Rolling admissions

[future psychologist]

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I'm applying to a Clinical Psychology Psy.D. program. I hit the GRE preparation and succeeded - I didn't give up and it paid off.

It took me 4 tries (keep in mind I've been out of school for approximately 20 years). The only things left are: waiting for Master's transcript to arrive and waiting for GRE score to be reported. The school still has openings for class starting in fall/2016, thus they're accepting applications now.

Expecting to submit everything by this coming Wed., am I too late? What are the chances of openings (or just 1 for me

) still existing? Would they really reject a candidate solely due to there being no more opening? If I submit my application and there's no more room, how would that get handled?

Advice? Support? Input?

 

[deleted760483]

I can't answer all of your questions, but:

Would they really reject a candidate solely due to there being no more opening?

Yes. For many graduate schools the number of openings is based on funding, available faculty, etc. It's not just an arbitrary number.

That's not to say you would be permanently rejected, obviously, but getting applications in on time is crucial.

 

[Justanothergrad]

I'm sure you are aware of this but it is worth repeating given the late date of tge application. applications generally run much earlier. Is the program accredited and what is the match rate to accredited internships? What are the debt load average like?

It's so atypical to be APPLYING at this point that I have no guidance for what would be normal.

 

[MCParent]

It's so atypical to be APPLYING at this point that I have no guidance for what would be normal.

A number of the programs that are less-than-responsible with incoming class sizes do not care about when you apply. Why would they, so long as you are approved for federal loan money?

 

[50MinuteHour]

A number of the programs that are less-than-responsible with incoming class sizes do not care about when you apply. Why would they, so long as you are approved for federal loan money?

This.

It sounds like you're applying to a non-funded Psy.D. program. I know of a few that will take rolling admissions right up until the semester starts.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Definitely a red flag.

 

[future psychologist]

Program is accredited. I don't have answers to the other questions from justanothergrad

 

[MCParent]

Program is accredited. I don't have answers to the other questions from justanothergrad

You can find them here and on their required C-20 disclosure data on the web site.

https://www.appic.org/Portals/0/downloads/APPIC_Match_Rates_2011-14_by_Univ.pdf

 

[future psychologist]

50MinuteHour, please forgive my not knowing all the lingo, as I'm new to all this. By non-funded program, do you mean private/non-state? This school is private. So would that mean they could make admissions offers up until the last minute?

Therapist4Chnge, why a red flag?

 

[future psychologist]

Thanks MCParent.
In 2014: % matched-52. % not matched-38. % of matched applicants who matched to accredited internships-100. I have no clue what this means.

 

[MCParent]

Thanks MCParent.
In 2014: % matched-52. % not matched-38. % of matched applicants who matched to accredited internships-100. I have no clue what this means.

It means that only about half of the people who went to the program got an accredited internship, which is well below the average.

you can read about how to find and read C-20 data here:
http://psychologygradschool.weebly.com/choosing-a-program---c-20.html

 

[future psychologist]

How does this relate to when they stop accepting new admissions?

 

[MCParent]

How does this relate to when they stop accepting new admissions?

There are many reasons a program may make later offers. For example, someone may decide to not come to grad school after accepting an offer, or a worse scenario such as being diagnosed with an illness, or even passing away between accepting and matriculating. In those cases, the program MIGHT replace the student for the incoming cohort by checking to see what applicants are still available. But, those are instances where single students would get offers later, and not "rolling" admissions.

"Rolling" admissions in psychology are not common. They are common in some other fields, so you might have friends in other areas who have not even begun applications to grad school. In psych, the agreed-upon national deadline to accept or decline offers is April 15. A program that does not observe this deadline suggests that they are willing to take, essentially, almost anyone who applies, whenever they apply. Such programs are seen as predatory by many people in the field.

A program with a flexy deadline, that has poor match rates, and that does not fund students, is probably not a program that offers a solid training experience at best, and is at worst predatory.

 

[50MinuteHour]

50MinuteHour, please forgive my not knowing all the lingo, as I'm new to all this. By non-funded program, do you mean private/non-state? This school is private. So would that mean they could make admissions offers up until the last minute?

No worries. When I say a program is non-funded, I mean that the program does not fund the student's tuition nor do they provide a stipend. Many private PhD programs do fund their students, but most private PsyD programs do not. It is not uncommon for students to walk out of a PsyD program with $200k in debt or more, whereas I know some PhD students who did not incur a single dollar of debt throughout their tenure.

 

[ClinicalABA]

Thanks MCParent.
In 2014: % matched-52. % not matched-38. % of matched applicants who matched to accredited internships-100. I have no clue what this means.

You will need to complete a predoctoral internship to be licensed in most (all?) states (ETA- as MCParent points out below- you actually need to complete one to get the Ph.D./Psy.D). Many states require that this internship be APA accredited. You never know where you'll end up wanting to practice, so a non-APA accredited internship can be a big obstacle. Internships are highly competitive. These data indicate that one out of two students in this program had there careers put on hold for at least a year, most likely at substantial expense. Generally, accredited internship acceptance rates above 80% are considered good. I'd be wary of an 80% rate in a program with cohorts larger that 10.

 

[MCParent]

You will need to complete a predoctoral internship to be licensed in most (all?) states.

You need to complete it to get the DEGREE (phd/psyd), let alone get licensed. I suppose they could get licensed under a masters if they got one.

 

[future psychologist]

Thank you everyone.