Should I cut my losses and change programs?

[Anais-In]

Hi - I'm new to this forum, but found it because I have been having lots of worries and troubles with my program and am wondering what to do.

I go to an unaccredited, funded PsyD program. When I applied they told me that they were soon to be pursuing accreditation and that from the first cohort they had a 100% match rate, great.

I'm in my second year, and of the small number of people who just applied for internship, only 25% matched. Additionally, there is a lot of program instability as resources keep getting cut and it seems like accreditation is looking more and more distant/possibly-not-happening.

I feel so disillusioned. I worked extremely hard to get where I am. I did a whole second undergrad, second honour's thesis, worked my butt off to maintain a 4.0 GPA and volunteered like crazy and was just generally a really strong applicant.

I chose this program because I wanted a PsyD, and this was funded and in the place I want to live more than anywhere. But now I am wondering if I should have just applied to PhD's, or if I still should, or what I should do.

I am terrified about coming from an unaccredited program with a poor match rate and not getting an internship. Despite it being a really good program in many respects, we are not getting the hours we need to be competitive.

Does anyone have advice for me? Thanks very much.

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[WisNeuro]

If accreditation is not happening, get out. A degree from an un-accredited program will make it EXTREMELY hard for you to find an internship, much less a job in the field at a later time.

 

[Anais-In]

If the program is still working towards getting accredited, will that still preclude me from getting internships? Our first cohort all matched, one at a pretty competitive site, and I'm just shocked that the second cohort had such a poor outcome.

 

[WisNeuro]

I believe the decision must be rendered while you are still there. If they get it after you leave, you're screwed. Also, sites will look at those recent match percentages. If that 25% trend continues, doesn't look too good.

 

[Marissa4usa]

Can you inquire as to where the program is in terms of getting accreditation?
Tbh, unless the program can you provide you with very definite dates and timelines, yes, you should cut your losses.
Are you getting a master's enroute? If so, you may just stick want to stick it out out just to have the masters.. However, I only recommend that assuming that it is a fully funded program (I couldn't quite tell from your post). If you are required to put any more money towards this, then I think you'd best off just letting it go and trying to apply to an accredited program.

 

[Anais-In]

Thanks for your answers so far. It's discouraging because I am already an older student, and I really don't want to have to start over somewhere else. I can't afford most PsyD's, and don't want to put in the years for a PhD since I am solely interested in clinical work. However, I'm not getting a masters along the way, and the funding is minimal (around 20 000) - I am still having to take out student loans to supplement my funding. I could cry.

 

[WisNeuro]

Just an FYI, you seem to have bought into the "PhD's only do research" misconception. PHD's on average apply for internship with many more clinical hours than PsyDs. Additionally, most PHDs go into clinical jobs and not research/academia.

 

[463951]

When you say last year that there was a 100% match rate, and that this year, there was a 25% match rate – do you mean APA accredited sites? Or APA and/or APPIC? How much of your program is funded? I guess what I am wondering is – how much money will you be out if you switch schools? How long has it been since the school has provided an update on the accreditation process? Can you talk to somebody high up at your school about this?

 

[Rivi]

Hi - I'm new to this forum, but found it because I have been having lots of worries and troubles with my program and am wondering what to do.

I go to an unaccredited, funded PsyD program. When I applied they told me that they were soon to be pursuing accreditation and that from the first cohort they had a 100% match rate, great.

I'm in my second year, and of the small number of people who just applied for internship, only 25% matched. Additionally, there is a lot of program instability as resources keep getting cut and it seems like accreditation is looking more and more distant/possibly-not-happening.

I feel so disillusioned. I worked extremely hard to get where I am. I did a whole second undergrad, second honour's thesis, worked my butt off to maintain a 4.0 GPA and volunteered like crazy and was just generally a really strong applicant.

I chose this program because I wanted a PsyD, and this was funded and in the place I want to live more than anywhere. But now I am wondering if I should have just applied to PhD's, or if I still should, or what I should do.

I am terrified about coming from an unaccredited program with a poor match rate and not getting an internship. Despite it being a really good program in many respects, we are not getting the hours we need to be competitive.

Does anyone have advice for me? Thanks very much.

I am sorry to hear this, as I know it can be demoralizing to work your ass off and then have everything hang in the balance.

My opinion: Unless you are certain that they are going to be accredited by the time you graduate, I would get out as soon as possible. Be careful too about programs saying that they are going to get accredited, as they may not always follow through. An Argosy campus did this, and then failed to pursue accreditation and screwed over a lot of students.

25% match rate this year, yet they told you they had a 100% match rate from the first cohort? It seems highly, highly unlikely to me that this program had a 100% match rate from the first cohort. Appic-internships? APA-internships? CAPIC? How are they defining this. I would look into this further, as this may be grounds for legal action if they deceived you.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Agree with the above that if they can't give you some specific information as to where they are in the accreditation process and what their timeline is for obtaining accreditation, get out now. Not having an APA-accredited internship can close some doors, but isn't career-ending. Conversely, not graduating from an APA-accredited doctoral program is going to make finding any kind of work outside of private practice (and even with some of the more competitive PPs) very difficult, and is also going to make licensing tough (if not impossible in some states). And as was previously mentioned, even before all that, it's going to make finding an internship (accredited or not) very tough as well.

The technical rules for accreditation are that the accreditation is retroactive to the date of the APA's final site visit that resulted in accreditation. If you're still a student of the program when that site visit occurs, then you're able to say you have a degree from an accredited program. However, it sounds like things are fairly hectic and are getting pushed back, so there very well might be a chance that multiple site visits and multiple revisions/re-writes of the accreditation and self-study materials may be requested and required. This can all end up taking a long time, as site visits and accreditation review meetings only occur every so often.

The fact that the program is funded is nice, but it sounds like it might not stay that way indefinitely. As was mentioned, most Ph.D. folks go on to primarily be clinicians, and having a solid grasp of research principles is a necessity when it comes to doctoral-level clinical work, so if you end up deciding to jump ship, I'd strongly encourage that you include some of the more balanced Ph.D. programs (in addition to whichever funded Psy.D. programs you're eyeing) in your search.

 

[MCParent]

I believe the decision must be rendered while you are still there. If they get it after you leave, you're screwed. Also, sites will look at those recent match percentages. If that 25% trend continues, doesn't look too good.

Accreditation is retroactive to the site visit.

I'd still get out.

 

[Anais-In]

Thanks everyone. It's not looking good.

I know the first cohort, and they all matched to accredited sites except for one (and hers was an APPIC site that is currently applying for accreditation). They have also all landed jobs since graduating, which is encouraging.

However, the second cohort hardly matching is so discouraging. The one that matched was an extremely competitive applicant - he already had a PhD before doing this PsyD, had lots of hours, etc.

Maybe I should just go to med school :/