BananazPsych

I did this last year and was accepted into one and not the other. In my interview for the program I was accepted, I was asked where else I had applied and what programs. When I stated the other program within the same school I was asked why. My answer was simply that I realize there are multiple pathways to achieving the same end goal and that I felt both programs shared a lot of overlap and both offered what I needed to pursue my interests. I was admitted to the one that I answered this into, so just be truthful - there really is a lot of overlap in different programs with the same opportunities to pursue your research. 

I'll be applying to continue to the PhD in SCCP at UAlberta. I'm only applying to this program because my supervisor is such a great person and so easy to work with, I want to stay in Alberta and work permanently in the province, and the program is a perfect fit. Currently, I'm heading into my second year of my master's in SCCP this fall. As many of you have mentioned, once your foot is in the door, things get (somewhat) easier. I say somewhat easier because there's always going to be pressure to produce meaningful research contributions, secure funding, etc. Students who are currently completing their masters in my program and who apply for the PhD get prioritized in the application cycle, so I feel like a big weight has been lifted off of my shoulders in that regard. Originally, I wasn't sure if I'd continue to the PhD since I could technically register with my masters in Alberta and I'm itching to get back into the professional workforce, but given that the SCCP program is a dual specialization, I've realized that I need the full scope of training to feel competent in my field. Plus, the 1600-hour internship can be used to fulfill part of our registration requirement in Alberta for those wanting to be a psychologist, so it's nice that it's integrated in the PhD program.
For people who are just starting out and applying for CGS-M funding, my best advice is (1) feel free to take a few lines in your proposal to talk about yourself and your training/preparation. Your proposal doesn't have to be all about what you're going to research and the what, where, when, why and how of it all. You can also talk about why you're the best person to conduct the research, including your training and supports you have in place to ensure you will get the study done in a timely manner. Think of it as you're selling your study AND yourself to a reader/committee. As well, (2) it's often great to talk about dissemination and knowledge mobilization plans. It speaks to the impact your research will have. Finally, (3) get as many people as you can from within your field and outside of your field to read your proposal drafts. After many revisions, when I thought I was ready to submit my proposal, I had yet another person read it, which led to switching the order of paragraphs. Up until that point I had never considered changing the order of ideas that drastically. While I'm sure each university is different in what they look for, I can confirm that I did all of these things and I was successful in the 2020 CGS-M competition, so hopefully those little pieces of advice will help others.

Hey Everyone  I know it's a bit early but I wanted to create a space for counselling psychology 2022 applicants to come to! I'm looking forward to applying! I recently noticed that the McGill Counselling Psychology Professional/Internship stream isn't accepting applicants for Fall 2022 start, which I'm a little disappointed about... 
Looking forward to sharing this space with you all ?

Hi Everyone, 
I got my acceptance from Western University for Counselling a few weeks ago. However, I also got an acceptance for a Masters of Social Work. The social work program is actually offering essentially free tuition in scholarships and after reviewing the colleges regulations for both professions a social worker is able to perform psychotherapy (after 2 years supervision)  and counsel clients as soon as they graduate; versus the counselling programs in Ontario only gives 200ish hours of practicum and you need 1000 to register to be a psychotherapist and also need to write the EEEP exam to be certified whereas social work you do not need these things. I talked with a social worker, counsellor, psychologist and all say the same: The overlap in the professions is massive and you can get to the same point career wise and see the same clients in the same settings as other mental health professionals. Ultimately this is leading me to reject my offer from Western University for counselling and pursue social work. 
Some of you will be skeptical about this and possibly think it is dumb of me to do social work instead of doing counselling (which admittedly i thought of myself) but the social justice work, the ability to counsel and the opportunity to be at the same spot as a psychotherapist seems too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially with the scholarships. I say this all because like you folks, Ive been on this forum and experienced rejection from schools and been discouraged. However, please take some time to think about other avenues to get to the same spot, occupational therapists, social workers, nurses, counsellors, psychotherapists, and psychologists among some others can all perform a lot of the same tasks. I wanted counselling and thought that was the only route until I learned about social work and their ability to do psychotherapy and it completely changed my view on where my career is going to go and what I value and actually want. 
 
Good luck to everyone in the coming school year, round of applications and everything else. Im more than willing to answer any questions or concerns or PM me if you want to talk more. 

Hey - same here. I feel you, it sucks. 
I'm holding out a shred of hope for SFU, although the program is so incredibly competitive (aren't they all, I suppose). Apparently they had over 300 applicants this year, narrowed down to ~30 interviews, and then down to ~12 places. Crazy! 

Finally got my letter for the MA in Clinical and Counselling just now (rejection), but still nothing for the MEd. Guessing it's coming shortly as well... or I hope so at least! Waiting has been a painful game

It’s totally fine to do that. Those questions can be asked in the actual interview. Speaking as a current clinical student, pre-interview contact with POIs is not as big of a deal as it seems. It’s actually not that common to have early meetings like that and I know a lot of faculty who avoid it. 

anecdotally, as someone who has spoken with successful matriculates about the "flirtation" of pre-application interviews, there are two pieces of advice that stuck with me.
1. don't count your chickens before they hatched. even if YOU feel interviews went well, these PIs are also being approached by highly qualified applicants that are also trying hard to establish a personal connection. from what i heard, i would really only say establishing a "personal connection" helps if you 1) score a RA position to work with the POI before the cycle, or 2) find out you two have a common connection in the field - which will show up in your application hopefully through LORs anyway.
2. application is king. i took this lesson from the medical school community's phrase "GPA is king". you hear stories about how people apply without once speaking with the POI, perceiving their interviews to be mediocre, and getting the "cold shoulder" in their follow-ups post-interview. Yet they still get in.
the best advice is can give, especially for those other neurotic people here on this forum, is to focus on your application, not on "courting" POI (potentially a huge time sink). if anyone else has differing views, it would be great to hear them.