fixology

Cross-posting from the waitlist thread: When would you guys say it's appropriate to contact a school post-interview to see if you're on a waitlist (if at all)? If so, would you recommend contacting the DCT, your POI, or both? It's been a little over 2 weeks after a few of the interviews I had and I've seen some offers extended from those programs, but have not been rejected either. Am wondering if I could be on the waitlist at at least one of those few, but none of the programs have contacted me about it. Should I reach out, or wait more?

When would you guys say it's appropriate to contact a school post-interview to see if you're on a waitlist (if at all)? If so, would you recommend contacting the DCT, your POI, or both? It's been a little over 2 weeks after a few of the interviews I had and I've seen some offers extended from those programs, but have not been rejected either. Assuming I could be on the waitlist at at least one of those few, but none of the programs have contacted me about it.

What I've done is familiarized myself with the methods the mentor seems to use frequently and the types of measures they typically use (survey, psychophys, interview, fMRI, cognitive tasks, etc) and come up with a couple of ideas synthesizing my research interests with those methods. I'd air on the side of thinking about a couple of broad study ideas and being willing to think on the fly or riff on ideas your PI might bring up. Most probably won't expect you to have all your measures sorted out, but you should probably have somewhat of an idea what you could use if they ask. For example, if you wanted to look at anxiety symptoms, would you want those assessed via interview, self-report, by gathering physiological measures like heart rate, or some other way? If self-reported, would you want to look at EMA or retrospective report? As long as you have a baseline knowledge of what you're talking about and are familiar with their research style (which you should have already if you made it to an interview!) you should be fine after a little bit of prep. Some people don't ask this question at all! But if they do, I've found it helpful to have a couple loosely fleshed-out questions prepared and to be willing to be creative in the moment.

what if I went to a school with the color of poop? ? haha jk... unless?

School: Southern Illinois University (Carbondale) Type: PhD/PsyD Date of invite: 1/20/2020 Type of invite: Email from DCT Interview date(s): 2/23-2/24 PM me if you'd like any more info! The POI I applied to at SIU is leaving, but they offered me the opportunity to interview with a new faculty member conducting similar research.

Would you guys say it's appropriate to have a drink at a happy hour (strictly one), or just to avoid drinking entirely at these events?

School: UNC Greensboro Type: Clinical PhD Date of invite: 1/13/2020 Type of invite: Email from POI Interview date(s): 2/7 and 2/10 Feel free to DM me for more info!

School: Central Michigan University Type: Clinical PhD Date of invite: 1/13 Type of invite: Email from administrative secretary (containing letter from DCT and head of grad admissions) Interview date(s): 2/14 Feel free to DM me if you have any questions The invite is for their Open House—the letter mentioned that they don't do formal interviews per se.

School: Northern Illinois University Type: Clinical Psychology PhD Date of invite: 1/10/2020 Type of Invite: Email Interview date(s): 2/24/20–2/25/20 Feel free to DM me for more info!

I don't think they'd come across as unprofessional, especially if most of your ear piercings have simple studs or bars in. Based on the things I've seen, as long as you stick to minimal jewelry, or only one larger/flashier earring per ear you should be fine. If you have longer hair and wear it down, the people you meet may not see or notice them all anyway. I have several ear piercings as well and am planning to leave them all in!

If anyone is wondering about Vanderbilt, I just spoke to the program coordinator there and they said that the first round of interview invites (Clinical PhD) have already been extended. No official rejections yet, but that sounds pretty definite.

Sucks to hear, but good to know. Thanks for posting!

Would either of the UVA posters be willing to DM me? I’m curious about how the short list emails were worded/sent. Thanks in advance!

I read somewhere that if you’re caught off guard, you should express enthusiasm but say you have an appointment coming up/another commitment and ask if you can schedule a time to chat. It’s never happened to me, so YMMV. You could also just let it go to voicemail and then call back when you’ve had a few minutes to prepare. Applicants have busy lives, and more so than ever people don’t pick up calls from numbers they don’t recognize. Preparing some baseline answers to those tough questions is a good idea, but you probably don’t need to feel obligated to take or continue the surprise call right then and there.

Happy New Year and new decade! Here’s hoping we all close out the next decade with a refined sense of who we are, where we want to be, and what we value most in life (And doctoral degrees!)