Clinapp2017

I don't think you can't switch necessarily. However, from a pragmatic point of view there are some questions you probably need to ask as someone in your 30s: -If you want to pursue a PsyD or PhD that is going to be at least 4-5 years of full-time schooling with a clinical internship for a full year after that before licensure. Is that worth is versus a Masters degree with which you can also practice? -Are you interested in research? If yes, pursue a PhD. If no, pursue a PsyD. (This is a bit of an exaggeration as I've met research-oriented PsyDs and clinically-oriented PhDs, but in general this is how things separate.) -Do you have a family/are you geographically restricted for your applications? If so, getting into a good program may be extremely difficult for PhD/PsyDs? -What draws you to psychology versus OT? You say OT "doesn't feel right to you" but you don't really explain why helping people with mental health problems is a higher calling for you. Some elaboration for yourself may be good. Perhaps you've already thought this out a lot... I just didn't get a lot from the post. Hope this pragmatic view helps.

Sorry the last application round(s) haven't treated you well. What are your clinical research interests, specifically, and your career goals? From what I've see here, you have a lot of experience, but these are two pretty big problems you need to address: 1) Your GRE score. As mentioned, most schools won't even look at someone below a 300. What you even see at most "good" programs is an average ~320 among the applicants who are ultimately chosen. 2) You said it yourself that you've "tried many fields," so why is clinical psychology a logical field to be in for you? Pursuing a Ph.D. in clinical psych (assuming you want to go the academia and research route) is an 8 year minimum journey (grad school. internship, 2-year post-doc) until you are employable as a low-level faculty member. It is not a small committment, so faculty may see your experience and jumping from field to field as something of concern. Your passion and committment to clinical psych would have to be portrayed extremely well in your statement of purpose and letters of rec.

Well, the range of programs I applied to had 100 to 700 applications. For the 100 application program, the accpetance rate is actually about 20% (it's not clinical - it's HDFS). All other programs I applied to were clinical programs. I'd say the interviews have to be intensive because these programs are investing in you, so they really want to be sure they are talking the 8-10 applicants out of hundreds who they want to work with and who they think will bring the best name to the program during their studies and in their future endeavours.

Depending on the reason for transferring away and then back, you may want to talk about it for a brief statement in your statement of purpose. I would not do this if it's overly personal or something... (big red flag, at least in clinical programs, is too much self disclosure in applications). Prima facie, It probably isn't an issue. I'm not faculty, though.

You've gotten a plethora of advice, but I figured I would add my two cents. For me, fit was the core of my choice. The program I will be attending is one of the most competitive in the country, so I didn't even expect to get invited to interview there (much less get an offer to attend). However, I thought from the day I applied that my research interests and goals aligns unbelievably well with my PI. Furthermore, the research they are doing is world class and considered the hallmark research in my field. When I interviewed, I told my PI directly that if they make an offer, I'll accept. They did and I did. The fit is phenomenal... Academically and socially. I can imagine myself working great with my PI, and the students all seem happy and close because they all have different angles on the same general research problem, so the vibe is supportive and not competitive. I'd be lying to say other factors weren't at play in my choice (e.g., location, generous stipend, prestige of the program), but in the end of the day it was my PI that drew me there and our fit it what's important. Just my two cents, but if you don't have an interest in the new research direction of the PI, it may not be worth attending. I know I'm pretty dead set on my goals - sounds like you are too! Probably finding a clinical or RA job (or both like a VA or research hospital RAship) would be a good plan... That being said if your research is obscure this may not be feasible. I do wish you the best, and hopefully you'll be afforded the chance to make this choice!

If it's your top choice, just say that. It doesn't hurt to be honest at all. I'd email the POI and CC the DCT saying something to the effect (more formally) of, "Hey! I hope the applicant process is working out well for you. GIven that I was waitlisted and your univeristy is my top choice for XYZ reasons, I am wanting to contact you one final time to inquire about my position on the waitlist. I am holding onto another offer currently, but I'd accept your offer if one was made to me." I'd wait until AT LEAST April 10 to send this email. There's no reason to put the cart before the horse when the process may be sorting itself out as we speak. It is very conscientous, though, of you to think about the person in line potentially for your spot at the program you are holding.

There are several clinical programs in the USA that have broad foci with "neuropsych tracks." I, in particular, am interested in neuropsych of aging, neurodegenerative disease, and neurorehab. However, I think broad clinical training is important because neuropsych is niche. PM me if you want my list of schools and PIs which have neuropsych tracks, including the institution I'll be starting at this fall.

My biggest suggestion would be talk to your LOR writers and see how to improve your application. There are no reputable programs to my knowledge that have this late of a deadline. All reputable accredited programs apply by the April 15th deadline to notify accepted students, so their app deadline is far before that (usually Dec 1). What types of programs are you applying to within psychology? If you are only sending out a handful of apps per year (a dozen/3 years is 4 apps per year), you may need to cast a larger net for success. I get this can be financially straining, but it's really the only solution if applying to small pools isn't working. This process has factors you can and cannot control, so increasing your spectrum of opportunities is always a good thing.

Personally, I am not sure if potential mentors are going to be able to tell you what they think about a masters degree. First of all, schools want large applicant pools, so I seriously doubt anyone is going to say "oh yeah I hart people with masters degrees." Second, prospective mentors don't have the time nor ability to talk at length with prospective students. I seriously doubt whether some people would comment more than "wow, it sounds like you are qualified. I look forward to reviewing your app." I applied to 10 programs and interviewed at 7. I got offers from 4 of the programs (including my top choice - best fit). Prior to accepting (apart from the interview), I had virtually no correspondence with my PIs beyond asking about their availability to take a new student and their response. I'm also coming straight from undergrad, so maybe take this with a grain of salt. However, I work for the DCT of my institution, and we talk a lot about how little time he has to reply to prospective students, 99% of whom won't pan out to be actual students.

It depends on the program. All the programs (all top 50) I looked at and interviewed at this cycle consider it on a case by case basis, and most accept the masters thesis. However, the program I'm attending (top 10) doesn't do any of that. I'm an undergrad though so I didn't really care.

I'd say you have a pretty strong application assuming your General GRE scores turn out well. Do you have any pubs or poster presentations at conferences? That would be beneficial and show your commitment to research vs just clinical work. That being said, I think the Statment of Purpose you write will need to tie all of these experiences together and explain why clinical psych phd is the next logical step. A strong SOP is really what put me over the top (so says my new mentor anyways), so I think that's what separates the successful applicant from the pool of very very very qualified people.

I just saw this. Thank you!!! I appreciate it. Yes, it apparently is one of the most competitive programs in the country, so I am still kinda amazed. Here's to hoping imposter syndrome doesn't kick in, but keeping just enough of it to always remain humble.

I interviewed at UF and did not hear back. However, I've already accepted an offer at my top choice and I emailed the DCT to ask him to remove my app from further consideration. I presumed I was wait listed because of not hearing back, and he wrote back a very nice email. Best of luck with UF or elsewhere!

Most schools wesbites list it somewhere under "apply" about their averages. You can also find a lot of information under "student outcomes and admissions data" too. Again, you will find this info on each school's website.

Is UNB University of New Brunswick? If so, you can google the answer. I did it for you: http://www.unb.ca/fredericton/arts/graduate/psychology/clinical/apply/index.html You can look at programs across the country and most have info about the successful mean GPR, GRE, etc. of applicants. It really varies quite a bit.

Not necessarily. Some schools don't tell people their wait list status because if the first choice rejects, they would move on ASAP to the second choice to accept them. If you tell someone they are wait-listed, they might be less inclined to wait for your offer unless they are desperate.

The crazy thing is profs see this. My undergrad mentor (DCT at my institution) regularly looks at this forum for sheer amusement. The person lists their poi by name and links them to the conversation. Makes both the poi and the applicant look like total a$$holes.

I don't know of such a website, and if you're talking about clinical programs I don't know which programs would still have apps open in February... maybe be ask your mentor?

School: Boston University Program: Clinical PsychologyDate of Notification: 2/28/17Method of Notification: Phone call from POI (official email of admission to follow from the graduate school)Thoughts: I am so honored to receive an offer of admission at BU. I will be accepting the offer because this is my top choice school! :-) Best wishes to everyone as the season goes on! I am rooting for all of you because we need more clinicians and researchers to answer the world's biggest problems.

Just be genuine? I mean it's nice to send thank you notes shortly after the interview (1-2 days) as long as you don't sound presumptious or pushy.

Generally, holding onto more than 2 (or really 1) offers is frowned upon. Of course, it's hard to know if you don't know the funding. So if you haven't already, I would call and ask about it. If the funding is the one issue that distinguishes between the two programs, figuring this out is important. However, generally deciding about climate and the program's pros/cons should be sufficient to decline offers. So Tldr good luck getting sorting things out quickly and then letting go of a spot you don't want.

From working with the DCT at my undergrad institution and seeing some hiring processes, fit appears to be at least as important as program prestige. You can go to Harvard, SDSU/UCSD, UCLA, (insert strong program here in your sub field) and work with an awful advisor and not publish anything. You could go to a less "prestigious" school and have a good match and publish some great pubs and be set. Idk it's such a toss for me between some of my programs and match will be the most important thing. That AND potential to be on some high impact pubs.

Not that this justifies anything, but it is possible s/he is going more into research. As someone wanting to do more research, I can tell you that researchers can often have a grandiose sense of self-worth. That's why a balance of the scientist-practicioner model is so important, IMO. That being said, I've met some interesting purely clinical folks over the years and they, too, can be overly egotistical. Sure, you are great for helping out others, but c'mon.

Still nothing on my end either. Best of luck, though! I am sure once they send out offers it will get out.

Well, what types of programs are you applying to? If you applied to a Ph.D. program in Clinical, odds are they probably want to hear you say "in academia/a tenure track position at a research institution or research hospital." Gernally, Ph.D. programs tend to frown upon full practice. (DISCLAIMER: this is based off of my experience working with the DCT at my undergrad institution.) Nobody expects you know 100% what you want to do/where you will be doing it. However, they want to know if you are more lreaning towards science or practice. That being said, most people (myself included) want to practice in some degree, so it's not wrong. If you are applying to Psy.D. programs than this is a whole different story.