humanisticPOV

If the recent SFU posters are inclined to share their PIs or more information about their offers, PM me please Anxiously awaiting news over here.... virtual crickets in my inbox.

I am a child/forensic applicant and I applied to 10 forensically focused Clinical PhD programs this round (including interviewing at John Jay). PM me if you want more info or to talk with another forensic focused applicant! Definitely a harder field to get into and to get relevant experience, but there are a ton of options at the grad level!

Anyone heard from SFU post-interview? I think I read that they were discussing admissions decisions on Thursday, so just wondering if anyone has an update from them (p.s. where are the emojis for stress-sweating and email refreshing?) I never thought I'd have the experience of wishing the weekend went by faster...

It's a personal preference. I wore a full pantsuit with a jacket to my interviews (jacket was a great way to hide my stress-sweating lol). I had considered not wearing it, or wearing something less traditional than a pantsuit in order to "stand out". I eventually decided to play it safe and go the more traditional route; the feedback I got from others was that generally you should wear whatever you want and are most comfortable in, BUT it is better to play it more conservative because you never know how conservative or old-fashioned your PI/another faculty might be.

I've interviewed with multiple non-PI faculty members for EVERY interview I've had. This is very normal and even encouraged because the other faculty can give you a better understanding of the program as a whole and what other researchers are doing (also because you may be collaborating with them or their students)! They will likely ask you questions like "Why do you want to work with Dr. H...." instead of about their research/projects, and I would take advantage having the extra interview time to talk about other experiences or project you did not get to discuss with your PI. All the professors you interviewed with will collaborate in making the decision of who to accept to the program, so the more you can speak to them and make a good impression, the better off you are. Good luck!

I relate to this so much! I seriously pulled out my phone and made LinkedIn connections right there with a lot of the people I met so I could follow their career and, who knows, possibly collaborate with them in the future Always a pleasure to meet so many talented individuals with similar interests!!!! Thanks to all the fellow applicants that made my interviews that much more enjoyable!

PSA: As acceptances start to roll in, this is just a friendly reminder to everyone from someone with lots of contract experience, NEVER ACCEPT A POSITION UNTIL YOU HAVE YOUR FUNDING PACKAGE IN WRITING (unless, of course, you are not expecting funding). Even if it is your top choice and you've been dying to go for the last 20 years... I cannot stress enough; get that s**t in writing.

No one has ever asked me to see any of my publications listed on my CV... I wouldn't worry about it too much! Seems unlikely they would request a copy unless you are using it to cover some sort of requirement (master's thesis requirement, etc.)

LOL about the drug testing question.................... and @SugarAndPsych it’s dependent on the program! Most will extend the first round of acceptances on the same date but if the program has a more individualized admissions process, it could be that individual PIs extend acceptances as they decide, over the course of a few weeks. Hope your interviews went well and that it is a short waiting period followed by happy news

@9 of cups Yes for Counseling Psychology PhD; this site has a tab where you can search for and submit your results. Here's the link for Counseling Psychology: https://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php?q=counseling+psychology&t=a&o= There's also results for UMD (College Park), Seton Hall, Columbia (Teacher's College) and Leigh. I accidentally submitted my previous post too early. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news if that's the case. Keep your head up and be proud of all the hard work it took just to get your applications in! YOU ARE AWESOME

There's posts about people receiving Counseling Psychology PhD interviews for: NYU, UMD (College Park), Seton Hall, Columbia (Teacher's College) and Leigh. I saw these on the "Results" tab of TGC, you can search counseling psychology and the school name; also on this open google doc https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hJFI7od93wXNHfLiUl0pv4lPUsueRmVg_6N85xgFQd8/edit#gid=0 When people are willing to share more information, they typically post in one of the "Interview invites" threads, I'll bet counseling psych has one too!

1) Be OVERPREPARED! Read the program handbook multiple times, familiarize yourself with the research of your POI but also with the research their students are currently doing, look at their lab website and student/professor bios. Pro tip: search all the government funding databases (NIH, NIMH, etc.) to see what projects are currently funded for the POI you're interviewing with; in my experience, professors are always impressed if you know about projects they haven't published yet. Also check out "Mitch's uncensored advice to applying to graduate school in clinical psychology" (http://mitch.web.unc.edu/files/2017/02/MitchGradSchoolAdvice.pdf), specifically Section 3 about interviews. 2) Be yourself. The best way to stand out is by being authentic and honest about your experiences/interests. If you don't have experience with a certain method or analysis technique, say so, and do not misrepresent your interests or abilities. Personally, I don't try to tailor my research proposals to specific PI's because I want to show that I would research that topic even if I wasn't in their lab, that it's something I'm passionate about and committed to researching. It shows you've developed your interests enough to have a solid direction you want to embark on (and hopefully the professors you applied to work with are already a good match for your interests, without you needing to tailor yours to match theirs). Additionally, some professors will ask you very specific questions about your research interests or potential projects you would want to work on and if it isn't something you've already spent a lot of time thinking about or researching, you would likely be unprepared for those types of questions. 3) Make it more of a conversation than an interview. Professors are not only interested in your knowledge of the field and match with their projects, but they want to know that they would enjoy working with you closely for many years and that you would make a good addition to their lab, from a social/cultural perspective. My mentors repeatedly refer to interviews as "the a--hole test"; just demonstrate that you have good social skills and that you're not afraid to speak your mind or ask questions (read: DONT BE AN A--HOLE). 4) Weave your answers into your experiences. Instead of giving a direct answer to a question, demonstrate your answer by talking about an experience you've had or an opportunity that exemplifies your answer. (Example: If asked to "Describe your work ethic", instead of saying "I'm responsible, hard-working and dedicated", talk about how you took on additional responsibilities for a certain project or some professional development that you've done to build healthy work habits). This kind of response answers the question while also giving more information about your interests/experiences. These kinds of answers also help to make the interview seem like more of a conversation than a "formal interview". If you have a TON of past experience, try to pick your 2-3 most relevant experiences to elaborate on for the interview instead of attempting to give an overview of your complete work experience, and refer back to these experiences as often as possible! (interviews are usually relatively short, an hour max, so you don't want to run out of time talking about everything you did 5 years ago before getting to your more recent/relevant experiences). Stay calm, be confident in your responses and tone of voice, and I'm sure you will do GREAT! GOOD LUCK

I emailed the program assistant (for Clinical Science in Child and Adolescent Psychology PhD) yesterday asking if all interview invites had been sent out, this was her response today: "All I know is the applications are under review and the clinical faculty is reaching out to their top candidates. They do not tell me who the applicants they invited are until closer to the date of the applicant's arrival. If you need further information you may contact the director of the clinical program Dr. Erika Coles at ecoles@fiu.edu." I interpreted as: no not all invites have been sent out (I know most faculty do prelim skype interviews before an in-person invite) and that there is probably not one single mass-interview date, but individual invites to campus. Willing to accept other interpretations as well ?

Interviewed with some PI's at SFU this week... WOW WHAT A GREAT SCHOOL AND GREAT PEOPLE. You Canadians sure know how to do excellent research and how to be excellent humans Just thought I'd drop by with some praise and positivity in these stressful times!

Have you seen interview results for all of the schools you applied to? If not then I would still have hope! It's getting to be later in the game for Clinical Psychology PhD notifications but master's programs and other branches of Psych often notify later, in Feb or March. Wishing the best for you and many interviews

@Letitbedone I have not heard from UCLA but I read in another forum that they should be sending out invites by the end of the week for Clinical! (in-person interviews are 2/7-2/8 per their website) The website also says invites will be extended a minimum of two weeks before the interview, so if we haven't heard from them by Friday I will assume rejection!

Interesting... The website also says their interview day is Feb. 1 so I guess if they do extend later invitations it would be for skype/phone interviews... I guess that USC interviewees are too good for TGC

Anyone get an invite from USC? I saw a post in the results page from 1/10 that someone got an interview for "Clinical Psychology PhD"... I applied to the PhD in Clinical Science (probably the same thing) and in the past, interviews were extended at the end of January. Anyone else hear from them yet? Are others assuming all invites have gone out?

From my experience applying multiple rounds, in that kind of situation, it often boils down to research match; the other candidates might have been just THAT much more aligned with their current interests or future directions. This round I received 2 interviews out of 10 applications, and I had not been in contact with PI's from either school before being offered my interviews. They're looking for people that have experience using similar methods as they often employ, and someone that has similar interests but the ability to bring new ideas or a diverse perspective. The biggest changes I made each round of applying was (1) retaking the GRE to score higher, and (2) narrowing down my interests and seeking out programs that are only a REALLY good fit, research-wise. Sorry luck was not in your favor this round but it sounds like you are pushing forward and know what to do to improve for next time. Don't let it get you down!

I work at a non-profit and we receive most of our funding from the BJP/DOJ and our research funding (related to supporting victims of crime) has been frozen for weeks I’m not even a government employee, but I’m about to be furloughed (without backpay). Research is more important than these political games!

@paraent That would be a great comedy sketch, hope you were able to laugh about it after the initial shock, and CONGRATS

PhD in Psychology at Columbia invites went out in December; PhD in Clinical Psychology at Columbia Teacher's College invites should be going out in the next two weeks, per their website.

@checkingmyemail Unfortunately, it conflicts with another interview. They specifically said in the invite that preference is not given to those who attend in person over those who skype; even so, it's not ideal (I'd love to attend in-person) but the other interview is for my top program! Thanks for the response.

Advice Request: I was invited to an interview last Friday (almost a week ago) with the option for in-person or skype; the email was from the program assistant. I responded, gratefully accepting the invitation for a skype interview and asking for information on how to schedule the interview with the specific faculty. That was 6 days ago and I have not received a response! In the initial email, they mentioned they wanted to complete the skype interview before 2/1. Should I send another email since they didn't respond or just wait it out? I am worried because 2/1 is rapidly approaching and I don't want to miss the window of opportunity for an interview.

Typically, phone interviews are the first step in a 2-round interview process. Those who advance from the phone interviews are invited to in-person interviews and programs tend to accept candidates from that group, and reject those who did not make it through the first round. I know this may not be the news you were hoping for, but do not take it to mean you are not a talented and worthy individual (because you are)! I hope you hear back from other schools and good luck with your applications