!!!MATCHED!!!

starlooker · Postby **starlooker** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 8:04 am

I am MATCHED!! MATCHED, I TELL YOU!!! I AM GOING ON INTERNSHIP THIS SUMMER!!!!

(Quick explanation for those of you who don't know me or don't know what Matched is. I am a Ph.D. student in Counseling Psychology. Aspiring Psychologists are required to go on a year-long APA accredited internship. The application process for this is known as the match -- matching students to sites. Unfortunately, there are far more students than spots, and last year one out of four -- nearly one out of three -- did not get a spot. This is, basically, the most important event in my academic career. Frankly, I place a lot more import on this than on my dissertation.)

Oh. My. God. These last several months have been the most nerve wracking of my life, and my life has not been exactly uneventful.

I know, I know. This could go in the dissertation story thread. But I just feel a need to scream this to the entire world at the to of my lungs!!!

After the applications, the rejections, the interviews, the fears and phobias and frights -- it all worked out. Oh my god. I can't wait to find out where I'm going.

Unfortunately, I have to wait. Till Monday.

I did it. I got through. Reasonably intact.

And so far at least two other people matched from my cohort, including one of my good buddies.

None of the previous milestones that was supposed to bring feelings of relief actually brought any. This one did. I am MATCHED.

Nothing else matters.

What a crazy, torturous way to run a profession. But it's over. I survived and made it out the other side.

God, I hope there were no casualties in our department along the way. We'll find out when we meet in an hour or so.

!!!!I MATCHED!!!!

Postby **Jayelle** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 8:56 am

Congrats!! Hooray!

powerfulcheese04 · Postby **powerfulcheese04** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 9:07 am

Yay!!!

Yay yay yay yay yay!

Darth Petra · Postby **Darth Petra** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 9:45 am

Yay Youuuuuu!

Postby **Luet** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 9:47 am

How exciting! You so deserve it. And I can't wait to find out where you will be spending the next year! Did I mention, I wish you were my therapist??

Postby **Eaquae Legit** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 9:49 am

WOOOOOOOOOO!

That's AWESOME! Congratulations so much!!

starlooker · Postby **starlooker** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 10:29 am

Thanks everyone!

It'll be either Wichita, Cleveland, Detroit, or Tacoma.

Oh my god. Every single one of us matched. All seven. The odds against that in one department are huge. It's so happy. If any of us had not matched, it would completely cast a huge cloud over this. But no clouds, no angst, nothing but smiles and hugs and hopes and dreams. This is possibly the best day I have had since coming to this department in 2003.

Claire · Postby **Claire** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 10:31 am

yaaay!

GodInYourEyes · Postby **GodInYourEyes** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 10:41 am

Thats great! good for you.

wizzard · Postby **wizzard** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 11:14 am

That's awesome! Congratulations!

Rei · Postby **Rei** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:01 pm

Yay! Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!

Mich · Postby **Mich** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:01 pm

That's awesome!

Eddie Pinz · Postby **Eddie Pinz** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:15 pm

Congrats!!

Do you prefer any of them sites or are you so happy that you don't give a flying doo-doo?

starlooker · Postby **starlooker** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:39 pm

Thanks again folks!

I pretty well listed them in the order of preference -- but, honestly, I would be very happy at any of them.

At least, that's how I feel at the moment. I may start agonizing again tomorrow.

steph · Postby **steph** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:54 pm

That's so exciting! I'm so happy for you!

Postby **Oliver Dale** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 3:58 pm

Huge congrats. I'm thrilled for you

eriador · Postby **eriador** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 11:23 pm

If you end up in Tacoma we could hang

At least it would be closer than any other pwebber i know of.

Mich · Postby **Mich** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 1:35 am

Sorry, Eri, but you totally made me think of this Jason Webley song.

"How big
How big
Is Tacoma?"

starlooker · Postby **starlooker** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 9:36 am

Wichita! YAY!!!

That was the most awesome interview. I am THRILLED. I definitely was hoping for that site and now I have it! It's MINE!

Eddie Pinz · Postby **Eddie Pinz** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 11:14 am

Is this internship the last step in becoming a full flegged psychologist? What if you didn't get matched? Would you have to another year until you have the opportunity to get matched to a site?

P.S Congrats on the site. Nothing quite like getting exactly what you want.

starlooker · Postby **starlooker** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 11:40 am

Yup! The Internship and the Dissertation are generally the last hurdles we have to jump prior to being sent off into the world as full-fledged Ph.D.s. Internship is somewhat analogous to a medical residency. Basically, I'll be functioning as a psychologist, except with more supervision and some didactic learning opportunities at my site.

There are a few options if you don't get matched initially. If I hadn't matched, right now I'd be trying to negotiate Clearinghouse -- a process through which some people do end up getting excellent sites. See, how the match works is that students and sites both post their rankings in order of preference, and a big computer works it out so that the best possible match is achieved based on both student and site preference. However, through this system not only do students not necessarily match, but some sites won't match if all the students they ranked match somewhere else. So some sites end up without students. In Clearinghouse, those sites which don't have students post their open positions, which students frantically send out applications and vitas to try and fill positions quickly. From what I understand, it's a terribly stressful process.

Additionally, a student could opt to apply at non-APA (American Psychological Association) accredited sites, many of which promise APA-equivalencies, as often they are working towards becoming accredited. This is a risky thing to do, in that there are some jobs (such as working in the VA system) that will not accept psychologists from non-accredited internship sites. Also, many APA accredited Ph.D. programs (including mine) will not allow (or rarely allow) students to graduate without accredited internships. You cannot, except under the most rare of circumstances, do a non-accredited internship one year and then do an accredited one the next. This is HIGHLY frowned upon by APA, the programs, and the world in general. I do know one person who did so; however, it wasn't her original plan and the department had to move heaven and earth to make this happen (and based on that experience I doubt there's any way in the world my department would ever again consider allowing a student to accept a non-accredited site -- she TRULY went through hell at that site). This brings me to the other problem with non-accredited sites, which is that they really don't have a board overlooking them and aren't as accountable for giving you a good educational experience -- even if they are seeking accreditation.

That said, even with those options, odds are this year that one in five students will not match. While this is better than last year, it's still not good. It's truly a professional crisis, which a lot of people (myself included) blame on the proliferation of Psy.D. programs (as well as on the APA for allowing such an imbalance between programs and sites, as it has some regulatory power in this arena). If a non-match happens, then the best thing to do is try to get practicum experience, publish, and up your chances for the next year. It is a miserable position to be in, and I was truly frightened of it for both myself and my friends going out this year. However, it can work -- people survive the year, and often match the next year.

Dissertation and Internship are the final hurdles for the degree, but they are not the final hurdles in the career. If you don't go into academia (where the hurdle of tenure looms large) you need to get licensed. After I get the Ph.D., I'll still have to log 2000 supervised hours (with the money for supervision being paid out of my own pocket) before I can take the EPPP exam for licensure. Other licensure requirements vary by state (being licensed basically means you can practice without supervision, and you get better pay). There's currently a (hotly debated) movement in the field as to whether or not hours prior to the Ph.D. should count towards licensure. While that would be nice, thinking of the profession as a whole, I don't particularly like the idea. However, que sera. It's not going to happen this year, at any rate, so it's not something I have an option for.

This may be more of an answer than you wanted

Postby **Eaquae Legit** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 12:51 pm

Darlingest, so many congratulations! I know you are going to kick ass at this. Keep us all posted on the site! I am just so darn happy for you, my SWPHEPWEBer. You deserve a party!

Postby **Luet** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 1:29 pm

Congratulations! I have personal negative feelings attached to Wichita (that's where my two cousins are from) but I've never been there and I welcome the chance to develop a new connection to it. Yay for Kirsten!

Rei · Postby **Rei** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 5:34 pm

That's very awesome that you got the site you wanted! And generally awesome that you got a site, as the alternative sounds like something out of my nightmares...

!!!MATCHED!!!

!!!MATCHED!!!

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