2022-2023 Clinical Psychology Applications - Canada

[Terelia]

26 minutes ago, T.O.hopeful said:

Does this week seem fairly quiet to other people or is this to be expected? I was expecting to hear of more invites during this second week of January but it's been quiet on here and the discord page. Tough seeing American schools have so many invites being sent while we wait for our POIs to dust off the application pile... lol

And congrats @SoundofSilence!! Envious of your ability to relax now and it's only January ?!

It does seem a bit quiet but I do remember that when I applied last year, I didn't hear from several schools until the last week of January. The waiting is so tough but it is so important that we all remember that its still very early and MANY schools haven't even started sending out invites at all. 

[carlrogersfan98]

1 hour ago, T.O.hopeful said:

Does this week seem fairly quiet to other people or is this to be expected? I was expecting to hear of more invites during this second week of January but it's been quiet on here and the discord page. Tough seeing American schools have so many invites being sent while we wait for our POIs to dust off the application pile... lol

And congrats @SoundofSilence!! Envious of your ability to relax now and it's only January ?!

Yes and no, this week feels about right to me but overall the whole cycle feels more silent compared to last year. I do wonder if some schools choosing to extend their winter breaks and/or transition back to online learning impacted this.

[carlrogersfan98]

Does anyone know if being a repeat applicant influences some schools'/profs' decisions? I've heard mixed thoughts - some say it does not influence but others have said that profs do notice repeat applicants and, if they came close to making a prof's shortlist in other cycles, may have an advantage as it shows persistence! 

[SoundofSilence]

19 minutes ago, carlrogersfan98 said:

Does anyone know if being a repeat applicant influences some schools'/profs' decisions? I've heard mixed thoughts - some say it does not influence but others have said that profs do notice repeat applicants and, if they came close to making a prof's shortlist in other cycles, may have an advantage as it shows persistence! 

Funny you should ask this! I recently got an interview invite from a place I applied to and interviewed during my last application cycle, two years ago. I got rejected then, but they seemed to remember me positively so I guess the persistence did pay off. They did give me good feedback on what I can improve after the rejection and I appreciated that. 

I also applied to a couple of other places twice, but never got an interview. So your experience may vary as well. It might really depend on the person and how they view this.

My personal take on this - if you like the program and the person, and you had a good experience interacting with them, why not re-apply? However, if you think a lab is way too competitive and you might want to give other POIs a try, you can always do that. Most reasonable POIs will understand that interests change and some might be flattered that you're so interested in their lab that you keep re-applying. I doubt there's a general consensus on this.

[babooshka]

It has seemed surprisingly quiet this cycle. Although I have heard through the grapevine that UTSC got somewhere around 600 applications this year...not sure how accurate this is, but if true, it's staggering. 

[psychologyenjoyer]

2 minutes ago, babooshka said:

It has seemed surprisingly quiet this cycle. Although I have heard through the grapevine that UTSC got somewhere around 600 applications this year...not sure how accurate this is, but if true, it's staggering. 

I have a feeling things will pick up once some more of the heavy hitter schools send out invites 

[Wonderlander]

5 hours ago, SoundofSilence said:

So here it goes...

School: Dalhousie University

Type: Clinical Psychology PhD

Acceptance/Waitlist/Rejection: Acceptance

Type of Notification: Official Email

Date Notified: 1/11/22

Gaaaaah... it's only been a decade of work to get here (no, I'm not kidding) and I was starting to feel really old.

After receiving the email I was half numb and half freaking out and kept asking everyone if it's normal. It doesn't really feel real yet and I'm still in anxious/panicky mode somewhat. However, I do plan on taking the weekend off and just unwind. Get in touch if you're considering Dal or just have questions, I'm around.

OMG HUGE CONGRATS!!! 

[psychowannabee]

2 hours ago, SoundofSilence said:

Funny you should ask this! I recently got an interview invite from a place I applied to and interviewed during my last application cycle, two years ago. I got rejected then, but they seemed to remember me positively so I guess the persistence did pay off. They did give me good feedback on what I can improve after the rejection and I appreciated that. 

I also applied to a couple of other places twice, but never got an interview. So your experience may vary as well. It might really depend on the person and how they view this.

My personal take on this - if you like the program and the person, and you had a good experience interacting with them, why not re-apply? However, if you think a lab is way too competitive and you might want to give other POIs a try, you can always do that. Most reasonable POIs will understand that interests change and some might be flattered that you're so interested in their lab that you keep re-applying. I doubt there's a general consensus on this.

 

 

Is Dal your top school preferred choice? Would you still interview with other schools if you get an invite? 

 

 

In addition, I'd love to hear what you did to improve from last year compared to this year!

[SoundofSilence]

2 minutes ago, psychowannabee said:

 

 

Is Dal your top school preferred choice? Would you still interview with other schools if you get an invite? 

 

 

In addition, I'd love to hear what you did to improve from last year compared to this year!

I just got another interview so yes, at least this one. There is no magic secret - I just got more research experience, some more conference posters and submitted manuscripts, better letters. I also spent more time figuring out which POIs were really a match to me and not just on the surface. As a consequence, I think my research interests are more defined and it was slightly easier this time around to articulate what work I'd like to do in the future. I also think there was a dose of luck involved too. Difficult to pinpoint something specific. 

[Terelia]

I assume this may be helpful to others so I'd love to get some feedback and maybe do some brainstorming/get a discussion going in the forum about how people handle the following question: 

"Is [school] a top choice for you?" or "where does [school] rank for you?" 

I had this question a few times last year and I hated it. I found that during interviews last year, schools that initially ranked low ended up being higher for me once I learned more about them in the interviews (and vice versa). I think other people would probably agree - the website and initial emails with POIs prior to applications don't necessarily give you the full picture when you're applying. As others can probably understand, I applied to several schools for a reason - I would be happy to go to any of them and know that I might not interview/get accepted at my so-called "top choices." 

How do people deal with this question? I handled it very poorly last year and felt very caught off-guard when it was asked so I want to be prepared just in case for this year. 

I don't want to lie but I also don't want to shoot myself in the foot - I assume that professors recognize that I put them down for OGS but not CGS-M (as an example). 

My thoughts on answers but open to feedback/suggestions: 

- focus on the positive (ie. what I like about the school/program) 

- vague language (they can likely see through this, but saying "it ranks highly" or something similar?) 

[T.O.hopeful]

1 hour ago, Terelia said:

I assume this may be helpful to others so I'd love to get some feedback and maybe do some brainstorming/get a discussion going in the forum about how people handle the following question: 

"Is [school] a top choice for you?" or "where does [school] rank for you?" 

I had this question a few times last year and I hated it. I found that during interviews last year, schools that initially ranked low ended up being higher for me once I learned more about them in the interviews (and vice versa). I think other people would probably agree - the website and initial emails with POIs prior to applications don't necessarily give you the full picture when you're applying. As others can probably understand, I applied to several schools for a reason - I would be happy to go to any of them and know that I might not interview/get accepted at my so-called "top choices." 

How do people deal with this question? I handled it very poorly last year and felt very caught off-guard when it was asked so I want to be prepared just in case for this year. 

I don't want to lie but I also don't want to shoot myself in the foot - I assume that professors recognize that I put them down for OGS but not CGS-M (as an example). 

My thoughts on answers but open to feedback/suggestions: 

- focus on the positive (ie. what I like about the school/program) 

- vague language (they can likely see through this, but saying "it ranks highly" or something similar?) 

Wow I didn't know some programs actually asked this question, not like anyone would answer "no"! I think if it were me, I would be prepared to speak to why the program is the right fit for me similar to what we mention in our SOIs, and use that reasoning to justify why the school ranks highly. And if it's a CGS-M school, then I would further reference that as evidence of the program ranking highly for me. But if it's not a CGS-M school... I would likely lean towards mentioning why but in a way that still makes me look the best as I possibly can in that situation lol. I'd be too nervous to leave out that elephant in the room as the committee/POI would clearly know I didn't list the program for CGS-M, so I wouldn't want to come off as fake raving about how this is a top choice yet I didn't rank them for the award. My hope is they would appreciate my honesty. 

[Terelia]

23 minutes ago, T.O.hopeful said:

Wow I didn't know some programs actually asked this question, not like anyone would answer "no"! I think if it were me, I would be prepared to speak to why the program is the right fit for me similar to what we mention in our SOIs, and use that reasoning to justify why the school ranks highly. And if it's a CGS-M school, then I would further reference that as evidence of the program ranking highly for me. But if it's not a CGS-M school... I would likely lean towards mentioning why but in a way that still makes me look the best as I possibly can in that situation lol. I'd be too nervous to leave out that elephant in the room as the committee/POI would clearly know I didn't list the program for CGS-M, so I wouldn't want to come off as fake raving about how this is a top choice yet I didn't rank them for the award. My hope is they would appreciate my honesty. 

You make some good points here! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I have answer prepared for why I applied to the particular school so I think I will do a spin-off that and just be aware of how I word things. 

As an aside, just to help others prepare, I got asked this question at SFU and Calgary last year when I interviewed. The question came directly from the POI during my interviews so it may be a more POI-specific question and not a program-wide question but I still would prepare for this question just in case so you don't feel blindsided if it comes up. 

EDIT: I think I also got asked this question at York last year but I can't be sure - York was a top choice for me prior to interviewing so it wasn't a question that stressed me out enough to remember. 

Edited January 13, 2022 by Terelia
Additional Information

[psychacademicdreamer]

2 hours ago, Terelia said:

I assume this may be helpful to others so I'd love to get some feedback and maybe do some brainstorming/get a discussion going in the forum about how people handle the following question: 

"Is [school] a top choice for you?" or "where does [school] rank for you?" 

This is my first year applying so I don't have as much experience. I've finished 6 interviews so far and I haven't been asked this question *yet*. I have been asked "Why X school/Why our Program?" or questions along those lines. I've also been asked whether I listed X school for tri-council funding, which I guess is a one way for them to find out if it was your top 3 back when you completed tri-council applications. 

Like someone mentioned, you can't answer "no, this isn't a top choice". But I'm assuming that if you've applied there, there is clearly something that draws you to the school. If it isn't necessarily your current top choice, I would maybe cling onto 1 or 2 selling points of the school/program that you genuinely do like, and/or maybe something about that PIs research that you like. But that's just my 2 cents. As someone else mentioned, top choices can change as you go meeting PIs, learning more about the program, talking to grad students, etc. 

[carlrogersfan98]

4 hours ago, Terelia said:

I assume this may be helpful to others so I'd love to get some feedback and maybe do some brainstorming/get a discussion going in the forum about how people handle the following question: 

"Is [school] a top choice for you?" or "where does [school] rank for you?" 

I had this question a few times last year and I hated it. I found that during interviews last year, schools that initially ranked low ended up being higher for me once I learned more about them in the interviews (and vice versa). I think other people would probably agree - the website and initial emails with POIs prior to applications don't necessarily give you the full picture when you're applying. As others can probably understand, I applied to several schools for a reason - I would be happy to go to any of them and know that I might not interview/get accepted at my so-called "top choices." 

How do people deal with this question? I handled it very poorly last year and felt very caught off-guard when it was asked so I want to be prepared just in case for this year. 

I don't want to lie but I also don't want to shoot myself in the foot - I assume that professors recognize that I put them down for OGS but not CGS-M (as an example). 

My thoughts on answers but open to feedback/suggestions: 

- focus on the positive (ie. what I like about the school/program) 

- vague language (they can likely see through this, but saying "it ranks highly" or something similar?) 

RE: the CGSM vs OGS point... literally the way my applications worked out is that I applied to three non-Ontario schools and two Ontario schools, so I just saved the Ontario schools for OGS and used the others for CGSM. No rhyme or reason - just strategically spread out my applications like that to increase my chances of getting funding somewhere. Would that be a reasonable thing to say in an interview should they ask? I kinda doubt they will ask about that (it's kinda pointless to deliberate over it IMO since the results for either award aren't out till later), but just in case?

[SoundofSilence]

3 minutes ago, carlrogersfan98 said:

RE: the CGSM vs OGS point... literally the way my applications worked out is that I applied to three non-Ontario schools and two Ontario schools, so I just saved the Ontario schools for OGS and used the others for CGSM. No rhyme or reason - just strategically spread out my applications like that to increase my chances of getting funding somewhere. Would that be a reasonable thing to say in an interview should they ask? I kinda doubt they will ask about that (it's kinda pointless to deliberate over it IMO since the results for either award aren't out till later), but just in case?

I think this strategy is very smart. I don't know whether I would explain it in detail, but if you are asked, maybe say something like "your program is highly ranked in my options and I have applied for funding at X". 

I did get this question under the form "are you considering this program in your top options" or something like that, and I think that it's fair, POIs also want to know if you want to go there or if you're kind of lukewarm. Honestly, I think most programs are highly ranked for us since few people apply to places where they don't really want to go, and it's so competitive that few programs can be considered "safeties". 

[peachy59]

Has anyone else not heard back from any programs yet? I am feeling quite dejected lately. I know it's technically still early, but the fact that I haven't even received an informal interview is making me feel quite hopeless. As a mature student, I'm also now wondering what else I could even do to improve my application in the future.

Sorry for the change in tone from all of the positive messages - just hoping someone could offer some support or advice. 

[Terelia]

 

11 minutes ago, peachy59 said:

Has anyone else not heard back from any programs yet? I am feeling quite dejected lately. I know it's technically still early, but the fact that I haven't even received an informal interview is making me feel quite hopeless. As a mature student, I'm also now wondering what else I could even do to improve my application in the future.

Sorry for the change in tone from all of the positive messages - just hoping someone could offer some support or advice. 

I haven't heard anything from more than half of the programs I applied to - no informal interviews, no emails, nothing since before the application deadline. I haven't even seen people positing about these programs yet so it is more than likely that they haven't even started sending out interview invites at all. 

Speaking from previous experience, I didn't get an interview last year until the end of January/early February. I cannot stress enough that it is still so early and that often the process is very POI dependent. 

It's my third year applying and my biggest advice is to step away from gradcafe (and maybe your inbox/computer too) when you need to. It's exciting to see interview invites but I know it can also be very discouraging. It's a great place to get advice but can also cause some of us to spiral in ways that aren't helpful. Take breaks, go for walks, or try to chat with friends and family about topics not related to school. 

Hang in there! Your time will come

 

[psychologyenjoyer]

Hey! If you got the interview with UNB, would you mind inboxing me your PI initials? And is it an informal interview? 

 

Thank you!

[babooshka]

2 hours ago, peachy59 said:

Has anyone else not heard back from any programs yet? I am feeling quite dejected lately. I know it's technically still early, but the fact that I haven't even received an informal interview is making me feel quite hopeless. As a mature student, I'm also now wondering what else I could even do to improve my application in the future.

Sorry for the change in tone from all of the positive messages - just hoping someone could offer some support or advice. 

@peachy59 Hi there - I have a couple of friends who have not heard back at all. Please feel free to message me - this is my third time applying and I heard nothing back the first two times. Happy to just chat if you want But also please don't get discouraged - it's very early yet and I'm willing to bet most schools are only just getting caught up on the hundreds of applications they're receiving. Wishing you the best of luck and take care of yourself! This forum is sometimes not ideal for making your feel adequate in your worth and abilities so don't measure your success based on positive posts here. A lot of us will end up getting rejected in the end. 

[siriuslypadfoot]

I would also like the UNB POI initials if you're comfortable! Congrats!!

[PeanutButterBread]

Hi everyone, I know this is a forum for Canadian programs and this is perhaps off topic but I was wondering if anyone had experience applying to clinical psych programs abroad? It's just something I've been considering for a while!

I wish everyone luck this cycle!!

 

 

[siriuslypadfoot]

1 minute ago, PeanutButterBread said:

Hi everyone, I know this is a forum for Canadian programs and this is perhaps off topic but I was wondering if anyone had experience applying to clinical psych programs abroad? It's just something I've been considering for a while!

I wish everyone luck this cycle!!

 

 

I'm an American applicant living in Canada and am applying to Canadian and American schools, so can talk to you about that if you think it would be helpful

[Zmxnsj]

I would also like to know the UNB POI initials, please!

[whatdoyoumean]

Has anyone heard from UVIC or UBCO yet? 

[prospectivegradstudent21]

has anybody heard from york? specifically RPR? please dm me!!