Competitiveness of PhDs in East/West Coast vs Midwest/South in U.S.

[PsychBear92]

I'm applying to Clinical Psych PhD programs this fall. I've literally combed through every APA accredited program to find mentors with good research fit and programs I'm excited for. The two cycles that I applied, I had focused mostly on schools on the west coast (California, Oregon) or east coast (New York, North Carolina). I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area so I wanted to stay close to home and the rare times I traveled outside of California, it was to places on the east coast. This cycle, I've identified numerous mentors in the south (Texas) and midwest (Utah, Indiana). I'm wondering if there's any difference in the degree of competition for spots in different locations. I can imagine that there might be more desire to go to school in places like New York or California compared to places like Indiana, but I don't know! Will focusing on different program locations increase my chances of admission? I'm also interested in working with marginalized populations (e.g., BIPOC, trans) in places where there are policies or cultural attitudes that are more white/cis-centric. California has enough people working towards social justice and equity in mental health, so I want to work were I will be most impactful. I hope this makes sense and I'm open to any thoughts!

[PsyDuck90]

PhD programs in clinical psych are just generally very competitive. The Southern/Midwestern schools may get less applicants overall (which you should be able to see in the outcomes data on the program websites), but the main factor that increases chance of acceptance is going to be your research fit. The average applicant applies to approximately 8-12 programs I believe.