2012 APPIC Internship Application Thread

[Duck Duck Goose]

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I've got 12 solid sites on my list, but I keep second-guessing myself and thinking I won't get enough interviews from this list, and wanting to add good sites but at geographical locations I'm not too keen on.

Only you know what'll work for you but, if you're not geographically restricted, I'd suggest applying to any sites you think are a good fit and, if you get interviews there, then talking to current interns about the location and/or checking it out yourself. It doesn't hurt to keep your options open.

 

[Quynh2007]

For future reference for all of us out there, this would have been great information to share on this forum a couple of days ago! If similar sales arise, I for one would love to hear about it before they're over - understand if folks want to book their own flights first. Glad it worked out for you, sounds like you got some great deals.

yeah, I didn't hear about it until yesterday. I was booking my flights around 11pm central time. But, if I hear about it sooner, I will definitely share it here.

 

[s00nerb0y]

For future reference for all of us out there, this would have been great information to share on this forum a couple of days ago! If similar sales arise, I for one would love to hear about it before they're over - understand if folks want to book their own flights first. Glad it worked out for you, sounds like you got some great deals.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. I saw the sale and contemplated buying a couple flights for interviews, but after considering the countless variables that would have needed to line up for one of the deals to work out, it really wasn't worth it (e.g., date and time of day I would need to fly in, which sites I will get interviews at, not purchasing more flights than interviews I get offered, etc.). It's basically the same as buying a gift card to SW airlines a couple months early. So unless the stars align and your date works out, these will more than likely have to be game-time decisions.

 

[ClinApp]

For folks applying to the New York City programs, how are you making distinctions among Bellevue, Weill Cornell, and Columbia when deciding where to apply? They all sound like great opportunities but with really long hours - if you're not planning to apply to all of them, what decided you, or how do you differentiate their opportunities? I'm interested in child work and CBT and research-friendly programs, by the way. I would appreciate any thoughts.

 

[Duck Duck Goose]

For folks applying to the New York City programs, how are you making distinctions among Bellevue, Weill Cornell, and Columbia when deciding where to apply? They all sound like great opportunities but with really long hours - if you're not planning to apply to all of them, what decided you, or how do you differentiate their opportunities? I'm interested in child work and CBT and research-friendly programs, by the way. I would appreciate any thoughts.

I'm not applying to any of those sites but I'm wondering why you wouldn't want to apply to all of them.

17 cover letters (and applications) done, 4 to go! Still waiting for 2 letters of recommendation to be uploaded and my DCT's confirmation, so I can't submit any yet. Good luck, everyone!

 

[ClinApp]

I'm not applying to any of those sites but I'm wondering why you wouldn't want to apply to all of them.

17 cover letters (and applications) done, 4 to go! Still waiting for 2 letters of recommendation to be uploaded and my DCT's confirmation, so I can't submit any yet. Good luck, everyone!

I don't really want to apply to 21 sites and am trying to reduce my list. Congrats on *almost* finishing your cover letters, that's awesome. Did it take a long time to do? That joy still awaits me.

 

[Duck Duck Goose]

I don't really want to apply to 21 sites and am trying to reduce my list. Congrats on *almost* finishing your cover letters, that's awesome. Did it take a long time to do? That joy still awaits me.

Good luck narrowing it down, I hope others are able to give you some insight.

It has taken weeks to write my cover letters. I've been doing at least one letter a day for the past two weeks. Each letter didn't take that long (probably 1-2 hours) but it feels great to be so close! (and a month ahead of deadlines!) Good luck with your own apps.

 

[serendipity2]

Two quick questions about submitting de-identified assessment reports. I have read the HIPPA stuff on APPIC's website and elsewhere and checked the internship listserv archives, so any help would be appreciated:

1. It is okay to include Jane Smith/John Smith in place of the real name as long as I include the sentence at the top "All identifying data in this report has been changed to protect client anonymity." ?? Is this correct?

2. Is it okay to include numbers in the report, i.e. (WMI= 110)?? I actually went through and changed the numbers a bit, i.e. added a few or took a few points off, but still wasn't sure if it is fine to even include numbers at all? I don't like the look of WMI = XXX.

Thanks. Hope everyone is hanging in there! I am still waiting on DCT approval and a letter of recommendation. And have oodles and oddles of cover letters to make my way through... slowly getting there!!

 

[psypsypsy]

1. It is okay to include Jane Smith/John Smith in place of the real name as long as I include the sentence at the top "All identifying data in this report has been changed to protect client anonymity." ?? Is this correct?

2. Is it okay to include numbers in the report, i.e. (WMI= 110)?? I actually went through and changed the numbers a bit, i.e. added a few or took a few points off, but still wasn't sure if it is fine to even include numbers at all? I don't like the look of WMI = XXX.

1. From everything I've heard about/talked to with people, yes, you can do John Doe or whatever, as long as you clearly include that sentence at the top (bold it). You can also XXX out for the name, or do something like change the name to "patient" or "client." I'm on internship now, and I remember stressing out about this last year.

Also, to double check, make sure to change name of other doctors they might have seen, take out birthdates, the city they live in, any schools they might have attended, teacher's who filled out forms, etc, etc.

2. That said, don't change the actual WMI (and other) scores! They're actually looking to see how you interpret the scores and write a report, so having the scores is important to actually evaluating your skills. If you've completely de-identified the report, it doesn't matter if they have all the actual scores.

 

[serendipity2]

Thank you!! I am trying to keep all the "little" things in perspective, but don't want to mess up anything that would be considered "unethical" so to speak!

 

[TuTuPsychL]

I just pressed SUBMIT for my applications...

I thought when that happened I would float out of my chair due to the huge weight lifted off my shoulder and maybe confetti would fall from the sky. Alas, none of that happened.

Glad to have done it but now it's actually real!! Good luck to everyone else working through this final stretch!

 

[Quynh2007]

So I am way behind most of you guys, but the good thing is only 4 sites are due next week, and the rest mid-November (and Dec for WVU).

Just finished my essays, so I'll be spending the next few days doing my cover letters.

 

[citygurl]

Need some help--I made an error on my DCT verification form. I didn't check 'yes' for one of the questions on whether it was required to complete coursework in order to take part in match. My DCT doesn't know how to change this because she cannot go in and manually change our responses and I don't have access to it either because it locked when I sent it to my DCT. Has anyone else run into this problem? Also, if my DCT were to deny verification so that I could fix the mistake, would sites know that I was denied verification? Last thing I wanted to deal with but I hope this is a fixable problem 🙁

 

[serendipity2]

Have you DCT "Not verify" it and send it back to you. Then you can fix it and send it back to her. She then approves and you are good to go! No worries, my DCT sent mine back (didn't verify) because she wanted me to cut back on the length of the question about support hours. I have a faint memory of someone on the listserv running into this and they were told that no, no sites would see this!

 

[serendipity2]

And holeymoley TuTu! Congrats!! I am trudging through my cover letters v..e..r..y.. slooowly...

 

[blindchaos]

Those of you who have done this before...when did you hear about your first interviews?

I got my first invite the morning of Nov. 12. I think in my program only one person got an invite before me and their invite came from a site with something like a 24hr invite turnaround (ie: application submitted on Tuesday, interview offer extended Wednesday). Fair warning: no days/times are off limits for interview/rejection e-mails (I got a rejection email around 9pm on a Sunday!). The majority of my interview offers were extended in the first 8 days of December. Also...get as many interviews scheduled in December as you can as January gets PACKED quickly. And if you get double-booked, it's ok to ask a site if it's possible to move the interview date (so long as their materials do not explicitly state that they won't offer any other dates). I had one site that only had one announced interview date. That date didn't work for me as I had an interview at another site that wouldn't budge. I very carefully asked if another date was possible (while reaffirming my interest in the site) and gave them several days that would work (tried to be as flexible as possible). They were more than willing to give me a separate interview date and when I got their for my interview (more than 2 weeks after everyone else interviewed), the TD apologized to ME that their original date didn't work for me. And instead of the usual catered/box lunch like the main group had, the team took me out to a restaurant 😀 Not saying this type of response is the norm, but as long as their materials don't state explicitly that they are not flexible, it's ok to ask if another date is possible. Just be careful on how you word it 😉

Best of luck to everyone involved - I went thru the process last year, matched (Phase II survivor!), and am SO happy with my internship!

Question to the other match vets on here...are there any guidelines about talking with people who are applying to your site/track? I was gonna keep an eye on the thread once people start sharing where they are applying to to keep an eye out for my site/track and then PM the people in case they have questions etc, but wasn't sure if that would go against APA as there seems to be a rule for everything. Granted, whatever I would say in a PM would be with the caveat that it's my personal opinion, not an official statement from the internship, yada yada yada, and while I meet the interviewees, I have no part in the ranking process, nor do I have access to applications or a say in who is interviewed. It *seems* like it should be ok, but I know that not all interns are on here and not all are willing to answer questions for applicants so it could be seen as an unfair advantage maybe? Anyway...wanted to hear what others thought about that.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I got my first invite the morning of Nov. 12. I think in my program only one person got an invite before me and their invite came from a site with something like a 24hr invite turnaround (ie: application submitted on Tuesday, interview offer extended Wednesday). Fair warning: no days/times are off limits for interview/rejection e-mails (I got a rejection email around 9pm on a Sunday!). The majority of my interview offers were extended in the first 8 days of December. Also...get as many interviews scheduled in December as you can as January gets PACKED quickly. And if you get double-booked, it's ok to ask a site if it's possible to move the interview date (so long as their materials do not explicitly state that they won't offer any other dates). I had one site that only had one announced interview date. That date didn't work for me as I had an interview at another site that wouldn't budge. I very carefully asked if another date was possible (while reaffirming my interest in the site) and gave them several days that would work (tried to be as flexible as possible). They were more than willing to give me a separate interview date and when I got their for my interview (more than 2 weeks after everyone else interviewed), the TD apologized to ME that their original date didn't work for me. And instead of the usual catered/box lunch like the main group had, the team took me out to a restaurant 😀 Not saying this type of response is the norm, but as long as their materials don't state explicitly that they are not flexible, it's ok to ask if another date is possible. Just be careful on how you word it 😉

Best of luck to everyone involved - I went thru the process last year, matched (Phase II survivor!), and am SO happy with my internship!

Question to the other match vets on here...are there any guidelines about talking with people who are applying to your site/track? I was gonna keep an eye on the thread once people start sharing where they are applying to to keep an eye out for my site/track and then PM the people in case they have questions etc, but wasn't sure if that would go against APA as there seems to be a rule for everything. Granted, whatever I would say in a PM would be with the caveat that it's my personal opinion, not an official statement from the internship, yada yada yada, and while I meet the interviewees, I have no part in the ranking process, nor do I have access to applications or a say in who is interviewed. It *seems* like it should be ok, but I know that not all interns are on here and not all are willing to answer questions for applicants so it could be seen as an unfair advantage maybe? Anyway...wanted to hear what others thought about that.

I would imagine that sharing your personal opinions/experiences about your current site would be fine, seeing as how that's exactly what happens during interviews when applicants meet with the current interns anyway. I'd definitely avoid giving any "insider" information, such as perhaps potential weightings or formulas used to rank applicants, as I can see how that would be inappropriate. But thoughts on the site itself, again, seem like they'd be fine.

Also, a big SECONDED for the advice to pick dates in December whenever possible. Also, if you can swing dates in the middle of the week as opposed to Mondays or Fridays, that helps as well.

Another piece of advice--until the interview date notification deadline is approaching, I'd recommend holding off on emailing secretaries/TDs/etc about the status of your application. It's tempting to do so when you start seeing that sites you've applied to have begun notifying people, but keep in mind that MANY places do rolling notifications, and all sites are going to be swamped. Patience is a virtue, for sure.

Similarly, don't take a lack of a notification in the presence of others on here receiving interviews as a sign that you're out of contention. Until you receive an actual rejection, your application is still "in play."

 

[Duck Duck Goose]

Similarly, don't take a lack of a notification in the presence of others on here receiving interviews as a sign that you're out of contention. Until you receive an actual rejection, your application is still "in play."

Absolutely. And at least this year on the 2 match days, the first people to hear the news were the ones who didn't match (like me!). No news can be good news. 😎

 

[ClinApp]

I just pressed SUBMIT for my applications...

I thought when that happened I would float out of my chair due to the huge weight lifted off my shoulder and maybe confetti would fall from the sky. Alas, none of that happened.

Glad to have done it but now it's actually real!! Good luck to everyone else working through this final stretch!

Wow, congrats! I'm still very far behind you, but I can see that even getting past the big push of the application submissions, you might then go straight into waiting mode. I think of this process as a very long race, with different challenges around every bend. I'm taking on the first big hill now by completing this mountain of paperwork, and then we'll see what's around the next curve.

Good luck to everyone else in completing their applications. I'm working on cover letters and still struggling with essay 3, the diversity essay. I want it to be genuine and contribute something meaningful that is relevant to the rest of my application, but there is such a pull to say the "right things," which often are a bit removed from my primary goals for internship. Ah, well, I'll figure out some balance soon, I hope.

 

[blindchaos]

Oh also, if you are offered an interview and are instructed to call/e-mail with your preferred interview date after being given a few options, RESPOND PROMPTLY. Your preferred interview day will likely fill up FAST (I think there was someone last year or the year before who responded within 10 minutes of the e-mail being sent and their preferred date was already filled). This is especially true with Mondays and Fridays in Jan as MANY sites interview then.

Something I did last year that was very very helpful to me.... *before* any interview offers went out, I sat down, typed out all the sites I applied to and then typed the interview dates for each site (some sites won't post that ahead of time so then you just have to deal with it, but some will announce specific interview dates on their APPIC page or their own website or will give some sort of idea ie "select Tuesdays in January". Then I looked at how all the interview dates matched up and ranked my interview date preference for each site.

For some, it was easy to put them in preferred order (ie: Site A offers interviews on dates X, Y, and Z. None of my other sites interview on day X, so day X is my first choice. Then the remaining days are ranked in the order of causing the least amount of scheduling conflict to the greatest amount of conflict).

For other sites, depending on what info was available, it was tricky. For example - if I am rejected from site A, then my preferred interview date for site B is the 17th. If I get an interview from site A, then my preferred interview date for site B is the 5th, unless I also have an interview from site C, then my preferred interview date for site B is the 21st. Regardless of how bad any particular date looks, rank order every date that a site offers. If 10 of your sites interview on the 14th, then the 14th could be your last choice date for every site. Don't leave the 14th off the list entirely...it may work out.

It sounds complicated and like a lot of work, but it wasn't too bad to figure out and was then VERY helpful for responding to sites promptly and generally getting dates that work for me. Whenever I got an interview offer or a rejection, I would update the entire list accordingly. If a site offers NO info on when interviews are, keep it on the list and just make a note that no info is available so if you get an offer from them, you can try to work around your preferences for other sites. I personally would not contact a site to ask when interviews are if that info is not available anywhere else. It will make you sound like you assume you're going to get an interview offer before they've even seen your app. For creating the preferred interview date list, it helps if you are detail-oriented/hyper-organized 😉 Plus, it gives ya something to do in between submitting applications and waiting for offers to start rolling in.

 

[MyPsychCareer]

Long time reader, first time poster. Best of luck to all of you.

I went through the process last year and matched at my top choice, so I wanted to share some key learnings.

1) Prepare several cases for your interviews. Your toughest case, a case approached from your theoretical orientation and if interviewing at neuro sites, a neuropsych case.

2) The waiting game is tough. I applied to 19 sites and got 13 interviews - but I didn't hear from some of them until 4 PM on December 15. Just because you do not hear early from some places does not mean you will not get an interview there. Stay strong!

3) Try to stay healthy. I got the flu on a week with five interviews. Take vitamins, if you feel the least bit sick - go get antibiotics EARLY, and take Airborne before boarding those planes.

4) I rolled out my applications in phases. One site told me that they cut off looking at applications when it reached 100, making the early birds the lucky ones to get interviews. Others downloaded everything on 12/15 when they had to make decisions on interviews. Just get them in when you feel they are ready.

5) As blindchaos mentioned, respond early to email invitations. worry about flights and hotels later, just get those dates down.

6) Give your practicum supervisors as much notice as you can when you will be out. They understand the process but remember that more communications is always better!

7) Think through the key questions of why you want to intern there - it was amazing to me how many people went in with attitudes/chips on their shoulders. You have some power in this process, but there are lots of qualified applicants. Be kind, open and excited when you arrive. Do not piss off the secretaries or try to "compete" with other applicants when you see them at the site. It will only backfire on you.

8) Use the current interns as a source of information, but remember, they can report back to the TDs if you ask inappropriate questions. People actually do this - like asking about where they like to consume alcohol. Seriously. Just think before you ask - would I mind if the TD heard that I asked this question?

9) Wear a suit unless instructed not to by the TD. Those who did not stuck out.

10) Do something nice for yourself when you have time. I was lucky to have a fantastic supportive husband who put up with my cranky mood for 3 months. Try to enjoy the time you have with your loved ones/pets/friends and "turn off" internship talk when you can.

Feel free to PM message me if you have further questions.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Oh also, if you are offered an interview and are instructed to call/e-mail with your preferred interview date after being given a few options, RESPOND PROMPTLY. Your preferred interview day will likely fill up FAST (I think there was someone last year or the year before who responded within 10 minutes of the e-mail being sent and their preferred date was already filled). This is especially true with Mondays and Fridays in Jan as MANY sites interview then.

Something I did last year that was very very helpful to me.... *before* any interview offers went out, I sat down, typed out all the sites I applied to and then typed the interview dates for each site (some sites won't post that ahead of time so then you just have to deal with it, but some will announce specific interview dates on their APPIC page or their own website or will give some sort of idea ie "select Tuesdays in January". Then I looked at how all the interview dates matched up and ranked my interview date preference for each site.

For some, it was easy to put them in preferred order (ie: Site A offers interviews on dates X, Y, and Z. None of my other sites interview on day X, so day X is my first choice. Then the remaining days are ranked in the order of causing the least amount of scheduling conflict to the greatest amount of conflict).

For other sites, depending on what info was available, it was tricky. For example - if I am rejected from site A, then my preferred interview date for site B is the 17th. If I get an interview from site A, then my preferred interview date for site B is the 5th, unless I also have an interview from site C, then my preferred interview date for site B is the 21st. Regardless of how bad any particular date looks, rank order every date that a site offers. If 10 of your sites interview on the 14th, then the 14th could be your last choice date for every site. Don't leave the 14th off the list entirely...it may work out.

It sounds complicated and like a lot of work, but it wasn't too bad to figure out and was then VERY helpful for responding to sites promptly and generally getting dates that work for me. Whenever I got an interview offer or a rejection, I would update the entire list accordingly. If a site offers NO info on when interviews are, keep it on the list and just make a note that no info is available so if you get an offer from them, you can try to work around your preferences for other sites. I personally would not contact a site to ask when interviews are if that info is not available anywhere else. It will make you sound like you assume you're going to get an interview offer before they've even seen your app. For creating the preferred interview date list, it helps if you are detail-oriented/hyper-organized 😉 Plus, it gives ya something to do in between submitting applications and waiting for offers to start rolling in.

Sound advice. At the very least, as T4C mentioned last year for those of us going through the process at that time, print out a two-month calendar to help you keep track of selected interview dates. I proactively went through and added all possible interview dates for each site on there, then just went through and circled/crossed out as they got setup.

And yes, respond as quickly as you can regarding interview dates. One site that I waited a little under a day to get back to (was waiting to hear back from another site regarding a potential conflict) had six of their seven slots fill up in that time.

 

[blindchaos]

9) Wear a suit unless instructed not to by the TD. Those who did not stuck out.

Definitely! And nice/professional but comfy shoes. Most of my interviews included a walking tour of the site. Keep in mind you may be trudging through snow/on ice to get from your car into the site.

This was brought up a few times last year - ladies, it doesn't matter if your suit has a skirt or if it has pants, as long as it fits well, looks nice, matches, and the skirt isn't too short (yes...it happens. The mini skirts seemed to be frequently paired with stripper heels too... If your shoes are open toe with a huge heel and straps that criss-cross halfway up your leg, they aren't right for an interview.), you'll be fine. Personally, I might suggest a brighter colored blouse as many applicants wore the standard black suit last year with a blouse with a muted color (generally blue, gray, or cream. Sometimes pale pink). I picked a kind of magenta blouse partially because I think that color looks good on me and I felt confident when wearing it with the suit, and partially b/c it was different from what most were wearing. The key is that your suit/blouse look good, fit nicely, and make you feel good.

 

[erg923]

4) I rolled out my applications in phases. One site told me that they cut off looking at applications when it reached 100, making the early birds the lucky ones to get interviews.

Um, if someone told me this, I would report this to APPIC! That seems like a gross violation of APPIC rules to me. If you set a deadline, are you not obligated to abide by it? If you dont, why would you even set one? Dont applicants have the right to make an informed decision about which sites to apply to? Its not a radio prize contest, right...🙄

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Sound advice. At the very least, as T4C mentioned last year for those of us going through the process at that time, print out a two-month calendar to help you keep track of selected interview dates. I proactively went through and added all possible interview dates for each site on there, then just went through and circled/crossed out as they got setup.

That saves me the trouble of digging up my old post and re-posting it. 😀 It really does help because you can feel more confident in your choices. I'd also recommend if a site offers a Tuesday/Wednesday...take it! Most sites like Monday and Friday dates, so Tuesdays/Wednesdays will be less likely to conflict with them. I also strung together my trips so I could fly city to city and use my down time to explore the towns in which I was most interested (and/or visit with friends and family). I did 3 weeks of M/W/F, and the 4th week was M/Th/M. I was able to squeeze in extended trips in NYC and New Orleans/Baton Rouge...which were mini-vacations for me.

Um, if someone told me this, I would report this to APPIC! That seems like a gross violation of APPIC rules to me. If you set a deadline, are you not obligated to abide by it? If you dont, why would you even set one? Dont applicants have the right to make an informed decision about which sites to apply to? Its not a radio prize contest, right...🙄

This is definitely not okay, particularly since it is costing the applicant $ to apply to the site.

 

[erg923]

This is definitely not okay, particularly since it is costing the applicant $ to apply to the site.

Good to know APPIC (or someone) got some free money from the deal though. Geez.

 

[Thor2211]

If sites ask for three LORs, is it a bad idea to send four?

Also, if choosing 3, is it better to have 2 people familiar with your research or 2 people familiar with your clinical skills? Or, does it just depend on the site?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated...

 

[Duck Duck Goose]

If sites ask for three LORs, is it a bad idea to send four?

Also, if choosing 3, is it better to have 2 people familiar with your research or 2 people familiar with your clinical skills? Or, does it just depend on the site?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated...

You should really only send what the site asks for. Best case scenario for sending more is that they think, "Oh, this person has people who like working with him/her," which they would've picked up from the first few letters. Worst case scenario is that they think, "Oh, this person can't follow basic directions. Not for us."

As far as who writes, I think it depends on the site. Some of my sites explicitly state that they want at least two letters from previous clinical supervisors but I'm applying to non-research-heavy sites.

On another note, I just had to call APPIC support to resend a rec request for a rec that was included in an application that I've already submitted. Although I was waiting for 20 minutes to talk to someone, they appear to have fixed my problem in less than a minute. Yay!

 

[Quynh2007]

You guys are lucky. I can only do interviews in January because starting right after Thanksgiving until Christmas, I will be abroad.

I'm only applying to 12 sites though, so if I get interviews at close to half, I'll be fine.

 

[Duck Duck Goose]

You guys are lucky. I can only do interviews in January because starting right after Thanksgiving until Christmas, I will be abroad.

Haha, that's a "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" statement.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

If sites ask for three LORs, is it a bad idea to send four?

Yes.

Only send what they want. Sites are flooded with applicants, and the last thing you want to do is to stick out for not following the instructions.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

You guys are lucky. I can only do interviews in January because starting right after Thanksgiving until Christmas, I will be abroad.

I'm only applying to 12 sites though, so if I get interviews at close to half, I'll be fine.

As best I can remember, I only had one or two interview dates in December. The vast majority (for me at least) were in January, and those sites that did have December interview dates also offered something in January. So not being around in December shouldn't hurt you too much, if at all.

 

[ClinicalABA]

Definitely! And nice/professional but comfy shoes. Most of my interviews included a walking tour of the site. Keep in mind you may be trudging through snow/on ice to get from your car into the site.

This was brought up a few times last year - ladies, it doesn't matter if your suit has a skirt or if it has pants, as long as it fits well, looks nice, matches, and the skirt isn't too short (yes...it happens. The mini skirts seemed to be frequently paired with stripper heels too... If your shoes are open toe with a huge heel and straps that criss-cross halfway up your leg, they aren't right for an interview.), you'll be fine. Personally, I might suggest a brighter colored blouse as many applicants wore the standard black suit last year with a blouse with a muted color (generally blue, gray, or cream. Sometimes pale pink). I picked a kind of magenta blouse partially because I think that color looks good on me and I felt confident when wearing it with the suit, and partially b/c it was different from what most were wearing. The key is that your suit/blouse look good, fit nicely, and make you feel good.

The fact that any of this stuff may be important is truly a sad state of affairs! I'll share a story that may make you feel better. I was interviewing at my preferred internship site. The interview was over, and my wife picked me up at 2pm. When I got into the car, she pointed out that my fly was unzipped, and she had clearly noticed it as I was walking out of the office (black suit, white boxers)! I recalled going to the bathroom sometime before my 10 am interview, so I had been walking around with my fly unzipped for something like four hours. I did get the internship though. While I'd like to think that it was because my application stood out from all the others, maybe just a part of it was because they had something else to remember me by! Having been on internship faculty before, charged with making decisions about who to accept or not, it can be difficult to keep all the interviewees straight- we would have 20+ interviewees in on two separate days. While I don't think we ever made decisions based on how somebody was dressed, it certainly made it easier to talk about people later ("What did you think about Steve- you know, loud tie guy?). I even think we highly ranked "Stripper Heels" one year- because she was a stellar applicant, even if her clothing choice was a little unconventional. While the men's attire varied a little between black, brown, and grey suit, with a lot of different, I do recall at least 75% of the women wearing black suits with white shirts. Again, just an observation- I don't recall EVER having discussions with other faculty about choosing/not choosing someone base on their interview attire (but then again, nobody ever showed up in shorts and a tank top either).

 

[PerhapsMaybeOk]

Long time reader, first time poster. Best of luck to all of you.

I went through the process last year and matched at my top choice, so I wanted to share some key learnings.

1) Prepare several cases for your interviews. Your toughest case, a case approached from your theoretical orientation and if interviewing at neuro sites, a neuropsych case.

2) The waiting game is tough. I applied to 19 sites and got 13 interviews - but I didn't hear from some of them until 4 PM on December 15. Just because you do not hear early from some places does not mean you will not get an interview there. Stay strong!

3) Try to stay healthy. I got the flu on a week with five interviews. Take vitamins, if you feel the least bit sick - go get antibiotics EARLY, and take Airborne before boarding those planes.

4) I rolled out my applications in phases. One site told me that they cut off looking at applications when it reached 100, making the early birds the lucky ones to get interviews. Others downloaded everything on 12/15 when they had to make decisions on interviews. Just get them in when you feel they are ready.

5) As blindchaos mentioned, respond early to email invitations. worry about flights and hotels later, just get those dates down.

6) Give your practicum supervisors as much notice as you can when you will be out. They understand the process but remember that more communications is always better!

7) Think through the key questions of why you want to intern there - it was amazing to me how many people went in with attitudes/chips on their shoulders. You have some power in this process, but there are lots of qualified applicants. Be kind, open and excited when you arrive. Do not piss off the secretaries or try to "compete" with other applicants when you see them at the site. It will only backfire on you.

8) Use the current interns as a source of information, but remember, they can report back to the TDs if you ask inappropriate questions. People actually do this - like asking about where they like to consume alcohol. Seriously. Just think before you ask - would I mind if the TD heard that I asked this question?

9) Wear a suit unless instructed not to by the TD. Those who did not stuck out.

10) Do something nice for yourself when you have time. I was lucky to have a fantastic supportive husband who put up with my cranky mood for 3 months. Try to enjoy the time you have with your loved ones/pets/friends and "turn off" internship talk when you can.

Feel free to PM message me if you have further questions.

Lots of bad info here, sadly. Most importantly, sites should not exclude applicants who submit after a certain threshold; they must abide by the rules. They shoudnt have cut offs regarding early submission. They look at the application portal for sites on Nov 1 typically, maybe the 2nd.

 

[blindchaos]

The fact that any of this stuff may be important is truly a sad state of affairs! I'll share a story that may make you feel better. I was interviewing at my preferred internship site. The interview was over, and my wife picked me up at 2pm. When I got into the car, she pointed out that my fly was unzipped, and she had clearly noticed it as I was walking out of the office (black suit, white boxers)! I recalled going to the bathroom sometime before my 10 am interview, so I had been walking around with my fly unzipped for something like four hours. I did get the internship though. While I'd like to think that it was because my application stood out from all the others, maybe just a part of it was because they had something else to remember me by! Having been on internship faculty before, charged with making decisions about who to accept or not, it can be difficult to keep all the interviewees straight- we would have 20+ interviewees in on two separate days. While I don't think we ever made decisions based on how somebody was dressed, it certainly made it easier to talk about people later ("What did you think about Steve- you know, loud tie guy?). I even think we highly ranked "Stripper Heels" one year- because she was a stellar applicant, even if her clothing choice was a little unconventional. While the men's attire varied a little between black, brown, and grey suit, with a lot of different, I do recall at least 75% of the women wearing black suits with white shirts. Again, just an observation- I don't recall EVER having discussions with other faculty about choosing/not choosing someone base on their interview attire (but then again, nobody ever showed up in shorts and a tank top either).

Oh I don't mean to imply that people are selected based on clothing choice, it's just another thing in my opinion that could help one stand out/be memorable, ideally in a positive way. For example, if someone doesn't remember a particular female applicant, saying "you know, that one in the black suit and white blouse" isn't helpful if 75% of the females fall into that category. If they were wearing pink or green or anything colorful instead of the white blouse, they may be more easily recalled, like loud tie Steve. And certainly, there's nothing inherently wrong with unconventional clothing choices as long as it isn't inappropriate. Stripper heels with a business suit? Unusual. Stripper heels with a micro mini skirt? Inappropriate (in my opinion).

It's hard to remember all the applicants, especially when interviews are spread out and/or there are a LOT of interviewees. Do I think people will match because they wore something colorful when others generally did not? No. Do I think it could help people stand out an extra tiny bit on the interview day and perhaps make it easier for interviewers to recall their interactions with them? Yes. At the end of the day (and this is entirely subjective) if all else is equal, I'd rather be 'loud tie' applicant instead of 'black suite/white blouse just like everyone else' applicant.

...with that said, it's of course FAR more important to be a strong applicant and do well in interviews than it is to pick out the right color blouse/tie. Clothing choices are just a little something extra to consider. 🙂 ...And it can help kill time after apps are submitted and before the offers start rolling in

 

[NYCPsych]

Is anyone having luck with cover letters and essays coming out in normal looking formatting once they're in the online application??? I have no idea why we can't just upload PDFs. I've tried copying from Word to WordPad or NotePad, as they suggest, but when I view the unformatted preview, all this weird coding language ("            I am writing to convey my strong interest") comes out. It says it may look fine in the formatted preview when everything's done, but I'm not convinced... have you had a similar experience? Also, the font appears super small.

Good luck to everyone! This process is horrendous!!

 

[erg923]

Is anyone having luck with cover letters and essays coming out in normal looking formatting once they're in the online application??? I have no idea why we can't just upload PDFs. I've tried copying from Word to WordPad or NotePad, as they suggest, but when I view the unformatted preview, all this weird coding language ("            I am writing to convey my strong interest") comes out. It says it may look fine in the formatted preview when everything's done, but I'm not convinced... have you had a similar experience? Also, the font appears super small.

Good luck to everyone! This process is horrendous!!

We didnt really have this problem last year. Wonder whats up?

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Based on what I've heard, it sounds like they have been responsive to students, though I'm not sure they actually fixed it. I'm curious to see what they programmed the online app in, as these errors should be easy enough to fix unless they used some archaic programming language or a turn-key solution. I don't remember much from the original system (internship side of the app). Any programmers have an idea of the programming?

 

[NYCPsych]

Is anyone having luck with cover letters and essays coming out in normal looking formatting once they're in the online application??? I have no idea why we can't just upload PDFs. I've tried copying from Word to WordPad or NotePad, as they suggest, but when I view the unformatted preview, all this weird coding language ("            I am writing to convey my strong interest") comes out. It says it may look fine in the formatted preview when everything's done, but I'm not convinced... have you had a similar experience? Also, the font appears super small.

Good luck to everyone! This process is horrendous!!

OK, I followed the instructions below and it helped, but it's still coding apostrophes! (e.g. "I have continued to develop my interest in women’s mental health") Help! E-mailing support, too.

From the website:
"If you choose to compose your letter offline and paste it into the application, be aware that cutting and pasting, especially from Word, can bring invisible codes and hidden characters into the text box that may "count" as characters. As a result, you may find that the number of characters you think you entered appears incorrect. Additionally, these MS Word formatting characters can interfere with the web's formatting language, leading to text display problems common to copying and pasting from Word.

As a result, if you need to cut and paste from a word processing application and are experiencing any of the issues above, we recommend the following steps.

Open Notepad on your PC (generally located in the Accessories folder in Windows) or TextEdit on your Mac.
Copy your text from the original word processing program into Notepad or TextEdit, and save the file.
Close the file, then open it again, and adjust spacing if needed.
Select all of the text, copy it, and paste it into the application.
Apply any special formatting (bold, italics, etc) directly in the application."

 

[erg923]

OK, I followed the instructions below and it helped, but it's still coding apostrophes! (e.g. "I have continued to develop my interest in women’s mental health") Help! E-mailing support, too.

From the website:
"If you choose to compose your letter offline and paste it into the application, be aware that cutting and pasting, especially from Word, can bring invisible codes and hidden characters into the text box that may “count” as characters. As a result, you may find that the number of characters you think you entered appears incorrect. Additionally, these MS Word formatting characters can interfere with the web's formatting language, leading to text display problems common to copying and pasting from Word.

As a result, if you need to cut and paste from a word processing application and are experiencing any of the issues above, we recommend the following steps.

Open Notepad on your PC (generally located in the Accessories folder in Windows) or TextEdit on your Mac.
Copy your text from the original word processing program into Notepad or TextEdit, and save the file.
Close the file, then open it again, and adjust spacing if needed.
Select all of the text, copy it, and paste it into the application.
Apply any special formatting (bold, italics, etc) directly in the application."

Last year I recall some funky things that happened upon the initial pasting, but nothing that wasn't easily fixed manually. I honestly dont remember there being anything like the above described mess when looking at the competed app though. Maybe they tried to fix the little big from last year and made it worse.

Either way its not your fault an all the TDs know this. Dont sweat it.

 

[Duck Duck Goose]

OK, I followed the instructions below and it helped, but it's still coding apostrophes! (e.g. "I have continued to develop my interest in women’s mental health") Help! E-mailing support, too.

From the website:
"If you choose to compose your letter offline and paste it into the application, be aware that cutting and pasting, especially from Word, can bring invisible codes and hidden characters into the text box that may “count” as characters. As a result, you may find that the number of characters you think you entered appears incorrect. Additionally, these MS Word formatting characters can interfere with the web's formatting language, leading to text display problems common to copying and pasting from Word.

As a result, if you need to cut and paste from a word processing application and are experiencing any of the issues above, we recommend the following steps.

Open Notepad on your PC (generally located in the Accessories folder in Windows) or TextEdit on your Mac.
Copy your text from the original word processing program into Notepad or TextEdit, and save the file.
Close the file, then open it again, and adjust spacing if needed.
Select all of the text, copy it, and paste it into the application.
Apply any special formatting (bold, italics, etc) directly in the application."

You can preview the formatted application without actually submitting or paying. Most of the weird formatting goes away. You just designate a program and all the stuff you want to submit to that program on the designations page, go to next from the home screen, check all the check boxes, and then you'll be at a screen that lists your designated programs. Next to each program's name is an option to delete/cancel (red) or to preview (blue). Preview brings up the PDF version of the application that sites will see. Hope this helps and saves someone time!

To get the (line and) paragraph spacing the way that I wanted it, I hit Shift+Enter twice where I wanted the break, went back up to the blank line, and put a space in. That made it look pretty normal for me in the formatted application.

I applied last year, too, and the way you enter cover letters and essays is different. I'm not sure about the coding but there seem to be more options this year on the edit screen. So kind of a mistake for APPIC. But I also think many people are overreacting to something that isn't a big deal. After one person pointed it out on the listserv, no one wants to have their app stick out for a bad reason.

 

[NYCPsych]

Thanks erg923 and Duck Duck Goose for your suggestions! I've also e-mailed the support person.

 

[serendipity2]

OK, I followed the instructions below and it helped, but it's still coding apostrophes! (e.g. "I have continued to develop my interest in women’s mental health") Help! E-mailing support, too.

From the website:
"If you choose to compose your letter offline and paste it into the application, be aware that cutting and pasting, especially from Word, can bring invisible codes and hidden characters into the text box that may "count" as characters. As a result, you may find that the number of characters you think you entered appears incorrect. Additionally, these MS Word formatting characters can interfere with the web's formatting language, leading to text display problems common to copying and pasting from Word.

As a result, if you need to cut and paste from a word processing application and are experiencing any of the issues above, we recommend the following steps.

Open Notepad on your PC (generally located in the Accessories folder in Windows) or TextEdit on your Mac.
Copy your text from the original word processing program into Notepad or TextEdit, and save the file.
Close the file, then open it again, and adjust spacing if needed.
Select all of the text, copy it, and paste it into the application.
Apply any special formatting (bold, italics, etc) directly in the application."

Hopefully this helps, as this is what I did when I uploaded my essays Sunday.

1. Open word. Change these settings so you are using "straight quotes": http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/w...raight-quotes-and-vice-versa-HA010173242.aspx

2.Copy and paste essay #1 from wherever you have your final copy that you are happy with (or just sick of editing)and past into a fresh word document.

3. Take out all the spacing. i.e. put essay #1 into a document and make it a block essentially. No paragraphs, no spacing. Save. Close. Reopen. (this may not be necessay but I did it).

4. Open Notepad. Copy and past Essay #1 in it's pretty block form into Notepad. Do nothing editing wise. Save. Reopen. Copy and paste into Essay #1 spot in application.

5. THIS is where you want to do your editing in terms of spacing. But don't just hit enter, do a soft enter (who the heck knows) whereby you simultaneously hold down shift and then hit enter.

6. This is also where you want to find any apostrophe's in your essay. Simply delete within the essay that you have now pasted into the APPIC box and then retype. So if I copied in "women's" I then change it to "womens" and then again back to "women's". This will take care of that extra crap in the final formatting.

7. Repeat for essays #2-4. Again, I don't know that you necessarily need separate word and notepad docs to make this work, but somehow in my mind it makes sense since then you are working with "clean" documents each time that can't somehow contain odd spacing.

I messed around with this for an hour on Sunday night but finally got my essays looking pretty. Again, I don't know that this is all necessay, but it did work. I also don't necessarily know the reasoning behind why this is necessary- but then again, as long as it works, who cares!!

Good luck everyone!!

 

[NYCPsych]

OMG. WE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO DO THIS FOR 18 COVER LETTERS. YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO UPLOAD PDFS. I DON'T GET IT.

Thank you, though! ;-) Good luck!

Hopefully this helps, as this is what I did when I uploaded my essays Sunday.

1. Open word. Change these settings so you are using "straight quotes": http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/w...raight-quotes-and-vice-versa-HA010173242.aspx

2.Copy and paste essay #1 from wherever you have your final copy that you are happy with (or just sick of editing)and past into a fresh word document.

3. Take out all the spacing. i.e. put essay #1 into a document and make it a block essentially. No paragraphs, no spacing. Save. Close. Reopen. (this may not be necessay but I did it).

4. Open Notepad. Copy and past Essay #1 in it's pretty block form into Notepad. Do nothing editing wise. Save. Reopen. Copy and paste into Essay #1 spot in application.

5. THIS is where you want to do your editing in terms of spacing. But don't just hit enter, do a soft enter (who the heck knows) whereby you simultaneously hold down shift and then hit enter.

6. This is also where you want to find any apostrophe's in your essay. Simply delete within the essay that you have now pasted into the APPIC box and then retype. So if I copied in "women's" I then change it to "womens" and then again back to "women's". This will take care of that extra crap in the final formatting.

7. Repeat for essays #2-4. Again, I don't know that you necessarily need separate word and notepad docs to make this work, but somehow in my mind it makes sense since then you are working with "clean" documents each time that can't somehow contain odd spacing.

I messed around with this for an hour on Sunday night but finally got my essays looking pretty. Again, I don't know that this is all necessay, but it did work. I also don't necessarily know the reasoning behind why this is necessary- but then again, as long as it works, who cares!!

Good luck everyone!!

 

[serendipity2]

I haven't attempted to upload any coverletters... is it a copy and paste situation? I assumed it was like the CV, an upload... ugh. Maybe you don't want to try my approach then. It might just be better to see what it looks like in preview mode before submitting.

Also, question- when I uploaded my CV I got an error. So I downloaded Firefox. I still got an error. So I saved it as a pdf and it uploaded just fine. A couple of my sites say that they recommend you upload your CV as a word doc or in adobe acrobat?? Is this going to be an issue that I saved it as a pdf first? Is there something I am missing that it wouldn't upload as a word doc to begin with (even when I used Firefox)?

 

[Duck Duck Goose]

I haven't attempted to upload any coverletters... is it a copy and paste situation? I assumed it was like the CV, an upload... ugh. Maybe you don't want to try my approach then. It might just be better to see what it looks like in preview mode before submitting.

Also, question- when I uploaded my CV I got an error. So I downloaded Firefox. I still got an error. So I saved it as a pdf and it uploaded just fine. A couple of my sites say that they recommend you upload your CV as a word doc or in adobe acrobat?? Is this going to be an issue that I saved it as a pdf first? Is there something I am missing that it wouldn't upload as a word doc to begin with (even when I used Firefox)?

Adobe Acrobat uses PDFs so you'll be all set. As long as it looks right when you preview it (you can do that as I described in my previous post), it should be fine. I'd guess that you're using a recent version of Microsoft Office that saves Word files as .docx files as the default instead of .doc which is what the APPIC site wants (or PDFs).

Again, the formatted preview mode is pretty useful for soothing minds (based on my experience).

 

[NYCPsych]

Yes, it is a HORRIBLE copy and paste situation. Hope support e-mails me back tomorrow.

Saving things as PDFs and then uploading seems to work well for me. When I tried to upload as doc, it gave me an error. I previewed the PDFs I uploaded (testing reports, CV) and they look just fine. Not sure re: reason about the doc issue, but luckily it's easy to save as a PDF before uploading.

I haven't attempted to upload any coverletters... is it a copy and paste situation? I assumed it was like the CV, an upload... ugh. Maybe you don't want to try my approach then. It might just be better to see what it looks like in preview mode before submitting.

Also, question- when I uploaded my CV I got an error. So I downloaded Firefox. I still got an error. So I saved it as a pdf and it uploaded just fine. A couple of my sites say that they recommend you upload your CV as a word doc or in adobe acrobat?? Is this going to be an issue that I saved it as a pdf first? Is there something I am missing that it wouldn't upload as a word doc to begin with (even when I used Firefox)?

 

[serendipity2]

Thank you Duck Duck Goose re: Adobe Acrobat = pdf, one less thing to have to wonder about! and NYCPsych, too for chiming in that you had the same experience, good to know I am not the only one!

Now I have work to do before I go to bed that is unrelated to internship apps... imagine that, the rest of the world is going on as normal and that means I have to keep up with it, too... it might be good for the old brain not to do internship stuff for an hour or two though 🙂

 

[phdclinpsych]

I am excited to share that I submitted my applications tonight. 15 applications are now out of my hands and the waiting begins... Next I need to start making a calendar of potential interview dates and preparing for interviews (thinking optimistically). Good luck to everyone in the last stretch before submission deadlines!

 

[Duck Duck Goose]

I am excited to share that I submitted my applications tonight. 15 applications are now out of my hands and the waiting begins... Next I need to start making a calendar of potential interview dates and preparing for interviews (thinking optimistically). Good luck to everyone in the last stretch before submission deadlines!

Yay! Congratulations!

I've submitted 6, prepared 11 to submit, and have 4 cover letters left. I can't wait til they're all in so I'll have at least a month to do other stuff (dissertation, anyone?) and not think about internship!