Clinapp2017

1. For me, the psych GRE was a joke. More than half of the content was IO/Social, which (to me) is fairly irrelevant to my field of study. I scored in the 75th percentile (90th bio/neuroscience, 50th social/IO), so I wound up not sending this. My general scores and GPA were great, so I let those speak for themselves on the standardized test front. Frankly, master's programs are not rigorous or competitive enough in their admissions process (IMHO) to even suggest applicants take this... 2. I'd reach out to profs now if you have been that far out. Some may be on summer holiday, though, so keep that in mind. 3. I am confused. Are you applying to just masters programs, or PhD as well? Usually master's programs do not have formalized mentor-mentee relationships like that. If you are talking about PhD programs, I would reach out in early-to-late August when funding for the next incoming year might be more clear. It's too early now.

It's good that she is interested in you and your project. Lots of people take a gap year if they don't feel like they have enough research experience. It sounds like you would have less than a year of research experience at the time of applying this fall, so that is not a lot in comparison to some people who are bringing in 3-5 years. That being said, mentor fit is the most important aspect of the application. Ultimately, it is up to the mentor (and the application committees) to determine who will be joining their lab and the program. I don't admit to know anything about Dalhousie's reputation, but I do know it is in Canada. If you are pursuing clinical and are a resident of the U.S. and want to return to work/practice in the U.S., you might want to consider issues of reciprocity. Canada and the U.S. are about the most reciprocal you get out of any U.S.-other country combo, but there are still issues sometimes. I would definitely ask your prospective and current mentor about this, as well as other people in the field who know more on this issue than I do. Also, if you take a gap year, I would recommend trying to find a paid RA job and taking at least 2 years, if possible. You won't get any meaningful pubs or posters out of a 1 year position, most likely, as it takes 6-8 months to fully get up to speed and develop your own ideas in the new lab. Most people take 2+ years of gap if they take any gap.

You’re not the only one. I’m a now 2nd year student and imposter syndrome is still real. From what I’ve heard, it never goes away (even faculty feel it). You just need to know you’re there for a reason and continue to be excited. For me, being open to learning something new every day really has helped.

I reached out September/early October. I would wait until then because a lot of people are on vacation right now and funding situations may not yet be known for the 2019 year incoming students.

Have you taken the GRE/what is your score? Also, what programs or research areas are you looking for? You sound competitive at least based on this.

Those are interesting interest. In reality, if you are looking at schools that have a large greek life that can (support?) your study, a lot of state schools (especially in the South) also have greek life. However, what is most important is that you identify a potential mentor(s) to work with at these prospective schools if you have not already. I think it is generally helpful to have some research background in what you want to do, but that being said it is not a requirement. It really will depend on what your potential POIs want. And the psych subject test may or may not be required by the programs you want to apply to, so I would advising checking that. The test can also be useful to take if you did not major in psych and/or had a poor college GPA.

Your GRE being above a 320 is great, but the math is a little low. Depending on what area of psych research you are looking at, the math being low may be okay. If you are heavy on quant methods or something, then the math should be higher. I'd love to know what your research interests are if you want to share on here or PM me. Applying can be a stressful process (as a now second year PhD student), so if I can be of any help I like to be.

I'd definitely recommend chilling. This may be the last "vacation" you get for a long time until the Ph.D. ends. That being said, read about things that you are interested in learning more about. You can also prepare ideas for potential F applications to the NIH or other funding agencies (if applicable).

You’re probaly more likely to find a response to your ad posting on Craigslist or housing boards in that city vs. an international forum. Good luck, though!

I agree with this... although a PsyD is a doctorate degree. It’s debatably, however, not presently viewed as high as a PhD by people within the research field.

Yes, if your undergrad work is not related to your interests, it's a good idea to do a 2+ year RAship that will boost your knowledge of that area and give you skills applicable to depression and anxiety research. I would definitely wait to apply until you at least have a few posters in the area of research you care about (pubs are even better, if possible). Also, as a neuropsych trainee I am curious why you are interested in neuropsych if your main inteests are depression and anxiety and what distinguishes why two people of the same background will or will not go on to develop that disorder. I am wondering how you envision neuropsych fitting in with that. as your interests (to me) sound like they would more fit in to the generalist clinical psychologist training model.

Attending an unaccredited program will create lots of nightmares down the line if your goal is to practice (e.g., severe barriers to licensure and internship). I would seriously advise against this.

I too agree with the others that it doesn't do any harm to reach out and ask, but I would not exepect a response. These interview cycles are such a crapshoot sometimes, and it may have come down to something as simple as you being equally as qualified as another person but the advisor liked the other person more. One thing we often don't think about is that when we committ to an advisor and they committ to us, they are making a 5+ year committment (and really, a potential life-long committment) to be your mentor. That is pretty huge, so advisors (and trainees) should make sure the fit is excellent academically and personally, otherwise it could be a living hell. One other thing that might be the case is not stressing enough to a program during your interview that you actually want to go there. For future cylces, I would only do this for your top 1-2 choices. My advisor at my very well respected clinical program told me that me saying that I wanted to go to this school and train with them made a HUGE difference when thinking about me as the student she wanted to take on last cylce. If you are wishy-washy, people may be heistant to make an offer because if you hold onto that offer and don't wind up going there you may wind up screwing them out of a student that year (as all backups may have moved on before you let go). Just food for thought! I am always happy to talk more over DM if you have specific questions about either of those things.

CUCDP pushes til 24 hours after the next business day in the event it’s on a weekend

On paper someone else may have just had slightly more qualifications. This may or may not have anything to do with fit. If you got off the waitlist, that’s a big achievement!

That is quite a competitive undergrad experience - great to get pubs and presentations. Sounds like you'll probably be successful on the GRE when you take it. Your job does have technical skills for sure that will be transferable. I wonder if you could maybe sell that with your business background in a logical way, or if taking a year or two off for a full-time research job would be wiser. It really is difficult to say. You are right that being an RA for 8-9 months may not be beneficial - hence most people take a full 2 years to get a pub or two out of it. Volunteering with your formal mentor sounds like a good idea to me, anyways, especially if it can somehow lead to another pub. I don't think pursuing MA has a lot of value unless you don't have a background in psych (which you do) or unless you have a terrible GPA. Hope this helps - feel free to PM and I can share more thoughts. I actually went straight into a very competitive clinical program in the US right after undergrad, FWIW.

I’m from the USA and don’t know about Canadian schools. In order to be competitive for top schools in the US (eg BU and UCSD) you might want to consider finding a full time RA job in the area you are interested in psychology and get some recent hands-on research experience and (importantly) publications and presentations. I am not sure if you had any of those in your undergrad, but if you don’t have any you won’t honesty measure up against very competitive applicants who have 2-4+ years of experience as an RA and pubs/presentations. Without further explanation, I’m not sure how business analytics is related to clinical psychology, exactly...IO, yes. Clinical, no. What is your area of clinical psych interest? I hope this isn’t too blunt. I’m always honest on these forums so people don’t waste their time or money applying when they probably won’t be accepted. Some schools accept less than 2% of applicants, so you really want to make sure your application is solid before applying.

Many clinical programs have just as much (if not better) research training than experimental. Depends on what you want, though. I am clinical so I’m biased, but you do have a lot more options with a clinical degree vs experimental. You can’t practice as a psychologist with an experimental degree, FWIW. It’s nice to know I can hang a shingle and practice if I hate research in 5 years lol c

Clinical psych PhD (especially clinical science) sound like what you want. The primary focus of these programs is training scientists with clinical skills who we be the leaders in the research that leads to dissemination and implementation of the most cutting edge advancements in psychotherapy and assessment (as we as epidemiology and many other health fields). Just because it’s a “clinical psych PhD” program doesn’t mean you just are going to be a clinician. In fact, top programs (think UCLA, temple, BU, etc.) pride themselves on producing top notch scientists. PsyD and masters degrees don’t generally require or offer the research training and support it sounds like you want.

Waitlists are a thing, so that’s not really how it works sadly. Also issues of funding are not as simple as it may seem.

Glad to hear you got in, but generally it’s not wise to *overly* discuss your psychological past. There’s ways to do it in personal statements and interviews that is just enough info for background without going overboard and making yourself look unstable. People tend to advise against talking about personal issues because it can make you look unstable, and especially for funded programs (which are investing as much in you as you are in them), they want to be as sure/safe as they can about their choice.

Yeah most psychologists don’t wear white coats, period. I’ve only ever seen/wore one myself in formal research settings with clinical populations where it helps to establish a more “sciencey” rapport. I know lots of psychologists at big name medical centers and most don’t wear white coats when they are seeing patients. The exception, maybe (but not sure), would be in patient stuff.

You should apply to work in full-time research positions (research assistant, clinical research coordinator) at academic medical centers or R1 universities. This is probably your best option at this point, as it allows you to get experience and real-world research education that will benefit your application next time around. Online masters programs do not have any value in the clinical PhD world, frankly, as they are compared against very reputable master's programs and people with research jobs that result in publications (the gold standard of our field).

Last year I basically said I was grateful for the offer but had decided on X school. I also mentioned wanting to stay in touch as I develop professionally because I was genuinely interested in their work and could see collaborations down the line. Have you moved out of your holding pattern your were in?

Usually people present posters before publishing, not the other way around. Some conferences won't even accept work that has already been published.