APPIC Interview Invitation Thread (2021)

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Official Site Name: UCSF Child and Adolescent Services (CAS) MCTP
Date Invitation Received: 11/24/20 5:22pm PT
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): Personal email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): Early Childhood
Interview Dates Offered: TBD (will send follow up email with options)
 
GlenCoco1 said:
100% agreed but unfortunately, I can't look away.
I've received 3 rejections and no interviews so far. Hopefully others who are feeling pretty down on themselves can read this and feel less alone.
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Same! I’m just assuming that if someone has received an interview at a site where I have applied, I’m definitely getting a rejection letter.
 
GlenCoco1 said:
100% agreed but unfortunately, I can't look away.
I've received 3 rejections and no interviews so far. Hopefully others who are feeling pretty down on themselves can read this and feel less alone.
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Yes. Reading about rejections makes me feel more calm and less embarrassed about it. I appreciate how sweet and supportive the people in this thread have been. It also calms down the part of me that's like 'why haven't i heard back yet about this site?' and it's because no else has either lol
 
Question about McLean and Mass General, is it me or do those sites prefer PhD students. They say they are willing to accept PsyD applicants but they haven’t taken any in over 5 years. I didn’t apply this year because of those stats.
 
student9295 said:
Same! I’m just assuming that if someone has received an interview at a site where I have applied, I’m definitely getting a rejection letter.
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I jumped to that conclusion yesterday when I saw calls went out for one of my sites on Monday and today I got my own call. Wait for your evidence! 😶
 
missplum said:
Yes. Reading about rejections makes me feel more calm and less embarrassed about it. I appreciate how sweet and supportive the people in this thread have been. It also calms down the part of me that's like 'why haven't i heard back yet about this site?' and it's because no else has either lol
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My friend told me that last year she received *seven* consecutive rejections before getting a few interviews. I kind of wish these sites just all notified us on the same day ...
 
Thoughts on emailing site’s to ask if they’ve sent out invites (especially if they posted a past date for notifying in APPIC)?
 
matryoshka_brain said:
Thoughts on emailing site’s to ask if they’ve sent out invites (especially if they posted a past date for notifying in APPIC)?
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I would personally wait a handful of days after the notification date, unless you need to quickly decide about another offer on a competing date. I would also double-check the brochure and website and assume the latest date across sources is the accurate one. A few of my sites have later dates listed in their brochure versus the APPIC directory. However, I think following up in general makes sense - someone else earlier in the thread said they had not received an interview notification that was meant to go to them, and found out by following up once the notification deadline had passed (though I assume that is the less likely outcome!).
 
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Psyducky said:
I feel like I am becoming far too suspicious of my email account... everyday that I don't hear anything I wonder what my email might be hiding from me and where it could have hidden it 🤔 I feel like I need to sneak up on my junk folder and catch it in the act :laugh:
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Haha same! I'm looking at literal phishing emails evaluating whether they *might* be interview invitations.
 
kittenlady said:
My friend told me that last year she received *seven* consecutive rejections before getting a few interviews. I kind of wish these sites just all notified us on the same day ...
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Holy smokes! That sounds very discouraging. I think there would definitely be an advantage to doing it that way. The only downside would be my indecisive brain panicking about who to email back first haha. I'm glad she got her interviews though. I know someone who only got one interview but still managed to match. That's not the way I want to go, but I guess it showed me that anything is possible lol
 
int2020 said:
I am getting more rejections than I thought I would. Is it possible that my DCT wrote some negative information either by error or intent. Is there a way to find out as all my other docs including reference letters are top notch.
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You might ask sites for feedback on your app so you know what to update for the future? I also might talk with the TD if possible, maybe have your advisor or a trusted faculty member present, too, if you feel uncomfortable. Maybe asking what sorts of growth areas and strengths they perceive. Hugs to you, that’s nerve wracking 💜 Hope some interviews come in soon!
 
Official Site Name: University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center
Date Invitation Received:11/25/2020
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat)😛ersonal email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): Pediatric Neuropsychology
Interview Dates Offered: 12/11
(In honor of years past) If & How you're staying sane: Cleaning
 
int2020 said:
I am getting more rejections than I thought I would. Is it possible that my DCT wrote some negative information either by error or intent. Is there a way to find out as all my other docs including reference letters are top notch.
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Maybe but I think it’s more just a normal part of the process. Most people get less than half or even a third of the interviews they applied to. So if you applied to a lot of sites it will feel like a ton of rejections. This is what I keep trying to remind myself and how this was the point of applying to lots of sites but it’s definitely hard to stay positive.
 
int2020 said:
I am getting more rejections than I thought I would. Is it possible that my DCT wrote some negative information either by error or intent. Is there a way to find out as all my other docs including reference letters are top notch.
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I believe students technically have access to the DCT Letter of Approval under FERPA. So you can request a copy of the DCT Letter of Approval. If your DCT denies your request, you should be able to submit a request through the registrar’s office.
 
ha12301 said:
Maybe but I think it’s more just a normal part of the process. Most people get less than half or even a third of the interviews they applied to. So if you applied to a lot of sites it will feel like a ton of rejections. This is what I keep trying to remind myself and how this was the point of applying to lots of sites but it’s definitely hard to stay positive.
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I completely agree with this. Like OP said, I’m sure we all got great rec letters and poured our hearts into our applications but the sites have to pick some people over others even if everyone has a great application. I also find it hard to imagine why a DCT would write negative stuff-isn’t it against their interest to have people in their program not match? I would think if DCT had concerns about you or your application they would speak to you directly and maybe suggest you wait another year instead of writing negative things in your app.
 
ACpsych2020 said:
I am getting more rejections than I thought I would. Is it possible that my DCT wrote some negative information either by error or intent. Is there a way to find out as all my other docs including reference letters are top notch.
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I have many what I assume will be rejections based on posts, and I feel similarly! I just keep reminding myself that we’re all applying with other highly qualified people and I’m so excited that I get to have so many brilliant, thoughtful folks as colleagues, as much as I’m anxious that it means I might not get as many interviews as I had hoped. Hang in there and I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you that the next several emails you get are invites!
 
student9295 said:
Question about McLean and Mass General, is it me or do those sites prefer PhD students. They say they are willing to accept PsyD applicants but they haven’t taken any in over 5 years.
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Unfortunately, some sites can definitely carry a preference/bias. I imagine that sites with tracks records like this have training faculty who are all or mostly clinical PhDs with less exposure to PsyD or Counseling Psychology PhD interns and/or possibly have had negative experiences with students from non-preferred programs and use this as an informal screening criteria.

int2020 said:
I am getting more rejections than I thought I would. Is it possible that my DCT wrote some negative information either by error or intent. Is there a way to find out as all my other docs including reference letters are top notch.
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I wonder you are getting more rejections than expected or if you are only getting rejections and starting to run out of options for interviews. There may be a multitude of other reasons why you may not be making the cut at sites that you thought you were a good fit for, unfortunately.

When I've reviewed apps, I generally used recs to corroborate hours, experiences, interests, and fit and to learn a bit more about the person and what they might be like to work with. However, glowing recs but poor fit, red flags, or objectively lower hours/clinical experiences compared to the rest of the applicant pool did very little for me.

Hang in there and hopefully you'll have some better news as many sites are still reviewing and making offers.
 
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summerbabe said:
Unfortunately, some sites can definitely carry a preference/bias. I imagine that sites with tracks records like this have training faculty who are all or mostly clinical PhDs with less exposure to PsyD or Counseling Psychology PhD interns and/or possibly have had negative experiences with students from non-preferred programs and use this as an informal screening criteria.


I wonder you are getting more rejections than expected or if you are only getting rejections and starting to run out of options for interviews. There may be a multitude of other reasons why you may not be making the cut at sites that you thought you were a good fit for, unfortunately.

When I've reviewed apps, I generally used recs to corroborate hours, experiences, interests, and fit and to learn a bit more about the person and what they might be like to work with. However, glowing recs but poor fit, red flags, or objectively lower hours/clinical experiences compared to the rest of the applicant pool did very little for me.

Hang in there and hopefully you'll have some better news as many sites are still reviewing and making offers.
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What kind of red flags were issues?
 
Official Site Name: University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center
Date Invitation Received:11/25/2020
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): It seems like a mass email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): Substance Use
Interview Dates Offered: 12/7, 12/11
If & How you're staying sane: I am absolutely not staying sane!
 
Official Site Name: Vanderbilt University Medical Center Internship in Professional Psychology
Date Invitation Received:11/25/2020 (10:18 AM EST)
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): personal email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): Child and Adolescent
Interview Dates Offered: 12/4, 12/9, 12/16
If & How you're staying sane: Making my family Thanksgiving dinner
 
Official Site Name: Vanderbilt University Medical Center Internship in Professional Psychology
Date Invitation Received:11/25/2020 (10:16 AM EST)
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): personal email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): Psychosis Track
Interview Dates Offered: 12/4, 12/9, 12/16
If & How you're staying sane: What is sanity?
 
Official Site Name: UCLA Semel Institute
Date Invitation Received:11/24/2020
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): personal email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): Lifespan Neuro
Interview Dates Offered: 1/8/20, 1/15/20
If & How you're staying sane: Writing reports, data analysis, checking this website 🙂
 
Official Site Name: VA Ann Arbor
Date Invitation Received:11/25/2020
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): mass email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): neuro and geriatric neuro/rehab
Interview Dates Offered: They said December 14th, 2020 through January 13th, 2021, not specific dates
If & How you're staying sane: not staying sane lol
 
student9295 said:
Same! I’m just assuming that if someone has received an interview at a site where I have applied, I’m definitely getting a rejection letter.
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Don't give up hope just yet! I knew someone who received an offer from a site last week and because I didn't hear from them also assumed it was a rejection. Just got offered an interview from there yesterday, though. So it really does seem that some sites are rolling offers!
 
student9295 said:
Question about McLean and Mass General, is it me or do those sites prefer PhD students. They say they are willing to accept PsyD applicants but they haven’t taken any in over 5 years. I didn’t apply this year because of those stats.
Click to expand...
Remember that just because a site did not Match PsyD students, that does not necessarily mean they did not Rank PsyD students 🙂.
 
Official Site Name: Ann Arbor VA Internship
Date Invitation Received: 11/25/2020
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): Mass email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): multiple tracks (unsure what tracks the invitation is extended based on)
Interview Dates Offered: 12/14-1/13 (flexible, orientations on Mondays and interviews typically scheduled throughout the orientation week)
If & How you're staying sane: Not sure that I am at this point. 🙂
 
ha12301 said:
Official Site Name: VA Ann Arbor
Date Invitation Received:11/25/2020
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): mass email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): neuro and geriatric neuro/rehab
Interview Dates Offered: They said December 14th, 2020 through January 13th, 2021, not specific dates
If & How you're staying sane: not staying sane lol
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Message me if you have questions! I did a practicum there
 
student9295 said:
What kind of red flags were issues?
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Hard to jog my memory for a lot of specifics but one I still remember was somebody who put down a bunch of assessment hours but when you looked further at the assessments used section of the AAPI, they didn't list a single objective personality measure, Weschler test, or anything else administered so they were just listing their intake hours. I wish I could still remember the program because that's a poor reflection of their training program and of the DCT to sign off on those hours.

There are certainly other less glaring training deficit issues or candidates who have good training but may not necessarily be the best fit for a specific program and their patient population.
 
Official Site Name: University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center
Date Invitation Received:11/25/2020 (8:00 AM CST)
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): personal email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): Neurodevelopment Disorders/ASD track & Clinical Child
Interview Dates Offered: 12/14, 1/4, 1/8, 1/20
If & How you're staying sane: That's what I do. Barack voice*
 
Official Site Name: North Bronx Healthcare Network - Jacobi Medical Center
Date Invitation Received: 11/25/2020
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): Personal email
Specialty Track or Site: JMC site
Interview Dates Offered: 1/7 & 1/14 (for both dates you can either choose the morning or afternoon time slots, so there are 4 total slots available)
 
Official Site Name: Duke University Medical Center
Date Invitation Received: November 24
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): Child
Interview Dates Offered: January 8 and January 15th

Official Site Name: Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Date Invitation Received: November 25th
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): mass email for two tracks
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): Autism track; Child track
Interview Dates Offered: Dec 4, Dec 9, Dec 16

Official Site Name: Children's National Medical Center
Date Invitation Received: November 24th
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): phone call
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): n/a
Interview Dates Offered: Jan 6th, January 13th

Official Site Name: Massachusetts General Hospital
Date Invitation Received: November 23rd
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): Child track
Interview Dates Offered: January 13th
 
ghost2020 said:
Official Site Name: North Bronx Healthcare Network - Jacobi Medical Center
Date Invitation Received: 11/25/2020
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): Personal email
Specialty Track or Site: JMC site
Interview Dates Offered: 1/7 & 1/14 (for both dates you can either choose the morning or afternoon time slots, so there are 4 total slots available)
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me too!
 
Official Site Name: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (Madison, WI)
Date Invitation Received:11/25/2020
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): Phone call
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): Peds
Interview Dates Offered: 12/9, 12/16, 1/6
If & How you're staying sane: Drinking coffee and online shopping for interview clothes 🙂
 
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