raindr0p

SAME and it is awful! Is it common for people to wait until after the first week of April to accept/decline offers? I keep wondering “what is this person waiting for??!!” But I guess if I’ve waited this long I can hold out four more weeks.

Totally. This has been a huge factor for me. My plan was to apply to clinical master’s programs if I didn’t get in anywhere this cycle. The program I liked the best was at Boston University and would’ve required me to take out over $100,000 in loans. The idea of taking on that much debt was slightly horrifying... I think it would have caused me years of financial stress. I now have one offer from a PhD program that isn’t a perfect research fit by any stretch (it wasn’t my top choice), but it’s fully-funded and a lot of its graduates have gone on to clinical careers (even though it’s a research-heavy clinical science program). It’s really no question for me now...I could not fathom paying for a master’s instead even if I already knew I were more interested in clinical work than in research. Anyway, if it were easier to become a therapist (social worker, mental health counselor) without owing thousands of dollars in tuition, I’m sure more people would go that route.

^ whoops, that sad face was supposed to be a ) and a :

The most important thing is to communicate to them that you're still interested in working with them. Especially if you're waitlisted, it can only help you for your PI to know you would accept an offer from them if they made you one. Just hit these points (elaborating where you want to? -reiterate your interest in the program / in joining this person's lab (if you're pretty sure you would accept an offer from this person, i think it's a good idea to say "Working with you at [University’s name] is currently my first choice") -ask if they have an update about the status of your application, perhaps mentioning that you haven't heard back since interviewing -"I look forward to hearing from you" or something

Just curious (as an antsy waitlisted person) — does anyone know which Clinical PhD programs are still interviewing or are still sending out their first round of offers? The only program I know of that has not had interviews yet is Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine. Just wondering which other programs are interviewing in March.

I am holding on to one offer (while waiting to hear back from my first choice program, where I am waitlisted). I was told by a DCT at a program where I interviewed that you should never hold on to more than one offer at a time. If you have two, decide which one you'd prefer as soon as you can and reject the other. I hope most people follow that advice! I don't plan to accept or release the offer I have until I get a definite rejection or acceptance from my top choice. That depends when the other applicant who got the first offer accepts or releases it. Since most schools' interviews are wrapping up in the next week or so, I am guessing that within 2-3 weeks waitlists will start moving pretty quickly...

To the person who posted on the results page about the University of Utah clinical program, are you willing to share your PI (here or in a private message)?

I don't wanna share here exactly where I was accepted or where my top choice is ?, but both are research-oriented clinical programs.

I personally sent an email saying: “I am so excited about the possibility of coming to [the school that made me an offer]!” Then wrote a sentence or two reiterating what I liked about it and affirming that I had a good experience interviewing. To close I just honestly told them, “I have one other interview in two weeks that I want to attend before I make a decision, but I will respond to the offer as soon as I can.” I think it’s best to just be transparent. They know you must be waiting on other offers, otherwise you would accept right away.

I wouldn’t give up until after April 15th! Some people wait until close to the deadline to decline an offer. For example, I am currently waitlisted at my top choice school but I got an offer from another program. I am not going to respond to that offer until I know for sure whether or not I will get into my top choice program (which I might not know until late March or even April, depending on when the other applicant responds to the first offer). I have a friend who got in off a waitlist on March 26th last year at a school where he hadn’t even been invited to official interviews. I don’t know how common it is at the places where you’ve applied, but it is definitely possible to get in from a waitlist.

At two different interview weekends, I've been to hourlong sessions where all the applicants applying to the same lab are in a Zoom meeting with current grad students. (One called it a social gathering, the other called it a Q & A session.) Both times it was awkward. It came after applicants had already had several meetings with faculty and grad students with plenty of time to ask questions, so presumably people had already had most of their burning questions answered. As an applicant, it felt weird to be asking questions in front of four other people applying for the same spot. Both times, people were not really asking many questions—everyone seemed unsure when to speak—and it didn't really work as a "social hour" either, because it's hard to start spontaneous conversations in a Zoom room with ~10 people in it. So I don't recommend holding these kinds of big group Zoom meet-and-greets unless there's a little more structure to the interaction. For example, my friend went to one where the prospective students and current grad students played games together on Zoom as a group, and he said it was really fun for everyone and broke the ice a bit.

I have no special expertise, but after a recent interview, I only sent thank you emails to my PI and her current grad student who I had a pretty in-depth conversation with (but not to other faculty or grad students from other labs). I had read suggestions that you should send thank you notes to everyone, but in my case it felt like too much — even like it might be annoying or come off like I'm just doing it to improve my chances or something. I mentioned in my note to the PI that I had really enjoyed my conversations with other faculty (which was true!). That said, I don't think it would hurt you to send a short thank-you email to everyone if that feels natural to you.

Did anyone else who interviewed at the University of Utah (clinical) ask approximately when they will be sending out official offers? After interviewing two weeks ago I thought I was likely to get an offer, but haven't heard anything official yet. The suspense is killing me! I wish I had asked for their expected timeline. For anyone here who has been accepted by a clinical program before: if you're a PI's first choice, how long after an interview do they usually make you an official offer?

Does anyone know for sure if the clinical psychology program at CU Boulder has sent out all of its interview invitations? I know a previous poster asked about JA. I am also wondering about JG. I've only seen postings about interviews with other faculty members. Thanks, and best wishes to everyone. I hope we all find a way to do the kind of work we want to do.