throwaway92

Wow, thank you both so much for these replies. Ive been so nervous that I have just been throwing money away applying because of this. It is definitely hard to face rejection yet again especially when I can't just easily blame it on something like a low GPA score or lack of research experience, but the encouragement is really validating to hear. I don't want to give up on my dream and will keep trying! @Itzik - I applied to funded and partially funded programs. I can't afford any student debt on top of what I have from my undergrad. I think I applied to a good mix of programs, nothing super top tier but I have a bit of a more niche research interest so I mainly was just paying attention to research fit with potential mentors.

Is there any possibility of someone being blacklisted from programs because of a history (i.e., 8 years ago) of a mental health struggle, even if nothing about this was disclosed on the application or during the interview? Wondering whether a psych hospitalization would show up on a background check and dissuade a program from extending admission after an interview. For context, I have been very stable since then, graduated from college with a good (>3.5) GPA, have good GRE scores, have 3+ years of clinical research experience with excellent LORs, no trouble getting interviews to clinical programs (this is not my first round). EDIT: I just wanted to add that I have 3 publications in print and 2 in press, along with a number of poster presentations at local and national conferences. However, none of the interviews, even the ones I felt went super well, have materialized into an offer, and in most cases I have been flat out rejected following the interview with no explanation. Wondering if I'm just searching for an excuse in my disappointment, or whether I should be worried that my previous struggles are going to make it impossible for me to get in anywhere...