OhPsych

School: U of T - OISE
Program: MA in Counselling and Clinical Psychology 
Invite Date: February 1
Interview Date: TBD, will email PI back with chosen day and time
PM for questions!

Hey everyone, for those who applied to McMaster Psychotherapy: Received an interview invite via email (personal email) today at 11:30am. I am a domestic applicant. Feel free to DM me if you have any questions! 

I also haven't heard back from anywhere, not even an informal interview and Im starting to feel defeated but I know a lot of people here are saying it's still early for some schools!

Unfortunately didn't get extended a formal invite after pre-interviewing with AK. Good luck to those who are shortlisted for Ryerson Visiting Day! 

Yes, I am all for that!
I don't hold a narrow scope of all young PhDs and you can't discredit lived experience.
I'm not sure how you read "I've been around a few graduate students under 23 who have struggled massively..." as a blanket statement of "I think all young grad students are less prepared and less mature". I do think there are young grad students who are autonomous, challenging, and highly engaged and I think they're the ones that should be in grad school. Perhaps you are one of them.
I appreciate that you don't think of yourself or other grad students as being sheltered or working on an academic reputation, but how would someone know if they were? If students are taught that certain activities are intrinsically part of grad school, what would they look for to know? You have self-admittedly spent the majority of your life in school. You've been able to earn 2 Bachelor's degrees and spend time volunteering in labs. If you've done that while working full time jobs to support yourself, then indeed, I salute and admire your tenacity and hard work because it is clearly impressive. It also looks as though you spent time developing yourself personally, something I always bang on about. But you are *not* the average grad student, just as I am not.
I'm not just 7 years older than you. I'm 45. I'm older than most of my professors. I have spent more of my life outside of academia than inside it. I earned my first BS in about 3 years while raising my daughter and working full time and walked away from the idea of grad school for psychology because what I saw and learned demonstrated that academia is largely broken. I earned my second BS in 2 years in order to pursue medicine. But I felt that psychology could be saved, so I decided to go in to try and make changes, which means my perspective has been different from day one.
I don't hold anyone's background against them. None of us control the circumstances of our birth. There is an attitude that exists, and you see it clearly on display on Grad Cafe, of elitism, snobbery, and disapproval. If you came here knowing nothing about the logistics of academia (like I did) you'd leave thinking the only way to get in is to be early 20s, with several pubs, a high GPA, and tonnes of lab experience.
I'm generally contemptuous of that position and hang out here to offer a counterpoint. I came here looking for help, as I was in the first in my family to go to college and I am an immigrant. I read thread after thread on this board before applying and felt like there was no way in hell I'd ever be accepted to grad school. I didn't see myself represented, which I understand is an important element of encouraging non-traditional or diverse individuals to participate. Applying to a single programme and getting in first time taught me something, and my time spent as a grad student has taught me even more about the process and reality of it, so I stick around to offer support to those who show up and feel discouraged.

School: University of Calgary 
Date of Acceptance: January 19
Surprised to hear back so early! 

Has anyone heard from UNB? Would love to chat!
 
On a side note...this is my fifth year applying. My first two years I didn't get a single interview and the last two years I got a few interviews but no offers. I only applied to 2 schools this year and I have an interview for one so far. Considering it a 50% success rate right now lol. Just trying to offer some encouragement for those of you who are just starting out! If this is what you want then persevere...keep applying, keep seeking research opportunities, keep making connections with professors you are really interested in, and keep honing in on what you feel passionate about. My honours supervisor gave me some really good advice last year. He told me that there are a lot of different paths you can take to get to similar end goals. Clinical doesn't have to be the be-all end-all. Personally, I have broadened my search a bit and realized I could be really happy doing OT or ed psych, as well. I wholeheartedly understand how disappointing the rejection is but it has also offered me many opportunities to have different work experiences, get to know myself, and build up resilience. All of which will ultimately make me a better practitioner in whatever career path I end up choosing. So hang in there! 

@SoundofSilenceYes yes yes!! you bring up so many important points.
This year has really shifted my thinking about what to expect from my future career. Still my number 1 goal is to become a clinical academic, but considering not only the difficulties getting in to a program, but the time it takes to complete, the abysmal work-life balance, the awful "pay" as a graduate student for 5-7 years, and the very real possibility that your supervisor could suck and you have zero support - it's going to suck it a lot of ways. Whereas a "regular" old non-clinical PhD will be done in 3 years, still have awful pay and potentially poor work-life balance, but fewer demands since there won't be clinical classes and placements etc. then you graduate sooner, get a real job sooner, and you can also work in industry and get paid significantly more than an academic or a clinician. Will you make the same impact with your work? No, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad route or you won't be able to help the population you're interested in working with. I've been trying to reframe a lot of things and accept that who knows, my career might not be what I want it to be now, but it could still be really good and exciting, once I figure out what that will be. 
Yes - so many real options. Especially the availability of primarily clinical training degrees. I know a lot of people who are not at all interested in conducting their own research. Sure they need to understand research and how to assess evidence based treatments, but do not need to have a PhD. Even increasing the number of terminal master's programs and where people can be licensed would be a huge step for people who are solely interested in careers as clinicians.  

It IS ridiculous and your "rant" is totally justified. As it stands right now, there are many MANY applicants that already have the skills and experience to hit the ground running in grad school and so very few places. I am aware that there are a few that just apply to give it a try, but my own personal experience tells me there are few and far between, because the reputation of competitiveness has reached most psych students. 
It doesn't help that in many cases it's up to the very specific whims of faculty members who may have other priorities when picking students. I realize that there are many great POIs there, I am not talking about them. But I've met quite a few who prioritize taking only students that want to follow their specific niche academic path, or who bring specific skills in their lab because they are chasing some grants, or some other self-serving goal. And in turn, our profession loses out on many qualified candidates that could have done the research and clinical work much needed by under-served communities and improved the mental health for so many people in the country...
I've been thinking what could be done to change this and to be honest I haven't come up with anything. But something has to change. I am committed to giving my feedback and putting effort into changing the admissions process but I have yet to come up with other more specific ways to help. What do you think?

So here it goes...
School: Dalhousie University
Type: Clinical Psychology PhD
Acceptance/Waitlist/Rejection: Acceptance
Type of Notification: Official Email
Date Notified: 1/11/22
Gaaaaah... it's only been a decade of work to get here (no, I'm not kidding) and I was starting to feel really old. 
After receiving the email I was half numb and half freaking out and kept asking everyone if it's normal. It doesn't really feel real yet and I'm still in anxious/panicky mode somewhat. However, I do plan on taking the weekend off and just unwind. Get in touch if you're considering Dal or just have questions, I'm around.

This is amazing, congratulations and good luck with both interviews!! Also thank you for sharing so much information – this format of posting interviews is super helpful!

School: York (Clinical-Developmental Psychology Program) 
Date of invite: January 5
Date of interview: TBD, some time the week of the 24th (with POI: JW), January 28 (open house) 
It was a direct email for the POI and they said more details would come about the open house. I suspect invites will be coming out on a rolling basis from now until the 28th for York so there's still lots of time if you haven't got one yet! 
I also received an interview invite for the Developmental Psychology program at Queens just after Christmas (POI: EK) - not directly relevant to this forum but it may be helpful for others who applied to that program. 
I tried to share as much information as I could so hopefully this helps! Good luck everyone!

hey that's not a half bad idea. 
I've honestly had it with this application season. It's my third time and it's the worst yet.
Between programs switching deadlines to early November when they were usually in December (I'm looking at you SFU) and all the crappy online portals that drive me mad, I'm at my wits' end. I've done Ottawa's application once before and I still had trouble this time around locating the damn place to upload the documents. Not to mention that some programs are ok with your standard stuff (as in regular CV and 2 page statement), but some are just crazy with their own formatting for CVs and asking for 500 words for a statement. And now McMaster with this crappy "no CV" thing. Where am I supposed to put my research experience, publications and posters? How about my awards? I can barely cram them in the tiny character-limited small boxes in some places but they don't even have that on their application. Gaaah
Sorry about the rant, I think the pandemic is getting to me. And it's also difficult to see the point of all this effort after so much time and money spent. So many demands placed on the applicants and most times we barely get even an acknowledgment. Something's got to give and I think this process needs a serious overhaul.

Hey everyone!

I hopped on to share some great news: I GOT AN OFFER FROM MY DREAM PROGRAM!
School: University of Toronto, OISE
Type: MA in School and Clinical Child Psychology
Acceptance/Waitlist/Rejection: Acceptance
Type of Notification: Email from assigned Faculty Advisor, who gave unofficial offer; Email from Department to check SGS portal for decision, where two documents were uploaded (official offer letter and funding information)
Date Notified: March 24, 2021; March 25, 2021
DM for POI: Sure thing!

Thank you all for being so supportive to one another. I hope everyone gets accepted into the school of their dreams when the time is right for them.  

Some quick facts about my application
My GPA wasn't so great but I hope that offers some hope for people applying! I also didn't major in psychology but had enough courses to be treated as equal. I did better in my last year but honestly it wasn't that competitive. I did, however, have many publications and conference presentations/posters. I work at two different hospitals and a lab at UofT. My three references were all professors with two of them being child and adolescent clinicians: a psychiatrist and psychologist. I think it was my referees, letter of intent, and CV that made up for my marks

Hi everyone! I just accepted my offer to start the Clinical Psychology graduate program at UBC-Vancouver in the Fall. I turned down an offer from UNB today and really hope this opens a spot for someone in here on the waitlist! It was a super difficult decision but I'm so so excited. 
Anyone else in here going to UBC next year for Clinical in Van? Would love to start a groupchat or something ❤️  I'm from NS so will be very excited to make new friends! 

just wanted to put this out there in case anyone is also attending UBC-O in the fall
School: University of British Columbia-Okanagan
Type: MA Clinical Psychology
Acceptance/Waitlist/Rejection: Accepted off the waitlist (*will be accepting)
Date Notified: March 18th 2021
DM for POI: Yes!!

Supervisor relationship - 100%! This can make or break the graduate school experience. 

Just wanted to share acceptance to SCCP (alberta) master's program!
Feel free to message if you'll also be attending

I got in guys! Thank God!!!! check your emails. .......Okay waiting to hear from everyone - fingers crossed for everyone ....

School: Queen's University
Type: Clinical Psychology (MA)
Acceptance/Waitlist/Rejection: Acceptance 
Date Notified: Mar 8
so excited and beyond grateful to have received my second offer! please feel free to message me for any information. i feel so lucky to even have one acceptance let alone multiple, so if anyone is in a similar boat or wants to talk about decision-making my dms are always open and i'd love to talk it through with you!

Hi everyone! I also received some good (and VERY surprising) news that I have been accepted off the waitlist for McMaster's RCT program. 
School: McMaster University
Type: PhD (technically starts with MA) Psychology
Acceptance/Waitlist/Rejection: Informal acceptance 
Date Notified: Mar 8
DM for POI: Of course

Hey guys! Just thought I would share some good news I received yesterday  
School: Ryerson University
Type: MA Psychology
Acceptance/Waitlist/Rejection: Acceptance
Date Notified: Mar 7
DM for POI: Yes!

Hey all! I got into the Clinical Psychology PhD (6 year) program at the University of Ottawa for this Fall 2021. I was wondering if anyone else was in this program as well
I was offered an interview mid February and heard back within 10 days. The process was quite insightful to the program overall, and the students/faculty were very welcoming! 

Got an acceptance letter from U of Manitoba today! Feel free to PM me if you did too-- I'd love to chat!! (Also feel free to PM for POI as well )
 
School: University of Manitoba
Type: Clinical Psychology Masters/PhD
Acceptance/Waitlist/Rejection: Acceptance
Type of Notification: Email from Department (a letter)
Date Notified: 2/25/21
DM for POI: Yes

Just got email from Lakehead POI and was accepted with funding!!
I didn't apply to external funding as I discovered this POI after scholarship deadlines, so overall funding isn't that high for 1st year Masters. Would welcome any DMs and/or advice re: funding.