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I agree that your focus should be on getting more research experience since your undergrad GPA isn't a major deterrence. Publications should be your priority and it seems like you're willing to invest the time. Ideally your research experience should be related to psych since you are more likely to present at psych conferences and publish in psych journals. You can still articulate how transferable those experiences and skills are, but that will take you more time and take the PIs more time to connect them. You were also a psych major so you may need to explain why you switched to another field. It may only be helpful if you obtain some of those experiences in order to secure a research assistant/coordinator position in psych.

Definitely Wake Forest. Its general reputation is great and many of their students got into PhD programs. For big MA programs like NYU, where research is not a major requirement, students may have to seek out research opportunities themselves. Also some MA students may not have done a psych major in undergrad, which may give professors a pause as they need to be trained. Without a formal course for research participation (some undergrads do), how much time an MA student can invest in a lab can also be questionable. Typically labs communicate expectations clearly to make sure both parties are getting the most out of the research experience. I don't think NYU lies about the class size; their students likely choose to do different courses to begin with. For compulsory courses, they likely have multiple professors teaching them to maintain a small class size. Ultimately, research experiences/products are essential in applications for PhD programs, and Wake Forest seems to be able to offer more.

I would frame it as knowing your audience. There is still a lot of stigma within the mental health field, which is very sad. There are clinicians who are truly empathetic while there are some who are truly apathetic and skill-based in their approach to therapy. There are clinicians who struggle with mental health issues themselves while some have never had a clinically significant level of issue. It is important to remember that although some faculty continue to work in clinical settings, many chose a purely academic career (which is totally fine as many would make terrible clinicians). To the latter, inspiration may not be something appealing/sustainable, as research is more about applying the scientific method to investigate a question/hypothesis. Your examples are definitely kisses of death, but I would not say your case is in your favor as it was a childhood issue and you would be considered "being put in therapy" (even if you were the one who thought you needed CBT, your parents would have had to consent and thus they would be considered the ones dealing with your mental health condition appropriately). They also don't want your research to turn into "mesearch." As your SOI/SOP/PS is likely to be read by more than one faculty, it only takes one apathetic academic with no mental health history to kill your application. I know people who just went with it because they felt strongly that was part of them, but it is a safer bet to focus on what the faculty is looking for instead of what you want to convey. You can still be "professionally personal" even if you take that out. Good luck!

It depends on the state(s) you want to practice in. Most states require postdoc hours while some don't. Here is a list of states that don't require postdoc hours (so you can become a licensed psychologist with practicum and internship hours): https://www.apa.org/education-career/development/early/licensure/state-progress Internship hours (1500-2000 hours depending on the state) are typically counted by licensing boards separately from practicum and/or postdoc hours (i.e., you need X hours from internship and Y hours from practicums/postdoc to become licensed). In general, employers place more emphasis on postdoc than internship exp (unless you don't do a postdoc and start working straight out of internship) because at the postdoc level you are supposed to function more independently. You can also choose to (re)specialize during postdoc to acquire skills that are essential for your career goals to get relevant jobs. One thing that I should mention is if you want to become both an NCSP and a licensed psychologist and the programs you are considering about are NASP-approved and APA-accredited, you should check how their practicum/internship experiences are arranged. AFAIK, most of these programs try to fit in enough school experiences so you can become an NCSP before going on internship. But I know there are programs that don't give students enough school experiences (e.g., doing only one school placement) so students must get a school-based internship (or an internship with a significant school component) to become an NCSP, which can limit options.

School psych doctoral students typically do one placement in a clinical setting if they choose. Unless you get significantly more clinical exp in the other school (e.g., another year), I don't think it matters as much for the APPIC internship match as the majority of school psych Ph.D. students matched at APA-accredited sites (~70-80%). Also even if you do an APA-accredited school-based internship, getting a clinical postdoc is a lot easier as long as you are not geographically restricted. So if the public school's students who chose to go through the match were successful, I would say the debt-free option would make more sense.

What's your career goal? Internship match rates can be misleading in school psych doctoral programs since they may not require students to go through the match process. It is also important to use a student loan calculator and think about how comfortable your life can be when you pay back $700+ every month for 10 years.

Congrats on the offers! What research experience do you have? Either clinical or developmental psych will require some research experience (better in the form of conference presentations or pubs) so it very much depends on where you are at and whether you need the extra year to beef up your profile. It is unlikely to generate any pubs within one year (especially if you plan on applying for PhD programs only a few months into the MAPSS program). As you mentioned, this MA is just a means to an end (PhD programs) so it doesn't matter as much in the future except for PhD admissions. Both are good schools for that purpose. As you don't have clear research interests right now, you can check if there are potential professors who you're interested in working with. Participating in their research will help shape your research interests when you write your statement of purpose in the future. I would also recommend that you write to MAPSS using your Wake Forest offer as leverage and see if you can get more tuition remission. They have done this in the past.

It very much depends on your career goals. As you mentioned that you prefer school psych, is that your ultimate goal to work as a school psych? If that is the case and neither program provides funding, applying to specialist school psych programs may make more financial sense. If the first program intentionally had late interviews and comes with a hefty price tag and poor reputation and student outcomes, that can be considered predatory, preying on applicants who want to get into a doctoral program seemingly without other options. However, you should know that you can always ask for more time to make a decision beyond April 15th. It is up to individual programs to grant an extension. It is not uncommon to be offered admission to a masters program instead. While it is good to be guaranteed an interview, I would try to get some feedback on your Psy.D. application to see what you will need to work on to get accepted next year. If that is something you can address in the fall semester (e.g., more research experience, research agenda, interview skills), it may be worth a shot, and you can always apply to other programs next year. I am from a school psych program and have seen this work out and not work out (which is fine as they get a specialist degree out of it). However, if a masters in MH counseling does not get you where you want to be, you may have to reconsider.

Where did you read that you could not receive an offer after April 15th? As applicants who have received an offer have until April 15th to make a decision, it is not uncommon for some applicants who have multiple offers to wait until the last few days before April 15th to decline their offers. Programs can definitely extend offers after April 15th. I encourage you all to read the resolution: https://cgsnet.org/april-15-resolution It is not only unethical but you will likely burn bridges, especially if you applied to specific advisors who work in the same area. You are the only one who can decide if the consequences are worth it. I agree with @mjk20 that you should find out where you are on the waitlist and take that into consideration while bearing in mind that waitlist movements vary across years (One year the top 4 candidates all declined their offers in my program when we usually get all our top candidates). Good luck!

This is tough and a decision only you can make. As others have suggested, it may not be an either/or situation. This is a tough situation. As others have suggested, it may not be an either/or situation. In addition to asking about a grace period for your current health insurance, university health plans can be good and may provide coverage for your surgery. I would check it out and see if it would be covered too so you could still get the surgery while in the program. If it is not covered, asking to defer is another option. It may not always be entertained but there's no harm in asking. This has been mentioned already but navigating physical health (and mental health that is closely related) can be a challenge when you are doing a PhD. Prioritizing self-care is good practice as a clinician in the future. This has been a particular competitive year so getting in this year means you are a competitive applicant, and there will be other opportunities in the future.

UF is actually in a college town with a very different vibe (it is surrounded by rural areas though). Having said that, research fit AND productivity are both important. You should check how productive your potential PIs are and how much doc students are involved in publications. Some labs have a more seniority structure, which means you don't get authorship until you're more advanced. It is also helpful to know if you get to be involved in other professors' research as your RAship may not be with your academic advisor all the time. Also, your PI's reputation trumps your program's reputation. Any external connection/collaboration depends more on your PI than your program. You should also check out their clinical experiences. I am from a research-heavy program but ultimately most graduates end up in practice (even those who were initially more interested in research). Having good clinical experiences will help you apply for internship in clinical settings if your goals change or if you want to consider academia in AMCs.

Realistically, even with an EdS degree with full credit transfer, a PhD in School Psych can still take 4 years to complete. APA accreditation requires coursework that is not typically in EdS degrees and can take an additional 2 years. Before applying for internship, you will have to pass a comprehensive exam and propose your dissertation (maybe also complete a master's thesis depending on the program). So a PhD in Counseling Psych for 5 years may not be a bad bet, especially if you want more clinical exp to prepare for a career in clinical settings.

Depending on how the school's admission process works, it can mean recommending to the committee (it's a departmental decision) or the college where the department is housed (basically a formality as the college issues the official acceptance and takes the departmental decision as is). If your PI is the one with an external grant, basically she has the final say. If your PI's funding comes from the department, there are typically two scenarios. 1. Your PI is assigned funding this year. She is allowed to choose a student they want. 2. It is a departmental decision and applicants are rank-ordered at the faculty meeting. Your PI's recommendation will still push you up. However, as she was already planning first year projects with you, I would assume that she can actually choose you. It is always safe to wait til the final confirmation/acceptance letter but congratulations!

Missing data is not uncommon on NASP's program information page. Though they didn't report how many students were accepted (the students they gave offers to), you know 13 first-year students accepted their offer and chose to attend. The odds are still better than the other schools you're applying to.

I agree that research skills are transferrable and as long as you get something out of either options (posters/publications), it will fill the gap in your application. Another aspect you would like to look into is whether you have strong LORs. Going to 3 different schools may have impacted your connections with faculty who can write strong LORs that can speak about your strengths in a personal and professional way. A master's program would definitely give you access to more faculty while a research job tends to help more in terms of research productivity. I wouldn't worry too much about GPA as your psych GPA is decent already. Not having posters/publications is likely to affect you much more than your average GPA.