APPIC Interview Invitation Thread (2021)

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Official Site Name: Oregon Health and Science University
Date Invitation Received: 11/20/2020
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): Mass email (email indicated it should have been sent on Tuesday but there was a glitch)
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): Peds Neuro
Interview Dates Offered: 1/5; 1/8
(In honor of years past) If & How you're staying sane: Watching B-list Holiday Movies
 
psykhe said:
Quick DM update!

Official Site Name: University of Texas Health Science Center
Date Invitation Received: 11/16/20
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): Mass email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): N/A
Interview Dates Offered: 12/4, 12/7, 12/11, 12/14, 12/18

Official Site Name: University of Kansas Medical Center
Date Invitation Received: 11/16/20
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): Personal email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): Comprehensive Track
Interview Dates Offered: 12/11/20
(In honor of years past) If & How you're staying sane: cleaning, revising manuscripts, and playing with my kitten

Hope everyone’s weathering this waiting storm well enough! After updating the list I’ll be offline for a few days (thanks much for the Netflix recs) but will post new interviews by the end of the week.

*Also* we are officially less than 3 months to match day!
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Is University of Texas Health Science Center the Tyler location or the San Antonio location?
 
psychicago said:
Is University of Texas Health Science Center the Tyler location or the San Antonio location?
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I believe this post is about the Houston location. San Antonio doesn’t notify until early December and there was another post in this thread for Houston with the same date.
 
neuro_opal said:
If there is anyone on here that has already gone through the match process in past years...... in particular neuro.....

what are some typical interview questions to prepare for? I am feeling nervous about zoom interviews!
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As with any interview you will Get a range of questions. Other posters have some of the typical ones, such as dissertation, research experience, career goals, other annoying ones (I once got asked which three people in the history of the world who i would want to have dinner with).

As for neuro-focused questions, some sites may grill you on knowledge. Some ask about cases you’ve seen, others ask to interpret results or theorize about a hypothetical case on the fly. Some ask you to describe a clinical condition and the interviewer pimps you on different facets of the disorders (for instance, AD pathology, possible imaging findings, expected test findings, etc). Some do writing samples as well.

From my experience, those sites that ask content-heavy questions are interested in a few things. 1. That you have a base level of knowledge. 2. Even if you don’t know everything, that you’re thoughtful and can realize your limitations and make educated guesses (for instance, not knowing every detail of the pathological mechanisms of ischemic strokes, but being able to guess that loss of oxygen can lead to a cascade of negative things). 3. That you’re teachable - no one expects you to know everything but having a sense of humility and growth-mindset is much better than assuming you know everything (somewhat related, if you are using terminology, make sure you are using it correctly). At the end of the day, the goal is not to trip you up, but to make sure you have a base knowledge and are willing to grow further, IMO.
 
Official site name: Nemours/A.I. duPont Hospital for Children
Date invitation received: 11/23/20, 7:00 AM CST
Method of invitation: Mass email
Track: Pediatric Psychology
Dates: 12/11, 1/4, 1/15

As a side note, received an official rejection from Nationwide (mass email) and suspected (but unconfirmed) rejections from Baylor College of Med and Children's Mercy.
 
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student9295 said:
I haven’t heard back from many of the sites where I have applied. I’m getting really nervous!
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I totally feel you and feel the same way on an emotional level! BUT in my head I know it’s still so early and many many places don’t give out interviews until after Thanksgiving. Every time I talk to my friends who have gone through this already and hear that from them it makes me feel better, though the relief can be short lived before panic sets in again...I also found it helpful to look at the previous years threads on here to see when my sites typically give out interviews so maybe that will help reassure you too!
 
discolemonade said:
I totally feel you and feel the same way on an emotional level! BUT in my head I know it’s still so early and many many places don’t give out interviews until after Thanksgiving. Every time I talk to my friends who have gone through this already and hear that from them it makes me feel better, though the relief can be short lived before panic sets in again...I also found it helpful to look at the previous years threads on here to see when my sites typically give out interviews so maybe that will help reassure you too!
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Thank you for your support. I keep hearing so many different things about interviews, so it’s hard to determine either way.
Don’t rejections typically come before interviews?
 
student9295 said:
Thank you for your support. I keep hearing so many different things about interviews, so it’s hard to determine either way.
Don’t rejections typically come before interviews?
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No problem 🙂 I know this process really sucks and support is very necessary. I think it really truly depends on the site. I went through the previous years and looked at when my sites offered interviews and rejections and it was such a mix-some send them all out at once, some send interviews first and rejections awhile later, and maybe some send rejections first.
 
WisNeuro said:
I would view past program dates with wide confidence intervals this year. With the disruptions, furloughs, etc, timelines are ever-shifting, and things may not follow the same timelines as previous years.
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Thanks that’s a very good point. Do you think that means we are likely to hear later this year? Or it could go either way?
 
student9295 said:
I haven’t heard back from many of the sites where I have applied. I’m getting really nervous!
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Obviously I'm not sure where you applied, but I'm in the same boat. My dct also warned us some places wait until the last minute to notify, and counseling centers are notorious for notifying last. Especially if you're comparing them to federal sites like BOP and VA's.
 
discolemonade said:
Thanks that’s a very good point. Do you think that means we are likely to hear later this year? Or it could go either way?
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I'd say could go either way. So, try not to read into previous years dates too much. It'll just lead to needless worrying for some.
 
student9295 said:
I haven’t heard back from many of the sites where I have applied. I’m getting really nervous!
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I am right there with you in both the situation of no interviews and the panic! I will say though it seems like more competitive sites are often the ones that send invites earlier, so it leads to disproportionately high rejections at the start. Hang in there while it levels out a bit more!!!
 
student9295 said:
I think the waiting is by far the most stressful aspect of the application process!
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That part is as stressful as you let it be. Between my practicum and being knee deep in dissertation data collection and writing sections of dissertation and other manuscripts, I didn't have much time to stress about hearing back. The invites and rejections will come when they come, find other things to keep you busy.
 
WisNeuro said:
That part is as stressful as you let it be. Between my practicum and being knee deep in dissertation data collection and writing sections of dissertation and other manuscripts, I didn't have much time to stress about hearing back. The invites and rejections will come when they come, find other things to keep you busy.
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I second this. Others who have been through the process have recommended staying busy - this has been one of the few things maintaining my sanity.
 
psychicago said:
I second this. Others who have been through the process have recommended staying busy - this has been one of the few things maintaining my sanity.
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psychicago said:
I second this. Others who have been through the process have recommended staying busy - this has been one of the few things maintaining my sanity.
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Is it me or is this application process worse than applying for doctoral programs? I never felt as stressed at that point.
 
redhawk99 said:
Official Site Name: South Texas VHCS
Date Invitation Received: 11/23
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): mass email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): neuropsychology
Interview Dates Offered: 12/22 or 1/8
(In honor of years past) If & How you're staying sane: work and writing
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Congrats! I just got an invitation from there myself.

Official site name: South Texas VHCS
Date invitation received: 11/23/20 at ~9AM Eastern time
Method of invitation: Mass email
Track: General Mental Health
Dates: 12/8, 1/5, 1/15
(In honor of years past) If & How you're staying sane: Holiday menu planning 🙂
 
Official Site Name: Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital
Date Invitation Received: November 23rd, 2020
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): mass email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): n/a
Interview Dates Offered: Weeks of 11/30 and 12/7
(In honor of years past) If & How you're staying sane: Staying grateful 🙂
 
student9295 said:
Is it me or is this application process worse than applying for doctoral programs? I never felt as stressed at that point.
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Yessss!!! For me it's because I just want to be done with school so badly at this point. And also it feels like there's more on the line - don't get into a doc program and you just go back to what you were doing. Don't get an internship and you have to figure out what to do with a very ambiguous year. Plus a healthy dose of pride/shame of course!
 
student9295 said:
Is it me or is this application process worse than applying for doctoral programs? I never felt as stressed at that point.
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Definitely agreed. I was just thinking this all of last week. But in reality it's not fair to compare our situation to grad school apps or to previous internship app years. We're in the middle of a pandemic where most of us are a little more anxious than usual and "stay busy" is more difficult advice to follow! I'm trying to give myself a little bit of grace and focus on the fact that it's still early and past year notification dates don't mean as much this year. Fingers crossed for all of us! We'll get through it!
 
has anyone else ever been asked to be an "alternate" in case an interview spot becomes available by a site? Or even heard of this? A friend of mine recently had this happen with a site she applied to....just wondering if maybe this is because of COVID craziness
 
student9295 said:
Is it me or is this application process worse than applying for doctoral programs? I never felt as stressed at that point.
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It’s actually the opposite for me. I feel very calm about this whole process. Calm but also very excited for the next chapter. Waiting sucks, of course, but I’m confident in my abilities and at this point, we’ve done all we possibly can to prepare for internship. I’m not worried about matching vs not matching. If I’m nervous about anything, it’s finding out *where* I’ll match—so that I can begin to tackle finding housing & readying for the move (in a pandemic, no less).

I was extremely anxious when applying to graduate school because I knew I wasn’t as “traditionally” prepared as more competitive students likely were (I had a ton of clinical training but very little research, and I applied to PhDs only) and I didn’t apply to very many programs. I had no plans after graduation because I knew what I wanted to do, that I needed to be a psychologist to do it, and the clinical job I had in my college town didn’t exist in my hometown, so I had no options to continue there (extremely expensive major city).

Unlike applying to grad school, I’m MUCH happier and excited this time around 🙂
 
Official Site Name: Yale
Date Invitation Received: 11/21
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): phone call
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): Primary placement - Hispanic Clinic
Interview Dates Offered: 1/15 (based on my stated preference in CL)
(In honor of years past) If & How you're staying sane: mindfulness
 
Official Site Name: North Bronx Healthcare Network-North Central Bronx
Date Invitation Received: 11/23
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): mass email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums):
Interview Dates Offered: 12/16, 1/6, 1/13
(In honor of years past) If & How you're staying sane: I'm not!
 
Official Site Name: VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System (VA TVHS) (Nashville VAMC)
Date Invitation Received: 11/23
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): Mass email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): General
Interview Dates Offered: 12/4, 12/10, 12/17, 1/5
(In honor of years past) If & How you're staying sane: Feeling the stress but bicycling and jogging have helped!
 
ccpsych16 said:
It’s actually the opposite for me. I feel very calm about this whole process. Calm but also very excited for the next chapter. Waiting sucks, of course, but I’m confident in my abilities and at this point, we’ve done all we possibly can to prepare for internship. I’m not worried about matching vs not matching. If I’m nervous about anything, it’s finding out *where* I’ll match—so that I can begin to tackle finding housing & readying for the move (in a pandemic, no less).

I was extremely anxious when applying to graduate school because I knew I wasn’t as “traditionally” prepared as more competitive students likely were (I had a ton of clinical training but very little research, and I applied to PhDs only) and I didn’t apply to very many programs. I had no plans after graduation because I knew what I wanted to do, that I needed to be a psychologist to do it, and the clinical job I had in my college town didn’t exist in my hometown, so I had no options to continue there (extremely expensive major city).

Unlike applying to grad school, I’m MUCH happier and excited this time around 🙂
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Thank you for sharing this. I think this is exactly why I am calmer than I expected to be. Now if we were traveling for interviews, that constant movement would have rattled my nerves way more than the interviews themselves. In so many ways I feel like being a nontraditional graduate student has prepared me for this very circumstance and from my perspective there is way more working in my favor and in my control now compared to when I applied to graduate programs. For graduate programs the advice for nontraditional students was 'apply to 12-15 programs and hope for 2 interviews, but expect to re-apply for 3-4 cycles.' Pretty terrible odds given the investment. But for internship being nontraditional just seems to be less of a factor when it comes to the odds of being matched. And then of course there are more sites increasing their efforts to reach diverse students whether nontraditional or not and since both of those categories apply to me that creates a sense of being wanted whereas when I applied to programs there was a very clear sense I was being tolerated not actually wanted.

I too feel like I have done everything I could possibly do to prepare myself for a successful internship match. There were plenty of things that would have made me more competitive, but there are always going to be opportunities that will not be available. I'm not even concerned about where I will match because I put in a ton of work evaluating where I chose to apply. They all have some shortcoming and I am ok with that. I am also prepared for whatever the outcome is and for me that means having a series of contingency plans ready for action because there will not be time to dwell on what could have been.

The advice of staying busy coming from those who have already been there is easier said than done, especially with all the chaos no one can control, but it is not impossible. I think we all have more options to keep anxiety at bay then we may realize and it just may take some time to really see them.
 
student9295 said:
Is it me or is this application process worse than applying for doctoral programs? I never felt as stressed at that point.
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I feel like it has a different quality to it. I was very anxious during the grad school app process, but I was so excited to go to grad school and it was like embarking on a new long adventure. I am a little less excited to (potentially) uproot my life for a one year program that pays little, only to have to start the process of applying for post-docs etc. in a year! So for me the stress:excitement ratio is not as favorable as it was for grad school apps! Also maybe memories soften over time...
 
Does being from the same town/area help this year. What does everyone think?
 
HPB2015 said:
I feel like it has a different quality to it. I was very anxious during the grad school app process, but I was so excited to go to grad school and it was like embarking on a new long adventure. I am a little less excited to (potentially) uproot my life for a one year program that pays little, only to have to start the process of applying for post-docs etc. in a year! So for me the stress:excitement ratio is not as favorable as it was for grad school apps! Also maybe memories soften over time...
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I think that preparing the internship applications is easier in comparison to that of the grad school process. However, the competitiveness seems to be much higher and the whole matching aspect makes the stress much worse.
 
Official Site Name: MUSC - Charleston Consortium
Date Invitation Received: 11/23
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): personal email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): Trauma track
Interview Dates Offered: December 4th, 11th, 18th; January 8th, 15th, 22nd, December 7th, 14th; January 4th, 11th, 25th, Saturday: January 9th
 
int2020 said:
Does being from the same town/area help this year. What does everyone think?
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Probably not at most places. At past sites, we have specifically discussed ways to limit local students so as not to create the impression that a program only takes local students. In large cities, it's going to happen, but it definitely did not give people a leg up, if anything, it hurt your chances (in the past we were able to limit the # of students accepted from a program in our match list).
 
I haven't seen this one posted yet...

Official Site Name: Boise VAMC
Date Invitation Received: 11/23
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): mass email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): Neuro Track
Interview Dates Offered: 1/8, 1/15, 1/22
(In honor of years past) If & How you're staying sane: dancing, data analysis for dissertation
 
Official Site Name: Central Texas Veterans HCS
Date Invitation Received: 11/23
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): mass email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): considered for all, but applied for Austin specifically
Interview Dates Offered: 12/11, 12/15, 12/18, 1/8
(In honor of years past) If & How you're staying sane: hot tea & my furry, four-legged co-worker as I work from home
 
SophrosynePsych said:
Official Site Name: VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System (VA TVHS) (Nashville VAMC)
Date Invitation Received: 11/23
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): Mass email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): General
Interview Dates Offered: 12/4, 12/10, 12/17, 1/5
(In honor of years past) If & How you're staying sane: Feeling the stress but bicycling and jogging have helped!
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Have you received your interview date confirmation yet? It's confusing to confirm that I selected the right date with the hidden Doodle poll. I'm also not sure if I should send a thank you email now or later.
 
Official Site Name: Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health
Date Invitation Received: 11/23
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): Personal Email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): Autism Services Program and Children's Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Services
Interview Dates Offered: 1/4, 1/6, 1/8, 1/11, 1/13
(In honor of years past) If & How you're staying sane: College Football!
 
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