What are people's opinions/experiences with transferring clinical programs after one year? I recently accepted an offer from a clinical program and I am worried I won't like it for geographic reasons.
Transferring Clinical Programs
- Thread starter lizzer
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lizzer said:
Why would you go to a program if you don't forsee yourself staying there for more than a year?
It is very likely that those core classes you take in the first year won't transfer (some schools have a 6 credit max of course work transfer, some schools do not approve any core courses for transfer).
There are cases where it doesn't work out between the student and the program they were originally excited to attend. In those instances, it is often recommeded that the student waits until the receipt of the terminal masters before tranferring.
It's hard to give you more concrete feedback without knowing the specifics of your situation- like if you have other options, the nature of the program vs your own interests...etc...
But, if you already don't forsee yourself staying before you've gotten there, have you considered canceling the offer? You have until April 17th to do so. Perhaps it is better to look quazi-unprofessional now than to leave after a year and potentially burn bridges, not to mention waste your own time.
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Regarding geographical preference, you probably won't have enough free time in your first couple years for that to matter much! Is it more about distance from family? If so, have you thought about having to move for internship, post-docs, and jobs? You kinda have to be willing to go with the flow in that regard in the psych field. I don't know much about yoru situation, but those are my thoughts...
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Mell-Dogg said:
Mell Dog makes some really valuable points. Especially, the internship/post-doc/job concern. If you are interested in academia and research, then clinical psychology is not a field that typically lends itself to staying in one geographic locale. Even within clinical domains of clinical psychology, there are still mobility factors to consider (e.g. internship placement, job contacts, etc...).
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Psyclops said:
Thanks psyclops.
Also of note, cancelling an offer is a huge deal. It tough to get the offers in the first place. Due to the competitive nature of clinical psychology, there's no guarentee that you would even get an offer the second time around. If I were you, I would very carefully consider such a decision.
We all could probably give you some more sound feedback with more information about your situation. Does your offer come with full funding? Do you like the research? Do you have a backup if you were to cancel the offer and take the year off? What is the specific problem with the geographic location?
Good luck.
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Oh boo-hoo, 'I don't want to live in a rural or city area' 
. Get over it, you are there to learn, not sightsee. If you plan on leaving in a year you are doing a disservice to a waitlisted individual who would love to be there for the duration of the program. If its a good program and you like the opportunities then suck it up or take another offer/year off. As hard as it is to get into a clinical PhD program this is the least of your worries. Stop being a baby.
. Get over it, you are there to learn, not sightsee. If you plan on leaving in a year you are doing a disservice to a waitlisted individual who would love to be there for the duration of the program. If its a good program and you like the opportunities then suck it up or take another offer/year off. As hard as it is to get into a clinical PhD program this is the least of your worries. Stop being a baby.- Joined
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I also agree with perfektspace. I know this is unrealistic for some but I didn't include location as a criterion in looking for programs to apply to. And unfortunately I was unable to find anybody with whom I wanted to work anywhere that could be considered interesting by a long shot. Everyone seemed to be in the middle of midwestern, states at one-horse college towns.
The only thing to conisder though, and you might not have been affected by this perfekt, is that bigger cities or more interesting areas make it easier if you have a spouse or significant other who will need to find work or entertain themselves while you are at the library.
But, also I'm always amazed by people who put themselves in this predicament. DO NOT APPLY TO PLACES YOU WOULDN"T BE WILLING TO GO! This will become abundantly clear come internship match time!
The only thing to conisder though, and you might not have been affected by this perfekt, is that bigger cities or more interesting areas make it easier if you have a spouse or significant other who will need to find work or entertain themselves while you are at the library.
But, also I'm always amazed by people who put themselves in this predicament. DO NOT APPLY TO PLACES YOU WOULDN"T BE WILLING TO GO! This will become abundantly clear come internship match time!
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Despite all your research regarding a school, things may change. I think the OP is being responsible in thinking about plan B. I changed after my MA because I wasn't happy with the supervision and the program, which I wouldn't have known before spending a year there. All my courses were transfered but I had to take extra MA courses since I transfered from an adult program to a child-focused one. It was much easier applying the second time - I had a clear idea of what I wanted.
I agree completely with CPG. If you're seriously thinking about cancelling, it doesn't look good, but my guess would be that it would be especially bad for you after April 15. There was someone who was supposed to be in my program a year or two ago, and cancelled after the deadline (in June), and the entire department was up in arms about it. It especially hurt the plans for the mentor, who was going ot have this person be an RA. I actually don't know if it's possible to black-ball someone across programs, but rumor among the students was that the department was submitting this peron's name to APA or something.
Otherwise, I agree with the others that location may not matter as much as you think, because you don't have a lot of time, and people may do more fun things to do than you would think. It is possible to transfer after your MA, I think, but I'm pretty sure you'd be starting over if you switched after 1 year.
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PHP:
cancelling an offer is a huge deal. It tough to get the offers in the first place. Due to the competitive nature of clinical psychology, there's no guarentee that you would even get an offer the second time around.If you reject offers politely and the supervisor who you reject is a reasonable human being, things are not as evil as they seem. I am doing my PhD with someone who accepted me for a Master's and I declined it initially. I contacted the prof a year later to say that I would like to switch to her program and here I am...it took a little politics but now I am very happy with my supervision 🙂
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