Fall 2019 Psychology PhD Applicants!

[Doc2016]

21 minutes ago, checkingmyemail said:

 

I am 5+ years older than the "cohort" of applicants in the research lab I'm working in (they're 21-23? Recent grads, pretty young, both from a maturity aspect and professionally) and can sympathize with the both of you. I however have real life experience and 4+ years in this clinical research field that they do not, so it gives me a bit of a confidence booster that my application materials were much stronger in this aspect. I don't let this get to me whatsoever. Also, this being my 3rd app round, I feel my experiences have truly narrowed down my interests and I know what I want to do with my career, for the rest of my life. This helped me create very strong SOPs this app round vs. the disastrous mess I submitted the last 2 rounds (I was so naive lol).

You can learn a lot from rejections.. it's all about how you respond & persevere  

Ha ha ha!  I feel ya.  I think my apps were a mess year 1.  I don't know how I got ANY interviews!  I will say, most of the people I interviewed with both years said my clinical experience is what set me apart from other candidates.  

[xxxxxxxxxx]

1 minute ago, Doc2016 said:

Ha ha ha!  I feel ya.  I think my apps were a mess year 1.  I don't know how I got ANY interviews!  I will say, most of the people I interviewed with both years said my clinical experience is what set me apart from other candidates.  

I cringe when I re-read my 1st/2nd app round SOPs. I didn't know what the hell I was talking about.. LOL. Even though I landed several phone interviews, my thoughts were all over the place/too broad. It took the current lab/group of PIs/mentors I'm working for now to bring all of this to my attention!

You don't know what you don't know, whew... Humbling experiences, for sure.

[EileanDonan]

42 minutes ago, checkingmyemail said:

I am 5+ years older than the "cohort" of applicants in the research lab I'm working in (they're 21-23? Recent grads, pretty young, both from a maturity aspect and professionally) and can sympathize with the both of you. I however have real life experience and 4+ years in this clinical research field that they do not, so it gives me a bit of a confidence booster that my application materials were much stronger in this aspect. I don't let this get to me whatsoever. Also, this being my 3rd app round, I feel my experiences have truly narrowed down my interests and I know what I want to do with my career, for the rest of my life. This helped me create very strong SOPs this app round vs. the disastrous mess I submitted the last 2 rounds (I was so naive lol).

You can learn a lot from rejections.. it's all about how you respond & persevere  

Just thought I'd say that I appreciated your post as well. At the current rate, if I ever get accepted, I will likely be a bit older than my peers as well. Weighs on me sometimes as I try to figure out at what point I'll be too old to bother with 5-6 more years of school. Anyway, good luck to you!

Edited January 10, 2019 by EileanDonan

[holdingouthope]

I applied to 19 programs, ad have been accepted to one of them. However, this is not a fully funded program, so they are able to accept a much bigger cohort. I have heard nothing from the other 18 schools. This is my second time applying with 3 years in between. The first time I applied was during my Master's program in counseling. I applied to 3 schools with only a year of research experience, and my research interests were scattered. In the last 3 years, I have completed a program with two Master's degrees, gained 3 more years of diverse research and clinical experience and published an article. I feel much more prepared now than I did then. It's definitely hard not to take this personally, as programs are highly competitive and there are so many qualified applicants.

For those who've applied a few times, how did you manage to keep your confidence level up? I know there's still time to receive invites, but the self-loathing and rumination is real over here.

[earlgreyeveryday]

I applied to Louisiana Tech University's Counseling Psychology PhD program. This is my second year applying; I was waitlisted last year. Anyone else applying to this program? I just sent my app yesterday.

[statsguy69]

Has anyone applied to the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) Clinical Psychology program? The one in the Clinical Psychology Field, not the one through OISE. Just curious if anyone has been invited for an interview. 

[HaleyOK]

I’ve been scrolling anxiously like everyone else but has ANYONE heard anything or have any insight into the timelines of:

 

U of Minnesota- Twin cities- Counseling Psych

Umass Boston- Counseling Psych

GWU- Clinical PsyD

 

[shockwave457]

To the person who got a USC invite, can you PM me the POI if you're comfortable?

[PsychedOutHopeful]

30 minutes ago, HaleyOK said:

I’ve been scrolling anxiously like everyone else but has ANYONE heard anything or have any insight into the timelines of:

 

U of Minnesota- Twin cities- Counseling Psych

Umass Boston- Counseling Psych

GWU- Clinical PsyD

 

Hello! I called the GW PsyD program yesterday and they said interview invites will go out within the next two weeks. So not super informative, but still! 

[ItPhBeLikeThatSometimes]

3 hours ago, junior313 said:

This might seem like an obvious question, but I wanted to clarify for myself: Schools will notify you if you haven't been selected for an interview, right? Or do they send out rejections after people who have been considered are interviewed? I want to know when it would acceptable for me to reach out to the schools that haven't contacted me yet asking about my status. I was thinking I could start reaching out next week or so, but I don't want to seem like I'm rushing them. Some social and clinical applicants to the schools I applied to have heard back, but I applied to cognitive only.

I didn't read everyone else's responses to this, but you won't necessarily hear until after they interview everyone. I have a (lab manager) friend who told me last year her PI in a cognitive lab interviewed people, made multiple offers that got declined, then ended up making an offer to someone who they'd never even interviewed. I'm sure this is rare, but it's one example of a reason a PI would hold off on sending notifications. 

[round2_]

Not sure about GW PsyD, but for the PhD (cognitive), I was told they'd be meeting today during a phone interview. Haven't heard anything/seen any results posted yet though.... 

[xxxxxxxxxx]

1 hour ago, EileanDonan said:

Just thought I'd say that I appreciated your post as well. At the current rate, if I ever get accepted, I will likely be a bit older than my peers as well. Weighs on me sometimes as I try to figure out at what point I'll be too old to bother with 5-6 more years of school. Anyway, good luck to you!

"It is never too late to be what you might have been" - G. Eliot

In those 5-6 years, you will be doing/working/devoting yourself towards something you absolutely love. Good luck to you as well!! ❤️ 

[holdingouthope]

Has anyone heard from back from WVU's Clinical PhD program? I saw someone posted back in December about the Clinical Child concentration. Haven't seen anything for Clinical though...

[clynclinical]

20 hours ago, psycash said:

Hi, sorry to post this in another second forum, but I am d y i n g. lol. If the PennState forum results poster could comment so I could message you (if youre okay with this!) I would so highly appreciate it! I have been waiting and waiting and.... waiting

...to hear back from them as I know their interview invite deadline is fast approaching!

Hey,

 I don't think that I'm the one you're thinking about, but I did hear from Penn State. Got an interview invite on 1/3 and had a little chat with my PI (not an interview) on 1/4 to discuss the details of the interview day (either 2/1 or 2/2). Hope this helps!

[wrongpathos]

I have the unfortunate (good) problem of having too many conflicting interviews. One of which I've already said yes to that I might have to bail out on, and make myself look terrible. I have sent out a very apologetic email asking if there are any alternative dates. I feel like a derp.

Also sorry to everyone else who hasn't yet received an invitation, while I'm here ranting about conflicting ones.

Edited January 10, 2019 by wrongpathos

[hopefulgrad2019]

6 minutes ago, wrongpathos said:

I have the unfortunate (good) problem of having too many conflicting interviews. One of which I've already said yes to that I might have to bail out on, and make myself look terrible. I have sent out a very apologetic email asking if there are any alternative dates. I feel like a derp.

Also sorry to everyone else who hasn't yet received an invitation, while I'm here ranting about conflicting ones.

I FEEL YOU. My top 3 programs all have the same interview weekend. I’ve received invites to two so far and had to opt for phone/ask for alternate, too. It’s the best problem to have but ughhhhhh. 

[Gofer1996]

Has anyone heard anything from University of Maryland-Baltimore County or University of Alabama-Birmingham for Clinical Psychology? I know I saw an update from one person for each program, but I was wondering if it was an individually tailored response or mass response.

Thanks!

[holdingouthope]

I saw a few postings mid-December for the University of Southern Mississippi. Their website says interview invites are finalized by late January-early February. Hopefully they're not done. Anyone else waiting to hear from them?

[HaleyOK]

14 hours ago, FreudEgg said:

Hello! I called the GW PsyD program yesterday and they said interview invites will go out within the next two weeks. So not super informative, but still! 

Thanks for that! Also that’s so frustrating because from what I’ve heard interviews are going to be the 25th and that’s such short notice!

[PsychedOutHopeful]

39 minutes ago, HaleyOK said:

Thanks for that! Also that’s so frustrating because from what I’ve heard interviews are going to be the 25th and that’s such short notice!

I know! I wanted to be like “so can you be more specific...” hahah, but used some self restraint. Hopefully we hear soon- good luck!!! 

[dancedementia]

Another Friday, another week of no interview invites. Anxiety central over here. One of my schools told me it never received my GRE scores -___-;;  How is everyone else holding up?

Edited January 11, 2019 by dancedementia

[aaustin]

14 hours ago, holdingouthope said:

I saw a few postings mid-December for the University of Southern Mississippi. Their website says interview invites are finalized by late January-early February. Hopefully they're not done. Anyone else waiting to hear from them?

At least for counseling, I think they've all been extended.

I have no idea about clinical though. 

[TrustedTheProcess]

My P.I. told me this year was the most competitive application cycle she's seen in the last 3-4 years. She took on two last year because of funding, and can only take one this year, but it's frustrating on their end too because she is having to be pickier this year even though (in her opinion) the applicants are much more qualified. If this is truly your dream career, I would encourage you to apply again and don't lose hope!

[canstudent13]

Has anyone that Skype interviewed at Brown (specifically non-clinical programs) received any kind of notice about on-campus invites?

[humanisticPOV]

19 hours ago, holdingouthope said:

I applied to 19 programs, ad have been accepted to one of them. However, this is not a fully funded program, so they are able to accept a much bigger cohort. I have heard nothing from the other 18 schools. This is my second time applying with 3 years in between. The first time I applied was during my Master's program in counseling. I applied to 3 schools with only a year of research experience, and my research interests were scattered. In the last 3 years, I have completed a program with two Master's degrees, gained 3 more years of diverse research and clinical experience and published an article. I feel much more prepared now than I did then. It's definitely hard not to take this personally, as programs are highly competitive and there are so many qualified applicants.

For those who've applied a few times, how did you manage to keep your confidence level up? I know there's still time to receive invites, but the self-loathing and rumination is real over here.

This is my third round of applications so I understand how easy it is to get down on yourself when those invites/acceptances aren't rolling in. For me, it is a constant process of reminding myself how competitive these programs are and reminding myself to be proud of my accomplishments up to this point. Even just following through to submit 18 applications is a HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT! I barely survived doing 10 this year... Your value is NOT dependent on your acceptance into a program or your recognition by a school. Every single one of us applying to these programs shows a tremendous amount of commitment and dedication to bettering the quality of life in our society and that is something to be proud of in itself. Each time you go through these application cycles you become smarter, stronger, and a better person by learning patience, how to manage anxiety, and how to process rejection. Most of all, I just remind myself that rejection is a universal experience, one that is felt by EVERYONE at some point in their life. Knowing there are others out there, in the exact same position, experiencing the same wave of emotions as I, gives me confidence that we will all come out on the other side as better people. Be your own #1 cheerleader and remember to also build yourself up and not just your applications. Confidence will naturally follow, even in the face of self-doubt and rejection. ❤️