NeuroLim3

Hey everyone! Congrats on your acceptances
 
I am an incoming student in the RCT program at McMaster as well^ — reach out if you are too! 

Hey everyone! Congrats on your acceptances
 
I am an incoming student in the RCT program at McMaster as well^ — reach out if you are too! 

Hi everyone! I'll be starting this fall at McMaster in the RCT program   I'd love to connect with other students in my cohort 

Does anyone have any insight on what next year's application cycle will look like? Less competitive? More competitive? Do you think the GRE is gone for good at most schools? 

Does anyone have any insight on what next year's application cycle will look like? Less competitive? More competitive? Do you think the GRE is gone for good at most schools? 

Just wanted to share something with everyone that I hope will help - when making a decision, it is not only research fit that matters but also how the POI is as a human being (personality/ethics/mindset) that will make or break you in grad school. I got accepted after 3 years of applying, and found out that my supervisor was super nice during the interview but quickly turned unsupportive, toxic, exploitative, and overall horrible when the semester started. I thought this was all in my head or that I'm too soft, but it turned out that 3-4 other students have filed a complaint against them in the past 2 years and they are currently under investigation due to their misconduct and unfair treatment of their grad students. I voluntarily withdrew and have to apply again to other places (as I didn't want to switch to another supervisor (there wasn't a good research fit with anyone)). 
As such, I highly recommend speaking with their current or past students if you can (I never got the chance to - should have been a red flag) and getting their opinions on how the POI is as a PERSON. So so important! It'll save you lots of time, money, and your self-confidence in the future. 

I applied to Adult Clinical (Neuropsych) and haven't been contacted by York but the portal still says "No decision yet- still under consideration". Is anyone else in the same situation? Not sure if that means anything or my rejection is pending

Thank you so much for sharing!

Does anyone know what kind of questions I can expect in an official interview with a panel of faculty?
I have already met with my POI a couple times and she hinted at the questions being more general with the panel. The questions I’m seeing online seem more relevant to one-on-one meetings (related to specific research ideas, structure of the lab, PI personal work style, etc.)
Pls share any insight on this! I’m happy to chat through DM if you prefer
 

hi!! good luck on your interview :))
i think generally you're right about broader questions. i've been in two panel interviews so far (with one more coming up) and i've been asked both times about my thesis, what draws me to X school, what draws me to X faculty's research, how i plan to practice self-care or achieve work-life balance, what my clinical interests are, and so on! there were also a few "tell me about a time when....." where i had to describe how i resolved a conflict with a teammate or supervisor, solved a problem, encountered an academic or personal challenge, things like that. there were also some "fun" questions about my hobbies or interests. 
i think the goal of panel interviews is so that other faculty are able to weigh in on whether and how much you're a fit for the program. i personally find answering general questions tougher than the specific one-on-one with POI questions, but that's just me! of course these are just my experiences and i'm not sure how helpful they are to your particular situation, but feel free to message me ❤️ 

Does anyone know when the official interview dates for McMaster are?

Does anyone know when the official interview dates for McMaster are?

School: Ryerson
Type: Clinical Psychology MA
Date of invite: December 28
Type of invite: Email from POI
Interview date(s): Choice from several dates/times
 
woke up this morning with a feeling that I'd hear something and then BAM an email! So beyond excited and nervous!

https://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php?q=Clinical+Psychology
Or you can search with a specific university name. For example, "Ryerson clinical psychology"

PM me if you applied to McMaster if you want to chat about POI!

I did mine the first way you said, all my research experiences first and talked about them in chronological order and then did my clinical experiences and then my future goals and current research interests.

They mean the general faculty not the specific supervisor.

While it is great that you achieved high scores, I would advise against this. If the program stated that they are going to remain GRE blind (i.e., not consider scores at all in their evaluation of the applicant), and then you add the scores on your CV, it could be interpreted negatively. For instance, it could imply that you cannot follow instructions, or do not respect that evaluation process. Just my opinion. If the university is "optional" on GRE scores, sending the official report in I think is enough. Adding it to your CV may be redundant/unnecessary. 

Note: this is my opinion only LOL
I actually just asked my PhD Supervisor this last week and he laughed and said memberships are lowkey useless. If you're involved in a leadership capacity within an organization (student chair, student rep etc), then yes its useful. CPA membership is useful when your a clinician as you get a discount on insurance. I have a CPA membership and the only thing I got out of it was a MindPad publication. Also discounts on CPA conference but we'll see how things are with COVID disrupting in-person confs.

I had a video meeting with a POI from UTSC today  Ryerson I only got general responses from the emails I sent out telling me to apply.

I have personally had a wonderful experience on being co-supervised! Personally, I don't think it's an issue of the particular program but rather the supervisors you would be co-supervised by, their supervision styles, their relationship and willingness to work together, and of course, your own research interests. I have had friends in both clinical and other psych programs that have had great and terrible experiences - the experience was dictated by all the factors I just outlined. For that reason, I would more so query the supervisors you would be interested being co-supervised by and in particular, request a joint meeting if the co-supervision is viable and agreed upon to gauge what that co-supervision would look like.

I definitely second what @Mickey26 has suggested. Generally, in my experience my referees have asked for 2 weeks notice but I personally like to ask/give them a heads-up about a month in advance out of courtesy. Additionally, you have possibly already had this conversation with your referees but sometimes they may request you write your own letter which they will submit (with edits as necessary), or ask you to provide specific examples of what you would like to be discussed in your reference letter. In those cases, it's helpful for you to have as much time as necessary then!

Ask your referees. Its very idiosyncratic. General rule of thumb is a minimum 1 mth heads up, which one of my referees subscribed to. My other just wanted 2 weeks heads up. So ask them to confirm what their preferences are.

You want to apply for as much funding as humanely possible. You are always more competitive when you've noted that you applied to funding, be it CGSM, OGS, what have you. But please dont lie on your application--be honest. Don't say you applied to CGSM for say, York, if you didn't.

My understanding of OGS is that it encompasses all the Ontario schools you apply to, thus no limit. But I applied two yrs ago, things may have changed. Additionally, I only applied to 1 Ontario school so.
I was strategic with CGSM. I picked two of my top ranked/dreams schools, and then a lower tier one just in case. 
CGSM is federal so should be more competitive, theoretically? Honestly it depends on the applicants you are up against, additionally with chance and luck as unknown factors.