APPIC Interview Invitation Thread (2021)

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Official Site Name: Mt Sinai Services at Elmhurst Hospital Center
Date Invitation Received: 12/17
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): Personal Email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): Child/Adolescent
Interview Dates Offered: 1/5, 1/7, 1/8, 1/12, 1/14
(In honor of years past) If & How you're staying sane: I just started watching The Wire. Highly recommend !
 
Congrats! I just received an invite to their Open House (via Evite) but I don't see anything about an interview in the description.....is this how yours was too?
No, I received an email from the TD yesterday separately. However, it went to my junk mail so you may want to check there!
 
I received interviews from all of the in-state sites I applied to and interviews from half of the out-of-state sites. I'm sure that familiarity with training programs and practicum sites has some influence, as does familiarity between letter writers and internship training faculty, but I would imagine that those variables play a smaller role than many others in the to-interview-or-not-to-interview regression equation.

Well possibly though that's also anecdotal - for myself I didn't receive all of my in-state (even in the same city) invites and almost all of my out-of-state sites even all of the ones on an opposite coast so idk how that fits in. And the other people applying my cohort had similar experiences. I think there are too many factors to say that it's likelier you will receive in-state vs out-of-state
 
Well possibly though that's also anecdotal - for myself I didn't receive all of my in-state (even in the same city) invites and almost all of my out-of-state sites even all of the ones on an opposite coast so idk how that fits in. And the other people applying my cohort had similar experiences. I think there are too many factors to say that it's likelier you will receive in-state vs out-of-state
I had the same experience.
 
Well possibly though that's also anecdotal - for myself I didn't receive all of my in-state (even in the same city) invites and almost all of my out-of-state sites even all of the ones on an opposite coast so idk how that fits in. And the other people applying my cohort had similar experiences. I think there are too many factors to say that it's likelier you will receive in-state vs out-of-state
Yeah there are definitely several factors. For example if you and your cohort are from an area with a lot of in-demand/competitive sites like California then that could be a significant factor for lower percentage of in state interviews.
 
Yeah there are definitely several factors. For example if you and your cohort are from an area with a lot of in-demand/competitive sites like California then that could be a significant factor for lower percentage of in state interviews.
I wouldn't read too much into any of it, a lot of sites have their own processes, If anything, my training sites limited interviews to local applicants because they didn't want to be seen as only taking local students, possibly limiting applications from students nationwide.
 
Well possibly though that's also anecdotal - for myself I didn't receive all of my in-state (even in the same city) invites and almost all of my out-of-state sites even all of the ones on an opposite coast so idk how that fits in. And the other people applying my cohort had similar experiences. I think there are too many factors to say that it's likelier you will receive in-state vs out-of-state

Yeah, I mean a predictor can have a beta weight of < .01 and still be in a regression equation. 🙂
 
I wouldn't read too much into any of it, a lot of sites have their own processes, If anything, my training sites limited interviews to local applicants because they didn't want to be seen as only taking local students, possibly limiting applications from students nationwide.
They also did this at a site I trained at
 
Yeah there are definitely several factors. For example if you and your cohort are from an area with a lot of in-demand/competitive sites like California then that could be a significant factor for lower percentage of in state interviews.
I also wonder if a preference for local applicants might be specific to this year. Just thinking that as a member of the intern selection committee, I might prefer local applicants knowing that moving during a pandemic is quite difficult. Before the vaccine news, sites (especially those virtually operating) may have considered that making a trainee move just to WFH is silly.
 
I am no longer at Seattle VA (Puget Sound) but remain close with several trainees and staff of varying levels of seniority who are and am relaying a consistent sentiment shared among us: please consider why, unlike former years, the Seattle VA is not holding a postdoc Q&A and also why postdoc bios are not being provided in the manual (also inconsistent with prior years). Seattle VA places proud emphasis on its tendency to retain interns for fellowship, meaning many of the current fellows were also interns. Relatedly, I urge you to be wary if the training director asks you to go through him in order to speak to postdocs (as opposed to giving you a comprehensive list of postdocs from the last several years, as has been the case historically). If you are able to get access to unvetted fellows, I encourage you to ask them about how accurately available internship rotations and fellowships, as well as the program in general, are currently being represented.
Yeah I've heard from a few different people there about the toxic work environment. Apparently staff psychologists are leaving their positions there at an alarming rate.
 
Congrats! I just received an invite to their Open House (via Evite) but I don't see anything about an interview in the description.....is this how yours was too?
Same thing happened to me and I emailed and she wrote back just now offering me an interview! She said that she sent out the invite through the AAPI portal and there must have been a glitch in the system. HOpefully it's the same for you, I would definitley follow up
 
Has anyone heard from Mount Sinai/Icahn invites or rejections? I know they sent out an email pushing their notification deadline to tomorrow, but this wait is driving me crazyyyyyyyyyy.
 
Yeah I've heard from a few different people there about the toxic work environment. Apparently staff psychologists are leaving their positions there at an alarming rate.
Whoa. Do you know if this is happening at the other VA Puget Sound (American Lake) location as well? I have a few friends interviewing there.
 
Same thing happened to me and I emailed and she wrote back just now offering me an interview! She said that she sent out the invite through the AAPI portal and there must have been a glitch in the system. HOpefully it's the same for you, I would definitley follow up
I did -- same exact for me! Thanks for the heads up -- and congrats to us!!!
 
Official Site Name: Pittsburgh Psychology Internship Consortium
Date Invitation Received: 12/17
Method of Invitation: Personal Email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): School Psychology-Neuropsychology OP Track & School Psychology- Neuropsychology/ Treatment Track
Interview Dates Offered: 1/21
 
Finally heard back from Howard!!


Official Site Name: Howard University
Date Invitation Received: 12/17
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): personal email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): n/a
Interview Dates Offered: so many: January 7, 8, 11, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26
Congrats on the interview! If you don't mind me asking, around what time did you get the email? one of the last ones I'm waiting on and I'm thinking its a rejection 🙈
 
Has anyone received the link to schedule with the University of Texas at Austin? They said a link would be following in an email but I haven't received any more communication and just get nervous I may have missed something. Thank you!
 
Anyone heard from the Terry Children's Center? Deadline is tomorrow but app was due so long ago I wonder if I missed a post
 
Has anyone received the link to schedule with the University of Texas at Austin? They said a link would be following in an email but I haven't received any more communication and just get nervous I may have missed something. Thank you!
 
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Has anyone interviewed at NYU Rusk rehab or will be soon? I am interviewing tomorrow and I only received a webex link from one person. I reached out to the director and the person who sent me the link asking if I only needed that one link or a link from each of the four interviewers. Anyone able to provide insight??
 
Whoa. Do you know if this is happening at the other VA Puget Sound (American Lake) location as well? I have a few friends interviewing there.
I know two folks from my program have matched there over the past several years and I have only heard really positive comments about American Lake. I believe one even works there now and the other is hoping to end up working there after fellowship.
 
I received interviews from all of the in-state sites I applied to and interviews from half of the out-of-state sites. I'm sure that familiarity with training programs and practicum sites has some influence, as does familiarity between letter writers and internship training faculty, but I would imagine that those variables play a smaller role than many others in the to-interview-or-not-to-interview regression equation.
I agree with this - I only applied out-of-state sites and was offered 93% of the interviews I applied for and they are all familiar with my program
 
Did any BOP folx not get an interview to a site (based on inference/no further contact) AND not get a formal rejection?
 
I agree with this - I only applied out-of-state sites and was offered 93% of the interviews I applied for and they are all familiar with my program
My understanding is that limiting applications to a specific geographic area is the bigger factor for not matching. If I applied to every site in-state, but only a third fit with my training (eg if I primarily work with children, but also apply to non-child sites), I’m going to get a lot of rejections. Likewise, if I apply nationwide, but only to sites with a better fit, I may get a better response.
 
Congrats on the interview! If you don't mind me asking, around what time did you get the email? one of the last ones I'm waiting on and I'm thinking its a rejection 🙈
It came in at 6:01am pacific time. I’m hoping for an interview for you! They might be sending out invites individually, so don’t lose hope yet!
 
Has anyone interviewed at NYU Rusk rehab or will be soon? I am interviewing tomorrow and I only received a webex link from one person. I reached out to the director and the person who sent me the link asking if I only needed that one link or a link from each of the four interviewers. Anyone able to provide insight??
I interviewed there and received 4 separate links for the 4 separate people, though they did come in rather last minute. Hopefully they will come!
 
Hi! For those starting/prepping for interviews, I thought it might be helpful to share some of the questions I've been asked so far, particularly ones that I felt were a bit tougher/hadn't necessarily prepared for. Maybe we could start a thread? For reference, I have had 4 interviews so far. All for peds neuropsych positions at academic medical centers. Here are some of the odder/tougher questions:

1) What is something you think you'd be really miserable doing on internship?
2) Tell me something interesting about yourself that will help us remember you when we're ranking.
3) Tell me about a time when you stereotyped someone or had to question your own biases.
4) What is your neuropsychology orientation- process or numbers? Would you want to know how someone approached a task or what their score was?
5) What is your clinical comfort level as of now? What things do you feel comfortable with and what are more of a stretch?
6) What is something about you that we should know that isn't on your application?
7) Tell me about a therapy case. I want to be wowed by your conceptualization skills.

That's it for now! I would love to hear from others as we move along in this process. Good luck to everyone! Good vibes being sent your way!
 
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Anyone heard from the Terry Children's Center? Deadline is tomorrow but app was due so long ago I wonder if I missed a post
I have not. I'm waiting on news from them as well!
 
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Also waiting on Columbia! Fingers crossed for all of us <3 What. A. Soul. Crushing. Process.

My reassurance-seeking has begun to bore even me, so I'll phrase this in the form of a multiple choice just for kicks:

Q: A prospective intern applies to 10 sites and only receives interviews at 2 sites. They are very happy with their 2 interview sites, but (having been taught to trust statistics and whatnot) know that these numbers aren't looking good. How should they feel?
A. It only takes one site! Head up and rock your (meager but mighty) interview opportunities!​
B. It's ok. This happens. Take a breath and calmly form a back up plan for Phase II.​
C. Dang... ya done blew it! Forget Match and gear up for externship apps again.​
D. Woof. Quit your day job, darling. Start selling green juice on instagram and figure out what TikTok means ASAP.​
it seems like they sent automatic rejection emails through a service and it didnt get sent to many applicants. Email the td to confirm!
 
Hi! For those starting/prepping for interviews, I thought it might be helpful to share some of the questions I've been asked so far, particularly ones that I felt were a bit tougher/hadn't necessarily prepared for. Maybe we could start a thread? For reference, I have had 4 interviews so far. All for peds neuropsych positions at academic medical centers. Here are some of the odder/tougher questions:

1) What is something you think you'd be really miserable doing on internship?
2) Tell me something interesting about yourself that will help us remember you when we're ranking.
3) Tell me about a time when you stereotyped someone or had to question your own biases.
4) What is your neuropsychology orientation- process or numbers? Would you want to know how someone approached a task or what their score was?
5) What is your clinical comfort level as of now? What things do you feel comfortable with and what are more of a stretch?
6) What is something about us that we should know that isn't on your application?
7) Tell me about a therapy case. I want to be wowed by your conceptualization skills.

That's it for now! I would love to hear from others as we move along in this process. Good luck to everyone! Good vibes being sent your way!
Dang! those are super tough questions. You're amazing for answering all of them! I also just did a neuropsych interview, but my questions were super generic-- just basic ones about my dissertation and career goals. This just shows that I need to prep more in case my other interviews spring these tough questions on me...
 
1) What is something you think you'd be really miserable doing on internship?
2) Tell me something interesting about yourself that will help us remember you when we're ranking.
3) Tell me about a time when you stereotyped someone or had to question your own biases.
4) What is your neuropsychology orientation- process or numbers? Would you want to know how someone approached a task or what their score was?
5) What is your clinical comfort level as of now? What things do you feel comfortable with and what are more of a stretch?
6) What is something about us that we should know that isn't on your application?
7) Tell me about a therapy case. I want to be wowed by your conceptualization skills.
#3 seems like a complete setup. Sure we know that as humans we all have biases and stereotypes, but we also know that admitting them even if we are also actively working on them can still lead to negative consequences.

#2 and #6 could be answered identically depending on what one chooses to share.
 
#3 seems like a complete setup. Sure we know that as humans we all have biases and stereotypes, but we also know that admitting them even if we are also actively working on them can still lead to negative consequences.

#2 and #6 could be answered identically depending on what one chooses to share.
Respectfully disagree, I think it depends on the bias and how you approached it. For example, you could assume someone from the LGBT community had a hard time coming out to family and found yourself surprised to see they didn’t and learned that you have room to grow with those clients and discuss steps you took to learn from that encounter.
 
Official Site Name: Alexandria VA (Louisiana)
Date Invitation Received: 12/15
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): Personal email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): N/A
Interview Dates Offered: 1/12, 1/13, 1/14, 1/19, 1/20, 1/21



Official Site Name: Miami VA
Date Invitation Received: 12/17
Method of Invitation (Phone call, personal/mass email, Snapchat): Mass email
Specialty Track or Site (e.g., for consortiums): Geropsych
Interview Dates Offered: TBD in follow-up email
 
Respectfully disagree, I think it depends on the bias and how you approached it. For example, you could assume someone from the LGBT community had a hard time coming out to family and found yourself surprised to see they didn’t and learned that you have room to grow with those clients and discuss steps you took to learn from that encounter.
Exactly. Also, if a site asks you a question like #3 just to trap you, then it's not the right site anyway. Training sites should screen people who are racist, classist, etc... or are just generally clueless when it comes to working with diverse populations, but the overwhelming majority of trainees are all in the same boat of examining their areas of growth when it comes to these competencies. So being open, discussing blindspots, and sharing how you're working on it should be encouraged. A site that doles out negative consequences for you being open, honest, and vulnerable in order to improve your competency is not a very good training site.
 
Did I miss a notification date change on list serve? It’s showing 12/15 on APPIC.
Oh! I thought it was 12/25. I actually heard from them at 11 pm. They email saying they will follow up with interview details Did you also apply for the site. It is non-APA and I was still considering if I should interview there.
 
Exactly. Also, if a site asks you a question like #3 just to trap you, then it's not the right site anyway. Training sites should screen people who are racist, classist, etc... or are just generally clueless when it comes to working with diverse populations, but the overwhelming majority of trainees are all in the same boat of examining their areas of growth when it comes to these competencies. So being open, discussing blindspots, and sharing how you're working on it should be encouraged. A site that doles out negative consequences for you being open, honest, and vulnerable in order to improve your competency is not a very good training site.

I have often wondered what the field would look like if this actually happened in our field, as in would there be as many professionals in it? Some of this weed out should occur in programs and the rest at training sites in my opinion. I never stop being amazed at some of the horrible things I've heard said by people at the various stages of training, the almost licensed, and the newly licensed.
 
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