GRE scores of those accepted

[PsychED00]

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GRE: 1200
V:650
Q:550
W:5.0
Subject: 600
GPA Undergrad: 3.62 (Cum Laude)
GPA Grad (M.A.): 3.86
RA experience: 2+ years in brain imaging
Clinical experience: 1 year -->Outreach M.A. level clinician with minority and at risk populations & 1 year-->Direct Care with schizophrenic populations.

Year #1 Applied 10/ 0 interviews/0 acceptances
Year #2 Applied 8 schools/ 0 interviews/ 0 acceptances

I have no idea what I did wrong???!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

 

[thewesternsky]

GRE: 1200
V:650
Q:550
W:5.0
Subject: 600
GPA Undergrad: 3.62 (Cum Laude)
GPA Grad (M.A.): 3.86
RA experience: 2+ years in brain imaging
Clinical experience: 1 year -->Outreach M.A. level clinician with minority and at risk populations & 1 year-->Direct Care with schizophrenic populations.

Year #1 Applied 10/ 0 interviews/0 acceptances
Year #2 Applied 8 schools/ 0 interviews/ 0 acceptances

I have no idea what I did wrong???!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Wow. Did you apply solely to very competitive, research-focused programs? If so, your GRE might have been a little low, but I still would have expected you to get an interview or two. Were your letters of rec good?

If I were you, I would email your potential advisors and ask if there's anything you could do to improve your application for next year. They may be able to shed some light on the problem, especially if it was something like your personal statement or a perceived poor fit between your experiences and future interests....

 

[cara susanna]

Holy cow, airmont, you had great stats. It's weird that you didn't get more interviews/any acceptances.

 

[psybee]

these scores only tell a portion of the story though. of course, we don't know anything about folks letters, statements, types of classes they took, interviewing ability, connections to the programs they are applying to, and many didn't list their research/clinical experience.

on top of that, though, i'm sure we've applied to many different types of schools -- some more clinical, some more research, some top tier, some not so much, some that only accept 4 people and some that accept 20. in addition, some schools interviewed 16 people for 8 spots, and did a second round if needed, whereas some schools interviewed like 80 people, and only accept 12. while getting an interview at the latter school was a good sign, the odds of getting an interview at schools like that were much higher than those of people who applied to the 16:8 schools. however the odds of getting in post-interview were much lower than those of folks for whom getting an interview meant they were part of a very elite group. which means that even # application/# interviews/ # accepted data needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[psybee]

GRE: 1200
V:650
Q:550
W:5.0
Subject: 600
GPA Undergrad: 3.62 (Cum Laude)
GPA Grad (M.A.): 3.86
RA experience: 2+ years in brain imaging
Clinical experience: 1 year -->Outreach M.A. level clinician with minority and at risk populations & 1 year-->Direct Care with schizophrenic populations.

Year #1 Applied 10/ 0 interviews/0 acceptances
Year #2 Applied 8 schools/ 0 interviews/ 0 acceptances

I have no idea what I did wrong???!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Seriously, unless you applied only to the Penns, Yales, and UCLA's of the field, I don't see how you couldn't get at least more interviews. Your GRE is lowish, but not low low, and you GPA's are right on the mark. Was your GRE at the cutoff for the schools you applied to? I found that if my GRE was close to a standard deviation below the mean for a program i applied to, I was unlikely to get an interview (with my Q score, that happened)

Fit? Statements? 😕 I'd interview you!

 

[airmont]

Holy cow, airmont, you had great stats. It's weird that you didn't get more interviews/any acceptances.

Me too 😕 Both my LORs (One promised an internship) and my statement were good.

Maybe I didn`t apply to enough programs. It is also possible that my religious background and the fact that I am married with kids were negatives.😕 Who knows. I am trying again next year. Wish me luck.🙂

 

[Ilovecows]

Me too 😕 Both my LORs (One promised an internship) and my statement were good.

Maybe I didn`t apply to enough programs. It is also possible that my religious background and the fact that I am married with kids were negatives.😕 Who knows. I am trying again next year. Wish me luck.🙂

Religious background?? But they can't do that! How is that...you think your religious background may have played a factor?

 

[airmont]

Religious background?? But they can't do that! How is that...you think your religious background may have played a factor?

They maybe "shouldn`t" do that, but I think in my case it must have played a role.

 

[psybee]

They maybe "shouldn`t" do that, but I think in my case it must have played a role.

that just makes me furious! apply to more schools, and don't give up!

 

[airmont]

that just makes me furious! apply to more schools, and don't give up!

Thanks🙂 I plan to but don`t get too mad because I cannot really be sure. None of the schools me or my recommenders contacted gave any feedback. There may have been other valid reasons. Who knows.

 

[JockNerd]

Oh, if everyone is doing this I might as well too.

-GREs:
-General: 1450 combined, 760 Q 690 V 5.5 A
-Psych: 790
-GPA: 3.3 Cumulative, 3.9 Psych (on your crazy American 4.0 scales)
-2 years (non-paid) RA experience
-2 years (non-paid) experience in in-person crisis counseling at university, second year I trained 4 new counselors
-1 year paid tutor (English composition, essay structure, research paper planning, that sorta thing. This was really rewarding and fun)
-2 years paid work with developmentally disabled adults (note to future applicants: I don't think any of the sites I applied at cared about this)
-2 years facilitator for university staff & faculty LGBT awareness program, which was created by my thesis adviser
-1 strong LOR from faculty of arts dean's office
-blah blah LGBT pride committees blah blah sports teams blah blah rounded applicant profile blah blah
-Honours thesis, analyzed using structural equation modeling
-A few months training in SEM and confirmatory factor analysis

Applied at 13 more or less research-focused clinical and counseling programs. I went to three interviews and had three more phone interviews. I heard back from my first choice program very quickly after the interview, and after I had one other offer. I withdrew my applications everywhere else, so I don't really know how I would have fared in the end.

 

[Ollie123]

Me too 😕 Both my LORs (One promised an internship) and my statement were good.

Maybe I didn`t apply to enough programs. It is also possible that my religious background and the fact that I am married with kids were negatives.😕 Who knows. I am trying again next year. Wish me luck.🙂

I'd definitely apply to more. Most people apply to 10+ since there's certainly an element of luck to it as well, with only 5 applications it could have just been random chance.

As for religion, how would they know? If you talked about it extensively in your PS I could see that raising eyebrows. Did you attend a religious college?

 

[blindchaos]

As for religion, how would they know? If you talked about it extensively in your PS I could see that raising eyebrows. Did you attend a religious college?

I agree with the first part (if you talked about it extensively and the school(s) you applied to are public and/or have no religious affiliation) but I don't think attending a religious institution alone should/would have an influence though some people do certainly jump to conclusions (ie: don't you have to be [enter affiliation here] to attend [school of the same affiliation]?). However, I'm definitely biased here having attended a religious college. Had 9 interviews and that specific school came up once - here's the context:

Interviewer: Oh I see you attended ___________, did you like it?
Me: Yes, I loved it!

end of discussion😛 Only one of the schools I applied to had a religious affiliation and it was not the same affiliation as the college I attended (didn't come up in the interview whatsoever - the exchange above came from a state school).

Anyway...I would certainly hope that whatever your beliefs are or aren't wouldn't have an influence on your status as an applicant unless you really pushed the religion piece very very hard at a school that really isn't seeking that out (or vice versa - your beliefs strongly conflict with that of a deeply religious school that requires having/accepting/understanding specific beliefs contradictory to yours) - all of this seems highly unlikely. Or if you have a very radical viewpoint and used your whole PS to explain how you really are the center of the universe and created everything that exists today 😛 jk🙂

 

[Ollie123]

Oh I agree that people shouldn't jump to conclusions based off what college someone went to, I'm just trying to figure out how it could become a known factor for admissions.

 

[GiantSteps]

Me too 😕 Both my LORs (One promised an internship) and my statement were good.

Maybe I didn`t apply to enough programs. It is also possible that my religious background and the fact that I am married with kids were negatives.😕 Who knows. I am trying again next year. Wish me luck.🙂

I warned you about this problem long ago. I guarantee the schools discriminated against you. Especially, the one which would not even look at your application. These schools claim to be so open minded when in reality they are staffed by a bunch of dogmatic thinking, provincial, yahoos. Either that or you were beat out by an impostor applicant from a midwestern state! This kind of thing seems to be happening a lot lately.

I have some more ideas about which I will PM you.

 

[psybee]

Oh I agree that people shouldn't jump to conclusions based off what college someone went to, I'm just trying to figure out how it could become a known factor for admissions.

i'm not sure if this is airmonts situation, but in new york orthodox jews are very visible, due to clothing women and men wear. often you wouldn't even need to look at their CV to tell what religion they are, and there's a lot of close mindedness, ignorance, and even plain ol' anti-semitism out there.

likewise, maybe it's a nyc thing and reigious minorities aren't as visible in other states, but there were also several muslim women at my interviews, made obviously muslim due to their headscarves.

even before an interview though, during the initial app. screening, some names sound ethnic, maybe you worked for or went to a religiously affiliated school that jibes with the name, and assumptions start to be made. once that happens, if someone has misconceptions about that group or is downright prejudiced, well, there you go. airmont mentioned having children -- that alone outside of anything else could have sadly influenced some admissions committee members.

while i'd hope psychologists wouldn't make assumptions about people based on their clothing or religion, or decide a parent will be too busy to perform in school without even meeting them, it sure does happen. i know i had assumptions made about me and my life that were totally baseless -- i may be CBT oriented, but countertransference is a real thing!

 

[airmont]

Hi Everybody,

Sorry to have ticked off such a storm. I didn`t stress my religious background at all. In fact, I brushed over it in my statement and focused only on my psch. credentials. However, I did attend a highly religious university and dress in an obviously religious manner. It was not difficult to figure out my background and most of my interviewers asked me about it.

Also, one of my goals is to eventually reseach and practice within my underserved community, and although I tried not to highlight these dreams, they are central to my interest in clinical psyc. This may have made me a poor "match" because currently there is not a single researcher in the US studying this religious subgroup.

Maybe you guys can give me some advice: Should I gloss over this reseach interest and focus my other interests next year? or should I write a more passionate statement describing the lack of research and qualilfied clinicians within my unique community? What do you think?

 

[helga]

GRE: 1410
V: 710
Q: 700
A: 4.5 (maybe thats why I didnt get more interviews...)
Subject: 810
2 years of RA experience (unpaid except for 1 summer)
5 years of working with my population of interest
honours thesis
consistent volunteering throughout undergrad
6 apps (but 2 of my POIs decided to go on sabbatical after the app deadline)
2 interviews
0 acceptances

my conclusion: more research experience/publications needed
being the youngest person at both of my interviews gave me the feeling that more experience would be ideal


research monkeyship here i come!

 

[deleted190534]

Maybe you guys can give me some advice: Should I gloss over this reseach interest and focus my other interests next year? or should I write a more passionate statement describing the lack of research and qualilfied clinicians within my unique community? What do you think?

In a situation like that, I would personally mention the interest, but phrase it as a long term career goal. I mention that, because my specific interest isn't being studied by anyone right now either. So in my personal statement, I talked about what my long term career goals are & how my grad study interests fit into those long term goals.

On the religious thing, you could very well be right. However, I'm a little shocked about the embroiled reaction...based on the fact that it's merely speculation. If there were more overt evidence, I could see everyone getting up in arms about it & making comments about the "dogmatic...." blah, blah, blah. I want to remind everyone that this religious concern is a spectulation, as was the guess about being married & having kids (which no one jumped all over). The fact is (as some have mentioned) that the stats listed are a bit on the low side. (I don't mean to be rude. Go back in the thread & look at my stats.) The biggest question I would have is whether or not airmont is applying to schools where his stats are competitive. Did you look at their averages? I applied to a range...some where I was beneath their averages, some where I was average, & some where I was above average. Also, many here have suggested to various people that at times, everything may look good in paper, but in person, the applicant doesn't have the social or communication skills that the program is looking for. That hasn't been suggested here. Anyway...again...there COULD be a religious issue going on here, but let's all be a little more scientific & realize that it could be a long list of other things as well.

 

[airmont]

On the religious thing, you could very well be right. However, I'm a little shocked about the embroiled reaction...based on the fact that it's merely speculation. If there were more overt evidence, I could see everyone getting up in arms about it & making comments about the "dogmatic...." blah, blah, blah. I want to remind everyone that this religious concern is a spectulation, as was the guess about being married & having kids (which no one jumped all over). The fact is (as some have mentioned) that the stats listed are a bit on the low side. (I don't mean to be rude. Go back in the thread & look at my stats.) The biggest question I would have is whether or not airmont is applying to schools where his stats are competitive. Did you look at their averages? I applied to a range...some where I was beneath their averages, some where I was average, & some where I was above average.

Fully agree!! I did, however, apply to schools well below my score ranges because I felt my background was a negative, and still didn`t get interviews. On the other hand, because the field is so competitive and I only applied to 5 schools, I don`t think there is any evidence of prejudice. I am just wondering how to approach the issue the next year around and looking for some good advice.

 

[PsychappA]

my conclusion: more research experience/publications needed

I would say, also, apply to more schools! Not sure that I would have gotten in anywhere if I only applied to 6 schools.

 

[PsychED00]

GRE: 1200
V:650
Q:550
W:5.0
Subject: 600
GPA Undergrad: 3.62 (Cum Laude)
GPA Grad (M.A.): 3.86
RA experience: 2+ years in brain imaging
Clinical experience: 1 year -->Outreach M.A. level clinician with minority and at risk populations & 1 year-->Direct Care with schizophrenic populations.

Year #1 Applied 10/ 0 interviews/0 acceptances
Year #2 Applied 8 schools/ 0 interviews/ 0 acceptances

I have no idea what I did wrong???!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Well, I THINK my LOR's were strong:
*Undergrad Professor who is Dept. Chair, I had for 4 psych classes with A's (talked about academic promise)
*Director of a lab at Mclean Hospital who is Famous in the field of Brain Imaging (talked about research/clinical experience)
*My direct Supervisor who is a well-known Biophysicist in Brain Imaging (talked research experience, work ethic, etc)

I had no interview invites so it wasn't a "personality" thing I don't think

My SOP should be okay.. I'm a pretty concise/strong writer and I did have some smart people make comments/feedback on it.

And, in terms of networking, I did contact potential POI's in the summer, who after viewing my CV encouraged me to apply.

I actually didn't only apply to straight Clinical Psych either:

Harvard Clinical (affiliation from my job and people I work with)
UMASS Boston Clinical
Boston College Counseling
Boston College, Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience
Tufts University, Experimental Clinical
Boston University, Behavioral Neuroscience

I did chat with two of the POI's after I received rejection letters and they both said that my app was very competitive but there was another candidate that had even a better fit...

Ahhhhhhhhh... My scores this year will now expire so I don't even know if I wanna go through the agony of taking the GRE again. I may just take the LSAT and go to LAW school b/c I know I'll get in there. It's pretty much a numbers game so as long as get 165 or so I'll get in... No poking and prodding and competing for 1 spot!!!!

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Boston is the problem.....that area can be some of the most competitive spots to get because of the location and opportunities.

 

[socialcog]

Boston is the problem.....that area can be some of the most competitive spots to get because of the location and opportunities.

Agreed. I couldn't help but notice that it looks like you applied to either Lisa Barrett's lab (or maybe Maya Tamir's lab) at BC. Maya wasn't taking students and Feldman Barrett's lab is very popular, renown with a ton of funding. Tough to get in plain and simple. BC was my first rejection.

 

[deleted190534]

Fully agree!! I did, however, apply to schools well below my score ranges because I felt my background was a negative, and still didn`t get interviews. On the other hand, because the field is so competitive and I only applied to 5 schools, I don`t think there is any evidence of prejudice. I am just wondering how to approach the issue the next year around and looking for some good advice.

Without knowing your research interests, it's hard to say, but if you would like to study your religious group as a population, I would suggest that you look for people who are studying religion. (For example, there is a whole group of profs at BGSU that study religion...& from a positive angle.) Many times, advisors are willing to allow their grad students to branch off into their own subarea, as long as it falls somewhere within the general framework of what the advisor is doing. Again, more info would be necessary, but I hope that helps. (Also, I'd recommend that you apply to more schools! 🙂)

 

[psychanon]

Match, match match. That matters so much more than grades or GREs. I know you've all heard that before, but you really have to think about what it means. Did your interests and experiences really fit with the schools you applied to, or were you just mainly applying there because it was highly ranked or a good location? And when I say interests, I don't mean you peruse the department website and think "hmm, ADHD, that sounds cool-- I think I'll say that's my interest." You need to make a genuine case for why those are your interests (e.g., what research experiences have contributed to the evolution of those interests, etc.), and show that you're committed to that kind of research. The other major factor is research experience. It's really not enough to RA for a year or so-- you need to fully immerse yourself. Clinical experience is much less important at most programs, but have a little bit helps. The final factor is luck. This you have no control over, and it's pretty randomly distributed.

PsycED00-- I saw the problem right away. First of all, you geographically limited yourself to what is probably the most competitive city in the country (comparing the number of programs to the number of people who want to go there). Second of all, you applied to very few programs. Thirdly, obviously I don't know you, but I know there's no possible way that you could be simultaneously a good match for a clinical program, a counseling program, an experimental clinical, AND a Behavior Neuroscience program-- these are all very different kinds of programs with very different training. It sounds to me like you desperately wanted to stay in Boston and tried to make a case for why you're a good match at all of these different programs...and programs can usually see right through that. Also, you don't really do yourself any favors by going to a school that's a poor match-- you're just going to end up intellectually unsatisfied, and it will be a challenge to point your career in the direction that is right for you. It sounds like you have good qualifications, so next year, apply more broadly.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

BC is ridiculously competitive.....though some great people there.

 

[deleted190534]

And when I say interests, I don't mean you peruse the department website and think "hmm, ADHD, that sounds cool-- I think I'll say that's my interest."

I couldn't agree more. That's actually the sort of thought I was going to add to the "What I Learned..." thread. Thanks for posting it!

 

[deleted176373]

Match, match match

I agree 100% here. Match is the NUMBER 1 factor.

but I know there's no possible way that you could be simultaneously a good match for a clinical program, a counseling program, an experimental clinical, AND a Behavior Neuroscience program.

No sure I agree on this one. As I was competitive at some VERY different schools. I had interviews at Baylor (Psy.D.), U of Kansas (Med/Clinical Ph.D.), Michigan State (Clinical Ph.D.), Texas A&M (Counseling Ph.D.), USUHS (Medical/Military Clinical Ph.D.), OLLU (Counseling Psy.D.), and others just as an example of the diversity of programs I applied to and I was accepted to three Ph.D programs. One counseling, one traditional clinical program, and one medical/military clinical. You can be a good match for a large number of very diverse programs but you really have to work hard to make each university know why you are a good candidate with letters (LOR's) tailored for each environment.

Mark

 

[psychanon]

No sure I agree on this one. As I was competitive at some VERY different schools. I had interviews at Baylor (Psy.D.), U of Kansas (Med/Clinical Ph.D.), Michigan State (Clinical Ph.D.), Texas A&M (Counseling Ph.D.), USUHS (Medical/Military Clinical Ph.D.), OLLU (Counseling Psy.D.), and others just as an example of the diversity of programs I applied to and I was accepted to three Ph.D programs. One counseling, one traditional clinical program, and one medical/military clinical. You can be a good match for a large number of very diverse programs but you really have to work hard to make each university know why you are a good candidate with letters (LOR's) tailored for each environment.

Mark

Oh, I think it's possible to be a match for both Ph.D.'s and Psy.D's or for both Counseling and Clinical programs. But PsycEd00's list went from Counseling to Behavioral Neuroscience, and included clinically-oriented as well as purely research programs-- that's a much bigger stretch. Besides, the real red flag is that they are all conveniently located in the same desirable city. It would be lovely if as an applicant you had that many schools that were stellar matches within the same region, but it's just highly unlikely.

 

[ClinMixie]

..

 

[helden]

GRE: 1450
V: 730
Q: 720
A: 5.0

Subject GRE: 770

cum. GPA: 3.9
Psych: 4.0

Research: 2 years RA experience in cognitive with a slight clinical application

Applied: 5
Interviews: 4
Acceptance: 3
Waitlist: 1 (withdrew application)

I think I had a strong SOP very tailored to each program I applied to, and good LOR's from lab mentors and professors. I really prepared for the interviews too, making sure I'd done enough background reading to know what I was talking about, present new ideas, but still be open to being trained according to their model, etc.

On my transcript, freshman year had three W's and one incomplete. I had a family tragedy the year before and was really depressed. I took a year off, came back, and had a 4.0 for the next 3 1/2 years (had to make up for those W's with an extra semester). I didn't refer to this at all on my application or SOP. I'm no longer depressed six years later, and thought the 4.0 spoke for itself without drawing attention to my first year. No one anywhere asked me about it.

As for religion, there was a nun in full uniform at one of my interviews. I don't know what all the faculty thought, but it seemed that there was no discrimintion or discomfort when we were all together in a group or at the closing dinner. It seemed, at least there (large state school), that religious dress made no difference.

 

[Ilovecows]

GRE: 1420
V:660
Q:760
W:5.5
Didn't take the subject
Overall GPA: 3.92
Psych GPA: 3.98
3 years RA experience (volunteer and paid while in undergrad) in 3 labs, including 1 summer research program, senior thesis project, and writing up manuscripts for publication (at the time I had applied, they had been submitted).

Applied 7 Clinical PhD programs/1 interview/1 acceptance
Applied 1 neurosci masters program (Canada)/1 acceptance

I'm not a huge fan of posting stats like this but I think my experiences might be helpful for some other people. First off, yes, most of the schools I applied to were relatively top-tier research-oriented programs.
After not getting interview invites at my top choices, one of my current supervisors suggested that my relative lack of direct experience with my clinical population of interest might have hurt me -

VERY VERY HELPFUL POST! Also a real eye-opener: I think to anyone reading those stats, I was expecting to see like interviews everywhere...ahhh but what a HELPFUL POST!

 

[GiantSteps]

As for religion, there was a nun in full uniform at one of my interviews. I don't know what all the faculty thought, but it seemed that there was no discrimintion or discomfort when we were all together in a group or at the closing dinner. It seemed, at least there (large state school), that religious dress made no difference.

How can you find out if the nun was accepted or not?

 

[psybee]

i've met several priests in clinical phd and psyd programs -- the church pays for everything so i can almost see that helping, since funding wouldn't be a concern.