ventiamericano

Hi! I think this is a great thread to have up and running, as I feel like we all have a few individual learning experiences that would be helpful to share for those applying next cycle.
In terms of background, I think it would be important to keep in mind that I am a Canadian applicant, so although I think what I have to say is pretty transferrable for all types of applicants, it might be different for those in the US/other countries. I also didn't apply to any Counseling/PsyD programs, and only applied to PhD Clinical Psychology programs. This was my first time applying; I applied to five schools and interviewed at two of them. I ended up with rejections from 4/5 schools and acceptance from one, which was my top choice so I accepted there without any hesitation. It was a pretty crazy ride but I think I learned a lot of valuable lessons that have really changed my perspective on the whole application process (for the better). See below:
I echo @FeministPsychologist here and will say again that: rejections do not determine your self-worth and are not indicative of your potential, like at all. The fact that many Psychology applicants are rejected at multiple schools before being accepted somewhere speaks to this - capability is not mutually exclusive with rejection. The entire application process is so dependent on luck and at the end of the day, it all depends on how well you mesh with one person (i.e., your POI). Just because the fit's not there with them, doesn't mean that other supervisors would also feel the same way. The minute I stopped taking rejections so easily, my mental health surrounding the process was at such a better place. To all applicants applying next round, please remember this. Rejections happen to all of us, and will most likely happen given the competitive nature of this field. Shake each rejection off and don't take it personally - there are reasons why it didn't work out and those reasons could be anywhere from lack of funding at that school to your POI having someone else in mind from the get-go (which happen so often). Literally, look yourself in the mirror and say "rejections don't define me" until it sticks, LOL. Apply to as many schools and POIs as you can without sacrificing too much of your research interests.  This. Some would think I'm absolutely crazy for only applying to five schools (one POI at each lol), but unfortunately, my research area is extremely niche and I applied to the only schools in Canada that had researchers in my field. I ended up lucking out, however, there was a LOT of anxiety when 4/5 schools rejected me and my fate was hanging on one school LOL. This was extremely stressful, to say the least, so I recommend applying to as many schools as you can. However, I really don't recommend forfeiting your interests or making them so malleable that you lose what you really care about. Grad school is a long ride my friends, and it would suck to study something you don't care about. Which brings me to my next point... Make sure you REALLY want it before you apply. This application process is way too stressful to just do it to do it... If this wasn't the only career path I wanted, I would've opted out so quick LOL. Especially for clinical applicants, make sure your goals can't be achieved by pursuing other degrees like social work etc before applying. Make sure that the specific aims of a PhD Clinical Psychology program are what you really, really want. I think a lot of people go into these PhD programs with the thought process of that they can only work with clinical populations or deliver therapy with a Clinical Psych degree and that is so not true. If being a clinician is all you care about, opt for a psychotherapy program that's literally half the amount of years/effort. Your wallet and psyche will thank you, haha. This one (aside from the first) was probably the biggest lesson I learned - just because you know your POI personally, does not mean they owe you anything. At a few of the schools I applied to, I had already worked with the POI previously and developed a good working (and personal) relationship. I interviewed with some of them (ended up being rejected) and wasn't even given an interview opportunity by one of them. This was really hard for me to swallow at first, and made me doubt everything. If someone who knew me didn't want me, how would I get in with anyone else? But the thing is, just because you dedicated some volunteer time at a POI's lab doesn't mean they owe you anything - not even a second glance at your application. With an application process as competitive as this, that's literally just not possible to expect them to forfeit spots from other capable applicants to you, just because you already have a working relationship. Again, with the rejection piece, so many factors roll into this. They've already mentored you, so it's possible that they think there's nothing else to teach you. Or, simply, they just vibed with another applicant better. At the end of the day, each of these supervisors wrote and edited my SOPs as well as my funding applications, and all my references. They wouldn't have done that if they didn't think I was capable. As soon as I realized that, I stopped beating myself up. However, this was a really important piece to helping me re-conceptualize the entire application process. Ok, rant over haha. At the end of the day, this is an extremely crazy and stressful process. Make sure you really want it before you apply and as said before, congratulate yourself for each application and each day you don't go crazy LOL. You can do this! 

I don't think @ventiamericano's POIs treated her in any way that was unfavourable, assuming that is what you mean. They were still willing to encourage and support throughout the application process. There are many factors that go into the decision process and although having connections seems pivotal, it's not a contract for future opportunities with the POI. I'm from Canada as well and I can't say it is largely how the process works here. It seems to be more transparent on what specific universities/programs are looking for and sometimes the decision is made by ad comm as opposed to the POI. It's hard to say what happened here, but I wouldn't assume programs allow for nepotism when it comes to admission.

Depends on the PI and their values as well, not all want to take their own students, and some will explicitly state so. If you're in some niche field where your skillset is hard to come across and your PI has basically trained you to work in their lab as a graduate student, of course they would want to take you, which is what you might be familiar with. More popular people in more popular fields have less of a problem finding qualified people to carry on their research, so I would think they have the least incentive to take on their own students. Might've been the case here.

If that were the case, you would've just cracked open the application process. Like a motherload cheat for the sims, but for grad school LOL. In this scenario, why apply for grad school at all if you can just apply to RA in a lab, and then assume you'd come out with a PhD? Again, I'm a Canadian applicant so no idea if this is the wave in the states at all (you could be very much right). I have no hard feelings what so ever towards these supervisors and they were great mentors that prepared me for the next stage in my life nonetheless!

Hi! I think this is a great thread to have up and running, as I feel like we all have a few individual learning experiences that would be helpful to share for those applying next cycle.
In terms of background, I think it would be important to keep in mind that I am a Canadian applicant, so although I think what I have to say is pretty transferrable for all types of applicants, it might be different for those in the US/other countries. I also didn't apply to any Counseling/PsyD programs, and only applied to PhD Clinical Psychology programs. This was my first time applying; I applied to five schools and interviewed at two of them. I ended up with rejections from 4/5 schools and acceptance from one, which was my top choice so I accepted there without any hesitation. It was a pretty crazy ride but I think I learned a lot of valuable lessons that have really changed my perspective on the whole application process (for the better). See below:
I echo @FeministPsychologist here and will say again that: rejections do not determine your self-worth and are not indicative of your potential, like at all. The fact that many Psychology applicants are rejected at multiple schools before being accepted somewhere speaks to this - capability is not mutually exclusive with rejection. The entire application process is so dependent on luck and at the end of the day, it all depends on how well you mesh with one person (i.e., your POI). Just because the fit's not there with them, doesn't mean that other supervisors would also feel the same way. The minute I stopped taking rejections so easily, my mental health surrounding the process was at such a better place. To all applicants applying next round, please remember this. Rejections happen to all of us, and will most likely happen given the competitive nature of this field. Shake each rejection off and don't take it personally - there are reasons why it didn't work out and those reasons could be anywhere from lack of funding at that school to your POI having someone else in mind from the get-go (which happen so often). Literally, look yourself in the mirror and say "rejections don't define me" until it sticks, LOL. Apply to as many schools and POIs as you can without sacrificing too much of your research interests.  This. Some would think I'm absolutely crazy for only applying to five schools (one POI at each lol), but unfortunately, my research area is extremely niche and I applied to the only schools in Canada that had researchers in my field. I ended up lucking out, however, there was a LOT of anxiety when 4/5 schools rejected me and my fate was hanging on one school LOL. This was extremely stressful, to say the least, so I recommend applying to as many schools as you can. However, I really don't recommend forfeiting your interests or making them so malleable that you lose what you really care about. Grad school is a long ride my friends, and it would suck to study something you don't care about. Which brings me to my next point... Make sure you REALLY want it before you apply. This application process is way too stressful to just do it to do it... If this wasn't the only career path I wanted, I would've opted out so quick LOL. Especially for clinical applicants, make sure your goals can't be achieved by pursuing other degrees like social work etc before applying. Make sure that the specific aims of a PhD Clinical Psychology program are what you really, really want. I think a lot of people go into these PhD programs with the thought process of that they can only work with clinical populations or deliver therapy with a Clinical Psych degree and that is so not true. If being a clinician is all you care about, opt for a psychotherapy program that's literally half the amount of years/effort. Your wallet and psyche will thank you, haha. This one (aside from the first) was probably the biggest lesson I learned - just because you know your POI personally, does not mean they owe you anything. At a few of the schools I applied to, I had already worked with the POI previously and developed a good working (and personal) relationship. I interviewed with some of them (ended up being rejected) and wasn't even given an interview opportunity by one of them. This was really hard for me to swallow at first, and made me doubt everything. If someone who knew me didn't want me, how would I get in with anyone else? But the thing is, just because you dedicated some volunteer time at a POI's lab doesn't mean they owe you anything - not even a second glance at your application. With an application process as competitive as this, that's literally just not possible to expect them to forfeit spots from other capable applicants to you, just because you already have a working relationship. Again, with the rejection piece, so many factors roll into this. They've already mentored you, so it's possible that they think there's nothing else to teach you. Or, simply, they just vibed with another applicant better. At the end of the day, each of these supervisors wrote and edited my SOPs as well as my funding applications, and all my references. They wouldn't have done that if they didn't think I was capable. As soon as I realized that, I stopped beating myself up. However, this was a really important piece to helping me re-conceptualize the entire application process. Ok, rant over haha. At the end of the day, this is an extremely crazy and stressful process. Make sure you really want it before you apply and as said before, congratulate yourself for each application and each day you don't go crazy LOL. You can do this! 

Hi! I think this is a great thread to have up and running, as I feel like we all have a few individual learning experiences that would be helpful to share for those applying next cycle.
In terms of background, I think it would be important to keep in mind that I am a Canadian applicant, so although I think what I have to say is pretty transferrable for all types of applicants, it might be different for those in the US/other countries. I also didn't apply to any Counseling/PsyD programs, and only applied to PhD Clinical Psychology programs. This was my first time applying; I applied to five schools and interviewed at two of them. I ended up with rejections from 4/5 schools and acceptance from one, which was my top choice so I accepted there without any hesitation. It was a pretty crazy ride but I think I learned a lot of valuable lessons that have really changed my perspective on the whole application process (for the better). See below:
I echo @FeministPsychologist here and will say again that: rejections do not determine your self-worth and are not indicative of your potential, like at all. The fact that many Psychology applicants are rejected at multiple schools before being accepted somewhere speaks to this - capability is not mutually exclusive with rejection. The entire application process is so dependent on luck and at the end of the day, it all depends on how well you mesh with one person (i.e., your POI). Just because the fit's not there with them, doesn't mean that other supervisors would also feel the same way. The minute I stopped taking rejections so easily, my mental health surrounding the process was at such a better place. To all applicants applying next round, please remember this. Rejections happen to all of us, and will most likely happen given the competitive nature of this field. Shake each rejection off and don't take it personally - there are reasons why it didn't work out and those reasons could be anywhere from lack of funding at that school to your POI having someone else in mind from the get-go (which happen so often). Literally, look yourself in the mirror and say "rejections don't define me" until it sticks, LOL. Apply to as many schools and POIs as you can without sacrificing too much of your research interests.  This. Some would think I'm absolutely crazy for only applying to five schools (one POI at each lol), but unfortunately, my research area is extremely niche and I applied to the only schools in Canada that had researchers in my field. I ended up lucking out, however, there was a LOT of anxiety when 4/5 schools rejected me and my fate was hanging on one school LOL. This was extremely stressful, to say the least, so I recommend applying to as many schools as you can. However, I really don't recommend forfeiting your interests or making them so malleable that you lose what you really care about. Grad school is a long ride my friends, and it would suck to study something you don't care about. Which brings me to my next point... Make sure you REALLY want it before you apply. This application process is way too stressful to just do it to do it... If this wasn't the only career path I wanted, I would've opted out so quick LOL. Especially for clinical applicants, make sure your goals can't be achieved by pursuing other degrees like social work etc before applying. Make sure that the specific aims of a PhD Clinical Psychology program are what you really, really want. I think a lot of people go into these PhD programs with the thought process of that they can only work with clinical populations or deliver therapy with a Clinical Psych degree and that is so not true. If being a clinician is all you care about, opt for a psychotherapy program that's literally half the amount of years/effort. Your wallet and psyche will thank you, haha. This one (aside from the first) was probably the biggest lesson I learned - just because you know your POI personally, does not mean they owe you anything. At a few of the schools I applied to, I had already worked with the POI previously and developed a good working (and personal) relationship. I interviewed with some of them (ended up being rejected) and wasn't even given an interview opportunity by one of them. This was really hard for me to swallow at first, and made me doubt everything. If someone who knew me didn't want me, how would I get in with anyone else? But the thing is, just because you dedicated some volunteer time at a POI's lab doesn't mean they owe you anything - not even a second glance at your application. With an application process as competitive as this, that's literally just not possible to expect them to forfeit spots from other capable applicants to you, just because you already have a working relationship. Again, with the rejection piece, so many factors roll into this. They've already mentored you, so it's possible that they think there's nothing else to teach you. Or, simply, they just vibed with another applicant better. At the end of the day, each of these supervisors wrote and edited my SOPs as well as my funding applications, and all my references. They wouldn't have done that if they didn't think I was capable. As soon as I realized that, I stopped beating myself up. However, this was a really important piece to helping me re-conceptualize the entire application process. Ok, rant over haha. At the end of the day, this is an extremely crazy and stressful process. Make sure you really want it before you apply and as said before, congratulate yourself for each application and each day you don't go crazy LOL. You can do this! 

Aight so it looks like decisions last yr were released in April  http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/51299.html Hope that helps!
 
Right, mine for Manitoba is still the day I submitted it. Some schools reviewed last week, some this week  

Lol I'm still waiting as well. Haven't heard of any acceptances or rejections...just...bloody silence and waiting...... At this point I'm just waiting to hear back about the tri-agency funding / OGS

I’m still waiting for McGill. The secretary told me decisions should be out by Friday. 

Hey, I can't speak to the actual probability --I think a lot of factors are dependent on the cycle you apply are important (e.g. PhD spots). However, I am completing an MSc in Psychiatry and was admitted into a couple of programs directly into PhD. In my case, I was lucky to get some voluntary clinical experience during my MSc that helped me in terms of my CV and personal statement but there was no requirement for practicum hours. If your thesis is clinical, and you make a case for being ready, you have a shot!
The schools will likely advise you to apply at an MA level but indicate that you would like to be considered for direct PhD entry. 

Officially accepted my offer for the University of Guelph Child & Adolescent Clinical Psych - super excited to get started in September! I released my offers from UTSC and Waterloo, so good luck to those on the waitlist. Message me for POIs if you're interested. 

Hi! I've actually had experience with this - I volunteered in two of my POIs' labs before applying to their lab for graduate studies. While I can say that this did give me an edge in the sense that they became familiar with me and my work ethic (and external applicants don't have this when applying), it didn't "guarantee" me a spot in their lab by any means. I think everyone above me summed it up pretty nicely, but your POI by no means "owes" you an interview just because you put in some hours into their lab. While it makes the chance of an interview likely if you and your POI had a good relationship/they liked your work ethic/think you have potential, they will also give any other external candidate an interview as well if all of these categories are ticked off. In fact, in my experience, I was only offered an interview with one of these POI's and I didn't make it to the short-list afterward. Again, it's important to not take it personally and know that there are probably hundreds of qualified applicants who apply, some of who have a better fit with my POI than I did. If I went into it with the mentality that I somehow "secured a spot" because I worked with them, I probably would not be feeling so hot.
However, I found my time in both these labs to be crucial to my success in actually being accepted into a Clinical program. Both these labs were within my realm of research interests, so through my volunteering, I made lots of connections in my field and also secured some strong reference letters. All in all, I'd say you have nothing to lose by volunteering in your POI's lab. If you don't get an interview, you might still get a strong reference (and also a potential collaborator in future papers, conferences etc) that would secure you a spot elsewhere. 

Has anyone else here (or lurking this thread) been accepted to Ryerson? If so, feel free to PM me - always nice to see who will be in your cohort  Best of luck here to everyone else still figuring things out - I believe in you guys! 

Has anyone else here (or lurking this thread) been accepted to Ryerson? If so, feel free to PM me - always nice to see who will be in your cohort  Best of luck here to everyone else still figuring things out - I believe in you guys! 

Has anyone else here (or lurking this thread) been accepted to Ryerson? If so, feel free to PM me - always nice to see who will be in your cohort  Best of luck here to everyone else still figuring things out - I believe in you guys! 

Has anyone else here (or lurking this thread) been accepted to Ryerson? If so, feel free to PM me - always nice to see who will be in your cohort  Best of luck here to everyone else still figuring things out - I believe in you guys! 

Has anyone else here (or lurking this thread) been accepted to Ryerson? If so, feel free to PM me - always nice to see who will be in your cohort  Best of luck here to everyone else still figuring things out - I believe in you guys! 

Has anyone else here (or lurking this thread) been accepted to Ryerson? If so, feel free to PM me - always nice to see who will be in your cohort  Best of luck here to everyone else still figuring things out - I believe in you guys! 

Come back as a veteran in a year or two and prove those five schools wrong. Best of luck @higaisha!

5/5 down for rejections, who wants to have a misery party? See y'all next cycle
Jokes aside, I'm happy I made it as far as I did, applying to the top POIs at the top schools in Canada straight out of undergrad and still getting a few interviews. My GREs were pretty crap, none of my refs were even clinical psychologists and I had 0 connections to most of my PIs. Gonna take this time to retake GREs, build up my research, and smash the next cycle next year (or just wait two years depending on my job). I said I'd be upfront about rejections, so if you're feeling down about yours, just know everything happens for a reason and now wasn't your time--but next year/two years might be.  LOVE U CANADA THREADDDD

Hey! Everyone else here did a great job in terms of explaining the difference (or more so similarity) between the two degrees, but I just wanted to add to what @Sharbar said re: privilege to diagnose. My supervisor actually just discussed this recently in a meeting but yes, Sharbar is correct and conveying a diagnosis is a protected act that only registered clinical psychologists can do. Other professions can provide forms of treatment (whatever they may be), but you need a PhD in Clinical specifically (and registration with the CPO) to convey a formal diagnosis. Definitely something to keep in mind depending on what your career goals are/what populations you want to be working with. Congrats on the acceptances!

Hey! Congratulations on your interview, that's so exciting!! Take a second and appreciate yourself - it's impressive that you were contacted this early on for a lab coordinator position AND at such a prestigious institute! Good for you, those programs are missing out ;). I also would like to take this time as well to say that it's completely okay to strike out on your first round of applications, especially if you were right out of undergrad. I've heard it's pretty typical for this to happen and in fact, most PI's I've talked to prefer someone that's more seasoned (i.e., been out of undergrad for longer) because they tend to be a) more mature and serious about their studies and b) have more experience. This is again not to say that you are at all not competent, but more so to show you how far you can grow on your time off! I'm actually in the same boat (chose to work for a year as a lab manager then applied), and I can say that this job was instrumental in securing me an acceptance this year.
As for interviews for a lab manager position, I definitely can give you some solid insight as I myself went through this a year ago. My supervisor made me go through two rounds of interviews - one with him, and then with two of his grad students. When I met with him via Skype, he asked me research-oriented questions (e.g., tell me about your thesis, what are you interested in, why my lab etc...). Then he proceeded to ask me interpersonal-esque questions, which I think people often forget about but are SO important. He specifically asked me how I deal with lots of pressure, what I look like when I'm stressed (which I thought was weird but now after doing this for a year I understand), and if I can (and how specifically) compartmentalize aspects of the job that are difficult. Again, these questions perhaps were asked specifically because his lab is in mood disorders and my job requires me to do a LOT of clinical interviews which can be really overbearing. Lab coordinators, in general, go through a lot of pressure (you're legit the glue that holds a lab together), so I think my PI (and yours probably) wants to know that they can have someone who they can rely on even when things seem to be going crazy. I would say to maybe expect some questions like this, and to maybe even give some anecdotes about how you work well under stress and what you do to compartmentalize (again could be different if your area isn't Clinical/mood disorders).
The interview with the grad students was pretty chill, more-so a formality so he could make sure that his lab would get along with me. Questions again were pretty interpersonal-related, asking me about any work-place difficulties I've had, how I solved them, how I would deal with management issues among RA's etc. They want to look for someone who's capable of delegating and being a leader, but also won't go on a crazy power-trip when they're given that much "power". I would say a BIG part of the job is hiring/training/interacting with RA's so they just in general want to make sure you have stellar interpersonal skills.
I'm sorry if this was a novel but I hope some of this was helpful! Feel free to PM me with any questions about the interview/tips on the job - happy to help! Goodluck

Same here...haha I didn't want to move to Ottawa anyway!

LMAO FACTS tbh the instant some of their faculty pages came up in French I knew it was over for me

Savages lmao