Keyz

Is it advised to ask places you have been rejected from to provide feedback on your app?

PSA: As acceptances start to roll in, this is just a friendly reminder to everyone from someone with lots of contract experience, NEVER ACCEPT A POSITION UNTIL YOU HAVE YOUR FUNDING PACKAGE IN WRITING (unless, of course, you are not expecting funding). Even if it is your top choice and you've been dying to go for the last 20 years... I cannot stress enough; get that s**t in writing.  

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.”

Eating my anxieties away. Happy national Nutella day! ?

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!

That's exactly how I feel haha. I just wish some of my programs would go ahead and reject me already - at least then I would have some finality and stop hoping.

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).

So. I know Drexel interviews are like, two days from now.
And I know I am probably rejected with 99.999999% certainty (because duh, interviews in 2 days).
But some dumb part of my brain is still thinking, "Wait but what if they just messed up and they really meant to invite you?!?!?!"
Haha...... ?

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.

Every time I read some of these "What are my chances..." posts on here, my recommendation is almost always the same: Step 1- Begin reading this guide.
If you still believe a Ph.D. or Psy.D. is the best degree for you (vs. a practice-oriented, LMSW/MHC route, which in my opinion would be the most appropriate for your interests and career goals, based on what you disclosed), move on to: Step 2- Purchasing the following book. Both give you a solid foundation to start with.

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. 

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!

Yeah, my grad student host told me it’s not as stressful as it seems, that it’s mostly about seeing if I’m a good fit, but that was before she sent me the schedule! I have an exam the following Monday, and with the weather, I’m looking at 12 hour travel days on each side. I’m trying to get my vitamins, meds, and sleep in, but stressing about this is making it worse.
Thank you for all of your responses. I’m trying to remember that I was invited because they want me to be the right fit, no one is hoping I’ll fail!

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. 

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. 

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!

I see. Best of luck to you!! They probably received a lot of applicants this year and had to do this...

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.

I haven't received an in-person interview invite from Iowa State yet, however, after my phone interview I was told to wait a week or two to hear back about what's next, which sounds promising. However, since I live in Iowa and go to school here, we had a big snow storm in the midwest during the past week that has apparently delayed things for some other midwest schools and there is an upcoming winter storm due to hit this weekend. So there is a chance that that could be impacting things as well. However, the graduate students in my research lab also told me that the length of time depends on the department figuring out funding and how many people they are able to invite to interview based off of the funding available and then do so accordingly. But seeing as it's listed on their website that in-persons should be conducted the last Friday of January and first Friday of February, I would assume that at the latest we should have an update by early next week.