Fall 2017 Clinical Psychology Applicants

[UngSully]

2 hours ago, Eigen said:

I'm going to respond here, because the moderation decisions made in this thread were not done by a single individual but by the moderating team as a whole. We actually do discuss things before we do them. 

Several users got warnings for extremely abusive use of the rating system (going back over the course of a few hours and down voting every post made, whether the content was objectionable or not), as well as abusive behavior such as pooling information about a user to try to make it easier for an admissions committee/external source to identify the user, with the hope that posts here would reflect negatively on them. 

Going back and individually checking each reputation given is nearly impossible to do, but with the extreme abuse of the system (and warnings given out), we decided that resetting the reputation was the best way to go. Each post still has reputation tied to it, but the dozens of unwarranted and abusive down votes should not follow someone around for the rest of their time here. 

I can appreciate disagreeing with moderation decisions, but derailing a thread even more because you disagree with them, without even trying to work it out with the moderation staff, not to mention the personal attacks (blatant dishonesty and unprofessional) just because you did not like being cited for your unprofessional behavior is over the line. Going back and hiding every one of your posts out of spite so they can't be useful to anyone else is just the icing on the cake. 

Cool so how do we formally file a complaint about something without derailing a thread? 

[Eigen]

There are several ways. All of the moderators and administrators can be sent a PM, or you can open a report. 

Reports are visible to all of the moderation team, and we don't handle reports about our own actions. 

I will note that most of us take a bit of time to respond to things. Most of the moderation staff are faculty now, and come with the resulting busy schedule that lets us check in at defined times during the day. 

[YES!!!]

3 hours ago, Eigen said:

I'm going to respond here, because the moderation decisions made in this thread were not done by a single individual but by the moderating team as a whole. We actually do discuss things before we do them. 

Several users got warnings for extremely abusive use of the rating system (going back over the course of a few hours and down voting every post made, whether the content was objectionable or not), as well as abusive behavior such as pooling information about a user to try to make it easier for an admissions committee/external source to identify the user, with the hope that posts here would reflect negatively on them. 

Going back and individually checking each reputation given is nearly impossible to do, but with the extreme abuse of the system (and warnings given out), we decided that resetting the reputation was the best way to go. Each post still has reputation tied to it, but the dozens of unwarranted and abusive down votes should not follow someone around for the rest of their time here. 

I can appreciate disagreeing with moderation decisions, but derailing a thread even more because you disagree with them, without even trying to work it out with the moderation staff, not to mention the personal attacks (blatant dishonesty and unprofessional) just because you did not like being cited for your unprofessional behavior is over the line. Going back and hiding every one of your posts out of spite so they can't be useful to anyone else is just the icing on the cake. 

Thank you @Eigen and @fuzzylogician for taking the time to step in and mediate on this matter. I really hope we can all just put this behind us and focus on doing the best we can through the rest of the application season. Small disagreements and their resolution only make the community stronger. I hope that is how it works for us here as well. Good luck to everyone for all the interviews ahead. Stay strong and stay safe!

[YES!!!]

4 minutes ago, Eigen said:

There are several ways. All of the moderators and administrators can be sent a PM, or you can open a report. 

Reports are visible to all of the moderation team, and we don't handle reports about our own actions. 

I will note that most of us take a bit of time to respond to things. Most of the moderation staff are faculty now, and come with the resulting busy schedule that lets us check in at defined times during the day. 

Wow. Given that you are faculty, there is the possibility that some of you could be reviewing the applications of some of us here. THERE goes my chance of making a good impression during the interviews!!!! But on a serious note - thank you and sorry for having caused so much inconvenience!

[JoePianist]

I don't agree with the moderator's actions or explanation myself, and I feel that @byn was the scapegoat in all this. 

Edited February 10, 2017 by JoePianist

[stereopticons]

1 hour ago, JoePianist said:

I don't agree with the moderator's actions or explanation myself, and I feel that @byn was the scapegoat in all this. 

I happen to agree with you. I've been on this forum on and off for five years and I've never seen the moderators do this. 

Is anyone still waiting for interview invites or are we all waiting for acceptances and rejections now? I think all of my schools that do interviews have extended them at this point. 

[Psychoplasmics]

4 minutes ago, stereopticons said:

I happen to agree with you. I've been on this forum on and off for five years and I've never seen the moderators do this. 

Is anyone still waiting for interview invites or are we all waiting for acceptances and rejections now? I think all of my schools that do interviews have extended them at this point. 

Still waiting to hear from Gallaudet University. That's the only school left for me.

[hh0505]

1 hour ago, JoePianist said:

I don't agree with the moderator's actions or explanation myself, and I feel that @byn was the scapegoat in all this. 

I agree with you for the most part as well. The only gray area that @byn may have been in was posting what might have been (?) information that could vaguely, if stretched hard enough, may have identified a candidate, and this is what I assume led to the ultimate decision. But the way the discussion started, with ClinicalPsy/YES!!!'s denigrating one program that had declined to extend an interview to him/her by comparing its ranking (and making glib remarks about that program, which could be someone else's dream program) to those of institutions he/she supposedly got interviews/acceptances from, and then to go on bragging about perfect/near perfect academic record when confronted with the fact that his/her behavior was offensive and immature...

It's not hard to see why multiple people downvoted ClinicalPsy/YES!!!'s posts, especially the more offensive or boastful/arrogant ones. I'm not sure why @byn alone was given an Abusive Content warning while ClinicalPsy/YES!!! wasn't. While I understand that confidentiality of personal information is of utmost importance in running a discussion forum, I've seen candidate's for jobs, grad school, fellowships, and faculty go up in flames after that candidate's Internet posting history came to light. Given this person may some day be practicing or even if not, doing research on mental illness, I'm of the opinion that the gray area was fair game if any faculty / adcomms happened to see the discussion here.

[Eigen]

So since we seem to be continuing to discuss here, let me shed some additional light on the decisions. 

First, Byn was not the only one warned. They were the only ones that chose to take a private warning (something that came with no sanctions other than comments telling them what they were doing that was against the rules) and chose to make it into a public, personal attack against one of the long-standing moderating staff. 

They were warned for a confluence of several events, none of which individually would have risen to the level of even a warning past the general "cool off" posted by Fuzzylogician in this thread. It's also worth noting that warnings were issued individually several hours after a general warning (posted here) was issued and ignored. 

First, they were abusing the reputation function. We consider abuse of the reputation function to be consistent and continued down voting of a user that is not linked to the content they post. Byn was down voting YES!!! for both disagreeable posts (those about Manoa) and perfectly benign posts (congratulating someone else on an acceptance). Byn was not the only user warned for such behavior. It's pretty obvious when someone is going back weeks on someones posts and down voting them all at once. 

Second, we consider the compilation of personal details with intent to cause a user harm a significant violation of the forum rules. This was not the most egregious situation I've seen on my time here (compared to an incident where someones address and personal information were posted), but we consider that the intent matters. 

Third, they were consistently hounding YES!!!'s posts and accusing them of lying about admits and trolling the forums. Again, not the most egregious violation I've seen, but along with the other two issues it's a pattern of attacks against a specific individual. 

Hence, a warning. A warning that was private, with no sanctions applied to the account- just a warning telling them what behavior we considered wrong and why. I hardly consider that "scapegoating" someone. 

And for the record, "warnings" are not publicly visible. So despite all the allegations of who was or was not given a warning, none of you can know that. All you can know is that Byn was given a warning because they chose to make it public. 

As to the reputation reset on YES!!!, it is not the first time we've done it. Given the extreme abuse of the reputation system exhibited by some users, we feel it was warranted. Each post still has negative reputation tied to it, so it's not like there isn't a record. Similarly, no posts have been removed. The only thing removed was specific information (GPA and GRE scores), which is something we do for any user who feels their identity might be at risk. So there is still a trail of posts and reputation, it's not like any of that has been hidden. The best option would have been to just go back and remove specific reputation groupings, but there is no easy way to do that. So between the injustice of letting a lot of undeserved negative reputation stay, or getting rid of some legitimate negative reputation, we erred on the side of removing it all. 

Also, FWIW, attacking a school in a fit of frustration, while poor behavior, is not abusive towards another user. Bad posting choices, sure, and in bad taste, absolutely. But not directed to another person here with intent to cause harm. 

[Bach]

On ‎2‎/‎7‎/‎2017 at 4:27 PM, DrHope said:

Hi All,

I've applied to about 12 schools (Alabama - MS and PHD, Montana, UNC - Chapel Hill, Wyoming, West Virginia, UGA, Georgia State, Alabama A&M, Vanderbilt, Fordham, and one more I can't think of right away). I have not heard A SINGLE WORD from any school...except a rejection from UGA. I know I wasn't the MOST competitive candidate, but I thought I at least stood a chance. I have a 4.0, did above average on GRE, had research experience in college, and have work experience. Any advice from anyone out there in the same boat? I am just very discouraged right now.

Thanks in advance for any responses!  

Same... did receive an acceptance to an MA program.  I have one interview for a PhD program which is what I want.  4.0 GPA, good GRE and excellent LORs.

[Dondante_MMJ]

1 hour ago, stereopticons said:

Is anyone still waiting for interview invites or are we all waiting for acceptances and rejections now? I think all of my schools that do interviews have extended them at this point. 

I'm waiting on the interviews themselves! I have three scheduled for the last week of February/ First week of March. I am only waiting on two interview invites and I haven't heard anything on the boards or the results page. Montana, and Washington-Seattle. I emailed Montana and got a strange reply black they they were in the process of "finalize phone interviews and sending in person invites," which I didn't really understand. As far as Washington, I have no news on and no clue as to if they have sent out invitations yet or not. 

[YES!!!]

50 minutes ago, Bach said:

Same... did receive an acceptance to an MA program.  I have one interview for a PhD program which is what I want.  4.0 GPA, good GRE and excellent LORs.

From the little that I know, the most important thing is to have strong publications and a perfect fit with the lab you want to be admitted to. Again, I am not an expert but I would suggest reading through all the publications of your desired lab you can find online, particularly the ones with your POI as first or second author. See how closely what you want to do is aligned with these papers. Then write to your POI explaining what you want to do and how that work will take forward the work being done in his /her lab. Your published researches will establish your ability to do research and place you at a level where your research competence will not be questioned (if at all something like this is done!). It's also about getting lucky. Your cohorts may be strong one year, not so strong another year. It's just so many things that must come together that it's crazy. In any case there is still time. Hopefully some interview calls will come through still. Good luck! 

[8BitJourney]

1 hour ago, Bach said:

Same... did receive an acceptance to an MA program.  I have one interview for a PhD program which is what I want.  4.0 GPA, good GRE and excellent LORs.

 

6 minutes ago, YES!!! said:

From the little that I know, the most important thing is to have strong publications and a perfect fit with the lab you want to be admitted to. Again, I am not an expert but I would suggest reading through all the publications of your desired lab you can find online, particularly the ones with your POI as first or second author. See how closely what you want to do is aligned with these papers. Then write to your POI explaining what you want to do and how that work will take forward the work being done in his /her lab. Your published researches will establish your ability to do research and place you at a level where your research competence will not be questioned (if at all something like this is done!). It's also about getting lucky. Your cohorts may be strong one year, not so strong another year. It's just so many things that must come together that it's crazy. In any case there is still time. Hopefully some interview calls will come through still. Good luck! 

Honestly I haven't had potential faculty specifically point out publications as much as 'increased productivity' which can encapsulate a lot of things. Are publications great? Of course, its the kicker, but some schools restrict undergrad contribution to articles or its just not possible at the time the applicant is in that lab. However, if you can show you've been productive in other ways (and have your Recommenders compliment this in their letters) you can still have a pretty strong case.

Such as: helping with grant writing, organizing a manual or creating a fidelity checklist, changing how recruitment and retention/tracking is carried out, doing a school based research symposia or honors thesis (undergrads are generally broke and may not be able to get a travel award/funding), going from an RA to a coordinator, applying for a fellowship (just saying you applied can put you in a good light). These can all help to show maturity and growth as a future researcher.

[YES!!!]

4 minutes ago, 8BitJourney said:

 

Honestly I haven't had potential faculty specifically point out publications as much as 'increased productivity' which can encapsulate a lot of things. Are publications great? Of course, its the kicker, but some schools restrict undergrad contribution to articles or its just not possible at the time the applicant is in that lab. However, if you can show you've been productive in other ways (and have your Recommenders compliment this in their letters) you can still have a pretty strong case.

Such as: helping with grant writing, organizing a manual or creating a fidelity checklist, changing how recruitment and retention/tracking is carried out, doing a school based research symposia or honors thesis (undergrads are generally broke and may not be able to get a travel award/funding), going from an RA to a coordinator, applying for a fellowship (just saying you applied can put you in a good light). These can all help to show maturity and growth as a future researcher.

Great points 8bit. Much more valid than my understanding! Hope your interview related travel situation is all sorted out? 

[psych0627]

20 minutes ago, 8BitJourney said:

 

Honestly I haven't had potential faculty specifically point out publications as much as 'increased productivity' which can encapsulate a lot of things. Are publications great? Of course, its the kicker, but some schools restrict undergrad contribution to articles or its just not possible at the time the applicant is in that lab. However, if you can show you've been productive in other ways (and have your Recommenders compliment this in their letters) you can still have a pretty strong case.

Such as: helping with grant writing, organizing a manual or creating a fidelity checklist, changing how recruitment and retention/tracking is carried out, doing a school based research symposia or honors thesis (undergrads are generally broke and may not be able to get a travel award/funding), going from an RA to a coordinator, applying for a fellowship (just saying you applied can put you in a good light). These can all help to show maturity and growth as a future researcher.

I totally agree with these points. I've also found that all my interview offers have come from schools where I have very very closely related research experience (working at an academic hospital, not undergrad) to my POI. My future research interests seem to matter much less than my proven past experiences, which makes sense.

I had some lovely email exchanges this Fall with POIs from schools where my research interests matched theirs pretty darn closely (but not exactly), and they strongly encouraged me to apply. Unfortunately, I didn't receive interviews from these programs. I followed up with a few of the professors, and they were gracious enough to explain that the only reason I didn't get an interview offer was because some other applicants had more closely related experiences in areas the lab is currently exploring. I'm really glad I know why things didn't work out, and the reasoning is completely understandable and wise from the POVs of the POIs, but I wish I had known how closely research experience match mattered before applying (if only for the application fees!) 

Edited February 10, 2017 by psych0627

[PNIplz]

9 minutes ago, psych0627 said:

I totally agree with these points. I've also found that all my interview offers have come from schools where I have very very closely related research experience (working at an academic hospital, not undergrad) to my POI. My future research interests seem to matter much less than my proven past experiences, which makes sense.

I had some lovely email exchanges this Fall with POIs from schools where my research interests matched theirs pretty darn closely (but not exactly), and they strongly encouraged me to apply. Unfortunately, I didn't receive interviews from these programs. I followed up with a few of the professors, and they were gracious enough to explain that the only reason I didn't get an interview offer was because some other applicants had more closely related experiences in areas the lab is currently exploring. I'm really glad I know why things didn't work out, and the reasoning is completely understandable and wise from the POVs of the POIs, but I wish I had known how closely research experience match mattered before applying (if only for the application fees!) 

Yeah I had a lot of POI's that I contacted let me know that they strongly encourage I apply given my interests. I was sitting at around 70th percentile for GRE so maybe that had something to do with not getting invites. Kind of sucked because they gave me a glimmer of hope! I didn't ask them why I wasn't extended an interview but I assume it'd be pretty similar

[8BitJourney]

18 minutes ago, psych0627 said:

I totally agree with these points. I've also found that all my interview offers have come from schools where I have very very closely related research experience (working at an academic hospital, not undergrad) to my POI. My future research interests seem to matter much less than my proven past experiences, which makes sense.

I had some lovely email exchanges this Fall with POIs from schools where my research interests matched theirs pretty darn closely (but not exactly), and they strongly encouraged me to apply. Unfortunately, I didn't receive interviews from these programs. I followed up with a few of the professors, and they were gracious enough to explain that the only reason I didn't get an interview offer was because some other applicants had more closely related experiences in areas the lab is currently exploring. I'm really glad I know why things didn't work out, and the reasoning is completely understandable and wise from the POVs of the POIs, but I wish I had known how closely research experience match mattered before applying (if only for the application fees!) 

 

9 minutes ago, PNIplz said:

Yeah I had a lot of POI's that I contacted let me know that they strongly encourage I apply given my interests. I was sitting at around 70th percentile for GRE so maybe that had something to do with not getting invites. Kind of sucked because they gave me a glimmer of hope! I didn't ask them why I wasn't extended an interview but I assume it'd be pretty similar

@PNIplz I wouldn't worry too much about your GRE score (but of course you can always retake if you have the time/funds) because I was able to get pre-interviews at schools I honestly thought were out of my league and my combined GRE is a crummy 316; multiple choice is an evil invention XD. What bumped me from in-person interviews was fit. One in particular liked my experience and where I wanted to take their research but hadn't acquired funding for that direction yet and was afraid that I'd be stuck on another project if their grant submission wasn't successful. While I thought that was minor (and emphasized that I didn't mind) it was still a strong enough concern that I couldn't make the cut. Other POIs thought we aligned well but turned to radio silence after submission.

I definitely think @psych0627 is right and I wished there was a mathematical formula for each poi to know how they weighed variables and how much leeway each had in terns of fit to their lab!

[Rose1128]

I've seen some advice on this already, so I guess maybe I'm seeking reassurance? I got interviews at two of my top choice schools this year, one of which I was accepted to. I loved the program, but I don't want to accept until I at least go to the interview for the second (there's a chance I won't like it and then I'll accept the first immediately, but there's always the chance I'll love it too). Problem is, there's at least two weeks between my initial offer for School 1 and the interview for School 2, and then who knows how long until I hear back about acceptance/waitlist/rejection. I feel awful just holding onto this offer for literally weeks, because I want them to know how much I loved it there and am really considering accepting. How much do you tell the school in terms of why you haven't accepted yet? I'm sure they get the process and all, and I'll let them know asap, but it just seems like such a long time.... Do they get this a lot? Does it look bad to hold it so long? 

Also, I did get interviews two other places that I wasn't very excited about: one I cancelled the interview since it was after I heard from School 1, and the other I had already been but would decline asap if accepted. So I am trying to be mindful of not holding spots I am not interested in.

[Dondante_MMJ]

4 minutes ago, Rose1128 said:

I've seen some advice on this already, so I guess maybe I'm seeking reassurance? I got interviews at two of my top choice schools this year, one of which I was accepted to. I loved the program, but I don't want to accept until I at least go to the interview for the second (there's a chance I won't like it and then I'll accept the first immediately, but there's always the chance I'll love it too). Problem is, there's at least two weeks between my initial offer for School 1 and the interview for School 2, and then who knows how long until I hear back about acceptance/waitlist/rejection. I feel awful just holding onto this offer for literally weeks, because I want them to know how much I loved it there and am really considering accepting. How much do you tell the school in terms of why you haven't accepted yet? I'm sure they get the process and all, and I'll let them know asap, but it just seems like such a long time.... Do they get this a lot? Does it look bad to hold it so long? 

Also, I did get interviews two other places that I wasn't very excited about: one I cancelled the interview since it was after I heard from School 1, and the other I had already been but would decline asap if accepted. So I am trying to be mindful of not holding spots I am not interested in.

As part of the CUDCP Guidelines School 1 should not at all pressure you to answer prior to April 15th. IF anything I would email back and say you are considering your options (make sure to get across your excitement and gratitude)  for graduate school and will have an answer in the coming weeks. It is still early on in the process, I am sure they understand.

[Rose1128]

41 minutes ago, Dondante_MMJ said:

As part of the CUDCP Guidelines School 1 should not at all pressure you to answer prior to April 15th. IF anything I would email back and say you are considering your options (make sure to get across your excitement and gratitude)  for graduate school and will have an answer in the coming weeks. It is still early on in the process, I am sure they understand.

Thanks, yeah they definitely haven't pressured me at all; it's more my own worry. I did tell them I was excited and highly considering it and would let them know asap. I hope I conveyed the amount of excitement I do feel. I also said thank you like 5,000 times lol

[YES!!!]

52 minutes ago, Rose1128 said:

Thanks, yeah they definitely haven't pressured me at all; it's more my own worry. I did tell them I was excited and highly considering it and would let them know asap. I hope I conveyed the amount of excitement I do feel. I also said thank you like 5,000 times lol

5000 times is just the right number of times you should say thank you on being accepted. It is a great moment for you and you should enjoy it to the fullest. Picking which offer to accept is the only sort of acceptable anxiety one should have to endure this season. Many congratulations

 

Edited February 10, 2017 by YES!!!

[periwinkle27]

For those who have interviewed and already secured acceptances, how did you prepare for your interviews? Is there anything in particular you did that you feel really made the difference for you?

Starting to get really nervous about my upcoming interviews!!

[FacelessMage]

Will people stop causing drama on my thread! This is a place to discuss the current application cycle, not to air your personal grievances about the mods. @byn /@unbelievable I'm sorry that you're having trouble with the mods, but this is not the time or place. Please make another thread and refrain from derailing this one.

It's very annoying that it's gotten so off topic when this is supposed to be a place for people to ask questions.

[FacelessMage]

1 hour ago, periwinkle27 said:

For those who have interviewed and already secured acceptances, how did you prepare for your interviews? Is there anything in particular you did that you feel really made the difference for you?

Starting to get really nervous about my upcoming interviews!!

I actually had an AWFUL interview at the school where I got accepted (cried for a good 20 minutes after because I felt lousy about it). Evidently that didn't matter. On the other hand, I've had interviews where I've felt super confident about where I've then not been accepted (or even waitlisted). I'm a nervous interviewer, so I'm never quite sure what to do. Just go in, know your stuff, be excited about life (but not too excited), and have fun with it. Having a pre-interview pump up song helps as well (I've been listening to "Be a Man" from Mulan before!). 

[elephantbird]

8 hours ago, psych0627 said:

I totally agree with these points. I've also found that all my interview offers have come from schools where I have very very closely related research experience (working at an academic hospital, not undergrad) to my POI. My future research interests seem to matter much less than my proven past experiences, which makes sense.

I had some lovely email exchanges this Fall with POIs from schools where my research interests matched theirs pretty darn closely (but not exactly), and they strongly encouraged me to apply. Unfortunately, I didn't receive interviews from these programs. I followed up with a few of the professors, and they were gracious enough to explain that the only reason I didn't get an interview offer was because some other applicants had more closely related experiences in areas the lab is currently exploring. I'm really glad I know why things didn't work out, and the reasoning is completely understandable and wise from the POVs of the POIs, but I wish I had known how closely research experience match mattered before applying (if only for the application fees!) 

I actually have had a vastly different experience in terms of interview offers-- my prior research experience is extremely unrelated to what I want to do in the future, but I've gotten interviews at most of the places I applied to. My (3 so far) interviews have all been almost 100% focused on what I'm interested in doing in graduate school rather than what I have done prior to grad school. However, I have been able to clearly explain how my research interests developed based on the experiences I have had so far, and that is what I wrote about in my personal statement, which several PIs have commented on-- so I do think that was probably the factor that got me to the interview stage.  So... I guess it depends (perhaps on how easy it is to get experience in the subfield/research area before graduate school)?

Edited February 10, 2017 by elephantbird