chamomile tea

to anyone who applied for CGS-M: i received an email last week that my application status has changed but i'm unable to actually see the outcome. it still says "received by administrator" but the date that my status was last updated has changed to Mar 26th. i know results aren't available until April 1 so i'm thinking it might only be viewable after that? just wondering if this is a normal part of the process or if i'm doing something wrong hahaha

congratulations on both acceptances - that's really amazing! i completely understand how you're feeling as i was in your shoes this cycle too. i wasn't even sure i'd receive any acceptances let alone have to turn one down. what you have is totally okay in my opinion, it shows your interest and that you'd like to stay in contact. it's also good that you're keeping it relatively brief :)) i wrote a little bit more in my email bc i was genuinely so torn and really felt like i got to know that supervisor during the interview process. i did inform them what program i would be attending and a quick why, and i also mentioned that i hoped to stay in touch and potentially work together in the future. again, what you've written is concise and genuine, and faculty are used to this happening (it's such a competitive field and the norm is to apply to several places), so if they were willing to extend an offer to work with you, i'm sure they would be happy to keep in touch. keep in mind that faculty want what is best for you, and sometimes that means attending a different program!

hiiii all, v random but please message me if you'd like to chat about starting a program in the fall, moving (?!?!), the frustration of applying multiple times, anything you want, but /especially/ imposter syndrome ? i wanted to put it out there since this is such a competitive program where it may seem that the odds are stacked against us, and it's so so easy to let setbacks make us forget how capable and deserving we are. i'm definitely feeling this way even as i start a new and super exciting chapter of my life, and i'm sending love to anyone else that is too ❤️

i just declined my offer from Queen's. i hope this is helpful to someone on the waitlist!

School: Queen's University Type: Clinical Psychology (MA) Acceptance/Waitlist/Rejection: Acceptance Date Notified: Mar 8 so excited and beyond grateful to have received my second offer! please feel free to message me for any information. i feel so lucky to even have one acceptance let alone multiple, so if anyone is in a similar boat or wants to talk about decision-making my dms are always open and i'd love to talk it through with you!

Hello! It's so great that you're already looking ahead and thinking of applying! In terms of how many schools to apply to, it really depends on personal preference. Of course, if you apply to more schools it seems that you have a better chance of being admitted, but with that in mind I think it's important to apply to places you want to go to (this sounds obvious, but with such a competitive program, it's so easy to want to accept anything you can get). I applied to six schools this year, all of which I could genuinely see myself at for five or six years. Some successful applicants I know applied to one school and got into that one, while others applied to ten or fifteen and were accepted into one--it really depends! In my opinion, the most important thing is to really know what you want to do, and take your time looking into faculty supervisors that would be a good fit. Some things that helped me with that include asking my thesis supervisor for suggestions or to help establish initial connections, attending research conferences, and honestly, just taking my time. My best advice on how to succeed is just to be authentic with yourself throughout the process, something that will show through your statement of purpose. To me and several faculty members I've talked with, that's the most important part of an application. I would write several drafts of this, start weeks (or even months) in advance, and ask trusted faculty for their opinion. Think of it as a way for you to convince your potential supervisors that you want to work with them, and why they would want to work with you. It's one of the few parts of a grad application you can really make your own. I think most supervisors consider applications holistically rather than zeroing in on one or two parts of it, which means that all areas are important and it's worth strengthening each of them as much as you can. These include research experience (research assistantships, grants and awards, publications, conference presentations, so on), GPA, grades in specific courses, GRE scores, reference letters, extracurriculars, and clinical experience if applicable. By the time people are thinking of applying to grad school they often can't do too much to shift their GPA, so I'd advise really focusing on research and clinical experiences. With these, to me, depth is more important than breadth. Being in a number of different labs at once can make you look experienced, but can also come across as unfocused and disorganized (saying this from personal experience, haha). Compare that to spending a few years working with the same faculty member, potentially getting to develop your own projects, contribute to journal articles, and really forming a solid connection with your supervisor (who will then be able to write a strong, detailed, specific letter). On that note, I recently heard from a supervisor that some faculty are increasingly taking reference letters with a grain of salt. The majority of letters are exceedingly positive, but often unspecific or vague. I'd never thought about it this way before, but it does make sense, and it makes it all the more crucial to have referees who can highlight your unique strengths and capabilities. Another thing people often wonder is whether and how to reach out to potential supervisors as application season approaches. There's a lot out there on this, so I'll keep this short, but it can be a great way to establish a connection and let them know of your interest early on. It can also be useful in addressing any early questions you have and helping you figure out whether or not a particular lab or supervisor is a good fit for you. Just for reference, here is a little more about my qualifications and my experience with applying this year. I've been accepted to one school so far this year, with four interviews (three more that I'm waiting to hear back from). I didn't apply with any publications. My GPA and GRE scores are strong (> 3.90 cGPA; 165 Quant, 167 Verbal, 5.5 Writing). I've been in three research labs (none were clinical), each for at least one year, completed an honours thesis, won a handful of departmental and research awards, and am preparing a manuscript for publication. I also had been accepted to present a poster at a research conference. I also TA'd, though not for anything psychology-related. I currently work at a medical clinic and have worked intensively with children with developmental disabilities (not quite clinical or related to my field of research, but I definitely could draw from this experience to answer interview questions and write my statement). I don't know how important this is, but I was also pretty involved in my university community and engaged in a lot of leadership and mentorship opportunities. With that said, please don't feel as if you have to compare your experiences to mine, or to anyone else's! Everyone is so different and it took me so much time to identify what I was passionate about. I know this isn't a linear list of steps you can take to be more successful, and this may sound obvious, but there isn't a single specific route to get you there. I'm hoping this is still somewhat helpful, and I wish you all the best! ❤️

hi! i've received an invite feel free to message me for any details and good luck to everyone!

i applied last cycle when i was in my fourth year of undergrad and wasn't successful. this year, i've applied to 6 Canadian schools and so far have received five interviews, and one acceptance. i applied last year mostly to get a sense of the application process and only applied to and interviewed at one Canadian school (McGill), but i hope this is still somewhat helpful! the number one thing i would really try and work out/focus on is research fit. instead of looking at what the PIs' interests are and shaping your statement around that, i tried to really define what i was passionate about and ask my supervisors and friends, spend ample time browsing website profiles and recent pubs, and attend virtual open house events (if possible). if you're truly interested in working with PIs you've applied to this year, there is no harm in applying again! i'm sure different supervisors would feel differently about this, but i would reach out and thank them for their consideration, reiterate your interest, and maybe bring up a couple of things you're doing to gain experience or strengthen your application too. you can also ask a trusted supervisor or friend about this! as for improving the application, i would try and look at your profile holistically and think about its strengths and weaknesses, but also how the different aspects complement each other. for example, last year i had a pretty strong GPA, test scores, research experience, but they didn't match all that well with the PIs current research focus, which became obvious in the interview. i think publications are looked upon really favourably, but in my experience strong research experience (depth rather than breadth) is probably the most important factor. i have one manuscript in prep (and no pubs), but i have quite a bit of research experience compared to most people just out of undergrad. evidence of this experience (such as publications) obviously are super helpful, but i think PIs are also looking for how you speak to these experiences and the skills you've learned from them. also, if you're applying to a clinical psych program specifically, i would try and gain some clinical experience if possible, especially if you have significant research experiences already, and aim for at least one opportunity you can speak to in-depth. of course, it really helps if it fits well with your research interests! one last thing i can think of is test scores - i'm not sure whether these will be required and how much weight they'll have in the future, but a higher score can't hurt!

hi! i had an interview with my POI and from the conversation, it seems like faculty are still reaching out to students directly throughout the month. when talking about next steps, they didn't mention anything about a departmental interview day or an open house, which might mean that that's not happening this year? they just mentioned that they (as in my POI specifically) would try to let their shortlist know before March. so my guess is that faculty are sending invites and interviewing on their own time this year and you can still hear back this month! also, they mentioned that there were over 500 applicants this year and it was especially competitive, so it's very likely that some faculty are still sifting through their applications ❤️

hi!! good luck on your interview :)) i think generally you're right about broader questions. i've been in two panel interviews so far (with one more coming up) and i've been asked both times about my thesis, what draws me to X school, what draws me to X faculty's research, how i plan to practice self-care or achieve work-life balance, what my clinical interests are, and so on! there were also a few "tell me about a time when....." where i had to describe how i resolved a conflict with a teammate or supervisor, solved a problem, encountered an academic or personal challenge, things like that. there were also some "fun" questions about my hobbies or interests. i think the goal of panel interviews is so that other faculty are able to weigh in on whether and how much you're a fit for the program. i personally find answering general questions tougher than the specific one-on-one with POI questions, but that's just me! of course these are just my experiences and i'm not sure how helpful they are to your particular situation, but feel free to message me ❤️

thanks so much! i'm not sure but i don't think so, i think someone posted on the results page about hearing back a few days ago? and this email was from my POI directly so i'm guessing faculty are reaching out on their own time.

thank you!! interview with POI :))

School: York University Program: Clinical Psychology Interview type: Virtual Date of Invite: 2/3/2021 received an email inviting me to an interview and letting me know i've been shortlisted!

School: Queen's Program: Clinical Psychology Interview type: Virtual Date of Invite: 2/2/2021 for anyone curious about Queen's, i interviewed informally with my POI about 2-3 weeks ago and was notified today that i would be moving on to the departmental virtual interviews! according to the email, for those that move on, there will be an open house in March or so and offers will be extended after that :))

hi everyone! is anyone an international student applying to a program in the US, or an American student applying elsewhere? i was just wondering if the US has a different process for considering international applicants or if it's more competitive because of the pandemic or something like that. i'm Canadian and noticed that almost all the schools in Canada i applied to were not even considering international applicants. and this could be totally unrelated but i've heard back from several Canadian schools but from none in the US so far. just thought i'd ask to see if anyone is having a similar experience!