APPIC Internship Phase II Interview & Support Thread (2021)

Started by Eatpsychsleep
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appic phase ii phase2
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mindfullypsyched said:
Hey everyone, I only have one interview so far and I applied to about 13 places. Is there a timeline for when we might hear back?
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Hi everyone,

I have 8 interviews scheduled and I applied to 18 programs (actually 15 one is a consortium with 4 sites). My goal is to get at least a 50% interview invite rate so one more invite and I will be there. I am nervous because this match year is the most competitive match year as far as number of positions versus number of students since 2015, much more competitive than last year, which surprised me because of COVID. I got rejected at a few of my top sites, which I am bummed about, but on the other hand, if the sites did not even want to interview me, they were probably not a good match for me anyway. It is kind of like dating in a way, LOL. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that there are a few sites still accepting applications in case you would feel better having a few more sites to apply to. The formatting isn't great so you can look at the list easily by going to your application and clicking on Add Program. Here they are and good luck to us all! Cheers, Debbie
Jordan Valley Community Health Center in Missouri


Acclaim/John Peter Smith Health Network

Fort Worth
TX

Central New York Psychiatric Center



Marcy
NY
Chicago Area Christian Training Consortium



Carol Stream
IL
Idaho Psychology Internship Consortium



Boise
ID

Minnesota Sex Offender Program



Moose Lake
MN


University of Idaho



Moscow
 
Specifically wondering about the Wichita Consortium Kansas Medical Center Clinical Child spot...does anyone know if they're done sending interview invites, or continuing to invite on a rolling basis? Had my hopes up for that one, but it's not lookin great now.
 
psychypsych said:
Specifically wondering about the Wichita Consortium Kansas Medical Center Clinical Child spot...does anyone know if they're done sending interview invites, or continuing to invite on a rolling basis? Had my hopes up for that one, but it's not lookin great now.
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I was waiting on that one too! Had been hoping they might still be reviewing apps since the deadline was 3/2, but my hopes decrease with each hour 😂
 
str122 said:
I was waiting on that one too! Had been hoping they might still be reviewing apps since the deadline was 3/2, but my hopes decrease with each hour 😂
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I’m waiting for that one too! I’m now at 8 interviews so I am feeling grateful regardless. But that was one of my tops.
 
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Hi everyone!
Hope you all got some more interview invites this week!
I want to check to see if anyone has heard from the Intertribal Behavioral Health program through Nebraska Consortium MMI. There are still 0s on the Excel sheet for contacts but other departments in the consortium have been contacted, including Rural Health MMI. So just wanted to see if there was anyone who was contacted that isn't using the Excel sheet. Thanks so much, Debbie
 
Adult Neuro focused, applied to 7 sites that involved neuro to some extent or were neuro tracks, 0 interviews, 1 rejection. Honestly...do not even know what to be thinking right now. I stayed an extra year before applying so that I would be competitive. Starting to feel like this process is not based on effort, readiness, hard work, hours, essays, or anything else that intentionally went in. Definitely not this romanticized idea of "Match". As if. People are throwing tens of applications at sites they'd never go to at this point and some sites are going to be ranking people they never interviewed. Match? Feels like a big money game to me. Can we talk about THAT?

- Signed "The first gen, low SES, BIPOC student that's real confused"
 
I've had one Phase 2 interview thus far, and I found it a really different experience than in Phase 1. I'm curious if others had similar experiences.

This time, I only met with one person (training director), and it was for one whole hour. No informational presentation about the site and no meeting with current interns. The interview itself was actually more like what I expected interviews to be like before I went through Phase 1. That is, the TD asked me a lot of questions about my clinical experiences (e.g., tell me about a challenging case), and then I asked her questions about the site. In contrast, during Phase 1, I had a lot of very conversational interviews where they did not ask me many questions at all. (I even had some interviews where they didn't ask me ANY questions.)

I don't mind the Phase 2 interview structure. However, as a result, I have quite a few questions about work-life balance and the internship culture that I wasn't able to ask (due to time and no meeting with interns). The TD gave me the contact info for the current interns, but I'm struggling to write a cold email that doesn't feel crazy clunky. Anybody have any tips for writing a non-awkward email to current interns to find out more about what intern life is like at that site?
 
ct050915 said:
I've had one Phase 2 interview thus far, and I found it a really different experience than in Phase 1. I'm curious if others had similar experiences.

This time, I only met with one person (training director), and it was for one whole hour. No informational presentation about the site and no meeting with current interns. The interview itself was actually more like what I expected interviews to be like before I went through Phase 1. That is, the TD asked me a lot of questions about my clinical experiences (e.g., tell me about a challenging case), and then I asked her questions about the site. In contrast, during Phase 1, I had a lot of very conversational interviews where they did not ask me many questions at all. (I even had some interviews where they didn't ask me ANY questions.)

I don't mind the Phase 2 interview structure. However, as a result, I have quite a few questions about work-life balance and the internship culture that I wasn't able to ask (due to time and no meeting with interns). The TD gave me the contact info for the current interns, but I'm struggling to write a cold email that doesn't feel crazy clunky. Anybody have any tips for writing a non-awkward email to current interns to find out more about what intern life is like at that site?
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It's okay if it's a lil clunky! I'm sure the interns will have some empathy given that they were applying to internship a year ago and will have been or will be applying for the next phase of their career now. Just go ahead and ask. Here's a super quick template I came up with if it helps get you off the ground.

Hello X,

I hope this email find you well. My name is Y. I am applying for an internship placement at Z and was given your information from the TD. I am very excited about the possibility of matching at Z and I'd love to learn a little bit more about what the day to day of Z is like - especially from the intern perspective.

Specifically, A, B, and C.

Thank you in advance!

Best,
Y
 
ct050915 said:
I've had one Phase 2 interview thus far, and I found it a really different experience than in Phase 1. I'm curious if others had similar experiences.

This time, I only met with one person (training director), and it was for one whole hour. No informational presentation about the site and no meeting with current interns. The interview itself was actually more like what I expected interviews to be like before I went through Phase 1. That is, the TD asked me a lot of questions about my clinical experiences (e.g., tell me about a challenging case), and then I asked her questions about the site. In contrast, during Phase 1, I had a lot of very conversational interviews where they did not ask me many questions at all. (I even had some interviews where they didn't ask me ANY questions.)

I don't mind the Phase 2 interview structure. However, as a result, I have quite a few questions about work-life balance and the internship culture that I wasn't able to ask (due to time and no meeting with interns). The TD gave me the contact info for the current interns, but I'm struggling to write a cold email that doesn't feel crazy clunky. Anybody have any tips for writing a non-awkward email to current interns to find out more about what intern life is like at that site?
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When I went through phase 2, i emailed all interns a list of specific questions 🙂 I can pm you mine!
 
missplum said:
It's okay if it's a lil clunky! I'm sure the interns will have some empathy given that they were applying to internship a year ago and will have been or will be applying for the next phase of their career now. Just go ahead and ask. Here's a super quick template I came up with if it helps get you off the ground.
Click to expand...
bluecolourskies said:
When I went through phase 2, i emailed all interns a list of specific questions 🙂 I can pm you mine!
Click to expand...
Omg thank you both so much! This is super helpful!
 
ct050915 said:
I've had one Phase 2 interview thus far, and I found it a really different experience than in Phase 1. I'm curious if others had similar experiences.

This time, I only met with one person (training director), and it was for one whole hour. No informational presentation about the site and no meeting with current interns. The interview itself was actually more like what I expected interviews to be like before I went through Phase 1. That is, the TD asked me a lot of questions about my clinical experiences (e.g., tell me about a challenging case), and then I asked her questions about the site. In contrast, during Phase 1, I had a lot of very conversational interviews where they did not ask me many questions at all. (I even had some interviews where they didn't ask me ANY questions.)

I don't mind the Phase 2 interview structure. However, as a result, I have quite a few questions about work-life balance and the internship culture that I wasn't able to ask (due to time and no meeting with interns). The TD gave me the contact info for the current interns, but I'm struggling to write a cold email that doesn't feel crazy clunky. Anybody have any tips for writing a non-awkward email to current interns to find out more about what intern life is like at that site?
Click to expand...

I agree with the others above who said that emailing the interns would be fine (they're probably expecting it). With the abbreviated timeline of phase 2, the site may not have been able to coordinate the interns' schedules so that they were available to meet with every applicant. Thus, to be fair, they may have just encouraged everyone to contact them directly.
 
babkelneuro said:
Adult Neuro focused, applied to 7 sites that involved neuro to some extent or were neuro tracks, 0 interviews, 1 rejection. Honestly...do not even know what to be thinking right now. I stayed an extra year before applying so that I would be competitive. Starting to feel like this process is not based on effort, readiness, hard work, hours, essays, or anything else that intentionally went in. Definitely not this romanticized idea of "Match". As if. People are throwing tens of applications at sites they'd never go to at this point and some sites are going to be ranking people they never interviewed. Match? Feels like a big money game to me. Can we talk about THAT?

- Signed "The first gen, low SES, BIPOC student that's real confused"
Click to expand...
Hi friend, thank you for sharing you. I have no idea what to say beyond, I’m sorry you’re having this experience. 🙁 also, I agree that there are many barriers in place that make this field far from accessible, inclusive, or equitable. These barriers compound/are compounded by structural inequities in broader society. It is quite frustrating.

I hope that you’re leaning on your support systems, maybe especially the ones who don’t really understand this process.. I imagine they are well-equipped for holding space for your pain. I also hope that if you haven’t already, and whenever makes sense for you, you have a really frank and critical conversation with your DCT or other program faculty to get more insight on individual, interpersonal, institutional, and structural factors that may have been related to your outcome.

And even if you remain unmatched this year and will go on to apply next year, which happens to a number of people, you can use everything you’ve learned this year to be an even better applicant. You will only emerge next year as a better candidate. Of course this doesn’t solve any of the disappointment, frustrations, or real-world impacts of it all, but it does remind us that there’s always a path forward and that we’re on our way.

All best. xx
 
ct050915 said:
I've had one Phase 2 interview thus far, and I found it a really different experience than in Phase 1. I'm curious if others had similar experiences.

This time, I only met with one person (training director), and it was for one whole hour. No informational presentation about the site and no meeting with current interns. The interview itself was actually more like what I expected interviews to be like before I went through Phase 1. That is, the TD asked me a lot of questions about my clinical experiences (e.g., tell me about a challenging case), and then I asked her questions about the site. In contrast, during Phase 1, I had a lot of very conversational interviews where they did not ask me many questions at all. (I even had some interviews where they didn't ask me ANY questions.)

I don't mind the Phase 2 interview structure. However, as a result, I have quite a few questions about work-life balance and the internship culture that I wasn't able to ask (due to time and no meeting with interns). The TD gave me the contact info for the currents. interns, but I'm struggling to write a cold email that doesn't feel crazy clunky. Anybody have any tips for writing a non-awkward email to current interns to find out more about what intern life is like at that site?
Click to expand...
I would say something like this - I interviewed with Dr. this past week and while I’m definitely interested in the training that is provided at Xxx I would like to know what has been your experience in regards to the work-life balance and overall intern experience at XX. I am not sure if you are willing have a phone conversation regarding this or reply to this email. I am looking forward to hearing from you.
 
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ccool said:
Hi friend, thank you for sharing you. I have no idea what to say beyond, I’m sorry you’re having this experience. 🙁 also, I agree that there are many barriers in place that make this field far from accessible, inclusive, or equitable. These barriers compound/are compounded by structural inequities in broader society. It is quite frustrating.

I hope that you’re leaning on your support systems, maybe especially the ones who don’t really understand this process.. I imagine they are well-equipped for holding space for your pain. I also hope that if you haven’t already, and whenever makes sense for you, you have a really frank and critical conversation with your DCT or other program faculty to get more insight on individual, interpersonal, institutional, and structural factors that may have been related to your outcome.

And even if you remain unmatched this year and will go on to apply next year, which happens to a number of people, you can use everything you’ve learned this year to be an even better applicant. You will only emerge next year as a better candidate. Of course this doesn’t solve any of the disappointment, frustrations, or real-world impacts of it all, but it does remind us that there’s always a path forward and that we’re on our way.

All best. xx
Click to expand...
If this helps, an intern at our site came from the clearinghouse stage (she was unsure if she even wanted to apply to internship that year) and she came to our site, which is APA accredited and offers awesome training. We are just in a rural area, so have a little harder time matching. But she’s a great clinician and person, and nobody in the future will care how she got her internship- phase 1, 2, or clearinghouse.
 
babkelneuro said:
Adult Neuro focused, applied to 7 sites that involved neuro to some extent or were neuro tracks, 0 interviews, 1 rejection. Honestly...do not even know what to be thinking right now. I stayed an extra year before applying so that I would be competitive. Starting to feel like this process is not based on effort, readiness, hard work, hours, essays, or anything else that intentionally went in. Definitely not this romanticized idea of "Match". As if. People are throwing tens of applications at sites they'd never go to at this point and some sites are going to be ranking people they never interviewed. Match? Feels like a big money game to me. Can we talk about THAT?

- Signed "The first gen, low SES, BIPOC student that's real confused"
Click to expand...
I am so sorry. While I am in a similar boat, I can’t imagine how frustrating this must be.

I also am neuro focused and applied to about 20 sites that either have neuro tracks, rotations, or at least some neuro experience. 6 rejections thus far, 2 interviews (one of which ended up not having the neuro experience that was outlined in their brochure).

it is frustrating, and confusing for sure.

However, there are a lot of sites that haven’t sent out invites yet or are sending them out on a rolling basis. I hope that you end up getting the interviews that you deserve 🙂
 
Eatpsychsleep said:
I ask because I see a lot of sites with 0-3 interview invites for places with multiple spots.
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Might want to keep in mind there were 584 unmatched applicants in phase 1. We can't say for sure how many are trying phase 2 but not everyone checks the forum or even know about it and the spreadsheet. If you're curious about a site you haven't heard from, you can email them to inquire about the status of your application. Best case is they offer you an interview. Worst case is they either ignore that email or confirm a rejection. In that case they suck and don't deserve you.
 
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Eatpsychsleep said:
I ask because I see a lot of sites with 0-3 interview invites for places with multiple spots.
Click to expand...
I do agree with @Dobbyisfree, maybe there are people in Phase 2 who have not filled out the excel sheet for different reasons. I have looked at the excel sheet data as an underestimate of what is happening. The main point for the excel sheet was for us to know when sites are contacting applicants - information sharing. If we have not heard from the site that has already contacted applicants then we can make a decision (contact them or do nothing). Now I think we are in a phase of this match process where we can reach out to sites without it looking unfavorably or too impatient. I ended up doing that over the weekend because there was no data in the excel and I had not heard anything. I reached out to the site, got a positive response, and we booked an interview. So I'd say let the email game begin!
 
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@matt.d said:
I do agree with @Dobbyisfree, maybe there are people in Phase 2 who have not filled out the excel sheet for different reasons. I have looked at the excel sheet data as an underestimate of what is happening. The main point for the excel sheet was for us to know when sites are contacting applicants - information sharing. If we have not heard from the site that has already contacted applicants then we can make a decision (contact them or do nothing). Now I think we are in a phase of this match process where we can reach out to sites without it looking unfavorably or too impatient. I ended up doing that over the weekend because there was no data in the excel and I had not heard anything. I reached out to the site, got a positive response, and we booked an interview. So I'd say let the email game begin!
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Thank you so much for your insight! Really appreciate it!!
 
Hey everyone! Does anyone know if you can get board certified in neuropsych with a CAPIC internship?
 
Dobbyisfree said:
Might want to keep in mind there were 584 unmatched applicants in phase 1. We can't say for sure how many are trying phase 2 but not everyone checks the forum or even know about it and the spreadsheet. If you're curious about a site you haven't heard from, you can email them to inquire about the status of your application. Best case is they offer you an interview. Worst case is they either ignore that email or confirm a rejection. In that case they suck and don't deserve you.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your input!
 
psychddd said:
Also feeling torn!!
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I am so unbelievably torn. I am stressed out about my rankings. I would be happy with my top 5. Which is something I would’ve never thought I’d say.

My last interview I originally planned to rank them 7th. However, after the interview it really opened my eyes on what I really want internship and post doc to look like. I'm torn between ranking it first or second. The location, my relationship, and family are making this decision so difficult for me as I would have to relocate.
 
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mindfullypsyched said:
Hi everyone, I am feeling very disappointed. I only had one interview and will be ranking that one. I am preparing myself to go into the PMVS. I can't help but wonder what I could've done differently to stand out more for both phase I and phase II. I don't know if any of you are feeling similarly. I would appreciate any feedback you have!
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My feedback is it was a very competitive year. Some advice I got that stuck with me is to look at this process just for what it is: we’re applying for jobs, and that is it. I know we all have a lot riding on match, but not matching doesn’t change the fact that you’ll be licensed one day, that you’ll have the career you’ve been working for, and it doesn’t change the fact that you’ve worked hard. The worst thing that could happen is you’ll have to wait longer than you expected, but you’ll still get the thing you want.
 
I have noticed that a couple of sites are open about what internship they will be ranking me for while some sites have not- I was wondering if we are able to email sites to see if you are still being considered for their sites after interviewing with them or not? What are people’s take on this question? Would you ask or not?
 
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mindfullypsyched said:
Hi everyone, I am feeling very disappointed. I only had one interview and will be ranking that one. I am preparing myself to go into the PMVS. I can't help but wonder what I could've done differently to stand out more for both phase I and phase II. I don't know if any of you are feeling similarly. I would appreciate any feedback you have!
Click to expand...
All it takes is one site! Please don’t lose hope. Always remind yourself of your long term goals. My feedback would relate to what I experienced in phase 1. I noticed compared to my peers I applied to way too many sites that either weren’t a fit or not enough growth. In addition, I didn’t get many interviews phase 1 (compared to peers... esp considering I had over 1700 practicum hours). So phase 2 I decided to rewrite my essays and really pick sites that I felt were a fit. I think by doing so positively impacted my phase 2 interview invites. Hope this helps. Sending a virtual hug your way.
 
So I couldn't resist looking at previous phase 2 threads on here....... aaaaand I was really surprised by the amount of people saying they only ranked one or two sites. I'm curious how many y'all are planning on ranking? I interviewed at 11 sites and plan to rank all of them. At this point I just hope I match. I know that I can survive a year anywhere and tbh none of the sites had any *noticeable* red flags (although, it is pretty hard to assess from such short interviews conducted by 1-4 staff members). Thoughts? Amounts? If you did rank only 2 what was the logic behind doing so?

During phase 1 I overanalyzed my rankings because I genuinely thought I would get my 1st choice (or at least top 3). Now, I kind of just assume my top 6 are longshots and have been contemplating whether I would be low-key disappointed if I got my 7th vs 8th ranked sites. For context purposes, I liked both, but one is not accredited (site visit scheduled for summer, self study completed.. seems likely) and has a really high cost of living, especially when I factor in childcare while the other is in rural Illinois and I can't help but think that I would likely feel pretty lonely and struggle to meet people. I will be moving far from any supports regardless of site (ranging from 8.5 hours to 20 hours away from my address). I think I can welcome that as a new adventure. Single parent problems on top of all the stress that we know comes with internship matching, let alone phase 2 stress.

Ahhh we're almost done with phase 2 - now just to anxiously await the results 😉 ! Putting good vibes out there for everyone. This process has been incredibly taxing. Thank you for providing support throughout this <3.... Also, whoever made that excel sheet should ABSOLUTELY get their first choice based solely on organization skills alone haha I greatly appreciated it.
 
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CatLover33 said:
So I couldn't resist looking at previous phase 2 threads on here....... aaaaand I was really surprised by the amount of people saying they only ranked one or two sites. I'm curious how many y'all are planning on ranking? I interviewed at 11 sites and plan to rank all of them. At this point I just hope I match. I know that I can survive a year anywhere and tbh none of the sites had any *noticeable* red flags (although, it is pretty hard to assess from such short interviews conducted by 1-4 staff members). Thoughts? Amounts? If you did rank only 2 what was the logic behind doing so?

During phase 1 I overanalyzed my rankings because I genuinely thought I would get my 1st choice (or at least top 3). Now, I kind of just assume my top 6 are longshots and have been contemplating whether I would be low-key disappointed if I got my 7th vs 8th ranked sites. For context purposes, I liked both, but one is not accredited (site visit scheduled for summer, self study completed.. seems likely) and has a really high cost of living, especially when I factor in childcare while the other is in rural Illinois and I can't help but think that I would likely feel pretty lonely and struggle to meet people. I will be moving far from any supports regardless of site (ranging from 8.5 hours to 20 hours away from my address). I think I can welcome that as a new adventure. Single parent problems on top of all the stress that we know comes with internship matching, let alone phase 2 stress.

Ahhh we're almost done with phase 2 - now just to anxiously await the results 😉 ! Putting good vibes out there for everyone. This process has been incredibly tolling. Thank you for providing support throughout this <3.... Also, whoever made that excel sheet should ABSOLUTELY get their first choice based solely on organization skills along haha I greatly appreciated it.
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Sorry for replying after the rank deadline. I had 10 interview offers but only accepted 9. I ranked 9, including one I pray to heavens I don’t get but I just want to match at this point. Good luck and hopefully you get your top choice!!
 
Eatpsychsleep said:
Sorry for replying after the rank deadline. I had 10 interview offers but only accepted 9. I ranked 9, including one I pray to heavens I don’t get but I just want to match at this point. Good luck and hopefully you get your top choice!!
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You too 🙂

I swear, I almost don't know what my top choice is at this point. Idk how accurate my appraisals were under such an expediated process/the interviews kind of blurred together for me by the final one in just a few days. meh.

Purely out of curiosity - what made you decide to turn down an interview offer?
 
CatLover33 said:
You too 🙂

I swear, I almost don't know what my top choice is at this point. Idk how accurate my appraisals were under such an expediated process/the interviews kind of blurred together for me by the final one in just a few days. meh.

Purely out of curiosity - what made you decide to turn down an interview offer?
Click to expand...

I am in the same boat. I am pretty comfortable with attending 7/9 sites that I ranked.

I had to decline the interview invite for the United States Air Force due to my inability to obtain medical clearance prior to rank day. I did not feel comfortable ranking a site I was not 100% cleared to attend.
 
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