Pros and cons of waiting another year to apply to internship

[bebex12]

Hi-
I'm in my 5th year in a clinical psychology Ph.D. program. This is when our students typically apply to internship (which has always been my plan as well), but I am now considering waiting another year and would really appreciate some input!

I had to have a pretty major surgery last year that unfortunately put me pretty behind on my milestones. I have not yet proposed my dissertation and probably won't be prepared to do so until late-September. Students in my program are generally expected to have their dissertation proposal approved by the first faculty meeting of their 5th year (which is tomorrow) in order to be approved to apply to internship. There is however, some flexibility on this rule and my DCT informally told me that I shouldn't be concerned about the faculty saying I can't apply this year given my special circumstances.

My mentor said she supports me in applying this year if I want to, but has also made a compelling argument for why I would benefit from waiting a year. First, it is highly unlikely that I would be able to defend before internship, and while I could certainly have my data collected by then, it would make for a pretty hell-ish year. Second, I want to go into academia and waiting a year would give me more time to rack up publications before starting internship. From what I have heard, students typically don't have significantly more pubs on their CV when applying to post-docs than they did when applying to internship since applications are due soon after starting internship. I have a handful of pubs now, but I would definitely be more competitive for post-doc if I finished a few more before applying.

On the other hand, I am feeling so ready to move forward with the next chapter of my life. I completed a terminal masters before beginning my doctoral program so it feels like I have been a graduate student for an eternity.

I'd really appreciate any thoughts you might have as I try weighing the pros and cons of delaying my applications a year.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Justanothergrad]

I took an extra year and that allowed me to increase my pub count substantially/defend my dissertation before internship, as well as enter directly into the academic market and be successful in my search for an R1 job. I also had a terminal masters before hand. If it were me to do over, I would do the same thing and enjoy the time afforded by that year. There are lots of frustrations and difficulties with being a grad student, but it's also a pretty fun time (especially in the +1 year stage) in my opinion. Your experience may vary, but it seems like you have more reason to put it off than to try and launch ahead (even just in terms of how much you wrote about each).

 

[EmotRegulation]

I agree with justanothergrad. I also applied for internship in year 6, though it was because my masters took me forever, not because of dissertation (and I didn't end up defending until the very end of internship year). BUT that time was vital for me getting more publications out and thus being competitive for academic jobs, applying for dissertation awards (and I got a few of them!). Think about it this way--if you apply now, you'll be either applying for jobs or postdocs in one year. You'll spend the fall applying for jobs or post-docs and the spring frantically trying to finish your dissertation (note: this is a timeline I am familiar with, as I did those things while on internship) with very little time to get any *other* publications out. It's doable for sure, but departments will want to have confidence that you'll finish your dissertation (i.e., you should be able to talk about your dissertation data on job talks, which means having a coherent story. And do NOT underestimate the amount of time job applications can take.....

 

[Kadhir]

I took an extra year for different reasons (pursued a clinical practicum in a different city because the experience wasn't offered by my program and I thought it was pretty important for internship apps). I ended up matching well, to a research oriented site, and then became research focused- ha! In short, there is no shame or harm in taking an extra year if you have reasons beyond "less stress"... and it seems that you do.

 

[deleted343839]

Applying in your sixth year won't make you stand out in a negative way to internship sites and has a lot of advantages, as others have noted. The only obvious advantage to moving ahead with internship applications this year is finishing your program sooner, but you seem to recognize the shortsightedness of making that your top priority.

 

[quickpsych]

Two small considerations I'd put forth (but not necessarily deal breakers):

1.) If you happen to have any private loans from undergrad be careful. Some private loans (i.e.Sallie Mae) have vague terms stating that "loans can not be deferred under "in school deferment" for more than X number of months (either beyond undergrad or masters graduation depending on lender). If you go on internship you can apply for internship/residency deferments but if you take a year off (whether or not the school lists you as full time student), some loans will go into repayment. Additionally even if they don't have these terms, if you used up forbearance and/or left school for more than 6 months at any time this might impact your ability to get loan deferments/certain payment programs later.

2.) There's been a lot of talk around requiring a two part EPPP examination beginning January 2020 which will both cost more (two exam fees) and require more studying/time commitments.

If you are in a state/country that requires post-doctoral supervision before being eligible for a license these two things could become a headache.

I don't think any of these concerns should necessarily trump a decision to wait a year (esp #2 if you are academia/research focused) but sometimes these little quirks in the system and timelines can throw a small wrench into well intentioned plans. Best of luck and nothing wrong with taking a much needed breather if you've got all your ducks in a row.

 

[psyche27]

Hi-
I'm in my 5th year in a clinical psychology Ph.D. program. This is when our students typically apply to internship (which has always been my plan as well), but I am now considering waiting another year and would really appreciate some input!

I had to have a pretty major surgery last year that unfortunately put me pretty behind on my milestones. I have not yet proposed my dissertation and probably won't be prepared to do so until late-September. Students in my program are generally expected to have their dissertation proposal approved by the first faculty meeting of their 5th year (which is tomorrow) in order to be approved to apply to internship. There is however, some flexibility on this rule and my DCT informally told me that I shouldn't be concerned about the faculty saying I can't apply this year given my special circumstances.

My mentor said she supports me in applying this year if I want to, but has also made a compelling argument for why I would benefit from waiting a year. First, it is highly unlikely that I would be able to defend before internship, and while I could certainly have my data collected by then, it would make for a pretty hell-ish year. Second, I want to go into academia and waiting a year would give me more time to rack up publications before starting internship. From what I have heard, students typically don't have significantly more pubs on their CV when applying to post-docs than they did when applying to internship since applications are due soon after starting internship. I have a handful of pubs now, but I would definitely be more competitive for post-doc if I finished a few more before applying.

On the other hand, I am feeling so ready to move forward with the next chapter of my life. I completed a terminal masters before beginning my doctoral program so it feels like I have been a graduate student for an eternity.

I'd really appreciate any thoughts you might have as I try weighing the pros and cons of delaying my applications a year.

Internship year is typically an extremely stressful year no matter the setting. If you wait a year and finish your dissertation during that time it will significantly improve your quality of life during internship because you won’t be trying to complete the two most stressful aspects of graduating at the same time.

 

[ToneTone]

I thought applying in my 6th year would raise some eyebrows, but I managed to fortunately get a decent amount of interviews and ended up at a place that I love for internship! I still haven't finished my dissertation (last chapter!), and internship is pretty busy that I do find that I have to work on the weekends. Though I felt crappy taking so long on my dissertation, it seems that everyone does really go at their own pace. Only one mentor at my site raised his eyebrows slightly when he realized what year I was...otherwise it hasn't come up. There are really talented 4th year students in my group, and there are people I would say generally (not at my site) who are less blessed in skills even though they've been in school longer ha. So...it doesn't matter is what I'm trying to say! The things I regret is really the crunch to take that EPPP before 2020, and my extreme student debt....so take those into consideration. One thing I wished I knew, was that some internship sites are willing to train you in areas you may not have a ton of exposure to. I was so insecure that I wouldn't match to a very child focused site, but I did and other colleagues have their own growing edges. So just try your best no matter what year you apply.