That Research Lady

Honestly (to me), it sounds like the choice to stay local compromised your fit for labs and that could be the issue. My grades were not as strong as yours and I applied to some difficult schools for admittance but received offers, with the feedback that my interests were very well aligned with the lab's. It sounds like your application was strong enough to get you interviews at many of the schools you applied to (which is an accomplishment), so I'd reflect on what to strengthen during interviews as well. Or consider working out of state for only a year or two and then applying to local schools again. I did not want to relocate geographically either, but I live in an area where the programs are the most competitive in the nation and actually found that having interviews from reputable schools across the nation helped during an interview with a POI close to home. I understand that sometime relocating is not possible (which I often told my mentor) but the advice I received was, it's only 4 years (or 1-2 for an RA position) and then you can go anywhere for internship/postdoc/etc. 4 years goes by very quickly and if you are less than 5 hours away from home you will likely be able to return often. I know it isn't always that simple but I'd hate to see you gather more debt for a degree you may not need. I worked instead of getting a masters and the money/experience can be very helpful.

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!

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. 

Congratulations!! So happy that you finally got the good news you were waiting for!

UConn is very competitive  (2-4% acceptance rate I think) and has great faculty so you'll definitely be in a good position in a few years (just survive the snowpocalyses XD). Congrats again!

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!

Congratulations!

Congrats!!! Hard work does one day pay off. Where will you be going if you don't mind me asking?

Congratulations!!!! I'm beyond happy for you and grateful that you shared this exciting news with all of us. 

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!

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!

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!

Honestly (to me), it sounds like the choice to stay local compromised your fit for labs and that could be the issue. My grades were not as strong as yours and I applied to some difficult schools for admittance but received offers, with the feedback that my interests were very well aligned with the lab's. It sounds like your application was strong enough to get you interviews at many of the schools you applied to (which is an accomplishment), so I'd reflect on what to strengthen during interviews as well. Or consider working out of state for only a year or two and then applying to local schools again. I did not want to relocate geographically either, but I live in an area where the programs are the most competitive in the nation and actually found that having interviews from reputable schools across the nation helped during an interview with a POI close to home. I understand that sometime relocating is not possible (which I often told my mentor) but the advice I received was, it's only 4 years (or 1-2 for an RA position) and then you can go anywhere for internship/postdoc/etc. 4 years goes by very quickly and if you are less than 5 hours away from home you will likely be able to return often. I know it isn't always that simple but I'd hate to see you gather more debt for a degree you may not need. I worked instead of getting a masters and the money/experience can be very helpful.

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.

This wait gets increasingly harder every day. I feel like I'm being dramatic but maybe this is a shared experience ? Other posters' good fortune is giving me hope though!

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 totally understand how you feel and it's common to a lot of us.  I think the best thing you can do is to apply everywhere you can think of (and figure out how to get there later).  That way you can be rejected 30 times or 50 times instead of just once hahahaha!  Seriously though, you have nothing to lose by applying and I would be looking at places that may have a quota of mature age students to fill (if you fit into the demo). 
http://psychologyaustralianstyle.blogspot.com.au/
I have a blog for my psychology studies here in Australia and some of the papers may be of interest to you, also if you have old papers lying around then I'd be happy to host them on my blog (with all credit going to you of course).  I figure that I've already done the work so I may as well put it out there! 

I am on the same boat. My PI made an offer to another person months ago and put me on wait-list in mid-February; I check my email all the time waiting for an update! It's becoming increasingly more stressful for me as we get closer.

This wait gets increasingly harder every day. I feel like I'm being dramatic but maybe this is a shared experience ? Other posters' good fortune is giving me hope though!

This wait gets increasingly harder every day. I feel like I'm being dramatic but maybe this is a shared experience ? Other posters' good fortune is giving me hope though!

I've been waitlisted at Temple clinical psych as a first alternate since mid January. Every day I have thought today will be the day. I have a feeling this painful process will drag out until April 17th. So exhausted. 

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 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 lived off of loans in undergrad and used Mint.com. It's a Microsoft run website that you can attach your bank accounts to and keep track of all your purchases and make a budget (it has graphs and pie charts so I get happy). Also, make sure you have a small amount set aside for fun. I find that if I'm on a strict budget and I don't have a little fun each month I start to get cranky/pouty/whiney lol

I worked at an ivy league my first 1.5 years and then the VA for my remaining time as an RA and I loved it. It wasn't in my topic of interest but I feel it allowed me to get experience that helped me stand out in applications. Clinical psyc admissions is competitive but those experiences helped me have options for admissions, so I'm grateful. It also pays very well compared to other positions. I almost convinced myself to stay in the VA instead of applying to grad school. I would advise that RA positions within the VA can look different so don't be afraid to ask about presentation/publication opportunities during interviews. Also, my position as an RA is among the list of exempt positions at the VA. I know my center will be hiring soon so if you're willing to move just message me and when they post the position I can send it to you.