lobstergirl

Also there is a facebook group for incoming clinical students at UWindsor (adult, child, and neuro) so if anyone accepts and wants to be apart of it PM me!

Just accepted my offer from Dalhousie! If there's any other new Dal students lurking shoot me a message. Hope this opens a spot on the UTSC waitlist for someone. 

I don't think it is bad form but others may disagree. I emailed my POIs and all of them responded quite positively. It also provides a good chance to ask about ways to improve your application if you were to apply to them again

Long time lurker here! Wanted to share my excruciating, roller-coaster ride of an affair with these applications. 
School: University of Toronto (UTSC)
Concentration: Clinical Psychology (Psychological Clinical Science)
Type: MA
Date of acceptance: April 4, 2019
Notified by: My POI called me with the good news and I got a formal offer of admission via email the same day
Note: I only first heard from my POI last Tuesday! (Like, March 26th)
This was my second year doing applications after 7-8 years of deciding that I eventually want to become a clinical psychologist. My first year I applied to 10 schools, interviewed at 2, but didn't get in. This year I only applied to the 2 schools where I felt most passionate about the research. I interviewed at the in-person interviews for one school back in February and was put on the alternate list, and hadn't heard anything from the second, so I thought I was done for. Then I randomly got an e-mail at the end of March to interview! It does happen!
TLDR: It takes so much work but if you honestly want it, you can get it! I've made every big life decision over the past several years with this goal in mind and it finally paid off. YAY!!!

Hi all - long-time lurker here.  I know this is super late in the game but I'm hoping that I could give some people (future applicants) peace of mind. After being initially rejected and waitlisted, I've landed two acceptances!
Acceptance 1
School: University of Toronto (OISE)
Concentration: School and Clinical Child Psychology (SCCP)
Type: MA
Date of acceptance: March 29, 2019
Notified by: Email from both SGS that my status had changed on March 27, 2019, which included an official offer letter and funding; Also was notified by my POI via email the same day
Note: Was initially rejected
Acceptance 2
School: Queen's University
Concentration: Clinical Psychology 
Type: MSc
Date of acceptance: Unofficially March 29, 2019; Officially April 2, 2019
Notified by: Call from POI on March 29, 2019, and received official offer letter from SGS April 2, 2019
Note: Was originally waitlisted; Secured SSHRC funding
In a bit of a dilemma when it comes to choosing between these two programs, as there is a great research fit at both and I get along well with both POIs. POIs are very similar in many regards. Location is something that is impacting my decision as I currently live in the GTA. I feel bad holding onto a decision longer than I need to but I'm seriously struggling. Any thoughts?

Anyone updates about UTSC? Has anyone been rejected?

Anyone updates about UTSC? Has anyone been rejected?

I was told that they move through the waitlist relatively quickly. Not entirely sure what this means, but I'll take it as an indication that there is hope.

Hey! I interviewed with UBCO last year and they called those who were accepted all on one day. The director sent an email a few weeks after to notify others of rejection. I think at least one individual was accepted off the waitlist though as I did see an acceptance posted on the results page a few weeks later!! Good luck and I hope it works out for those of you who are waiting to hear from them  

Someone in this thread has the "belief in a perfect world" thing going on to an extreme.  Clinical psychology PhD admissions are brutal, much more so than most other psychology programs, and many have argued them to be the most competitive graduate program for admission (what is it, like an average of 5% acceptance rate?  But usually you have to name a potential mentor who is probably taking only 1 student).  It is not uncommon to see and hear stories about highly qualified applicants getting passed over multiple years and even applicants with less experience get in right out of undergraduate.  If it really were the best students, this would not be the case as many people with good grades/GRE scores go out into various settings for a couple years to gain extra experience, present/publish, etc. to help their application stand out more so than a college senior with similar academic credentials.
 
Most clinical psychology PhD programs are just like other PhD programs, based on mentorship models and the biggest weight in the decision of whether or not to admit you is based on the potential mentor you selected and his/her decision.  A faculty member may invite 4+ of the top applicants for his/her lab to interview, and from there, as they always say, it boils down to who is the best "fit."  Over the years, I have begun to question what that means and have gradually seen that it generally is an umbrella term used to broadly define the subjective criteria desired by the individual who is evaluating an applicant; what he/she values most in a graduate student and which student most closely emulates that.  This can be a number of things, such as overlapping research experience/research goals, career goals, grades/GRE scores, it can even be based on things like the professor's impression of your undergraduate institution, letter writers are his/her close colleagues, your personality, or pre-existing relationship with person of interest (it's naïve to think that these things do not get people admitted over others).
 
Despite what some may think, so much is out of the applicants' control, and because of the way the process works, there are highly qualified students that do not get admission offers at all during multiple application cycles, and less qualified students who luck out on the "fit" aspect or a wait list works out in their favor the first time they apply.  If it were just based on the best students, there would be no interviews or personal statements.  You would just send in your transcripts/GRE scores, letters of recommendation and a resume/CV and they would just admit the people with the highest grades, test scores, most publications and presentations and base it off that.  Domino's assessment above is spot on.
 
And of course, there are easier ways out to get a degree to practice, like masters programs or PsyD's but I suppose if one is so concerned about trusting a health professional for getting into grad/med school not being an uber-student, you could always ask to see their transcripts from their undergraduate degree before consenting to anything if it concerns you that much.

Not yet! I hope they don't make us wait too long to find out.

Just received my official acceptance to Windsor for Child Clinical! I am beyond excited and looking forward to meeting everyone at the open house on the 8th!
Thank you all for being such a supportive group. I really appreciate how lovely everyone on this thread has been throughout this whole godforsaken process ❤️ To all of you that have gotten in somewhere, congratulations! You've earned it! And to everyone still waiting, do not lose faith in yourself, you're all awesome candidates! 

I didn't really get a sense of that via the email - but, I would be very surprised if I was offered admission to the CCP PhD without an interview... I do like surprises though!!

@Desperate Clinical The best advice I think I’ve received from people with PhDs is to choose the supervisor who will be kind and flexible - don’t choose someone who’s a superstar but not easy to work with. PhDs are hard enough and you’ll graduate as a psychologist all the same, so don’t made it harder on yourself than it has to be. Ideally you can find both qualities in the same person, but if you can’t, choose someone who will support you 100% (you can tell this by talking to their grad students). I’d suggest reconsidering your #1 program if your POI there is known to be tough - particularly if that comment was made during the interview process by a grad student. I’d hesitate to select a POI who had even neutral comments because it’s hard for students to be honest about these things - I’ve been looking for over-the-top “I LOVE my supervisor!!!” comments. 6-7 years is a LONG TIME to be stuck with one boss - make sure you feel really good about them. 
As for imposter syndrome... everybody has it! This will come up over and over again throughout your program for everybody, so get used to the feeling of not knowing what you’re doing. This is a sign that you’re growing and challenging yourself - it should feel uncomfortable! 
Re: choosing another program... don’t do it because you’re scared you’re not good enough for clinical. You clearly are - you got in to two programs! They see hundreds of applications and tens of interviews a year and they know what to do look for - you’ve got it. Plus, MSW is a very different path re: research training and pay. It also has a very different emphasis than psych - SW focuses much more on systemic/structural issues, oppression, and social justice - psych focuses more on the individual. The approach to clinical practice differs as well, from what I’ve seen. Make sure you know which interests you more before choosing several years of schooling in it. 
I’m also older (28) and will be having kids at some point during my degree. Personally, I think having kids is always difficult and there’s never a perfect time - you’ll either be doing it in a regular job or doing it during a PhD, both of which have challenges. PhD has the benefit of more flexible scheduling, at least - but obviously much lower pay. During my years in the 9-5 though, lots of parents struggled with the very inflexible schedule imposed by their company. I think people just figure it out - you’ll find the time, manage your schedule. Hell, I’ve met early career profs with multiple kids and they’re managing it - that career stage seems more challenging for caring for very young children than the PhD stage to me. 
Slow down, take a breath - you’re nearing the end of an extremely stressful process and I’m sure you need some space to process your options. Be kind to yourself - you did it! Don’t let your “bully” brain take this away from you - you deserve to be here. 
Feel free to DM me if you need more support or want to talk further  

Hey guys,
I want to congratulate everyone who has received an acceptance, it's an amazing achievement. And to everyone who is still waiting, keep the hope up guys and keep in mind that just to be in the run for clinical psych, means you are already the creme de la creme ? 
Speaking of waiting does anyone have news from Concordia? I only applied in Quebec and it has been super quiet over here... Thank you in advance!
 

Thanks so much for this info!

Thanks so much for this info!

Not sure if anybody here is interested in UTSC, but I heard back that t hey finished the first round of interviews, but they are still reviewing applications and offers of admission are still pending. Not sure if that means there will be a second round of interviews, or what, but thought I'd share. 

UUGHHHHH! I am dying over here with waiting ? ... just needed to share. 

Got my first acceptance letter today!!! Can’t believe I’m definitely headed to grad school next year, it’s such an enormous relief and I can’t stop smiling! Thanks so much for all the guidance and support here, it played a big role in my apps and interviews this year for sure. 

Just FYI, it seems OISE interviews are going out for SCCP & CCP programs around now. It depends on the faculty members and many other factors, but you can likely expect to hear back within the following weeks. Good luck everyone!

Hey, I wouldn't measure it based on "time"--it should be based on how prepared you feel. There is no "secret" amount of time that one must prepare to nail that interview!
Personally, (1) I started by looking at my potential POI's research--really, really know their research. They will most definitely bring it up/potentially ask you which research stream you are most interested in. (2) Know the program. Download the psychology graduate handbook if there is one. Read it. Wow them if they start bringing up program specifics and you know them already--it makes you look well-informed and enthusiastic. (3) Know your application. This includes being able to talk about your specific experiences (be it research, mentoring, extracurriculars), and if you wrote a research proposal as part of your application, READ THE ARTICLES YOU CITED, they test you! (4) Know what questions you want to ask. (Check out the first couple posts of this thread--sample questions are posted). ALWAYS ask questions. 
Take a deep breath, and walk in. You got this. Show them what you've got  
Also check out this thread: https://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/114895-psychology-interview-debriefing/
 

Alrighty. I'll interpret the ambiguity to mean that there is still hope haha ... ?

I thought it was the same thing... ?. I think it's both...

OISE should start contacting people later this month or early Feb. Nothing has happened yet