NotYourMothersGrad

Hey everyone. Is there anyone here who typically applies to US clinical psych programs but is intending or has applied to one or two in Canada and has any advice or resources? I am from the US. Thanks!

I'm not sure if this is also helpful to anyone (I assume it's not safe to post the school name either), but I also recommend googling news stories about the campuses you're interested in. I recently came across one department where a student committed suicide due to alleged bullying that was not handled and led to tragedy. I don't think it came up in my initial search.

For anyone following this thread, there's currently a discord where we are all gearing up and sharing tips for applying this cycle!
https://discord.gg/3HuxeBKy

https://discord.gg/CN7VH95FyY
 
to everyone else wanting to join, this link shouldn't expire

I'm not sure if this is also helpful to anyone (I assume it's not safe to post the school name either), but I also recommend googling news stories about the campuses you're interested in. I recently came across one department where a student committed suicide due to alleged bullying that was not handled and led to tragedy. I don't think it came up in my initial search.

I'm not sure if this is also helpful to anyone (I assume it's not safe to post the school name either), but I also recommend googling news stories about the campuses you're interested in. I recently came across one department where a student committed suicide due to alleged bullying that was not handled and led to tragedy. I don't think it came up in my initial search.

https://discord.gg/CN7VH95FyY
 
to everyone else wanting to join, this link shouldn't expire

https://discord.gg/CN7VH95FyY
 
to everyone else wanting to join, this link shouldn't expire

I didn’t post to discourage people from applying this cycle entirely, only to bring awareness to a trend and offer a very worrying example which I am almost certain is not the only one. I really hope my post encourages others to more thoroughly evaluate programs and think critically about how they are operating. Full disclosure: I am not in an ideal financial situation so the idea of paying lots of money to have my application tossed out really didn’t sit well with me and I wanted to know what my chances actually are. Also finding out if it’s a worthy investment for potentially 7 years of my life. 
I heard it from a student going on internship, they also went to my undergrad so I think having that in common helped them to open up.
 
My advice for getting this kind of information is to contact a potential PI and ask for current grad student contact information they may be willing to share, or look at their pubs and contact grad students that are co-authors, or if the program has an updated website look on the lab page and reach out to lab members directly.
I asked to chat over zoom, and asked for honest answers to questions like “what is the culture like their?” “How did the department respond to COVID? To the BLM protests and the violence against AAPI?” “Is diversity discussed openly or is there a ‘diversity day’ in classes?” “What are things you would like to change?” “What are things that are changing? How do you think this will impact the program?” “How does admin communicate with students? With faculty?” “Did you feel prepared for practicum? Internship?” “What were classes like?” “We’re you able to take the classes you wanted to?” “How did the PI/other faculty/ admin handle conflicts?” “Have students left the program? Was this related to the program or other life events? How supportive was the PI/admin?” etc.
Another thing I have found to be helpful is looking into syllabi, when the classes are offered and how that maps on to the programs of study.
 
Again, hope this helps others interested in applying to think critically about the programs we are applying to and maybe save some time and money.

Hey everyone. Is there anyone here who typically applies to US clinical psych programs but is intending or has applied to one or two in Canada and has any advice or resources? I am from the US. Thanks!

Those intending to apply this cycle: there is trouble brewing in a lot of departments right now. I strongly encourage getting in touch with grad students for honest opinions if you can. Those who have recently graduated if possible since they can’t face retaliation. I’ll post an example. 
I have had contact with a student who just graduated from an R02 because I was interested in applying to the program. I was surprised how strongly it was discouraged by the student. The reasons they gave:
- The DH and DCT are highly criticized for their handling of the COVID pandemic and responses to racial tensions.
- Both the DH and DCT have openly lied to current students and applicants.
- DH is being relocated outside of the department.
- DCT is being asked to leave because they were holding up TLLPs, annual reviews, grades, supervision, basically everything, and not responding to students and engaging in some retaliation.
- Classes are being dropped after students are enrolled. Apparently this can impact practica and internship placements.
- Classes are not sufficiently rigorous to prepare potential clinicians. The student said everyone had a 4.0, but not everyone was a competent therapist, and that generally the classes were at or below an undergraduate level (they went to an R01 for undergrad).
- Entire programs of study have been thrown out and now students who entered the program for those programs/tracks are getting general training instead of specific training. So students who came for specialist training in ASD treatments  don’t have the opportunities they were promised or can’t take specific, relevant classes in the program handbook because they haven’t been offered in years.
- Faculty sitting on committees are holding up milestones, not giving edits or feedback, or requiring entire projects to be redone at the last moment, or “not supporting students in continuing” in the program.
- Multiple students have left the program in the past month alone (June, 2021).
 
All this from a program with a 10-year APA accreditation. Be very, VERY careful this cycle. From the sounds of it loads of programs are struggling financially and some may even be closing. They still may take our money, though.
 
You can DM me for the program or more details, although this seems to be a trend. I’ll try to come up with a list of questions or something if it would be helpful.

Hi all! Was wondering if those who are familiar with job hunting can post the sites or threads they use to search for CRC or RA jobs, especially at different institutions? I have heard of academic twitter, but if anyone is familiar with where companies and universities typically post jobs, I think it would be really helpful for a lot of us who are going to be rejected this year. Thanks!

I found my current crc position through the university’s job page! I would search for terms like research and psychology and it popped up 
 
specific lab pages sometimes promote positions on their “joining the lab“ page
 
otherwise this drive is super helpful: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1mJjXF9K-2PSLiUVI1CpiTOjWUclek5o_

5 interviews and officially rejected from 4 ? let's goooooo 
I don't know how to survive another year of this y'all. To get so close and still fail is the worst feeling in the world.

5 interviews and officially rejected from 4 ? let's goooooo 
I don't know how to survive another year of this y'all. To get so close and still fail is the worst feeling in the world.

5 interviews and officially rejected from 4 ? let's goooooo 
I don't know how to survive another year of this y'all. To get so close and still fail is the worst feeling in the world.

My impression is that most positions are at least partially in-person, certainly with the expectation that they will be increasingly so as the months pass. Are you only able to work in your immediate area? I'm afraid that alone will be your biggest problem moving forward; I can spend a week scraping positions from across the country and still only find a handful that are relevant enough to me. Otherwise, just try adding in "remote" as a keyword to your search; every once in a blue moon I'll see one (but again, may very well not be an indefinite expectation).
Have you tried looking for clinically-relevant positions in your area (psych tech, psychometrist, addiction treatment, forensic-relevant work, etc)? Granted it's not as preferable as research, but at least it's still psych, and you could still consider emailing labs in your area and inquire as to whether they would let you do some volunteering in your spare time (if you're open to that). Make sure to express a direct interest in their area of research and how that relates to your own interests and skills. That would be my back up-option if I were doing this solo.

5 interviews and officially rejected from 4 ? let's goooooo 
I don't know how to survive another year of this y'all. To get so close and still fail is the worst feeling in the world.

5 interviews and officially rejected from 4 ? let's goooooo 
I don't know how to survive another year of this y'all. To get so close and still fail is the worst feeling in the world.

5 interviews and officially rejected from 4 ? let's goooooo 
I don't know how to survive another year of this y'all. To get so close and still fail is the worst feeling in the world.

Dude I’m in the same boat. Seven interviews, three waitlists, no acceptances as of right now.

Program fit and POI research area is the most important thing. There are professors and labs in both counseling and clinical programs that will likely fit your needs. 
I will warn that getting into counseling programs is insanely competitive too and it’s more a matter of expanding your net of possibilities than these being “back ups” to clinical. 

This is great info. I'm being told by my faculty to include some counseling PhD programs in my apps next year since this whole clinical process has gotten insane, but I wasn't sure where the differences lie. I'm still waitlisted for two programs, but I recieved five interviews this year and not a single acceptance which is apparently unheard of in my department....

Yes. There may be some people who have biases and preferences, but from a state licensing perspective, the two degrees are the same. 

I got the news today that I was accepted off the waitlist for UMSL! 
I am proof that determination and persistence pay off. If you are feeling discouraged after this cycle, I just want you to know that there is hope. It might not happen on the timeline you thought it would, but please don't give up. Take time to grieve and then kick your ass into overdrive prepping for the next cycle. It's a grind, but I promise it's worth it. 
I've been round these parts for three years now, and I really appreciate this supportive community. I'm excited to stick around and hopefully help others persevere and realize their dreams. I believe in all of you! I'm always here if you need to vent, have questions, or just want a buddy.