2018-2019 APPIC Internship Application Thread

[PsychDreams]

It's that time of year again! It's still early, but I wanted to start a thread so people can discuss, ask questions, and commiserate.

Where are people in the process so far? I'm just starting to get my list together.... and it changes every day -- whittling it down to 15 is harder than it seems.

Edit: Here's the interview invite thread link.
2018-2019 APPIC Internship Interview Thread

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[bigdreamer3]

Agreed! I'm trying to work out my goals before I settle on sites...and THAT is provoking a lot of Netflix binging...

 

[affectiveH3art]

I've already started all 18 of my cover letters... yikes. Now it's my turn to post on this thread. I'm pretty anxious about the whole process


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[bigdreamer3]

haha wow! You're definitely on top of things. Good for you.

 

[affectiveH3art]

The plan is to complete all my cover letters and essays... edit a few. Then put them away for a while to review them with fresh eyes. With two toddlers at home as a single parent this is the only time I have (while they are staying with grandma).


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Good luck to all.

As a tip, in years past, the person creating and managing this thread has typically included a few blank/dummy posts initially, that are later used to contain additional information on interview offers and rejections. The character limit per post usually precludes folks from including all of this information in a single post once lots of it becomes available.

 

[_psychdreamer]

Hi All - I'm starting the process, too. We will get through it!

I'm getting married in August and I've heard the APPI opens mid-July. Any suggestions on how I should register? Should I use my current last name or the last name I anticipate having?

Thanks

 

[PsychDreams]

Good luck to all.

As a tip, in years past, the person creating and managing this thread has typically included a few blank/dummy posts initially, that are later used to contain additional information on interview offers and rejections. The character limit per post usually precludes folks from including all of this information in a single post once lots of it becomes available.

Thanks for the tip, AcronymAllergy! I think I've seen in years past that there's a separate Interview Invitations thread that someone else starts after this thread. I'm hoping that will be the case this year since I'm expecting to be too much of a anxious mess to take on that responsibility.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Ah, good call; my memory gets hazy in my old age and being a few (or more) years removed from the process myself.

 

[Hope4Grad]

Just wanted to wish you all lots of luck with this process. I really loved Internship interviews - I thoroughly enjoyed traveling to new places and seeing what other psych training was like. For me, this was a much easier and more enjoyable process than formal postdoc interviews, which I thought were miserable. For Internship interviews, I even made some new friends and connections with fellow interviewees. I had 6 interviews, which is not a ton but really a fine number. Don't worry about trying to score so so so many interviews - you just need to hit that sweet spot between enough to get nerves out of the way and practice and not too many to hate living out of a suitcase (or going bankrupt)!

 

[georgeehale]

Hello everyone! I was wondering if anyone knew of any good sites for trauma training? I'm interested in the dissociative processes and working with "complex-trauma" but am not sure where to look! I know of a few sites that specialize in that but they are not on the APPIC list or do not offer internships. Figured I'd ask around! Thanks.

 

[PsychDreams]

Hello everyone! I was wondering if anyone knew of any good sites for trauma training? I'm interested in the dissociative processes and working with "complex-trauma" but am not sure where to look! I know of a few sites that specialize in that but they are not on the APPIC list or do not offer internships. Figured I'd ask around! Thanks.

What population are you looking to work with? Kids, adults, Vets?

 

[georgeehale]

How many sites are people applying to?

 

[georgeehale]

What population are you looking to work with? Kids, adults, Vets?

Primarily adults! Not necessarily vets. I'm more interested in relational trauma.

 

[affectiveH3art]

I'm applying for 18... yes 18


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[singasongofjoy]

Hi All - I'm starting the process, too. We will get through it!

I'm getting married in August and I've heard the APPI opens mid-July. Any suggestions on how I should register? Should I use my current last name or the last name I anticipate having?

Thanks

To avoid any possible confusion during what is already a stressful time, if i were in your position I would probably keep using my maiden name professionally (including CV, reference letters, etc) until you've matched. Before officially changing it I would probably also wait until after any pre-requisite background checks if there are any sites that do background checks before match day. I don't think it's a big deal at the SS office to change your name a few months after you've gotten married; I waited a while just because I didn't feel like going to do it, lol. You could go change it after match day and then use your new name to fill out all employment-related paperwork. It probably wouldn't be a big deal either way though. That's jsut what I would do because I know I tend to worry to an irrational degree about little silly things screwing things up (but to be fair I have had some pretty frustrating name mixups during the course of grad school and applying to grad school, e.g., being told applications were incomplete because they had not rec'd my undergrad transcripts, when really it was just filed under a different name and literally sitting in the next file folder... and even though on the apps they ask what other names you might have documents filed / coming in under).

 

[Affectual]

It begins...

I've selected 5 or so sites so far and have written 1 paragraph of the Autobiographical Essay, which feels like a trap.

WRT the number of sites, I will probably cap at 15 since I heard it costs more to apply to 16+ and, based on the APPIC data, seems not to confer any real increase in matching (indeed, it can have the opposite effect!).

I'm planning to propose my diss before I apply--how about others?

 

[PsychDreams]

It begins...

I've selected 5 or so sites so far and have written 1 paragraph of the Autobiographical Essay, which feels like a trap.

WRT the number of sites, I will probably cap at 15 since I heard it costs more to apply to 16+ and, based on the APPIC data, seems not to confer any real increase in matching (indeed, it can have the opposite effect!).

I'm planning to propose my diss before I apply--how about others?

I'm planning to propose soon too. It seems like there are quite a few sites that require it and I've heard its seen favorably if you can tell them that you're already collecting data by the time interviews start.

How are you guys deciding on where to apply? I'm getting a little nervous about geographically restricting myself as I'm primarily applying in one state (but also have sites in two other states). Two of these states are known to be highly competitive, but also have strong matches for me in terms of training. I'm second guessing myself and worrying that by not opening myself up to more cities/states I might be geographically restricting myself, but am trying to keep in mind that the internship imbalance has almost passed.

 

[WisNeuro]

Most programs require having proposed before you can apply. Even if they don't, asking where someone is in their dissertation is a question that will be often asked on internship interviews. The farther you are, the more favorable it is. Not a death sentence to not be done, many people finish while they are on internship, but if you are way behind, it's a huge red flag.

As far as geographic restriction, it's a personal choice, but it puts the applicant at a huge disadvantage. I only personally know a couple people who did not match, and both tried to end up in a specific area when they first applied, and had no trouble matching the following year when they opened up where they applied much more broadly.

 

[Justanothergrad]

Mostly just repeating what WisNeuro said, but they're good points and worth saying again.

1. Geographic restriction hampers your ability to match. This was true of doctoral applications and it will be true for internship. If it is a competitive area, you may not be the only one who is competitive for what you perceive as a good fit.

2. Site rankings will change once you visit/talk with them/get more clarification about what the expectations/opportunities are.

3. Having not proposed is definitely a red flag. Internships want you to finish and the farther back you are, the harder that is to do.

4. Don't assume that number of applicants equates to quality of training experience. There are lots of sites in less desirable locations which have great training outcomes/training experiences. Infer only that a lot of people applied to that program and nothing more. I interviewed at major research internships and didn't want what the experience would have ended up being; I went somewhere small that would not be what was expected given my research focus/academic trajectory. Not only do I not regret that, it worked out far better for research opportunities than anywhere else could have given my focus (that is not hyperbole).

It begins...
I heard it costs more to apply to 16+ and, based on the APPIC data, seems not to confer any real increase in matching (indeed, it can have the opposite effect!).?

Be careful not to infer causality from a correlation.

 

[ariagirlno1]

As far as geographic restriction, it's a personal choice, but it puts the applicant at a huge disadvantage. I only personally know a couple people who did not match, and both tried to end up in a specific area when they first applied, and had no trouble matching the following year when they opened up where they applied much more broadly.

I agree with everyone that it is often a explicit requirement that you have proposed your dissertation by the time you are interviewing, and even if it is not explicit, I imagine not doing so would put you at a significant disadvantage.
I don't necessarily agree that geographical restriction is always a disadvantage; it is hugely dependent on the level that you are restricting as well as the area. I had no difficulty matching and know many others in my program with the same experience.

 

[WisNeuro]

Is it always a disadvantage? No, of course not, there are always exceptions. Is it a disadvantage for most people, of course it is, it's just simple math. Limit your choices, limit your chances.

 

[singasongofjoy]

I'm planning to propose soon too. It seems like there are quite a few sites that require it and I've heard its seen favorably if you can tell them that you're already collecting data by the time interviews start.

How are you guys deciding on where to apply? I'm getting a little nervous about geographically restricting myself as I'm primarily applying in one state (but also have sites in two other states). Two of these states are known to be highly competitive, but also have strong matches for me in terms of training. I'm second guessing myself and worrying that by not opening myself up to more cities/states I might be geographically restricting myself, but am trying to keep in mind that the internship imbalance has almost passed.

You should be nervous about geographically restricting yourself, even if you perceive good fit. Maybe it will work out for you, but maybe it won't. Who knows how many other people also are good fits and want to be in that geographic location. Even if you want to geographically restrict yourself, why not apply more widely to other places that are good fits at this point in the game? You can always choose not to rank them after the interviews if you are feeling gutsy, but it doesn't hurt to apply to them and check them out. I was hoping to land in a specific geographic area, but applied broadly. I added one site in a geographic location I did not want to live, but a friend had loved her internship there so I decided "what the heck." I ended up loving it at interviews, and ranked it just behind the 3 geographically preferable tracks where I got interviews. I ended up matching there. Initially bummed not to be geographically where I wanted, but it turned out to be FANTASTIC. Even better experience, I think, than internship would have been at the other 2 sites, and now I'm in my desired location for postdoc.

 

[singasongofjoy]

I second proposing before applications (or interviews) if possible. I did not. I still had a 2/3 hit rate for interviews which I felt was pretty good, but also did feel at a disadvantage. I did not land internship at one of my top 3 locations, (one of them was the same site w 2 tracks) but I'm at postdoc at what was my internship #1 choice now and found out that it was, in fact, a ding against my application. Glad they liked me enough to have me for postdoc, all worked out for me just fine and I loved my internship, but still, it's wise to get it out of the way beforehand if you can.

 

[Kadhir]

Forget just proposing, defend if you can (or set up a plan to do so reasonably soon after internship begins).

What a pain.

 

[deleted343839]

How are you guys deciding on where to apply? I'm getting a little nervous about geographically restricting myself as I'm primarily applying in one state (but also have sites in two other states). Two of these states are known to be highly competitive, but also have strong matches for me in terms of training. I'm second guessing myself and worrying that by not opening myself up to more cities/states I might be geographically restricting myself, but am trying to keep in mind that the internship imbalance has almost passed.

I'd still apply more broadly unless you (1) have a special reason for staying in one area and (2) are OK with the idea of not matching. What looks like a strong match on paper may or may not match with how you rank sites after interviews anyway.

 

[affectiveH3art]

I'll be defending my final dissertation this spring so I hope that will be an advantage. I hope! Especially since I'm applying to competitive sites- but are excellent matches in great locations. I'm only looking for places that are tremendously good fit... but happen to be in great locations. I've started all my cover letters and halfway done with one essay. Does anyone know how many essays? I'm presuming it's similar to last year?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[PsychDreams]

Thanks for your responses everyone. I will check out sites in other locations and keep my options more open, particularly because I dread the idea of not matching. Others in my program have done well in the past, but after thinking about it more.....I don't feel that gutsy myself!

 

[Ladytiger95]

Hello everyone! The last time I was on this site, I was applying to grad school...wow! I am applying to 15 sites, am required by my program to defend my proposal before applying, and was also required to write all of my essays last spring. This summer I will be working on my proposal and editing those essays. I have my list of 15, but it may change slightly. Good luck everyone!

 

[Affectual]

Is anyone else applying to McLean, Western Psych, or Brown? Does anyone else wish that the more research-focused sites would post the stats of the M number of publications of their current interns? I'm currently focused on my dissertation proposal but anticipate having 6-9 pubs (including in press) by the time I apply! I have heard of others who have 15+ matching to those sites, which seems insane. Also, when evaluating quality and quantity of pubs, do sites take into account the type of research you do, some of which is much more time-intensive (e.g., fmri vs self-report, longitudinal vs cross-sectional).

How many integrated assessments do people have? Right now I only have 5 but am hoping to get at least a few more under my belt by November since it looks like most child/adolescent-focused sites prefer 10. Realistically I'm shooting for 8..

 

[affectiveH3art]

Affectual- how many assessment hours do you have? I have like 14 integrated reports


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[Kadhir]

Is anyone else applying to McLean, Western Psych, or Brown? Does anyone else wish that the more research-focused sites would post the stats of the M number of publications of their current interns? I'm currently focused on my dissertation proposal but anticipate having 6-9 pubs (including in press) by the time I apply! I have heard of others who have 15+ matching to those sites, which seems insane. Also, when evaluating quality and quantity of pubs, do sites take into account the type of research you do, some of which is much more time-intensive (e.g., fmri vs self-report, longitudinal vs cross-sectional).

You're fine. Even for those sites. And yes, quality/type of research counts. Above all, remember that internship is a clinical year. You will need to show substantial scholarly productivity for those sites, but you don't need 15 pubs to prove your worth. These stats aren't posted because they vary widely and are not a good indicator of your competitiveness. I had a handful of pubs and some of my internship colleagues had upwards of 30.

 

[affectiveH3art]

2 essays done!!! And with first round of edits done


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[sctm2]

Not gonna lie....just seeing this thread triggered a cycle of anxiety and Hulu binging....um, I mean avoidance.

 

[singasongofjoy]

2 essays done!!! And with first round of edits done


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

You're so way ahead of where I was- I don't think I started my essays until mid or late October. Definitely don't recommend that approach!

 

[affectiveH3art]

I'm pretty anxious about this process, so working on them early will help manage this craziness. Mind you, I am a single mom of toddlers with minimal help so when they are at grandmas out of state... I must get all of this done!!!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[PsychDreams]

I'm pretty anxious about this process, so working on them early will help manage this craziness. Mind you, I am a single mom of toddlers with minimal help so when they are at grandmas out of state... I must get all of this done!!!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

Not a single parent, but my anxiety is my main motivator -- have drafted up the first 3/4 essays already. I keep wanting to start cover letters and examine brochures, but it seems like sites haven't updated them on their websites.

Have you guys run across programs that just don't have ANY brochure information? Maybe I haven't looked closely enough but it seemed that there were a couple that did not have ANY brochures and just had information posted on their website.

 

[affectiveH3art]

Not a single parent, but my anxiety is my main motivator -- have drafted up the first 3/4 essays already. I keep wanting to start cover letters and examine brochures, but it seems like sites haven't updated them on their websites.

Have you guys run across programs that just don't have ANY brochure information? Maybe I haven't looked closely enough but it seemed that there were a couple that did not have ANY brochures and just had information posted on their website.

I started my cover letters and have been in the editing process. So far I'm on the 4th draft then applying it across all sites. It wouldn't hurt to start a basic template for a cover letter. That's how I started. If they update their websites I'm just going to edit them again. I'm working on the 3rd essay now!!! Whew


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[ItsNotMe_ItsYou]

I started my cover letters and have been in the editing process. So far I'm on the 4th draft then applying it across all sites. It wouldn't hurt to start a basic template for a cover letter. That's how I started. If they update their websites I'm just going to edit them again. I'm working on the 3rd essay now!!! Whew

Whew is right. Wow!

Internship essays and cover letters weren't even on my radar until Fall. Just in case this hasn't been mentioned before, remember that 500 word maximum for essays. Some may argue a few words over may slide, but others are adamant about not exceeding the max. Play it safe, you've got enough to worry about. Good luck, everyone!!

 

[sheppardv]

Hi! I'm a school psychology PhD student with experience in large urban district and in a hospital affiliated therapeutic day school. Does anyone know someone who has interviewed or matched at the attached sites?

 

[kathygeiss]

Whew is right. Wow!

Internship essays and cover letters weren't even on my radar until Fall.

I second this - I didn't work on essays or cover letters until fall. This is just my opinion, but I would focus on dissertation or at least make sure you aren't working on applications more than you're working on your diss over the summer months.

 

[affectiveH3art]

I'm sure that works for some but I'm finishing data collection and defending (final defense!) in spring. So I'm ahead of the game plus I'm out of state at a summer prac


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[kathygeiss]

That's great!! Congrats! Just hoping to pass on some advice to the majority who are not as far along.

 

[affectiveH3art]

That's great!! Congrats! Just hoping to pass on some advice to the majority who are not as far along.

Yeah, I think it is important to balance everything especially at this point. Good luck everyone!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[Hawkeye11]

Oh god, somebody hold me!

 

[affectiveH3art]

Oh god, somebody hold me!

LOL what did I get myself into!!! I'm wanting to back out... can I get a refund on all this work for a phd? Geez I don't think I'll ever get a job in my specialty... my supervisor said there are limited positions for psychologists to work in Burn care. I want to cry!!!!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[PsychPhDone]

You might not be able to get a 100% burn position, but you might be able to find something with a burn component in the end!

LOL what did I get myself into!!! I'm wanting to back out... can I get a refund on all this work for a phd? Geez I don't think I'll ever get a job in my specialty... my supervisor said there are limited positions for psychologists to work in Burn care. I want to cry!!!!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[affectiveH3art]

Yikes!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[affectiveH3art]

 

[singasongofjoy]

LOL what did I get myself into!!! I'm wanting to back out... can I get a refund on all this work for a phd? Geez I don't think I'll ever get a job in my specialty... my supervisor said there are limited positions for psychologists to work in Burn care. I want to cry!!!!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

I agree with above poster that there are other ways to have burn care included in your work - if you end up working in consult/liason you'll def have some burn patients.