Fall 2020 Clinical & Counseling PhD/PsyD

[justacigar]

On 10/4/2019 at 7:32 AM, citrus17 said:

Hi everyone! 

Would you send a second email to someone you are applying to if they haven't responded to your inquiry? I could not find any information (on their lab website or program website) about whether they are admitting students this year.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

I'm going to go against the grain and say yes, send a follow-up email. I sent follow-up emails to the four faculty members I had not heard from and each one of them responded to my follow up. Profs have insane email inboxes and it is highly likely they did not see your original email, or saw it and forgot to get back to you. If they don't respond to the follow up, that is when I would stop trying. I just sent something along the lines of: 

Dear Prof, 

I am following up regarding an email I sent about a month ago. I realize your schedule is likely quite busy, but would greatly appreciate any information you can provide in relation to my questions below. I am highly interested in your lab and hope to determine if our interests are as aligned as I hope. OR I'm highly interested in your lab and hope to apply if you are planning on reviewing applications. 

Sincerely, 

justacigar

[Schy]

21 hours ago, justacigar said:

Just FYI, as far as I know UCI is not a clinical psychology program - not sure if that's what you were hoping for

Thank you!  I realized they do things differently? I emailed a PI I would hope to work with and she explained to me how different things are from what I would expect! 

[Shivani513]

Hello

I wondered if someone could give me some advice. It is my first time applying for Canada Clinical Psychology MA programs. I live in the UK and have got the equivalent average required from undergrad for the program and have alot of clinical experience as well and some experience doing some service audits. I have good references also. I did however not do so well in the gre (141 quant and 145 verbal), I wondered how much the GRE will have an influence over my chances of being shortlisted..

My references are happy to comment on my quantitative and verbal abilities - I wonder if this could help?

Any advice is greatly appreciated! I am applying for universities in ontario: Western, Windsor, Waterloo, Queens and Ottawa. 

 

Kind regards

Shivani

[justacigar]

40 minutes ago, Shivani513 said:

Hello

I wondered if someone could give me some advice. It is my first time applying for Canada Clinical Psychology MA programs. I live in the UK and have got the equivalent average required from undergrad for the program and have alot of clinical experience as well and some experience doing some service audits. I have good references also. I did however not do so well in the gre (141 quant and 145 verbal), I wondered how much the GRE will have an influence over my chances of being shortlisted..

My references are happy to comment on my quantitative and verbal abilities - I wonder if this could help?

Any advice is greatly appreciated! I am applying for universities in ontario: Western, Windsor, Waterloo, Queens and Ottawa. 

 

Kind regards

Shivani

For most universities, GRE/GPA will get you through the door. With those GRE scores, even for master's programs, your application might not even make it through the first round for the committee to read what your references have to say. Is it possible for you to retake the GRE? Do you know what the cutoff scores are for those programs? 

[Shivani513]

On 10/18/2019 at 3:44 PM, justacigar said:

For most universities, GRE/GPA will get you through the door. With those GRE scores, even for master's programs, your application might not even make it through the first round for the committee to read what your references have to say. Is it possible for you to retake the GRE? Do you know what the cutoff scores are for those programs? 

Thank you for that advice. I have actually decided I am going to retake as I saw on the percentiles it is quite low.. 
Quite a few programs have just replied to me saying they take the whole application in to consideration.. no one has actually told me what score the cut off is? But by forums I see roughly 150 - would you say that is right for clinical?

Kind regards

Shivani

 

[JoePianist]

2 hours ago, Shivani513 said:

Thank you for that advice. I have actually decided I am going to retake as I saw on the percentiles it is quite low.. 
Quite a few programs have just replied to me saying they take the whole application in to consideration.. no one has actually told me what score the cut off is? But by forums I see roughly 150 - would you say that is right for clinical?

Kind regards

Shivani

 

Speaking for my own PhD Clinical Psychology program, they actually have a secret cut-off score they’ve decided ahead of time but won’t tell prospective applicants. If I recall correctly, their GRE cut-off score last year was around 310, so roughly 305 each on Verbal and Quantitative. For the GRE Writing section, you need to score at least a 4/6 in general for most programs.

[humanisticPOV]

CLINICAL APPLICANTS: For those applying in the current cycle, make sure you have read this guide! I found the advice invaluable for preparing my applications and going on interviews. It gives great advice on how to choose schools, writing your statements, interviewing tips, and ultimately, making a decision.

http://mitch.web.unc.edu/files/2017/02/MitchGradSchoolAdvice.pdf

[island876]

Is there a standard format for the personal statements. Such as double spaced or single spaced? Some schools give specific word limits, however, others say eg. 2 pages. Im unsure whether this is 2 pages single spaced or double . ?

[Clinapp2017]

9 hours ago, island876 said:

Is there a standard format for the personal statements. Such as double spaced or single spaced? Some schools give specific word limits, however, others say eg. 2 pages. Im unsure whether this is 2 pages single spaced or double . ?

I would say no. I wrote mine 2 pages single spaced and got 7 interviews. If you are concerned, reach out to the program coordinator to ask. 

[island876]

2 hours ago, Clinapp2017 said:

I would say no. I wrote mine 2 pages single spaced and got 7 interviews. If you are concerned, reach out to the program coordinator to ask. 

Thanks ! 

[PsychPhdBound]

19 hours ago, Clinapp2017 said:

I would say no. I wrote mine 2 pages single spaced and got 7 interviews. If you are concerned, reach out to the program coordinator to ask. 

Oh, I assumed they were all expecting double spaced, Times New Roman, 12pt, since that's APA. I definitely will check will the programs I'm unsure about then, since there is a big difference between two pages single spaced vs. double spaced. 

[citrus17]

On 10/16/2019 at 12:36 PM, justacigar said:

I'm going to go against the grain and say yes, send a follow-up email. I sent follow-up emails to the four faculty members I had not heard from and each one of them responded to my follow up. Profs have insane email inboxes and it is highly likely they did not see your original email, or saw it and forgot to get back to you. If they don't respond to the follow up, that is when I would stop trying. I just sent something along the lines of: 

Dear Prof, 

I am following up regarding an email I sent about a month ago. I realize your schedule is likely quite busy, but would greatly appreciate any information you can provide in relation to my questions below. I am highly interested in your lab and hope to determine if our interests are as aligned as I hope. OR I'm highly interested in your lab and hope to apply if you are planning on reviewing applications. 

Sincerely, 

justacigar

Thank you so much for the advice!! I just sent out a few follow-up emails and already got a response.

Best of luck on your applications:)

[justacigar]

@citrus17 

Yay! Glad it's working for you so far. 

Best of luck to you as well!

[psycstudent2018]

On 10/13/2019 at 9:31 PM, 2ndTimeHopeful said:

Is it possible for an interested professor to reach out via phone to further ascertain if you are a potential match? 

Definitely! I've already had an hour phone call with one of my potential mentors. 

 

But I've also gotten into schools on a previous cycle in which I didn't meet or talk to anyone until interview day. 

 

Everything is unique in this process. 

[2ndTimeHopeful]

5 hours ago, psycstudent2018 said:

Definitely! I've already had an hour phone call with one of my potential mentors. 

 

But I've also gotten into schools on a previous cycle in which I didn't meet or talk to anyone until interview day. 

 

Everything is unique in this process. 

Can you pm the school/POI? If you’ve already gotten accepted in a previous cycle why are you applying again? 

[Nikita Agarwal]

Hello 

I am a potential applicant from India. I have been looking at PHD programs with a psychoanalytic focus and interest and had initially shortlisted CUNY, Adelphi, TC Columbia, Duquesne (Pittsburgh), Long Island Brooklyn and Rutgers (PSyD). However, Long Island doesn't offer funding to International students and its impossible to survive with what CUNY offers. And correct me if I am wrong, but there is no funding for PSYD programs. So, technically I am looking a paucity of options.

1. Could anyone advise/help on more universities I should look at? 

2. What kind of funding is available for PsyD programs considering my applications rely on it?

3. Am I being narrow in my search and scope and consequently are there universities I should definitely apply to ?  

Oh! I have completed my masters in psychology here in India and currently an Assistant Professor at a central university teaching undergraduate students. 

 

Thank you 

Nikita

[clinicalpsych1996]

I know a lot of schools that say the statement of purpose should be "about 1,000 words" or "approximately 1,000 words".... Does anyone have any insight on how "strict" this is? I am at about 1,090 right now and I am not sure how much time I should spend into cutting it down....

[Clinapp2017]

16 hours ago, clare b. said:

I know a lot of schools that say the statement of purpose should be "about 1,000 words" or "approximately 1,000 words".... Does anyone have any insight on how "strict" this is? I am at about 1,090 right now and I am not sure how much time I should spend into cutting it down....

+/- 100 words (less than a paragraph) is probably okay. Be aware that some portals for applications, however, may have exact word count, so it's good to format your SOP with this in mind then having to frantically trim later. 

[psycstudent2018]

On 10/24/2019 at 12:41 AM, 2ndTimeHopeful said:

Can you pm the school/POI? If you’ve already gotten accepted in a previous cycle why are you applying again? 

It was Nova Southeastern University.

 

I didn't accept because it's a non-funded program. I was only applying to get experience prior to applying to primarily R1 schools this cycle

[Psychcat23]

On 9/12/2019 at 5:46 PM, psycstudent2018 said:

Get Magoosh, take the ETS practice tests, and make this your ONLY priority for the next month. You absolutely have to get your scores up and that comes with practice. You need to be studying every single day. 

I just want to say - I find this VERY aggravating when people assume you didn't study/didn't try when getting low scores on the GRE. I will tell you, I took this test 4 times, I have consistently gotten the same scores. I have studied for upwards of 3+ months every day, I had a tutor at one point, I did an online class and I had a book/flash cards. I have a 3.6 undergrad GPA and a 3.9 grad GPA, 2 pubs, 8 conference presentations, my masters is from an Ivy League school .. you get the picture. 

Since taking the GRE the FOURTH time - my verbal went up to 76th percentile, quant - 13th, writing - 81st. 

My point is - don't rule yourself or others out if their GRE scores aren't great. I've been told a mix of things - "you won't get in anywhere" and "you're gonna get a lot of interviews" it is absolutely a MIXED bag.  

[Clinapp2017]

57 minutes ago, Psychcat23 said:

I just want to say - I find this VERY aggravating when people assume you didn't study/didn't try when getting low scores on the GRE. I will tell you, I took this test 4 times, I have consistently gotten the same scores. I have studied for upwards of 3+ months every day, I had a tutor at one point, I did an online class and I had a book/flash cards. I have a 3.6 undergrad GPA and a 3.9 grad GPA, 2 pubs, 8 conference presentations, my masters is from an Ivy League school .. you get the picture. 

Since taking the GRE the FOURTH time - my verbal went up to 76th percentile, quant - 13th, writing - 81st. 

My point is - don't rule yourself or others out if their GRE scores aren't great. I've been told a mix of things - "you won't get in anywhere" and "you're gonna get a lot of interviews" it is absolutely a MIXED bag.  

Your qualifications are impressive, and I am sorry you've had such a negative experience with the GRE (and posters on this forum). 

 

I hope the intent behind sharing perspectives on GRE scores is not to put people down, but to be realistic. Aside from (first) author peer-reviewed publications, the GRE is the only metric that side-by-side differentiates applicants, as GPA mean different things widely by major and college, as do extra-curriculars, etc. . The GRE is a really crappy measure, and does not predict success in graduate school at all, yet many schools refuse to drop this measure because schools want ways they can compare applicants on the same measure. 

 

When people chime in saying that your scores are below certain suggested cutoffs, they are stating a fact. It is not to say that you should not apply, but if you don't get interviews, that (quite frankly) may be why. I agree to not rule oneself out and go ahead and apply if you have the resources to do so, but be prepared for the GRE (especially scores below 50th percentile) to be a potential hinderance to the application. This GRE's role is a fact that has been well-discussed by many sources, so down-playing its importance is not advantageous.

[JoePianist]

50 minutes ago, Clinapp2017 said:

When people chime in saying that your scores are below certain suggested cutoffs, they are stating a fact.

This is true, @Psychcat23

[2ndTimeHopeful]

My apps have been submitted for almost a month. I have 4 excellent references. 2 of them have submitted all of the recommendations. One hasn’t submitted any but has told me that they’re working on it. My academic reference has submitted all but three. Some of my apps accept four and some only three. I’ve emailed my academic reference but there hasn’t been a response. I’m concerned that something is wrong since this person has always been prompt with submissions & emails. First due dates are 11/15. Any suggestions? I can remove the academic reference from the app that only accepts 3 & replace it with my 4th reference but then it will be locked if they eventually try to submit & if I don’t get in this cycle I would ask this person again. Also, many of my apps will be incomplete if the other reference doesn’t submit. I recently found another school that could be a match but now I’m reluctant to add anything else that could end up incomplete. TIA. 

[humanisticPOV]

On 10/25/2019 at 6:04 PM, Nikita Agarwal said:

Hello 

I am a potential applicant from India. I have been looking at PHD programs with a psychoanalytic focus and interest and had initially shortlisted CUNY, Adelphi, TC Columbia, Duquesne (Pittsburgh), Long Island Brooklyn and Rutgers (PSyD). However, Long Island doesn't offer funding to International students and its impossible to survive with what CUNY offers. And correct me if I am wrong, but there is no funding for PSYD programs. So, technically I am looking a paucity of options.

1. Could anyone advise/help on more universities I should look at? 

2. What kind of funding is available for PsyD programs considering my applications rely on it?

3. Am I being narrow in my search and scope and consequently are there universities I should definitely apply to ?  

Oh! I have completed my masters in psychology here in India and currently an Assistant Professor at a central university teaching undergraduate students. 

 

Thank you 

Nikita

Hi Nikita,

Unfortunately funding in PhD psychology programs is very competitive and often insufficient for living (especially in NYC area). I think the average funding amount across the board is about $25,000 per year before taxes, but this varies based on geographic location, school, and whether or not the location is urban. Many students also teach classes as an adjunct professor, babysit on the weekends, take out loans, or receive other grants/familial support. I myself am not aware of any PsyD programs that are funded (not to say they don't exist). As I understand it, PhD's are funded from the money/publications/accolades you bring into a department because of your research. Since PsyDs are more clinical focused and few have research requirements, they are unlikely to offer much funding. My recommendation to you would be to 1) apply to outside grants/fellowships that may support you for a few years; and 2) (if feasible) apply to schools in areas with lower costs of living, so even if you are funded in a PhD, the money will go further. Many schools/foundations are happy to fund international students and may offer special packages for them, so make sure to cover all bases on extra-departmental funding opportunities.

[Pizzaiscool]

Hi, I am new to this post. I'm curious if there are any other PsyD applicants on this thread? I just skimmed through all the posts and it seems like everyone is shooting for the PhD route. Should we start a different thread for PsyD applicants?

Here are my choices, I would love any feedback/beta on what you know and what you have heard. I am applying to MFT programs as my fall back. Thanks in advance for your 2 cents!

1. Antioch University - PsyD

2. Pacific University - PysD

3. University of Denver - PsyD

4. Wright Institute - PsyD

5. Lewis and Clark - MCFT

6. Pacific Lutheran - MFT

I am also interested in George Fox's PsyD program mostly because I would love to live in Oregon, (would also be financially helpful for me to stay in OR) but I worry that it will be too religiously focused in curriculum.