How many programs did you apply to?

[FranklinR]

OK, fine: To how many programs did you apply?

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[psykate09]

OK, fine: To how many programs did you apply?

I hope no one picks 40, that's just ridiculous. And your LOR writers probably hate you.

 

[FranklinR]

I hope no one picks 40, that's just ridiculous. And your LOR writers probably hate you.

It's not so much the letter, which can be mass-produced fairly easily (if they don't do the on-line recommendation, which none of mine did), as it is the evaluation forms, all of which are just a LITTLE bit different...

 

[Marissa4usa]

I applied to 23 program (including several masters programs as back ups) . For the actual letter I assumed that the recommendation writers just printed them the number of times I needed them. For the addtitional forms to be filled out I made sure to fill in all the information I had so that my profs literally only had make a few checkmarks and sign them.

 

[Aggieanthony]

I applied to 11 programs, 3 of which were Master's level and 8 of which were concurrent MA/Ph.D or MA/Psy.D curricula.

 

[FreudianSlip7]

I applied to 23 program (including several masters programs as back ups) . For the actual letter I assumed that the recommendation writers just printed them the number of times I needed them. For the addtitional forms to be filled out I made sure to fill in all the information I had so that my profs literally only had make a few checkmarks and sign them.

Wow, I wonder how much that cost in application fees.

 

[Marissa4usa]

Wow, I wonder how much that cost in application fees.

You don't wanna know

 

[dd123]

I applied to 8.

Marissa,
I guess we also don't want to know how long it took to write your personal statements?

 

[Marissa4usa]

Marissa,
I guess we also don't want to know how long it took to write your personal statements?

Hehe, not really. What made things a little easier is that I have really one specific research interest and made sure to pick professors who match it perfectly (that is not say that I didn't differ from in a few aspects but at no point did I have to make a stretch) which made writing the program specific part a little easier (but nonetheless pretty time consuming).

The worst was when some schools had specific requirements regarding length (for one school I had to shorten my statement from ~2500 to 500 words) and things that they wanted me to discuss.

 

[BamaPsych]

I applied to 11 schools

6 PhD and 5 PsyD.

 

[lucyguard]

Hehe, not really. What made things a little easier is that I have really one specific research interest and made sure to pick professor who match it perfectly (that is not say that I differed from in a few aspects but at no point did I have to make a stretch) which made writing the program specific part a little easier (but nonetheless pretty time consuming).

The worst was when some schools had specific requirements regarding length (for one school I had to shorten my statement from ~2500 to 500 words) and things that I wanted me to discuss.

I applied to 8 and I can only imagine what writing all those statements was like. Most of my programs only had suggestions for the statement, which were all the regular stuff so those were easy. But after writing a 2000 word statement and having to shrink it to meet another program's requirements is so difficult. I just didn't feel that I had room to say what I thought was relevant. There was also one school that asked for 2 statements each with specific info that were not really the 'usual' stuff you'd talk about. I did what they asked but couldn't help feeling that I wanted to talk about some of that normal stuff.

 

[jclinical]

I applied to 11 Ph.D. programs, 10 clinical, 1 counseling. It would be nice to include number of invites and number of acceptances--might be a way to test the mentor advice we all get about the golden number of programs to apply to.

For example applied:interviews:waitlists:acceptances

11:5:1:3

 

[deleted176373]

I hope no one picks 40, that's just ridiculous. And your LOR writers probably hate you.

Well they didn't have 42, which is how many programs I ended up applying to, so I picked 40. Calling it ridiculous, I don't think so, I am in a great program and I'm quite happy. My LOR writers, they loved me, and they were willing to write as many letters as I was willing to ask for. Most of these letters were independently written for each program.

Mark

 

[FreudianSlip7]

Well they didn't have 42, which is how many programs I ended up applying to, so I picked 40. Calling it ridiculous, I don't think so, I am in a great program and I'm quite happy. My LOR writers, they loved me, and they were willing to write as many letters as I was willing to ask for. Most of these letters were independently written for each program.

Mark

You honestly found 42 schools that you would seriously consider going to? They all were a good fit for you in terms of research/clinical interests and career goals? Maybe that's why it seems so surprising, at least to me.

 

[deleted176373]

You honestly found 42 schools that you would seriously consider going to? They all were a good fit for you in terms of research/clinical interests and career goals? Maybe that's why it seems so surprising, at least to me.

Yes, I found 42 programs that I would consider going to.

The first year, I did a poor job matching and got 2 interviews out of 15 programs. The second year I applied to 27 programs because I was working against an expiration date that would have impacted my ability to be a military psychologist. Otherwise I would have been much less aggressive.

I was offered interviews at 14 of the 27 programs, 8 of which I accepted, so perhaps I wasn't such a bad fit.

Those 27 applications only resulted in 3 acceptances. While I ended up getting into my #1 choice, I think I did the right thing. I was accepted where I did not suspect I would be and turned away at some schools I thought I was a good fit for. You can question the method, but the result is what matters. I had a special set of circumstances that necessitated an aggressive strategy.

The 27 programs were broken into my 3 primary areas of interest, 9 programs for each interest area. When you think about it that way, it doesn't sound so ridiculous.

Mark

 

[FreudianSlip7]

Yes, I found 42 programs that I would consider going to.

The first year, I did a poor job matching and got 2 interviews out of 15 programs. The second year I applied to 27 programs because I was working against an expiration date that would have impacted my ability to be a military psychologist. Otherwise I would have been much less aggressive.

I was offered interviews at 14 of the 27 programs, 8 of which I accepted, so perhaps I wasn't such a bad fit.

Those 27 applications only resulted in 3 acceptances. While I ended up getting into my #1 choice, I think I did the right thing. I was accepted where I did not suspect I would be and turned away at some schools I thought I was a good fit for. You can question the method, but the result is what matters. I had a special set of circumstances that necessitated an aggressive strategy.

The 27 programs were broken into my 3 primary areas of interest, 9 programs for each interest area. When you think about it that way, it doesn't sound so ridiculous.

Mark

I thought you meant 42 in one sitting. I didn't say it was ridiculous at all, at this point I don't find anything a person does in terms of number of schools is ridiculous, you do what you feel you have to, it's a personal choice. Congrats on getting into your #1 choice, you did what worked for you and it paid off.

 

[deleted176373]

I thought you meant 42 in one sitting. I didn't say it was ridiculous at all, at this point I don't find anything a person does in terms of number of schools is ridiculous, you do what you feel you have to, it's a personal choice. Congrats on getting into your #1 choice, you did what worked for you and it paid off.

There is an old fighter pilot saying, "I'd rather be lucky, than good." That's what happened in this case. I was accepted at #5, and told that I was not being offered admission at my #1 choice. On April 12th, I found out the person selected for the slot was unable to attend the program due to an injury playing basketball (torn ACL), that's the only reason I was able to go to USUHS and did not attend Texas A&M.

Both are great schools and sometimes I still lament that I couldn't go to A&M.

Mark

 

[PamBeasLizLemo]

It seems you are judgmental in every thread. I see a trend here...

 

[xenobart]

I'm an MSW student, but one of my friends just completed the PhD in Psychology process. She applied to nine PhD in clinical psychology programs, got an interview at one, and was accepted at one.

The school she got accepted to was her alma mater, where she graduated summa cum laude in psychology, so she definitely had an in there through connections!