Canadian Applicants 2014

[rukiao]

Have you heard anything at all from OISE?

 Nope not yet.  If we are being interviewed we should receive a reply by Mid-March.  Interview will be over phone.

 

If you haven't heard by end of March...unfortunately it means you weren't selected.

 

Good luck!

[Jubs17]

Today I was wait-listed @ U of A for SCCP program.

 

Congrats to those who make it!

 

Waiting for response from OISE

I was waitlisted too! I emailed and there are 5 people waitlisted for my supervisor. Who did you apply to work with if you don't mind me asking?

[sparrowbirdie]

Don't know if anyone is waiting for U Toronto, but apparently professors have to make their accept/reject decisions by early next week, with mailed notifications soon thereafter. (One of the profs told me just now.)

[when]

I've still heard nothing from York, which I think means the chance is gone, considering that they had their interview day last month. Had several interviews at Ryerson, though, and just waiting to hear either way.

 

Anyone else had any results from Ryerson already?

[rukiao]

I was waitlisted too! I emailed and there are 5 people waitlisted for my supervisor. Who did you apply to work with if you don't mind me asking?

I applied to Dr. Smith You?

[Guest joshw4288]

Just admitted to U. of Western Ontario for Social Psych. Ph.D.

[spg5552000]

Just got an email from Memorial University regarding their PsyD program. They are not accepting any students at all for this fall.

[twinkletwinkle]

Hi everyone - I attended the psychology recruitment weekend for UBC in February. Has anyone recieved their official acceptance letters yet/instructions how to accept the offer?

[twinkletwinkle]

You will probably get more info in the next week or two. A number of grants are handed out in March, so most profs are waiting on these grants before sending out official acceptances and funding packages.

 

Great, thanks for the info! I was worried I had missed something lol

[Djentbot]

Just got my phone acceptance from University of Western Ontario for their MA in Counselling Psychology! They called me back the day after my interview, and they'll be sending official acceptances by email next week.

I'm like... head over heels ecstatic about this acceptance. The program seemed great just based on what I read online, but after going for the interview I knew I'd found a program whose culture I could easily fit into. Unfortunately funding is still an issue for me so I'm going to wait to find out if I get into OISE and then compare the offers from both if I'm that lucky. It's reeeeally tempting to just accept Western's offer outright though.

[Sevenoffs]

I've still heard nothing from York, which I think means the chance is gone, considering that they had their interview day last month. Had several interviews at Ryerson, though, and just waiting to hear either way.

Anyone else had any results from Ryerson already?

Also waiting to hear from Ryerson after multiple interviews! From what I know they haven't put out official decisions yet. Current grad student says later in March probably.

[lhommependu]

Just got an email from Memorial University regarding their PsyD program. They are not accepting any students at all for this fall.

dang. second year in a row, possibly even the third. maaaybe you're better off.

[kaleisi]

Has anyone applied to the MA in counseling psychology in McGill?

 

Haven't heard anything yet, still "under review"..

[Djentbot]

Has anyone applied to the MA in counseling psychology in McGill?

Haven't heard anything yet, still "under review"..

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I find it bizarre because past years' results show that they contacted people for interviews in late February. I'm debating calling the department to check on the status of my application.

[kaleisi]

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I find it bizarre because past years' results show that they contacted people for interviews in late February. I'm debating calling the department to check on the status of my application.

 

It's so annoying, but apparently they're late this year. They did say on the website though that interviews would happen mid to late March, so it should be soon..

 

I emailed yesterday, no reply still. Please let me know what happens if you do call! I would do it myself, but I'm an international student

[kaleisi]

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I find it bizarre because past years' results show that they contacted people for interviews in late February. I'm debating calling the department to check on the status of my application.

 

I just got a response; apparently they aren't interviewing this year. We should be hearing back by late March.

[rukiao]

I can't understand why a program wouldn't interview...even over phone/skype.

 

ANYONE can write a letter of intent...

 

OISE as well for some of their programs didn't interview.  

 

So much trust.

[Djentbot]

Yeah it seems kind of surprising to me too. Not just from the perspective of the school wanting to screen potential students, but as a student I think it's important to have the chance to meet POI's and current grad students face-to-face to get a feel for the program.

[rukiao]

Good point.  I went to the OISE open house.  Maybe that's what they do not have interviews.  

[Djentbot]

The thing about not having interviews is that if the majority don't have interviews, any program that does will be an odd one out.

 

From what I've seen, it seems like the majority of counselling psych programs DO have interviews. Which would make sense to me, considering the extremely interpersonal nature of the field.

 

I know that when I went for my UWO interview, I came out with a lot more certainty that the program was right for me. OISE was my top choice before that, but now that I've seen what a great fit UWO is, it would be hard to decide on OISE instead (even when they have a much better funding package). I guess what I'm saying is that interviews give the programs another opportunity to sell themselves to qualified applicants... not that I'm horrifically in demand just yet or anything, what with my whopping one acceptance. 

[lewin]

I can't understand why a program wouldn't interview...even over phone/skype.

 

There is research showing that performance on unstructured interviews isn't uniquely predictive of graduate school success over and beyond the written record. 

 

My program didn't do pre-acceptance interviews but did invite people for campus visits for recruiting.

 

 

Edit to add: But everyone who likes interviews thinks they have some special insight that allows them to predict things from interviews. That's mostly illusory. Future clinical students! Your assignment is to go read some Paul Meehl, especially this article. Go forth and be anointed by the power of statistical prediction.

Edited March 11, 2014 by lewin

[rukiao]

Special insight? No. Not really.

 

I spoke with potential professors prior to applying and I felt I clicked with some, and other's I did not.

 

Only through an interview was I able to gain that insight.

 

The graduate program I am currently in had interviews.  They wanted to make sure I'd be a good fit for their lab.

[lewin]

I'm glad the interviews seemed helpful for you, but the data suggest that when they become a part of the accept/reject process they don't actually predict things. So visiting and meeting people might have seemed really helpful for you as a candidate--I'm not aware of research on campus visits in their entirety--but interviews are not; professors who think they can "feel out" or predict who will be a successful graduate student based on interviews are mistaken. The hypothesized explanation for this is that the set of skills required to perform well on an interview is different than the set of skills required to be a good researcher.

 

And to be a bit snarky, you only think you got insight from the interviews. It's too early to tell whether you'll be successful at the school you chose. Maybe you would have been just as successful at a program that was chosen based on other criteria.

Edited March 11, 2014 by lewin

[rukiao]

Shocking.  I wonder why Medical schools have interviews for their MD/PhD program?  

 

Perhaps they are seeking both sets of skills? (interpersonal & research).

 

Clinical graduate programs are not solely research.

[Guest joshw4288]

Interviews not predicting success is different than interviews not giving information to the interviewer and interviewee to help determine a mutually beneficial relationship. Anyone invited to interview would likely be successful at the school, but being successful and meshing well with the current group of students and faculty are not the same thing. Interviews are less about deciding who will do well as they are about deciding on a personality basis who you want to work with for half a decade.