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Me. all day... wow. LOL!

So I was leaving my lab this afternoon, feeling nervous about this entire process of course (with lots of self doubt and worries, having been rejected in the past), and I asked the most high for a sign... moments later I check my e-mail, a habit (heh) and I received my a notification that my supervisor (strongest recommender!!) submitted her letter for my #1 program. ? SO. MANY. FEELINGS.

Reading all these posts about Nebraska Lincoln, I had to google their program/see what the hype was about for myself ? Luckily no mentors with my interests, whew! Did my research well I hope lol

15 over here as well. I second @PsychWannabee's comments. Locations are all over the place, some are the middle of nowhere, but perfect/ideal matches research and mentor wise ?

Professors, post-docs, and pre-doc students/interns I've worked with have always strongly advised to stay away from unfunded or partially funded programs. There is a lot of literature on this for graduate student applicants which advise students to steer away from these kind of programs/getting in any debt during their graduate education for Clinical Psych. Multiple advisors I work with (all very respected in academia) also believe this very strongly. The majority of reputable clinical psych PhD programs across the country have students pay zero out of pocket (which means they're fully-funded, with tuition waivers, etc.), allowing their students to use their stipend/fellowships for actual living expenses (Which should be the point). This allows their students to focus more on their projects/academics, achievements vs. working additional roles/jobs and barely making ends meet in order to pay for their tuition. I've read on other useful student forums that taking out loans while in graduate school or attending programs that are not fully-funded is a big mistake. Big picture: In the 4-5 years you're in a research-based program, you're providing clinical services to the community, advancing your mentor(s) research working as a graduate student RA and possible therapist, doing all of this work with the goal of obtaining a solid experience by the time you're off to internship. You should not be paying a dime (except some student fees here and there every semester) towards your graduate education (I'm looking at you, for-profit PhD/PsyD diploma mills and mediocre PhD programs that aren't fully funded ?)

They’re doing this to increase the number of applications from minorities, people of color, veterans, and women, which is awesome ☺️ We need to change the demographics in this field, and this is a first place to start. However- They do not have funding for their grad students and the majority have taken out loans (My colleague interviewed with this PI over the phone a couple of weeks ago, he’s also applying to trauma programs) Lack of funding or any uncertainty for funding is a huge RED FLAG, esp. when there are so many amazing programs who do waive tuition, provide awesome stipends/fellowships, and students are able to live on their stipends w/o taking out loans.

I think this provides some reassurance then. I’m glad you at least were able to get some information from the programs themselves prior to submitting your apps. I know it’s probably difficult to not worry about it, but this is out of your control ? Let’s hope the POIs you’re wanting to work with focus on your qualifications/achievements (in comparison to other applicants) vs this. In intervieweing/talking with promising POIs, I’ve been told it’s all about “fit.” If they love you, they will find a way to advocate for you. I really hope you get some interview invites!

Have you been able to browse through your interested POI(s) lab websites and see if they’ve accepted international students in the past? (Are DACA recipients even considered int’l?) Or, more importantly, did you raise this sensitive concern to programs/POIs before you applied? I know it’s a little late to do anything else about this as the deadline is 5 days away, but I think you would’ve been able to hash out some of these concerns earlier in the application process in regards to funding available based on residency status ? I do also think that committees across programs may “play it safe” and feel discouraged to accept someone with this uncertain status, in comparison to other applicants, especially if it may create hassles regarding funding at the department/university level and if you won’t be able to pursue any opportunities in the U.S. upon the completion of the program. BTW, I strongly disagree with this as a now-naturalized citizen myself (was an undocumented immigrant for over a decade), but that’s just my opinion on this.

I guess it also depends on whether you’re applying to R1s/R2s/competitive laboratories and your clinical research interests. I know for every program I’m applying to (and several colleagues in the same position as I am this app round), it’s anywhere from 50-150 students who are applying to work with specific POIs, per institution. These aren’t the number of total apps received by each program, which usually range anywhere from 200-400+. Hope it works out for you!

Are you applying to Clinical Psych PhD programs? 6 schools is a low number, the process is very competitive ?

I think you'll be fine. As long as your interests are clear in your SOP and CV through solid experiences, potential faculty committees who are reading hundreds and hundreds of letters realize letter writers can make mistakes? Or are often writing multiple letters for multiple applicants? ?

I think 3 is too many, personally. I only identified 2 in every program, and identified my experiences in relation to their work. I only chose 3 mentors for one of the programs I'm applying to, but this was because I already have an established working relationship with the 3rd (whose work is way outside my interests/scope), and we met at multiple conferences this past year/is a strong colleague of my current supervisor (And happens to be the DCT for the entire program ☺️) lol

Hiiiiiii everybody. Haven’t submitted my final application yet (For my #1 program)... but such is the life of a perfectionist. Like another applicant mentioned above, I’m having a hard time “letting go” looooool PTSD/Trauma focus PhD Clinical Psych applicant here. Seen a lot of fellow applicants on here with similar interests (and exact programs) which is cool ☺️ Already been at this rodeo several times, but this time around I’ve already chatted/interviewed via phone/Skype and in person with a lot of POIs in the last few months. They’ve also expressed genuine interest/awe in my lengthy experience and work, which was awesome. Let’s see what the universe has in store for us! ?