Weighing my Options for PsyD--Please share your personal advice

[Emily Torres]

Hello all,
I just heard back from some PsyD programs I applied for and wanted some advice from maybe some of you who have had similar situations or may have some knowledge to share. I got accepted into Carlos Albizu University in Miami, FL and into Mercer University in Atlanta, GA. I also got waitlisted from NOVA in Fort Lauderdale FL.
Soooo I live in Miami, so Albizu was like my safety school, but now that I got accepted I'm not really sure I want to go there since I've heard some not so great things about their program and their EPPP rate and match rate are not the bestest. But it is the most cost-efficient option I have right now since I would be able to cut out living costs since I could just live at home. Then with Mercer University, I think it is a good school in general, but the only thing is that they are APA accredited on contingency. They are going to be reviewed in July 2023, but the program starts in August so there's not much time there and I need to have a decision by then since I would have to factor in moving as well if I went there.

I have been considering a few things:
1) Pay the deposit for Mercer and then wait to hear from NOVA and go to NOVA instead if they offer me a spot
2) Reject both Mercer and Albizu and wait to hear from NOVA
3) If NOVA does not offer me a spot, apply for the next year to other schools/programs that are partially/fully funded

You see my biggest thing is that I am painfully aware of how expensive graduate school is and I've heard the horror stories of post-grad students being in debt for quite a while. But if I'm going to have student debt, I would like for it to be at a school that I know is good. There is a fear in taking a chance on Mercer since they are a new program and there is a risk in waiting to apply again because I might not got accepted. And all in all, cost is important too.
I feel like my mind is jumbling considering all these things, if someone could just give me their own personal experience or advice with this situation or with these schools.

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[summerbabe]

This is from the perspective of reviewing predoctoral internship applications at my VA hospital, as opposed to direct experience in other contexts.

From my limited sample size, Albizu students have embarrassingly terrible applications, ranging from bottom of the pack hours to missing crucial standard training experiences and other read flags.

They were easy cuts during this last cycle (40%-45% of our applicants receive interviews). I'm sure there are standout students at Albizu and perhaps none of them were applying to my western US VA but still, these applications have not given me any confidence about the program.

Nova is better compared to Albizu in the sense that their students are at least accruing more hours and rounding out training better. But the overall applications generally don't compare favorably to PhD students. We do offer some Nova students interviews. Most will be ranked but usually at the bottom of our list and a handful may not be ranked.

I also think Nova's general standard of training has been trending downward while its price tag has been going in the other direction. It was probably a much better option a decade or two ago but one that I could not recommend unless you were already independently wealthy and wanted to live in the area.

I can't speak to Mercer unfortunately.

If you don't end up enrolling somewhere, would you realistically be able to improve your competitiveness during the next cycle, including for funded programs? What could a possible plan(s) be? If you have a solid plan, I would really, really consider taking this cycle off.

Also, have you/could you consider whether doing a clinical master's degree would meet your career goals?

 

[Emily Torres]

This is from the perspective of reviewing predoctoral internship applications at my VA hospital, as opposed to direct experience in other contexts.

From my limited sample size, Albizu students have embarrassingly terrible applications, ranging from bottom of the pack hours to missing crucial standard training experiences and other read flags.

They were easy cuts during this last cycle (40%-45% of our applicants receive interviews). I'm sure there are standout students at Albizu and perhaps none of them were applying to my western US VA but still, these applications have not given me any confidence about the program.

Nova is better compared to Albizu in the sense that their students are at least accruing more hours and rounding out training better. But the overall applications generally don't compare favorably to PhD students. We do offer some Nova students interviews. Most will be ranked but usually at the bottom of our list and a handful may not be ranked.

I also think Nova's general standard of training has been trending downward while its price tag has been going in the other direction. It was probably a much better option a decade or two ago but one that I could not recommend unless you were already independently wealthy and wanted to live in the area.

I can't speak to Mercer unfortunately.

If you don't end up enrolling somewhere, would you realistically be able to improve your competitiveness during the next cycle, including for funded programs? What could a possible plan(s) be? If you have a solid plan, I would really, really consider taking this cycle off.

Also, have you/could you consider whether doing a clinical master's degree would meet your career goals?

Thank you for sharing your personal experience and advice with me. I appreciate your sincerity with your response. I think I am leaning towards applying for the next cycle to other schools with better reputations. Unfortunately, at the time of applying I was under a lot of time constraints and personal family issues, so I feel like I could have done more research. I definitely want to look into other programs and see what they have to offer.

From your experience, do you have any suggestions as to which schools (both PsyD or Phd) that you've encountered students from that typically have the well-rounded training that you mentioned earlier?

Also any advice as to what I could do to be more competitive if I do reapply for the next cycle? I have had lab experience in my undergrad working as a research assistant for 2 years. I also currently work at a clinical trials company and have gained some clinical experience working with patients there. I'm working full-time there right now, but I am open to doing more to be more competitive for selective/high-competitive programs.

 

[summerbabe]

From your experience, do you have any suggestions as to which schools (both PsyD or Phd) that you've encountered students from that typically have the well-rounded training that you mentioned earlier?

Also any advice as to what I could do to be more competitive if I do reapply for the next cycle? I have had lab experience in my undergrad working as a research assistant for 2 years. I also currently work at a clinical trials company and have gained some clinical experience working with patients there. I'm working full-time there right now, but I am open to doing more to be more competitive for selective/high-competitive programs.

Just about everybody from a funded PhD or PsyD looks fine to excellent because when you're being paid to go to school, the standards are very different.

For example, if a self-pay PsyD student really didn't want to do research, they wouldn't need to join a research team and could essentially do a lit review (at some places) or a quick dissertation using an existing data set that runs the most basic of statistical analyses (which is basically a extended version of a undergrad research paper), which would never fly at a funded program. And this would be seen as a glaring lack in one's training.

There are excellent self-pay PsyD students in every program but IMO, they resemble the average funded PhD/PsyD student. Except they are paying $30,000 or more each year for that privilege, rather than being paid to go to school.

To be more competitive, it'll likely be a combination of gaining additional research experience such as contributing to a poster or manuscript (as opposed to running experiments or coding data) and further clarifying fit between your proposed interest(s) for graduate study investigation, what PIs are working on, and the overall program training philosophy/model (e.g., if a program says they are scientist-practitioner, then your application materials and CV need to reflect that).

Unfortunately clinical experience isn't usually highly valued for admissions so I'd focus on what else you can add to round out your 2 years of undergrad RA experience.

If that experience already includes being cited on conference posters or manuscripts, then fit might be the key. Many people applying and the vast majority who get a funded offer likely have some combination of tangible research productivity, plus good fit with their PI/program. Good luck!

 

[BuckeyeLove]

Honestly if you're thinking about going the PsyD route, just find a program housed in an actual university, state school being preferred. All of these programs (yes even NOVA) are garbage now.