IUP PsyD Reputation?

[psychealth]

Hi all,

This was my first application cycle and I only applied to 4 programs (3 PhDs, 1 PsyD). I was admitted to Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) for their PsyD program and waitlisted at 1 fully funded PhD. I don't have high hopes for getting off the waitlist, so I have to decide whether to attend IUP or work at another lab then re-apply.

It has always been a goal of mine to attend a fully funded clinical psych PhD, but after a rough two years as lab manager in a toxic work environment that didn't provide me the professional growth, research skills, or pubs/posters that I needed to be competitive, I feel really behind in terms of standing out to PhD programs. The thought of taking another year or two to work in a lab and potentially still not get any PhD offers in a future cycle really stresses me out. I applied to IUP because of their small-ish cohort sizes plus they've been known to offer a decent amount of funding to their students. Unfortunately, they notified us this year that they're unable to offer a multi-year contract for funding to the incoming cohort (although they "anticipate continuing" to provide funding for subsequent years as they have in the past).

Funding aside, I am also curious to hear what the reputation of this program is and whether there are any red flags I am not aware of. If you are a current student at IUP, I would really appreciate it if you could share your experience with this program and the quality of their training as well. The last (maybe slightly less) important thing I am worried about is the location. It's a rural white conservative town and I just wonder what that could mean for me as a POC clinician in-training. I just wonder what opportunities I could be missing out on in my training/education by being in an area like that (if that's even a worthy concern)?

Thanks to anyone in advance that reads this and takes the time to respond!

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[MiniLop]

I'll start with some validation: I was in almost exactly the position you're in now about 11 years ago and it was stressful. I applied to all funded PhDs plus IUP and only got into IUP. I posted about it here, and received a DM from a recent grad who disclosed some internal issues at the program and gently suggested that I not go there. I had my own reservations, so this was enough to push me over the edge into declining IUP. I then ended up getting a different RA job and reapplied to programs 2 years later and got into a funded PhD. In retrospect, I'm very glad that I waited the extra 2 years and didn't go to IUP. While I'm not suggesting you do the same, there's my anecdotal experience!