APA Internship: What is considered geographically diverse

[SoPSYcheD2020]

Hi everyone, I am an incoming fourth year psychology student, getting ready to start the APA application process and am new to this forum! I am trying to make an initial list of sites that I am interested in and a question has come up - what does a geographically diverse list of sites look like? I really want to be in a particular state for APA but I know only applying to this state will lower my chances of being matched. I know there isn't a magic number but if I am applying to 15-16 sites, roughly how many should I apply in this state?

Thank you for your input!

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[MCParent]

Depends on the state. Some states have 10 internships, some have 200. If there are 15 sites you have a good match with in one city, you could apply to all of those only.
What people mean when they say “don’t geographicallly restrict” is “don’t apply to only a handful of sites because you want to live in one specific area” and “don’t apply to places that are bad fits just because they are where you want to be.”

 

[AbnormalPsych]

In my program most students applied all over the country. 15 apps max per person and on average probably 50% of those apps were in the state our grad program was in.

 

[SoPSYcheD2020]

Thank you guys!

 

[calimich]

agree with what others are saying and will offer a specific example. I was in doc school in the midwest/eastern time zone and am originally from California. Getting back to CA was important to family and me, however, the program was not very well known/nor had a strong pipeline of sending interns out West. So, I applied to ~12 internships in CA alone (roughly split between northern & southern), AND I applied to another ~12 sites (mostly in the midwest) which had consistently taken interns from my program.

Yes, it was lots of applications, some extra $$, and made scheduling interviews very stressful, but the plan worked and I ended up, and have stayed, in CA.

 

[Ollie123]

Really this just boils down to fit. Its not that geographic restrictions is bad per se, its that people often end up sacrificing other pieces to make the geography work. THAT is what hurts them. Certain major cities are arguably somewhat more competitive, but this usually won't make or break an otherwise solid candidate. What will is if you are applying to places you have no business going (e.g. applying to child sites having no child experience) just because there are 10 sites in city X and you really want to be in city X so you are applying to all of them.

In that scenario, you are "really" only applying to the sites you are a good fit with - the rest are basically throwaway applications that won't be taken seriously and applicants are really only fooling themselves into thinking their odds are higher. I've seen this somewhat regularly. And I have <literally> never heard of someone matching to one of those sites.

 

[smalltownpsych]

I intentionally did not apply to the state where I was, California, and it was the best choice I ever made. I made the decision after being stuck for two hours in traffic coming back from one of my practicum placements. Most of my commutes since then have looked like something out of a car commercial, open road with beautiful scenery. Here is an actual photo of one of those tough commutes:

 

[SoPSYcheD2020]

This is all very helpful everyone! Thank you. It helps to hear that I’ll be applying to sites that I think I would qualify for so hopefully having more in one particular state won’t hurt my chances.

 

[blakjak12]

Really this just boils down to fit. Its not that geographic restrictions is bad per se, its that people often end up sacrificing other pieces to make the geography work. THAT is what hurts them. Certain major cities are arguably somewhat more competitive, but this usually won't make or break an otherwise solid candidate. What will is if you are applying to places you have no business going (e.g. applying to child sites having no child experience) just because there are 10 sites in city X and you really want to be in city X so you are applying to all of them.

In that scenario, you are "really" only applying to the sites you are a good fit with - the rest are basically throwaway applications that won't be taken seriously and applicants are really only fooling themselves into thinking their odds are higher. I've seen this somewhat regularly. And I have <literally> never heard of someone matching to one of those sites.

Agree with this 100%.

 

[futureapppsy2]

I also think a lot of people who geographically restrict themselves for internship also geographically restricted themselves for grad school and end up going to subpar (FSPS) programs that further impact their viability in the internship match above and beyond geographical restriction in the match itself.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I also think a lot of people who geographically restrict themselves for internship also geographically restricted themselves for grad school and end up going to subpar (FSPS) programs that further impact their viability in the internship match above and beyond geographical restriction in the match itself.

FSPS are also only really in “popular” places...NYC/CHI/LA/SF, etc. so that drive up #’s, though competition can really vary. The challenge is that there are also many great programs in big cities, so anyone from a UCLA/Stanford will likely have in’s from practica and from pedigree.