2015 Postdoc Applicants

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Ollie123 said:
I have a decent list of places lined up (basically the list of T32s in my field). Between that and some contacts I have, I think I'm pretty well set for options. Like Cara though, most of these were figured out before this year (or WAY before this year...like first year of grad school). The big decision is how many places to apply and/or who do I risk offending. I was originally planning to stay put and picked internship largely to make that happen, but am becoming increasingly uncertain whether this is the right environment for me long-term (meaning beyond post-doc).

Time will tell!
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Hi Ollie

I am miles away from this but how do you know the T32s in your field? Is this centralized or word of mouth?

Thx!
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hamsterpants said:
Hi Ollie

I am miles away from this but how do you know the T32s in your field? Is this centralized or word of mouth?

Thx!
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Just like any other NIH grant, its publicly available. Just go to NIH Reporter and look up institutional training grants from logical institutes based on your area of study. Sift through the results to find appropriate ones since this covers all of science (i.e. many will be focused on things molecular biology, surgery, chemistry, etc.). Depending on what you study, there might be a lot or there might be very few. I'm in a well-funded area and found around 30-40 that were "workable", but only applied to 4. Honestly though, a lot is word of mouth. You get a sense of who the players are from seeing advertisements on listservs, talking to people at conferences and seeing where the grads of your lab end up (or consider).

I'm about 95% settled on a post-doc right now (barring the one faculty application I submitted coming through). Still trying to figure out the funding source since some are more limiting than others, but it seems like it will work out regardless. Good luck to everyone still going through the process!
 
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Today I got an email from a site saying that they noted that my application was in process on APPA CAS and they looked forward to reviewing my completed application. (And also that they were not contacting anyone until sometime in January regarding any interviews since their deadline is early next week.) So that's new.
 
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The portal's not letting me submit any applications now. And customer service was "closed for the holiday" at 3:30 EST. *there is no emoticon of ripping out hair while running around in circles*

I mean, not that training directors aren't being totally reasonable and all; it's just a matter of rage at the inefficiency and bull****e.
 
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Hey everyone!
I hope everyone had a great holiday filled with dreams of successful APPICCAS submissions. My partner actually LAUGHED at me when I told him how we had to "pay" for the programs ("You had to PAY to submit for a job!!?!")...funny, I know.

Did we want to start a second strand for sites we have heard back from (invitation/decline) like for internship? This may be even more important this goaround as this process is a lot more ambiguous as to when sites will be notifying applicants.
 
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I'llhavewhatshe'shaving said:
My partner actually LAUGHED at me when I told him how we had to "pay" for the programs ("You had to PAY to submit for a job!!?!")...funny, I know.
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And my partner's response was, "It's not enough that they're going to underpay you?!?"
 
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I'llhavewhatshe'shaving said:
Did we want to start a second strand for sites we have heard back from (invitation/decline) like for internship? This may be even more important this goaround as this process is a lot more ambiguous as to when sites will be notifying applicants.
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I think that's a great idea. Does anyone want to volunteer to manage the thread? I can do it if no one else wants to.
 
NeedMoreSleep08 said:
Has anyone heard back from neuropsych fellowships yet?
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I think a list would be great!

Also, I have not heard anything from the multiple neuro sites I have applied to, hopefully we will all start to hear back in the next few weeks...
 
Okay, I'm furious + baffled. APPA CAS will not let me submit an application due today 1/5/15. It's saying that the deadline has passed and this was at 11pm, EST. The deadline, both in site materials and on APPA CAS is clearly 1/5/15. And it stays 1/5/15 until 12am. Has anyone else had this issue? The application itself is complete, just will not let me pay and submit it.
 
Furious, but not at APPA CAS right now (remarkably). One of my letter writers did not upload the letter for s 01/05/15 despite several reminder emails and phone calls. The application allowed me to send another request to his email to upload the letter. WIll it even allow him to upload the letter once the deadline has passed?
 
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Kricket123 said:
Okay, I'm furious + baffled. APPA CAS will not let me submit an application due today 1/5/15. It's saying that the deadline has passed and this was at 11pm, EST. The deadline, both in site materials and on APPA CAS is clearly 1/5/15. And it stays 1/5/15 until 12am. Has anyone else had this issue? The application itself is complete, just will not let me pay and submit it.
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I wonder if perhaps they mixed it up when entering the deadline into the system, as 11:59pm on 1/5/15 or 12:00am on 1/6/15 would make more sense than 12:00am on 1/5/15 (which technically would've happened 24 hours earlier)...?
 
Kricket123 said:
Okay, I'm furious + baffled. APPA CAS will not let me submit an application due today 1/5/15. It's saying that the deadline has passed and this was at 11pm, EST. The deadline, both in site materials and on APPA CAS is clearly 1/5/15. And it stays 1/5/15 until 12am. Has anyone else had this issue? The application itself is complete, just will not let me pay and submit it.
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I had the same problem, as did someone else in my intern cohort. It happened to me around 10:30 pm, and I'm EST.
 
Sorry for the frustration, guys. I'd suggest emailing applications if APPA CAS is being stupid.

Speaking of APPA CAS, has anyone's application actually been verified? I submitted my first one back in, like, Dec 10 and it's still supposedly verifying. What the heck? It's past four weeks now.
 
cara susanna said:
Sorry for the frustration, guys. I'd suggest emailing applications if APPA CAS is being stupid.

Speaking of APPA CAS, has anyone's application actually been verified? I submitted my first one back in, like, Dec 10 and it's still supposedly verifying. What the heck? It's past four weeks now.
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I got an email saying that my GPA was uploaded, whatever that means (I don't actually see that as a field anywhere), but all of mine are still verifying. I submitted my first one in November. Dude.
 
So I heard from one of my sites that they had a ton of applications were showing as being incomplete so they emailed all the people with "open" applications to see if they had abandoned their applications or had actually submitted them. I had submitted mine a week early and received a confirmation from APPA CAS. However, I was unable to submit it on my end and had to have technical support do it on their end. I became concerned that there may have been a problem with two other sites that I had tech support help with so I emailed them to confirm receipt of my application. One has got back to me saying that it NEVER received anything, and I am still waiting to hear from the other. So you probably want to verify and sites you had to have tech support help you submit have actually been received!!!
 
CBTFTW said:
I got an email saying that my GPA was uploaded, whatever that means (I don't actually see that as a field anywhere), but all of mine are still verifying. I submitted my first one in November. Dude.
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I just got that email, too! I can't believe that they calculated our GPA from our transcripts. They could have just asked. I would hope we're past the stage where an applicant would lie about that.
 
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cara susanna said:
I just got that email, too! I can't believe that they calculated our GPA from our transcripts. They could have just asked. I would hope we're past the stage where an applicant would lie about that.
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Or where one would really need to lie about it, tbh. If you've made it to post doc apps, you probably have the same high GPA as every other post doc applicant.
 
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I got an interview offer today even though the APPA CAS site still said "Verifying" so who knows what that even means?

I imagine everyone is on the APPIC post-doc distribution list, but can you believe the Bedford VA has had to ask applicants to request confirmation of their applications? The APPA-CAS is just a mess.
 
rmenoch said:
So I heard from one of my sites that they had a ton of applications were showing as being incomplete so they emailed all the people with "open" applications to see if they had abandoned their applications or had actually submitted them. I had submitted mine a week early and received a confirmation from APPA CAS. However, I was unable to submit it on my end and had to have technical support do it on their end. I became concerned that there may have been a problem with two other sites that I had tech support help with so I emailed them to confirm receipt of my application. One has got back to me saying that it NEVER received anything, and I am still waiting to hear from the other. So you probably want to verify and sites you had to have tech support help you submit have actually been received!!!
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Received a friendly reminder today about the deadline and offered alternate submission options. It was nice...especially since I received my first rejection today. It still stings ugh
 
Did you guys see that they are going to be rolling out an "APPA CAS" for applying to graduate school? Just read it in the recent APA Monitor. Poor younger generation- that will be quite an expensive endeavor!
 
If they don't fix the bugs, it will be a nightmare (like the post doc portal). And as the post doc portal only has a handful of sites using it, I'm guessing only a handful of schools will use this at the beginning. That will be a nightmare for applicants (e.g., two schools they want to apply to uses it, but eight don't).

I did like the internship portal b/c it was easy to have transcripts and LORs all in one spot, and all of the sites used it. So unless it's like that, which it doesn't appear to be, it will be annoying.
 
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Besides the bugs, one thing that I find problematic is that APPA CAS refuses to waive fees despite very poor, inadequate services. They are making money off of low-paid interns. I'm thinking of ways in which to address this issue once I have a job offer in hand (i.e., after I do not need any APPA CAS services). Anything from involving the Better Business Bureau to small claims court.
 
As much as I somewhat empathize with the plight, I don't think the BBB can really do anything. Especially if the company in question is not registered with the BBB. Also, APPIC is a non-profit, which would make any meaningful legal action fairly difficult. You'd most likely just be donating your filing fees to a washington DC small claims court as it is dismissed.

I would, however, recommend people document their problems and give thoughtful feedback. The aim of this system is not to make money, there are no CEO's or shareholders here. The intent is to help streamline a process. So, there are a few options. One, they improve the system based on feedback given and it works as originally intended. Two, they see that the portal does not work as intended and bug fixes are not enough and they scrap the system. Or other.
 
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Has anyone asked about refunds and they outright refused?
 
I feel the spirit behind having a centralized system is to be helpful to everyone involved. Applying to Neuro sites with each one having different requirements was not only stressful for me, but for my LORs too. I would've liked a centralized system. Nevertheless, with all the issues in the system, it would've been appreciated if they opted to make it no-fee for applicants especially this being their first run. I feel this would at least make applicants feel valued rather than giving off the impression of making money off of us, financially challenged grad students.
 
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While I agree that the no-fee thing would be great, how feasible would that be? There are a lot of costs associated with running the system (web design, server space, man hours, etc). It's got to come from somewhere, and I don't think APPIC is flush with cash. Perhaps if APA would subsidize it
 
Yes, I clearly and specifically asked for my fee to be waived on one application that took 2 phone calls and 2 days to be submitted.

As applicants, we are stuck paying a fee for poor service. When I needed to support the app and they said they would not waive the fee, I had two choices: pay the fee because I had no other choice (ie no other service options--not like I can take my money elsewhere) or not apply to the site. Regardless of the not for profi
 
Oops hit send too soon.

Fees are one thing. Terrible service and being forced to pay anyway is a whole other issue.
 
I understand it can't be zero cost if they are providing a service, but I wonder how much financial support postdoctoral fellowship sites are providing to APPA CAS, if any, given that the similar system being designed for graduate school applications are free to programs. Why should the sites get this service for free and put all the of the cost on the applicants?

Also, in my estimation, emailing PDF documents of my application materials OR printing out and mailing a package of materials are both less expensive and less time-intensive options than using the APPA CAS. I've yet to see any benefit to me in terms of time or money that this system provides; the only utility was that some sites required it and I would be unable to apply otherwise.
 
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Well, as I said, be proactive. Provide meaningful feedback to the system. If they get enough of a certain kind, they will listen. I know that there is a lot of positive feedback as well, so they need to know how things are going.
 
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As my husband pointed out this weekend, even pizza delivery places have a better fee for service philosophy: it arrives in 30 minutes or it's free.
 
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WisNeuro said:
While I agree that the no-fee thing would be great, how feasible would that be? There are a lot of costs associated with running the system (web design, server space, man hours, etc). It's got to come from somewhere, and I don't think APPIC is flush with cash. Perhaps if APA would subsidize it
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I agree. There are a lot of costs associated with running APPA-CAS that it would not be feasible to have a no-fee in the long run. I still feel it would've been nice for them to consider a no fee service just for their first run/year since clearly there are still a lot of bugs that needs to be fixed. It may help ease the frustrations many are encountering.

I do think it's a good idea for APA to help subsidize. Not sure if postdoc sites pay a fee to use it.
 
Has anyone had any success in going from an adult internship to a child/adolescent post doc? Some experience with child/adolescents on externship and some on internship.
 
Hi Everyone,

Does anyone have a clue as to how many applicants apply for a post-doctoral position? Thank you.
 
I really hate being this person, but whatever:

Are dress slacks and a nice blouse acceptable for interviews? Does it have to be a suit?
 
I'm wearing a suit to be on the safe side...but gosh, I wish some sites would make a point to say that applicants can dress a bit more casually. I've been wearing the same suit since grad school interviews because ladies suit shopping is just the worst!!
 
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hi fellow applicants - how is everyone doing? hope interviews are going well for everyone... I have had two so far, and a few more over the next couple of weeks. For the one of those that was in-person, I originally planned to wear my suit but ended up going with dress slacks and a nice blouse. I think that was fine, but I guess we'll see when I do (or don't!) get an offer ;)

So this is not at all an issue for me at this point, but I'm beginning to get a bit anxious about the possibility of receiving an offer before I've had all my interviews. My understanding from speaking with people who have gone through this process is that sites often give small windows to hold an offer (ie, 24-48hrs) and you often have to make decisions without having been everywhere. Any previous applicants want to chime in on their own experiences/offer advice?
 
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pavlove said:
hi fellow applicants - how is everyone doing? hope interviews are going well for everyone... I have had two so far, and a few more over the next couple of weeks. For the one of those that was in-person, I originally planned to wear my suit but ended up going with dress slacks and a nice blouse. I think that was fine, but I guess we'll see when I do (or don't!) get an offer ;)

So this is not at all an issue for me at this point, but I'm beginning to get a bit anxious about the possibility of receiving an offer before I've had all my interviews. My understanding from speaking with people who have gone through this process is that sites often give small windows to hold an offer (ie, 24-48hrs) and you often have to make decisions without having been everywhere. Any previous applicants want to chime in on their own experiences/offer advice?
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Ahhhh yes! Great question! I had heard 1-2 weeks so that is a MEGA different report. Eager to hear other responses and hope that I find myself in this position after all is said and done.
 
pavlove said:
hi fellow applicants - how is everyone doing? hope interviews are going well for everyone... I have had two so far, and a few more over the next couple of weeks. For the one of those that was in-person, I originally planned to wear my suit but ended up going with dress slacks and a nice blouse. I think that was fine, but I guess we'll see when I do (or don't!) get an offer ;)

So this is not at all an issue for me at this point, but I'm beginning to get a bit anxious about the possibility of receiving an offer before I've had all my interviews. My understanding from speaking with people who have gone through this process is that sites often give small windows to hold an offer (ie, 24-48hrs) and you often have to make decisions without having been everywhere. Any previous applicants want to chime in on their own experiences/offer advice?
Click to expand...

I have also heard about small windows, and it makes me very anxious, and I would love to hear how previous applicants managed this. I tried to schedule all my interviews very close together to minimize the likelihood of having an offer before I'm done interviewing - that was the best way I could figure out to manage things.
 
One of the places Im interviewing stipulated that they have a 1/2 hour window to hold/accept/decline. Most of the others are 24 hours.
 
ela said:
One of the places Im interviewing stipulated that they have a 1/2 hour window to hold/accept/decline.
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If this was revealed at the interview, I'd have walked out on the spot. I get only allowing a few days, though from what I've seen most places are somewhat flexible about it if someone requests more time. But really...no one is allowed to fly (or heck, even have a moderate-length commute without bluetooth set up) until they extend an offer? Can't imagine a bigger red flag.
 
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There are a fair number of places that use tactics like this. They also ardently refuse to adhere to any sort of timeline for notification. My feeling is that if you need to resort to tricks to get trainees, probably not a place I'm interested in.
 
Ollie123 said:
If this was revealed at the interview, I'd have walked out on the spot. I get only allowing a few days, though from what I've seen most places are somewhat flexible about it if someone requests more time. But really...no one is allowed to fly (or heck, even have a moderate-length commute without bluetooth set up) until they extend an offer? Can't imagine a bigger red flag.
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Hmm, maybe I miscommunicated. This particular site is adhering to a very specific timeline, including stating that they will be extending offers at 9am on a specific day; those who receive offers are allowed to accept, decline, or hold for 1/2 hour. Not ideal, but very clearly spelled out. I don't feel particularly put off by this particular site. . . but it is a pretty quick turn around once offer is made. I also don't think this site really needs to "resort to tricks" of any kind to recruit trainees. What, exactly, would the "trick" here be?
 
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