What do you think got YOU accepted to your clinical psych program?

[scienceisbeauty]

For some people, it was because they won a nobel prize? For some it was because it was sheer luck, but for some people - : it was your personal statement, it was this letter from so and so.
Or it was because you made contact with this professor and then made contact with that professor and it was just ...a domino effect.
For those of you who got in -- what do you think made you stand out?

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[deleted176373]

For some people, it was because they won a nobel prize? For some it was because it was sheer luck, but for some people - : it was your personal statement, it was this letter from so and so.
Or it was because you made contact with this professor and then made contact with that professor and it was just ...a domino effect.
For those of you who got in -- what do you think made you stand out?

The first task is to get the interview... to get there,

1. Personal Statement (CRITICAL)
2. LOR's
3. Contact with professors (this helped in limited cases, but when it helped, it helped alot!)
4. Visiting programs prior to applying

Once you have the interview, alot of it is luck... but you are competing with 2 or 3 (often outstanding) people and you have to hope that they are a less suitable fit than you are... sometimes you're the dog, and other times you're the hydrant. Make the best of it and avoid looking desperate. I had offers at over 1/3 the programs I interviewed with (3/8) and got my #1 choice by fate or luck depending on your belief system. I also got an offer from my #3 choice as well.

Mark

 

[KTpsych]

Not even a question--the personal contact I made with professors before I applied. This helps you 1) determine if they are taking students, 2) get a better idea of what they are looking for in a graduate student (some professors ask more research dedication than others, even if the program itself is balanced), 3) clear up what projects the professor is working on (I found websites to be out of date sometimes, and publishing takes a long time), and 4) show yourself off better by taking initiative and hopefully impressing them in conversation. I think number 4 might also be helpful if you have lower stats, because the professor already has the personal contact with you that makes him or her look past the numbers.

I had contact with about half of the programs I applied to. My contact was very in-depth (phone conversations, exchange of papers, summary of research interests) for all but one of the people I contacted. When it came around to acceptances, I got into all of the programs with the pre-contact, except the one where my pre-contact was simple---but I did get an interview. Denied at all the rest (where I had no contact), even though some of these programs have much lower average SAT and GPA than the ones where I was accepted. I know that's not everything, but still worth noting.

The great part was is that the places I had made initiative were all my top choices! Or maybe they became my top choices because I had spoken to professors? Either way, the worst thing about the application process for me was having to make some very tough decisions between several places I was excited about.

In other words--make contact!

 

[RayneeDeigh]

I was accepted without an interview, from the waitlist. I know (because I've been told by the powers that be) that I was waitlisted because of my GPA but accepted because my GRE scores put me ahead of the other waitlisters.

That, and I think my advisor wanted someone new to torture and my personal statement screamed "PLEASE MAKE MY LIFE DIFFICULT!"

 

[Ollie123]

An obsessive-compulsive personality.

Seriously though, I think the main thing that got me in after the interview was just pure motivation. I'm clearly on an academic path which has not been the case for previous students of his, which apparently caused some discord. I come into the interview and basically defend a thesis proposal (didn't end up doing anything remotely related to what we talked about, but still), have all kinds of ideas about new research directions, am a tech geek (again, previous students not so much), and talked about wanting to submit a grant proposal before I left. Point is, I wasn't directionless or intimidated (many applicants are) - I was having fun, had a clear plan, and sounded like I could/would get alot done.

My GREs were low - I think I was actually right on the cut point, so I probably just squeaked into the interview invitation, but I feel like I nailed the interview itself.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Once the programs were able to see my awesomeness, it was just a matter of time before they threw open their doors, rolled out the red carpet, etc.

 

[psy19]

What I think made me stand out:

- where I went to undergrad- my GPA was not great (3.52), but all my interviewers said they were impressed with where I went to school, and I think that gave me some leeway with my GPA
- how much experience I had in such a short amount of time- I graduated in 3 years and applied straight out of undergrad, but I was able to accomplish a lot
- all 4 of my LOR writers knew me very well and were able to say more than "this person received an A in my class" or "this person did research in my lab"
- this one's not so important, but I was the only Asian at most of my interviews, so I guess that made me stand out, too
- most importantly, being proactive- during and after the interview, don't just sit back and expect an acceptance. If a school is your first choice, TELL THEM. Show enthusiasm and interest in every interview. Send thank you emails and follow-up if you haven't heard back

 

[Thrak]

I had a great deal of research experience, already had a masters in psych, and I did quite well during the interviews, from what I have been told.

Also, my Y chromosome, in that I was the only interviewee this year who had one. No guarantee this was a factor, but I can't imagine it hurt.

 

[blindchaos]

Between this time (7 acceptances out of 14 apps) and the first time around (0 acceptances out of 5 apps), I think my grad school GPA helped a lot. Also got some more research experience and a lot more clinical experience. I think that stuff at least got my foot in the door for interviews.

For interview days, I prepped my questions well ahead of time, did some research on my interviewers (if I knew their names ahead of time), and in quite a few cases, kept in touch with current students at those programs (as quite a few schools offered student hosts for people from out of town or at least student to e-mail should there be any questions ahead of time). One key thing that is sometimes missed is to really develop a positive relationship with current students helping out with the interview day process. Every interview that I went to that had current students present gave those students an opportunity to talk about the interviewees they liked/didn't like (with explanation of course) which all was included in the decision making process.

Also, just be confident in yourself and don't give up. There will be nice interviewers and tough interviewers. Even if you think one interview was a complete bomb, don't let that destroy you for the rest of the interview day (ran into one tough interviewer who made more than a few interviewees cry. He wasn't directly mean, just...atypical. Completely flat affect, very dry, rapid fire questions picking apart the answer you just gave, and sometimes a small snide comment depending on your answers).

Anyway, not to end on a sour note.... just be yourself and don't let one misstep totally derail you, just gotta rebound and be ready for the next step

 

[islandgirl1]

my charming personality

 

[Neuropsych2be]

I really don't know. I always think I interview badly and my I kept getting curve balls thrown at me. But in my interview I babbled on and on about how the process of research and developing sound research methodology... asking an appropriate empirical question, reviewing the literature, and engaging in a course of reason-based discovery etc... was good training and a good way to conceptualize all areas of psychological practice.

 

[PsyDr]

devastating good looks
world class spelling skills
the best damn humility out there


wait.......

maybe it was LORs and GREs

 

[baylordude]

1) derby hat
2) heavy italian accent
3) tommy gun

LOR's, GPA, tons of applied experience, research experience, confidence during interviews.

 

[bigdodge53]

Amazingly, I was only given three interview opportunities my first time around and ended up getting an acceptance at my first face-to-face. I think a big portion of this was that little thing called "fit." I thought it was a completely vague term until I saw it place itself out at my interview. My school conducted a two-weekend set of interviews and I was one of two people who interviewed with my intended mentor. This program gives offers based upon the preference of the faculty and I was literally the only applicant who was seriously interested in my prof's area of research. The other applicant mentioned during the interview her interest in several other professors and was vaguely informed of the research that this prof was doing. She didn't perform badly but I believe my ability to talk about her research with a passion was definitely a plus. I even think this other applicant got accepted there anyway. This process made me realize that how little control I had over it once my apps left my mailbox. I felt I had good LOR's, decent purpose statement, good research experience, but my GRE's put me at the low end of the applicant pool for most programs (keep in mind I applied to counseling psych programs where they tend to be more lenient on the GRE than clinical psych programs). The interview does put some control back into an applicants hands but even then you can only have so much control on the perceptions of others.

 

[Jon4PsyD]

Great comments! Most of you are speaking of interviews, that's something I'll worry about in 6-7 months, I am just hoping to GET an itnerview!

 

[islandgirl1]

my charming personality

seriously, I think it was a combination of my clinical experience (applied only to PsyD) and my statement. In a big part of it, I talked about the specific needs I wish to address and brought it down to how each institution would allow me to do that. Of all I said in my statement, that part was brought up most in my interviews.

 

[myelin]

I can speak for entrance to a MA program. Hoping to gain acceptance to a PhD program this fall. Point blank, I had a low overall GPA (below 3.0) and low GRE (below 1k). However, I had 3 years of research experience on 2 different teams. I also had stellar LORs (I think? I signed the waiver to not see them). I worked at a psychiatric facility as a technician for a year before applying and was able to tie that experience into my PS. The advisor of the program told me that they had never seen someone with such low numbers have this much research experience and that it really showed them that my numbers may not be representative of my abilities. They ended up offering me conditional admission. I've since jumped through all of the flaming hoops and have a 3.93 GPA and have published 2 articles, one of which I am first author.

So for me, the research experience helped me stand out from the other applicants who had higher GPA/GRE. I dug myself a huge hole and the research experience was somewhat of a ladder to get out.

 

[vcpsych]

I really think that a large part of why I got into my program was because of how comfortable I felt on the interview day. Some people were really shy and kind of faded into the background, but I tried to make it a point to be cheerful (but not to the point of being really fake), speak to the grad students who were sent to spy on us, and ask questions that were important to me (but not so many as to appear neurotic). Even when my now-advisor was interviewing me and asking hard questions and trying to make me mess up and say things I didn't mean (talk about an intimidating high-pressure interview, this was no joke), I remained calm, answered truthfully, and didn't try to change my personality. Confidence goes a long way. I eventually got my no-nonsense interviewer to laugh, and I knew then that it would be okay.

Above all, I just think it's important to believe in yourself and allow your commitment to shine through. Of course, having stellar LOR and research experience helps, too.

 

[JockNerd]

I had a plan for a research program when I came in, and which fit prettymuch dead-on with what my poi had done and where she planned to take the lab. We talked about that plan for most of my interview time. I also said I wanted to instruct research methods if given a choice, which got me some approval

 

[joetro]

My advisor was interested in someone who wanted to explore a particular area in his dataset that I did. The year before, he didn't want that so much. I think that's a big reason why the application process can be frustrating - often advisors are looking for a very particular skill, interest, experience, etc. that you have no way of preparing for in advance or knowing that.

 

[psypsypsy]

Well, there were two stages; getting the interview and getting in.

For getting the interview, I think my personal statement and letters of recommendation were the key things that got me in. But, the personal statement discussed a lot of my research experience, so I guess having that experience would be the third thing. I had a professors at a couple of universities mention my letters, so that's why I believe those had an impact. Honestly, I think contacting professors only helped in the sense that I didn't waste any applications and apply to places that definitely wouldn't accept me.

Also, I was on the admissions committee for my clinical program this past year, and Statement and LOR were weighted most heavily, after checking off that grades and GRE were good enough.

Interview: I do think it's a bit of luck. I think being prepared to discuss what research/clinical work you've done, why you want to go to X school, how your interests match, etc, is the basis. And honestly, I think being friendly and warm to people(potential advisor, faculty and students) is honestly one of the biggest parts. I ended up talking a lot with two of my advisor's students, not just about the lab, but about tv, movies, etc, and I think that definitely made a difference. They told me that they told our advisor that I was their favorite. I mean, labs certainly vary, but my advisor wants people that are going to get along and that he gets along with. He asks our input every year about who our favorites were for his lab.

So, for interview: my experience with my advisor, and again, as part of the admissions committee is that people look for a combo of experience, interest in mentor/university, and personality.

 

[PsyDr]

baylordude,

i thought that look was only an "in" if you applied to rutgers!