Past applicants: Numbers of applications/interviews/acceptances?

[futureapppsy2]

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I'm not interested in applicant stats so much as I am just curious about the numbers of applications, interviews, waitlists, and acceptances among applicants. It's highly variable, of course, but I still think it's interesting and somewhat helpful data nonetheless.

Thanks!

 

[cara susanna]

8 apps, 3 interviews, 1 waitlist, 1 acceptance

 

[edieb]

One of my recmmenders forgot to write my LOR, so, by the time I found another recommender, I was only able to get my application into one school, and that is where I went!

Just to underscore how illogical the process is: I had very cursory research experience (one-two months of working one hour/week looking up journal articles in the library for a prof and writing summaries) and no volunteer experience but yet going to a reseach-based clincal phd program!

 

[RayneeDeigh]

13 applications, one preliminary phone interview after which point I was cut, one acceptance (but I didn't go there), and one wait-list to the program I ended up going to.

I second the randomness of it all. My GRE scores were all above the 90th percentile, I had a good GPA, multiple years of RA experience, and some poster presentations. I didn't even get one in-person interview.

But hey, waitlists still count and I'm proof of that. I got my acceptance on April 14th of my application year and had 24 hours to decide.

 

[NeedMoreSleep08]

10 apps, 3 interviews, 3 acceptances and 1 waitlist. It was odd - I was waitlisted at a school where I didn't interview.

 

[aly cat]

12 applications, 1 interview, 1 acceptance.

I'm proof that all it takes is one!

 

[FadedC]

8 applications, 3 interviews and one acceptance. The acceptance was from a school I decided to apply to halfway through the application proccess. All I can say is thank god I made that decision.

 

[AlaskanJustin]

I'm not interested in applicant stats so much as I am just curious about the numbers of applications, interviews, waitlists, and acceptances among applicants. It's highly variable, of course, but I still think it's interesting and somewhat helpful data nonetheless.

Thanks!

I am also curious about whether these are PsyD or PhD programs... that seems an important distinction no?

 

[futureapppsy2]

I am also curious about whether these are PsyD or PhD programs... that seems an important distinction no?

Depends on the program--the funded, university-based PsyD programs (Indiana U-Pennisylvania, Baylor, Rutgers, Indiana State, etc) can be just as competitive as PhD programs. Perhaps a better question would be "funded or not?"...?

 

[TenaciousGirl]

12 apps, 4 interviews, 2 waitlist, 2 acceptance. Mix of PhD and PsyD

 

[psybee]

PhD, 11 apps, 8 interviews, withdrew from 2, 4 acceptances

 

[cara susanna]

Mine were all Clinical PhD programs. Sorry for not including that!

 

[cheeksybear]

could the ppl who have posted here provide some info about themselves? stats, research, etc.?

 

[AryaStark]

Clinical PhD straight from undergrad
11 applications
2 interviews
1 acceptance
I'm ALSO proof that it just takes one.
Also proof that it is all about fit (hated one place I interviewed didn't really fit with research and didn't get in, loved the second place with fit etc I got in)

 

[rmenoch]

11 PhD programs (5 Clinical, 4 Counseling, and 2 Combined)
5 Interviews (2 Clinical, 2 Counseling, and 1 Combined)
4 Waitlists (2 Clinical, 1 Counseling, and 1 Combined)
2 Acceptances (1 Clinical and 1 Combined)
2 Removals from waitlist (1 Clinical and 1 Counseling)

 

[slangsd]

Applied to 15 (Counseling Psych PhD)
So far heard back from 3
2 interviews
1 not accepted

 

[applebottom]

this may be disheartening, but...

8 apps (all clinical phd)
4 interviews
3 waitlists where I was #1 on the list

0 acceptances

I am reapplying and hoping for a better outcome this year!

 

[Josie1554]

this may be disheartening, but...

8 apps (all clinical phd)
4 interviews
3 waitlists where I was #1 on the list

0 acceptances

I am reapplying and hoping for a better outcome this year!

I was in the same boat the last time I applied, too.

9 apps (also all clinical phd)
5 interviews
3 waitlists

0 acceptances

Maybe, I am a bad interviewer??? But, when I applied to 5 MA programs. I received 5 interveiws and was accepted to all of them (one with full funding).

I am also re-applying this year. I also hope for a better outcome, but I am more cautious this time. On the flip side, I know several full-time competent professors who had to reapply to get into a clinical program. I even know one well-respected professor who had to apply three times. So, I do not think there is a negative correlation between the times you apply and you career success (I should do a study!!) It's just frustrating. So hang in there.

 

[phillydave]

But hey, waitlists still count and I'm proof of that. I got my acceptance on April 14th of my application year and had 24 hours to decide.

Yikes. Wonder how Jack Bauer would've handled the situation.

 

[terpskins10]

Yikes. Wonder how Jack Bauer would've handled the situation.

Probably would have dragged it out for 10 weeks or so with a 2 hour season finale.

 

[katciao]

13 applications, one preliminary phone interview after which point I was cut, one acceptance (but I didn't go there), and one wait-list to the program I ended up going to.

I second the randomness of it all. My GRE scores were all above the 90th percentile, I had a good GPA, multiple years of RA experience, and some poster presentations. I didn't even get one in-person interview.

But hey, waitlists still count and I'm proof of that. I got my acceptance on April 14th of my application year and had 24 hours to decide.

Which university (program) did you end up in? Where and in what major did you do your undergrad? How long did you have to wait between preliminary phone interview and notification of rejection? When did you find out you were on the wait list? How long did you wait from the time you applied to this program and the time you received notification that you were on wait list? How long did you wait from the posted app deadline and the time you were told you were on the wait list?

Thanks!

 

[Wildcat06]

Just to add my story to the mix:

12 apps (11 clinical PhD, 1 community psych PhD)
9 interview offers (8 clinical, 1 community)
8 interviews
3 offers (2 clinical, 1 community)

Both of my clinical offers were off the waitlist. This can be a little rough on the ego but who cares if it means getting to do what you want, right?

As I noted before, wasn't really "waitlisted" or "rejected" at the other programs. Just in limbo until I withdrew my application.

 

[richzeelv]

12 PhD programs (8 Counseling Psych, 4 Clinical Psych)
2 Interviews (2 Counseling Psych)
2 Waitlisted
0 Offers

I was offered admission to the master's program of both schools I was waitlisted on...and I took the offer of one of the schools. Now I'm reapplying again..this time I'll have my Master's by the time I enter the program. I applied to 9 PhD Counseling Psych programs and 1 PhD Clinical Psych programs. So far I have received one interview invite and none of my schools are listed on the invitation thread. So hopefully, I'll have a better end results this time around.

 

[katciao]

One of my recmmenders forgot to write my LOR, so, by the time I found another recommender, I was only able to get my application into one school, and that is where I went!

Just to underscore how illogical the process is: I had very cursory research experience (one-two months of working one hour/week looking up journal articles in the library for a prof and writing summaries) and no volunteer experience but yet going to a reseach-based clincal phd program!

Amazing! Which university do you attend? Did you have a perfect GRE score? 4.0 undergrad from a prestigious U? Work with Freud? You must have done something incredible.

 

[Blue86]

Somehow I think that most Phd programs would not have considered working with Freud an advantage 😀

 

[psychmama]

Somehow I think that most Phd programs would not have considered working with Freud an advantage 😀

Depends on the school...😉

 

[DoctorBecca]

12 applications (4 PsyD and 8 PhD)
6 interviews (Pepperdine, Baylor, U Hartford, Florida Institute of Tech, George Washington, & George Mason)
5 acceptances (Rejected from Pepperdine)

Decided to go to Baylor 🙂

I was in a M.A. program in Experimental Psych when I decided I wanted to go into Clinical Psych and decided to apply to Clinical programs. I had a 3.9 GPA, 1300 GRE, and was working full time as a research assistant in the TBI department of a hospital.

 

[paramour]

Depends on the school...😉

And even the professor within the program. 😉

 

[jennigold]

First year applying
7 applications (phd)
1 interview
0 acceptances

Second Year
9 applications (all phd)
6 interviews - declined 1
4 offers

 

[summerssun]

First year applying
7 applications (phd)
1 interview
0 acceptances

Second Year
9 applications (all phd)
6 interviews - declined 1
4 offers

That's a very impressive change! What would you say you did differently, if you don't mind my asking?

 

[jennigold]

That's a very impressive change! What would you say you did differently, if you don't mind my asking?

absolutely. i can tell you what i did and didn't do differently.

I didn't retake the GREs even though some people said my math score was too low. and I didn't dramatically change my statements.

I did change one of my letter writers because after seeing his letter (back in the day of hard copy letters) I realized he was far too busy to write a good letter. mine wasn't bad but it wasn't as well written as it should have been.

I also realized that you can't choose schools on the basis of their location. sure i want to live in boston, seattle or san francisco (where 3 of the schools i applied to my first round of applying were located) instead the only important factor is research match and only research match (and not clinical match for a phd program). so my second round i applied to schools in tallahassee and burlington and champaign, il. because i was able to make a good claim that my research background would be a good fit with that POI.

once i understood how the process worked, everything worked out

 

[paramour]

First year:
- 4 applications
- 2 interviews
- 1 waitlist
- 0 acceptances
* Expected it. ******* apparently applied to all top tier schools, and, oh, yeah, I had no research experience. I was amazed I even received interviews. 🙄

Second year:
- 14-17 applications (I honestly don't recall how many; I've slept since then!)
- 2 interviews
- 2 waitlists
- 1 acceptance (from the waitlist)

 

[researchgirl]

.

 

[hamsterpants]

First year:
- 4 applications
- 2 interviews
- 1 waitlist
- 0 acceptances
* Expected it. ******* apparently applied to all top tier schools, and, oh, yeah, I had no research experience. I was amazed I even received interviews. 🙄

Second year:
- 14-17 applications (I honestly don't recall how many; I've slept since then!)
- 2 interviews
- 2 waitlists
- 1 acceptance (from the waitlist)

Hi

What do you think made the biggest difference the second time around? research experience? applying to more/ less competitive schools? just curious.

 

[paramour]

Hi

What do you think made the biggest difference the second time around? research experience? applying to more/ less competitive schools? just curious.

Biggest difference? Likely applying to more schools in general helped, along with obtaining considerably more research experience (compared to the none I had previously). I earned a master's degree between application cycles as well, but that actually hindered me at a few places at least.

I applied to the same schools the second time around, and I was rejected from all of them. I applied to some schools that were equal to more competitive in nature, with rejections to each and every one. I applied to some schools that were less competitive and/or "safety schools," although one or two I wouldn't really consider them to be as such because they were ranked at the top of MY list. Research interests fit great. My stats were well above their posted stats. Yet no interviews.

In the end (the second time around), I earned interviews at two programs, both of which I would have been happy to attend at that time. My research interests aligned extremely well with both. I was waitlisted by one because I had a master's degree, and they didn't want to accept students with master's degrees. Yes, I WAS TOLD THIS BY THE PROGRAM. I received indication from other programs that this may have been a contributing factor not in my favor. This varies by program. They may benefit, or hinder you. Depends upon the program; even depends upon the professors within any given program. This is certainly something *I* could have investigated w/ each program prior to applying.

I think about my first application cycle, and I see 2 interviews out of 4 applications at extremely competitive programs; then reflect upon my second application to see 2 interviews out of 14-17 "mixed" programs. It's a crapshoot sometimes, regardless of what some may tell you.

G'luck!

 

[Josie1554]

I earned a master's degree between application cycles as well, but that actually hindered me at a few places at least.

OMG...I know what you mean. The last time I applied, I had a Master's Degree already, and I think it hindered me. I thought it was my overreactive imagination. But your post confirmed my suspicions.

According to the school profiles on "Insider's Guide," few schools accept a lot of Master's students (Most report that less than 10% of their admits have Master's Degrees). However, when I went on interviews at least 40% of the interviewees had Masters (40% were RA's and 20% straight out of undergrad). I think there is a preference for students without Master's degree, especially since students with Master's degrees cost more (Schools have to pay student with Master's degree more for TAships and GSRship).

This is, of course, based on the assumption that the school profiles in the "Insider's Guide" are correct and that I am not paranoid. Neither of which I can guarantee. 😀

 

[psich]

Great...now I'm really discouraged 🙁

 

[PhDToBe]

Josie,


Wouldn't most Master's students end up being less since they most likely spend one less year at the program, and thus one less yearly stipend? I think most programs tend to accept less Master's students because less applicants have Master's. Also, some programs want to fully train their applicants...That's what I've been told, at least.

 

[paramour]

I think there is a preference for students without Master's degree, especially since students with Master's degrees cost more (Schools have to pay student with Master's degree more for TAships and GSRship).

Not necessarily. All programs do not pay students with master's degrees more. I know plenty, including myself, who get the same stipend as everyone else.

Great...now I'm really discouraged 🙁

It can be discouraging, especially after I first received this information. You have to be prepared to address it. In my case, I started telling people I understood that I might be required to re-take classes, that my degree was not in clinical psych so I had no previous clinical training they would need to re-do, etc. Point out your strengths, and maybe they'll overlook that pesky extra piece of paper.

And, again, this is dependent upon program and even professors within the program. Some programs may discourage it, or not even have a policy regarding it (official or otherwise), but there may be some profs who prefer students with master's degrees (I ran into a few).

Wouldn't most Master's students end up being less since they most likely spend one less year at the program, and thus one less yearly stipend?

Not necessarily. Just because you have a master's doesn't mean you're getting out any earlier. I will be around for as long as anyone else in my cohort. The program is structured so that I am *allegedly* supposed to be able to leave a year earlier. It will not happen because I will not have the clinic hours necessary to be considered even remotely competitive for internship. And they readily admit it.

I think most programs tend to accept less Master's students because less applicants have Master's. Also, some programs want to fully train their applicants...That's what I've been told, at least.

Part of it is this, i.e., they want to verify that folks are trained according to what they want and not have to worry about previous training being an issue. Additionally, with classes that have relatively small class sizes, they also have to be concerned about meeting enrollment requirements in order to offer them. If they have 'x' number of students with master's degrees who are allowed to transfer credit for a course, then the dept may not be able to offer the course to the rest of the cohort if there aren't enough of them to meet that minimum requirement.