My Experience:
My first application was due the second week of November, for a Clinical Psychology PhD at University of Colorado - Denver. Clinical psychology is notorious for being extremely competitive regardless of which school you are looking at, so looking back, I am glad that the school I am least likely to get into was the first I had to do. Additionally, I was not the most confident in how well the interests of myself and the mentor of my choosing were aligned. This was a stressful experience for sure. But even though it did not turn out as I would have liked it to, I know I learned ways to better my future applications and I'll share a little on why that is.
Challenges:
My first challenge was learning how to fine-tune my personal statement to this particular school. I had reviewed what they were looking for beforehand, but this school was looking for me to talk more in depth about my research experience rather than clinical experience. This application involved lost of editing to my personal statement, which I was not expecting to have to do. There were added drafting, peer editing, and proof reading steps, and those all threw me for a loop.
My next challenge was having to talk about how well myself and the potential mentor I selected were a good fit for each other. This program was one I was very interested in, but there was not any specific mentor who's work was truly catching my attention. I did not have what I felt was a strongly written explanation as to why this mentor should take me on. It made me contemplate whether I should apply to schools that I don't see myself having a strong potential mentor pairing with.
Positive Outcomes:
This was a great learning experience! As I said before, I am glad that my first application was for a program I am not likely to get into. I also think that for this being my first time applying to any academic program since my senior year of high school, I did a decent job. I am feeling more confident in self promoting my experiences and skills that I have gained through undergrad, and I hope that can strengthen my future applications and potentially interviews as well.
What I Will Do Differently Next Time:
Next time I will spend more time reviewing faculty mentors and thinking about if I can genuinely see myself working in their labs. Additionally, I will try to dedicate more time beforehand to fine-tuning my personal statements for each program.
