H1ppocampus

Don’t stress, and be yourself! I used slight variations of the format above; go ahead and attach any first-authored manuscripts or poster abstracts if applicable as well, as these materials will help you to stand out.

Just saw this thread, but I would advise applicants to send initial feeler emails NOW, especially if you have any kind of common connection (eg. through a current mentor or if you will be attending/presenting a poster at any conferences in the fall that said POI’s may also be going to). You may get a lot of automated “I’m on vacation until ___” responses, but it’s certainly worth trying and you may be pleasantly surprised. Email again to touch base in the fall. Especially for research-oriented clinical programs, the competition is unfortunately so fierce that you need to do all that you can to jog a faculty member’s memory later on when they’re reviewing applications.

I would wait a couple of weeks and then reach out to POI's individually, rather than to departmental coordinators, as others have said. This can really work to your favor (especially if you had interviews and were waitlisted) because it shows POI's that you are serious about wanting to work with them and that you are willing to do whatever it takes, within reason, to enhance your credentials for the next application cycle. I took this approach last year and was pleasantly surprised by how helpful several professors were. Don't let this round discourage you- keep your long-term goals in mind. Wishing you all the best.

I wouldn't let this APA/PCSAS issue tarnish your view of the program at Stony Brook in any way, @Pugislife! As others have said, many top-tier clinical programs with a heavy research focus (think clinical science programs especially) are making noises about dropping their APA accreditation status as a call to action directed towards APA to re-evaluate clinical training requirements; the goal is not to impede students' clinical marketability post-graduation, but to free up more time for independent research so that graduates will be better prepared for positions in research and/or academia. I asked several professors about this during both formal and informal interviews, and all of them were transparent with respect to the stance of their respective departments.The take-away is that this is NOT a move intended to negatively impact students/graduates in any way, but it is something to be cognizant of if you aspire to be a full-time clinician.

Woooo! Congrats! That program is phenomenal!

This girl is going to Philly! Heading to Temple for clinical psychology.

Though it would probably be a no, you have every right to ask if it would be feasible for this POI to take you with him if he does relocate. I’ve heard of many cases of professors moving and taking current graduate students with them, but in your situation I think it would depend a lot on this POI’s standing within the new department and how close a secondary review of your materials would need to occur to the 4/15 deadline. It’s certainly an option worth discussing. Did your POI give you any sense of his timeline? Feel free to PM me if you don’t feel comfortable with providing more detail on here, and good luck!

Is this a clinical APA and/or PCSAS-accredited program? This sounds incredibly fishy to me. I second @statisticalsleuth's suggestion to contact the graduate advisor or DCT for assistance, as no POI should be pressuring you into making a decision before 4/15. Good luck- I'm sorry to hear that you have been put in this position!

Hi @inneedofadvice2018- based on your initial post and responses to some of the comments from others, I would be inclined to support a decision to leave your current program and reapply elsewhere for fall 2019 admissions consideration. Would the research mentor you have been working with be able to take you on as a paid RA or coordinator in the meantime? If you do decide to withdraw and reapply for fall 2019, there are some [fully funded, APA-accredited] clinical programs that accept previously earned graduate-level credit hours, so you wouldn't necessarily have to start from square one. This information is typically available on program websites if you dig a bit, but I would also encourage you to contact graduate admissions coordinators of programs you're interested in preemptively, mainly to gauge how they respond to your situation- this could serve to give you a better sense of the "feel" or "culture" of a given department with respect to their opinions on non-traditional applicants. I wish you the best, as this will be a tough call to make. At the end of the day, you've got to follow your own path!

Thanks for creating this topic, @raffle, and best wishes to all! I've applied to the following groups: Affective Computing, Social Machines, and Lifelong Kindergarten. My website had some hits from an MIT IP address earlier this month, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Our POI’s may be on different timelines then- good luck!

For anyone interested in the clinical program at Washington University in St. Louis, faculty met to make interviewee selections on 1/8, and the graduate coordinator sent official invitations shortly thereafter. Hope this helps! Good luck, all.

Would be appreciative of this information as well- many thanks, and good luck!

Curious about this as well- any insight would be greatly appreciated! Good luck, everyone!