PsyDuck90

Search committees are made up of people in the field, so it's highly likely that they are aware of its reputation. Also, the stats seem to support that if they place alumni quicker. Research fit is important in a PhD. It sounds like you put a lot of thought into your decision prior to making it, but are getting last minute nerves. Trust in yourself and the decisions you've made. Northwestern is also a great school. 

I'm sorry if my comment came off as me saying the program I attend is superior. That was not my intention. I know people who have gone to Alliant (and Argosy) that have been burned. Heck, several former Argosy students now attend my program after those schools shut down. I even know some great clinicians who have graduated from Alliants/Argosys, and they typically attribute their success to their own tenacity rather than the standard training they received at the program. Granted these are just a few examples, but these people have often reported they did not feel supported by their program and are successful despite the program rather than in part due to the program. The reason I brought up the cohort size is because in a program that large, it's hard to get the individualized attention that is necessary at the graduate level to guide professional development. The faculty are only able to give x number of hours to student because there are only 24 hours in a day. The greater number of students, the less time the faculty have to give each student..
Also, those metrics are quantitative data (match rates, EPPP pass rates, and licensure rates). APA requires the reporting of many of these metrics so that people can quantitatively evaluate programs on equal data points. At the end of the day, Alliant has a very strong financial reason to get students through the door. It is in their best interest as a for profit institution, so yes, they pour a lot of money into marketing and coming up with good sounding reasons to address the poor outcome measures. However, if there is a consistent pattern of under-performance compared to the vast majority of other programs, then that is indicative of a programmatic issue and not just just the occasional outlier. Outliers don't account for approximately 40% of people not passing the EPPP and therefore being ineligible for licensure at that time.
At the end of the day, do what is best for you. I have no skin in the game. I just wanted to point out the concerning metrics that have left a significant number of people in hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt for a career that doesn't financially justify that kind of debt load. 

If your signature is accurate, I would honestly try again next year. Alliant has a very poor reputation as a diploma mill (if a school is for profit, it's a corporation intent on making money, not a place of higher learning). They're APA-accredited match rates, EPPP pass rates, cohort sizes (83 new students in 2018-2019?! That's literally more people than my entire PsyD program, faculty included.), and licensure rates are pretty big red flags. It's a PsyD, if only 75% of graduates are licensed.....what else are they doing? Based on the EPPP pass rates and low APA-accredited internship match rates, my guess is that they aren't able to get licensed, and are saddled with crazy amounts of debt to boot. 

There isn't really direct interaction, but there are courses on sites like Coursera. 

I'm sorry if my comment came off as me saying the program I attend is superior. That was not my intention. I know people who have gone to Alliant (and Argosy) that have been burned. Heck, several former Argosy students now attend my program after those schools shut down. I even know some great clinicians who have graduated from Alliants/Argosys, and they typically attribute their success to their own tenacity rather than the standard training they received at the program. Granted these are just a few examples, but these people have often reported they did not feel supported by their program and are successful despite the program rather than in part due to the program. The reason I brought up the cohort size is because in a program that large, it's hard to get the individualized attention that is necessary at the graduate level to guide professional development. The faculty are only able to give x number of hours to student because there are only 24 hours in a day. The greater number of students, the less time the faculty have to give each student..
Also, those metrics are quantitative data (match rates, EPPP pass rates, and licensure rates). APA requires the reporting of many of these metrics so that people can quantitatively evaluate programs on equal data points. At the end of the day, Alliant has a very strong financial reason to get students through the door. It is in their best interest as a for profit institution, so yes, they pour a lot of money into marketing and coming up with good sounding reasons to address the poor outcome measures. However, if there is a consistent pattern of under-performance compared to the vast majority of other programs, then that is indicative of a programmatic issue and not just just the occasional outlier. Outliers don't account for approximately 40% of people not passing the EPPP and therefore being ineligible for licensure at that time.
At the end of the day, do what is best for you. I have no skin in the game. I just wanted to point out the concerning metrics that have left a significant number of people in hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt for a career that doesn't financially justify that kind of debt load. 

If your signature is accurate, I would honestly try again next year. Alliant has a very poor reputation as a diploma mill (if a school is for profit, it's a corporation intent on making money, not a place of higher learning). They're APA-accredited match rates, EPPP pass rates, cohort sizes (83 new students in 2018-2019?! That's literally more people than my entire PsyD program, faculty included.), and licensure rates are pretty big red flags. It's a PsyD, if only 75% of graduates are licensed.....what else are they doing? Based on the EPPP pass rates and low APA-accredited internship match rates, my guess is that they aren't able to get licensed, and are saddled with crazy amounts of debt to boot. 

Just wanted to chime in on this for those thinking about next year already.
Treating mental health disorders and practicing within the realm of applied clinical or health psychology isn't just limited to Clinical Psychology PhDs. 
There are so many tracks depending on your interests and while a Clinical Psychology PhD may in fact be the right option for you based on fit, career interests or flexibility it isn't for everyone. 
There are shortages in each mental health profession and if individuals switched paths to something more suited to them (if they weren't interested in research for example) it might cut down on the applicants to clinical psych PhD programs. 
I would check out this article Mitch’s Uncensored Advice for Applying to Graduate School in Clinical Psychology for more information on backup plans and alternative career paths that are not clinical psych. 
My fiancé wanted to work as a mental health therapist for children and realized through a soul search that he did not need to get a clinical PhD and could get a masters in school social work to practice with kids. 
Best of luck to everyone! I can't imagine how my life would look if I were applying to clinical programs.
Sending love from School Psychology and hope everyone finds a home!
 

I'm sorry if my comment came off as me saying the program I attend is superior. That was not my intention. I know people who have gone to Alliant (and Argosy) that have been burned. Heck, several former Argosy students now attend my program after those schools shut down. I even know some great clinicians who have graduated from Alliants/Argosys, and they typically attribute their success to their own tenacity rather than the standard training they received at the program. Granted these are just a few examples, but these people have often reported they did not feel supported by their program and are successful despite the program rather than in part due to the program. The reason I brought up the cohort size is because in a program that large, it's hard to get the individualized attention that is necessary at the graduate level to guide professional development. The faculty are only able to give x number of hours to student because there are only 24 hours in a day. The greater number of students, the less time the faculty have to give each student..
Also, those metrics are quantitative data (match rates, EPPP pass rates, and licensure rates). APA requires the reporting of many of these metrics so that people can quantitatively evaluate programs on equal data points. At the end of the day, Alliant has a very strong financial reason to get students through the door. It is in their best interest as a for profit institution, so yes, they pour a lot of money into marketing and coming up with good sounding reasons to address the poor outcome measures. However, if there is a consistent pattern of under-performance compared to the vast majority of other programs, then that is indicative of a programmatic issue and not just just the occasional outlier. Outliers don't account for approximately 40% of people not passing the EPPP and therefore being ineligible for licensure at that time.
At the end of the day, do what is best for you. I have no skin in the game. I just wanted to point out the concerning metrics that have left a significant number of people in hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt for a career that doesn't financially justify that kind of debt load. 

I'm sorry if my comment came off as me saying the program I attend is superior. That was not my intention. I know people who have gone to Alliant (and Argosy) that have been burned. Heck, several former Argosy students now attend my program after those schools shut down. I even know some great clinicians who have graduated from Alliants/Argosys, and they typically attribute their success to their own tenacity rather than the standard training they received at the program. Granted these are just a few examples, but these people have often reported they did not feel supported by their program and are successful despite the program rather than in part due to the program. The reason I brought up the cohort size is because in a program that large, it's hard to get the individualized attention that is necessary at the graduate level to guide professional development. The faculty are only able to give x number of hours to student because there are only 24 hours in a day. The greater number of students, the less time the faculty have to give each student..
Also, those metrics are quantitative data (match rates, EPPP pass rates, and licensure rates). APA requires the reporting of many of these metrics so that people can quantitatively evaluate programs on equal data points. At the end of the day, Alliant has a very strong financial reason to get students through the door. It is in their best interest as a for profit institution, so yes, they pour a lot of money into marketing and coming up with good sounding reasons to address the poor outcome measures. However, if there is a consistent pattern of under-performance compared to the vast majority of other programs, then that is indicative of a programmatic issue and not just just the occasional outlier. Outliers don't account for approximately 40% of people not passing the EPPP and therefore being ineligible for licensure at that time.
At the end of the day, do what is best for you. I have no skin in the game. I just wanted to point out the concerning metrics that have left a significant number of people in hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt for a career that doesn't financially justify that kind of debt load. 

I'm sorry if my comment came off as me saying the program I attend is superior. That was not my intention. I know people who have gone to Alliant (and Argosy) that have been burned. Heck, several former Argosy students now attend my program after those schools shut down. I even know some great clinicians who have graduated from Alliants/Argosys, and they typically attribute their success to their own tenacity rather than the standard training they received at the program. Granted these are just a few examples, but these people have often reported they did not feel supported by their program and are successful despite the program rather than in part due to the program. The reason I brought up the cohort size is because in a program that large, it's hard to get the individualized attention that is necessary at the graduate level to guide professional development. The faculty are only able to give x number of hours to student because there are only 24 hours in a day. The greater number of students, the less time the faculty have to give each student..
Also, those metrics are quantitative data (match rates, EPPP pass rates, and licensure rates). APA requires the reporting of many of these metrics so that people can quantitatively evaluate programs on equal data points. At the end of the day, Alliant has a very strong financial reason to get students through the door. It is in their best interest as a for profit institution, so yes, they pour a lot of money into marketing and coming up with good sounding reasons to address the poor outcome measures. However, if there is a consistent pattern of under-performance compared to the vast majority of other programs, then that is indicative of a programmatic issue and not just just the occasional outlier. Outliers don't account for approximately 40% of people not passing the EPPP and therefore being ineligible for licensure at that time.
At the end of the day, do what is best for you. I have no skin in the game. I just wanted to point out the concerning metrics that have left a significant number of people in hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt for a career that doesn't financially justify that kind of debt load. 

If your signature is accurate, I would honestly try again next year. Alliant has a very poor reputation as a diploma mill (if a school is for profit, it's a corporation intent on making money, not a place of higher learning). They're APA-accredited match rates, EPPP pass rates, cohort sizes (83 new students in 2018-2019?! That's literally more people than my entire PsyD program, faculty included.), and licensure rates are pretty big red flags. It's a PsyD, if only 75% of graduates are licensed.....what else are they doing? Based on the EPPP pass rates and low APA-accredited internship match rates, my guess is that they aren't able to get licensed, and are saddled with crazy amounts of debt to boot. 

1. Make sure you are prepared to discuss anything that's on your CV, especially any posters/presentations. So if you've got something that you presented a few years ago, make sure you refresh your memory. 
2. Be familiar with the current work your POI has put out in recent years. Make sure you have a pitch on what you can bring to their lab. Maybe have an idea or 2 for potential projects, just in case they ask. Why does their work interest you? What skills do you bring to the table? 
3. Be familiar with various aspects of the program overall. Have a good response if/when they ask why this program. Research match is 1 (very) important part of it, but what else about the program do you like? Are there particular practicum placement options you like? Are there specific course offerings that stand out? Outside of the standard curriculum required for APA accreditation that is. Reading through the student handbook (should be available online) is a really good way to assess program culture/policies/expectations/etc. 
4. Have questions. Have questions for your POI, as well as any other faculty, and any current students you may meet with. Make sure these questions aren't easily answered by reading the online written material or the handbook. Use the available information to craft questions that show you have spent time looking into this program and are invested in it. Don't be afraid to ask the same question to multiple people. You can also ask questions about the city/surrounding area, especially to current students. 
5. I cannot stress this enough. Be a person! You are not a robot with 0 personality. While you obviously want to remain professional, be you. You will be in this program for a minimum of 4-5 years. That means the faculty and other students will be engaging with you for a number of years. They are looking for capable, but they are also looking for people they can see themselves working with for 5 years. Being likable goes a long way. I just got my letters of recommendation for my next round of externship applications, and all my letter writers devoted the last paragraph to how likable and responsible and easy to work with I am. I don't think they all unanimously thought that was important to include by accident. People like working with people they like. Be natural and be you, since that's who you'll be for the foreseeable future.

I really wouldn't waste the time to get a second bachelor's in psych. Volunteering in a research lab or snagging a paid research coordinator position are better ideas. If you are really intent on going back to school, a masters in psych will look better than. 2nd bachelor's. As long as you have the pre-reqs a specific BA/BS in psych isn't going to improve your chances over getting more research experience. 

I really wouldn't waste the time to get a second bachelor's in psych. Volunteering in a research lab or snagging a paid research coordinator position are better ideas. If you are really intent on going back to school, a masters in psych will look better than. 2nd bachelor's. As long as you have the pre-reqs a specific BA/BS in psych isn't going to improve your chances over getting more research experience. 

It's still very beneficial. Even though psychologists do not have prescriptive authority outside of a handful of states, they still deal with medications. So many clients will have medication, and some programs have clinical psychopharmacology as a required or elective course. Clients will also turn to psychologists for more information about their meds since they often have more frequent interaction with their therapist than their prescribing provider. So, on top of what @expensiveswimmer said above, this opportunity can be very useful for your future career as well. 

I would just check out the one in the state you're in now. In-state tuition is always cheaper. I know many social workers from a few of the state schools in my state, and they are all fantastic.  

For either of those, your state university will be sufficient. Applying to the higher priced big-name schools (like Columbia) is really only a leg up when you want to work for big NGOs and things like that where networking is a huge deal to get your foot in the door. Social workers are notoriously underpaid and most state schools have solid training, so you don't want to put yourself in a ton of extra debt if you don't have to. 

Clinical psych PhD programs accept about 12% of applicants. They are some of the most competitive grad programs to get into. Statistically, it is easier to get into med school. Many perfectly qualified candidates with great stats and fit don't get in. Unfortunately, there's some luck involved in the process. 

There are only so many mods, and while I don't mod the results page, just the forums, I can tell you we try our hardest to clear everything, but we're all unpaid volunteers who do the best we can. You can report posts on the results page as spam, which will make it easier for mods to see those posts. 

I didn't take it that way! Just wanted to respond to the initial inquiry. 
The results page gets horribly spammed every year. And where there's a group of anxious people on the internet, there will always be trolls. Anonymity=greater opportunity for chaos.
This is a stressful time, but I urge all of you to focus on your self-care skills. It's a tough process. Clincial psych PhDs have an average 11% acceptance rate. It is tough. Getting in is sometimes more about luck than anything else. For every qualified and capable applicant who was accepted, there are plenty of equally qualified and capable candidates who did not. Rejection is not a reflection of you as a person or your abilities. Just try to remember that and be kind to yourselves in this process. 

I think it would depend on the program specifically, but I worked full time hours at a part-time job while in my MA. I had 0 free time between work, classes, and homework, but I was able to do everything and get good grades. 

So this is going to be different for different people. When I applied, the only offer I got was from a partially funded program at an inexpensive state school with a good research match (and coincidentally driving distance from my apartment). I opted to take it. My funding is tied to adjuncting because I have an MA-I get 6 credits free plus the adjunct rate for teaching, which is equal to about the cost of the other 6 credits (we take 12 credits every semester the first few years and then 9 towards the end). I am fortunate enough to have a spouse who works and makes enough to cover our living expenses, so I pay the tuition with my adjunct salary. I'm halfway through my 3rd year and haven't taken a penny of loans or used any money aside from what I get adjuncting 1 section. This works for us. But again, I paid $0 for relocation costs and my spouse has a decent income. Without those 2 things, I may have taken my chances applying a 2nd time. I wavered as well, but I ultimately felt like the sure bet was better than the gamble. 

There are also a few funded masters programs that serve as pretty good pipelines to PhDs. Wake Forest is probably the biggest one, but I think Villanova and William and Mary also provide funding. If you search this forum, there have been people discussing them in past threads. Those are the 3 I remember off the top of my head. 

Well Alliant has shut down, so I don't think that's even an option. But yeah, if you a have a pulse and the ability to take out hundreds of thousands in student loans, a sub-par education can be yours for the low low price of $200,000 in grad school debt!

I didn't take it that way! Just wanted to respond to the initial inquiry. 
The results page gets horribly spammed every year. And where there's a group of anxious people on the internet, there will always be trolls. Anonymity=greater opportunity for chaos.
This is a stressful time, but I urge all of you to focus on your self-care skills. It's a tough process. Clincial psych PhDs have an average 11% acceptance rate. It is tough. Getting in is sometimes more about luck than anything else. For every qualified and capable applicant who was accepted, there are plenty of equally qualified and capable candidates who did not. Rejection is not a reflection of you as a person or your abilities. Just try to remember that and be kind to yourselves in this process.