psychIsLife

Hi all I interviewed at my top choice PhD program a month ago and found out that there were two applicants to the same lab that I applied to who would be interviewing at a later date (although I have no idea when) and was not given any kind of estimate on when I should expect to hear back. I did send a post interview thank-you email to my PI and received an encouraging response which concluded with a statement that they'd be in touch. About two weeks ago, I received an admissions offer from my second choice (it was actually my top pick prior to interviews) which I am absolutely thrilled about and incredibly grateful for. I would be happy at either program, but my 1st choice (which I haven't heard from) is just a little bit of a better fit all around and especially for my training and career goals... It's truly my dream program in every way, better than I could have hoped for. I just feel really bad about sitting on the offer from my 2nd choice for so long and, while I know that I technically have until April 15th and the PI and DCT have been very understanding and aren't pressuring me, I still want to avoid holding up the process for everyone else as much as possible. I've seen various sources stating that having another offer that you would decline if you received an offer from the program you're waiting to hear from is the only appropriate time to inquire about status post interview. I haven't been able to find advice on how to approach the inquiry in such a situation though. I know that I need to explain that I'm asking because I have an offer (not just being impatient) but every draft I've composed just feels awkward trying to work that information into it. Does anyone have any advice on how to phrase this? Or should I wait longer before contacting the PI? I know it's a difficult process for the faculty also and I'm not even sure if the other applicants have had their interviews yet and I don't want to be pushy or impatient. Any advice you guys have is appreciated!

I was not accepted into any of the PhD programs that I applied to this past cycle and have now graduated from my undergrad. I began a new line of research, including developing a novel laboratory measure, over the past year and am working on trying to continue to pursue developing this model and measure (we had some very promising results!). My faculty mentor and I are planning to continue work on this over the next couple of years as I prepare to apply to programs again. This is at a liberal arts school, however, and there isn't any existing funding in the labs or department. My research over the last year was funded by an institutional grant that is only available to currently enrolled students and the line of research represents a substantial departure from any existing research programs at the school and my mentor's experience (I essentially created an entirely new research lab/program for my project). In order to do this, we need to find funding. Does anyone know of any grant opportunities for someone in my position (recent graduate, neither enrolled nor matriculating, trying to gain more experience and continue my research while re-applying to PhD programs)??? Pretty much everything that we are finding requires that one be currently enrolled in a program somewhere or at the post-doc level. I will also be continuing to TA for undergrad psychology classes this summer and through the next couple of years, but there aren't any funding opportunities for this within the department or institution. This is great experience and something that I really enjoy doing so I plan to do it even if unfunded, it would be great if I could find some way to fund myself doing this as I'm not really able to work at the same time and need to find some way to contribute to my household finances (especially since I'll have to begin repaying my student loans soon too). Does anyone have any knowledge of any funding opportunities for this? I'd appreciate any help/advice anyone can offer on where to look; funding opportunities for recent graduates that are neither currently enrolled as students, nor matriculating into a program seem to almost non-existent.

Thank you everyone for all of your input; I'm blown away by how helpful and kind so many people are on here. I've been away from the boards for a while, focusing on other things coming up, so I apologize that this response is so delayed. I just wanted to let everyone know how much I appreciate all of the responses, it has really helped me to feel a bit better about my decision. Strangely, I actually feel better now that things are even more uncertain than they were before....but that's probably a good thing. Now I just have to figure out the more immediate future. Best of luck to all of you in your various endeavors and congratulations to everyone on their achievements!

@NeisserThanILook I'm sure that must have been an absolutely agonizing decision to make. I'm glad you were able to reach a decision that you feel really good about. Thank you for chiming in with your unique perspective. Trying to hear from as many different perspectives as possible on this is why I finally decided to go ahead and post (I'd been debating whether or not to do so for quite a while as I'm always very wary of anything that might possibly lead to identification). I am, of course, also asking people that I know personally but I don't actually personally know anyone else who is applying to programs right now so it's mostly faculty members. If you don't mind me asking, how did you come across the RAship opportunity? Did you apply for it at the same time you were applying for programs or was it one of the PIs from one of the programs you were applying to who maybe couldn't take a student but had an opening for an RA?

Thank you both for your insights! You both really just reiterated all the things I've been thinking, which probably really tells me that I should stick with what I've been thinking my choice would be. (BTW-I love that you brought up risk-aversion and forecasting because I made those same points when trying to explain my stance earlier!) Objectively speaking, the program is a good one and most of the students didn't seem overly stressed--only those in the lab I was applying to (it was rather odd actually), it really was more of the subjective "fit" combined with some things about the specific lab...maybe a couple very specific aspects of the overall program/opportunities as they relate to my specific eventual career goals (but nothing major in that regard). I think the reason it's really such a hard choice for me to come to terms with is because I feel incredibly guilty and selfish thinking that I would turn down an offer "just because it isn't the ideal place for me" when my family has already sacrificed and put up with so much for me to get to this point. If it were just me, I honestly would have withdrawn my application after the interview because I did experience a "great fit" with two programs/PIs and an "absolutely phenomenal fit" with another (the one that leaves you feeling like everything in the universe suddenly makes sense, like there's nowhere else in the world for you, that you're walking on air/untouchable for a whole week--I wanted that spot more than I've wanted anything in my life) which, by contrast, just made the poorness of fit at this one that much more salient (I actually found myself wishing I could just leave the interview early--the other places I didn't want to leave). Anyway, all that said, it's just proving very difficult to justify this to my spouse, especially given that my research interests aren't very common and any RA position providing experience in the topic would require relocation. Not that moving isn't something we were all prepared to do, it's just that I'm meeting a lot of resistance to the idea of uprooting our family for just a year or maybe two only to move again when (if) I get accepted in a future cycle. I think there's also a barrier in that they don't really, fully understand how these kind of programs are really far more about the specific lab/mentor and "fit" (all other things equal such as funding, etc.) than ranking/prestige and it's difficult to explain that the experience can be so drastically different based on such factors. I just want to make sure that I don't make a unilateral decision for selfish reasons if they might not be as founded/legitimate as they seem to me. Finally, Congrats @dormcat on getting the opportunity to work with the PI you don't think you'll grow tired of conversing with! And, I hope that everything works out for you @eternallyephemeral, I'm sorry to hear that you find yourself in a similar situation but I greatly appreciate your thoughtful response and wish you all the best!

So, I'm wondering how important this thing we call "fit" really is when it comes to getting a PhD in clinical psychology? For instance, were you to only receive one offer of admission can you really afford to be "picky" about that? Suppose that, throughout the interview process, you realized that you had reservations about the program and lab, the mentor is trying to move their research in a different direction which doesn't mesh as well with your interests (no other faculty there study your interest either), and students in the lab seemed very stressed out (substantially more than at any other interview you attended). You could even say with certainty that, if you had to reapply in a future cycle, you would not apply to that program/lab. If that program is the only one you receive an offer of admission from are you better off (a) accepting it because, at least it's a clinical PhD program and you can begin the training and everything moving toward your eventual goals or (b) declining the offer, trying to find a paid RA position in a relevant lab, and reapplying for the next cycle? Before anyone gets upset/defensive--this is all hypothetical right now, I'm not holding an offer to a program I don't particularly want to attend. It is the only waitlist I'm on which is still active (having not received any offers and being rejected off all other waitlists) and I'm trying to prepare for the possibility of having to make such a decision a day before the deadline. I feel crazy for even asking this question because I worked so hard (not to mention the financial investment) trying to get into a program and I can't imagine any other path that I would be happy pursuing. Plus it really seems ridiculous to think that choosing to wait (without a fully formed contingency plan) might be better than attending a program should the opportunity arise, but you hear so much about "fit" going through this process and it's left me wondering if that is just a luxury for situations where one has a choice or if it is still that critical of a factor when you don't have options of where to go?

That's awesome! Congrats!! I agree that even if there probably isn't a risk I'd rather not ask since it doesn't actually make a difference. Thank you again!

Thank you! I second not wanting to risk asking if you aren't sure--I'd contemplated it for about a milisecond after seeing what seemed like most people on here know their position on the waitlist. I hope they don't automatically waitlist everyone who interviews, I'd like to think waitlist instead of rejection means something but I could also understand the practicality of it on the school's end--at least they told you they did it that way. Oh well, I guess it really doesn't make a difference whether I know my position on the waitlist or not--it won't actually impact the probability of receiving an offer and, really, it would just bring about a different bag of uncertainty to deal with. I hope everything works out for you!

Thank you! I guess it really just completely varies with the programs and all of mine just happened to be ones to simply say "an alternate for admission" (or maybe I'm just pretty low on the list at all of them and that's why they word it that way--who knows). It seemed like most people I've seen post on here knew their position on the list so I wasn't sure if most programs were telling people or if I was being overly-cautious by not wanting to ask when most people actually did. I really hope that everything works out for you!

For those who know what position they are/were on a waitlist, how did you find out? Were you told when you were informed you were waitlisted or did you ask about position on the waitlist? I was waitlisted at every clinical PhD program I interviewed for and was only told I was "an alternate" for all of them but without any specification of position. There were only about 4-5 total people interviewing for the lab I applied to at each school, would they be likely to designate all interviewees as "alternates" and just run through the list when an offer is rejected?

Would you mind PMing me with the same please? Thank You! And also CONGRATS!!!