featherfloat

Thanks! I thought so at first but started second guessing myself reading forums saying clinical programs are more "business" than business casual.

For clinical programs, does anyone have advice about shoes? I (female) have a pair of beige/nude-colored pointed flats that I thought went well with my black slacks and grey blazer. However I am getting mixed opinions on it. Some are saying it's nice to have a nice neutral but still fashionable shoe, but some are saying it's not formal enough! What do you guys think?

Yup they seem super intense. I know a professor who went to UCLA and she said her interviews were 2 days of nonstop barraging. I have one interview and there are 4 one-on-one faculty interviews (2 with clinical faculty/POIs, 1 with DGS, and 1 with associate director). The whole interview day is 7:45am to 5:30pm ? Then there's a happy hour until 9 with grad students afterwards. And this is the generic schedule, I'm sure they'll fill some of the down time with one-on-on grad student interviews etc. when I get my finalized itinerary.

Does anyone know how to deliver handwritten thank you cards to POIs after interviewing? A professor whom I work with closely told me this was a nice touch when she interviewed candidates (although it won't make or break a decision obviously). Do you find their office on your last day and give it to them in person? Find their mailbox in the department? Mail it to them? I really want to do this but am so confused by the logistics haha

I'm not sure how typical it is but it happened to me too. I applied two years ago, this would have been fall of my senior year, but only to 5 clinical programs. I got an interview from one school, but ultimately didn't get an offer. I attributed it to having less experience as an undergrad (since most people don't go straight to grad school after getting their Bachelor's), not having any experience with clinical populations, and only applying to a small number of highly competitive schools. This round, I applied to 13 total, and included a few non-Tier I schools as long as they still funded fully. There's no such thing as "safeties" when it comes to grad school, but there are obviously programs like UCLA that are much more difficult to get into than others. I also had 1.5 years of intense clinical experience this time, more focused recommendation letters (3 clinical psych PhD faculty vs 1 clinical and 2 non-psych profs when I first applied), and two second-author posters (when I first applied I had nothing). I still only got one interview lol. I think it's a matter of 1) the applicant pool getting larger and more competitive each year and 2) if you take gap years, programs really want to see productivity e.g. abstracts or manuscripts come out of it. Not having publications straight out of undergrad is more acceptable than not having them after 2 years of working as a full-time RA--which is the situation I'm in, may be different for you.

Good to know! Thanks so much.

o_o they don't have formal interviews? Or invite candidates on a case by case basis?

Has anyone gotten an interview from Harvard yet? For the clinical science program. Or does anyone at least know when the interview dates are? Couldn't find this anywhere. Thanks so much!

School: Northwestern (Feinberg School of Medicine) Type: PhD Date of invite: January 30th, 2019 Type of invite: Email from Director of Graduate Studies with POIs cc'd  Interview date(s): 3/4 (in person) GUYS MY HEART RATE IS CRAZY RN I WAS LOSING HOPE AND APPLYING TO JOBS (which I'll still do as plan b) BUT CAN'T BELIEVE IT AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Would love to know PIs for the UCLA Clinical posters. Thank you!

Not an interview invite, but I received an email from one school this morning confirming my application was complete (even though it was submitted December 1st) and that the committee would begin reviewing all apps in January. Feels late, but really isn't in the grand scope of things, considering how many clinical applicants there must have been. Don't lose hope if you haven't heard from anyone yet!!

Lolol I'm annoyed but also know I'm very unlikely to get an interview for both (seeing as UNC has already extended some invites) so I REFUSE to stress about it at this point

I got my current PI an aromatherapy candle, another (younger) professor a care package with sipping chocolate, face masks, and body cream, and my undergrad PI a handmade holiday card with a handwritten message, which I had to mail out.

Yes! It's actually very common, especially after preliminary phone interviews where the POI is narrowing down the shortlist of in-person interviews. Each PI may go at their own pace before a certain department deadline, and luckily yours was very on top of it. Congrats!!

As we approach the holidays, PLEASE remember to engage in self-care and try to take the time to relax!!! ⛄? I know it's a super stressful, anxiety-inducing time for everyone (I'll probably still end up checking my email every day lol) but this is the time to travel, spend time with friends/family, and just do nothing if that's what you need. Having a break from school/work is awesome too. And remember this may be your last opportunity to de-stress and indulge in Netflix binges/good food/having a social life before interview season starts—then things will really be hectic! Good luck to everyone and happy new year!