2014-2015 APPIC (internship) interview thread

[songthatneverends]

I heard that sites can specify that they do not want applicants that rank them below a certain number. Does anyone know of there is truth to this?

That sounds absolutely ridiculous. I would assume that if this were true, it would be information that was public and available and clear on the natmatch website. I think that would be totally unethical for the match to allow that without making that information very well known.

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[psychrat]

That sounds absolutely ridiculous. I would assume that if this were true, it would be information that was public and available and clear on the natmatch website. I think that would be totally unethical for the match to allow that without making that information very well known.

I hope it is a myth. I heard from another applicant that Columbia said they did this. I know sites could state that they do not want more than one student from the same school so I know there are some things they could specify.

 

[WisNeuro]

I heard that sites can specify that they do not want applicants that rank them below a certain number. Does anyone know of there is truth to this?

In my experience on admissions committees at three different sites, I have never heard of this, or even that it was an actual option. The only thing I have seen as an option that was used was limiting the number of accepted applicants from one institution.

 

[AppsAintNoThang]

I heard that sites can specify that they do not want applicants that rank them below a certain number. Does anyone know of there is truth to this?

Seems like that would just increase their chances of going into phase II.. And what site wants that?

 

[AppsAintNoThang]

http://www.appic.org/Match/FAQs/Training-Directors/Rank-Order-Lists#q2

This page doesn't list that as an option for sites.

 

[psychrat]

Thank goodness. I was getting nervous.

 

[docma]

I heard that sites can specify that they do not want applicants that rank them below a certain number. Does anyone know of there is truth to this?

Sites definitely cannot specify such a thing. I expect the myth has arisen from someone saying in the presence of a student, with a kind of Match humor that was misunderstood, that "we do not want students that would rank us below x"--meaning that sites like to feel that students want them (just as you want to feel you are top-ranked), not that they are a "last" choice. An important value of the computer Match is that both sites and students know they have the optimal "match" of the student's options. In the old system it could happen that sites would know, before you even arrived, that they were not your first choice, because you would have put them on Hold when they offered signalling you wanted a better option and then didn't get your preferred choice--hardly a great way to start out, right?

 

[WisNeuro]

Also, that option would simply not make sense given the variation in number of interviews received by individuals. Sites would be arbitrarily rejecting some of the nation's top applicants simply because they received a lot of interviews, while possibly accepting someone very far down their list who only received a few.

 

[FLfuture]

Has anyone sent a thank you note to interviewers on a panel interview? My last interview had three components: two panel interviews with three interviewers each and one with the training director. I want to send a thank you note, but I'm not sure how to approach it with the panel interviews.

 

[FLfuture]

Also, if anyone actually visited WVU or Ann Arbor VA, please PM me! Thank you so much!

 

[heartdignan]

Has anyone sent a thank you note to interviewers on a panel interview? My last interview had three components: two panel interviews with three interviewers each and one with the training director. I want to send a thank you note, but I'm not sure how to approach it with the panel interviews.

I tried to specify everyone's names on a thank you note, but that does sound like a tough situation. On one of my sites, I had multiple people interview me and I couldn't remember all their names, and I just said, "Dear Dr. (Training Director) and Internship Selection Committee," or "Psychology Faculty." Something like that.

 

[psychrat]

Did anyone attend Amercan Lake open house?

 

[FuturePhD]

Alright so I know we all are in the midst of living in airports for the next few weeks. Despite this hectic schedule, a thought crossed my mind that I wish I had thought of before....

Should we be sending thank you emails after each interview? This thought occurred to me after my number one choice interviewed me and became my number 1 A+++ pretty-please-say-you'll-take-me site.

Would it look too desperate to send a thank you email highlighting why they will love me if I go there next year?
Also, would it look too weird to send other sites thank you emails a week/few days after the fact?

Thoughts?

Also, how many people have gotten stranded in airports so far? I just spend 16 hours stranded. Yay for traveling in the winter!!!

I have been sending thank you emails plus highlighting why I still think I am a good fit. I usually try to send the emails a day or two later and I also say exactly what day I interviewed. The APAGS internship workbook gives guidance on thank you emails (if you have it).

 

[Bag of Owls]

 

[psychinnola]

Home for a few days! This is exhausting but super exciting .

 

[voyeurofthemind]

Last interview tomorrow! Whew. I have to admit this travel and interview process was unlike I've ever been through even during grad school applicant interviews. I must say though I've been impressed by all of my co-applicants, their credentials, and professionalism. Best of luck to all!

 

[AppsAintNoThang]

If anyone interviewed or is interviewing for the adult track at friends hospital, can you please pm me when you have a moment? Thanks!

 

[NeonNoire]

.

 

[PsychologyPhD33]

Does anyone know what the "brief writing assignment" is at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital interview?

 

[pittpsych2014]

I have two more to go! If anyone interviewed at Howard could you PM me? Thank you!

 

[FLfuture]

If anyone interviewed at the Orlando VA last week, please PM me! Thanks!

 

[Flanders84]

Does anyone know what the "brief writing assignment" is at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital interview?

They just ask you to write a progress note - can be a fictional or real client (deidentified)..

 

[AppsAintNoThang]

Nevermind.

 

[heartdignan]

Has it crossed anyone's mind that it's 1 month till Match Day?

 

[Nellie1234]

Anyone else had this experience? I live in the east coast, and am originally from California. I'm trying to get back to Cali, so I primarily applied over there. I got invited to all of my East Coast internship sites, minus one. I only got one invite to Cali. Anyone have a similar experience regarding rejection from locations far far away?

Yep, I'm originally from the Midwest but am in Southern Mississippi for grad school. I got invited to all my southern sites and only one of my midwest sites (which I had 5 of). My guess is that they're just not familiar with programs so far away and might give priority to more local schools. Really sucks.

 

[mantra56]

Does anyone know Sutter Center for Psychiatry's (part of central california consortium) stipend?

 

[AphFall63LLN]

Any thoughts on what to wear to a site visit (not an open house, but an informal site visit scheduled just for me to tour the center and talk to an intern for an hour). It wont have an influence on how they rank me.

Thanks!!

 

[Ilikekittens]

Any thoughts on what to wear to a site visit (not an open house, but an informal site visit scheduled just for me to tour the center and talk to an intern for an hour). It wont have an influence on how they rank me.

Thanks!!

I had two site visits earlier this month. I wore my suit to the first and ended up feeling overdressed. So, for the second, I wore black dress pants and a nice blouse. It was much more comfortable, yet didn't feel too informal. The site director even complimented my blouse! I think as long as you're not dressed casually (e.g. jeans), you'll be fine.

 

[jgg323]

Hello everyone. I have not actually filled out my rankings yet but I saw that on the match website that there are only 10 blanks to enter your rankings. This question may be anwered when I actually enter my rankings but I was curious if you can rank more than 10 sites. I am assuming that you can but when I visited the match website I was a bit thrown off. I have 14 sites/tracks to rank and I was hoping to be able to rank all of them. Again, this may be a silly question that will resolve itself once I actually enter rankings but I was just curious.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Hello everyone. I have not actually filled out my rankings yet but I saw that on the match website that there are only 10 blanks to enter your rankings. This question may be anwered when I actually enter my rankings but I was curious if you can rank more than 10 sites. I am assuming that you can but when I visited the match website I was a bit thrown off. I have 14 sites/tracks to rank and I was hoping to be able to rank all of them. Again, this may be a silly question that will resolve itself once I actually enter rankings but I was just curious.

Mod Note: Went ahead and moved this to the larger APPIC thread given the subject matter.

 

[AphFall63LLN]

Hello everyone. I have not actually filled out my rankings yet but I saw that on the match website that there are only 10 blanks to enter your rankings. This question may be anwered when I actually enter my rankings but I was curious if you can rank more than 10 sites. I am assuming that you can but when I visited the match website I was a bit thrown off. I have 14 sites/tracks to rank and I was hoping to be able to rank all of them. Again, this may be a silly question that will resolve itself once I actually enter rankings but I was just curious.

It automatically adds more spaces after you enter a certain number of programs (I had added maybe 6 and it went up to 18 spots. Now that I've entered 13 its gone up to 22 spots). So no worries here, you can rank as many as you'd like and the list will keep growing!

 

[AppsAintNoThang]

I really hope everyone feels renewed energy for the upcoming final week of interviewing (for many of us).

 

[psychrat]

I am on my way to my second to last interview! I cannot believe the interview crunch is almost over. We survived!!!! How is everyone doing?

 

[ddsooner]

Did anyone who went to the Ann Arbor VA Open House (or solicited information from another source) get a clear answer regarding their match process? More specifically, will they contact applicants who are no longer under consideration?

 

[Dr.Grad]

Has anyone heard from WVU SOM? I only heard back from one faculty I emailed but have not received a rejection notification? Has anyone been rejected from them? Is it true, per their website that you under consideration unless you hear otherwise? I would love to hear from others who have either had more contact or actually been rejected. Thanks!!!

 

[FLfuture]

Did anyone who went to the Ann Arbor VA Open House (or solicited information from another source) get a clear answer regarding their match process? More specifically, will they contact applicants who are no longer under consideration?

Ditto!

Has anyone heard from WVU SOM? I only heard back from one faculty I emailed but have not received a rejection notification? Has anyone been rejected from them? Is it true, per their website that you under consideration unless you hear otherwise? I would love to hear from others who have either had more contact or actually been rejected. Thanks!!!

And ditto!

 

[AppsAintNoThang]

I am on my way to my second to last interview! I cannot believe the interview crunch is almost over. We survived!!!! How is everyone doing?

I'm in the midst of an every other day interview schedule. It's much, much better than back to back daily ones! I have 3 to go, and will be done by this time next week.

 

[heartdignan]

I am on my way to my second to last interview! I cannot believe the interview crunch is almost over. We survived!!!! How is everyone doing?

Last one is tomorrow! Getting through it better than expected but completely feel like I'm in a haze where I just get on a plane, drive, interview, repeat. Anything different than this is going to feel like bizarro world, even though it's my actual life.

 

[heartdignan]

I have a question about ranking. The APPIC directory gives program #s that are 4 digits. I have had a couple sites email me their match numbers, and they are 6 digits. One was for a site that specified different numbers for different tracks, which made sense. But one was for a site with one track, and they had two extra digits from what was listed in the directory. Sooooo....do we need a 6-digit number? Or do we just use the 4 digit ones in the directory? I don't want to go by the directory numbers and somehow not match due to typing in the wrong numbers. Thanks!

 

[AppsAintNoThang]

I have a question about ranking. The APPIC directory gives program #s that are 4 digits. I have had a couple sites email me their match numbers, and they are 6 digits. One was for a site that specified different numbers for different tracks, which made sense. But one was for a site with one track, and they had two extra digits from what was listed in the directory. Sooooo....do we need a 6-digit number? Or do we just use the 4 digit ones in the directory? I don't want to go by the directory numbers and somehow not match due to typing in the wrong numbers. Thanks!

The ROLIC system itself will bring up the 6 digit ones, and the full name, city and state of the site. It also lists the track if there are multiple tracks to choose from. I'm not sure what the 4 digit ones are that you're seeing? Maybe just the program code versus their match number?
I didn't actually type any codes in myself, I just searched by state on the ROLIC site- it's all pretty clear on there.

 

[heartdignan]

The ROLIC system itself will bring up the 6 digit ones, and the full name, city and state of the site. It also lists the track if there are multiple tracks to choose from. I'm not sure what the 4 digit ones are that you're seeing? Maybe just the program code versus their match number?
I didn't actually type any codes in myself, I just searched by state on the ROLIC site- it's all pretty clear on there.

Oh sweet. Thanks for sharing! I'm holding off on looking at it until I'm more clear brained.

 

[pittpsych2014]

I am on my way to my second to last interview! I cannot believe the interview crunch is almost over. We survived!!!! How is everyone doing?

Yeah! Good luck!

 

[pittpsych2014]

And how are we supposed to work on our dissertation during this process? (Said after staring at the same three pages all day!)

 

[docma]

The ROLIC system itself will bring up the 6 digit ones, and the full name, city and state of the site. It also lists the track if there are multiple tracks to choose from. I'm not sure what the 4 digit ones are that you're seeing? Maybe just the program code versus their match number?
I didn't actually type any codes in myself, I just searched by state on the ROLIC site- it's all pretty clear on there.

The 4 digit ones are for the APPIC program site..but each track in the Match will have a separate number. Typically the first 4 digits will correspond with the APPIC program sitenumber and the last 2 will be specific to the program track. So program 1234 could have 2 tracks 123456 and 123457.....

 

[cBpsych]

Any tips or thoughts for structured interviews with a panel?

 

[docma]

Any tips or thoughts for structured interviews with a panel?

Smile. Look at all of the panelists, not just the one asking the question. Answer the question specifically and concisely. Accept that anxiety is normative. Demonstrate you have a sense of humor.

 

[Dr.Grad]

Any tips or thoughts for structured interviews with a panel?

I had one of those and it wasn't too bad. Each person just took turns asking questions. I agree that speaking to everyone when you answer is important. it's more nerve racking, so I took care to make sure I was smiling etc. I also imagined that I was speaking to one person (even though directing my answer to everyone). this helped me be myself and "show up" so they would get a good sense of me.

 

[Dr.Grad]

Ditto!



And ditto!

Glad I'm not the only one!!

 

[AppsAintNoThang]

Once everyone gets to this point (I still have 2 interviews left myself), can we talk ranking? What factors are you all considering? I know this will be tough for me.

So far, I have training rotations, supervisors, opportunity to supervise, location, reputation (though I don't know this for most of my sites), postdoc options, research opportunities. Benefits are kind of on there, but not prioritized. Any one have other factors they're considering? Or anyone from prior matches who have suggestions?

 

[psychrat]

Once everyone gets to this point (I still have 2 interviews left myself), can we talk ranking? What factors are you all considering? I know this will be tough for me.

So far, I have training rotations, supervisors, opportunity to supervise, location, reputation (though I don't know this for most of my sites), postdoc options, research opportunities. Benefits are kind of on there, but not prioritized. Any one have other factors they're considering? Or anyone from prior matches who have suggestions?

Yes, let's please discuss. I have an idea of my top few and bottom few sites, but have no clue how to rank the middle ones. I have a few that do not offer a health insurance policy, but otherwise seem like solid training sites, but I do not want to live a year without insurance. Some offer a stipend of under 2000 to purchase a plan, but that seems impossible for that price. I will no longer be eligible for insurance through my program because I will no longer be fulltime. I am also finding it hard not to prioritize location. Moving across the country is so expensive.