APPIC Internship Interview Invitation Thread (2020)

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LadyEmmaPeel said:
Wow...impressive! Teach me your ways...lol... 😀

I applied to 20 neuro sites, but all the top sites in the United States (because I'm stupid) and only got 5 interviews. I chalk this up to my being an optimist and hoping that they wanted me as much as I wanted them; however, I did NOT realize how many applications they received from people just like me who did just a wee bit more. Talk about disheartening, but when I reached out to the site directors, they were all very nice and encouraged me to look at them for post-doctoral work. I am sure they were just filling the air, but I figure if I get some really good experience, I can be competitive too.

My sites: 3 neuro VA's, 2 neuro rehab facilities

(I just want to match with a site that will be a good fit)

I will also be wearing a dark purple velour suit to my interviews, because - why not? 🙄
Click to expand...

I had a lot of time to prepare 33 applications lol. Being on bed rest after surgery for months can do that. Congrats on your sites tho, I think will be fine in terms of matching; there's always that possibility of not matching, but with 5 sites, you seem to be right on track. As we all know, neuro tends to be the most competitive track in a given site, especially when they only take 1 person. There were several sites I had applied to with various tracks that accepted multiple people for one track. Neuro wasn't one of them 😛 Like you, I also had reached out weeks ago to another TD of a different VA who also encouraged me to apply to their rehab post-doc. He said that my application was very competitive and was surprised I wasn't invited for the neuro interview; he's also the TD for their rehab post doc and said I should apply when the time comes. Who knows...maybe he was just being nice as you say. I'm glad this process is half way being over. I am not looking forward to some of my interviews that require writing samples or vignettes. I am not feeling confident. I feel like spending 3+ months away from clinical work has left me without my clinical "eye."
 
[RESOLVED]

Hi friends, just so I am prepared...could someone explain to me about how the actual ranking process works? I was told to rank my absolute first choice as #1 and that if I do not want to go to a site, that I should not rank them at all. Although I plan to sparkle and shine at each one of my interviews, I am concerned that I won't match because these sites will rank me differently than how I rank them. Do I and the site need to equally choose each other as #1, #2, respectively? This was never fully explained to me. 😕

What if my #1 site ranks me as their #3...but their #1 ranks them as their 10th? Ohhhhhh...nauseous.

(it's true that New Yorkers never sleep...we just chill with our eyes closed.)

sleep.jpg
 
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LadyEmmaPeel said:
Hi friends, just so I am prepared...could someone explain to me about how the actual ranking process works? I was told to rank my absolute first choice as #1 and that if I do not want to go to a site, that I should not rank them at all. Although I plan to sparkle and shine at each one of my interviews, I am concerned that I won't match because these sites will rank me differently than how I rank them. Do I and the site need to equally choose each other as #1, #2, respectively? This was never fully explained to me. 😕

(it's true that New Yorkers never sleep...we just chill with our eyes closed.)

View attachment 289621
Click to expand...

The APPIC has an article about this that I read that was really helpful. Basically you won’t be penalized for ranking your top site as your top site - the algorithm will try to match you to your top site until all their slots are filled


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
LadyEmmaPeel said:
Hi friends, just so I am prepared...could someone explain to me about how the actual ranking process works? I was told to rank my absolute first choice as #1 and that if I do not want to go to a site, that I should not rank them at all. Although I plan to sparkle and shine at each one of my interviews, I am concerned that I won't match because these sites will rank me differently than how I rank them. Do I and the site need to equally choose each other as #1, #2, respectively? This was never fully explained to me. 😕

What if my #1 site ranks me as their #3...but their #1 ranks them as their 10th? Ohhhhhh...nauseous.

(it's true that New Yorkers never sleep...we just chill with our eyes closed.)

View attachment 289621
Click to expand...


APPIC > Match > FAQs > Applicants > Rank Order Lists

Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers, Postdoc Interns, Psychology Internships, Psych Internship Matching - APPIC
www.appic.org


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
kmv2021 said:
The APPIC has an article about this that I read that was really helpful. Basically you won’t be penalized for ranking your top site as your top site - the algorithm will try to match you to your top site until all their slots are filled


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Really!? Oh good. Thank-you! Now that the notifications are over, I am shweatin' the details. :bored:
 
LadyEmmaPeel said:
Hi friends, just so I am prepared...could someone explain to me about how the actual ranking process works? I was told to rank my absolute first choice as #1 and that if I do not want to go to a site, that I should not rank them at all. Although I plan to sparkle and shine at each one of my interviews, I am concerned that I won't match because these sites will rank me differently than how I rank them. Do I and the site need to equally choose each other as #1, #2, respectively? This was never fully explained to me. 😕

What if my #1 site ranks me as their #3...but their #1 ranks them as their 10th? Ohhhhhh...nauseous.

(it's true that New Yorkers never sleep...we just chill with our eyes closed.)

View attachment 289621
Click to expand...

This should help clarify!

APPIC Match | The Matching Algorithm

natmatch.com natmatch.com
 
LadyEmmaPeel said:
Hi friends, just so I am prepared...could someone explain to me about how the actual ranking process works? I was told to rank my absolute first choice as #1 and that if I do not want to go to a site, that I should not rank them at all. Although I plan to sparkle and shine at each one of my interviews, I am concerned that I won't match because these sites will rank me differently than how I rank them. Do I and the site need to equally choose each other as #1, #2, respectively? This was never fully explained to me. 😕

What if my #1 site ranks me as their #3...but their #1 ranks them as their 10th? Ohhhhhh...nauseous.

(it's true that New Yorkers never sleep...we just chill with our eyes closed.)

View attachment 289621
Click to expand...

Natmatch allows you to run your own test match which has helped my anxiety a bit. The link is APPIC Match | The Matching Algorithm
 
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psychic-dash said:
I emailed TD and it was a rejection - might be worth following up to clarify your status!
Click to expand...

Same for me, but only after reaching out to the TD directly. From his email reply, I got the impression that I would have only been notified by following up directly....? 0.o no bueno. Rejection: Johns Hopkins Center for Child and Family Traumatic Stress
 
Has anyone heard from the violence intervention program or the Children’s Institute/Leadership Center?
 
Rejection from Charleston Consortium. They sent them on Friday but my email was apparently lost. I still have one site left to hear from
 
FuturePsyD0721 said:
How long did it take the TD to get back to you? I emailed yesterday morning and still haven’t heard anything.
Click to expand...
I emailed yesterday as well, and heard back the same day - hopefully the delay means you are still being considered?
 
I emailed the TD of my last site to hear back from yesterday about my application status and have not heard back yet either. I'm thinking if I don't get an email back this afternoon then I will call directly.
 
LadyEmmaPeel said:
[RESOLVED]

What if my #1 site ranks me as their #3...but their #1 ranks them as their 10th? Ohhhhhh...nauseous.

(it's true that New Yorkers never sleep...we just chill with our eyes closed.)

View attachment 289621
Click to expand...

It would depend on whether the person who ranked them 10 matched with their 1-9 rankings. If they didn’t match with their 1-9 ranked sites, then they would get the slot over you. If they matched with a site they ranked higher, the algorithm will move onto the next person. There is absolutely no benefit to you trying to guess which site will rank you higher. Just rank your sites by your preference and hope for the best!

Also, I saw someone in a purple suit on internship rounds and she looked fab! Always wondered where she ended up! 🙂
 
DialecticPhD said:
I also really appreciate this 5 minute video... for us visual folk 😉
Click to expand...


That was very, very helpful. All of you are amazing and so supportive! 😍

I'm sitting here laughing to myself because over Thanksgiving my mother was like, "you should apply to Harvard and see what happens." LOL...yeah, should I? NO MOM. :stop: I shouldn't. Unless you've completed 300+ evaluations over the course of 4 years, no one should apply to Harvard. One of my friends got a rejection email from a top school that basically said, "um, okay, so like we received a bunch of applications and 99% of them were more qualified than you, so no, we're not offering you an interview. bye--eeee." < mean girls voice.

download.jpg


That being said, for post-doc...CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. :nailbiting: We're going for the top ones!
 
LadyEmmaPeel said:
That was very, very helpful. All of you are amazing and so supportive! 😍

I'm sitting here laughing to myself because over Thanksgiving my mother was like, "you should apply to Harvard and see what happens." LOL...yeah, should I? NO MOM. :stop: I shouldn't. Unless you've completed 300+ evaluations over the course of 4 years, no one should apply to Harvard. One of my friends got a rejection email from a top school that basically said, "um, okay, so like we received a bunch of applications and 99% of them were more qualified than you, so no, we're not offering you an interview. bye--eeee." < mean girls voice.

That being said, for post-doc...CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. :nailbiting:
Click to expand...

Generally speaking, school "prestige" and "rankings" mean less and less the more specialized you go. There are a couple Ivy league places that are not even close to the top 10 of places I would consider for adult neuropsych training. That being said, lay people and our parents will always think Ivy and name brands are the best, so it's hard to fight against the bias.
 
WisNeuro said:
Generally speaking, school "prestige" and "rankings" mean less and less the more specialized you go. There are a couple Ivy league places that are not even close to the top 10 of places I would consider for adult neuropsych training. That being said, lay people and our parents will always think Ivy and name brands are the best, so it's hard to fight against the bias.
Click to expand...

That's so true. I feel like the quality of the training is the MOST important factor and how they're going to set you up for your boards.
The fight is not over. This is just the closing of one chapter, and then opening of another...
😴

.:::stares at purple velour interview suit::::.
tvmauvetrssrsuitprin.jpg
 
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WisNeuro said:
Generally speaking, school "prestige" and "rankings" mean less and less the more specialized you go. There are a couple Ivy league places that are not even close to the top 10 of places I would consider for adult neuropsych training. That being said, lay people and our parents will always think Ivy and name brands are the best, so it's hard to fight against the bias.
Click to expand...

Exactly. While I had applied to CHA/ Harvard, it really wasn't my top pick for neuro training. The brand name obviously was a factor as was the fact they have a neuro training track, but it's not neurorehab, which is what I prefer.
 
My heart goes out to the post-doctoral students from my program who are fielding all our questions on an inter-program listserv.
They work all day, write all night, and then get bombarded with our pre-internship anxiety.

It's nice to hear from people who have survived all of THIS and then threw themselves back into the boiling soup to go through the
whole process all over again.

fwcDo7u.jpg
 
Alright, I have to ask...since we're all friends here...

One of my best friends is from another program in the city, but she is a PhD student. We had similar practicum experiences, but I have over 1,000 more clinical hours than her, yet she got interviews at schools where I was rejected outright. I have also done plenty of research. Are some sites more likely to embrace a PhD student over a PsyD student? I noticed on the APPIC website that some sites seem to ONLY take PhD students, or there is an imbalance in who they seem to be interested in. If we're all clinical psychology...does the PhD/PsyD thing matter?

(The thing that REALLY gets me is the TD at these schools are PsyD's.)

We are equally awesome...why not split the pile between us? 😛
 
LadyEmmaPeel said:
Alright, I have to ask...since we're all friends here...

One of my best friends is from another program in the city, but she is a PhD student. We had similar practicum experiences, but I have over 1,000 more clinical hours than her, yet she got interviews at schools where I was rejected outright. I have also done plenty of research. Are some sites more likely to embrace a PhD student over a PsyD student? I noticed on the APPIC website that some sites seem to ONLY take PhD students, or there is an imbalance in who they seem to be interested in. If we're all clinical psychology...does the PhD/PsyD thing matter?

(The thing that REALLY gets me is the TD at these schools are PsyD's.)

We are equally awesome...why not split the pile between us? 😛
Click to expand...

I think this is hard to answer outright. When I applied to internship last year, I too noticed a preference by some sites towards PhD's. I even emailed a site in Chicago just to confirm that they would not consider a PsyD. I was basically told that their sites does not do well with PsyD and was left with the insinuation that PsyD's did not have as much training as a PhD which I think is ridiculous. At the end of the day we can both do the same job just like an MD and DO can see the same patients. In regards to your comparison, sites look at more than just hours and research...its more about the fit of a person in the current system. Perhaps her cover letter and essays made her seem a better fit for their environment than yours did.
 
LadyEmmaPeel said:
Alright, I have to ask...since we're all friends here...

One of my best friends is from another program in the city, but she is a PhD student. We had similar practicum experiences, but I have over 1,000 more clinical hours than her, yet she got interviews at schools where I was rejected outright. I have also done plenty of research. Are some sites more likely to embrace a PhD student over a PsyD student? I noticed on the APPIC website that some sites seem to ONLY take PhD students, or there is an imbalance in who they seem to be interested in. If we're all clinical psychology...does the PhD/PsyD thing matter?

(The thing that REALLY gets me is the TD at these schools are PsyD's.)

We are equally awesome...why not split the pile between us? 😛
Click to expand...

I remember a while back before applications opened up, I too reached out to a well-respected internship program that tended to accept Ph.D. students. The TD looked at my CV and encouraged me to apply because of my research experience I had, however, I also "read between the lines" and realized that he was giving me a PC answer, or rather, an answer that aligns with what APPIC expects participating programs to say. I get it, they have a job to do. It sucks that we have to have this sense of "otherness" out there where some folks still rely heavily on pedigree or degree type to be a significant differentiating factor in their decision to invite you or not. It is what it is...it's the best that we as a field can come up with. But rest assured...we always find a way to "reframe" this fiasco to sound less crappy than it is. 😛 I applied to programs that I knew really preferred Ph.D.s, so it was no big surprise when I was rejected from those sites. At the end of the day, programs need something to break the proverbial tie when many if not most of its applicants have competitive clinical hours, diversity in clinical training, etc. Sometimes, that just means, person A is a Ph.D. student from Topnotch University will get an invite over person B who is a Psy.D. student from Subpar University. I remembered when my husband had applied for a Ph.D. program in pharmacology; their director said his background was fantastic and that he should apply, but he needed to apply with a GRE >50th percentile. Unfortunately, he was only hitting the 50th percentile. So, despite many other compelling factors in his application that made him an outstanding applicant, they simply screened him based on the GRE and trashed it without even looking at the other factors in his application. It sucks...but it is what it is. I say...it was their loss.
 
neurocog said:
I remember a while back before applications opened up, I too reached out to a well-respected internship program that tended to accept Ph.D. students...


Thank-you for sharing that! I was genuinely curious, but I know it comes down to very small details at the end of the day when we're all so similar.
I appreciate your thoughts! 🙂
Click to expand...
 

Cool thing is, something these directors didn't know about my husband was, he is from Brazil, English wasn't his first language, but he speaks 4. While studying for the GRE, he worked 1 full time job, went to school full time, and had a part time job on the weekends. At one point, he was doing all of that plus studying for the MCAT which he scored in the 50th percentile as well.
 
psydstud0127 said:
First time posting because I was too afraid to post earlier. I applied to 23 sites and was only offered one interview. I'm still waiting for 3 others whose notification dates are on the 21st. 2 Anyone else feeling deeply rejected and like they wasted around $1K on applications?
Click to expand...

Uh yes, absolutely feeling the same. I drowned my feelings in a large pizza after my last and final rejection.

Hoping your last 3 make you an offer!!!
 
LadyEmmaPeel said:
It's dark purple! It's tasteful! I swear!

View attachment 289645

LOL... #goingforthestewardesslook
Click to expand...
I say go for it!! Yesterday I was at an interview - I wore a black suit dress with a knee length red suit jacket. When I got there, I felt perhaps a little overdressed and overstated because everyone else was wearing more muted (black) tones. I got complimented for my red jacket TWICE, once by the training director, who said "I hope you don't take offense, but I love your jacket". I take that as a win - anything to help you stand out in a good way.
 
psydstud0127 said:
First time posting because I was too afraid to post earlier. I applied to 23 sites and was only offered one interview. I'm still waiting for 3 others whose notification dates are on the 21st. 2 Anyone else feeling deeply rejected and like they wasted around $1K on applications?
Click to expand...

Hope you're doing okay! I fully understand how defeating this process can be. I am in a similar boat. Applied to 21 sites, was offered two interviews and waiting on two more interview notifications (which will most likely be rejections). I hope you can find solace and lightness during this crazy time. I'm trying to remain hopeful, but it's sooo hard.
 
Dr_Bee said:
I say go for it!! Yesterday I was at an interview - I wore a black suit dress with a knee length red suit jacket. When I got there, I felt perhaps a little overdressed and overstated because everyone else was wearing more muted (black) tones. I got complimented for my red jacket TWICE, once by the training director, who said "I hope you don't take offense, but I love your jacket". I take that as a win - anything to help you stand out in a good way.
Click to expand...

That's amazing! Good on you! I did not even consider red, but I like it. 😍 Don't get me wrong, I love traditional black and white, but if they're going to remember me, I would also like to be spoken of in conversation as the "girl with the funny accent and that killer suit!"

Thinking about red though...
70a9e6c8fe8ac2569f9768cfa34a6134.png
 
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