clynclinical

I actually had to make this decision last week! I had an interview scheduled for 2/25-2/26, but I knew that I was already going to commit to my first choice. It may seem like it's a bit rude to decline the offer, but it is probably best not to waste their time (or yours) if you do not plan in choosing that program even if you were to get in. In talking with the faculty member that I work with in a clinical lab as well as some grad students, I felt it best to kindly let the faculty member and grad student host know (on 2/21) that I'd accepted another offer and would no longer be attending. I have not heard back from the grad student (and honestly don't expect to), but the faculty member whom I applied to work with replied with congratulations on accepting a position and a kind note thanking me for letting her know. Hope this helps!

I just wanted to address some of the concerns expressed on here about the UCF program (full disclosure, I’m a faculty member at UCF). First and foremost, the post in the results page is patently false. Indeed, you can easily fact check both of the issues raised in that person’s comment. First, the match comment. In the past 10 years, we have had 4 students not match (out of 54) in phase I. All four of those people went on to match, either in phase II, or the following year. Those are pretty decent match rates actually. This year, we had students match at some of the most prestigious internships in the country including Kennedy Krieger, Baltimore VA, and Brown – and, we had a 100% match rate in phase I. So, the notion that people aren’t matching is incorrect, and speaks to the validity of the comment in the first place. The second comment, which is far more egregious, is that one of our faculty is in trouble for data falsification. There isn’t a grain of truth to this. In fact, DB just received a $10 million research grant and a large endowment that will keep the important research she is doing churning along well after she decides to retire; these aren’t things that happen to someone under investigation. DB is simply transitioning away from children to work with combat veterans. To be sure, there is pressure in working with combat veterans, and it isn’t for everyone. I have a feeling that the person who posted comments attacking our program and faculty was doing so out of spite, not to warn potential students. Indeed, I would say that most of our students are quite happy with the training they get, and they are actively involved in helping to shape our program (we’ve even added student reps to our faculty meetings in order to give them a say in the direction the program moves as we adjust to APAs new accreditation standards). There are, as with all programs, differences across labs. I would encourage you to contact people in those labs to see what it’s really like, rather than relying on an anonymous post of a person who clearly has an axe to grind. If you have specific questions/concerns please feel free to reach out to me or any other faculty member. If you’re worried about getting a biased opinion, reach out to a student (I can assure you that my students will give you an open and honest answer – their emails can be found on my lab website). Hopefully this will allay the concerns/reservations that any potential students have. Best of luck to all of you in this process! BTW, for those wondering, UCF has made initial offers.
- Dr. D

I have--had a phone interview with my PI a while ago and was invited for an in-person interview shortly after.

Hey,
 I don't think that I'm the one you're thinking about, but I did hear from Penn State. Got an interview invite on 1/3 and had a little chat with my PI (not an interview) on 1/4 to discuss the details of the interview day (either 2/1 or 2/2). Hope this helps!

Hey,
 I don't think that I'm the one you're thinking about, but I did hear from Penn State. Got an interview invite on 1/3 and had a little chat with my PI (not an interview) on 1/4 to discuss the details of the interview day (either 2/1 or 2/2). Hope this helps!

Friendly reminder that if you’re an applicant, even if it’s your second year of applying, you have absolutely no right to tell someone that a piece of their application must be weak if they aren’t getting offers. That’s not how the clinical psych world works. There are more competitive applicants than there are spots, so a lot of it is luck. Social capital also comes into play, so check your privilege. End rant. 

Update after phone interview:
School: Ohio University (Clinical)
Type: PhD
Date of Invite: Dec. 20, 2018
Type of invite: Email from PI for phone or Skype interview   Invitation to formal interview day during phone interview
Interview date(s): 2/1 or 2/8

Update after phone interview:
School: Ohio University (Clinical)
Type: PhD
Date of Invite: Dec. 20, 2018
Type of invite: Email from PI for phone or Skype interview   Invitation to formal interview day during phone interview
Interview date(s): 2/1 or 2/8

Update after phone interview:
School: Ohio University (Clinical)
Type: PhD
Date of Invite: Dec. 20, 2018
Type of invite: Email from PI for phone or Skype interview   Invitation to formal interview day during phone interview
Interview date(s): 2/1 or 2/8

Update after phone interview:
School: Ohio University (Clinical)
Type: PhD
Date of Invite: Dec. 20, 2018
Type of invite: Email from PI for phone or Skype interview   Invitation to formal interview day during phone interview
Interview date(s): 2/1 or 2/8

School: Ohio University
Type: PhD
Date of Invite: Dec. 17, 2018
Type of invite: Email from PI for phone or Skype interview
Interview date(s): 12/20 or 12/21
 
 
School: University of Kentucky
Type: PhD
Date of Invite: Dec. 18, 2018
Type of invite: Mass Email from Department
Interview date(s): Jan. 24-25th