hopefulgrad2019

This happened to me last year with Florida except they said I could complete a Skype interview and then never scheduled one or replied to my emails about setting it up (I emailed 3 times then let it go)... it obviously wasn’t my top choice because I chose to go to a different schools interview weekend (where I’m now a grad student) but definitely left a bad taste in my mouth! 

Yep, this is spot on! One of my mentors from my post bac gave me a padfolio for my interviews and it was really nice to have. 

Yes, this! I have a black leather one and it's so great for any kind of interview (and sometimes conferences). You can keep CV's there, pens, notes, it looks great and you have something to do with your hands. Can't go wrong if you opt that route.

IMO as a grad student who will sometimes ask this to students when I interview them, that answer is a bit generic. I am assuming you could add some flavor, such as when you first became interested, some interesting classes you've taken or lessons you've learned, etc. Add some flavor to not make it so bland. We are all interested in psychology or else we likely wouldn't be pursuing a field that takes a decade+ to train in and even then doesn't pay that much, haha.

needing UTK clinical acceptees to make decision asap pls

I did my post bac at Michigan and we had post docs and faculty from a range of universities. It’s all about your CV and networking through grad school. 

I did my post bac at Michigan and we had post docs and faculty from a range of universities. It’s all about your CV and networking through grad school. 

I had my first rejection of last cycle early in December (from Georgia) and it was very upsetting and I thought it was setting the tone for the rest of interview season. I’m now a first year at my 2nd choice so it all worked out! I guess I would just try to stay positive and I kept telling myself that the rejections were only making my path clearer. I ended up with two interviews to schools in my top 3 and I’m confident it worked out the way it was supposed to but that doesn’t mean I didn’t SOB when I got my first rejection. Hang in there!!! You got this. 

If you don’t have much clinical training, be honest about that and how you hope to grow in that area. They may ask about what skills you have that may help you clinically, regardless of not having that training. 

Are there any faculty that provide stats consultation to grad students? Other faculty could be the DCT or other faculty that your PI collaborates with. 
 
I always indicated additional faculty when asked to but I don’t know if it’s viewed as “underprepared” if you don’t. 

I just got a really positive response on interview for being honest and saying that while I seek a research career I do find the idea of clinical work to be exciting, but that I had never done anything of the sort so I wasn't sure what my skills would be like or how I would find it in practice.
I was explicitly told that this was a good answer and they were very skeptical when clients came in talking about how good they'd be at clinical work and how much they were going to like it unless they had explicit experience providing treatment before.
Note: This was a program on the Clinical Science model so others may be better for advice for more balanced or clinically-oriented programs.

I can’t speak to what the OP said but that, to me, sounds like the PI is trying to understand more about you as a person. My mentor and I really connected on both of us being hikers so I think it’s important to show who you are, outside of academia. Another common question is what would you do if you weren’t going into psychology and I didn’t get that question but I was going to say be a baker. Just my two cents! 

It's fine. If people start acting like that, it's not a program you want to. You're an adult, you should be allowed to set boundaries in that regard.

*Hi I'm just venting here but feel free to chime in about how much you have felt fucked over by this process*
I'm just very upset about how this whole process is going for me so far. I have three in-person interviews lined up but my coworkers who are exactly the same as me in almost every way have 5+. I really don't understand. I've done everything right and I feel like I should have more interviews. For context, I applied to 11 schools ranging from more "bottom tier" to top programs. I have one bottom tier interview, one mid-tier, and one top-tier lined up.
I worked in multiple labs during undergrad starting freshman year at an R1 university with a top 10 clinical psych department Conducted an honors thesis with a very up-and-coming professor who loves me and wrote a stellar LOR (so she said) Am now at a post-bacc research assistant at an Ivy League med school/hospital Have extensive clinical training through my work and past internships/volunteer positions Have one first-author pub and another first-author under review Have one second-author pub and 3 others under review Have one third author pub under review Had great LOR's from my PI at my job and another PI who I helped coordinate her study for 3.75 overall UG GPA, 4.0 psych GPA 2 first-author posters at two national conferences multiple co-authored posters/symposiums for national/international conferences GRE: V: 167-170    M: 156-158    W: 4.5-5.0 Had my personal statement looked over my my UG PI who said it was great and I had very clear research interests.  *I am bragging a lot on here but I promise you I didn't brag this much in my app materials if anyone was wondering I just don't understand what I did wrong and why others got so many more interviews. I feel like you can do everything in your power to be an excellent candidate and still get screwed while others who did not work as hard get a shit ton of interviews? (not saying that everyone who got more interviews than me didn't work hard but I literally spent every weekend doing research this past year and a half) 

ha! That’s my answer too if I get asked. Always wanted to open a bakery if nothing else worked out. 

I can’t speak to what the OP said but that, to me, sounds like the PI is trying to understand more about you as a person. My mentor and I really connected on both of us being hikers so I think it’s important to show who you are, outside of academia. Another common question is what would you do if you weren’t going into psychology and I didn’t get that question but I was going to say be a baker. Just my two cents! 

Just remember, more interviews does not necessarily mean more acceptances, or an acceptance at all. It's really fruitless to compare yourself to other applicants. 

Of the 3 faculty I interviewed, only 1 really asked me questions and the big one was the classic “if you had all the money and resources and IRB approval, what study would you design?”  The interview process is really about YOU interviewing them once you make it to the weekend (some programs even call it a recruitment weekend because now they’re trying to recruit you). As others have said, never run out of questions to ask. You’re trying to assess your fit with the faculty and program. 
Also, treat grad students/admin etc with the same amount of respect as you would faculty. Some applicants let their guards down more around current students and it can be a kiss of death if they say anything inappropriate. My PI asks that we spend as much one on one time with the applicants for our lab for this very reason. 

Current grad student here. Yes, that’s totally fine and you wouldn’t be viewed like that! Someone in my cohort doesn’t drink and still comes out with us all the same - not a “stick in the mud” at all. 
 
Just be yourself! I’m happy to answer more questions if you DM me ?

This is not a waitlist, sorry. They would tell you a waitlist. This basically means, you haven’t gotten the official rejection yet, but you likely will soon. Yes, there is a minuscule chance they could reach out to you later, but 99% of the time this type of email is the soft rejection before the official one. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. 

It is appropriate but better to just not. I didn’t drink at any of the social events last year. 

I would definitely recommend a 2 year post bac to gain more research/work experience. I didn’t go to a “top tier” undergrad institution but I did my post-bac at a R1. I also don’t know how much a PhD admissions committee would care about a perfect SAT score because it’s from high school, as opposed to a perfect GRE score from college but that’s just my two cents about that. 

I would be prepared with a lot of questions for THEM. My best advice would be to never run out of questions to ask. In person interviews are about you evaluating their program, too. A question I got from a faculty who isn’t my PI was the basic “if you have unlimited funding and IRB approval, what experiment would you design?” Most of my other interviews were more me interviewing them by asking questions. This is fairly common. 
 
(this is from last cycle as I’m a current clinical psych 1st year PhD student) 

Or the Director of Clinical Training (DCT) - this is perfectly acceptable to ask for.

Email the grad coordinator.