2014 APPIC internship Application Thread

[MissSPSS]

Has anyone else experienced any glitches from APPIC? They did not include a third reference letter that they were supposed to in one of my application materials. So a site contacted letting me know I had four hours yesterday to send in a letter- a letter which I did not have access to anyway. Really unfortunate that I did not check my email until today- so now I have to get recommenders to forward a letter ASAP and hope it all works out. Really pissed.

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[MrsPsyD2015]

That is really unfortunate! Did you receive confirmation when each of your letter writers submitted their letter on the APPIC webpage? Because I did, and then a couple of sites emailed me saying that they were missing one of my letters. I called the AAPI help desk and was told that one of the letters doesn't show up o the DCT's "preview" page because the letter was uploaded as a PDF. The letter was there, it just had to be accessed from a different page because of the formatting.

 

[Fixyou1]

I have a question, but does this sentence sound bad if it was in an essay on the AAPI for the cultural diversity essay:

As self-awareness is a guiding principle of diversity, the experiences I have had personally and in my clinical work have helped me become aware of my biases and be more accepting and affirming of other races, disabilities, and cultures. Looking for opinions...

 

[Member1928]

I have a question, but does this sentence sound bad if it was in an essay on the AAPI for the cultural diversity essay:

As self-awareness is a guiding principle of diversity, the experiences I have had personally and in my clinical work have helped me become aware of my biases and be more accepting and affirming of other races, disabilities, and cultures. Looking for opinions...

I don't see anything bad about the sentence, per say, other than the fact that I think you could get your point across with fewer words.

 

[G Costanza]

I have a question, but does this sentence sound bad if it was in an essay on the AAPI for the cultural diversity essay:

As self-awareness is a guiding principle of diversity, the experiences I have had personally and in my clinical work have helped me become aware of my biases and be more accepting and affirming of other races, disabilities, and cultures. Looking for opinions...

I think it's okay if you elaborate on those personal and clinical experiences in the next sentence. Otherwise it seems vague.

 

[asmiles]

A question: When should we begin booking flights for an early January interview? Would you wait until you hear back from other sites so that you can plan your travels accordingly, or would you book now and reschedule if necessary?

 

[CBTFTW]

A question: When should we begin booking flights for an early January interview? Would you wait until you hear back from other sites so that you can plan your travels accordingly, or would you book now and reschedule if necessary?

I have a lot of flight points through Southwest (we've been saving up for this!), and they have a really flexible policy, so I've booked a lot of my flights and plan to reschedule if necessary. I'm not sure I'd do this with another airline, though. It could get really expensive.

 

[aly cat]

Another +1 for Southwest. They do not have change fees so you only pay the fare difference and can move things around if necessary.

Does anyone know of other airlines without change fees (and not needing elite or other status with them in order to apply)?

 

[eowyne]

Another +1 for Southwest. They do not have change fees so you only pay the fare difference and can move things around if necessary.

Does anyone know of other airlines without change fees (and not needing elite or other status with them in order to apply)?

Does this policy apply to all their fares, including the least expensive "Wanna Get Away" fares? Thanks!


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[aly cat]

Does this policy apply to all their fares, including the least expensive "Wanna Get Away" fares? Thanks!


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It includes Wanna Get Away . I wasn't positive so I just tried for one of my upcoming flights and no fee!

 

[cara susanna]

Southwest is great in that respect, too bad they don't really serve the area of the country I'm in

 

[eowyne]

It includes Wanna Get Away . I wasn't positive so I just tried for one of my upcoming flights and no fee!

Fantastic - Thanks!!


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[tchibur]

Has anyone else experienced any glitches from APPIC? They did not include a third reference letter that they were supposed to in one of my application materials. So a site contacted letting me know I had four hours yesterday to send in a letter- a letter which I did not have access to anyway. Really unfortunate that I did not check my email until today- so now I have to get recommenders to forward a letter ASAP and hope it all works out. Really pissed.

There are definitely glitches that occur within this system. One of my sites called me on the phone and told me they had sent three emails and a snail mail letter to invite me for an interview. To this date, I have still not received either a letter or email. If the site had not called, I would have missed out on that interview. As such I am extremely grateful for the training director's call! However, this does highlight that it is not a perfect system and I am sure that people loose out on things without their knowledge thereof.

Best of luck with getting your letters sent out!

 

[AllChildPsych]

There are definitely glitches that occur within this system. One of my sites called me on the phone and told me they had sent three emails and a snail mail letter to invite me for an interview. To this date, I have still not received either a letter or email. If the site had not called, I would have missed out on that interview. As such I am extremely grateful for the training director's call! However, this does highlight that it is not a perfect system and I am sure that people loose out on things without their knowledge thereof.

Best of luck with getting your letters sent out!

May I ask which site? Even if only in pm...

 

[CheetahGirl]

Hey 2014-5 Internship folks,

Back to this topic of open houses: I've been invited to an internship interview that holds a separate open house (that they say does not influence the selection process), but how could your bright-eyed, bushy tailed attendance to this said open house NOT impact their decision-making process?

What do others think? Thanks!

 

[erg923]

Hey 2014-5 Internship folks,

Back to this topic of open houses: I've been invited to an internship interview that holds a separate open house (that they say does not influence the selection process), but how could your bright-eyed, bushy tailed attendance to this said open house NOT impact their decision-making process?

What do others think? Thanks!

Unless one on one interactions are forbidden, then they are kidding themselves, and you.

And even then, if I see a dude in a suite listening intently and taking notes, asking a question or two and then a guy picking boogers and being a socially inappropriate with other candidates, then yea, it influences by decision.

 

[cara susanna]

Well, I've heard of some OHes that don't have you wear name tags so they don't know who you are. I guess that would be helpful for not influencing their decision unless they have a fantastic memory.

 

[463951]

Hey 2014-5 Internship folks,

Back to this topic of open houses: I've been invited to an internship interview that holds a separate open house (that they say does not influence the selection process), but how could your bright-eyed, bushy tailed attendance to this said open house NOT impact their decision-making process?

What do others think? Thanks!

Hi CheetahGirl! I haven't attended an open house yet, but I just don't see how the open house couldn't be evaluative. I have heard others say what cara susanna said as well, about some OH's not requiring you to wear a name tag. But surely when interacting with others, you will introduce yourself, and there's a fantastic chance they will remember you, especially if you stand out for a good (or a bad) reason. It just seems weird to me, when they say it will not impact their decision-making...how can they really state that? Like erg923 said, which totally made me LOL, a site is going to remember a person picking boogers out of their nose. And they will remember a person like yourself, who will stand out for being fabulous! They will put two and two together at the interview – oh yeah, you were the one picking your nose. Or in your case, oh yeah, you were the one I had the fabulous conversation with. Like I said, I haven't attended one yet, just my opinion.

 

[researchgirl]

Hey 2014-5 Internship folks,

Back to this topic of open houses: I've been invited to an internship interview that holds a separate open house (that they say does not influence the selection process), but how could your bright-eyed, bushy tailed attendance to this said open house NOT impact their decision-making process?

What do others think? Thanks!

I have heard some of them rank you before the open house and state that your attendance at the open house / interactions there will not influence their rankings. I would imagine this could be true, unless you really stand out (e.g. act wildly inappropriate or have such an amazing conversation with someone that they are compelled to go change your ranking). You could think of this as the same as sites that weight your interview 10% and your application 90%.

 

[cara susanna]

Does anyone know why APPIC isn't posting survey results from applicants anymore? I'm just curious.

 

[baliloci]

Another +1 for Southwest. They do not have change fees so you only pay the fare difference and can move things around if necessary.

Does anyone know of other airlines without change fees (and not needing elite or other status with them in order to apply)?

http://i.slimg.com/sc/sl/graphic/u/ul/ultimate-guide-to-airline-fees_111913.pdf

I think Southwest is the only one...

 

[Lyra33]

Hi everyone,
I couldn't find a post about this already, but I may have missed the link. Does anyone know what the policy is on RSVPing for open houses for internship sites that don't hold interviews? The email I received did not have any RSVP instructions. Thanks!

 

[463951]

Hi everyone,
I couldn't find a post about this already, but I may have missed the link. Does anyone know what the policy is on RSVPing for open houses for internship sites that don't hold interviews? The email I received did not have any RSVP instructions. Thanks!

I am wondering the same thing!!

 

[cara susanna]

What are everyone's thoughts on the APPIC Match registration stats that they sent to us? I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts on why there was a decrease in applicants, specifically.

 

[Ollie123]

The optimist in me wants to believe it is because the system is starting to be corrected. The pessimist in me suspects more people are going outside the APPIC system. Unfortunately, I'm more inclined to believe the latter.

That said, I don't have a great sense of how much the applicant numbers fluctuate year-to-year anyways, so I can't say whether the changes are substantive/meaningful or just noise.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

The optimist in me wants to believe it is because the system is starting to be corrected. The pessimist in me suspects more people are going outside the APPIC system. Unfortunately, I'm more inclined to believe the latter.

That said, I don't have a great sense of how much the applicant numbers fluctuate year-to-year anyways, so I can't say whether the changes are substantive/meaningful or just noise.

I think the trend for at least the last few years was that they'd been steadily increasing, so a decrease could possibly mean something. What that "something" is, though, like you've said, is still up in the air.

If we could check CAPIC's numbers, for example, and/or if the APA amalgamates internship stats for all programs (which would include things like CAPIC as well as those folks who go the unaccredited route), that might provide more of an answer.

 

[LikeABoss15]

What are everyone's thoughts on the APPIC Match registration stats that they sent to us? I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts on why there was a decrease in applicants, specifically.

From my understanding, it was voted on and is going to be nationally instituted that students must have completed (defended and passed) their prospectus PRIOR to applying for internship. This decision was made earlier this fall, so some doctoral programs implemented it, while others could not require it due to it being a new rule. I believe this is the reason for the decrease in applicants this year. It is one way that the system is trying to correct itself, which is clearly a necessity. When fully implemented, it should help with applicant numbers, and therefore, match numbers.

 

[sapphirepsychstudent00]

I would give the input that I stll think it early to really be doing much of anything besides look at sites. Get your diss rolling, if you haven't already done so. Write essays over the summer. Just make sure you defend your proposal before you go, but if you can defend the whole thing, great. Try not to have more than just the discussion to write by the time you relocate would be my personal advice.

Have essays proofread by faculty, but not more than 2 faculty members because everyone is gonna have diff opinions and you'll be changing them nonstop if you take it to multiple people in your department. Number one matters most. The rest are silly, imho. Practice interviewing in the fall. You will need practice in your ability to be appropriately professional but not complete stiff...most likely.

I need people's advice please. I don't know if I should apply this year or wait another year.
Here is where I'm at. Am I competitive enough?
I have:
Pubs: I book chapter in progress, I manuscript almost ready for submission for publication.
Posters: 7 (5 I'm first author on)
Hours: 700 intervention; 150 assessment
Dissertation: I'm going to propose in the fall, however my recruitment is very slow going at this point. Its hard to predict where the data collection will be at.

Thoughts? Should I apply this year or wait for 2015 APPIC? (I will ONLY be applying to APA approved sites. I'm currently a 3rd year PhD student. Will be 4th year this fall when applications for internship are due.)
ANY ANY advice is appreciated!

 

[G Costanza]

Why are you collecting data before you propose?
I think applying in your 3rd year makes it hard to be competitive with most folks applying in their 4th year. That being said, your numbers look fine. The part that's more difficult to gauge is if you've had enough experiences in the program to present who you are as a psychologist/human in the essays and interviews.

Edit-just read your post again. If you'll be a 4th year, I would apply unless there's something holding you back.

 

[WisNeuro]

Most folks apply in their 5th year from clinical PhD programs. If you're in a hurry, go for it. I would personally focus on finishing my dissertation and cranking out a couple pubs. It will make you much more competitive to actually have something in publication. We really don't weight the "submitted" articles all that highly in apps. It's much more important to show that conversion.

 

[HopingIMatch]

I need people's advice please. I don't know if I should apply this year or wait another year.
Here is where I'm at. Am I competitive enough?
I have:
Pubs: I book chapter in progress, I manuscript almost ready for submission for publication.
Posters: 7 (5 I'm first author on)
Hours: 700 intervention; 150 assessment
Dissertation: I'm going to propose in the fall, however my recruitment is very slow going at this point. Its hard to predict where the data collection will be at.

Thoughts? Should I apply this year or wait for 2015 APPIC? (I will ONLY be applying to APA approved sites. I'm currently a 3rd year PhD student. Will be 4th year this fall when applications for internship are due.)
ANY ANY advice is appreciated!

I agree that I think your hours look fine for you to apply this year. Another important factor would be the competitiveness of the sites you are applying to. Are you only going for the top tier APA accredited sites that accept fewer than 1 or 2 percent of their applicants or are you applying to sites with a range of competitiveness? The most competitive sites may interpret your pubs/dissertation status differently. If you apply to a good range of sites in terms of competativeness, the stats you listed seem appropriate. Also, I agree with George that coming across as a psychologist/human in essays and interviews is another very important thing to pay attention to. Good luck with your dissertation and with the internship process!

 

[cara susanna]

Depends on what type of sites you're interested in, imo.

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[LMK]

From my understanding, it was voted on and is going to be nationally instituted that students must have completed (defended and passed) their prospectus PRIOR to applying for internship. This decision was made earlier this fall, so some doctoral programs implemented it, while others could not require it due to it being a new rule. I believe this is the reason for the decrease in applicants this year. It is one way that the system is trying to correct itself, which is clearly a necessity. When fully implemented, it should help with applicant numbers, and therefore, match numbers.

Oh I thought that was the norm...?