huskypsych

Just accepted to University of Washington's clinical psychology PhD program! 

I'm a PhD student and have interviewed applicants to our program the past few years. Here are the specific things that come to mind from interviewing people:
Try to remain calm and use coping skills to control your anxiety. Nerves are expected, but if you're literally shaking with fear, it raises doubts on how you're going to be able to handle stressful clinical interactions in grad school.  Have an idea for a research project (e.g., research questions, population, etc.). But be careful about proposing something super expensive that isn't feasible (e.g., fMRI research if your PI doesn't have access to that).  Don't advertise (even to grad students!) that you already got in somewhere and think you'll choose that school because you love it. It's rude.  Don't steal your host's research idea and then propose it as your own to the PI during the interview (yep, one of the applicants I hosted did this...and my PI saw through it quickly).  So basically - if you remain relatively calm, have a feasible research idea, and don't do anything blatantly rude/unethical, you should be good!  

Can I have a little communication from my programs, as a treat? 

I asked this question of several people when I was interviewing last year and here is my summary of the advice I was given plus the my experience as a 1st year student. 
It's something to consider. The biggest potential risk IMO is that they will not stay at the institution long-term. I've seen two friends (not in my program) deal with their advisor leaving the university. In an ideal situation, you'd be given the option to stay in the program with a new advisor or follow the original advisor to their new university. However, if the advisor is leaving academia completely and/or if there isn't a suitable replacement advisor in your program, you'd kind of be out-of-luck. 
Otherwise, you just want to explore the same questions/issues that you would with any advisor. Do they have funding? Do they expect you to get your own funding for your research projects? How open are they to you pursuing different topics of research or collaborating with other faculty? How productive do they expect you to be with publications? Do they expect you to work in the lab doing things like data collection or other admin-type stuff? Have they had graduate students before and if so, how are they doing? Are they going to be micromanagers or inaccessible? All of these things could be impacted by them not having tenure, but they're issues that should be considered with any potential advisor. 

I asked this question of several people when I was interviewing last year and here is my summary of the advice I was given plus the my experience as a 1st year student. 
It's something to consider. The biggest potential risk IMO is that they will not stay at the institution long-term. I've seen two friends (not in my program) deal with their advisor leaving the university. In an ideal situation, you'd be given the option to stay in the program with a new advisor or follow the original advisor to their new university. However, if the advisor is leaving academia completely and/or if there isn't a suitable replacement advisor in your program, you'd kind of be out-of-luck. 
Otherwise, you just want to explore the same questions/issues that you would with any advisor. Do they have funding? Do they expect you to get your own funding for your research projects? How open are they to you pursuing different topics of research or collaborating with other faculty? How productive do they expect you to be with publications? Do they expect you to work in the lab doing things like data collection or other admin-type stuff? Have they had graduate students before and if so, how are they doing? Are they going to be micromanagers or inaccessible? All of these things could be impacted by them not having tenure, but they're issues that should be considered with any potential advisor. 

https://psychology.unl.edu/psichi/Graduate_School_Application_Kisses_of_Death.pdf

Yes

https://psychology.unl.edu/psichi/Graduate_School_Application_Kisses_of_Death.pdf

Your SOP should do a few things:
1. Outline your specific research interests 
2. Explain what skills you have to make you successful in graduate school 
3. What experiences you have that make you a good fit for this program
4. What about this program specifically stands out as being a good fit for your interests. 
1 and 2 are pretty standard, 3 requires some tweaking per essay, and 4 should be unique to each essay. You can essentially create an SOP where certain paragraphs are the same and others need some adjustments or need to be swapped out entirely. 

https://psychology.unl.edu/psichi/Graduate_School_Application_Kisses_of_Death.pdf

https://psychology.unl.edu/psichi/Graduate_School_Application_Kisses_of_Death.pdf

https://psychology.unl.edu/psichi/Graduate_School_Application_Kisses_of_Death.pdf

Thanks guys. Just kind of going through ideas and figured I’d get honest answers here, ha. 

https://psychology.unl.edu/psichi/Graduate_School_Application_Kisses_of_Death.pdf

It’s never bad to take time, get paid, and get more research experience if you are lacking in that area. Clinical PHD programs are very competitive, so you want to have a strong research background, even if tangentially related. 

For journal articles, I found the "three-pass approach" very helpful for saving time while still giving me the opportunity to add meaningful contributions in discussions.
"The key idea is that you should read the paper in up to three passes, instead of starting at the beginning and plowing your way to the end. Each pass accomplishes specific goals and builds upon the previous pass".
For the amount of reading you are required to do, it might only be possible to do a "first-pass" for each article:
- Title
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Skim through other headings/subheadings without reading their content
- Conclusion

My understanding is that different institutions have different titles. People doing the same job in different places may be called an assistant, associate, coordinator, manager, etc. However, there may be a distinction or hierarchy within your institution. For example, I know many people who were "coordinators" post-bacc doing the same type of thing I was doing as an "assistant", but at my institution, research coordinators all held master's degrees. 

My understanding is that different institutions have different titles. People doing the same job in different places may be called an assistant, associate, coordinator, manager, etc. However, there may be a distinction or hierarchy within your institution. For example, I know many people who were "coordinators" post-bacc doing the same type of thing I was doing as an "assistant", but at my institution, research coordinators all held master's degrees. 

My first time applying I was a senior in undergrad, having volunteered in the same lab for 3 years. Similar GRE, GPA, and pubs to you, couple of interviews, no offers. Like you, I accepted a full time RA position with the same lab I was in all throughout undergrad and reapplied immediately and this time it was successful. I attribute this partly to the fact that some professors just are not interested in taking someone directly from undergrad and partly to the fact that I had a clearer idea of what I wanted in a program the second time around and wrote much better personal statements. 
In all of my interviews, I don't think anyone (besides myself, when asked) brought up my one-lab-only experience as a weakness. With that said, I was in the really fortunate position that my undergrad lab and my personal research interests are very similar, so even though all of my experience came from that one place, it was directly relevant to what I want to do going forward. Perhaps if your current lab and your personal interests are less aligned, it might become more of an issue. 
If you feel prepared to put in the time and effort it takes to make a great application (LORs, personal statements, reaching out to POIs), then I would say go for it, based on my own similar experience. With that said, there is seriously no rush. If you need or, heaven forbid, want some time off to get more experience or just chill without being a student for a year or two, you will still be in a great position when you come back to reapply.  
Feel free to PM

~not an expert at all just a peer giving her experience and advice~
Neither your 3.5 gpa nor your relative lack of experience are dealbreakers, but taken together and considering the competitiveness of the schools you listed, chances are you will be up against other folks who would edge you out based on slightly higher stats or more experience. This isn't to say you aren't a good applicant or even that you aren't ready, it just becomes a numbers game when there are so many applicants to each program. I applied as a senior with similar research experience and a 3.8 and received a couple of interviews at R2 schools and no offers. One year later I applied with basically the same CV (except a couple more middle author posters and a degree that was finished rather than in-progress) and got 6 interviews and 3 offers.
With that said, never say never! Even at some of the most competitive programs I visited, I ran into a couple of current undergrads who were interviewing. It sounds like you're a solid applicant, so it would not be shocking at all if you got interviews and offers. Plus, I think the experience of applying my senior year was a really great practice run for my second application. The downsides are the money involved and the amount of stress that it will cause you. In retrospect, it was probably not worth the time, money, and tears to apply my senior year, but also knowing myself, I probably would have regretted it if I didn't give it a shot. There's probably no one clear answer to the question "Should I apply?" 
I went to undergrad and currently work at one of your schools (my username should make it obvious lol) and was interviewed at two of the others, one of which I'll be attending in the Fall. Feel free to PM if you want to talk more about any of the programs or my experience!

~not an expert at all just a peer giving her experience and advice~
Neither your 3.5 gpa nor your relative lack of experience are dealbreakers, but taken together and considering the competitiveness of the schools you listed, chances are you will be up against other folks who would edge you out based on slightly higher stats or more experience. This isn't to say you aren't a good applicant or even that you aren't ready, it just becomes a numbers game when there are so many applicants to each program. I applied as a senior with similar research experience and a 3.8 and received a couple of interviews at R2 schools and no offers. One year later I applied with basically the same CV (except a couple more middle author posters and a degree that was finished rather than in-progress) and got 6 interviews and 3 offers.
With that said, never say never! Even at some of the most competitive programs I visited, I ran into a couple of current undergrads who were interviewing. It sounds like you're a solid applicant, so it would not be shocking at all if you got interviews and offers. Plus, I think the experience of applying my senior year was a really great practice run for my second application. The downsides are the money involved and the amount of stress that it will cause you. In retrospect, it was probably not worth the time, money, and tears to apply my senior year, but also knowing myself, I probably would have regretted it if I didn't give it a shot. There's probably no one clear answer to the question "Should I apply?" 
I went to undergrad and currently work at one of your schools (my username should make it obvious lol) and was interviewed at two of the others, one of which I'll be attending in the Fall. Feel free to PM if you want to talk more about any of the programs or my experience!

If you want to conduct talk therapy as your main job, you can do that with either degree. PsyD programs are more expensive and take longer, and there are many predatory "diploma mills" that offer PsyDs. I generally give my friends the advice to go for the Master's level, but if you really have your heart set on a PsyD - you better do a TON of research on the programs you're looking at - their internship match rates, training models, reputation, etc. 

I define clinical experience as working with a population of interest (i.e. more about working with people than data). 
 
For me, I volunteer at a homeless shelter, volunteer as a crisis counselor, and have volunteered at a domestic violence shelter. I've also been a spokesperson for a domestic violence awareness organization and have worked in a psychotherapy clinic as an assistant. 

^ this is still my biggest takeaway but I also want to say:
-If you can, do everything in your power to find a strong mentor for this process, ideally someone who got the degree that you want to get. They know the process well and it's a nice balance between all of these anonymous opinions you can find online and the advice of friends and family, who probably hold you in unconditionally positive regard. Find an awesome professor (or even advanced grad student) who will offer frank advice when needed but who still has your best interest at heart.
-While obviously applying to the maximum number of schools you can is a good strategy in terms of upping your chances of being admitted somewhere, I actually wouldn't necessarily give the advice to apply to a ton of schools to everyone. If you have a relatively niche research interest and/or you have certain other standards you want your program to have (i.e. having to do with funding, research rigor, teaching/clinical opportunities), the truth is there probably aren't 15-20 schools that fit the bill. Especially if you are like me and you are just getting started in your life post-undergrad, waiting another year (and another....and maybe another...) for the perfect program is probably a better choice long-term than attending a program that doesn't meet your standards.
Those are like my most important pieces of unsolicited advice lol. I am always happy to exchange messages if someone wants to talk more

^ this is still my biggest takeaway but I also want to say:
-If you can, do everything in your power to find a strong mentor for this process, ideally someone who got the degree that you want to get. They know the process well and it's a nice balance between all of these anonymous opinions you can find online and the advice of friends and family, who probably hold you in unconditionally positive regard. Find an awesome professor (or even advanced grad student) who will offer frank advice when needed but who still has your best interest at heart.
-While obviously applying to the maximum number of schools you can is a good strategy in terms of upping your chances of being admitted somewhere, I actually wouldn't necessarily give the advice to apply to a ton of schools to everyone. If you have a relatively niche research interest and/or you have certain other standards you want your program to have (i.e. having to do with funding, research rigor, teaching/clinical opportunities), the truth is there probably aren't 15-20 schools that fit the bill. Especially if you are like me and you are just getting started in your life post-undergrad, waiting another year (and another....and maybe another...) for the perfect program is probably a better choice long-term than attending a program that doesn't meet your standards.
Those are like my most important pieces of unsolicited advice lol. I am always happy to exchange messages if someone wants to talk more