gillis_55

Congrats!!! Amazing news for you this week

I've responded with an email that expresses how excited I am to receive an acceptance because of Reason A and Reason B (something about the POI and their lab usually, maybe something program related as well if I felt really good about it), and that I will let them know of my final decision as soon as I can. Keep it vague - you technically have until April 15th but I assume you'll probably make a decision before then; just don't promise specific timing if you're waiting on other interviews/offers. One thing to consider - if you feel like you have outstanding questions, feel free to ask for grad student's contact info or for another phone call with your POI in the email. More questions may come up as it comes down to making a decision.

It’s being handled by Grace apparently (she handled the hotel bookings), so you can email her your receipts. They’ll reimburse for local expenses too, if you took the train in for the events! I think it was $500 total for east of MB, and $250 for BC/AB/SK.

Of course, that’s important for both types of programs. I was answering more for questions that you wouldn’t be asked in a clinical interview compared to a counselling interview. I was asked this question in 2 counselling interviews and it would’ve thrown me off if I hadn’t prepared for it.

Be ready to explain the differences between clinical and counselling psychology, at least historically. Now they overlap a ton, but have answer for it and for why you’re interested in the program over a clinical one.

Omg AMAZING NEWS!!! Congrats!!

Congrats!!!

Headed down in a few mins - it’s the Senate Room on the 7th floor right?

If you’re in Calgary at Hotel Alma for the next two interview days, DM me if you want to grab dinner or take a walk around campus tonight (if you can stand the -35 degree weather, haha). Always happy to meet fellow applicants and it’s nice to have company in a new city

While I agree it is valuable to have clinicians with scientific training, I think there are very valid reasons why people suggest doing a master's level degree (e.g., social work, counselling, psychotherapy) if you want to do clinical practice only: 1) Saving up to 5 years of further schooling and all of the financial and opportunity costs associated with it - if you include the salary foregone during that time period, this is often tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. 2) Going through a PhD program if you have little interest in research could be a BRUTAL experience. A huge portion of your time and energy will be dedicated towards research for 6-7 years of your life and your success/failure in the program will be directly tied to your research accomplishments. 3) With an MA/MSc-only program, there is always the option to return for a PhD later if you deem it appropriate for your goals. That being said, yes, many who graduate from clinical programs are going into full-time practice (based on what I've heard from PhD programs I've interviewed with). I think this is split between people who genuinely want to do that full-time and those that might have wanted a research position but weren't able to attain one yet (or ever). Researcher or researcher-clinician positions are much scarcer and more competitive, and are definitely less friendly to work-life balance (especially if you have a family). I would encourage someone straight out of undergrad to consider their options very carefully, and to take at least a year off to work full-time. You may just get a taste for what it's like to earn a living wage and decide not to come back. I personally decided to return after 6 years in another field, but I took a full year to make the decision and consulted many in the mental health field (psychologists, social workers, nurses) to be sure this is what I wanted. I was also able to save up enough to ensure that I won't be living on a 10-20K stipend + loans for 7 years. Of course it may 100% be the right path for you as well, but I just caution other people not to pursue it because that's what everyone else is doing or because they don't know what else to do.

Red flag to me - professors should understand that you'll be waiting on other programs in the coming weeks. Did you have a chance to speak with this person's grad students to get a feel for their supervision style?

You're absolutely KILLING it, congrats!!

I know it's so frustrating, this process is ROUGH. Try to keep your chin up, you just never know with this process - there are stories and posts about getting invited for interviews in March or even April as accepted applicants start to decline offers. I really hope you end up hearing back, or that you're so jazzed about your other schools that it doesn't feel like you missed out on TO. As another possible balm - how the hell do grad students live on $10-$20K in Toronto?! Even at the high end of $20K, that's $1600 a month - rent would eat up 80% of that or more, easy.

Faculty are individually reviewing the applications forwarded by the admissions staff (i.e., those that made cutoffs based on GPA, GRE, etc) and are interviewing applicants over the next 2-3 weeks; they meet in early March as a committee to decide who is accepted. There is no single interview day.

Welcome! I think a few people here have heard from McGill Clinical regarding interviews and acceptances, but apparently they are still ongoing. I personally haven’t heard from UOttawa yet or seen anything in the Survey Results page except a few rejections from the UOzone account.

Congratulations!! So exciting

Also I'm looking to reconnect with someone I met at the Guelph Interview day today, she was interviewing with SL and KT as well - we said we would chat after the grad lunch but didn't have a chance. PM me if you see this

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.

Oh and one more thing - apparently after applications are culled down based on GRE scores, GPA etc (no specifics available here, sorry), then applications are reviewed by ALL faculty members - so you might receive an interview invite from someone you didn't list as a POI on your application.

Hi all, I just heard from the program liaison at OISE CCP that faculty are still reviewing applications for the next few weeks; the committee then meets at the beginning of March to make a decision. Hope this helps!

Thank you for your thoughtful answer, I think this is a great approach. Also encourages me to think more about what would actually be a deal breaker for me, versus "okay not ideal, but it's minor".

Hi all - I am in the interview process now with several schools and realizing that the interview days are about selling you on the program and giving you all the positives. In a few cases I have contacts who have attended these programs and I'm noticing there is sometimes a discrepancy in what the program is really like (from a student's perspective) versus what the school claims it is; you pretty much never hear about any potential downsides or negative things to consider on the interview days. Same goes for POIs. I think that every program/POI will have good things and bad things to consider, and I'd like to hear both sides before I have to decide. My question is, in cases where I don't know anyone personally who's attended, how do I find out some of the potential drawbacks/issues with the program? Should I be contacting some of the grad students outside of the formal interview setting (after an acceptance) and asking for their honest opinion? Should I be tracking down graduates on LinkedIn and asking if they'll speak with me? In the end I understand you can't know everything about a program before you accept and there's an inherent risk to this process, but any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Agreed about it easing minds, I've written off 2 schools so far (Dal and Concordia) because it sounds like the interview days have already happened, but it'd be nice to know officially if that's the case. I did emphasize in my replies back that it wasn't a reflection of my interest in the program, just an unfortunate scheduling issue - hopefully it won't be a factor in deciding acceptances. The guides I posted above suggested that POIs do understand this happens, like you said

@calvindude1111 Aside from the great advice provided by others here, if you want a comprehensive overview of the requirements and process for applying to clinical psychology programs I'd highly recommend Mitch's Uncensored Advice Guide (free) and the Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology (about $30). Hope that helps!

Has anyone had any interview conflicts yet? I've had 2 come up so far - Fri Feb 8th is a very popular interview day apparently! I had to ask for alternative dates for those 2 because I'd already booked non-refundable flights 2 weeks ago for the first invite that came in. In one case it seemed like the accommodation wasn't a big deal, but in the other, it means I won't be able to meet my POI in-person because he's travelling and is only available on the official interview day I'm disappointed about that, but can't be helped at this point. I wish all Canadian schools posted their interview days like the US, so I could be aware about potential conflicts and prioritize them ahead of time just in case.