topsailpsych

Me too! I was worried the shut down would impact when we might hear, but it sounds like the Neuroscience program began sending out interview invites recently, so hopefully that means clinical will be soon as well!

I haven't heard anything from them, and I haven't seen anything on the results page yet either. I'm hoping they haven't started reaching out yet.

It's also allowed by the military, so if you're interested in working as a civilian for the DoD, you would be eligible (but I have never heard what sort of training the military requires to be eligible for that or if there are any restrictions).

If you're planning to go into the clinical practice side of the field and you would like to increase your income potential, you might want to look into states which offer prescribing privileges to PhD level psychologists (they usually require a little extra training in clinical pharmacology and supervision for several years). Mixing some prescription appointments in with your therapy clients in those states can apparently make you some very good money. There are only a handful of states offering it at this time, but the movement is growing nationally, so by the time we graduate there will likely be even more states in which it is allowed.

I would start the email with something about how excited and honored you are to receive the invitation to interview and how you really look forward to speaking with the faculty and students. Then continue on with how you're trying to figure out travel plans, but with the costs, you're not sure quite yet if you'll be able to make it. If there is a deadline by which you need to respond, I would let them know you will be able to let them know for sure in the coming days, and definitely before their deadline. Then see what they say, they may mention if they have travel funds (or if they will book your flight and hotel for you at their expense - this is rare in our field, but I have heard of some schools doing this for applicants), or they may suggest a Skype interview. Either way, it communicates to them that you are very interested and puts the ball in their court to provide information about assistance or alternatives available to you. I will caution you, while schools say that doing a Skype interview doesn't hurt your chances of acceptance, I have had many professors at different schools tell me over the years that the reality is that it does hurt your chances a bit because fewer faculty get to meet you and therefore you have fewer advocates when it comes time to make decisions. So if you possibly can attend in person, I would try to do so, at least for your top schools.

Mizzou's counseling program has finished contacting candidates for interviews, so if you haven't heard from them, I'm sorry to break the bad news. I also didn't get an interview there, and that was confirmed by a professor I'm familiar with there a few weeks ago (but that was not a surprise as my POI left the university shortly after applications were submitted).

Why am I checking the status pages for each of my applications every day? There's not going to be any good news posted there - that's going to come through email or a phone call. And if it's bad news, it's going to come to my email soon enough. I know this, and yet I do it anyway.

Thanks! I've been super lucky. We never lost power and my street is a priority street so it gets plowed first. We had family who lost power and came to stay for a couple of days (2 adults, 3 kids and 2 dogs....it was a party) but their power came back on last night and they were able to return home. Other than shoveling and going sledding at the neighborhood park, I haven't left the house since Friday afternoon and I'm cool with not leaving the house until I have to go back to work tomorrow (presuming the schools re-open by then).

If the program is anywhere in the mid-Western US, we just got hit with a record breaking winter storm and tons of places closed early Thursday and Friday due to the storm (and a lot of people have lost power as well). So if the school is in that area, I would give it to Wednesday before I would expect to hear back (1/3 of my city is still without power so even if POIs are safe at home, they may not have internet to send emails).

Last year I saw a post here for a research training program, the Junior Researcher Programme, and took a chance in applying for it. This program has been absolutely life changing for me - my research skills have grown incredibly, I've been able to network with professors and researchers some some of the world's top institutions, I'm receiving opportunities to publish and present at conferences left and right, and most of the POIs I'm interviewing with have specifically mentioned this program having caught their attention and wanting to hear more it when I come to interview. So, I thought I would repay the favor and pass on some information in case others are interested in applying. Each research team is led by a Senior Researcher, doctoral-level or early-career researcher, who makes a proposal for a research project based upon that year's theme. Those selected are then assigned teams of junior researchers who are interested in working on that project and supervise the team through the design, implementation and dissemination processes. The program officially lasts for 13 months, but many teams choose to continue working together after that. It's a cool opportunity to have your own research team, but also have support from experienced professional researchers for when you need guidance. Applications for this year are due January 31, so if you're already in a PhD program (or recently graduated) and this sounds cool to you, I highly recommend you check it out.http://jrp.pscholars.org/getinvolved/research-supervisor/ For the Junior Researchers, you receive incredible training in research including the complexities of multinational research (my team is currently dealing with finding independent translators for translating and back-translation our novel measurement tool - and it never would have occurred to me before this program all the things that goes in to translating these tools), you'll be working with other junior researchers from around the world, and you'll have some really insane opportunities to present at conferences throughout Europe. Applications for Junior Researchers won't be open until after the Senior Researchers have been selected and they know what projects will be available for you to apply to. Those applications generally open in late March or early April, but you can find out more info here if you're interests: http://jrp.pscholars.org/getinvolved/students/ If anyone has any questions about the program, feel free to contact me! If your questions about about the Senior Researcher position and I don't know the answer, I'll pass them on to my team leader for you. Edit: because apparently I still think it's 2018... I applied for and began the program last year, not this year. I need more coffee.

I have a large purse that fits my padfolio and other things that I'll carry with me for interviews. I'll have a small emergency kit for the day in my bag with a power bar, an extra charge for my phone, tissues, deodorant, a small mending kit in case of clothing tears, and a book in case there's lots of time to sit and wait.

You want to be authentic in your interviews. You can choose to wear your ring or not, but almost certainly you're going to end up talking about your fiance at some point during the interview - to interviewers, fellow interviewees, or other grad students. It's highly likely that if you actively avoid talking about him that you'll come across as awkward or reserved (or worse yet, hiding something) which won't give you interviewers a good idea of who you really are and could hurt your chances. So, if I were in your shoes, I'd wear the ring and be yourself. (I'll be wearing mine for my interviews)

Flying in a day or two early (if you can) is a good idea. Also, talk to your doctor. There are some prescription medications that can help with altitude sickness that might be a fit for your situation.

Does anyone know if all interview invites for UT Austin or Texas Tech have been sent out? I saw a couple on the results page back in December, but they seemed to been from individual POIs and haven't seen anything since.

Do you have any nice cardigans which you could layer over the blouse? Having an additional layer gives you options in case the room you're in is too hot/cold, and it looks a little more formal. You can check out second hand stores for blazers or cardigans, or ask friends/family if you could borrow one. Also, if you have any business dresses or skirts that would pair nicely with a blouse, that can sometimes look more formal without a blazer/cardigan than a blouse and slacks. And, if you're really struggling with finding something that works, you could buy a blazer from a store with a good return policy and return it after the interview (we could debate the ethics of this, but if you're really hard hit for money and have run out of options, places like Walmart, Kohls, JCPenny and Target all have business wear sections and liberal return policies).

Hk328 hit the nail on the head! If you're uncomfortable, either because the outfit makes you uncomfortable or your feet hurt, you're going to be distracted and not at your best during your interview. A full, matching suit is ok but will most likely be overkill. Slacks, a blouse, and a blazer or cardigan would be totally appropriate (blazer and slacks need to coordinate but not necessarily match). You may want to take off the blazer/cardigan during the interview if it gets too warm so make sure the blouse isn't sleeveless (too informal) and you'd be comfortable wearing it on its own. Also, don't be afraid to show a bit of your personality with your attire. The committee wants to get to know you, not some automaton. So if you like bright colors, wear a bright colored blouse, but pair it with neutral pants and blazer so it stands out (pairing it with other bright colors/prints will make that one piece blend in rather than standing out). Also, I highly recommend taking a small mending kit with you to the interview. The last thing you want so to rip a seam and have to go through the rest of the day with your undies showing... A couple of safety pins can sometimes be a lifesaver.

I'll be in slacks, a suit jacket and a short sleeved or 3/4 length sleeved blouse so I can feel comfortable taking the jacket on and off throughout the day as the temperature dictates. I'll wear comfortable dress shoes - I'm deciding between two pairs right now, one completely flat and one with about a 1" heel, both black leather. I'll take a large purse that can hold my pad folio and anything else I feel I might need during the day (extra deodorant, a small sewing kit, a lint roller, an extra charge for my phone, etc.) It was recommended to me years ago to have a signature look/accessory to be part of your brand. I decided on pearls because I love them and they can be classy and funky depending upon the design, so I have pearls on in my head shot, and I wear them for every conference, interview or anything important. So I'll definitely have pearls of some sort on - likely a single drop pendant and earrings (classy, but not too formal). I'm putting together a 1-2 page fact sheet about each school with info from their website & doc student handbook regarding funding, transfer credits/course waivers (since I have my master's degree), length of program, and 1 sentence about each professor's research or background that I find interesting (so when I interview with someone who went to my alma mater, I can remember to mention it, or talk about seeing them present at a conference, etc.)

Hopefully the DCT just got behind and didn't get the email out by COB. Maybe we'll hear good news after the holiday.

I did. You had a phone interview with them, correct? Have you heard anything further?

I'm in the same boat as well (seems like we have lots of good company)! Creating the list of schools to apply to was complicated as he looked at job openings in each city over the course of 12 weeks to see how many popped up (lots = better chance of lots of opportunities available when he needed to apply, few or none = much harder to find a job there). He also looked into what cities had big companies or government entities which required his job. That helped us to narrow down the search significantly. Now that I've started getting interview invites, he's reaching out to contacts in those cities to talk about prospects. If I receive any admission offers (I don't want to jinx myself by presuming this will happen), he'll start applying for positions in those cities. My sincere hope is he'll have at least one job offer in cities where I've been given admission offers and we can commit to both offers at the same time, but I recognize the possibility of that is pretty slim, so we'll have to figure it out at the time. But he's on board to go wherever necessary for me to get my PhD. I chose this path and this career for us because it aligns well with our priorities to help us live our best lives together. So even if the location isn't ideal for him, it's only for a few years and it still moves us closer to our shared goals.

Y'all, I'm so excited! After being rejected from 15 schools last cycle, and only getting one interview at the last minute (probably because I hounded the POI with emails), I've received 4 interview invitations thus far. Univ of Tennessee-Knoxville, Univ of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Marquette Univ, and Ball State Univ. I've now got a bit of a tight schedule bouncing between all the interviews, but that's a much better challenge than not hearing anything back again this cycle.

I'll add my own pieces of advice from the interviews I've had in previous cycles. For in-person interviews: Prepare a short, concise description of your research as you will be asked about this over and over throughout the day - from interviewers, grad students, and fellow interviewees. Get good sleep the night before (if at all possible) and eat a solid breakfast as it's going to be a long day where you won't be able to control when you eat and your nerves will be greatly amplified if you're tired and/or hungry. For Skype or in-person interviews: Keep notes about the professor's research up and ready to mention if asked (favorite article, how their research has influenced you, etc.), and some notes about other articles that have influenced you just in case you're asked. Plus having them on hand may help to trigger questions you have for the interviewer - future directions for their research, why they decided to use a certain method, etc.

Me too please! Thank you and congrats!

Since we have lots of folks who have phone, Skype, and/or on-campus interviews coming up, please share your advice from previous experience! Also please note if your advice only applies to a specific type of interview (i.e. if your advice is to make sure you have a clean room in the background, that obviously only applies to Skype interviews).

I was offered an on-campus interview during a time when I'm overseas presenting at a conference. I told me POI this and have scheduled an alternate date to come to campus to meet her, the faculty, her students, and see the campus/town to get an overall feel for the place to decide if it might be the right fit for me. There's more to be gained from the on-campus interview than just getting more face time with the faculty. If you can't make it work in your schedule to visit during the official interview date, it might be worth seeing if you can find another time to visit.