absolutelynott

Just FYI, this is last year's thread

Just want to say that I totally feel you, was in this exact position last year (10 apps, 7 interviews, and nothing in the end but a few waitlists and a semi-offer from a PI I had nothing in common with) and it looks like the same might happen this year (applied to 5 this year, 3 interviews, 1 rejection post-interview and still waiting on the other 2 but it feels bleak lol). I also have a really niche research area of interest and it has been a huge hindrance for me (a lot of the feedback I've gotten post-interviews has been related to that), but I'm still determined to do it. But I do feel very hopeless, discouraged, and lost most of the time. If you ever want to vent, feel free to DM

Hi, to anyone who is doing the Fairleigh Dickinson interview today, would you mind sharing what the structure of the interview day was? I.e., how many interviews, who you interviewed with (not names but just like faculty vs. students, was it your POI), individual vs. group?

Thank you so much, this is really helpful! I usually get such vague advice about these sorts of questions, so I really appreciate you giving an example.

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could offer any advice on the best way to answer questions asking you to describe a time that you had a disagreement with a coworker or supervisor and how you handled it? I worry that I don’t come off well when I answer these sorts of questions. I’m not great at storytelling, and I used to be someone who wasn’t great at handling disagreements. What sorts of things are interviewers looking for with this question?

Heya! I interviewed at JJ last year. We were not told ahead of time who we would be interviewing with - rather, we got our entire schedule of interviews the morning of, which was nerve wracking but ultimately not a huge deal because there wasn't really an expectation to know about everyone's research. I can't remember exactly, but I thiiiink it was about 4 faculty interviews, 2 student interviews, 2 info sessions, 2 breaks, and lunch. I could be a bit off but that's more or less how it went, and everyone was on different schedules. It's a long day. I did get to interview with my top POI as well as two of that POI's grad students, but I wouldn't count on that happening for sure. Feel free to DM for more deets/any questions, happy to share.

I applied there as well, haven't heard anything particularly negative about it myself. But idk ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Hi again! Sorry to bring back this old thread haha, but I'm just curious how you interpreted the "talk about yourself" section of the FD personal statement. I know they mentioned talking about non-academic interests and hobbies, but as for talking about "yourself", this always throws me. Like, my personality? My insecurities? I guess I'm just not sure what parts of "myself" are appropriate to share!

Thanks for your reply! Haha nope I have not yet finished my statement for FD, been flooded with coursework and other applications! Thank god for that January 1 deadline. This is good to know - for clarification, did you integrate it into the flow of the rest of your statement, or kind of append it as its own statement at the end of your general statement? Sorry if that doesn't make sense!

Not a dumb question! No I didn't. I honestly don't think anyone on the admissions committee is going to care that much. They are reviewing your writing ability, not the actual content of the paper. That's the job of editorial boards!

Yep that's exactly what I'm doing! I took the most recent (nearly final) draft of my manuscript and just removed the abstract, figures, and references.

Hi all, I'm applying to Fairleigh Dickinson's clinical psych program, and wanted to see if anyone else applying has any insight on the format of the personal statement. The instructions given on PSYCAS are as follows: " A Personal Statement [Required]. You should submit a personal statement describing why you are interested in pursuing an advanced degree in Clinical Psychology. You should describe your profession-related experiences including teaching, research and human services work, and how they relate to this interest. At the end of the personal statement tell us about yourself, your non-academic interests and hobbies." How much of you statement did you/would you dedicate to the part about yourself? Do you think they want a full page, or just a paragraph? Thanks!

To anyone with experience reapplying to a program - should you address in your personal statement the fact that this is your second time applying? I was thinking this would make sense, so that I could comment on what I learned through attending that program's interview last year.

Does anyone have any insight on how many people are put on the waitlist for John Jay's Clinical Psych PhD program? I'm currently on that list and wish I knew what my chances looked like.

Thank you for the clarification! To your knowledge, are professors still in the process of extending invitations to interview? (ie., if I haven’t yet heard from my POI, is there still a chance?) Would it be worth reaching out to my POI individually to inquire?

This morning I emailed the UOttawa graduate program assistant, who just informed me that they are still reviewing applications. She also told me that interviews are not a part of the admissions process for their clinical psych program...is that true? I ask because I thought I saw that someone in this thread was invited to interview at UOttawa? Confused.

Literally was just told that as I was rejected an hour ago. Really hurts. Though I was honest about the reality of my situation with her, and she gave some good advice.

I think she called out of courtesy, because we talked quite a bit throughout the interview process - it would’ve been highly impersonal/inconsistent to reject me over email. She’s a very kind person and we had a lot of good conversations. So I appreciate her making the time. There were only two candidates for her lab, so *technically* I’m waitlisted but I doubt the other applicant will reject the offer.

Sadly it was bad news! But it was an insightful conversation. Encouraged me to reapply next year if she has an opening.

Wahh, thanks guys, very much hope you are right! Will update either way!

Oh boy, just got an email from my POI who I interviewed with 1.5 weeks ago asking if I have time tomorrow to chat briefly...anyone have any insight on if this is good or bad? Heart is POUNDING.

Hi all, I just had an interview on Friday, and I know that the school will be meeting to make their decisions this week. However, the current version of my CV that they have is not entirely up to date (I was given a new/higher up position and more responsibilities in my lab since I applied). Would it be worthwhile to send the DCT my updated CV so they'll have it as they make their decisions? Or would that look bad?

Is Queens totally done inviting people for committee interviews (with faculty other than your POI)?

I also interviewed in January, and no word here either.

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.