dancedementia

So. I know Drexel interviews are like, two days from now.
And I know I am probably rejected with 99.999999% certainty (because duh, interviews in 2 days).
But some dumb part of my brain is still thinking, "Wait but what if they just messed up and they really meant to invite you?!?!?!"
Haha...... ?

This is completely unrelated, but DAMN your profile picture gives me such anxiety hahaha.

This is completely unrelated, but DAMN your profile picture gives me such anxiety hahaha.

While I agree it is valuable to have clinicians with scientific training, I think there are very valid reasons why people suggest doing a master's level degree (e.g., social work, counselling, psychotherapy) if you want to do clinical practice only: 
1) Saving up to 5 years of further schooling and all of the financial and opportunity costs associated with it - if you include the salary foregone during that time period, this is often tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. 
2) Going through a PhD program if you have little interest in research could be a BRUTAL experience. A huge portion of your time and energy will be dedicated towards research for 6-7 years of your life and your success/failure in the program will be directly tied to your research accomplishments. 
3) With an MA/MSc-only program, there is always the option to return for a PhD later if you deem it appropriate for your goals. 
That being said, yes, many who graduate from clinical programs are going into full-time practice (based on what I've heard from PhD programs I've interviewed with). I think this is split between people who genuinely want to do that full-time and those that might have wanted a research position but weren't able to attain one yet (or ever). Researcher or researcher-clinician positions are much scarcer and more competitive, and are definitely less friendly to work-life balance (especially if you have a family). 
I would encourage someone straight out of undergrad to consider their options very carefully, and to take at least a year off to work full-time. You may just get a taste for what it's like to earn a living wage and decide not to come back. I personally decided to return after 6 years in another field, but I took a full year to make the decision and consulted many in the mental health field (psychologists, social workers, nurses) to be sure this is what I wanted. I was also able to save up enough to ensure that I won't be living on a 10-20K stipend + loans for 7 years. Of course it may 100% be the right path for you as well, but I just caution other people not to pursue it because that's what everyone else is doing or because they don't know what else to do. 
 

School: Washington State University (Pullman)
Program: Clinical Psych PhD
Method of Notification: Email from POI extending offer to interview
Interview Date: March 1st
I was honestly really surprised, I'd heard rumors that all invites were out - but maybe that just means I was waitlisted? Either way, I'm thrilled.
Feel free to DM for POI!

Yay!
School: University of Regina (Canada)
Concentration: Clinical
Type: MA/PhD
Date of acceptance: Feb 4th
Notified by: email from POI

School: University of Alabama
Concentration: Social
Type: PhD
Date of acceptance: 2/4/19
Notified by: email from POI 

School: Chestnut Hill College
Concentration: Clinical
Type: PsyD
Date of acceptance: 1/29/2019
Notified by: Call from director of admissions

School: Antioch University (New England)
Concentration: Clinical
Type: PsyD
Date of acceptance: 01/24/2019
Notified by: Email from admissions director
Yaaaaaay one of my top choices and my first acceptance 

This is very real. This is my second round of applications and I had a stellar transcript and GRE scores, and various clinical and research based experience. I had professors and psychologists tell me I was doing all the right things application-wise. I applied for 11 programs and it looks like I will only even get one interview, at a PsyD program which might be okay but I'm reckoning with whether I want a PhD or a PsyD...but a PhD is currently feeling pretty unattainable. It makes me feel pretty stupid and I also get to tell family who ask me LITERALLY every time I see them what the updates are on schools. It feels very lonely and adrift, even though I know many of us are having this same experience. It really makes you wonder what you could have done differently or if you're simply not cut out for it, and it's so hard to tell since Clinical Programs are so heavily competitive that they could have 100 "perfect" candidates to choose from. It makes getting in the door for an interview feel like climbing an academic Mt. Everest...but people are doing it all over the place! Very disappointing and hard to stomach.

Also older and unconventional (this is a.... third career for me.....) I actually use my variety of jobs as one of my biggest "strengths" when asked in interviews because it means I've worked with folks from such very diverse backgrounds. Plus, I always have great stories to share when I need to make small talk
I've also found that being more experienced/older means that I am not nervous AT ALL on interview days. It's easy to pick out the inexperienced folks because they look so uncomfortable in their suits and aren't quite sure how to conduct themselves. I didn't even wear a suit (chiffon blouse + slacks ftw) but I felt so confident and genuinely enjoyed making small talk and interacting with staff and faculty. It just came very naturally to me. I haven't needed to prep for any of my interviews at all.

Ugh. I want my official rejections so I can stop thinking about it.

School: Chestnut Hill College
Concentration: Clinical
Type: PsyD
Date of acceptance: 1/29/2019
Notified by: Call from director of admissions

+1 on this.
Just completed 2 back to back interviews, on my way to the next- Had such a wonderful time!!!!!
Confidence was over the roof and the interviews didn't even feel like interviews at all. No questions about my experience whatsoever. Honestly felt like the faculty were trying to sell me the program/area, they did the majority of the talking! ?

Also older and unconventional (this is a.... third career for me.....) I actually use my variety of jobs as one of my biggest "strengths" when asked in interviews because it means I've worked with folks from such very diverse backgrounds. Plus, I always have great stories to share when I need to make small talk
I've also found that being more experienced/older means that I am not nervous AT ALL on interview days. It's easy to pick out the inexperienced folks because they look so uncomfortable in their suits and aren't quite sure how to conduct themselves. I didn't even wear a suit (chiffon blouse + slacks ftw) but I felt so confident and genuinely enjoyed making small talk and interacting with staff and faculty. It just came very naturally to me. I haven't needed to prep for any of my interviews at all.

School: Kean University
Type: Combined School and Clinical Psychology PsyD
Date of invite: 2/1
Type of invite: Email
Interview date(s): 2/12

The POIs take care of their own interviews and make their own acceptance/rejection decisions. I'm not sure if the Skype interviews are the ONLY ones they do, or if some POIs ask for you to come in person. Either way, there is no one day where all candidates come to interview with a structured schedule.

School: Ball State University
Concentration: Counseling
Type: PhD
Date of acceptance: 1/29/18
Notified by: Email from Training Director with POI CC'd

School: University of Arkansas - Fayetteville
Concentration: Clinical Psychology
Type: PhD
Date of Acceptance: 1/30/19
Notified by: Phone call from POI. 
I’m so excited!!!! 

School: University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Concentration: Experimental 
Type: PhD
Date of acceptance: 1/31/19
Notified by:by POI via text and then email from faculty

I'm going to chime in with my 2c. I wouldn't call CTL a clinical experience (and frankly, some of these crisis line experiences are more harmful than helpful - don't get me started on 7 Cups. Thankfully CTL has pretty robust training). A lot of that is just supportive listening, in the vein of a peer support. And you're largely talking from a script anyways.
With a bachelor's, you can work as an MHT/BHT, and THAT I would count as clinical experience since you're managing a psychiatric milieu and/or co-running groups. Other things I would consider clinical experience: ABA, internships where you have supervised patient interaction, mental health camps for youth with developmental disabilities. Things that I would not consider clinical experience: "volunteering" at a shelter, shadowing, anything with NAMI

I replied right away to thank them, but also let them know I still had interviews and would get back to them as soon as they were done. 

School: Pacific University 
Type: PhD
Date of invite: 1/30/19
Type of invite: Email from the graduate director
Interview date(s): 2/23 with an informal meet and greet dinner the night before
Finally I got another invite! My PI is TL. 

I don’t know where you are getting your information from (Can you provide a citation on this figure?), but you’d be setting someone up for failure by telling them to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology if they simply want to do pp/“full time clinical work.” Even in AMCs or integrated healthcare settings (VA, state hospitals, private hospitals, etc.), most individuals with such credentials are assigned administrative roles, teaching roles, etc., which would not allow them to engage in “full time clinical work.”
The majority of reputable, competitive Ph.D. programs in clinical psychology would outright reject applicants who would even communicate such an interest at interviews or even their SOPs, as clinical psychologists are not simply psychotherapists. For those who are interested in a practice-oriented career, there are plenty of rigorous LMSW/MSW/MHC counseling programs that provide scientific training at least in EBP (UT Austin, UPenn, etc.).
Please be careful about disseminating incorrect information on here- numerous doctoral-level forums across the Internet have addressed this topic in depth. This isn’t the first time someone has posted a similar question on the Internet re: graduate studies in clinical psychology  

Also older and unconventional (this is a.... third career for me.....) I actually use my variety of jobs as one of my biggest "strengths" when asked in interviews because it means I've worked with folks from such very diverse backgrounds. Plus, I always have great stories to share when I need to make small talk
I've also found that being more experienced/older means that I am not nervous AT ALL on interview days. It's easy to pick out the inexperienced folks because they look so uncomfortable in their suits and aren't quite sure how to conduct themselves. I didn't even wear a suit (chiffon blouse + slacks ftw) but I felt so confident and genuinely enjoyed making small talk and interacting with staff and faculty. It just came very naturally to me. I haven't needed to prep for any of my interviews at all.