psych51038

Yup, this seems pretty consistent with the emails I've received! I definitely appreciate the ones who have been clear about not being interested/having someone else in mind. It's those who never responded that are a still quite a mystery to me. Love that your dogs got to meet, that's so cute and sounds like that prof would be lovely to work with!

This is super helpful - thank you! I've been told not to get too upset about profs not responding to emails since some of them get hundreds of emails (I mean even as a student i probably get 50-100 emails some days so that seems very reasonable) but that definitely would make sense about already having students in mind to take on. Hopefully that's not the case for everyone I've emailed!

Does anyone have any thoughts on informal/preliminary interviews with a professor? I didn't have any and am hoping this doesn't mean my chances are lower (most that I emailed either did not respond or emailed back providing more info about their work/program) but it is very hard to tell with so many people seemingly already having contact with some of the professors they are applying to work with!

Thank you for saying this. This is such a kind and understanding perspective and if you're not already a clinical psychology student, I really hope you become one soon! ❤️

Whether or not I actually have a chance at being accepted this year, your post just made me feel so much better. Thank you!!

This is probably a silly question but what kind of things are all of you presenting at these conferences? I wouldn't have even had independent research until the very end of my undergrad so I'm just wondering whether everyone just had a lot more research of their own or whether you can present other things you've helped with? Thanks in advance!

So do you think it would be pretty much impossible to get in straight out of undergrad? I don't know many undergrads with all of those types of experiences or even any really

Does anyone have any thoughts on expressing two different research interests (e.g. two unrelated disorders, different POI for each) in a personal statement? I submitted my apps a while back and did this because I genuinely am just interested in two areas and would be happy working in either one but now I'm really worried it'll make me look uncertain and be another reason not to interview me. Do you think this is a KoD or will just make POIs uninterested in my application? Getting really worried I ruined my shot with both POIs so let me know if you have any suggestions.

Just a correction - I just checked and although I could have sworn the psychotherapy MSc deadline at McMaster was in early 2021, it looks like it now is December 14th (tomorrow); not sure if this changed or if I'm just remembering another program? I also do know that McMaster usually accepts reference letters after the deadline though so if anyone was going to apply later on and is worried about the deadline being tomorrow you probably still have time to get your letters in!

Sorry to hear you're so worried! By the sounds of it, maybe your rejection from Ryerson was due to not having had an undergraduate thesis (assuming this is an admission requirement)? I'm not applying to all of these schools so I'm not exactly sure what each specific requirement is, but it does sounds like your A- average meets the cutoff for grades (unless these schools look at all years; is your cGPA an A- as well?) and not taking the GRE could not be held against you this year. I'm definitely not saying this will for sure happen to you, but I just want to remind you that it is completely normal in this field not get accepted on your first try. So many people on this forum are on their 2nd, 3rd, or 4th attempt and I expect to be one of these people too. It may be a bit more challenging to get in without a thesis since I know this is a requirement at many schools, but you could certainly work towards getting some sort of equivalent independent research experience over the next year if you are willing to take some time off. Your clinical experience also sounds amazing though so I'm sure this will help your application a lot, especially in showing your passion for the field. Have you also considered some backup programs? McMaster offers an MSc in psychotherapy that really values clinical experience like yours so if you want to really ensure that you get in somewhere this year (just for peace of mind) you could try out that option! Applications don't close for another few months so you'd have plenty of time to apply. Keep your chin up; sounds like you have excellent experience and passion for the field and I know that you will get into your ideal program eventually. Try not to let the Ryerson rejection hurt too much - you sound extremely qualified and really, I'm sure with such a huge applicant pool they're searching for any requirement that can be used to eliminate people - definitely nothing personal. I'm in the same boat worrying about not getting in anywhere so feel free to dm if you're stressed and want to talk!