Fall 2018 CANADIAN clinical psychology

[Neurophilic]

1 hour ago, Psych.kitty said:

well, fourth year trying and given that i havent gotten any acceptances, it looks like another year of rejections. does anybody have any tips regarding where to focus their energies and how to improve their applications? I have a high GPA, good GRE scores (though now I have to rewrite since it will expire), a masters in personality and measurement (yet no publications yet save one in the undergraduate journal and a book chapter), several conference presentations, and about 5 years volunteer experience collectively between RA work and dropping in at the mental hospitals. any help at all would be extremely appreciated

Do you contact POIs prior to applying? I would make that a first step if you don’t. Contact multiple from the same school to ensure they are taking new students and are interested. How are your LORs and SOPs? 

I’m short listed at York and have received rejections all around, so I feel your pain. I have been told those are key areas to focus on, however. 

Edited March 19, 2018 by Neurophilic

[Rorschach Adams]

Hey @Neurophilic how did you find out your were short listed?  Did you get an email, or phone them?  My status on Myfile is still "No Decision Yet", so I'm wondering what's going on there...

Edited March 19, 2018 by Rorschach Adams

[Psych.kitty]

12 minutes ago, Neurophilic said:

Do you contact POIs prior to applying? I would make that a first step if you don’t. Contact multiple from the same school to ensure they are taking new students and are interested. How are your LORs and SOPs? 

I’m short listed at York and have received rejections all around, so I feel your pain. I have been told those are key areas to focus on, however. 

Thanks for the advice  I did contact POIs prior to applying, but did so around the end of November, so maybe earlier would be better. I believe my LORs are good but I'm not sure because I havent read them. What does SOP stand for? Aw man, good luck with York!! 

[Neurophilic]

9 minutes ago, Rorschach Adams said:

Hey @Neurophilic how did you find out your were short listed?  Did you get an email, or phone them?  My status on Myfile is still "No Decision Yet", so I'm wondering what's going on there...

I e-mailed. 

 

8 minutes ago, Psych.kitty said:

Thanks for the advice  I did contact POIs prior to applying, but did so around the end of November, so maybe earlier would be better. I believe my LORs are good but I'm not sure because I havent read them. What does SOP stand for? Aw man, good luck with York!! 

Yeah I would definitely do it around end September-October. Applying to external funding helps as well. SOP is statement of purpose.  

[FacelessMage]

6 hours ago, Psych.kitty said:

well, fourth year trying and given that i havent gotten any acceptances, it looks like another year of rejections. does anybody have any tips regarding where to focus their energies and how to improve their applications? I have a high GPA, good GRE scores (though now I have to rewrite since it will expire), a masters in personality and measurement (yet no publications yet save one in the undergraduate journal and a book chapter), several conference presentations, and about 5 years volunteer experience collectively between RA work and dropping in at the mental hospitals. any help at all would be extremely appreciated

I'd focus on getting some publications. I was told that it doesn't reflect well on people with Master's degrees if they're not applying with at least one publication. If you did a thesis, that would be a good thing to try to get published. 

[punkwich]

Anyone accepted anywhere yet? I'm holding out til CGS-M is announced, even though I didn't apply to CGS for the only place I was accepted.

[Sasha_Grad]

18 hours ago, Psych.kitty said:

well, fourth year trying and given that i havent gotten any acceptances, it looks like another year of rejections. does anybody have any tips regarding where to focus their energies and how to improve their applications? I have a high GPA, good GRE scores (though now I have to rewrite since it will expire), a masters in personality and measurement (yet no publications yet save one in the undergraduate journal and a book chapter), several conference presentations, and about 5 years volunteer experience collectively between RA work and dropping in at the mental hospitals. any help at all would be extremely appreciated

I hear you, this was my second year of applying. The main changes I did was keep in touch with my references and update them on your process every few months. You be surprised how much them knowing how hard you are working to reach your goal reflects in your letter (a consistent feedback during the process was that my letters were glowing). Also, they really appreciated that I filled them in on important landmarks as apparently a lot of students just ask them for letters and they never hear from them again. When they are attached and feel involved, they can write better letters on your behalf.

Also, I started sending out letters to potential PI's in June/July. The reason behind this is that I knew that they would be swamped with a ton of emails closer to application season, so starting early gave me a better chance of telling them who I was, my interests, what my goals are during gradschool, that I think that they are a good fit, and I would as if they were accepting students for the following year. If they weren't I would ask for recommendations of people they knew in the field who would also be good fits. Sometimes starting this early doesn't work in that profs might not know their funding situation, but if they are interested they typically tell you to email back closer to application season (by then they at least know who you are).

 I streamlined my statement. I realized that my statement from last year was good but had no true direction, and that probably came from me not really having a solid interest developed at the time. Within the last year, I found my niche (minority mental health) and was able to build my paper around that with a solid idea and vision for my future career. My statement certainly wasn't for everybody (there aren't a lot of profs that do it), but it was written with the intent to draw the right people.

Finally, I expanded my search across the boarder. This choice was mainly due to the topic I wanted to study and the fact that more professionals are doing it there. Ironically, that wasn't necessary because I ended up with a Canadian school, but I still proud of myself for taking a chance.

I know the process is nerve wracking, but I hope some of the things I mentioned helps even in the slightest.

[Anne]

So York offers have all gone out... but do we know how long people have to accept or decline their offers?

[Sasha_Grad]

8 minutes ago, Anne said:

So York offers have all gone out... but do we know how long people have to accept or decline their offers?

I think the cross-national deadline is until mid-April (the 15th or so). So there might be a lot of chaos in week or two prior to that with people making last minute decisions/ finally choosing been several offers.

[Anne]

11 minutes ago, Sasha_Grad said:

I think the cross-national deadline is until mid-April (the 15th or so). So there might be a lot of chaos in week or two prior to that with people making last minute decisions/ finally choosing been several offers.

I think OISE gave around 3 weeks or so from when they sent out their offers at the beginning of March, so I was wondering if York had a similar timeline. 

[Sharbar]

19 hours ago, Psych.kitty said:

well, fourth year trying and given that i havent gotten any acceptances, it looks like another year of rejections. does anybody have any tips regarding where to focus their energies and how to improve their applications? I have a high GPA, good GRE scores (though now I have to rewrite since it will expire), a masters in personality and measurement (yet no publications yet save one in the undergraduate journal and a book chapter), several conference presentations, and about 5 years volunteer experience collectively between RA work and dropping in at the mental hospitals. any help at all would be extremely appreciated

I’m so sorry to hear that  it certainly doesn’t look like it’s an issue with a lacklustre  CV for you - you have quite a bit of experience. like what the others had said, emailing POIs ahead of time (I emailed mid September) asking if they’ll be taking on students, briefly describing your research interest and experience would be a big help. I also attached a copy of my CV in that initial email for their convenience. With the profs that did get back to me with, I also inquired about their future directions for research to show my level of interest.

I’ve also been told that for certain programs, it doesn’t look good if you list too many POIs in your application as it may show a lack of focus (unless they’re doing similar research. I say this cautiously because listing only one would be riskier, and all the POIs I contacted recommended listing more than one (though i was accepted into a school where I only listed one POI against her recommendation).

if you know anyone in programs already, it may not be a bad idea to ask them for a copy of their SOP to get a better idea of what successful applications look like, and also have them read over yours when you’re done.

It’s possible that it was a matter of fit re research interests for you and your POIs. I’ve been told from a previous cycle’s POI that there was just someone else who was marginally a better fit than I was - so it’s very cohort (of your application cycle) dependent as well. 

Lastly, I’m not sure where you’re applying to, but have you considered broadening your net? If you’re gung ho about getting in as your only goal, then this may be something to seriously consider if you haven’t done so already. A lot of people apply  only to ‘it’ schools (ie York, Ryerson, Victoria, UBC) primarily becaise of its location, larger programs etc. I think given that there are so few clinical psychology programs in the country, every program will be fairly competitive but the ‘it’ schools definitely have more competition than some of the other schools in the county (ie prairie or maritime schools). A lot of the current grad students I had spoken to in the past have said something to the effect of “if X was teaching in the Yukon, I would’ve gone there”.  POIs and admissions committees have been through so many cycles that they’re pretty good at picking up on whether the applicant is sincere and serious about them vs only applying for the location, convenience, etc (this is certainly not to imply you are not sincere or serious about applying!!)

sorry about the essay of response here. Hope this helps!

[Sasha_Grad]

1 hour ago, Anne said:

I think OISE gave around 3 weeks or so from when they sent out their offers at the beginning of March, so I was wondering if York had a similar timeline. 

Yes they did but I think that the wording of their actual statement is a little misleading to make people respond within 3 weeks. I think I was along the lines of “you must give a response within 3 weeks of the offer date or it may be subject to cancellation”. To me at least, it seems like you need to give any type of response/acknowledgement aside from radio silence and that’s how they can get away with the statement. Most people would think you need to give them an accept/decline within that time frame. But if you don’t have several offers, negotiating offers, or aren’t waiting for the status of any more applications, then it’s better to just accept/decline by then.

 

Actual statement: “The offer may be cancelled if it is not responded to within three weeks of the date of the offer of admissions”

Edited March 20, 2018 by Sasha_Grad
Added info

[punkwich]

10 minutes ago, Sharbar said:

Lastly, I’m not sure where you’re applying to, but have you considered broadening your net? If you’re gung ho about getting in as your only goal, then this may be something to seriously consider if you haven’t done so already. A lot of people apply  only to ‘it’ schools (ie York, Ryerson, Victoria, UBC) primarily because of its location, larger programs etc. I think given that there are so few clinical psychology programs in the country, every program will be fairly competitive but the ‘it’ schools definitely have more competition than some of the other schools in the county (ie prairie or maritime schools). A lot of the current grad students I had spoken to in the past have said something to the effect of “if X was teaching in the Yukon, I would’ve gone there”.  POIs and admissions committees have been through so many cycles that they’re pretty good at picking up on whether the applicant is sincere and serious about them vs only applying for the location, convenience, etc (this is certainly not to imply you are not sincere or serious about applying!!)

I would agree with this - I applied to 9 schools this cycle and only was accepted to one, which was Lakehead, a school that many applicants dismiss due to its location (I think). However it is a perfect fit for my research interests, and has CPA accreditation, so I would also suggest looking at smaller schools in less ideal locations! Check out Lakehead Other good smaller programs are UNB, Manitoba has a good program as well, so does Regina. You may already be doing this so I apologize if this advice is repetitive!

Edited March 20, 2018 by punkwich

[Sephix]

I am going to add my 2 cents on York - (Firstly thank you Jay for some insight but nothing you suggested ended up working which is fine...it's a busy time for admin/my POI of interest)

SO ...like some of you, my status is still "no decision yet" and I applied to child, my frustration is that they don't tell us what is happening frequently enough for the amount we pay. I just want to know why there hasn't been a decision when I did not get an interview and all of the offers have gone out...honestly, this is not how schools should approach things.

Ok...calm now haha...let's see what happens!

[Jay's Brain]

25 minutes ago, Sephix said:

I am going to add my 2 cents on York - (Firstly thank you Jay for some insight but nothing you suggested ended up working which is fine...it's a busy time for admin/my POI of interest)

SO ...like some of you, my status is still "no decision yet" and I applied to child, my frustration is that they don't tell us what is happening frequently enough for the amount we pay. I just want to know why there hasn't been a decision when I did not get an interview and all of the offers have gone out...honestly, this is not how schools should approach things.

Ok...calm now haha...let's see what happens!

Hey - sorry to hear about that. It's a tough process and a whole lot of ambiguity all around. Unfortunately, without a streamlined, harmonized process the application cycle is just a chaotic mess. Wishing you the best of luck with everything in the next month or so!

 

20 hours ago, Psych.kitty said:

Thanks for the advice  I did contact POIs prior to applying, but did so around the end of November, so maybe earlier would be better. I believe my LORs are good but I'm not sure because I havent read them. What does SOP stand for? Aw man, good luck with York!! 

@Psych.kitty Have you tried to email the programs/POI and ask for advice and suggestions on how your application can be improved? Sometimes it comes down to being at the wrong place at the wrong time, but there is often a case that the POIs were expecting something that one candidate had that you, unfortunately, didn't. Given your strong academic achievements, your research will be the only thing that could be strengthened. If there are opportunities available of being involved in clinical research at local hospitals/universities, see if you can get a position and pursue that. One of my colleagues who got accepted into the program this year fell short last year because of her writing proficiency. She spent this year being involved in research and publishing, and got into her top choice. 

[healthpsych]

1 hour ago, punkwich said:

I would agree with this - I applied to 9 schools this cycle and only was accepted to one, which was Lakehead, a school that many applicants dismiss due to its location (I think). However it is a perfect fit for my research interests, and has CPA accreditation, so I would also suggest looking at smaller schools in less ideal locations! Check out Lakehead Other good smaller programs are UNB, Manitoba has a good program as well, so does Regina. You may already be doing this so I apologize if this advice is repetitive!

Agreed!! Of course this doesn’t apply to everyone, but I know a lot of people from Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver who are unwilling to leave home/live in a smaller city so only apply to apply to programs there. This can be especially problematic when people apply to schools that aren’t a great fit just because of the location. 

Edited March 20, 2018 by healthpsych

[TikiRogers]

On 23/02/2018 at 1:36 PM, Sephix said:

Thanks CA,

I have news on Ryerson: I emailed the secretary or whoever I was supposed to email and she said this:

All of the applications are in review.

(I asked if we will know by end of March and she said:) - Yes, mid-March is when it will all be wrapped up.

So everyone - wait until mid-March

Hi everyone,

Have been a lurker so far this application season. Thanks to everyone for constantly updating this page with news!

Re: Ryerson. Does this still count as mid-March?? Lol. I was hoping to hear something by Monday at the latest, but haven't heard anything yet. Has anyone had news from Ryerson recently? 

[Benefit]

9 minutes ago, TikiRogers said:

Hi everyone,

Have been a lurker so far this application season. Thanks to everyone for constantly updating this page with news!

Re: Ryerson. Does this still count as mid-March?? Lol. I was hoping to hear something by Monday at the latest, but haven't heard anything yet. Has anyone had news from Ryerson recently? 

I interviewed at Ryerson and haven't heard back. On the website they do say mid to late March, so it could still be later this week or next I think. Here's hoping for news soon! 

[healthpsych]

54 minutes ago, Benefit said:

I interviewed at Ryerson and haven't heard back. On the website they do say mid to late March, so it could still be later this week or next I think. Here's hoping for news soon! 

Just a heads up, it could be much later... I interviewed there last year and didn’t get my rejection until May even though others got them mid-March. And I don’t think I was waitlisted or anything because I didn’t hear back after the interview. 

[Executive-D]

10 hours ago, Sasha_Grad said:

I think the cross-national deadline is until mid-April (the 15th or so). So there might be a lot of chaos in week or two prior to that with people making last minute decisions/ finally choosing been several offers.

I can confirm for uOttawa - deadline to accept offer is April 15. 

[Psych.kitty]

20 hours ago, Jay's Brain said:

 

@Psych.kitty Have you tried to email the programs/POI and ask for advice and suggestions on how your application can be improved? Sometimes it comes down to being at the wrong place at the wrong time, but there is often a case that the POIs were expecting something that one candidate had that you, unfortunately, didn't. Given your strong academic achievements, your research will be the only thing that could be strengthened. If there are opportunities available of being involved in clinical research at local hospitals/universities, see if you can get a position and pursue that. One of my colleagues who got accepted into the program this year fell short last year because of her writing proficiency. She spent this year being involved in research and publishing, and got into her top choice. 

Hey! I have e-mailed Windsor this year about it but have yet to hear back. Would you recommend e-mailing only POIs that interviewed me? I would certainly like the feedback so I hope that my POI will provide some insight. Thank you so much for the advice. 

[Steph93]

On 3/20/2018 at 7:09 AM, Sasha_Grad said:

I think the cross-national deadline is until mid-April (the 15th or so). So there might be a lot of chaos in week or two prior to that with people making last minute decisions/ finally choosing been several offers.

Does anyone know - for individuals who are waitlisted, can we still receive an offer after April 15th? If so, when is the last possible day we can hear back with a final decision (offer or not)? 

[Neurophilic]

50 minutes ago, Steph93 said:

Does anyone know - for individuals who are waitlisted, can we still receive an offer after April 15th? If so, when is the last possible day we can hear back with a final decision (offer or not)? 

I think you can.. those who receive an offer have until the 15th to decide. If they were to decline on the deadline, it would make sense to offer the spot to the next candidate in line. 

I could be wrong but that is my impression. 

[Jay's Brain]

1 hour ago, Steph93 said:

Does anyone know - for individuals who are waitlisted, can we still receive an offer after April 15th? If so, when is the last possible day we can hear back with a final decision (offer or not)? 

Depending on when you receive your offer, you have leeway with the April 15th deadline - I would expect that programs that send late offers also recognize students that they are connecting with will also need some time to process their decision. If that ends up happening, be sure to ask for time to think it over!

[Jay's Brain]

4 hours ago, Psych.kitty said:

Hey! I have e-mailed Windsor this year about it but have yet to hear back. Would you recommend e-mailing only POIs that interviewed me? I would certainly like the feedback so I hope that my POI will provide some insight. Thank you so much for the advice. 

That's great that you did that! I would say that contacting the POIs you interviewed with/applied to will be sufficient as they can provide the best response towards what you might be lacking or missing out on. Overall, it's quite situational I think for acceptances/rejections. The fact that you had interviews already speaks volumes to your application, and you deserve the accolade for that!