Biopsychosocialyzing

Saw that someone got an invite from Fordham Counseling PhD program, anyone know if they are sending out invitations on a rolling basis? 

Anyone else slowly losing it one day at a time and feeling this is a make or break week?

Anyone else slowly losing it one day at a time and feeling this is a make or break week?

Anyone else slowly losing it one day at a time and feeling this is a make or break week?

Anyone else slowly losing it one day at a time and feeling this is a make or break week?

Anyone else slowly losing it one day at a time and feeling this is a make or break week?

Anyone else slowly losing it one day at a time and feeling this is a make or break week?

Anyone else slowly losing it one day at a time and feeling this is a make or break week?

Oh! Got it. Well, then, I'm hopeful! 

Anyone here apply to Fordham Counseling PhD? 

A couple of people made similar comments so I'm going to do a general reply-
I am trying to be sensitive to folks having different opportunities but also there are minimum requirements for at least some types of programs (like mine). If you want to serve people as a clinician you should strongly consider master's degrees. Many of the clinicians in my city are LCSWs or LPCs. This is a shorter and less competitive route, and you will be able to meet the mental health needs that we all know are out there. Clinical psych admissions processes absolutely do limit who becomes clinical psychologists, but many clinical psychologists go into research and admin positions. If you want to be a clinician there are many other options.
I think this is probably going to come across as ruder than I mean, but this is not an easy path. If it was easy, many more people would have PhDs in clinical psychology. I switched majors and found a lab at my R1 undergrad that wasn't in my exact interest area (not clinical psych) but it was experience, and with my other credentials I was admitted to an R1 Phd program in clinical psych. Now this wasn't in 2020-21, but it wasn't in 1980 either. I did work during undergrad but it was more to support my lifestyle than my actual life so I don't claim to have that experience, but my students now do sometimes work nearly full-time on top of being in a lab as a volunteer and other things. They also sometimes start at a CC and transfer and are trying to catch up by joining a lab ASAP. It's not easy, but it's what's required if you want to go down this path. I also said this before but I'll say it again because I'm not sure people noted it- you do not need years of RA experience and tons of publications to get admitted. You need some, but the bar is not that unrealistically high at many places. At some top schools and some top labs, yes, but at other places a couple of conference presentations might be perfectly fine if other things fit well.
I'm also a little unfamiliar with the concept of an R1 as out of reach for folks for personal (not academic) reasons. I know all education is getting expensive everywhere, but every state has a state university system and in-state tuition. I actually think of R1s as equalizers because it's not like you have to go to Harvard to get ahead. U of Illinois or U of Montana should be perfectly fine because there will be researchers on faculty there, and it seems like a better investment of loans or whatever you have to go to UW-Madison than UW-Parkside if you have aspirations beyond college in higher ed. 
And for folks who don't or can't meet the typical standards- hope is not lost. I did go to grad school right out of undergrad but then I twiddled my thumbs a little while there, stayed longer than I could have, went to a clinical internship that was not a great fit, and postdoc-ed for years before my TT position. If I had done everything right I could have had an easier time on the TT job market than I did. I got where I wanted to be, but I had to do it in a more roundabout way than I would advise. It's possible.

I'm a faculty member in a clinical PhD program and I appreciate that applicants have worked hard to get their information together and are motivated to join the field, but there are a couple of common problems:
1) lack of $$- petition your state legislatures and such to fund higher ed better. Even if we wanted to take 10 students in a year we wouldn't be able to pay them all tuition remissions/stipends and we don't have enough faculty to supervise them all without a revolt (PhD students do take a lot of work). If we had 15 faculty and funding for 10-15 students/year that would be a different story.
2) the nature of a clinical PhD program- somewhat related to the above, students need a lot of hands-on time and attention in both research and other training. Supervisors don't want to have 12 students on their practicum caseloads in a semester (we usually have 5-7), the people teaching you advanced techniques in therapy or assessment don't want 20-person classes, etc. because it's a lot of work and it's not pedagogically sound. These aren't lecture classes for undergraduates that can be scaled from 80 to 100 students with little difference. Again, if we had more faculty, responsibilities would spread out, but simply adding some student funding to the budget doesn't offset these issues. It's intensive training.
3) applicants not understanding what it takes to be competitive. I reviewed dozens of apps for my lab this year and many were people who had decent (3.4+) GPAs and interesting personal statements. Many were from diverse or nontraditional backgrounds and could contribute to the field because of that. BUT, my program is an S-P clinical psych program and I am looking for people with research experience and with interests very close to mine so I can collaborate with them on research for 5 years. You may not think that is the correct way to run the system, but it's how the system is for R1 faculty who are not exclusively trying to train clinicians. I ended up making decisions based heavily on research experience/interests with some acknowledgement of diversity and inclusion issues. Everybody doesn't need to have 3 publications or years of RA experience, but doing a poster on campus one time (or not even that) just doesn't provide evidence that you have the chops to do the research component of your work in a PhD program. If you don't have that experience or don't want to get it then you should consider PsyDs or master's programs.
That last point can be made across the board- clinical PhD programs have always been very competitive (dozens or hundreds of apps per spot) and it may be worse this year (my program's apps increased by 50%) but not all of those added apps were competitive for a clinical psych PhD program. Folks should make sure they are being geographically flexible, considering counseling or school psych PhDs if those might be a fit as they're less competitive on average, look into PsyDs that don't break the bank, and if you really only want to practice as a therapist just get a master's degree. The PhD won't make you much more money in a managed care system and it's a lot less investment of your time. Plus all the heartache of years of applications. I steer most of my undergraduate RAs into something other than clinical PhD programs because their interests don't really require a clinical psych PhD (and most of them over the years haven't built up the CVs to be competitive by graduation, anyway).
I know it's easy for me to say all of that given my position in this process, but I really find that applicants seem misguided about how things work and what their realistic options are. I hope this is helpful for someone.

Have you heard from Rutgers by any chance?

No... Anxiously waiting, too!

Rotations would be a dream. I know we're supposed to have a general idea of our research interests, but rotations would make it so much easier for students. 

I spoke to admissions at Widener. They are not done sending interview invites for the Clinical Psych PsyD. 

I'm in touch with a student there and she told me that if you haven't heard from them, don't worry as they tend to send their invites sporadically

Thank you so much!

Looks like Ferkauf invites for clinical PsyD have gone out? Saw someone post on the results page. Did anyone hear?

Anyone here apply to Fordham Counseling PhD? 

I was wondering if there is a specific threat about interviews on this forum (as in advice, experiences, prep etc.)? I only have one interview lined up so far so want to make sure I do really well (no pressure lol) Thanks!

I was wondering if there is a specific threat about interviews on this forum (as in advice, experiences, prep etc.)? I only have one interview lined up so far so want to make sure I do really well (no pressure lol) Thanks!

Hi PsychMama!  There is a Slack group for all of us applicants that has incredible resources for interview prep.  Join us!  https://join.slack.com/t/psychinout/shared_invite/zt-kmiz8qlh-XLNYySgujTzZcMIzKBJhpg
Alll are welcome to join.  It is an incredibly supportive, abundant environment.
 

Thank you so much!
 
This is super helpful thanks

Fourth time clinical psych PhD program applicant here and I ended up with 6 interviews this cycle! The only real difference I could identify this time around is 1 first author publication and a couple years of neuropsych testing experience. I just wanted to say keep on trying if this isn’t your year. Keep seeking out research and clinical opportunities and know that it’s absolutely a numbers game. Best of luck to everyone!