Madpudding

I opted to work as a paid laboratory manager in lieu of doing a Master's program so take this second-hand knowledge with a grain of salt...
However, I have only heard good things/success stories from the following three Master's programs (note I'm talking individuals interested in ultimately pursuing Clinical PhD only):
- William and Mary
- Villanova
- Wake Forest
All three have at least some fully-funded lines for Master's study as well.
However, I haven't heard much specifically negative about other programs, just that I haven't heard good things.

Don’t go to Fordham if your goal is to get into PHD programs. You can get the same opportunities working as a RA somewhere and not go into debt.
 
i know SDSU is a very competitive program that does help its students move to the next step.
if I was to retake my masters, I would look for programs that have doctoral programs above them in big public schoool university settings. KU, Kentucky, MIZZOU etc
 

That is an insane amount of money for a masters program. I would go with either shooting for funded programs or go for the cheapest option possible that requires a thesis to graduate. If you want to stay in the NYC area, check out CUNY programs. They are high quality will a cheap price tag. You don't want to be saddled with tons of debt for a stepping stone degree. Better yet, try to find a paid research assistant position. 

Congrats! He seems like he would be a great mentor. I applied and didn't make the cut but am wishing you the best  

Just got an offer for POI: KD's lab at University of Florida! Formal offer to come late next week, but will likely accept   SO excited!

Recently received an offer from Texas Tech - clinical PhD (POI:SM). I am probably going to accept! If you were also extended an offer and are thinking of accepting it, PM me! I can't wait to meet my future colleagues  

Hi all! I had my interview recently and I'm looking for some insight!
The interview I had with my POI felt SUPER casual. To the point where I'm not sure if they really got to know me and my research interests well. I mean, I talked briefly about my experiences and how I got interested in the field, but other than that, we had a conversation that was tangential to my interests. I wasn't able to ask them many questions. It felt like a positive conversation but I left the interview wondering if I was able to sell myself enough. Does anyone else have experience with this? I mean, I figure they have my CV and personal statement & maybe it was just an interpersonal skills/personality check?
Additionally, I really felt like I hit it off with the grad students and was able to articulate my research interests & have intellectual discussions with them (as well as fun discussions, too!). They pretty much told me they'd love to have me in the lab, I'm their favorite applicant, the POI really likes me, etc. Of course, I feel like I should take it with a grain of salt & not get my hopes up too much, but is this a good sign? Is this common for grad students to say?
I do hope I get in because I really loved the program! Just want some objective opinions on all of this!

Hi everyone!
Question: I got an unofficial (email from POI) offer today from my first choice and accepted! I will be waiting for the official email first, but once I have that is it considered good form to reach out to programs I have interviewed at but not heard back from yet to please "remove me from consideration" since I have accepted an offer at another program? 
Appreciate any advice on how to navigate this. Thanks, and good luck to everyone as those offers start rolling in!

Some things I saw people do that gave of bad vibes:
- Not talk with anybody (creep vibes) or only talk with people who are in their prospective lab. We are ALL going to give feedback on you as grad students if we can. NEVER say things like oh 'I don't want to talk with X/X's prospectives/X's grad student because I'm not going to go to their lab anyway' - that is just rude). It doesn't mean that you have to talk with EVERY person in the room, but try to just talk with people and just ask where they're from and what their research is about. Probably ask what they like about their current school and what the school could do better.
- Generally don't say things as oh I don't have an research questions, I just like analyzing data or things like that. Know what you want to do - even if it's just a broad topic that you feel comfortable talking about. Like what are you interested in?
- Try to avoid making negative comments about your current institute. It's fine to ask about work-life balance and mentoring style. But don't frame ti as 'is PI easily available, because my current one is never there'.

Some insight after my first interview (this was for a research-intensive Counseling Psych program):
-Definitely have a specific idea for a study you would like to propose. They don't expect you to actually follow through with it, but they will definitely ask. I was a little thrown by how much detail they wanted - measures, hypotheses, etc. However I don't think asking for that degree of detail is super common; I was told these were a pretty intense pair of faculty members who interrogated me about this. But it doesn't hurt to have the details nailed down should it come up. They want to see you have realistic ideas and can form hypotheses.
-Know your own research!! I can't stress this enough. In the same interview I was just discussing previously, I was telling them about my senior thesis which used mediational/moderational statistical analyses. One of the faculty member then asked "Could you please explain to me what mediation and moderation really mean?" I was able to explain it, but this was research I had done 3 years ago...so know your stuff.
-In my clinical/practice-focused interview I was given a case study and asked to assess the case/make diagnoses. It wasn't hard, but still, something to be aware of.
- Overall it's really not that bad. 20 minutes feels like 5 minutes when you enjoy talking about your research. You should seem passionate and excited - I got a lot of really positive facial feedback when they saw how passionate I was (or maybe they thought I was crazy - who knows). And it makes time go that much faster.

Hi all! I had an interview last weekend, and my biggest piece of advice is: be ready to talk! 
I expected interviews to be fairly structured but they were not at all. I had 5 in total, each 20 mins, and 2-3 of the profs had no questions for me. It was just kind of "So, what do you want to talk about?" or "What questions do you have for me?" Even my POI didn't have any questions! (We had skyped last month and she seemed to feel like she already knew what she needed to know!)
So have questions, or study ideas, or topics of conversation ready. 
And for the profs that did ask questions, it was almost always "what research do you want to do?" so be prepared with a short speech about that, and be prepared for follow up questions and just generally to talk about your research ideas and interests.

Just had my first interview. I think it went well. 
 
Things I didn't expect:
-How little time was interviewing. 2 1-on-1 interviews (30 minutes each) and the rest was talking to grad students, dinner social, round table discussions, a presentation, and campus tours. 
-The awkwardness of talking to the clinical director and other administrative staff. It was really hard to come up with questions for them (and this was after a presentation about the program that already answered any question I had). 
-How much I was grilled in one of my interviews. The prof was actually asking me about specific details from my POI's journal articles. 
-How casual and comfortable the interview with my POI was! 
-How honest and upfront the grad students were with me about funding, stipend, and my POI's positives and negatives.
-How interesting it was to talk to the other applicants. Also, how much time I spent around/socializing with the other applicants. 
 
Suggestions:
-Bring blister band aids, even if you think you won't need them.
-Bring floss (you'll be eating and you don't want things stuck in your teeth after breakfast/lunch).
-Plan out your bathroom visits. I'm serious. Look at your schedule and decide when would be good times to go.
-If you have a break, plan to maybe call a loved one during that time. It will be a relief to talk to someone without having to worry about your image and the loved one can give you positive affirmation and words of support. So after your call, you can head back to the interview refreshed and in a better mood. 
-Have a prepared list of questions to ask your POI, written down, that you can pull out and take notes on as your POI responds. 
-Even if you've read them before, go over your POI's recent journal articles on your flight there so everything is fresh in your mind.
-Bring Tylenol pm, so if you're too nervous to sleep before interview day, you can knock yourself out. 
-Have some prepared statements about hobbies. They shouldn't be rehearsed, but have a bullet list in your mind, because you will be surprised how often they become a talking point.

hey - just wanted to say thank you to the people posting about their interviews as they have them! they definitely help ease some of the stress

GOOD LUCK to those interviewing this weekend.
Please update us on how they go. You guys will do great!!  

What are you doing to study? Sounds like you may need to switch up your technique. Gregmat (YouTube and reddit) has been really helpful for people who get stuck in a rut. It’s expensive, but I got a private tutor through Kaplan and that really helped me too after not being able to improve.

i think this generally happens after offers for PhD have been extended. schools that do this will also usually wait until all the masters applications are in so they can review everyone at once, so it might be relevant if you can see online when masters applications are due or if they have a timeline for the masters program process posted anywhere!
for reference though, boston university (who i applied to last round) also offers you the chance to be considered for the masters. i checked my email and last year i got my rejection notification + invite to masters for them on February 25th, but I didn't need to decide if i wanted to be considered until May 1st.

Harvard applicants: can someone who has been in contact with their POI share a little info on the situation?? The several posts about the significant cut in spot availability are making me worried now that two different POIs are no longer taking students... I applied to JW. Has anyone heard from him?

Does anyone have any cases where they had multiple interviews during an application round, but didn't get accepted to any of them? I've got three interviews so far, but I'm really nervous I won't be accepted to any of them and will have to try again next year (not that that's the worst thing, but still nervous). Any help? Anything you would have done differently? Thanks so much! Feel free to PM me if you don't feel comfortable posting publicly.

Same with RM at Harvard

I just finished my first interview. I can't speak for all programs, but this one made visiting day so easy. It was relaxed yet professional and informational. If you haven't been to any interviews yet, just know that it's not anywhere near as scary as you are thinking it is. You've got this! 

Thank you. 
I am incredibly fortunate to be in this position, but I will say it is validating after multiple prior rounds (3 and then a year where I applied to only one school) to finally be doing this all right somehow.
I am also fortunate to be in a financial and employment situation which is allowing me to do this travel.  I will be attending 10 out of 11 interviews (hoping for 11/12, come on UIUC) because I need to get this right.  I have been advised to take as many interviews as possible, even if I initially think a place will be a worse fit/location/etc. because so much rides on just what feels right. 
I was unable to fit the 11th in my schedule (either scheduled date or any alternates) and completed a Skype interview.
I cannot complain because again, I really acknowledge how privileged I am, but I will say that I am running on coffee and clif bars.

FYI, reached out to Harvard and they said faculty are currently reviewing applications and conducting interviews. Interviews would most likely be before Feb 6. Decisions to be sent out early March.
Hope that helps!

Any more info on Yale / Harvard?

Called the program coordinator at SDSU and she informed me that they have not finished sending out interview invitations and aiming to have all sent by Tuesday because of the Monday holiday

Some professors aren't looking for perfection. For one, it doesn't exist. And if I were in their position I would be looking for someone who is not only competent academically but also someone who I could see myself working with closely for 6+ years. I'm not claiming this is you or that every professor views applicants this way, but a lot of times the students that have the "perfect" application (i.e. top scores; a plethora of experiences) are also highly neurotic which can be good and bad. As hard as it may be during this time, keep your expectations and anxiety in check. It is not super healthy to compare yourself to your peers during this time; you are not them and I'm assuming the professors/schools they applied to are not identical to yours so you can not expect identical results. Don't set yourself up for disappointment by having unreasonable expectations.