FacelessMage

I think your stats look pretty good (heeeeey fellow CSC Research Branch person)! You definitely have a good mix of clinical and research experience. I know U of C really takes into account the clinical experience bit for their school program, so you look like you're on the right track. I've applied to the clinical PhD programs at Simon Fraser, Saskatchewan, and New Brunswick, so we'll see how those applications go. This is my second time applying to clinical. I'm in the process of getting my Masters in experimental forensic psychology so hopefully they're let me transfer over to the clinical side of things given that I think my stats are good enough (especially since my research is clinically-based).

I'm only applying to three clinical programs this time around: Simon Fraser, Saskatchewan, and New Brunswick (a whole bunch of profs in my research area aren't accepting students for next year). This is my second time applying to clinical, after applying to clinical programs for the first time two years ago (I'm currently in an experimental MA program, doing clinical research though). I contacted POI's a while ago, and two of my applications are due December 1. I've pretty much done them, I'm just waiting for references to be submitted at this point.

What is your research experience like? I know Calgary is a big research program, and they expect their students to be strong in the research. You need to at least have one major research project (like a thesis or an independent project). Pubs would help too. Your total GPA is a bit low, but your major GPA and last two years are strong. I think your chances will be good provided you have good research experience to back you up.

Your stats look pretty good. I applied to clinical programs in Canada with less than that (similar GPA, only one submitted manuscript, an A+ thesis, ok GRE, awesome reference letters, and lab experience), and I got interviews for 2 of the 3 programs that I applied to. I think you stand a good chance of getting an interview! I know Simon Fraser and Dalhousie are both very competitive schools (I still count myself lucky that I interviewed at SFU). I'm reapplying to SFU this year (hopefully for clinical PhD if I can swing that). Message me if you want some more info, and I'll try my best to remember how the application process went (it's been 2 years already so it's a bit hazy). Mostly it involves a lot of having a really good personal statement and getting good reference letters from people who know you well and who are able to speak to your abilities.

I use this one: http://polestarcalendars.com/calendars/original-student-calendar/ I find it to be the most helpful in terms of planning because of the different categories it has. I still haven't gotten much into keeping electronic calendars, so I still paper and pen mostly.

Update on my SSHRC situation: apparently emailing the departments I applied to worked! I have now been accepted into a psychology MA program! So it's worth a shot!

Got a surprise acceptance from Carleton's psychology MA program after being previously waitlisted and rejected! So stoked!

I'll be attending Carleton in the fall for my Master's (got my surprise acceptance Monday)! I'll also be moving out from Alberta.

I applied to clinical psychology programs, which are ridiculously competitive (I'm still surprised I got interviews). I'm pretty sure the interviews is when stuff went wrong (I wasn't well during the interviews, and I'm not sure how much of that came across). I'm going to try contacting the departments to see if they'll reconsider my application (it couldn't hurt anyhow). Good luck! I hope that you hear good news!

Got my notice in Alberta today! Unfortunately I didn't get accepted to any programs (well, there's still UBC Okanagan, but who knows when they'll let applicants know), so I'll have to decline. Does anyone know if it's worth emailing the departments I was rejected from to see if they'll reconsider if I have external funding? Also, if I decline, can I put that I won this (but declined) on my CV next year when I apply? My stats: Applied through my university GPA (last two years): 3.91 Lots of RA work One pending publication

I applied to their clincial psychology program. If they're still reviewing files, I don't know what kind of class they expect to have. All the other schools will have their incoming classes finalized by now,

Still waiting to hear back from UBC Okanagan. No one that I know of has heard from them, not even for interviews, and the school of graudate studies is saying that the department is still reviewing files. I submitted everything in December, and I'm sick of waiting.

Just got word that I lost my chance to get off the waitlist at Carleton because the emails I was sending to the supervisor who was interested in working with me kept going into her junk mail. I'm super annoyed (haven't been overly impressed with the professionalism at Carleton to begin with, not since the initial troubles I had just trying to access my application and the 3 weeks it took to process it after I submtted it). I probbaly won't be reapplying next year. Also got my rejection from Saskatchewan's clinical program. Hopefully I will hear back from UBC Okanagan (they're apparently still reviewing files), but I've lost hope at this point.

Just got my rejection from SFU's clinical program. I'm so upset and disappointed. It's been my dream school for years, and I felt like my interview went so well. Does anyone know what happens if you win a SSHRC award but don't get accepted into graduate school?

Can the person who was accepted at Carleton's forensic psychology program PM me your POI? It would be much appreciated!

I know someone who got accepted to Calgary last week. However, I have other friends who still have heard nothing. I think it's POI dependant.

Were they for the clinical program, or for the experimental?

It's also used for orientation, so grad school orientation might be during that time (I can't remember when it was last year).

For the top set, were the ones from SFUand Saskatchewan acceptances or rejections? I haven't heard anything back after my interviews for those schools.

What school was this?

I'd say look for researchers with similar interests to yours, and then apply to the program that the school offers (if it interests you). Maybe look at both clinical and social psych programs just for some variety. I've seen similar research fall under both categories. My advice would be to look at who's authoring the research that you're interested in, and then find out what schools they are at and apply there. As for the second question (which wasn't really a question so I don't know what you're getting at), your thesis research doesn't have to align with what you want to do in grad school. I know several people who did their honours theses in one topic, and then went on to study a completely different topic in grad school because their interests didn't align with any of the undergraduate supervisors I'm one of the lucky few who got to research exactly what I wanted for my undergrad thesis, now I just can't find any graduate supervisors that study the same topic!).

Can the person who got an interview in UBCO's clinical program please PM me your POI? Thanks.

It seems to vary form school to school. I've only had two interviews so far: SFU and Saskatchewan. Both were phone interviews (SFU has an in-person interview day but I couldn't go because of work). In my interview for Saskatchewan I was asked a lot of questions about my research, mostly about my thesis project for undergrad (I had a fairly unique project, so they wanted to know more about it). They also asked me what unique quality I had that would make me stand out from other applicants, and what qualities I had that would make me a good clinican/researcher (standard interview stuff really, I had easy answers because I've been asked those same questions in job interviews before). And then questions like why you applied, why did you pick those researchers to work with, etc. SFU had similar types of questions (it wasn't focused as much on my research as Saskatchewan). They also had a bunch of ethics scenario questions that I had to answer (these were scary). It didn't really feel the same as the Saskatchewan one did (the interviewer had the TV on in the background and it was distracting!), and it was my first interview so I felt really unprepared. At the end of each interview, they gave me a chance to ask some questions, and then said that they would be in touch soon. Good luck!

I think it's just for the clinical program. Interviews invites for clinical got sent out last week, and I think most of the shortlisted applicants have been interviewed already (I had my interview yesterday, someone on SND mentioned that there were only 10 people on the shortlist). I don't know if non-clinical programs have interviews (I only applied to one non-clinical program and they don't have interviews for it).

University of Saskatchewan should be notifying people about acceptances within the next week to two weeks. I'm hoping I'll hear back from UBCO before then.