eeepsych13

After waiting for what seems like an eternity...today I was officially accepted off the waitlist to my first choice, which is the University of Georgia! I am so excited!

Congrats!! What a great program

I got accepted off the waitlist from my number 1 school! I will be giving up my position at South Florida (which was an incredibly hard decision, since I absolutely loved the school). I hope this helps someone on the waitlist. 

I got accepted off the waitlist from my number 1 school! I will be giving up my position at South Florida (which was an incredibly hard decision, since I absolutely loved the school). I hope this helps someone on the waitlist. 

I was amazed at how difficult it was to turn down an offer. It really twisted me up inside. I think the better the program and faculty are, the harder it is to let go, even when you have selected what you believe to be the program for you. I never thought about this while selecting programs to apply to. 
What made it a little easier was seeing the person who got the spot I released express their excitement on the results board. That was awesome!

Congratulations, I love seeing good news like this posted. Thank you for sharing they joy with the rest of us. 

Congrats!! I know its tough but see it as doing good for both yourself and your POI as you could be releasing the offer to someone who has this school as their top choice (someone on this forum did this for me actually!)

I got accepted off the waitlist from my number 1 school! I will be giving up my position at South Florida (which was an incredibly hard decision, since I absolutely loved the school). I hope this helps someone on the waitlist. 

I got accepted off the waitlist from my number 1 school! I will be giving up my position at South Florida (which was an incredibly hard decision, since I absolutely loved the school). I hope this helps someone on the waitlist. 

I got accepted off the waitlist from my number 1 school! I will be giving up my position at South Florida (which was an incredibly hard decision, since I absolutely loved the school). I hope this helps someone on the waitlist. 

While the major publications may carry more weight, other publications still count and will be taken into consideration.
For instance, I have a third author publication in a major, high-impact journal and a first author publication in a reputable & competitive, undergraduate journal. I interviewed this cycle at a top 5 clinical program and was asked a bit about my publication experience. I downplayed my first author pub by saying, "oh, but it was only in an undergrad journal." The professor responded by saying how that was still a huge accomplishment and how it was still relevant because I learned about the peer-review process.
So I'd say they still count. And they still carry weight in your application. If you talk about them, make sure to explain the experience WITH CONFIDENCE (unlike me ). If they are not peer-reviewed & kind of a "scam" journal-- that's where things get a bit sketchy, in my opinion.

While the major publications may carry more weight, other publications still count and will be taken into consideration.
For instance, I have a third author publication in a major, high-impact journal and a first author publication in a reputable & competitive, undergraduate journal. I interviewed this cycle at a top 5 clinical program and was asked a bit about my publication experience. I downplayed my first author pub by saying, "oh, but it was only in an undergrad journal." The professor responded by saying how that was still a huge accomplishment and how it was still relevant because I learned about the peer-review process.
So I'd say they still count. And they still carry weight in your application. If you talk about them, make sure to explain the experience WITH CONFIDENCE (unlike me ). If they are not peer-reviewed & kind of a "scam" journal-- that's where things get a bit sketchy, in my opinion.

Just got off the wait list and received an offer from my top school! I will be accepting as soon as I get the official paperwork and releasing my other offer. Don't lose faith! The wait list is moving!

While the major publications may carry more weight, other publications still count and will be taken into consideration.
For instance, I have a third author publication in a major, high-impact journal and a first author publication in a reputable & competitive, undergraduate journal. I interviewed this cycle at a top 5 clinical program and was asked a bit about my publication experience. I downplayed my first author pub by saying, "oh, but it was only in an undergrad journal." The professor responded by saying how that was still a huge accomplishment and how it was still relevant because I learned about the peer-review process.
So I'd say they still count. And they still carry weight in your application. If you talk about them, make sure to explain the experience WITH CONFIDENCE (unlike me ). If they are not peer-reviewed & kind of a "scam" journal-- that's where things get a bit sketchy, in my opinion.

Thanks for the reply. It definitely was difficult and took a lot of deliberation. I actually decided to take time off for an RAship at UCSD. There were a lot of factors that went into the decision, one being that I'm currently an undergrad at WashU and I wanted to have the opportunity to go to another institution and learn from new people. I'm also really excited about the research of the PIs I'll be working with. It's a bit of an unconventional path, but I think it's the best path for me!

Just got an acceptance from a program where my PI previously found out he couldn't take any students after the interview. I had an official rejection letter and everything! Just in case anyone needed any hope today that crazy things can still happen.

I feel you... I spent my time coming up with a Plan B, getting excited about other options besides grad school, looking at apartments in my current city to get excited about staying here, looking at conferences coming up, thinking about research ideas in my current lab for pubs/posters, etc... This made the wait SO much easier, to the point where I was so ready and convinced I was going to apply again. However, I diiiiid almost broke down last night over stress and waiting...so I understand.
Hang in there. It's rough but if you're waitlisted places, you're already a competitive candidate and keep that in mind. You're not being dramatic because choosing to go to graduate school means you're passionate about your studies and the rest of your life! Best of luck to you!

I feel you... I spent my time coming up with a Plan B, getting excited about other options besides grad school, looking at apartments in my current city to get excited about staying here, looking at conferences coming up, thinking about research ideas in my current lab for pubs/posters, etc... This made the wait SO much easier, to the point where I was so ready and convinced I was going to apply again. However, I diiiiid almost broke down last night over stress and waiting...so I understand.
Hang in there. It's rough but if you're waitlisted places, you're already a competitive candidate and keep that in mind. You're not being dramatic because choosing to go to graduate school means you're passionate about your studies and the rest of your life! Best of luck to you!

I feel you... I spent my time coming up with a Plan B, getting excited about other options besides grad school, looking at apartments in my current city to get excited about staying here, looking at conferences coming up, thinking about research ideas in my current lab for pubs/posters, etc... This made the wait SO much easier, to the point where I was so ready and convinced I was going to apply again. However, I diiiiid almost broke down last night over stress and waiting...so I understand.
Hang in there. It's rough but if you're waitlisted places, you're already a competitive candidate and keep that in mind. You're not being dramatic because choosing to go to graduate school means you're passionate about your studies and the rest of your life! Best of luck to you!

Congratulations and thank you for sharing the wonderful news. 

I was accepted off the waitlist at University of South Florida for Clinical Psychology. So excited! Still waiting to hear back from my number 1 choice (where I am high on the waitlist), but I loved USF's program

I was accepted off the waitlist at University of South Florida for Clinical Psychology. So excited! Still waiting to hear back from my number 1 choice (where I am high on the waitlist), but I loved USF's program

There's a reason most people don't apply to any more than 20 clinical doctoral programs. You'd have better chances submitting 15 fine-tuned, tailored applications than 30 generalized ones. A really good, tailored application is time-consuming. And I can't imagine your letter writers would be happy about being asked to send out 30+ rec letters for one student. Besides, you can only attend so many interviews before you need to reject the rest due to schedule conflicts. I think 8-15 schools is a good range to aim for.

I second the RA position. However, I would consider working for at least 2 years before applying again. The reason for this is you will have more time before applications to actually make a name for yourself in the lab/ get publications & presentations on your resume before applying. If you work a year, you would be reapplying in fall of this year which would not give you much time to gain experience. 
Obviously, the decision is entirely up to you. I am coming from my own experience of applying one year out of undergraduate and I have worked full-time since May (though volunteered in the same lab for a year before). I really REALLY wish I had taken another year. I realized during this process that I didn't have a super clear idea of what I wanted to research and I'm still waiting on pubs/presentations. I spent much of my time focusing and worrying about applications that I didn't delve into my own research and now I feel behind others that took multiple years to really focus on their work. 
Take time, save money, learn about yourself, get happy with your life outside of academia, grow as a person, and then apply again.

I was in a similar position when I first graduate from college (almost 3 years ago). I was debating between accepting a job offer as an RA or going to get my master's in general psychology. I was told by multiple people that obtaining the master's wasn't worth the debt that you leave with. It was more beneficial to work for 2ish years and then apply for doctoral programs.
I ended up taking the position and working as an RA for the past 2 1/2 years and just finished applying/interview for clinical phd programs. I was more successful and a strong applicant than I would have been with a just my bachelor's degree. I was able to work and get real-world experience for the future.