2021 Clinical Psychology Applicants CANADA

[Mickey26]

Dal is considering/interviewing more students than ever before in program history LOL. This might be the case across all schools this year! Good luck everyone!

[+ve regard]

I want to add something re: the GPA, pubs, clinical experience admission requirements...these are not set as arbitrary, competitive standards to torture us or pit us against each other. It's to ensure that we have sampled the life of a researcher AND a clinician, to be somewhat ready and knowledgeable about what we are getting ourselves into. 

Doing an MA/PhD is a long road; it is exhausting. Getting in is a huge step but still only the first step. I know current grad students who hate doing therapy and find it draining. I know others who have stalled on their thesis/dissertation progress who have either quit the program or are on their 8th year of grad school. When they applied, they felt 100% sure that it was right for them and never imagined these outcomes. 

I might say it is even impossible to know what we're getting ourselves into until we are in it. But I am sure that having a track record of relentlessly pursuing clinical interests is essential, not only to get admitted, but to feel sure and confident that this is the right choice for you. And to have the sustainable source of energy (passion??) that drives you to continue trudging forward towards this goal. This concludes my sermon, haha  

 

[freudianslipintogradschool]

56 minutes ago, +ve regard said:

I want to add something re: the GPA, pubs, clinical experience admission requirements...these are not set as arbitrary, competitive standards to torture us or pit us against each other. It's to ensure that we have sampled the life of a researcher AND a clinician, to be somewhat ready and knowledgeable about what we are getting ourselves into. 

Doing an MA/PhD is a long road; it is exhausting. Getting in is a huge step but still only the first step. I know current grad students who hate doing therapy and find it draining. I know others who have stalled on their thesis/dissertation progress who have either quit the program or are on their 8th year of grad school. When they applied, they felt 100% sure that it was right for them and never imagined these outcomes. 

I might say it is even impossible to know what we're getting ourselves into until we are in it. But I am sure that having a track record of relentlessly pursuing clinical interests is essential, not only to get admitted, but to feel sure and confident that this is the right choice for you. And to have the sustainable source of energy (passion??) that drives you to continue trudging forward towards this goal. This concludes my sermon, haha  

 

Completely agree with this! At the beginning of my undergrad I thought I wanted to solely to clinical work, as I worked as a coordinator my love for research grew! Since then I've continuously tried to expose myself to different parts of the research process since I have an intrinsic interest for it!! I definitely feel that if I didn't take the time to ask questions (especially as a first generation student) I would have NO clue what was getting myself into. I am so happy I am on this path and can only pray that I have the opportunity to pursue the career I know I am purposed for!  

[aaapal]

Has anyone heard anything about York, SFU, Windsor, Ryerson, or Queen's reaching out about first round interviews yet? I haven't seen these schools pop up on here yet so I was just curious.

 

Also big congrats to everyone who's gotten a first round interview so far! Best of luck!!  

[pastel2020]

Just now, aaapal said:

Has anyone heard anything about York, SFU, Windsor, Ryerson, or Queen's reaching out about first round interviews yet? I haven't seen these schools pop up on here yet so I was just curious.

 

Also big congrats to everyone who's gotten a first round interview so far! Best of luck!!  

I haven't heard anything from York, SFU, or Queens (I didn't apply to Windsor or Ryerson but it seems like Ryerson already sent out some rejections for those who didn't meet minimum requirements or something like that?) 

York's deadline for creating an account and paying was just yesterday. Their deadline for additional documents (like personal statement or reference letters) is Dec 31 this year. 

[aaapal]

Just now, pastel2020 said:

I haven't heard anything from York, SFU, or Queens (I didn't apply to Windsor or Ryerson but it seems like Ryerson already sent out some rejections for those who didn't meet minimum requirements or something like that?) 

York's deadline for creating an account and paying was just yesterday. Their deadline for additional documents (like personal statement or reference letters) is Dec 31 this year. 

Oh interesting! OK! thanks for letting me know  I thought York's deadline was the 1st like the others haha. Well looks like I'll just spend the holiday season in more anticipation of those emails haha.

[Mickey26]

21 minutes ago, aaapal said:

Has anyone heard anything about York, SFU, Windsor, Ryerson, or Queen's reaching out about first round interviews yet? I haven't seen these schools pop up on here yet so I was just curious.

 

Also big congrats to everyone who's gotten a first round interview so far! Best of luck!!  

Faculty at Ryerson haven't even seen the applications yet. I've been told they don't plan on interviewing till the new year, which is typical of Cdn schools (except like Dal lol).

[aaapal]

Just now, Mickey26 said:

Faculty at Ryerson haven't even seen the applications yet. I've been told they don't plan on interviewing till the new year, which is typical of Cdn schools (except like Dal lol).

OH! great to know! Last year I got the email from Ryerson about an initial interview on like December 30th, but maybe now I can stress a little less haha 

[Mickey26]

Just now, aaapal said:

OH! great to know! Last year I got the email from Ryerson about an initial interview on like December 30th, but maybe now I can stress a little less haha 

I mean they still might send out invites end of Dec, but it doesnt seem like the interviews itself are being held till the new yr. I haven't heard of interview date(s) yet for Ryerson though. make sense?

[aaapal]

Just now, Mickey26 said:

I mean they still might send out invites end of Dec, but it doesnt seem like the interviews itself are being held till the new yr. I haven't heard of interview date(s) yet for Ryerson though. make sense?

Okay! haha yeah it makes sense, thank you for reaching out!!

[spicemelange]

Anyone hear anything from SFU? 

Ugh, I applied to 6 programs (two non-clinical) and regret not applying to more. I'm refreshing GradCafe and my email like every five minutes lol.

Edited December 17, 2020 by TheSpiceMelange

[rainydaychai]

48 minutes ago, TheSpiceMelange said:

Anyone hear anything from SFU? 

Ugh, I applied to 6 programs (two non-clinical) and regret not applying to more. I'm refreshing GradCafe and my email like every five minutes lol.

Current SFU clinical (forensic) grad student here! I would definitely not expect invites to go out until January, us graduate students were given the heads-up that the applicant shortlist will be determined in early January.

[Terelia]

58 minutes ago, TheSpiceMelange said:

Anyone hear anything from SFU? 

Ugh, I applied to 6 programs (two non-clinical) and regret not applying to more. I'm refreshing GradCafe and my email like every five minutes lol.

I applied to a bunch of schools last year and again this year. From experience, I wouldn't start worrying about things until January at the earliest. Dalhousie is one of the only schools (that I know of) that always starts contacting students in December. Seeing as there is likely not going to be any in-person interviews this year, a lot of schools probably won't have set interview days either so interview invites may be even more scattered around this year. I agree completely - the waiting SUCKS but it's not worth worrying too much this early! 

Having said that, I'm also checking grad cafe and refreshing my email constantly so I'm really not doing much better at keeping my cool lol. 

Edited December 17, 2020 by Terelia
spelling

[Hope466]

Is anyone applying with an experimental Master's? I wonder if this would be a positive factor in one's application if it was a related topic.

[spicemelange]

12 minutes ago, rainydaychai said:

Current SFU clinical (forensic) grad student here! I would definitely not expect invites to go out until January, us graduate students were given the heads-up that the applicant shortlist will be determined in early January.

Good to know, thanks! Does SFU do preliminary interviews?

Edited December 17, 2020 by TheSpiceMelange

[spicemelange]

1 minute ago, Terelia said:

I applied to a bunch of schools last year and again this year. From experience, I wouldn't start worrying about things until January at the earliest. Dalhousie is one of the only schools (that I know of) that always starts contacting students in December. Seeing as there is likely not going to be any in-person interviews this year, a lot of schools probably won't have set interview days either so interview invites may be even more scattered around this year. I agree completely - the waiting SUCKS but it's not worth worrying too much this early! 

Having said that, I'm also checking grad cafe and refreshing my email constantly so I'm really not doing much better at keeping my cool lol. 

I applied to two schools in Canada. The rest are schools in the U.S. Not sure what it is with U.S. schools, but faculty review applications right after the deadline. They send their invites mid-/end of December. 

[carlrogersfan98]

12 hours ago, Mickey26 said:

Dal is considering/interviewing more students than ever before in program history LOL. This might be the case across all schools this year! Good luck everyone!

Oh dang! Does that mean they may be sending out another round of interview invites? (If you can't disclose that I understand - just hella bummed I didn't get an invite for this week!)

[Terelia]

1 hour ago, TheSpiceMelange said:

I applied to two schools in Canada. The rest are schools in the U.S. Not sure what it is with U.S. schools, but faculty review applications right after the deadline. They send their invites mid-/end of December. 

Oh wow! I’ve heard that! Yea US schools are definitely earlier. I can understand why you may be worrying early then. Good luck!

[Mickey26]

10 hours ago, carlrogersfan98 said:

Oh dang! Does that mean they may be sending out another round of interview invites? (If you can't disclose that I understand - just hella bummed I didn't get an invite for this week!)

No sorry. They only do one round of interviews (which was this Monday and Wed). They then rank order candidates, and if the top choice declines, they'd move to the next candidate etc

[xtrahotlatte]

12 hours ago, Hope466 said:

Is anyone applying with an experimental Master's? I wonder if this would be a positive factor in one's application if it was a related topic.

I applied to the MA in Developmental Psychology and Education at OISE 

[psych51038]

Does anyone have any thoughts on informal/preliminary interviews with a professor? I didn't have any and am hoping this doesn't mean my chances are lower (most that I emailed either did not respond or emailed back providing more info about their work/program) but it is very hard to tell with so many people seemingly already having contact with some of the professors they are applying to work with!

[carlrogersfan98]

29 minutes ago, psych51038 said:

Does anyone have any thoughts on informal/preliminary interviews with a professor? I didn't have any and am hoping this doesn't mean my chances are lower (most that I emailed either did not respond or emailed back providing more info about their work/program) but it is very hard to tell with so many people seemingly already having contact with some of the professors they are applying to work with!

I don't know the absolute answer but if it helps, many of the profs I applied to work with outright told me they will not meet with anyone until after the application deadline to keep things fair. So while I can't speak for all profs, clearly some profs weight the actual applications more than informal meetings. I feel like the informal meetings are more just a way to put a face to the name.

[VanessaB]

1 hour ago, psych51038 said:

Does anyone have any thoughts on informal/preliminary interviews with a professor? I didn't have any and am hoping this doesn't mean my chances are lower (most that I emailed either did not respond or emailed back providing more info about their work/program) but it is very hard to tell with so many people seemingly already having contact with some of the professors they are applying to work with!

I think it really depends on the program. While I think most programs do interviews, not all of them have interviews integrated into their formal admission criteria. With the program I'm in now, during a discussion on admission requirements, my supervisor explained that because formal interviews are not part of the actual admission criteria, a faculty member could certainly choose to meet with and interview a potential student if they wanted to, but the interview would have no weight or bearing in the final admission decision. I guess the faculty undergo unconscious bias training and are trained to try be as objective as possible when making their decisions, but I'm not sure if that's the case at all places.

During my application cycle, I also experienced something similar with some professors not emailing back. What I've found is that, in some instances, it may mean the professor has already decided who they want to try and take on as a student. In my cohort, one of the girls is working with a supervisor I contacted during my cycle, but that supervisor never replied back to me when I reached out, so I figure the supervisor was hoping to commit to/take on the other student, so it would've been a useless email exchange.

Edited December 17, 2020 by VanessaB

[psych51038]

12 minutes ago, VanessaB said:

I think it really depends on the program. While I think most programs do interviews, not all of them have interviews integrated into their formal admission criteria. With the program I'm in now, during a discussion on admission requirements, my supervisor explained that because formal interviews are not part of the actual admission criteria, a faculty member could certainly choose to meet with and interview a potential student if they wanted to, but the interview would have no weight or bearing in the final admission decision. I guess the faculty undergo unconscious bias training and are trained to try be as objective as possible when making their decisions, but I'm not sure if that's the case at all places.

During my application cycle, I also experienced something similar with some professors not emailing back. What I've found is that, in some instances, it may mean the professor has already decided who they want to try and take on as a student. In my cohort, one of the girls is working with a supervisor I contacted during my cycle, but that supervisor never replied back to me when I reached out, so I figure the supervisor was hoping to commit to/take on the other student, so it would've been a useless email exchange.

This is super helpful - thank you! I've been told not to get too upset about profs not responding to emails since some of them get hundreds of emails (I mean even as a student i probably get 50-100 emails some days so that seems very reasonable) but that definitely would make sense about already having students in mind to take on. Hopefully that's not the case for everyone I've emailed!

[CateFace]

Just now, psych51038 said:

This is super helpful - thank you! I've been told not to get too upset about profs not responding to emails since some of them get hundreds of emails (I mean even as a student i probably get 50-100 emails some days so that seems very reasonable) but that definitely would make sense about already having students in mind to take on. Hopefully that's not the case for everyone I've emailed!

I've emailed a whole bunch this fall and out of those I had one actual interview via zoom and it was more to just talk more about what I had to offer and what I wanted to pursue and for her to explain what happens in her lab, how the mentoring side of it is set up with phd students, grad students, honours students..etc and details on each of her main studies. How the first few years look, what the objectives are. We also introduced our dogs on camera...you know that sort of thing. Others have replied that they already had a student in mind, but wished me luck in applications, others replied that they don't meet with students until after the admissions process to keep things fair, and yet others replied that they will be taking a student and look forward to seeing my application but aren't meeting with any students at this point. It truly is a mixed bag. This was all within one institution too! If anything, I can say that every single email I did send was replied to with kindness and nothing but well wishes, and for those that I didn't get to meet with or talk more to - I am grateful to just get to the point and not waste their time or my own time too!