2012 APPIC Internship Application Thread

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
After thoroughly reading the information on ranking and working through the examples, I have come to the conclusion that you should rank sites according to your true preferences. If you rank a less preferred site above a more preferred site the only thing you are doing is hurting your chance of matching at the more preferred site.

This. It's mentioned a few times on the APPIC site, and if you're subscribed to the listserve, it'll come up repeatedly there as well once you get to the ranking phase.

Rank sites based on your preference; try not to let where you think the site will rank you affect your list at all. Essentially, all you're doing if you rank a less-desired site above a more-desired site is sabotaging yourself by decreasing your own chances of matching at the more-desired site.

The algorithm will attempt to place you in site A first, and will keep you there until either the rank is over, or until an applicant whom the site ranked higher than you comes in and "bumps" you out of the spot. If that occurs, the algorithm them attempts to match you at your next-highest site, etc. Where you rank the site doesn't somehow add any weight, so to speak, to that ranking. For example, in the scenario above where an applicant ranked higher by the site comes along and bumps you, you wouldn't somehow have avoided being bumped if you'd ranked the site higher. And similarly, if a site ranks you as their #1 choice and you've ranked them as your #5, if you end up in the open spot with them, you WILL stay there; the algorithm won't bump you out in favor of someone who is ranked lower by the site simply because that applicant ranked the site higher than you did.

My understanding is that this is why APPIC says the applicants are placed at an advantage vs. the sites--applicants' ranks are the first criteria used for placement, and the sites' rankings only come into play in the event of a "tie-breaker." Thus, if there were exactly 10 sites and exactly 10 applicants, and no two applicants ranked the same site as #1, all applicants should end up in their first choice regardless of how the sites ranked the applicants.
 
Last edited:
My understanding is that this is why APPIC says the applicants are placed at an advantage vs. the sites--applicants' ranks are the first criteria used for placement, and the sites' rankings only come into play in the event of a "tie-breaker." Thus, if there were exactly 10 sites and exactly 10 applicants, and no two applicants ranked the same site as #1, all applicants should end up in their first choice regardless of how the sites ranked the applicants.

Although this sounds unbelievable to me, I think you're right. The match process is even better than I thought. 😛

But the interview process still stinks... Even if you rank your only interview spot #1, if they rank you #2 behind applicant X who ranks them #16, you'll lose out to applicant X if X doesn't match at his/her first 15 sites. So the sites' rankings do matter quite a bit in the end process (but shouldn't when you're making your rank list). You also shouldn't rank a site that you truly wouldn't want to be at for a year because that could end up mattering quite a bit to another applicant. Just going with your true preferences really works, it's amazing. 🙂

For the simplest example, see: http://www.natmatch.com/psychint/appexmp.htm
 
Although this sounds unbelievable to me, I think you're right. The match process is even better than I thought. 😛

But the interview process still stinks... Even if you rank your only interview spot #1, if they rank you #2 behind applicant X who ranks them #16, you'll lose out to applicant X if X doesn't match at his/her first 15 sites. So the sites' rankings do matter quite a bit in the end process (but shouldn't when you're making your rank list). You also shouldn't rank a site that you truly wouldn't want to be at for a year because that could end up mattering quite a bit to another applicant. Just going with your true preferences really works, it's amazing. 🙂

For the simplest example, see: http://www.natmatch.com/psychint/appexmp.htm

Oh, don't get me wrong, I never meant to imply that the site's rankings can't end up being important, or don't matter at all. I was just trying to show how, as far as I know, they don't actually come into play unless there's a "tie breaker" (i.e., as you've mentioned, a situation in which Applicant A is currently matched to Site X, but Applicant B would also like to match to Site X; in that case, the site's ranking is used to choose which of the two applicants will remain matched to them). It starts to get a bit more confusing when you start considering all the possible iterations with thousands of applicants, but that's what computers are for.
 
I have been trying to send out thank you emails to every interviewer, but for some sites the email addresses for these people are not listed. How important is it to send everyone thank you emails (if they did not specifically say not to)? Have people found that they were offered a business card by every interviewer?
 
I have been trying to send out thank you emails to every interviewer, but for some sites the email addresses for these people are not listed. How important is it to send everyone thank you emails (if they did not specifically say not to)? Have people found that they were offered a business card by every interviewer?

From what I've heard/been told, thank you notes essentially don't matter. Some people might be happy to get them, but overall, I'd say they don't factor at all into ranking decisions.

As for business cards, I probably got them from about half to two-thirds of the people I interviewed with last year. If it helps alleviate any anxiety, I matched at a site where only one out of four faculty gave me a card.
 
Thank you notes do not influence the ranking process. It is a nice professional/adult courtesy and probably good to start practicing it if you have the time and will feel better for doing it--but it will not effect the outcome one way or the other.
 
I have been trying to send out thank you emails to every interviewer, but for some sites the email addresses for these people are not listed. How important is it to send everyone thank you emails (if they did not specifically say not to)? Have people found that they were offered a business card by every interviewer?

I did not send every interviewer a thank you, though I did mail one general thank you to each site that I interviewed with (only one this year! 😛). A lot of sites make their ranking decisions the same day that they interview people, so there's no way a thank you note would make a difference in the ranking at those sites. It is a nice thing to do, though.

If you can't find the email address, you can always mail it to them at the site's general mail address.

I'd caution against sending the exact same wording to different interviewers at the same site because chances are good that they will recognize this and the words of appreciation will lose their impact a bit. Once, I received the exact same thank you email for answering questions from applicants to my program that the director of the program and the faculty interviewers received. The information in it (thank you for taking the time to interview me) didn't really apply to me and it just seemed like the person hadn't taken time to remember who I was before sending it... a good idea/thought gone awry.

I haven't been offered business cards by any interviewer.
 
I tried to send a thank you email to everyone who took the time to interview me, but I didn't have some addresses and some of the addresses listed on websites were outdated and bounced back to me. Not my fault if people want to be secretive! Plus, the TDs at several interviews told all of us NOT to send thank you emails because they didn't have the time to respond to them and they promised us that it would not affect their rankings of us.
 
The algorithm will attempt to place you in site A first, and will keep you there until either the rank is over, or until an applicant whom the site ranked higher than you comes in and "bumps" you out of the spot. If that occurs, the algorithm them attempts to match you at your next-highest site, etc. Where you rank the site doesn't somehow add any weight, so to speak, to that ranking. For example, in the scenario above where an applicant ranked higher by the site comes along and bumps you, you wouldn't somehow have avoided being bumped if you'd ranked the site higher. And similarly, if a site ranks you as their #1 choice and you've ranked them as your #5, if you end up in the open spot with them, you WILL stay there; the algorithm won't bump you out in favor of someone who is ranked lower by the site simply because that applicant ranked the site higher than you did.

This is not addressed on the Match website, but I am curious if anyone knows the procedure if a site has more than one internship position (as is the case with most if not all internship sites). Suppose Applicant 1 ranks Site A (which has 3 internship positions) as first site on his/her list. Now suppose that Applicant 1 gets "bumped" from the site (because Applicant 2 ranked the same site as his/her first choice and whom the site also ranked higher than applicant 1). My question is: Is Applicant 1 then attempted to be matched to Site B (his second choice) or Does Applicant 1 remain tentatively matched to Site A until he is "bumped" from its second and third positions at which point a match is attempted to Site B.
 
This is not addressed on the Match website, but I am curious if anyone knows the procedure if a site has more than one internship position (as is the case with most if not all internship sites). Suppose Applicant 1 ranks Site A (which has 3 internship positions) as first site on his/her list. Now suppose that Applicant 1 gets "bumped" from the site (because Applicant 2 ranked the same site as his/her first choice and whom the site also ranked higher than applicant 1). My question is: Is Applicant 1 then attempted to be matched to Site B (his second choice) or Does Applicant 1 remain tentatively matched to Site A until he is "bumped" from its second and third positions at which point a match is attempted to Site B.

As an FYI, having a cohort is one of the things APA looks for when deciding to accredit sites, so that's why many APA-accredited sites have multiple internship positions and/or join consortiums to get that cohort effect. Interesting factoid.

Applicant 1 is matched tentatively to site A until s/he is "bumped" from available positions.

Applicant 1 will match to site A unless other applicants are ranked higher at site A and rank site A higher than applicant 1. Like if applicant 1 is ranked #2 or #3 by site A and has site A as his/her #1 ranked site, applicant 1 will definitely match to site A. If applicant 1 is ranked lower, like 6th, at site A, it will depend primarily (from applicant 1's perspective) on site A's rankings. If site A ranked B, C, D, E, and F as their top applicants, then applicant 1 needs at least three of those people to match to other sites (which would happen if those applicants ranked other sites higher than site A and their preferred sites ranked them higher than other applicant, as well). If that happens, voila, 1 matches to A. If it doesn't, A's positions are filled with 3 of those top 5 applicants and applicant 1 doesn't match even though 1 was sixth on A's list. This is why so many people who match match to their top 1, 2, or 3 rank.

Does that answer your question? 🙂
 
Applicant 1 will match to site A unless other applicants are ranked higher at site A and rank site A higher than applicant 1. Like if applicant 1 is ranked #2 or #3 by site A and has site A as his/her #1 ranked site, applicant 1 will definitely match to site A. If applicant 1 is ranked lower, like 6th, at site A, it will depend primarily (from applicant 1's perspective) on site A's rankings. If site A ranked B, C, D, E, and F as their top applicants, then applicant 1 needs at least three of those people to match to other sites (which would happen if those applicants ranked other sites higher than site A and their preferred sites ranked them higher than other applicant, as well). If that happens, voila, 1 matches to A. If it doesn't, A's positions are filled with 3 of those top 5 applicants and applicant 1 doesn't match even though 1 was sixth on A's list. This is why so many people who match match to their top 1, 2, or 3 rank.

Does that answer your question? 🙂

Yes it does. Thank you.
 
My $.02 on thank you notes... *Most* sites made sure I had info on where to stay, how to get there, and what to expect for the day. They provided food, water, and a lot of time for me to get a feel for their site. I think that deserves a formal thank you, just as I was thanked by *most* sites for spending the time and money to get there. Most people told me to email or call with any follow up questions. I also got a few business cards. I've had similar problems finding the correct email addresses, but a quick note to the admin who was communicating info about the interview solved that problem.

That said, I also made a point to personalize each note if at all possible and said something specific to that particular interviewer. I often did have follow-up questions...things that occurred to me later as I was scoring the site on my own little spreadsheet. I tried to ask that question to the appropriate person and ended by saying "thank you for taking the time to read and respond to this email at your convenience" noting that I knew they were busy right now.

Almost all emails have received a reply already if I asked a question, and many have replied to thank me for the thank-you note. Again, just courtesy. It never hurts.
 
The algorithm will attempt to place you in site A first, and will keep you there until either the rank is over, or until an applicant whom the site ranked higher than you comes in and "bumps" you out of the spot. If that occurs, the algorithm them attempts to match you at your next-highest site, etc. Where you rank the site doesn't somehow add any weight, so to speak, to that ranking. For example, in the scenario above where an applicant ranked higher by the site comes along and bumps you, you wouldn't somehow have avoided being bumped if you'd ranked the site higher. And similarly, if a site ranks you as their #1 choice and you've ranked them as your #5, if you end up in the open spot with them, you WILL stay there; the algorithm won't bump you out in favor of someone who is ranked lower by the site simply because that applicant ranked the site higher than you did.

Just wanted to say thanks for this explanation. This is the first time I've tried to understand the process and actually did! :laugh:
 
I've read the recent q&a sent to applicants regarding rank order lists and I am curious... Has anyone, or know of anyone who has, matched to a site they did not interview at (not including sites that don't interview)? What sites were they matched to?
 
I've read the recent q&a sent to applicants regarding rank order lists and I am curious... Has anyone, or know of anyone who has, matched to a site they did not interview at (not including sites that don't interview)? What sites were they matched to?

Before last year and the implementation of Phase II instead of the Clearinghouse, tons of applicants matched to sites that they didn't "fully" interview with during the rush of the Clearinghouse. APPIC changed the process (finally!) because the Clearinghouse didn't result in optimal matches for sites or for applicants at a rate comparable to the (equivalent of Phase I) Match.

I don't know anyone from last year in that position (match without interview), though. But it can happen! :xf:

It's too bad APPIC doesn't release more info about the sites' outcomes (like how deep into their rank list they have to go each year, at least a 10 applicant range).
 
It's too bad APPIC doesn't release more info about the sites' outcomes (like how deep into their rank list they have to go each year, at least a 10 applicant range).

I too wish that some of this information was released. I have received conformation from a couple of sites saying they will rank me and I know based on # of interviews offered how many people they could potentially rank. I'm curious if on average sites match with their top choices or if they have to go into applicant 10 or lower. Oh to only have more information to obsess about! I have 9 sites and my rank list changes on a day-to-day basis. I know its a good problem to have, but my head hurts from trying to figure this all out! 😕

Oh and I realized that today marks one month till match day! We've almost made it. . . 😱
 
Perhaps this has been asked before - is there a place on SDN to give feedback regarding interviews at various internship sites?
 
Quick, and random, question...

How much does GPA matter when it comes to internships? I don't mean a 3.0 GPA, but is there a huge difference between someone who has a 3.7 versus a 3.9 when it comes to interviews and internship selection? Opinions?
 
Perhaps this has been asked before - is there a place on SDN to give feedback regarding interviews at various internship sites?

Not that I know of, there had been some talk of perhaps creating a place on the site but I don't think there was any follow-through. I for one would find it interesting, but perhaps people feel uncomfortable naming names, so to speak, even anonymously.
 
Quick, and random, question...

How much does GPA matter when it comes to internships? I don't mean a 3.0 GPA, but is there a huge difference between someone who has a 3.7 versus a 3.9 when it comes to interviews and internship selection? Opinions?
The most competitive sites might screen to that detail of GPA but I'm guessing even there it is a single cutoff (3.5?) and sometimes overlooked when other more important factors are present. The huge variability in standards and reality of inflation, etc. don't make it a very reliable screen compared to others more relevant to internship selection (clinical experience, refs, number of hours or integrated reports). We only look at transcripts and GPA in detail toward the end of the selection process at either stage and then more for types of courses or any anomalies in performance that might prompt a question.
 
i'd also love to hear which factors people are considering in their ranking decisions. mine are:

lifestyle (what my day-to-day would be like)
feel of the place
prestige (doors the placement could open in the future/for post-doc)
people are like me (similar professional goals -- faculty and current interns)
professional development/research opportunities
geographic location (closeness to family)
clinical work (population i like working with)
clinical training (expertise of trainers)
time to work on dissertation
happiness/stress level of current interns

Length of commute. It's going to be really hard for me to do a 9-5 because I cannot stand traffic (one of my "growth" areas!) and I know I will not be a happy person if my commute is longer than 20 mins.
 
Anyone make it to the Ann Arbor VA Open House? If ya' did, would you care to share your impressions?
 
Length of commute. It's going to be really hard for me to do a 9-5 because I cannot stand traffic (one of my "growth" areas!) and I know I will not be a happy person if my commute is longer than 20 mins.

That's my problem as well. I have never in my entire life lived more than 20 minutes WALKING from school/work. I like to live close so that I never have to worry about getting to where I need to be on time b/c of traffic etc.
 
Length of commute. It's going to be really hard for me to do a 9-5 because I cannot stand traffic (one of my "growth" areas!) and I know I will not be a happy person if my commute is longer than 20 mins.

Along these lines, I consider whether I'll have to do a lot of driving between rotations. A couple of sites talked about driving to different schools as well as a "base" clinic through the week. Not loving that idea.

I also really noticed support staff. Were they kind? Helpful? Friendly? If a site has a bunch of rude, unhelpful support staff members, chances are it's an unpleasant work environment overall. May also say something about the Director and how he/she manages people. This is not a huge factor in my ranking but goes into the overall "people" category for me.
 
At one of my interviews, the current interns said they worked an average of 55-60 hours per week. They also said that any site that claims you work under 45 hours a week is probably lying. What have other people heard - what is the normal workload for internship?
 
At one of my interviews, the current interns said they worked an average of 55-60 hours per week. They also said that any site that claims you work under 45 hours a week is probably lying. What have other people heard - what is the normal workload for internship?

Everyone has said it fluctuates but averages out to higher forties - 50 hours a day (some sites include all off-hour work like report writing, others said this did not include off-hour work). On average, 9-10 hours day (get into work at 8 or 9, leave around 6ish)
 
At one of my interviews, the current interns said they worked an average of 55-60 hours per week. They also said that any site that claims you work under 45 hours a week is probably lying. What have other people heard - what is the normal workload for internship?

That sounds like an attempt to make themselves feel better, haha. "It's not better anywhere else and if they say it is, they're lying." Did they waive their labor rights or what?

I've heard 40-50, with most weeks toward the lower end. My friends who are interns now say that 40-45 is reasonable at their sites, with report writing adding a few hours per week if it has to be done. Varies by site, site type, and work/self-care culture.

PS - I'd be burntout too if I worked that many hours for peanuts. 🙂
 
At one of my interviews, the current interns said they worked an average of 55-60 hours per week. They also said that any site that claims you work under 45 hours a week is probably lying. What have other people heard - what is the normal workload for internship?

Here, it generally falls in the 40-45 range, depending on if you count meetings and didactics. Most days, we're in between 7:30 and 8, and out between 4 and 4:30. On days with didactics/case conferences (2-3/week), we're done by about 5.

All in all, not unmanageable or overburdening in the least, and nowhere near 55-60 hours/week. I'd only approach that number if I counted my non-internship-related work (e.g., dissertation). Our supervisors are generally very serious about only assigning us as much work and report writing as we can get done in a standard work day; they'll let us stay late if we want, but they don't require or request it.
 
do you mind sharing what kind of site you're at (counseling center, university/research clinic, hospital, etc)?
 
At one of my interviews, the current interns said they worked an average of 55-60 hours per week. They also said that any site that claims you work under 45 hours a week is probably lying. What have other people heard - what is the normal workload for internship?

At interviews, most interns have said 45-50, the highest was 55 and the lowest was 40. All of them said that the number of hours is often what the intern chooses to do when it's up in the 50-55 range, and not what is required/expected. A couple of sites said they get a poke from the DoT if they are working too much. 👍

I got no sense that they were not being honest with us. In fact, some were kind of sheepish when they said "I work 55 but that's my choice because..."
 
40-45 is typical for VAs, which is consistent with what I saw from my VA practicum.

Anyone else submit their rank list? I submitted yesterday and I'm paranoid that it wont go through for some reason, even though I got the confirmation email saying it was certified and that there is nothing more I need to do to participate in the match.

How have interviews gone for everyone? I definitely stumbled through a few case presentations on the first, but felt pretty solid after that. I feel like taking a vacation but cant really justify it financially after coming off of a month of traveling...
 
Quick, and random, question...

How much does GPA matter when it comes to internships? I don't mean a 3.0 GPA, but is there a huge difference between someone who has a 3.7 versus a 3.9 when it comes to interviews and internship selection? Opinions?

From behind the scenes at one specific site (accredited hospital based consortium), we didn't look at GPA at all in making the decisions. I think our assumption was that to even get into a clinical psych program (most of our applicants are clinical, not counselling), your GPA was pretty good. We were more focused on hours, fit of experience, quality of reference letters, etc.
 
I actually do work 40 hrs/week at my internship (hospital based consortium). I do work over 8 hours some days, mostly due to paperwork/notes/reports, but on the one day a week more focused on seminars/research, we usually often get off a little early, so it averages to 40. That being sad, rumour has this isn't very typical!
 
I actually do work 40 hrs/week at my internship (hospital based consortium). I do work over 8 hours some days, mostly due to paperwork/notes/reports, but on the one day a week more focused on seminars/research, we usually often get off a little early, so it averages to 40. That being sad, rumour has this isn't very typical!

My site (academic medical center and VA consortium) and hours worked are both very similar to yours. It was one of the reasons why I ranked where I'm at higher up on my list, and vice-versa (i.e., why I ranked other sites lower).
 
Wondering if anyone interviewed at Wright State University's program that would be willing to PM me? Thanks in advance!
 
Anyone interview at Cornerstone Behavioral Health in Wyoming? What were your impressions? PM me
 
I have a question related to ranking sites where you do not attend their open house.

I received an e-mail interview notification from my #1 choice for internship prior to receiving an invitation to an open house. I am also very interested in the site that hosted the open house (maybe 3 out of 7 on my list of preferred placements) but did not want to reschedule an interview with my top choice as it might look bad.

I am not sure whether I should rank the site that hosted the open house lower than 3rd because they may feel I "dissed" them by not attending. I know that according to the algorithm it may not matter but I am hesitant.

Do they notice/ care? Does it matter where I rank them? Thoughts?
 
Last edited:
I
I am not sure whether I should rank the site that hosted the open house lower than 3rd because they may feel I "dissed" them by not attending. I know that according to the algorithm it may not matter but I am hesitant.

Do they notice/ care? Does it matter where I rank them? Thoughts?

Just rank in the order of your preference. Why move them down your list based on something they may or may not feel? If you rank them lower, all you are doing is decreasing the chance you will match there.
 
Good point, killerdiller. Thanks for the reply. Do you or anyone else know the extent to which attending or not attending an open house impacts your chance of obtaining a placement at a particular site? I imagine it depends on the site. Based on what you said, I think it makes sense to rank them highly, but just out of curiosity...
 
Good point, killerdiller. Thanks for the reply. Do you or anyone else know the extent to which attending or not attending an open house impacts your chance of obtaining a placement at a particular site? I imagine it depends on the site. Based on what you said, I think it makes sense to rank them highly, but just out of curiosity...

They will never know where you rank them, so you won't "dis" them that way.

It depends on the site, just like the chances of getting an internship at any other site. Sites don't release how far into their rank lists they have to go each year, so it's really impossible to say. If you like them, rank them high. It won't hurt your chances of matching overall (i.e., to there or another site) if you rank them according to your true preference. :luck:
 
Good point, killerdiller. Thanks for the reply. Do you or anyone else know the extent to which attending or not attending an open house impacts your chance of obtaining a placement at a particular site? I imagine it depends on the site. Based on what you said, I think it makes sense to rank them highly, but just out of curiosity...

I missed two open houses, but I made sure to speak with the training directors and a couple current interns so they knew that I was still interested in the site. If you just said that you couldn't make it with no follow-up, they probably won't rank you very high. Regardless, if it's your 3rd favorite place, rank them 3rd. It can't hurt.
 
FYI...
I am happy to announce that the Orlando VA has just been approved to offer an internship. We will have 4 interns for 2012-2013. Please alert your departments and any prospective trainees who might be interested. They may follow these openings through APPIC.

Valerie Masten Hoese, Ph.D.
Psychology Training Director, Clinical Neuropsychologist
I'm not sure if they are active in Round I or just Round II, but it may be worth checking for those looking into VA spots.

You'll want to check to make sure it qualifies for the "exemption" the VA instituted a few years back that allow you to work in the VA system even though the program hasn't been APA-acred (yet).
 
Last edited:
For the people who interviewed at Harvard/McLean Hospital, did you receive an email today stating that you are "still very much under consideration"?

I assume they sent this to all applicants, but figured I'd ask the board anyway.

Thanks!
 
I received that e-mail too. Who is going to ask the admin whether that e-mail was sent to all who interviewed or if a cut was made?
 
I received that e-mail too. Who is going to ask the admin whether that e-mail was sent to all who interviewed or if a cut was made?

Now tell us why this would matter - at all - to your rank list. 😛

[If the answer is "because if there was a cut, it means they'll be ranking me higher than I thought," then reread all the APPIC/NMS stuff about ranking according to your true preferences to obtain your best match.]
 
I don't know if anyone else was in this situation, but if a site offered both in person and phone interviews, and there was no possible way to make the trip for an in person interview, do you think it'll be weighted against you significantly? Has anyone else had to go this route? How did you feel about it?

Appreciate the feedback.
 
Now tell us why this would matter - at all - to your rank list. 😛

[If the answer is "because if there was a cut, it means they'll be ranking me higher than I thought," then reread all the APPIC/NMS stuff about ranking according to your true preferences to obtain your best match.]

It won't impact my ranking, but it sure would be nice to know! With this interview in particular, I felt like I was given no indication at all whether the site was interested in me as an applicant. It was almost like it was intentionally void of feedback. I'm not sure how other's felt but I left without any 'read' on their interest- and I feel like one of the directors said that they cut it down to about 15 for rankings.....
 
I'd venture to guess that most people have virtually no idea where they stood, probably intentionally so, on the part of internship sites and training directors. It doesn't matter where we think we stand, only where we most want to go!
 
Top