Keyz

Honestly same, I weigh internally whether closure is worth it or not - probably is. The best part is when you get waitlisted because it’s basically a “well you’re not good enough but maybe you are so now wait even longer with anxiety.”

Same, it’s such a weird feeling. Like you have this false sense of hope but at the same time the sadness and anxiety of knowing you’re most likely not going to have a chance (dunno if that holds true for you or not but I definitely sympathize).

Hopefully finding this out hasn’t broken your spirit. I know for me being waitlisted really took a damper on my mental well being so I’m sending good vibes your way just in case. Hopefully that slot opens up and you get in. Or if you have other interviews I’m sure you’ll do great!

No, it is not a "clinical experience" per se, but every single faculty within clinical or counseling that I have ties to wants some form of clinical exposure and largely for people coming from undergrad, as this post entails, can only do so through volunteer opportunities like at a local crisis lifeline, which my mentors count as a form of clinical exposure. Now, if the thread were to be about clinical experience in general, then yes, after completion of a bachelors you can find SOME opportunities to provide more direct clinical experience. But, yes, ultimately research is more important than some form of exposure to clinical work but you also need to have that in order to be a competitive applicant, I know many PIs within my own clinical department at my school that will disregard applications that are otherwise strong along the lines of GPA, GRE scores, and research experience if they have not shown any sort of volunteer experience like at a crisis line, since you will end up having an entire year internship around year 5. So to say that no one cares about this experience isn't quite sound advice because there are professors that do care about this stuff and it's something that's not hard to obtain.

I have to disagree with your point on volunteering on crisis lines and whatnot as simply volunteer experience. I feel as though this is not good advice, especially since you are most likely not going to be doing any form of psychotherapy or one-on-one counseling with clients with a BA. A vast majority of programs count volunteering at crisis lines or shelters as clinical work because you are indirectly providing a form of therapy for clients who call in and usually have to go through some form of training in order to be able to volunteer.

UNL also has professors within the counseling department that research mindfulness, positive psychology, and in fact one professor currently is doing research on how yoga affects trauma. So that could also be something you might possibly be interested in.

I agree, if you can find a PsyD program with funding I'd go with that. If you aren't interested in research, you shouldn't just want to do it because a program requires it. That's a great way to get burnt out and dislike your years in grad school. PsyD programs are a lot easier to get into since they do not guarantee funding whatsoever so they can take on far more students than PhD programs, but it's good if you are more interested in practice than research.

It really depends on the program. Some will have the entire faculty meet and then send out emails to the candidates that they want all at once. Others will meet and then the faculty decide which applicants they want to have an interview with, meaning that separate emails go out at different times per POI. However, if you didn't make the interview cut it doesn't necessarily mean you are done because they could always be saving you as an alternate for an interview in case someone declines last minute or decides not to accept admittance. The best thing to do is email whoever is designated on the website to answer application questions and just gently ask about interview invites.

Yeah I agree with this. The only thing you want to be weary of is the fact that those grad students are also essentially a part of the interview and it could come off and being unprepared if you ask them at the actual interview. Beforehand probably isn’t too big of a deal.

Gotcha, no problem. I would prepare for them the same way just keeping in mind the multiculturalism and social justice aspects. I'm sure you'll do just fine.

It depends on what you mean. Compared to what? If you mean compared to clinical (based off of your profiled programs) counseling psychology programs emphasize multiculturalism and social justice. Prepare yourself to be asked how you feel about those and how you can contribute to them. Other than that the interview questions will be pretty similar among all psychology mediums meaning research interests, why you chose that program, etc.

Exactly, you are going there for a reason and that's because you have something that others don't. You are valuable and they see that in you and want to learn more. It does definitely suck being sick, having this terrible weather (the midwest is just... let's not even talk about it), and long days. Just remember that the stress is absolutely normal. Being apprehensive about such a big event in your life is bound to wreak havoc on you and it is simply helping you prepare to be the best that you can, so use it to it's full potential rather than allow it to consume you. I wish you the best of luck and hope that you start feeling better!

Depending on the program, this is very normal. You usually will meet with a majority of the other professors within the core faculty of the program you applied to, not just your POI. Interviewing with grad students is less normal but some programs see it as integral since these are people that you will be working with for multiple years to come, so they are also scouting out whether you are someone that would be a good addition or not.

I think that the biggest thing to remember is that they are people too. Ask them what they enjoy doing in their free time, what there is to do around campus and in whatever city the campus resides in, etc. The PI of the lab that I'm an RA in prefers to be treated like a person and asked questions as such at open houses or social gatherings. In his opinion, professional talk is great for a formal interview, but he likes to get to know his potential students on a personal level and whether they are enjoyable people in general (and vice versa for his potential students to get to know him) at more casual events like open houses.

Potential collaborations is such a great question to ask for. A lot of times faculty collaborate with one another on many projects due to common interests in one area. For example all of the professors at one of my programs collaborate on multiple projects so that they can further each other's research while also catering to their specific areas of interest. In fact at one of my interviews they were very happy to be asked about potential collaborations because not many people are aware of it and think that the programs are very cut-throat and the faculty are in competition with one another.

No problem! Good luck with everything though, I know that it's super stressful waiting, but I always tell myself good things come to those who wait so hopefully that strikes true for you!

For UMassBoston I typed "Boston counseling" in the search bar of the results page and the third submission from the top stated such, unless I'm confusing colleges which I most definitely could be.

Historically the northeastern schools tend to send out invites a bit later than other schools. Fordham and NYU typically send theirs mid-late January so there's a chance that you will hear back soon. However, UMassBoston has sent out a mass email of interview invites for February 8th apparently.

As @dancedementia pointed out, counseling is slowly catching up to clinical and are basically on even footing (and usually the two programs collaborate heavily) and therefore I would suggest a suit if you want to be safe. The best advice that I've been given is that it's way easier to dress down than it is to dress up. So if you end up wearing a suit you can always take off the jacket for a "less formal" outfit. However, my lab professor also advised me that he has a certain preference for his grad students which is business casual, so sometimes it is best to send a quick email out to the department that you are interviewing for and simply ask what they recommend.

@NiceCupofTea Piggybacking off of this, I also think that it's beneficial to at least look at what the other POIs do for research. Obviously you don't have to go super in depth but you can always just ask them a little bit about their own research, future projects, or even if they have considered tying in some part of what you are interested in into a future project (may or may not be beneficial depending on their interests). None of these could hurt to ask them. But also like sun&stars said it's also nice to have some more general questions, although it can also help to have some that are not specifically directed at the program or research because they are people as well and have knowledge about other things than just their research.

Yeah I was told that they received a large number of qualified applicants this year. My email is just kind of weird because it basically places me in limbo and I have no idea what will even happen whereas it looks like the other emails are more definitive on being rejected. If you still haven't received an email there is a chance that they might still email you, but I also know that some schools don't even send out emails until as late as April.

I know this is most likely kind of a stupid suggestion, but if you know any grad students through a lab or any other sort of affiliation, that can be a great way to get information from someone who is currently experiencing it. I know that I lean on my grad students in my current research lab as far as what to expect and their experiences and they even lean on me sometimes. If that is something that you can do then I think it is another form of support that can help you prepare for grad school and who knows, maybe you will keep in touch with them and they will help you survive grad school as well!

Hey! Sorry, late response, I've been busy this weekend. But yes, I heard back from my POI and my email was a bit different from the rest of the emails that others have gotten in the fact that I was told that I am at the top of the alternate/wait list due to my "fit" and that I will receive notice of any further developments.

I know it probably sucks but if it helps give you closure, UNL sent out all of their invites the week of the 17th back in December for interview day this Friday the 25th. But if you have received any other invitations I wish you the best of luck with all of them!

No problem! I know how you feel though, the anxiety of waiting and mindless email refreshing gets to you after a while. But good luck to you as well, hopefully good news comes soon enough.