I recently interviewed with a clinical psych program and was notified by the PI that they would like to give me an offer, just not for the clinical track. The research fit is amazing, and I really like the program in general after the interview.
However, clinical psychology has always been my passion, and getting clinical training has been my goal all along. This is my third time applying, and even though I know how competitive and especially difficult this cycle has been, I am starting to have some doubts about whether clinical psych is for me.
I am not especially keen on becoming a therapist, and I know that is not the only thing clinical training offers us. I also haven't been exposed to much clinical work to know what to anticipate. I guess another major door that would close by going nonclinical is conducting research on clinical samples or behaviors, especially if I want to do any intervention work. My POI doesn't work directly with clinical populations, but their research is clinically-oriented.
The thought of going through another cycle/year of this is soul-deadening, but I don't think I should feel like I need to compromise on my career goals if I can help it either. That said, I'd like to hear what everyone thinks about this and what you would do if you were in this situation. I also heard that you could transfer to clinical later even if you weren't initially admitted to clinical. Does anyone know how likely this is?
Thanks everyone, any feedback is much appreciated!