Seeking some advice around compiling a good/strategic list of internship sites

[seriouslyphd]

I am in my 4th year of a clinical psychology program and wondering about how to put together a good list of internship sites to target. I am not geographically restricted. From my own perspective, I’m a competitive student (a first author pub and 9 collaborative pubs, conference attendance, practicum in inpatient, VA, and speciality clinics, minor awards and scholarships, good LORS), although at this level of training, I entirely recognize my similarly accomplished peers. My impression is that sites have a median acceptance rate of ~5%; I’m wondering how I should be thinking about compiling a list of sites that appropriately encompass both “less competitive” and “more competitive” sites? What would be the acceptance rate of a “less competitive” site and how many lesser competitive sites should I apply to? Thank you for your advice and consideration!

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[WisNeuro]

Entirely dependent on what you want to do for postdoc/career as it's more about fit. Acceptance rates are misleading as a large group of people are rejected outright for poor fit, or simply having a terrible application at many sites.

 

[cara susanna]

Yup, focus more on what you want for training than on competitiveness. I applied for all highly competitive sites, as in research-focused sites, and still matched (although it was to my second-to-last choice site, lol).

The only thing I factored in was minimum required hours. I didn't bother applying to sites where I didn't meet those.

 

[naturenurture]

Agreed that it is more about fit than competitiveness. You have better odds at a "competitive" site that aligns well with the training experiences you have received so far, the training experiences you want to gain on internship, and your clinical/research interests, than a less competitive site that is a meh fit. I highly recommend talking with older students/postdocs who have been through the application process and see if they are willing to share their list/experiences. It helps with finding programs in line with your interests and getting information you can't find on brochures/websites (e.g., past interns really disliked a certain site; x program typically only interviews people with a training grant or high level of productivity in high impact journals; x program is very well respected). It can also help you gauge your competitiveness - if you talk to students who had similar training experiences and qualifications and they got an interview at a site, you may be similarly competitive at that site.

 

[seriouslyphd]

Thank you so much everyone! This makes sense. I appreciate the advice greatly.