PhD/PsyD Materials for Pre-Doctoral Internships

[deleted1010094]

I am currently finalizing all of my materials for applications and going back through the websites for details on what exact materials each site requests. Some sites are very detailed and others simply say something like "must submit APPIC application by 11/1." I understand what the most crucial materials are (essays, transcripts, CV, and letters) but am wondering if it does any harm to submit supplemental materials (reports and treatment summaries) to sites that do not request it. Would love people's thoughts!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[SchoolClinical]

I am currently finalizing all of my materials for applications and going back through the websites for details on what exact materials each site requests. Some sites are very detailed and others simply say something like "must submit APPIC application by 11/1." I understand what the most crucial materials are (essays, transcripts, CV, and letters) but am wondering if it does any harm to submit supplemental materials (reports and treatment summaries) to sites that do not request it. Would love people's thoughts!

Don't send extra stuff they don't ask for...

 

[deleted1010094]

Don't send extra stuff they don't ask for...

Is this your personal opinion or coming from knowledge of how internship directors and selection committees feel?

 

[WannaMatch101]

I have also been told by our DCT that sending extra things is not a good idea. Worst case scenario, they see someone who is incompetent enough to not read application instructions or someone who didn't care to differentiate them from another site

 

[deleted1010094]

That makes sense, thank you!

 

[SchoolClinical]

Is this your personal opinion or coming from knowledge of how internship directors and selection committees feel?

Both. Some sites ask for supplemental materials, some don't - if they aren't asking for it, they don't want it, and it can reflect negatively on you that you didn't follow proper instructions of what to send to whom.

 

[foreverbull]

Coming from the perspective of someone who read people’s materials/interviewed folks for a master’s level internship at a site a few years back, we barely had time to review the required materials and would not have agreed with the “more is better” philosophy that some applicants have (I’m speaking to applicants in general, not specifically you).

For folks who want to do “extra,” you might want to consider the motivation to send things that aren’t asked for rather than let the required materials suffice; I understand that it might be out of a desire to provide a more well-rounded picture, but from the selection side, it might be interpreted as either not paying attention to directions or purposely going against directions out of insecurity that one’s materials aren’t enough on their own. That’s a risky path to take.

Wondering if any other folks with selection experience view extra materials positively or I’m in the majority on this?

 

[AcronymAllergy]

As someone directly involved in selection, I would say do not send extra materials. In fairness to other applicants, I would disregard them.

 

[Justanothergrad]

As someone directly involved in selection, I would say do not send extra materials. In fairness to other applicants, I would disregard them.

Agreed with others- dont send extra materials. When I reviewed materials it was exactly this reasoning. It's hard to know if something is incremental if you only have one data point.

 

[WisNeuro]

I'll add another voice from someone who reviews these materials every year. Please don't include extra things we did not ask for. We will not read it, and now you've added an extra step for us to remove it if we want to print out the application for committee review. Making extra work for us is not a great first impression when I am reviewing apps.

 

[str63]

DCT here - do not include extra materials. It's really annoying and will likely reflect negatively.

 

[beantownpsych]

Internship TD here. Don't include extra materials....I will assume you're unable or don't care enough to follow directions. Remember many of us read 100+ applications so we are looking for any reason to toss one aside. Don't let this be the reason.