ClinicalPsychApp2020

First-year Clinical Psych PhD student here. I think both of your options have their advantages. I have a Master's degree in clinical psych and for me, that was my ticket into a PhD program because of the faculty connections I made at my University. It also helped me grow as researcher/clinician and ultimately, was that middle step I needed before starting a doctoral program. However, even if your research isn't exactly in your field of interest, if you are learning skills that can be transferrable (as mentioned above) to potential labs you want to work in in a PhD program, it still looks good on an application (IMO). If you were to take the research job, I would encourage you to try and spearhead your own project.

Clinical Psych PhD student here - I would not use a letter from a nanny. From many conversations with faculty, letters are used to demonstrate your research and formalized clinical abilities. While you may have learned a lot about child development, employed clinical skills, etc., I do not think it is in your best interest to use her as a writer. If nannying has really impacted your career choice, you could definitely discuss this in your personal statement though!

I’ll talk a bit about my experience to hopefully help inform your decision. When in undergrad, I had a 3.97 GPA, very average GREs, and almost three years of research experience as an RA with a few national conferences and an honors thesis under my belt. Because I do not come from a family in academia/did not have strong mentors, I genuinely thought I had a shot at getting my PhD right after undergrad. I was horribly mistaken, did not have the proper professional mentors to explain just how hard getting into a PhD program is, and ultimately decided to get my master’s in clinical psychology (from the University of Maryland). My experience there was incredible and I gained direct clinical experience and continued my research. I made connections to various faculty across the country and was recently accepted into a fully funded PhD program with my same mediocre test scores (but also a 4.0 Master’s GPA) mainly because of the networking. Because of this, I am very “pro-Master’s” IF the following are applicable (specifically, for a clinically focused path): 1. You can pay for your Master’s through a GA/TA/RA position (UMD offers GA positions so my master’s was fully funded). 2. You need some clarity on where you want to go research-wise or are trying to decide between a career in academia as a researcher or a full-time clinician. 3. The cohort is small enough where you can get individualized attention with your professors. Because of my small class, my professors knew me well and sent applicable opportunity my way when they were available. 4. There are ample opportunities for research or clinical work at the university. 5. You have a very low undergrad GPA (according to my graduate professors, anything at or above a 3.6/3.7 is strong for PhD programs) and are confident you can achieve a high GPA in graduate school. I would not pursue a master’s in clinical psychology that is not funded if you plan for that to be your terminal degree. I also hear the comments about above getting a research coordinator position as an alternative stepping stone. For me, I LOVE being a student and the academic environment keeps me sane. For others, the thought of doing 2 years for a master’s then 5+ for a PhD is CRAZY. It’s really up to you to decide which route you’d prefer (as I’ve learned so much about the PhD interview process and, ultimately, acceptances are based on who you know). Please note that my experience is specifically for a clinical path, I cannot speak to the relevance of my comments for a neuroscience path or social psychology, or developmental, etc. I truly hope this helps and am more than happy to chat privately as well!

University of Illinois at Chicago Clinical Psych PhD - Please message me if you’ve also been accepted! Would love to chat with the incoming cohort ?

School: University of Illinois at Chicago Program: Clinical Psychology Acceptance Date and Notification: February 4th. My POI emailed me to schedule a phone a call that morning to tell me the good news! I have accepted the offer and since received an official offer letter from the University.

I have heard from my POI (MM) and the department, however, all were very personalized emails (as opposed to a seemingly mass email). I’m not sure if all invites have been sent out yet but the interview date is January 31st.

Definitely stay with a graduate student. I recently graduated from a Clinical Psychology Master's program where my professors were on the admissions committee of the University's Clinical PhD program. The number one piece of advice they gave us was to always accept staying with a grad student host for a few different reasons (can DM if you want to talk further). As an introvert myself, I'm also concerned but decided I have to make the best of my stay!

Me too!

Hi there! I just graduated from a top ranked clinical psychology master’s program (I know not social or experimental but still psychology) with some pretty awful GRE scores. I got a 151 on Verbal, 156 on Quantitive, and a 3.5 for the writing section. I was admitted with no mention of my GRE scores. I had a 3.94 GPA, 3 years of research experience that included various poster and oral presentations, and pretty strong LORs in addition to professional experience. I am now applying to PhD programs and have received an interview invite despite these scores as well. Wishing you the best on your exam!

Hmm... nothing has changed about my application status on the portal. Everything is still the same as it was when I submitted weeks ago. There is no "pending" or "under review" anywhere. I did receive the confirmation email so I'm just hoping for the best.

I got this email too! Kind of concerned because I'm worried they sent out two emails - one to invitees and the other with this general message to everyone else but I could be completely wrong and this is just my anxiety speaking. I noticed those interview invites on the Results section too and my heart dropped a bit since this is one of my top choice schools.

Does anyone know if OHSU has sent all invites out yet?

School: University of Illinois, Chicago Type: Clinical Psychology PhD Date of invite: December 11th (Skype Interview) and January 31st (In-Person Interview) Type of invite: Had a Skype Interview with with my POI (can DM Initials) on December 11th and during the call, he invited me to their visitation/interview day being held on January 31st. Interview date(s): January 31st, 2020

I currently work as graduate-level Honor Review Board member at our University's Office of Student Conduct (the people who handle student conduct infractions and academic integrity issues). The best advice I can give is to ask whoever is the director of your undergraduate University's Student Conduct/Academic Integrity department what their advice would be AFTER your hearing. It sounds like you haven't had the review yet and you may not end up with an XF if you argue your case well. I've worked on cases where students fabricated, plagiarized, etc. and did not get an XF (XF is default at our school as well). If you are found responsible and they decide upon a sanction, then go to the director and ask what they would recommend. I think it would be in your best interest to inform your new school once responsibility ad sanctioning has been decided, not before.

Thank you SO much! This response has been extremely helpful.