APPIC Internship Interview Invitation Thread (2020)

[Matchmaker123]

After 7 interviews, I’m considering ranking only 5 programs. One site was clearly understaffed with unsafe inpatient units and a current intern all but stated “do not come here.” A second is a much more narrow focus, whereas my priority is generalist training, and I did not get the sense that I would have great relationships with supervisors or high quality didactics.

Is it foolish to rank 5 sites instead of 6, even if I really cannot see myself thriving at the 6th site?

While it’s clearly early yet, does anyone know where I can view a list of sites that participated in Phase II last year?

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[WisNeuro]

While it’s clearly early yet, does anyone know where I can view a list of sites that participated in Phase II last year?

Not sure if it's posted anywhere. Also not sure how helpful it would be as the list is very variable from year to year.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

After 7 interviews, I’m considering ranking only 5 programs. One site was clearly understaffed with unsafe inpatient units and a current intern all but stated “do not come here.” A second is a much more narrow focus, whereas my priority is generalist training, and I did not get the sense that I would have great relationships with supervisors or high quality didactics.

Is it foolish to rank 5 sites instead of 6, even if I really cannot see myself thriving at the 6th site?

While it’s clearly early yet, does anyone know where I can view a list of sites that participated in Phase II last year?

My take: if you absolutely cannot see yourself thriving at the 6th site, if it were me, I would not rank them. Worst-case scenario, I would say it's better to not match at all (more unlikely now than in the past) and go through the process again next year than it is to match with a site, hate it, leave, and then go through the process again. Also, there is no guarantee APPIC would support withdrawing from the internship, if it came to that.

At the same time, I would be open and honest with myself about why I thought I would not thrive at the site.

 

[deleted1017236]

After 7 interviews, I’m considering ranking only 5 programs. One site was clearly understaffed with unsafe inpatient units and a current intern all but stated “do not come here.” A second is a much more narrow focus, whereas my priority is generalist training, and I did not get the sense that I would have great relationships with supervisors or high quality didactics.

Is it foolish to rank 5 sites instead of 6, even if I really cannot see myself thriving at the 6th site?

While it’s clearly early yet, does anyone know where I can view a list of sites that participated in Phase II last year?

I'm also planning not to rank a site I interviewed at based on poor evals from the current interns. For the other one, it might also be worthwhile to consider your endgame. I plan to go into research so if I have one year that's not a great fit for my clinical interests, it's not a big deal for my career trajectory. But if it really matters for your goals, then maybe being more selective makes sense for you!

 

[PsydTNT]

Hi everyone!

I have about four interviews left and two of them specifically state that a writing assignment will be one part of the interview process. I’m becoming increasingly anxious about these, as I truly don’t know what to expect. I’m not asking for specific topics people have me encountered so far, I’m simply asking for tips/best practices to help me prepare for these!

Feel free to respond and attach any materials that people have found helpful in the past!

Thanks in advance!

 

[deleted1003601]

Is this related to your surgery?? Can you maybe get a roller suitcase? So much easier than a duffle bag!

Nope. I got this bag so that I could avoid checking a bag, and to have a suitcase bag. All in one! Well, between lugging that bag around all through Miami International, I also drove 11 hours each way to another interview the very next day. I am pretty sure it's my sciatic nerve. I had to fly out to New York a day ago and could barely get out of bed. My husband had to help me dress. I was panicking because I wasn't sure I would be able to travel, let alone dress myself when I arrived. Fortunately, with several 600mg tablets of ibuprofen, my pain lessened over the past 24-48 hours. I am still in pain, but I have a couple of days of downtime until my next interview, and I have about a week until I fly out to NYC for a couple of more interviews. The things I do for internship...

 

[deleted1003601]

Hi everyone!

I have about four interviews left and two of them specifically state that a writing assignment will be one part of the interview process. I’m becoming increasingly anxious about these, as I truly don’t know what to expect. I’m not asking for specific topics people have me encountered so far, I’m simply asking for tips/best practices to help me prepare for these!

Feel free to respond and attach any materials that people have found helpful in the past!

Thanks in advance!

I feel ya. I have two or three coming up that require a writing sample. I know exactly what one site will ask (a SOAP note essentially). I have had vignettes and score sheets thrown at me. Some of these interviews seemed like my oral comprehensive exam in a condensed format. To be honest...I am drained. It is what it is. If I am not competent enough for them, whatever. I know what I know, if it's not good enough, then so be it. I am exhausted.

 

[anguy1610]

Anyone know anything about San Bernardino behavioral health? Like their internship program. I said what sites I preferred for their forensic/outpatient track but they have two options for their OT sites and I am really only interested in one. They also have two options for the forensic/correctional site but it seems like only one of the sites does any assessments?

Anyways, I know I can ask at the interview but it might go by in a blur and then they might tell me "yes, X forensic site is available" but if I match, they might pull the switcheroo on me and put me at Y forensic site that does no assessments.

Hello! I personally reached out to my friend, who is the new training director, and he provided the following response to your inquiry:

"Thank you for reaching out. I just took over as the training director, so there will be some changes to the material to make it easier to understand. Both forensic sites do assessments, both in the formal sense of psychological testing and intake assessment. The site requires 8 assessment batteries for the year regardless of your sites.
If you match to the forensic track we try to match you to the site that you are most interested in. However, there are two 6 month rotations for each so if everyone was only interested in one track then two people would ultimately be assigned to the other track. Both tracks are in the same building though, so there is an opportunity to have some overlap."

Hope this helps, and best of luck with the rest of your interviews!

 

[psychlife19]

Hello! I personally reached out to my friend, who is the new training director, and he provided the following response to your inquiry:

"Thank you for reaching out. I just took over as the training director, so there will be some changes to the material to make it easier to understand. Both forensic sites do assessments, both in the formal sense of psychological testing and intake assessment. The site requires 8 assessment batteries for the year regardless of your sites.
If you match to the forensic track we try to match you to the site that you are most interested in. However, there are two 6 month rotations for each so if everyone was only interested in one track then two people would ultimately be assigned to the other track. Both tracks are in the same building though, so there is an opportunity to have some overlap."

Hope this helps, and best of luck with the rest of your interviews!

Wow that was super sweet of you to ask! Especially to do that for a random person on a forum. It for sure helps, thank you )

 

[NeuroJaguar]

Hi everyone!

I have about four interviews left and two of them specifically state that a writing assignment will be one part of the interview process. I’m becoming increasingly anxious about these, as I truly don’t know what to expect. I’m not asking for specific topics people have me encountered so far, I’m simply asking for tips/best practices to help me prepare for these!

Feel free to respond and attach any materials that people have found helpful in the past!

Thanks in advance!

My take is that we've been training for these writing samples for 3-5 years already! The individuals reading them know that we could write something stronger with access to a model, a better understanding of their expectations, and over time with feedback. I would try to trust in your training and that they're trying to get a sense that you've reached a threshold in writing and thinking competence - and you likely have, given your training.

 

[SchoolPsych4]

Has anyone heard back from Center for Anxiety in NY?They just got accredited

 

[healthyu]

I ranked my sites prior to interviews. And as I got an interview, I would move them up or down my list. Another interview, move that one up or down.

I also did this. Also, I have areas that I would like for the internship to meet so I move them based on those areas.

 

[lohamm]

West Virginia university/Charleston - has anyone heard from this site or visited or have their application still under consideration? Tried to search this forum but for some reason all variations I try aren’t coming up. Would like to hear about others’ experiences. Thanks!


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[psychlife19]

I'm having to cancel an interview because I literally cannot afford to go. I am cleaned out, completely broke. This is a site I'm interested in and I plan to ask for a phone interview in lieu of the in-person interview I had originally agreed to. I feel terrible but I just have nothing left to give to this process emotionally, mentally, physically, financially. Ready to be done is the grossest understatement of the century.

Sending hugs and support this is definitely not an even playing field as some people have more resources (can take time off work without worrying about money, supportive spouses, etc). I know you have put in as much as you can in this process, nobody will fault for “not wanting it bad enough” or “not trying enough”.
Hopefully you still have/had enough interviews and will match anyways!!

 

[Ryan2468]

Hi everyone!

I have about four interviews left and two of them specifically state that a writing assignment will be one part of the interview process. I’m becoming increasingly anxious about these, as I truly don’t know what to expect. I’m not asking for specific topics people have me encountered so far, I’m simply asking for tips/best practices to help me prepare for these!

Feel free to respond and attach any materials that people have found helpful in the past!

Thanks in advance!

I had one site that did a writing prompt. It was basically a fairly straightforward case which specific prompts to talk about potential diagnoses and information you would need, psychological instruments with rationale for each, and what therapy might look like given the information presented. I was also pretty anxious about mine and then I read it and instinctively had so many things to say. I think most of them are going to be some type of case with conceptualization and plans built in. I have had three interviews that gave me a verbal vignette and asked me a few questions similar to the writing prompt, so I think this may be standard practice.

I would say breathe through your anxiety and reassure yourself that you have trained for years and you have some budding expertise in this! It's so hard for me to remember that sometimes but it is true. Feel free to message me if you have any other questions!

 

[PsychedPSYD21]

Hi all! Is it a bad sign for training directors not to reply to thank you emails?

 

[DialecticPhD]

West Virginia university/Charleston - has anyone heard from this site or visited or have their application still under consideration? Tried to search this forum but for some reason all variations I try aren’t coming up. Would like to hear about others’ experiences. Thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I got this from page 1 of the thread - but haven't seen any other posts from this forum... are either of these the site you're asking about? Really bad for sites that aren't notifying ALL students of their application status .

Charleston Area Medical Center/WVU (12/04, Personal Email, N/A, 01/03, 01/10, 01/17)
Charleston Consortium (rolling; tracks not noted in invitations) (11/25, Personal Email, General Health, 12/09, 12/13, 12/16, 01/04, 01/06, 01/10, 01/13, 01/18, 01/20, 01/24; 11/26, Personal Email, Substance Abuse, General, 12/09, 12/13, 01/04, 01/06, 01/10, 01/13, 01/17, 01/18, 01/20, 01/24; 12/02, Personal Email, General, Trauma, Child, Unspecified; 12/03, Personal Email, Child Psych, Traumatic Stress, 01/04, 01/06, 01/10, 01/13, 01/17, 01/18)

 

[pediatric_psydoc]

Hi all! Is it a bad sign for training directors not to reply to thank you emails?

I know that we don’t reply to any of ours. Whether we receive emails or not does not impact our rankings of applicants.

 

[50Fly]

Did anyone hear from Kaiser Santa Rosa today?

 

[WisNeuro]

Hi all! Is it a bad sign for training directors not to reply to thank you emails?

No, we do not reply to any of ours. Heck, most of the time we don't even read them.

 

[psycho1391]

Hi all! Is it a bad sign for training directors not to reply to thank you emails?

All of the sites I interviewed at explicitly asked we NOT send them. TDs get a lot of emails and you don't want to clog it up even more.

 

[pck29]

Looking for some perspective for my anxious brain. If you missed an interview, and explained why you did to the TD, do you think this could impact other sites you interviewed at/will interview at? I won’t be ranking the site itself, just worried that somehow the site would say I’m unprofessional or something.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Looking for some perspective for my anxious brain. If you missed an interview, and explained why you did to the TD, do you think this could impact other sites you interviewed at/will interview at? I won’t be ranking the site itself, just worried that somehow the site would say I’m unprofessional or something.

Impact as in...by the TD at the site of the interview you missed spreading a negative review about you around to other sites? I suppose it's possible, but I would say it's unlikely, unless the missed interview was handled horribly inappropriately (which doesn't seem to be the case). Also, that would require the TD of that site to know the TDs of the other sites, and to actually know what other sites you've applied to, which they typically don't.

 

[WisNeuro]

Looking for some perspective for my anxious brain. If you missed an interview, and explained why you did to the TD, do you think this could impact other sites you interviewed at/will interview at? I won’t be ranking the site itself, just worried that somehow the site would say I’m unprofessional or something.

No, we don't have the time to compare notes on every applicant with our friends at other sites even if we did have the desire to be vindictive. The only time I call a colleague or friend about an applicant, is when that applicant worked directly with that colleague/friend.

 

[WMG-2021]

Just in case this is affecting anyone else, the University of Washington is experiencing a delayed start today until 9:30am PST. If your interview was scheduled before then via Zoom or in-person, it is likely you will be contacted after the official start about rescheduling.

 

[deleted1023459]

Hi all! Is it a bad sign for training directors not to reply to thank you emails?

Hey! I sent formal thank you cards out, but understood that it would not be acknowledged. They're all so busy, just how it goes. Nice that you sent them though!

 

[parametric]

I have one more interview (tomorrow) and I just want to go home already

 

[deleted1023459]

I have one more interview (tomorrow) and I just want to go home already

Why? What's going on? Just tired?
I hear you! I've driven probably over 1,000 miles interviewing! Tired of living out of a suitcase!

 

[deleted1003601]

I have two more left. Both in NY within a couple of days of each other luckily.

 

[psychlife19]

Is it true we shouldnt stress over rankings, and internship is just one more hoop to jump through, and as long as it’s APA I’m good?

Some sites I want to rank, I like the training but would NOT want to stay for post doc/jobs because I don’t want to settle down in these geographical areas.

And it seems to me that post docs get picked from current pools of interns and “outsiders” who didn’t do an internship there have no chance of doing postdoc there.

I see internship as the end all, be all.
I have a dream of working within a specific setting/population. I thought internship was so you can get experience with X population, so you can leverage that for a postdoc that works with X population, so you can get a job that works with X population.

And if you do not get the perfect internship training, good luck getting a post doc and then job in that area!

Is this true? Is this how psych careers work? Anyone on here do X for internship and now work in a wildly different setting?

 

[psychlife19]

Why? What's going on? Just tired?
I hear you! I've driven probably over 1,000 miles interviewing! Tired of living out of a suitcase!

Girl/boy I’m there with you!

 

[foreverbull]

Is it true we shouldnt stress over rankings, and internship is just one more hoop to jump through, and as long as it’s APA I’m good?

Some sites I want to rank, I like the training but would NOT want to stay for post doc/jobs because I don’t want to settle down in these geographical areas.

And it seems to me that post docs get picked from current pools of interns and “outsiders” who didn’t do an internship there have no chance of doing postdoc there.

I see internship as the end all, be all.
I have a dream of working within a specific setting/population. I thought internship was so you can get experience with X population, so you can leverage that for a postdoc that works with X population, so you can get a job that works with X population.

And if you do not get the perfect internship training, good luck getting a post doc and then job in that area!

Is this true? Is this how psych careers work? Anyone on here do X for internship and now work in a wildly different setting?

The part about a site promoting their own interns to postdocs happens sometimes, but not always. Sites don’t always have a pool of interns to become postdocs, and some sites do not choose their own interns.

I did a college counseling track on internship, worked with adolescents on postdoc in a residential facility, and currently teach and have a private practice, so yes, I’d say it’s possible to do different tracks or have different types of roles/jobs with different populations (also, a colleague of mine had very little prior experience working with older adults and was hired to do so once licensed).

Some tracks are much harder to get into after the fact/after internship and postdoc, though, to be fair. Some tracks have some flexibility, but a big part of it will be selling your skills/experiences for that path effectively (I haven’t worked with this population specifically, but I have skills in X which is closely related).

Sometimes employers will hire psychologists with little experience with X population because the position is hard to fill (prisons, etc.) or the rate of pay is low and only early career psychologists will accept it. There are practical reasons for hiring psychologists to work with a new population, but it really depends on the track/area, etc.

 

[WisNeuro]

Is it true we shouldnt stress over rankings, and internship is just one more hoop to jump through, and as long as it’s APA I’m good?

Some sites I want to rank, I like the training but would NOT want to stay for post doc/jobs because I don’t want to settle down in these geographical areas.

And it seems to me that post docs get picked from current pools of interns and “outsiders” who didn’t do an internship there have no chance of doing postdoc there.

I see internship as the end all, be all.
I have a dream of working within a specific setting/population. I thought internship was so you can get experience with X population, so you can leverage that for a postdoc that works with X population, so you can get a job that works with X population.

And if you do not get the perfect internship training, good luck getting a post doc and then job in that area!

Is this true? Is this how psych careers work? Anyone on here do X for internship and now work in a wildly different setting?

Don't stress. I wouldn't worry as much about not wanting to do a postdoc in the same place as an internship. While many sites do like to keep on interns as postdocs, there are many of us who did postdocs in a different program, and different geographic region than our internships.

Plenty of people do internships that do not exactly align with their later career. As long as you are getting some experiences to further your depth of training in areas, you're good. Aside from some of the super specialized training (e.g., neuropsych) of course, then you need to have those specific training experiences.

 

[psychologystudent101]

Is anyone else having an incredibly hard time ranking their top three sites? I was lucky enough to land 16 UCC interviews, but can see myself at almost all of them aside from maybe two. I think the fact that I can find positive aspects of all of them is making it difficult. I also just believe training at a UCC is almost always a positive experience which is making it even harder. I did not meet one current intern that was upset/overworked, they all loved the sites! Ugh. Any thoughts?

 

[Seven_Costanza]

Is anyone else having an incredibly hard time ranking their top three sites? I was lucky enough to land 16 UCC interviews, but can see myself at almost all of them aside from maybe two. I think the fact that I can find positive aspects of all of them is making it difficult. I also just believe training at a UCC is almost always a positive experience which is making it even harder. I did not meet one current intern that was upset/overworked, they all loved the sites! Ugh. Any thoughts?

I similarly loved all of my internship sites (all VAs) when I interviewed last year and had a difficult time ranking. I think if all things training related are equal, then start considering location preferences, weather, cost of living, where you’d like to potentially end up in the future, etc.

 

[SchoolPsych4]

Hi guys,
Please no mean comments because I'm very stressed and tired and burnt out... (
Can you rank sites that did not offer you an interview? How does phase II work? Thank you

 

[WisNeuro]

Hi guys,
Please no mean comments because I'm very stressed and tired and burnt out... (
Can you rank sites that did not offer you an interview? How does phase II work? Thank you

You cannot rank sites from which you did not receive an interview unless explicitly told so.

APPIC Match Phase II

Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers, Postdoc Interns, Psychology Internships, Psych Internship Matching - APPIC

appic.org

 

[PsychedPSYD21]

I have another question, if an applicant ranks a site as their number 1 but they get matched with their number 2, and their number 1 site goes to phase 2, does that mean that their number 1 site did not rank them?

Also, how likely is a site not to rank an applicant after an interview? Is this a common occurrence or is it rare? Thanks!

 

[psyche27]

I have another question, if an applicant ranks a site as their number 1 but they get matched with their number 2, and their number 1 site goes to phase 2, does that mean that their number 1 site did not rank them?

Also, how likely is a site not to rank an applicant after an interview? Is this a common occurrence or is it rare? Thanks!

Yes that would indicate the site didn’t rank them. At my site we typically interview around 30 people and end up not ranking 3 or 4 each year.

 

[Neurogoals]

Hi! Brand new to this thread. I did the match a couple years ago, but was more of a lurker than a poster back then too haha. Currently working in the field. Best wishes to everyone in this crazy stressful process! I wanted to leave some information I thought could be useful to some of you. I recently learned something from a colleague about Utah State Hospital’s internship that sort of shook me. This person heard that they dismissed one of their interns this year for strange reasons that did not seem to warrant something so extreme and felt more personal than professional, that many on the training committee at this site generally behave somewhat erratically and irrationally, and the training environment is not supportive. Just passing along what I’ve heard and can’t give many more details than that because that’s all I know at this point. Thought this might help some of you when it comes to ranking decisions, or could be worth looking into further if you are considering this site. Sorry for the negative news! It felt important to share given how much of a difference a good versus bad internship experience makes in one's development as a psychologist.

 

[psychlife19]

@WisNeuro @foreverbull
Thank you both soooo much for replying to me! Thankfully I don’t want to go into neuro, just to work with kids/teens.

It was so reassuring to hear how you can do internship in one area, and then end up working somewhere totally different down the road!
The mention of sites not always taking on their interns for postdoc and taking applications from ‘outsider’ interns was also so very reassuring

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Hi guys,
Please no mean comments because I'm very stressed and tired and burnt out... (
Can you rank sites that did not offer you an interview? How does phase II work? Thank you

I believe you actually can rank sites that did not offer you an interview, if you so choose. But sites are encouraged to inform trainees if they will be ranking applicants whom they did not interview. If the site has not told you this, odds are they likely are not ranking non-interviewed applicants.

The link for Phase II was provided above and has a lot of good information. Briefly, Phase II is very similar to Phase I, just on an abbreviated schedule. Sites are asked not to request supplemental materials from applicants, and are likewise encouraged not to require in-person interviews. If there are sites in Phase II to which you applied in Phase I, you are able to apply to those sites again if you'd like.

 

[dcpsychdoc]

Hi all! Is it a bad sign for training directors not to reply to thank you emails?

I would not read anything into this. We can become quite inundated with emails this time of year (internship, post doctoral, and externship application and interview season). I try to respond to every email, but I may have missed some. It has nothing to do with our site’s interest in an applicant. Good luck!

 

[PsychedPSYD21]

Sorry for all my anxious questions, I tend to overly read into things. However, I was also wondering if it is a bad sign to be one of the applicants not assigned to interview with one of the training directors but regular psychology staff?

 

[Seven_Costanza]

Sorry for all my anxious questions, I tend to overly read into things. However, I was also wondering if it is a bad sign to be one of the applicants not assigned to interview with one of the training directors but regular psychology staff?

No. My experience was that interviewers were matched to applicants for interviews based on similar interests. Some sites had TDs who met with all applicants. But the majority didn’t.

 

[deleted1003601]

Is anyone else having an incredibly hard time ranking their top three sites? I was lucky enough to land 16 UCC interviews, but can see myself at almost all of them aside from maybe two. I think the fact that I can find positive aspects of all of them is making it difficult. I also just believe training at a UCC is almost always a positive experience which is making it even harder. I did not meet one current intern that was upset/overworked, they all loved the sites! Ugh. Any thoughts?

It is a bit difficult. I know of at least two sites that are immediately at the bottom of my list, so that helps me with the remaining 8 I will rank above them. One site has two tracks I interviewed for, and since it is local, I will rank them my first and second (but this is also difficult because both tracks would prepare me for post-doc in neuro-rehabilitation). I will rank the two local tracks first and second regardless as I need to attempt to keep my family local if we can. From there, I will rank sites based on how I really feel . To be fair, the local site is one of my favorites if not my top choice anyway. I had promised my husband that I would rank the local site ahead of all other sites regardless. Aside from that, I am contemplating how I will rank some of the other sites as two of them are considered very prestigious in the field of neuro-rehab.

 

[dcpsychdoc]

No. My experience was that interviewers were matched to applicants for interviews based on similar interests.

This is what we try to do at our site.

 

[PsychedPSYD21]

This is what we try to do at our site.

Thank you all for your input!

 

[yonoseitsme]

I agree with everyone in finding the most difficult thing is ranking top sites. I have 14 interviews completed and 7 more to go and honestly IDK if I can go on! The worst part is when you already know what your top sites are.

 

[livethruthis]

If you interviewed earlier in the process and already sent out a thank you note, would you recommend asking them a question or something to remind them that you're still interested etc.? I interviewed at this place in early Dec. Thanks!