forensicpsychstu

Compare the APA stats of each school (should be on each school's website). Check out what percentage of people tend to be able to get APA internships / what percentage actually stays in the program and graduates. You can also find the pass rates for the EPPP exam. Consider the research interests of the PI's and think about which one you could actually see your self spending half a decade working/expanding on. That also goes for the personality of the PIs. Also try to think back about how you felt during the interviews and what impression faculty and anyone else left. If you left feeling uncomfortable it might not be the best choice. You could also compare what kind of courses you'd be taking at each school and whether the faculty focus on CBT, ACT, or something else. Another thing is what model do they use? Scientist-practitioner? Is that (or whatever other model they go by) the best model to fit your career goals? Another possible thing you can do is reach out to current students and try to get a better feel of the environment of the program. Things like are students competitive with each other? You could also ask more detailed questions more specifically about students in your PI's lab like, does the PI have a lot of time to actually mentor and advise you? Does the PI help students accomplish what they want to accomplish (posters, publications, etc.) or is that all on the student to figure out and push for? You can also try to find out where are the PI's former students now? Some programs have mandated therapy. If one of your programs has it then consider if that's something you're willing to do. There's definitely a lot to consider but as long as you keep in mind what's truly important for you and your own career you'll probably make the right choice. Good luck

I saw someone write something along the lines of "This is my ONLY option! Please decline!" and while I understand people's anxieties it just adds another level of competitiveness / spite that is unnecessary. People should realize that other applicants do not owe them anything just because it is their top or only choice and trying to guilt others into making a decision is not going to get them off the waitlist faster. It definitely is torturous to have to wait but this process technically does have an end-date, and it will be over before we know it.

I've seen people use "doctoral student" for the years they take classes, then "doctoral candidate" once they're in the dissertation process. My school refers to PhD students as "doctoral students" even when they are first years.

I don't think you should view the lack of response as a sign of anything... some professors just have a rule they set for themselves that they don't respond to any emails from potential applicants or perhaps they missed the email. Either way I hope you hear something back soon! Good luck!

My MA is in Forensic Psychology and required an internship to complete. There were opportunities for research but they were optional, but I tried to take advantage of as many as I could because I knew I wanted to apply for a PhD eventually. I also made my professors aware of my goals pretty much as soon as I joined the program, so they helped me get the experience I needed to become a competitive applicant. This is my first app cycle and I was accepted into programs this cycle, so based on my experience it does not matter as much what the masters is in or if it is an MA/MS as long as you end up with experience.

Do schools have to list how long or what type their APA accreditation is (e.g. on contingency)? I noticed one of my programs says on their website that they are accredited by the APA but not what type of accreditation... They do have all their outcome data readily available though

I had a couple rejection letters which mentioned the increase in applicants, and I have also seen others from peers which give specific number estimates. It definitely was / is a tough cycle this year! Many programs saw their application amount double. Although the increase in applications does not necessarily mean an increase in competitiveness, the other side of it is that (at least in my field) there's both more applicants and less spots available due to funding cuts. COVID has definitely had a huge effect on the process this year and may be the reason many qualified applicants did not get an offer after interviewing.

Was anyone successful in getting a response from admin as to why the name has been changed? lol

I would agree with this. I completed my masters in forensic psych at a small school and program which is not super well-known (Forensic conferences don't even have a meet and greet session for the school like programs like John Jay or Sam Houston get). However, one of the professors in the program is a huge name in the field and they were able to provide us students with connections and opportunities we would have never had access to without knowing them. I was also accepted to a clinical PhD this cycle, and if you are planning to apply eventually, keep in mind that wherever you end up going for your MA, it is imperative to strive for both research and clinical experience to make yourself a competitive applicant. Also, keep in mind that there are some employment opportunities just at the master's level for forensic psych. The program that I went to considers it a "terminal degree." You are able to participate in death penalty mitigation in certain states with just a Forensic Psychology MA, and there are also some other jobs you can do within the field with just an MA.

Hi there, I saw someone already mentioned Elyn Saks, but here is a great ted talk that she did a while ago: https://www.ted.com/talks/elyn_saks_a_tale_of_mental_illness_from_the_inside?language=en She has schizophrenia and is now a professor of both psychology and law. Have you talked to your supervisor about struggling? Do they know about your diagnoses? If not, being honest with them may help them create accommodations that would allow you to succeed. Another option may be to talk more with your psychologist/psychiatrist about suggestions they have. Also, even people that don't have any kind of diagnosed mental illnesses can become overwhelmed at advisor's comments and even want to drop out after the first few semesters. So you are not alone in that aspect and you should not feel bad about considering it.

I don't think that it is necessarily a bad sign... I have met PhD students personally who said during their own interviews they did not get to speak too much because of how much the professor was talking but they still got in. It could just mean they know they like you and it was your chance to evaluate for yourself how much you're interested in their research or maybe the professor just loves to talk. Try not to look into it too much... that can easily drive you mad more than anything else. I think some would also be nervous if it were reversed and the professor barely spoke but forced you to ask a ton of questions. It's so easy to overthink each tiny thing in interviews.

Someone posted on the results page a message from their school that goes "In the absence of the April 15th resolution this year. . . some faculty may be able to offer admission after initial decisions are sent out and even past April 15" Is the April 15th resolution not in place for this year because of COVID? This is the first time I'm hearing about this? Also, I'm a bit unclear if the April 15 resolution is for ALL programs or just those that offer funding. There seems to be people saying both. So, if a PhD program is not funded, do they have to abide by the resolution? Does this mean that PsyD programs, since they are typically unfunded, don't have to abide?

It's unacceptable for the school to be pressuring you but I was also advised by my mentor that there is kind of an ~unspoken rule~ that you should not be holding on to more than one offer at a time. It does sound you only have the one offer you are holding on to so I do not see the issue in waiting to interview at the next school. It seems that your concerns with the upcoming school is the PI so you'll probably quickly figure out during that interview if you just want to accept your top choice.

I hadn't because I assumed that there must be some reasonable explanation but then I saw the person's post on the results page talking about all the issues with the CUNY apps and realized I'm not the only one. I think I will next week, though. And if there is some kind of security issue I would be pretty annoyed if they didn't bother trying to alert people of the problem.

I have been told that PhD programs look for experience with "severe and persistent mental illness." I'm not sure if that's different for PsyD.

I had applied using a personal email but they sent my rejection to my undergraduate email which I haven't used for communications with anyone for years, since I graduated years ago. The two emails aren't similar at all and it's not like my undergrad puts my old email on my transcript. It's really strange. I wish whoever posted about the issues on the results page would elaborate.

Can the person who posted "There were serious discrepancies and issues with the admissions process at CUNY this year that are being investigated as several applications appear to have been affected with information either added, subtracted, or information sent to emails unassociated with the application." on the results page please expand on this? This happened to me, they sent my rejection to an email that I had NEVER provided to them and this was my first time applying to any program in the CUNY system. I'm just wondering how you know that there were these problems and if this possibly means that their system had been breached? Should I be worried that the information that I provided on the application has been "hacked in to" ? I did not respond to them when they send my rejection but should I respond and say something?

I'm not sure "how much" experience you need in terms of hours, but I was advised that the type of clinical work that PhD/PsyD programs would look for needs to involve severe and persistent mental illness. I would also say that rather than thinking "I need x hours at this place" just aim for staying at a placement for a good amount of time like at least 6 months or so. Programs want to see you can stick to places, and this would possibly allow you to build relationships for additional recommendations. To be honest, the only application that actually asked for a specific number of hours that I had was PSYCAS, and I doubt someone would ask that much detail during an interview. Don't worry about being "annoying" or "saying something wrong." Researchers / professors get emails from interested students often, and the worst that they could do is ignore your email. The way you word things won't ruin your chances unless you go in there demanding a position or actually say something rude. If they ignored your email or responded with disinterest, I doubt any way that you worded the email would have changed anything.

I'm getting that error too ?

I feel the same way as you both. My parents immigrated to America and although they finished BAs in their home country, I am the first one to go on to grad school. When I say "they sent out invites today and I didn't get one so it's an assumed rejection as of now" my mom (and non-grad school friends) say "they wouldn't just not respond to you. You'll get an invitation. You're qualified, maybe they just are waiting to send the rest out" like no I'm sorry it just doesn't work that way. It's also so frustrating to hear, "It's not the end of the world just try again next year." Like yeah I know there are more chances but I genuinely want to do this and want to start ASAP. It's so hard for people to understand if they haven't gone through this process. I think people who only ever applied to undergrad assume that it is a similar process and structure like undergrad applications are. Even my friend who is in medical school says similar stuff and I'm like yeah it's easy for you to say that when you're already in the position to pursue your life goals! If I ever mentioned that clinical phds are allegedly harder to get into than med school though, he'd probably not accept that as fact at all haha. But hey we will all get there eventually Not sure if anyone else relates but the one thing I hate is how much this is somehow reminding me of sorority recruitment years ago back in undergrad. I know it's a silly comparison and even though this is a way more important part of my life, I can't help but to feel similar feelings of the anxiety of finding a "mutual match" that I will be happy at for multiple years.

Someone posted in the clinical invite thread recently that they received notice from Fordham counseling

Okay weird thing just happened to me... I was looking at my past undergrad email to double check info from a poster i presented at a conference years ago and it looks like John Jay sent my rejection to that email on Jan 13? I never gave that email to CUNY or JJ, and never applied to JJ/CUNY in the past, so I'm extremely confused how they even got that email... Has something weird like this ever happened to anyone else? All my other correspondences with JJ were through my professional gmail. I mean, at least I missed a rejection and not an interview invite, but I'm so confused???

I'm not applying to any MA programs but I had an interview with Rutgers MAP program in 2019. If anyone has any questions about what they asked during that interview feel free to dm me!

Fordham is a very difficult program to get into even in "normal" years. They typically have 600+ applicants. Not receiving an interview means nothing against you personally. You are definitely qualified, but there may be other outstanding things such as other applicants having research interests that overlap better with faculty interests. PhD programs are about a mutual fit not just the potential of the applicant.

Are you asking this question regarding programs that people have already posted about, or ones that no one has said anything at all about yet? Not all programs are done extending interviews, so don't worry yet. Some programs don't extend them until the very end of January. I'm still waiting to hear back from 4 schools