. The upside is that you can avoid the doctorate degree and pursue a degree where you can receive quality clinical training immediately from the onset.

I agree with @FacelessMage, but do want to emphasize the importance of FIT in a program, be it with the supervisor or your research focus. Funding and clinical experience can be earned through external support, connections, and dedication, but being able to feel strongly situated in a program or school for the next 6-7 ish years of your life might be the most important thing of all. How you feel about the research you are working on can really change your impression of where you are. In Canada, especially, rankings for programs/universities are not really as important so making sure you can do what you want to do, with someone you want to work with, is extremely important.

As above, if you are still on the waitlist, it's a good reason to reach out and let them know that you are able to bring external funding to the table, particularly with your POI. They may decide to then connect with the admin and see if taking you is still a possibility (if they are able to take one more student at this point).

CIHR is definitely worth inquiring about! I know it helped me once upon a time Do keep in mind, though, that if you were rejected and not still on the waitlist that might make it a bit more difficult. But no harm in trying like everyone has said!

That's great that you did that! I would say that contacting the POIs you interviewed with/applied to will be sufficient as they can provide the best response towards what you might be lacking or missing out on. Overall, it's quite situational I think for acceptances/rejections. The fact that you had interviews already speaks volumes to your application, and you deserve the accolade for that!

Depending on when you receive your offer, you have leeway with the April 15th deadline - I would expect that programs that send late offers also recognize students that they are connecting with will also need some time to process their decision. If that ends up happening, be sure to ask for time to think it over!

Hey - sorry to hear about that. It's a tough process and a whole lot of ambiguity all around. Unfortunately, without a streamlined, harmonized process the application cycle is just a chaotic mess. Wishing you the best of luck with everything in the next month or so! @Psych.kitty Have you tried to email the programs/POI and ask for advice and suggestions on how your application can be improved? Sometimes it comes down to being at the wrong place at the wrong time, but there is often a case that the POIs were expecting something that one candidate had that you, unfortunately, didn't. Given your strong academic achievements, your research will be the only thing that could be strengthened. If there are opportunities available of being involved in clinical research at local hospitals/universities, see if you can get a position and pursue that. One of my colleagues who got accepted into the program this year fell short last year because of her writing proficiency. She spent this year being involved in research and publishing, and got into her top choice.

It should apply to the CD area as well. At this point, it is probably a matter of waiting for the first wave of invites to be accepted in both clinical areas before any status changes are made. For those who are on the waitlist, don't lose hope yet!

Funny that you should bring this up, because I feel like this is something I've thought about to. The White Coat ceremony is a traditional, but it is a traditional that is ingrained in many other health professional programs as a rite of passage/matriculation from preclinical to clinical practice. For psychologists, yes, we don't often wear the white lab coat per se, one reason being that we try to be a even grounds with our clients/patients when we see them for assessment and therapy, but I don't see why this tradition cannot apply to clinical psychology as well.

I had a similar experience when discussing my aspirations for graduate school in clinical psychology. Coming from a culture and background where the work of a psychologist and mental health professionals is largely misunderstood and unclear, it was a challenge to present the case that I would want to pursue a career that is in that direction. Depending on how your parents react and how involved they are in what they think is suitable for you, I would sit down with them (perhaps choose the parent that would be more accepting of such drastic changes), and let them know. Explain what you want to do between now and the end of your undergraduate studies, and clarify how you will get to your end goal of a PhD in psychology. Creating a plan and outlining it to them will reassure them that this isn't an impulsive decision and that you've carefully thought this through. I would also find resources that are easy to digest and present it to them so they understand what psychology is, why it is still a VERY much relevant area of study (unlike what is described in the media sometimes), so that they are more informed that you aren't going into a profession that will be a dead end. You should also explain why being in school longer will benefit you more (if they are worried about finances, for example, tell them about funding and that you will be paid to be in school essentially). OP, you know what you want after gaining more experiences in your undergraduate studies. In Grade 11, you might have been impressionable and at the time OT made sense. Now it doesn't, and that's okay. Ultimately, your parents will be concerned that you will struggle during your 20s and early 30s with instability and not having a career. That's what parents do. They want you to succeed. If you are able to create a plan to show them that you have thought this through, they will understand. It may take a bit of convincing, as mine certainly did, but seeing you succeed will be enough evidence for them to know you did the right thing. Good luck!

Once the POI has spoken to accepted students, the official offer (i.e., acceptance letter) tends to go out quite quickly. Reading Week just came and went, and with some other university-related changes coming up, it might mean a bit of a gap time. But as @BeezKnees said, expect those to come soon - sometime in March!

I would say it is a good idea to inquire about it. In some rare situations, the admission committee may reconsider applicants who have external funding. I don't know how the Calgary program is like, but there is no harm in trying and at least telling them that you've received a provincial scholarship that can be carried to their program. If the scholarship is affiliated with their school, all the more reason to do so! Best of luck!

Even if you end up redoing a Masters, you should take a look at whether some of your previous courses from your earlier degree can supplement the curriculum that is required for the newer Masters. Sometimes there are overlapping courses in counselling/clinical and it might not be unreasonable to take a couple less courses! After all, you have a Masters, so why not see if some of it can help with the next one?

As with everything in the graduate school world, it depends. Each year the faculty get together and discuss whose turn it is to take a student. So the POIs that need to take a student will have priority. That is not to say other faculty members do not have a chance. Just because someone is looking to take a student, that does not mean the students that are applying to them are suitable. It is also possible that no students apply to them (this is rare, though, I assume). In that case, the profs may not invite anyone or, if they were not prioritized, they may wait until after the Open House to approach students that applied to them. If you want, feel free to PM me your POIs and I'll see what I know about them!

I know quite a few current students, including myself, who didn't go to the Open House/were not invited. Don't lose hope!

I know some Clinical profs have sent out their invitations. If you haven't heard back, but also haven't received a rejection yet, that could mean that you are both on a shortlist. Some rejections have been sent out already so there's still a chance!

Definitely depends on the school. Some indicate a formal rejection, but usually it happens a bit down the road. Have you tried to connect with your POIs to see where they currently are in their decision-making process?