2021 Clinical Psychology Applicants CANADA

[UWOclinpsych]

For anyone who is applying for a second year, can I just re use my proposal for CGS-M from last year?

[VanessaB]

3 hours ago, UWOclinpsych said:

For anyone who is applying for a second year, can I just re use my proposal for CGS-M from last year?

I know someone who was unsuccessful their first try, but they changed a few words in their proposal for the second try and resubmitted it. They were successful on their second attempt even though they changed very little in their proposal, so sometimes there are factors out of your control. That said, I also know someone who was waitlisted on their first try, but then on their second attempt they were outright rejected when submitting something similar. Again, I think it just goes to show there’s a lot out of your control, so I’d say it’s really an individual decision, but if you think your application is strong as is, I doubt you’d need to change much.

Edited November 13, 2020 by VanessaB

[broski]

For anyone who's applying to CGS-M, how did you upload your transcript? Do you scan and upload a PDF of your official transcript? When I scan my official transcript it shows the transcript as void. My school isn't sending electronic official transcripts to students. This transcript dealio got me confused 

[emsmith]

I told my references I would give them a summary of my achievements, CV, what I want to study, etc, and they asked if I could also give them a summary of what they should focus on/what the schools will be looking for...

I know of course they should highlight my research ability, but I'm not sure if there are any specific areas they should be commenting on? Or anything that they shouldn't comment on? (aside of course from saying anything negative) Any advice? Thanks!

 

[+ve regard]

18 hours ago, UWOclinpsych said:

For anyone who is applying for a second year, can I just re use my proposal for CGS-M from last year?

In addition to VanessaB's suggestion, I had a few "outside" readers look over my proposal the following year, to check for areas which were unclear or not very convincing. I ended up making some changes/clarifications, after I initially thought it was "as good as it gets." Basically it's a sales pitch which is read by people who are not necessarily in your field, so it's good to get that second (third, fourth) set of eyes. This makes it different that your SOI for applications, because the SOI will be read by psychology profs who love jargon  

Edited November 13, 2020 by +ve regard

[VanessaB]

12 hours ago, broski said:

For anyone who's applying to CGS-M, how did you upload your transcript? Do you scan and upload a PDF of your official transcript? When I scan my official transcript it shows the transcript as void. My school isn't sending electronic official transcripts to students. This transcript dealio got me confused 

This should be fine as long as you’re not using an unofficial printout from a school website. You could also contact your department(s) to confirm.

[Edge98]

For the CCV, where do we input volunteer research positions (ie., research assistant)?

[clinical_psyc_hopeful]

10 minutes ago, Edge98 said:

For the CCV, where do we input volunteer research positions (ie., research assistant)?

I believe under the volunteer section

[Edge98]

Just now, clinical_psyc_hopeful said:

I believe under the volunteer section

It does say "positions not directly related to one's research activities", so where would we indicate volunteer RA positions that are directly related to our research activities? Thanks!

[chopper.wife]

On 11/11/2020 at 3:18 PM, Idiopathic said:

Quick question for anyone more familiar with CGS-M.  Do your references have to have a PhD?

TL;DR Can a senior graduate student be one of your CGS-M references?

For context; I used two professors for my school applications, one who has been my lab supervisor for many years and another who taught a class I did extremely well in.  I know this is the norm for school applications, two professors.

For CGS-M, I feel my application would be stronger if my second reference is the senior PhD student from the lab I work in.  This senior PhD is currently doing his pre-doctoral residency, so won't have his PhD until the spring.  He is the one who has supervised me more so than anyone, and I feel he can attest to my experimental and publication abilities better than the professor whose class I did well in.  I am a third author on his papers and he was the second author on my only current first authorship.

 

Thanks in advance to anyone that takes the time to offer an opinion.

 

 

I see that some have said this would be okay to do, but I would urge you to consider finding a faculty member to write your letter. I wonder whose lab the PhD student is in? You could ask the PI of that lab to write your letter and ask if the PhD student could contribute to that letter considering they know you well. If, on the other hand, the PhD student is in the lab with the supervisor you already have a reference from, then definitely don't do this as it looks bad having two references coming from the same lab (not sure if that is the case based on what you wrote). 

[chopper.wife]

On 10/31/2020 at 11:22 AM, Edge98 said:

Do you guys know if U of C requires a study proposal? For those of you who have already submitted the application

Not sure if you got a reply to this yet or not, but U of C does require a study proposal. Usually they ask for this with the idea that you submitted a similar proposal for CGS-M.

[PrettyFlyForACogSci]

15 minutes ago, chopper.wife said:

Not sure if you got a reply to this yet or not, but U of C does require a study proposal. Usually they ask for this with the idea that you submitted a similar proposal for CGS-M.

Can anyone else confirm this? Or have a link? The only place I saw any info about a study proposal is in the UofC general graduate application details where it says "some programs may require X" but I never saw this information in the ClinPsych specific admission requirements. 

https://www.ucalgary.ca/pubs/calendar/grad/current/clinical-psychology-cpsy-program.html

I know that after you submit your application you are sent information for how to upload "program specific documentation" but I assumed that was transcripts etc...

[Edge98]

13 minutes ago, PrettyFlyForACogSci said:

Can anyone else confirm this? Or have a link? The only place I saw any info about a study proposal is in the UofC general graduate application details where it says "some programs may require X" but I never saw this information in the ClinPsych specific admission requirements. 

https://www.ucalgary.ca/pubs/calendar/grad/current/clinical-psychology-cpsy-program.html

I know that after you submit your application you are sent information for how to upload "program specific documentation" but I assumed that was transcripts etc...

After I asked this question I confirmed it with 2 faculty member's at U of C. Apparently the website it just very unclear, so they are likely going to update in the future. But yes, I was told that they require a study proposal

[PrettyFlyForACogSci]

3 minutes ago, Edge98 said:

After I asked this question I confirmed it with 2 faculty member's at U of C. Apparently the website it just very unclear, so they are likely going to update in the future. But yes, I was told that they require a study proposal

Whyy do they do this to us ? thanks for the heads up @Edge98 @chopper.wife

[chopper.wife]

1 hour ago, PrettyFlyForACogSci said:

Whyy do they do this to us ? thanks for the heads up @Edge98 @chopper.wife

https://grad.ucalgary.ca/future-students/explore-programs/clinical-psychology-msc-thesis

I would go based off of the department webpage instead of the program calendar. If you go to the program page (linked above) and scroll down to "Admission Requirements" it says "please submit a one-page (excluding references) research proposal." I would make sure you apply for CGS-M and just use what you have for a proposal from there for the U of C proposal.

Edited November 13, 2020 by chopper.wife

[Jpsych_]

For the CCV, where would we input research experience we have (but this didn’t lead to a presentation/publication)

thanks!

[Edge98]

Just now, Jpsych_ said:

For the CCV, where would we input research experience we have (but this didn’t lead to a presentation/publication)

thanks!

I have the same question!

[Jpsych_]

How detailed are you all making your proposal for CGS in terms of methods.

- Are you outlining how you will collect the data, for ex. Using interviews and the size of the sample size?

- Are you specifically outline your hypotheses? 
 

- Are you all using pronouns ex. We/I/our study
 

It’s kind of hard adding all of this information in a page so wanted your input - thank you!

Edited November 14, 2020 by Jpsych_

[Rapunzel116]

Does anyone know anything about the PsyD programs at University of Prince Edward Island or Adler University? I'm considering applying but there both not accredited so was wondering if anyone had any experience/ extra info. Thanks  

[Kresen]

Just wanted to pop back in here and say good luck to everyone  please take care of your physical and mental health during this very taxing process! 

[clinical_psyc_hopeful]

For anyone who has done the SFU application, what did you write for the up to 400 words on academic or research interests? Did you just copy your research interests from your statement?

[Regina77]

On 10/18/2020 at 5:45 PM, clinicalpsychstudent said:

I feel incredibly blessed to be at York. It has a lot of benefits. Namely:

1) The faculty are amazing. They're incredibly supportive, and everything has a very collaborative approach and feel to it. For example, if I'm having difficulty with stats, there's not only a statistical consulting group that I can contact, but I would also feel completely comfortable emailing any of my past stats professors to meet and chat. The professors are really clearly teaching because they love teaching, and it truly shows in how they lay out their courses and interact with their students. Each prof I've had feels less like an instructor, and more like a mentor. I really truly feel like they care about us, and not only our learning experience, but also our well-being and personally as well.

2) For therapy, York takes on a client-centered approach. This means that when we start learning therapy, we do so from a more humanistic approach; learning how to respond empathically, make reflections to deepen the client's experiencing, etc. For our first client especially, this is really pushed hard onto us, and though it was sort of hard to see it at the time, this was really the best decision I think York could have made for us. After your first client (and even during your first client, but to a lesser extent), you're encouraged to use integrative approaches, depending on the needs of the client. Because of this, I actually think York students get a much more solid foundation, and much more rounded background- we get bits and pieces of EFT, CBT, and DBT, but all within a client-centered framework. Doing therapy now during practicum, I find, it's much easier to connect with clients even when doing more structured therapy like CBT, and I find that because of that foundation, I'm more able to notice alliance ruptures or therapy resistance, and have the skills to know how to fix those ruptures or address that resistance before they become an issue, in a way that the client will respond well to.

3) Related to your concern about making connections and friends- I've actually found the opposite. The cohorts are generally between 6-8 students, and so especially in the first 3 years, you're basically constantly around those people. Of course, now with covid, classes are online and so that may have an impact on how cohorts will bond- but personally, I've never had a better, or closer group of friends than the ones I've made in my cohort. I kind of feel like everyone knows everyone within the faculty- it's very, very easy to make friends. Some cohorts are not as close as others, and that's okay; but there are so many groups, so many ways to get involved, and also just so many opportunities to get together with your cohort or other students, it's really easy to make friends and connections.

In terms of living in Toronto, it really depends. I'm from a smaller town, and I'm definitely more of a small-town person. But even so, I enjoy Toronto. Rent is expensive, and that sucks. But there are definitely places available within everyone's budget (especially now, with rent decreases), and a lot of things to do. The one downside(?) to York is that because it's a commuter school, a lot of people in grad programs don't live on residency. In general, York's residences are just less abundant than other schools. Most grad students live mid-town as it has reasonable rent, is fairly walkable, and has direct access to the subway onto campus!

It sounds cheesy, but my friends and I constantly talk about how lucky we are to all be at York. I legitimately can't recommend it enough.

Hi there thanks for this. York is my first choice just wondering from those on your cohort had most of youpublished? that's my only shortcoming. am also a mature student 35+ just wondering about this too. I have atleast 3 faculty who would be perfect fit because of their focus on illness, pain etc...did you get in touch with faculty during your application? I was just planning go take a chance and focus on a strong application and not email them. what are your thoughts on this?

[Regina77]

On 10/21/2020 at 2:02 PM, +ve regard said:

Hi all - I am a current PhD student at U of T (OISE) CCP...if you have any specific q's about this program, feel free to dm  Best of luck!!

Hi there for some reason I cannot DM. I applied go CCP at OISE I was feeling confident then in the last few weeks they updated list of proffs taking students to proffs I have nothing in common with. Early in August to september most were saying they are taking students. the CCP applicstion also says you do not need go email the PI? is this correct?Also attended open house and there and website they keep stating that you can apply to up to 3 programs then recently on website they say they discourage this... I already submitted to CCP and MED CP. question will this look bad? also what is your experience in the CCP? what do you like about it?  are the students doing diverse research? how different is yhe CCP from MEd CP if you know anytbing about it? thanks

[Kresen]

On 11/16/2020 at 4:10 PM, clinical_psyc_hopeful said:

For anyone who has done the SFU application, what did you write for the up to 400 words on academic or research interests? Did you just copy your research interests from your statement?

Yes, I just copied and pasted  I believe my paragraph was around 2xx out of the max 400 words 

[+ve regard]

12 hours ago, Regina77 said:

Hi there for some reason I cannot DM. I applied go CCP at OISE I was feeling confident then in the last few weeks they updated list of proffs taking students to proffs I have nothing in common with. Early in August to september most were saying they are taking students. the CCP applicstion also says you do not need go email the PI? is this correct?Also attended open house and there and website they keep stating that you can apply to up to 3 programs then recently on website they say they discourage this... I already submitted to CCP and MED CP. question will this look bad? also what is your experience in the CCP? what do you like about it?  are the students doing diverse research? how different is yhe CCP from MEd CP if you know anytbing about it? thanks

Hi Regina - I've replied to you now in a message...let me know if it doesn't come through and I can just post it