2014-2015 APPIC (internship) interview thread

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weeblewobble said:
I've had a site say some similar things to me, in person though, which was surprising.

My advisor warned me about this so I'll pass it along to y'all- this sorts of comments can me really misleading and easy to misinterpret. We had a great student who received communications from one of her top sites which she (and my advisor) felt conveyed that they were ranking her #1. She ranked them first and matched with a different, lower ranked site. The site who sent her the emails acted like they sent similar ones to everyone they ranked. So just be cautious, and don't change your rankings based on this feedback because it may be meaningless.
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I second this. I got an email from a top site where I couldn't get a good read on what they thought about me during my visit. The email didn't indicate how much they liked me as a candidate or how they'd rank me, but it was excessively pouring on how much they enjoyed meeting me/appreciated I came to visit. Then it said that they received my thank you email and would pass on the sentiments accordingly. At first I thought "oh wow, this is unexpected. Maybe they really did like me and that's so great because I want them to like me!" However, I'd actually send a thank you CARD and not an email, so upon reflection, I'm thinking it was a generic albeit flattering message they sent to everyone (or at least people who sent thanks). So, with everything in this process, it seems best not to read into anything.

However, if you're getting emails that strongly suggest they are ranking you, and ranking you highly, that seems more clear cut and also not what sites are supposed to do. Part of me feels happy for you guys who are getting that positive feedback, but part of me feels sad that you have to get even more emotionally toyed with in this process. I would think it's hard not to be influenced by or feel pressure with feedback like that!
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weeblewobble said:
I've had a site say some similar things to me, in person though, which was surprising.

My advisor warned me about this so I'll pass it along to y'all- this sorts of comments can me really misleading and easy to misinterpret. We had a great student who received communications from one of her top sites which she (and my advisor) felt conveyed that they were ranking her #1. She ranked them first and matched with a different, lower ranked site. The site who sent her the emails acted like they sent similar ones to everyone they ranked. So just be cautious, and don't change your rankings based on this feedback because it may be meaningless.
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I definitely agree that we should be ranking based on our preferences, not on any thoughts on where the site ranks us. But in that case, and maybe even most cases, her ranking that site first didn't do any harm in the long run- did it? She would have matched to the same site regardless since it just skips past the ones that don't fit into the site's list. Or am I missing something? The match piece still is confusing to me.
 
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To anyone who interviewed at the Ohio Psychology Internship -- or anyone who is familiar with the program -- can you send me a PM? I had a phone interview because I couldn't attend their interview day. I would love to compare notes with someone who saw the site in person. Thanks!
 
AppsAintNoThang said:
I definitely agree that we should be ranking based on our preferences, not on any thoughts on where the site ranks us. But in that case, and maybe even most cases, her ranking that site first didn't do any harm in the long run- did it? She would have matched to the same site regardless since it just skips past the ones that don't fit into the site's list. Or am I missing something? The match piece still is confusing to me.
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For me, it's partly about ethics, rather than the algorithm of the match. The ethics of a site who would explicitly say they expect to match with a person they don't rank in a top position is very suspect, and communicating ranking information like that can cause bias in perspective no matter how the site is actually ranking the applicant.

As far as my lab mate, yeah it worked fine for her (and she is very successful now- I'd love to have her job ;) ) but it was very hard for her emotionally when she didn't match to that site, and the way that site treated her permanently burned bridges between them and my program.

The order of the list should only determine where you match, not if you match, so in that sense a site sending an applicant this sort of information, even if misleading, shouldn't keep them from matching. If it significantly shifts their list, though, I guess it could theoretically keep them from matching to their real top preference.
 
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Bag of Owls said:
There's no tactful way to ask this, I guess, but maybe my pseudo-anonymity will serve. Has anyone received emails from certain sites just in the past few days emphasizing that you are an excellent fit and they are strongly considering you (and that they have ranked you accordingly)? I had never heard of this before, not that I'm against it.
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I received some similar communications from a few of my sites last year (one of them even called me out of the blue), including my top site where I ended up matching. None of the messages contained any specific ranking information, but reaffirmed the perceived fit and their excitement to have met me. After discussing this type of message with my previous supervisor it seems it's not uncommon for sites to do this. It didn't bother me at the time nor does it now (though it did make me wonder about other sites that did not send me such messages), but I can imagine it could have been very confusing had I matched differently. In sum, though, I agree with others that it wouldn't necessarily benefit you to consider it heavily when you're ranking. Good luck!
 
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Does anyone know how much applicants a site typically ranks? I'm sure it varies by site and number of slots, but is there a general assumption we can make here? Like sites typically rank two applicants per slot? I figure they would rank more than just the number of slots available but also not rank every person interviewed. Any insights?
 
heartdignan said:
Does anyone know how much applicants a site typically ranks? I'm sure it varies by site and number of slots, but is there a general assumption we can make here? Like sites typically rank two applicants per slot? I figure they would rank more than just the number of slots available but also not rank every person interviewed. Any insights?
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I think actually many sites rank most people interviewed. Anecdotally, this is what I have heard from peers who have been involved in ranking discussions while on internship. You can look at the match stats on appic. Link for last year: https://www.appic.org/Match/MatchStatistics/MatchStatistics2014PhaseI.aspx

7.5 applicants per slot.
 
In my experience, most are ranked, although there are always a few DNR (Do not rank) for people who absolutely bombed the interview, or if we later found out some additional information that tanked them. But those are pretty minimal. How far places go down in the ranks generally is fairly variable. I know programs that commonly go into their 30's and 40's for interns, and I've been at places that rarely go into the late teens for 6 spots. No rule of thumb is going to apply across the board.

As I've opined before, step away from SDN until after match day, it's out of your hands now. Don't be neurotic.
 
WisNeuro said:
In my experience, most are ranked, although there are always a few DNR (Do not rank) for people who absolutely bombed the interview, or if we later found out some additional information that tanked them. But those are pretty minimal. How far places go down in the ranks generally is fairly variable. I know programs that commonly go into their 30's and 40's for interns, and I've been at places that rarely go into the late teens for 6 spots. No rule of thumb is going to apply across the board.

As I've opined before, step away from SDN until after match day, it's out of your hands now. Don't be neurotic.
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I do think some people can avoid neuroses while still posting on here- I'm likely not one of them. I'll stay on until I certify my rankings, as I'll likely have questions. I've definitely appreciated all of the feedback and support I've received here, so far. :)
 
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WisNeuro said:
In my experience, most are ranked, although there are always a few DNR (Do not rank) for people who absolutely bombed the interview, or if we later found out some additional information that tanked them. But those are pretty minimal. How far places go down in the ranks generally is fairly variable. I know programs that commonly go into their 30's and 40's for interns, and I've been at places that rarely go into the late teens for 6 spots. No rule of thumb is going to apply across the board.

As I've opined before, step away from SDN until after match day, it's out of your hands now. Don't be neurotic.
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Certainly sticking around could contribute to neurosis. But I'm going to continue coming for the community. I am one of only 2 students in my program applying to internship this year, and I have no contact with the other student. I enjoy reading about others going through this process, even if it might have a mild catalytic effect on my anxiety.
 
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How important is it to send a thank you email? I did not and my advisor FLIPPED when he found out I hadn't. The book indicated that it was ones personal style. I'm trying to play catch up with the older sites and send it out but at this point, I think it might look more damaging like I'm absentminded or something. Also...I hate this process...give me the most entitled neurotic narcissistic client over this process any day.
 
in my experience on committees at several different sites, it is not important at all to send a thank-you. I have never seen it positively impact a ranking decision in anyway whatsoever. Honestly, if I was a TD, I would hate thank you notes, just another thing adding to the dozens of e-mails I already get on a daily basis.
 
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sardonic said:
Certainly sticking around could contribute to neurosis. But I'm going to continue coming for the community. I am one of only 2 students in my program applying to internship this year, and I have no contact with the other student. I enjoy reading about others going through this process, even if it might have a mild catalytic effect on my anxiety.
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Ditto! Nice to have people to talk to about internship when you don't have many irl.
 
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Thanks, everybody, for the responses regarding the encouraging emails from sites. A good friend and fellow applicant pointed out that one thing to keep in mind is whether your rankings change in response to additional information provided in the email or simply in response to being liked. If the second, rethink reranking. The match will take into account whether a site likes you when it considers the site's rank order list. No email necessary there. It feels good to get a nice email, but don't get jumbled!
 
Hi,
I have a question. I am thinking about my rankings and was considering ranking a site which is an hour and fifteen train ride from my apartment fairly high with the idea that I would not have to move and save money, but when I ran this by my fiancé, he said that he thinks that is way too long to travel there and then back each day. Would you commute 75 minutes to a site and then 75 minutes back?
 
WisNeuro said:
in my experience on committees at several different sites, it is not important at all to send a thank-you. I have never seen it positively impact a ranking decision in anyway whatsoever. Honestly, if I was a TD, I would hate thank you notes, just another thing adding to the dozens of e-mails I already get on a daily basis.
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I agree that thank you notes are not any kind of essential element and should only be done if you genuinely feel the need to say thank you. At our site they are opened, read and recycled or deleted. They are never a factor in ranking decisions.
 
psychrat said:
Hi,
I have a question. I am thinking about my rankings and was considering ranking a site which is an hour and fifteen train ride from my apartment fairly high with the idea that I would not have to move and save money, but when I ran this by my fiancé, he said that he thinks that is way too long to travel there and then back each day. Would you commute 75 minutes to a site and then 75 minutes back?
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I definitely would, if I genuinely liked the site and felt it provided a fine work/life balance. You can read, sleep, do your dissertation (jkk...) and generally decompress on the train!
 
psychrat said:
Hi,
I have a question. I am thinking about my rankings and was considering ranking a site which is an hour and fifteen train ride from my apartment fairly high with the idea that I would not have to move and save money, but when I ran this by my fiancé, he said that he thinks that is way too long to travel there and then back each day. Would you commute 75 minutes to a site and then 75 minutes back?
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Good question. I wouldn't, but I have kids. If I were single, I'd be tempted if it made a huge difference in expense. Especially because I love train rides and find those kinds of commutes relaxing. I did meet an intern at West LA VA who commutes 2 hours in and 2 hours back by car because he lived for free with his spouse and in-laws. It's a tough call.
 
psychrat said:
Hi,
I have a question. I am thinking about my rankings and was considering ranking a site which is an hour and fifteen train ride from my apartment fairly high with the idea that I would not have to move and save money, but when I ran this by my fiancé, he said that he thinks that is way too long to travel there and then back each day. Would you commute 75 minutes to a site and then 75 minutes back?
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I really think this is a matter of personal preference. I met a lot of interns who commuted 45-75 minutes to the site and they seemed perfectly content with it. I, on the other hand, feel very stressed about long commutes/traffic and I know I would have a diminished quality of life if I had to factor in 1.5 hours of commuting 5 days a week. Train ride might be a little easier to swallow because you are more able to do things during the commute, but again for me I'd find it to be a relatively significant stressor.
 
psychrat said:
Hi,
I have a question. I am thinking about my rankings and was considering ranking a site which is an hour and fifteen train ride from my apartment fairly high with the idea that I would not have to move and save money, but when I ran this by my fiancé, he said that he thinks that is way too long to travel there and then back each day. Would you commute 75 minutes to a site and then 75 minutes back?
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As a daily hour+ commuter each way, it varies and depends on different factors. My commute takes an hour each way due to traffic, my practicum isn't to far in terms of distance.

The majority of the times, you get used to it. I'm in my car, enjoy the radio, tea, sports talk etc. So it isn't a big deal for me anymore. However, there are those days where you just hate the commute and wish you could be home. If you have a family or little ones, it gets hard. An hour, too and from, makes a big difference.

The times I would get angry about the commute were days i had to finish school reports, projects, etc. Now that I have pretty much finished all my coursework, I don't get stressed about the commute anymore.
 
What do people think of sites that were only accredited for 5 years vs 7 years by APA during their last site visit due to multiple minor deficiencies? I have a couple sites with that description. They aren't on probation, but their next site visits are 2016 (when I'd be there). Should I be concerned?

Here's the site where you can look that up:

http://apps.apa.org/accredsearch/
 
WisNeuro said:
I wouldn't be overly concerned about a 5 year, but I would expect some minor issues. Now, if they are under probation, or on 3 year status, that's another story.
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Thank you- I just wasn't sure of the process. I'm guessing they would have a probationary period before they took away accreditation for severe deficiencies. These are sites that have been accredited for decades, too, so that helps.
 
How much are you guys factoring in income to your rankings? The sites I interviewed at have an income anywhere between 20000 and 34000. Some of the lower paying ones sound like great training, but moving on such a salary seems like it would be tough.
 
psychrat said:
How much are you guys factoring in income to your rankings? The sites I interviewed at have an income anywhere between 20000 and 34000. Some of the lower paying ones sound like great training, but moving on such a salary seems like it would be tough.
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I think that's a tricky one- anything within that range isn't exactly luxurious living, but some of the salaries in certain areas are downright below poverty level. I'm factoring it in a bit more for areas with a higher cost of living. For instance, interns at a site I went to in California were saying they were actually on food stamps due to the cost of living. For me, it's not a huge factor, and likely won't change my rankings of sites I really like. But I'm also single and very used to living on little money or resources, so your mileage may vary.
 
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I'm playing a game of "let's stare at our rank order list for inordinately large amount of time" this morning.

@psychrat , I'm having a similar distance dilemma. There is a place that the training is fine, meets all of my minimum thresholds but isn't nearly as awesome as some other places on my list. However, I could stay in my home but at the price of commuting/driving for ~75 minutes. I know that this will mean my QoL takes a hit but.... other options take (what I think will be) a larger cut out of my QoL because I would not be living with my hubs. Sighhh.
 
Since some people have been talking about money, and it's tax season...does anyone know if we can claim any internship travel expenses from December on our taxes this year? :idea:
 
psychrat said:
How much are you guys factoring in income to your rankings? The sites I interviewed at have an income anywhere between 20000 and 34000. Some of the lower paying ones sound like great training, but moving on such a salary seems like it would be tough.
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Maybe just take a look at costs of living/housing in the areas surrounding the sites and see if the stipend seems doable? I know what you mean, though, psychologically it is hard to want a $20,000 site right at the top of the list. For me, I'd also factor in work expectations. I've seen sites where they pay you $20,000 but expect you to work 50-55 hours and sites where they give you $33,000 but want you to max at 40 hours/week. In that instance, I'd go for the higher stipend but in large part because I know I'll have a better quality of life and not be treated like a work machine. It seriously all comes down to quality of life for me across the board! Training is important, but becomes less meaningful if I'm burnt out.
 
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Hey Everyone! I luckily received a last minute offer for a phone interview from the Children's Institute in LA. Since I am not able to visit the site, I would be very grateful if someone could PM me with their thoughts on the site if they interviewed there. Also, if someone has contact information for interns that would be great as well.
Thanks!
 
I was wondering if anyone knows what time we find out if we match? I believe its 10 am, but I just wanted to know if it was earlier from past years?
 
psych296 said:
I was wondering if anyone knows what time we find out if we match? I believe its 10 am, but I just wanted to know if it was earlier from past years?
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I believe it ranges from ~6-10 am. Much of this probably has to do with your time zone.
 
PhDToBe said:
I believe it ranges from ~6-10 am. Much of this probably has to do with your time zone.
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I just checked and the email that said I did not match came around 8am (est) last year. It seemed like they emailed those who did not match first, but that is just a guess and I do not know for sure. I hope for better news this year; I just re traumatized myself by looking at the email ;)
 
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cBpsych said:
Since some people have been talking about money, and it's tax season...does anyone know if we can claim any internship travel expenses from December on our taxes this year? :idea:
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Good question. I am wondering this as well.
 
psych296 said:
I was wondering if anyone knows what time we find out if we match? I believe its 10 am, but I just wanted to know if it was earlier from past years?
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Like PsychRat, I just looked at my e-mails from last year. Phase I was 8:10am and Phase II was 8:27am EST. I also got the sense that the non-match e-mails come first.
 
The email just came out saying match time is 10am EST. But I'm glad I saw this previous post cause I see now that the email said results "beginning at 10am EST" and I would have probably freaked out that I did not get an email immediately at 8am (my time) as expected!
 
heartdignan said:
The email just came out saying match time is 10am EST. But I'm glad I saw this previous post cause I see now that the email said results "beginning at 10am EST" and I would have probably freaked out that I did not get an email immediately at 8am (my time) as expected!
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I think the match results are available on the website beginning at 10am, but will be emailed by 10am (meaning earlier is possible).
 
I know for a fact people in my program last year heard as early as ~6 am, and most had heard before 9 am.
 
I got the email at around 8 AM (EST) last year, and pretty much everybody in my cohort did as well.
 
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So its T-4 days til ranking day. I had my rank all nice and set except that one site that kept going back and forth placement. I made my final change tonight and somehow that trigger a slew of panicky feelings. AHH!! This so so so stressful! While going through that wave of anxiety I force my brain to embrace the truth.

If I don't match...THE WORLD WILL NOT COME TO AN END.
I WILL get up that morning, and I WILL go to work and I WILL have a yummy coffee, and I WILL hug my husband. None of that will change whether I get a site or not. And life will go on.

Somehow that truth made me feel better.

And I hope your version of that truth (that life DOES go on) make anyone who is feeling the pressure build up better too. Hugs to all of you. :)
 
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Hi All! I know there have been quite a few posts about how you all are ranking. I am finding that my final list is largely based on desire of location, especially because I liked most of my sites. Of course there were a few differences that make some sites slightly better than others, but nothing huge. I have a partner and children, and I think this is a large part of the reason for my rank order; I need to consider places my partner will find work, my children will be happy and will attend good schools, we may stay for post-doc and beyond etc.

I'm wondering if you all have thoughts on this reasoning, and if others with partners/families who will move with them are finding the same thing. Thanks so much all!
 
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Mk1000 said:
Hi All! I know there have been quite a few posts about how you all are ranking. I am finding that my final list is largely based on desire of location, especially because I liked most of my sites. Of course there were a few differences that make some sites slightly better than others, but nothing huge. I have a partner and children, and I think this is a large part of the reason for my rank order; I need to consider places my partner will find work, my children will be happy and will attend good schools, we may stay for post-doc and beyond etc.

I'm wondering if you all have thoughts on this reasoning, and if others with partners/families who will move with them are finding the same thing. Thanks so much all!
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I'm kind of similar but a bit different. I've noticed that geography has strongly factored into my rankings (and luckily the places near the top also happened to be kickass sites). I am in a relationship, do not have kids, and have a fiancé who is very open to moving and has a job that can move anywhere. I know all that makes me a lucky freak and totally not in touch with the struggle over disrupting the life of kids/partner (although I do still feel guilt about making him move somewhere). With that said, wherever I go for internship would ideally be somewhere I could plop down and stay awhile. I've moved between states quite a bit over the past several years and I'm very tired of it. I would like some semi-permanency and eventually want to start a family. My top sites are places I would want to live for awhile and raise kids, so that's similar to how you're drawn toward an optimal family location. Everyone has different preferences in their ranking factors, and I think it's possible to second guess yourself if other people rank sites based on different priorities. As long as you're ranking sites on location AND goodness of fit, that's all that matters.

Also, after we're done with this process, let's never utter the words, "goodness of fit" ever again :nod:
 
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heartdignan said:
I'm kind of similar but a bit different. I've noticed that geography has strongly factored into my rankings (and luckily the places near the top also happened to be kickass sites). I am in a relationship, do not have kids, and have a fiancé who is very open to moving and has a job that can move anywhere. I know all that makes me a lucky freak and totally not in touch with the struggle over disrupting the life of kids/partner (although I do still feel guilt about making him move somewhere). With that said, wherever I go for internship would ideally be somewhere I could plop down and stay awhile. I've moved between states quite a bit over the past several years and I'm very tired of it. I would like some semi-permanency and eventually want to start a family. My top sites are places I would want to live for awhile and raise kids, so that's similar to how you're drawn toward an optimal family location. Everyone has different preferences in their ranking factors, and I think it's possible to second guess yourself if other people rank sites based on different priorities. As long as you're ranking sites on location AND goodness of fit, that's all that matters.

Also, after we're done with this process, let's never utter the words, "goodness of fit" ever again :nod:
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Thanks! Yes, you're exactly right that I'm second guessing myself a bit because I'm not able to consider ONLY the fit of the program, but have to place a lot of emphasis on fit of the location. I have done my best to balance both, but ultimately location is very important for me. There are sites where I would like to live toward the bottom of my list because they are clearly not the best fit, but there are also sites in the middle of my list that are probably a slightly better fit programmatically (or more competitive) than those at the top but not a good fit location-wise. So many factors to think about!

It sounds like you have a great partner who is very flexible, and I hope you are both happy with wherever you end up! I have to admit that my partner is probably more flexible than I am, as I think a lot about our kiddos and where I think will be best for them. :eek:
 
Mk1000 said:
Thanks! Yes, you're exactly right that I'm second guessing myself a bit because I'm not able to consider ONLY the fit of the program, but have to place a lot of emphasis on fit of the location. I have done my best to balance both, but ultimately location is very important for me. There are sites where I would like to live toward the bottom of my list because they are clearly not the best fit, but there are also sites in the middle of my list that are probably a slightly better fit programmatically (or more competitive) than those at the top but not a good fit location-wise. So many factors to think about!

It sounds like you have a great partner who is very flexible, and I hope you are both happy with wherever you end up! I have to admit that my partner is probably more flexible than I am, as I think a lot about our kiddos and where I think will be best for them. :eek:
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My top site is in a great location and is a great fit, the trouble I'm having is with my second ranking. I loved the site and training, but location wise I would be fine living there a year but would want out right after. My partner is saying he wouldn't want to be there at all, though. I guess my thought is that we could do long distance for the year, it's just not worth sacrificing a great training year. Reading everyone's concerns about partners is definitely cuing some feelings like I'm being self centered by saying I would still move even if he didn't go. But I also recognize I've worked hard to get to the point where I can even be thinking about these great sites. This is just such a hard process- I wish I knew if this stress of ranking even mattered!
 
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AppsAintNoThang said:
My top site is in a great location and is a great fit, the trouble I'm having is with my second ranking. I loved the site and training, but location wise I would be fine living there a year but would want out right after. My partner is saying he wouldn't want to be there at all, though. I guess my thought is that we could do long distance for the year, it's just not worth sacrificing a great training year. Reading everyone's concerns about partners is definitely cuing some feelings like I'm being self centered by saying I would still move even if he didn't go. But I also recognize I've worked hard to get to the point where I can even be thinking about these great sites. This is just such a hard process- I wish I knew if this stress of ranking even mattered!
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I am still staring at my ranking, and am finally feeling comfortable with what I see. I think I will submit tomorrow. I tried to balance location and fit, although I would likely be happy with any of my sites.
 
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