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I recently attended an interview. During the orientation, the clinical director told all of the interviewees that people who attend the interview process HARDLY EVER get declined acceptance(usually, when faculty vote, interviewees are extended an offer or are put on the alternate list). I remember thinking when he said that, "wow, people who get declined after the interview must be really bad"... I recently received an email informing me that they declined my application. What could I have done that was so wrong that they immediately declined my application? Has anyone had a similar experience/have any opinions/suggestions to offer?
It would be much appreciated!
I doubt you screwed up as badly as I did.
I almost cried during one of my interviews (I could literally feel the tears forming) when the interviewer said something really critical and unexpected about my current research. Needless to say, I was kind of in shock for the rest of the interview.
Don't you wish that they could narrow it down more from 50 applicants? It's depressing when you get there and find out that you still have less than a 25% chance of getting in!
Geez, where are these places you guys interviewed at? I think the worst ratio I saw was 15 students for 7 spots. I'd have ben super ticked off if I went to an interview and found out they'd done such a bad job of narrowing people down. Especially since there were probably a few more phone interviews in addition to the people who showed up.
Don't you wish that they could narrow it down more from 50 applicants? It's depressing when you get there and find out that you still have less than a 25% chance of getting in!
i had a dreaded question of 'what do you want to write your dissertation on?' i thought those questions were only supposed to scare us.. and would never ever be asked of me. Also, I am straight from undergrad and my POI started talking about how he/she didn't get into grad school the first time. I was like, oh great.. letting me down easy. thanks a lot. Hopefully she said that to all the students going straight from undergrad. Also a question: why do they ask you things they already know. I felt sort of uncomfortable/guilty about something that they asked me. I didn't have the EXACT research experience that pertained to what i wanted to do in grad school and one of the grad students interviewing me was like.. hmpph.. i see. I just feel like, don't they already know my qualifications (or lack there of apparently) before the interview? It just made me feel kind of stupid like she felt i didn't deserve to be there. They could have invited someone else if they really didn't want me there, you know?
i had a dreaded question of 'what do you want to write your dissertation on?'
I just feel like, don't they already know my qualifications (or lack there of apparently) before the interview? It just made me feel kind of stupid like she felt i didn't deserve to be there. They could have invited someone else if they really didn't want me there, you know?
That being said, that is one question you should have an answer to. For future reference. You're not going to be legally obligated to stick to it, but you should at least be able to describe a direction.
The thing about the programs that interview a ton of people is what it probably means is that they end up making a lot more offers than the ones who don't, not because they have more spaces, but because more people turn them down and they go further down their waitlists. Indeed, among the schools I interviewed at, number of interviewees was correlated to some extent with number of total offers historically given (vs how many initial offers were accepted), and, as would make sense, there also seemed to be a relationship between school ranking and number of applicants interviewed. So I'm not sure how much better off you actually are in a smaller interview field in terms of likelihood of admission, since the eventual number of offers may be proportionate.
This was not the case at my interviews... there were about 5-6 interviewees per spot. And looking at their past number of offers v. size of incoming class- only 1-2 people turn them down each year.
Psychanxiety, what is the way to know how many people turn a program down per year?
Thanks in advance
Psychanxiety, what is the way to know how many people turn a program down per year?
Thanks in advance
to the OP:
just email the director and ask what happened. I did that after getting a rejection, and he told me, in a few very helpful paragraphs. my email was something like:
i'm dedicated to clin training and gradschool, blahblahblah, and it would be very helpful to know on what you based your decision, so taht i can better communicate my strenghts in future interviews/ or, so that both the department and myself can make effective decisions that in assessing a match bw the program and myself as a prospective student.
I did that for one program I got rejected at. Before the interview, I read the abstracts to everything my POI had published since '02 and read 5 articles all the way through in depth. I also read their entire CV and website. Then I got told that one of the reasons I got rejected was because the other applicants knew more about this POI's research.
I did that for one program I got rejected at. Before the interview, I read the abstracts to everything my POI had published since '02 and read 5 articles all the way through in depth. I also read their entire CV and website. Then I got told that one of the reasons I got rejected was because the other applicants knew more about this POI's research.
psykate09, psychanxiety and rollomayfan,
Thank you for your replies . Unfortunately this program doesn't post such data on its website. I have just checked...
Is it an APA accredited program? If so, I believe they're required to post disclosure data.
Yes, it is APA accredited. They do have disclosure data. But it only shows percentages of students who complete the program by number of years, attrition rates in %, number of students who were admitted (means they did accepted the slots, I think) into the Doctoral program along with their graduation rates, the number of students still enrolled vs. not enrolled. Nothing like "number of applicants offered admission" and "number matriculated".
I suspect that each POIs already has a top candidate in mind and is just making sure they are not crazy. So maybe they should just interview that candidate and an alternative. That way the odds become more like 50%.
2 weeks ago I had an interview with one of my top choice schools. Upon leaving the interview I was very happy, as I felt that it was pretty much flawless. On my way back to the holding room to get my coat and stuff and I notice that there is another girl sitting waiting for her interview to start. I said hello and she asked me if I had just finished up my interview. I told her yes, and with that we got to talking for a few minutes. She stated that she was not as prepared as she would have liked to be and wanted to know what the interview was like. Well, I was on cloud nine, thought I had just aced my interview, and just (seriously without thinking) proceeded to tell her what questions I was asked. Well, as I was dumping these questions on her, the professor interviewing us came in to get her and heard me telling her the questions.
I am kicking myself now, because I could have ruined my chances of getting in.
Yeah... plus I think they know that everyone swaps questions. They may ask different ones for that reason.
After mentioning my interest in working with LGBT youth, a professor asked if I thought my growing up with no father contributed to my being gay. I was a little confused, since I this was pretty far off topic. I kept thinking, "Is this the 1980's?" Oh, after I give my "opinon", he looks at me and says, "I don't find that to be a valid opinion." Pretty much beyond awkward.