spookycat

I have found a new stage in my anxiety: Blocking email notifications, so I won't get caught off guard. 
Bad news isn't there if you don't see it. Logic.

School: Washington State University (Pullman)
Program: Clinical Psych PhD
Method of Notification: Email from POI extending offer to interview
Interview Date: March 1st
I was honestly really surprised, I'd heard rumors that all invites were out - but maybe that just means I was waitlisted? Either way, I'm thrilled.
Feel free to DM for POI!

School: Washington State University (Pullman)
Program: Clinical Psych PhD
Method of Notification: Email from POI extending offer to interview
Interview Date: March 1st
I was honestly really surprised, I'd heard rumors that all invites were out - but maybe that just means I was waitlisted? Either way, I'm thrilled.
Feel free to DM for POI!

So I have interviews in February, and honestly I have absolutely no idea what to do to prepare. I'm definitely in that (super healthy) headspace of "this task is so daunting that the best way to solve it is to never ever think about it until it goes away or I die". It's so frustrating because we've all work so hard to get here, and now I'm having this complete mental block. Has anyone else had this problem?
How did you guys go about starting to prep? I know I need to break things down into small manageable tasks but the question is - which step first? 

Oh I feel this so much!! I'm kind of having the opposite dilemma.  I have been offered two interviews so far and one is my top choice program, but my husband has definitely voiced that its in a place he does not want to live, and the other is a good sounding program (but not my top pick) in an area that he absolutely loves.   
While I know he will move wherever I decide and we will be happy no matter where we live, it does add an extra layer of stress knowing that it is somewhere that they have to live, work, and find friends in.  
It almost makes me hope that I only get one admissions offer so I don't have to make that choice ?

Even so, a 3.5 MA GPA is low. To be honest, coursework in grad programs are not as competitive as in undergrad so you should have gotten at least above 3.8.

So I have interviews in February, and honestly I have absolutely no idea what to do to prepare. I'm definitely in that (super healthy) headspace of "this task is so daunting that the best way to solve it is to never ever think about it until it goes away or I die". It's so frustrating because we've all work so hard to get here, and now I'm having this complete mental block. Has anyone else had this problem?
How did you guys go about starting to prep? I know I need to break things down into small manageable tasks but the question is - which step first? 

So I have interviews in February, and honestly I have absolutely no idea what to do to prepare. I'm definitely in that (super healthy) headspace of "this task is so daunting that the best way to solve it is to never ever think about it until it goes away or I die". It's so frustrating because we've all work so hard to get here, and now I'm having this complete mental block. Has anyone else had this problem?
How did you guys go about starting to prep? I know I need to break things down into small manageable tasks but the question is - which step first? 

Falls in line with the whole, work for free for years to 'gain experience' in a good lab that's relevant to what you want to do, work for 15-25k a year in stipends for another 5 years just to get a PhD, and work for a salary that your friends were getting 2 years out of undergrad. You know. Screw the $50-100 that you spent on the application + hours researching and crafting a personal statement.
Seriously. Lower ranked programs (if ranking is important) have dates on the same day, too. Like, yeah, shoot yourself in the foot by inviting students on the same day as a top 10 program. Let's see what candidates pick.

I like what CUDCP is doing with posting all their dates on a calendar. APA should create a centralized calendar or system for all of their programs to post and make it part of APA accred requirements =P

Just call. That way there isn't a permanent record of your impatience in someone's inbox. 
Be sure to post here when you do, thanks <3

I am right there with you except to make matters worse, my POI has been wanting to email with me about potential research before I come to the interview. Every time I sit down to respond I feel like all the knowledge I have slips right out of my brain and I’m struggling to say something other than that it’s interesting. I am supposed to send a little blurb about myself and I have nothing to say!

When you didn't hear back from your top pick program before break and know you have to wait 

So I have interviews in February, and honestly I have absolutely no idea what to do to prepare. I'm definitely in that (super healthy) headspace of "this task is so daunting that the best way to solve it is to never ever think about it until it goes away or I die". It's so frustrating because we've all work so hard to get here, and now I'm having this complete mental block. Has anyone else had this problem?
How did you guys go about starting to prep? I know I need to break things down into small manageable tasks but the question is - which step first? 

First off, congrats on making it to the interview round!--that should already be a testament to how capable you are. Take a deep breath and acknowledge that you are entirely capable of nailing that interview!  
Personally, (1) I started by looking at my potential POI's research--really, really know their research. They will most definitely bring it up/potentially ask you which research stream you are most interested in. (2) Know the program. Download the psychology graduate handbook if there is one. Read it. Wow them if they start bringing up program specifics and you know them already--it makes you look well-informed and enthusiastic. (3) Know your application. This includes being able to talk about your specific experiences (be it research, mentoring, extracurriculars), and if you wrote a research proposal as part of your application, READ THE ARTICLES YOU CITED, they test you! (4) Know what questions you want to ask. (Check out the first couple posts of this thread--sample questions are posted). ALWAYS ask questions. 
Take a deep breath, and walk in. You got this. Show them what you've got

Thank you for the insight and for the SDN resource (I actually hadn't heard of that forum). I have been doing more research and talking to more people about the APA accreditation and I just hope they admit me into the dual clinical and IDD program at OSU which is APA-accredited! Either that or that I hear back from the other schools I applied to (at least the ones that I haven't seen anything posted for on the results page).
Now that I have interviewed for a program, I find the waiting time to hear back from them even more anxiety provoking than waiting for an interview invitation ? 

Step 1: Breathe You got this.

I posted a link to a PDF at the beginning of this thread. Begin at Section 3 of the document, you already achieved the first two milestones. Unless you're very anxious, read the whole dang thing (I did LOL).
Begin by creating documents with the questions/answers to each program. Try to narrow down specific answers for each question, in writing first, if it helps you gather down your thoughts/ideas. Then, begin practicing. Lots. Have your top questions/answers memorized (What are your research interests? What are your strengths/weaknesses? Why this program?) Repetition until it feels natural and it is not so anxiety-producing is my approach. I've read that recording yourself is also useful. Also ask your mentors/letter-writers to coach you/provide you feedback with your answers, if at all possible.
After that, the fun part(!), begin creating questions you'd want answered for each of the programs/POIs you're interviewing with. And then questions for the graduate students. Again, your entire prep should be school-POI specific, so it's not so overwhelming!

Thank you for this. ETSU was my top choice just because I love the faculty and their mission, but I know I would be a good fit elsewhere. It is crazy how much psychologists and other mental health professionals are needed and yet theres not enough room for all of us to get through school. 

To add to @Clinapp2017, a lot of labs have websites detailing their current projects and interests of members of the lab group. I would suggest doing a little more digging on your own before reaching out. 

I had the same issue! I got my first two interview invites in late December and they were both for the exact same days and didn't want to drop either. The second one I received was for a school that was one of my top choices but I had already committed and bought plane tickets for the other school and did not want to risk alienating them, especially so early in the interview season. My lab mates and current PI gave me the advice to email the school you hadn't committed to yet (the one that conflicts) and make sure to emphasize just how much you want to go to their interview but you've already made a commitment to another school that you want to honor. Then ask if there is an alternative interview date (there almost always is) that you could go to for an in-person interview. Also, since admissions makes their decisions so quickly, try to ask if they have an earlier interview date. If they say that's not an option then you can do the same thing with the school you already committed to and hope that they a.) have an alternate date and b.) your plane tickets can be changed.
Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions! This sort of thing is a stressful, but good, problem to have.

Sorry, this is a lengthy reply but this is a complicated question! Also, this is my story, I'm not insinuating anything about your applications, just sharing what I went through and what helped me!
So, this is my second application process. The first time I did not hear from a single one of the 10 schools I applied to, and this year I have 2 interviews out of 5 programs. I had a wide breath of research experiences in psychology (worked with cognition, social anxiety, and eventually substance use) and had clinical experience in social anxiety, substance use, and working with families. I have a high GPA, 4 years of research experience, and independent research project and poster presentation, as well as some papers in prep (not first author or anything like that, but it's something). 
The biggest difference for me this year was the type of programs I applied to. Some programs are so competitive that if your GRE scores aren't in the 80th percentile, your applications are essentially ignored. It's a harsh truth, but some schools (and we all know which ones) get 700+ applications each year and there's just no way that they can spend the time going through each one to see whether your experiences make up for areas that aren't as strong (ie GRE scores and GPA). I don't know how you did on the GREs but mine were not in the 80th percentile, so these schools I applied to the first time were out of my league by miles, and none of my mentors were open enough to tell me this.
That being said, now that I'm applying to programs that my GREs are more standard for, my application as a whole is taken into consideration and I've been able to show that I have the skills and experience that make up for a bad quant score. I think the most important thing is being able to relate all of the research you've done together and apply it to what you want to study. So personally, I'm studying substance use and was able to explain how my experiences in cognition and social anxiety were valuable to my goal. It's vital to relate it all together, to show that you are able to gain specific skills and knowledge from every experience that you have, and to show that all of your breadth as well as in-depth work have come together to point you towards your goal. 
ALSO, don't give up hope yet on hearing back from schools! Good luck to you, and I hope that somewhere in this very long-winded story there are answers to your questions!

Similar to @spookycat, but with a couple caveats to consider: 1) I am in Canada and, despite Canadian schools being very competitive, some US schools are just bonkers with the number of applications they get; and 2) I have only secured one open-house interview/4 so far (none of my other schools of interest seem to have reached out to anyone yet), so I am not necessarily the golden child of interviews. That said, I also graduated with a high GPA, etc., and have worked in research labs to some extent for 4 years. I worked as a paid RA for just over a year and am working as a lab coordinator currently. I only applied to schools with PIs who closely matched my research interests. Because I am interested in a fairly specific area, my current PI has worked with/has connections with many of those I applied to. I think this will help me with potentially getting interviews, but that's obviously not 100% the case with all applicants. There are SO many unpredictable factors that come in to play when admissions committees and individual supervisors review applications, some of which (at least in my opinion) are simply about serendipity (i.e., applying to the right person at the right time). If you have a specific person you're wanting to work with, I would say try to tailor your CV to their area and work with other PIs who are connected to those people. Best of luck! Don't give up hope yet, you still have 3 schools to hear back from!

I did this last year. I had a lot of positive back and forth with the POI and they agreed I was a great fit, so I was surprised I didn't get an interview. I framed the email in the sense of asking for feedback on how to improve my application for next round as I was very interested in working with them. They were receptive and very kind, explaining that I was in the top few and if 1 of the people that were extended an invite declined I'd be next on the list (obviously didn't happen). They also gave me solid feedback on how to improve my application if I were to go into another application cycle. Luckily I got accepted somewhere else, and I'm incredibly happy with the program even though it initially wasn't my top choice. I can't imagine being anywhere else now!
There are just so many incredibly qualified applicants. It's hard to not feel discouraged when you don't even get an interview to a program you thought you'd be a great fit for. Sometimes it's just the luck of the draw and there are 3 really great and equal candidates but only 2 spots for that POI. 

My P.I. told me this year was the most competitive application cycle she's seen in the last 3-4 years. She took on two last year because of funding, and can only take one this year, but it's frustrating on their end too because she is having to be pickier this year even though (in her opinion) the applicants are much more qualified. If this is truly your dream career, I would encourage you to apply again and don't lose hope!