- Joined
- May 4, 2012
- Messages
- 153
- Reaction score
- 120
- Points
- 4,671
- Psychologist
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
This is my second year applying, I did not match last year in Phase I or II which was truly crushing. I decided to reapply instead of an unaccredited internship which was a difficult decision for me. However, I used the last year to find a job as a psych assistant conducting some therapy and mostly a lot of assessment. It was a paying job but also seemed like an elective practicum because of the experience I was receiving. During interviews this year I was able to talk in depth about my experience actually working in the field and how it has helped shape my career goals and also allowed me to identify training needs. While initially I thought not matching would be the worst possible thing that could have happened to me it was actually a blessing as it gave me time to better understand what I wanted and needed from internship, make connections in my community, and get to a place where I will be defending my dissertation this Spring before beginning internship (which a lot of interviewers seemed to really like). So for those of you who are worried about not matching just know it's really not the end of the world. By the way I had 3 interviews last year and received 13 this year, it was quite a big difference! While I know that not matching again is a possibility I'm still hopeful and trying not to worry about not matching until I actually have to! I hope this is helpful and I am wishing everyone the best of luck on match day and luck trying to stay sane this upcoming week!I'm curious if anyone who hasn't matched before has spent the year working (a paying job) and how that has gone over with internship sites when you apply the next year? I'm a career-changer with a family and I really cannot afford to keep doing unpaid practica and paying exorbitant tuition for them. However, I could do related paid work such as teaching and clinical-related work that doesn't require a license. If I'm working and not accruing debt, it will make me feel much better about an extra year. Would love to hear about anyone's experience with this. Thanks!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk