Comments about Imbalance - Page 10

The 'supply-demand' problem, I think is getting a bit out of hand. It is really quite unfair to students and I believe, one of the main reasons for extremely high level of stress for applicants, their family, and faculty in the department. One of the things that is somewhat unclear to me is the history and/or context in which this problem has emerged for our field. It will be useful to students like me to know what are some of the factors that have contributed to this. I am also sure that we are not the only field/discipline who is in the midst of a 'supply-demand' problem. Are there other models available to shed light and remedy this struggle?

This has been a highly stressful process. It has undoubtedly been one of the most stressful processes I've gone through throughout graduate school. In general, I find the application process (regardless of the disproportionate match problem) to be so overly in-depth and extensive to seem ludicrous. Internship is a ONE year clinical placement, and yet, as far as I have been told by faculty and colleagues, it requires the most extensive application compared to any other future job I will probably ever apply for...jobs that presumably will be for longer than one year. So, in addition to the extensive application process, the match imbalance is incredibly stressful. It adds a huge level of anxiety, fear, and emotional turbulence to the whole process. I had to work hard to remind myself that if I did not get matched (and therefore have to be in graduate school a year longer plus applying all over again the following year), that I would be okay and would eventually be able to get my degree and move on with my career. I have always gotten excellent feedback from supervisors and my program, yet I almost didn't match. This felt incredibly discouraging given how hard I've worked to be competitive and how seriously I take my professional growth and career trajectory. It can feel demoralizing, particularly after having gone through numerous day long interviews. My program requires that we do an internship prior to graduating, and the internship match imbalance and the real possibility of not matching, has huge financial and practical consequences. Lastly, the match imbalance has a very real impact on the interview process. Given the difficult chances of matching somewhere, I think applicants feel IMMENSE pressure to present as an excellent fit at _all_ places to which they apply, even when it becomes clear that this might not be the case. Further, internship sites are able to have lengthy interviews, stress-interviews, badly planned interview days (as well as sometimes asking inappropriate questions) with much less fear of how they are perceived by the applicants. Thankfully I have a partner, friends, and family who all supported me emotionally and, in some ways, practically throughout this process, which I think was invaluable.

Being this is my second year, and that my sister is in a PsyD program (while I am in a Ph.D. program), I am extremely frustrated by the abundance of PsyD candidates (in some cases dozens applying from a single program each year) from non-accredited programs. I feel these schools should be shut down, quite frankly, if non-accredited. It is ridiculous to think a program can take over 100 students a year. This is irresponsible at best.

Most of us have put so much into our educations and it is so distressing to think that all that can be tossed aside because of a numbers imbalance.

Not matching was amongst the most miserable things to ever happen to me. One of the worst parts of the experience was not getting very many interviews - after talking to the associate Dean at my program I understood better why I didn't get many interviews, but throughout my graduate career I received a lot of positive feedback from my advisor, supervisors, and professors about my clinical competence. Hence, I was shocked to hear that of the 15 programs I applied to, only 5 thought I was even worth talking to. I believe that the match imbalance has significantly altered the way that many graduate students engage with their graduate programs, if my program is an example. From their first year, students are so intent on doing practicum after practicum that there's no time to even engage with one's own graduate program. This is the sense I've gotten from some of my professors and advisors - students seem less committed to becoming thoughtful students of the clinical process and seem more interested in pursuing experience after experience in an attempt to boost their CVs so that they'll be competitive for internships. I feel as though I was penalized for actually paying attention during my classes, reading, participating in class discussions, engaging deeply with my patients and supervisors and thinking about the clinical process by not matching. I don't think I'll ever forget this bitter feeling of not matching and the feeling of being betrayed by my program and my DCT. I think that in the current internship climate, that ironically, those students who will probably learn and grow the least during an internship are those who get many of the most interesting placements. It seems like you need to have already had the kind of experience you'll have on an internship in order to get the internship itself. It's like getting a job waiting tables. "How do you become a waiter? By having experience waiting tables. How do you get experience waiting tables? By being a waiter..."

I think the imbalance is getting out of control, and we work so hard to get to this point in our programs. For some it is a tremendous letdown due to not getting an internship placement. For others they are more fortunate in getting a placement. The process in general is time-consuming, stressful, and very long and drawn out (about 1 year I spent on everything related to applying and interviewing). It seems that we need to be working to get more internship programs APA-accredited and getting the word out to policymakers to allocate funds for continuing education in an internship positions. Another route might be to screen students earlier or intervene in the program application process. I cannot imagine being in a cohort of more than 15, but I know some programs do it differently. I'm just thankful for a small group that I could learn from and grow with. Our cohort became close and we really leaned on each other in the program itself and also the internship application process. As far as the internship experience goes, I initially understood internship an opportunity to get more experience, but after having gone through the application and interview process, many programs want us to have already had the experience they are supposed to be equipping us for, which we just cannot physically do given our program time constraints and where we are developmentally in our professions. It's becoming more and more competitive in that regard, and it seems like we miss out on important developmental milestones necessary for becoming competent, articulate psychologists because they want us to jump ahead when we aren't there yet. In terms of how it has affected my personal life and the lives around me, I have spent significant time away from my family and friends preparing for this process. My emotional well-being has been impacted, which also affects how I interact with others. Not all has been negative though, it has really tested my character and I have learned where my capacity limits are. However, I would never wish this process on my significant others again. They went through this process with me and I'm so grateful for their support; however, it was stressful on them too. They cried with me too in celebration, frustration, existential questioning, and fatigue. I can probably say with confidence that it will be worth it because I got my first choice, but for those that are still waiting and have worked so hard to see a dream becoming a psychologist realized, I really feel for them being in the group that did not match.

I feel that the APA is allowing internships to grow at a reasonable pace, whereas professional schools are accepting larger classes and creating a massive kink in the supply chain. As a student of a professional school I am surrounded by many extremely well qualified applicants and colleagues but it is unfair to the Psychology community to continue on at such a high rate of growth. The APA is clearly doing its best to maintain quality standards among internship sites, while attempting to meet demands. My hope is that the APA won't sacrifice quality and commitment to this profession simply because schools are seeking growth. All parties must step up to this discussion. Ultimately, the social services is an already crowded field due to lack of funding and societal importance across the country. We need to be striving for quality over quantity. Personally, I'm saddened by the natural repercussions of this imbalance. I've watched good candidates question their abilities and lose time and money due to this problem. Clearly something is motivating schools to continue pressing the limits of an overburdened system but it's ultimately the students who lose out. I'm not sure what the solution is but it may involve the APA taking a more active role in regulating admissions practices of schools. Some competition can be healthy and is necessary but the current situation places an unreasonable burden on all.

The fact that the raw facts indicate that more people apply than are able to secure placements adds significant stress to the process. I chose to stay in graduate school another year and work on some publications to increase my chances to match for internship, but this is yet another year that I was accruing debt. Even after that extra year, I applied to several more programs than I really needed to, in an effort to thwart being unmatched. I also noticed that many other applicants, unless they were geographically bound, did the same. My experience was that this increased the number of applicants vying for a few interview slots -- and that several places filled some interview days extremely quickly (e.g., within hours of being notified), making travel plans exceedingly difficult to plan efficiently (e.g., I ended up with three interviews in one city in three different weeks), yet again, increasing travel costs, burden, and time away from work. Overall, this is a stressful and expensive time.

This match imbalance has caused many psychological and financial problems for me. After I did not match the first 2 times, my self-esteem dropped substantially and I had to deal with symptoms of depression and anxiety. I spent many nights thinking of what I did "wrong" in my applications and interviews. This whole process did not seem logical. It's almost like the lottery. You can have several interviews and still not match or you can have one and match without a problem. It would almost be better to let the internship programs offer students the position instead of having a 'computer' decide an applicant's future. Because I did not match the first two times, I had to take out more school loans and had to find a job to provide additional income just to get by. The cost of applying and interview-related costs are ridiculous, especially if you do not match!

Creates a great deal of anxiety and competition. It also makes me feel negatively toward my field because of the concern that a student can go through an entire doctoral program but not be able to complete the last step of it. Thankfully, I am not one of those students; however, I feel empathetic toward them. I think that a great deal of the problem is coming from PsyD programs that are churning out way too many students. If this is determined to be part of the problem, then I think that APPIC should be able to limit the number of applicants that can participate from a single institution, especially if that institution is not providing pre- and/or post-doctoral training opportunities "in return." Also, because programs are often not very clear as to the type of applicant that they are looking for, students may apply to a number of programs for which they are not likely to be interviewed. I think sites should be encouraged to describe specifically what they are looking for in applicants..some sites do this well, while others do not.

I interviewed at 11 programs and did not end up matching during phase one. I feel that it would have been very helpful if sites had a brief survey they could fill out for applicants to allow us to find out feedback from them, much like they ask for our feedback from their interview process. It would also be helpful to know if/how sites ranked me, if not the specific sites but a general idea of how I was ranked in order to understand what I may need to work on before the next match interview process begins.

My former classmates and I have long been concerned about the increase in the number of internship applicants and the growing disparity with the number of slots available. The fact that several sites are not APA accredited, and must be approved by our director of training before submitting an application, compounds the problem. The competition between Ph.D. and Psy.D. programs for the same sites is yet another obstacle to placement. Establishing parity between the number of students seeking intership and the number of positions offered each year would seem to be the best way to keep the current situation from continuing to spiral out of control. If programs are taking in more students than they can place, the academic community needs to consider the ethical ramifications of this practice. For the sake of future generations of students, I hope that reform comes soon.

I think that the current accreditation process is at least partly to blame for the ridiculous discrepancy between the number of applications and the number of available positions. There are many excellent training sites that simply cannot afford to go through the accreditation process. A lot of these sites work with underserved and minority populations and are being deprived of the best possible applicants because of the current accreditation process. Just as the cost of the application process limits some amazing students' ability to apply to internship, the cost of accreditation keeps great sites from joining the ranks of other APPIC/APA sites.

I was not personally affected by the imbalance in terms of matching, but I felt the pressure of knowing that there were many more applicants than positions available while preparing my applications and completing interviews. Our program has never had a student not match and this year the other applicant from our program did not match in either phase. I had more training from a previous masters program, but the two of us were comparable in many ways. Perhaps programs are accepting too many students each year, especially with the decrease in available sites due to economic hardship and lack of funding for sites.

The fact that applicants far out number positions is particularly dis-heartening. If the trend continues, it may get to the point where one may have to seriously question the logic of requiring a formal internship. The solution may involve empowering community professionals to provide positions outside of appic or apa; positions that satisfy the requirements for licensure. It seems unethical to ask a prospective doctoral student to spend the incredible amount of time and money, only to be turned away or asked to lose a year after a certain point in the program. I understand that APPIC is not to blame in this and if a solution was apparent, there would be no problem.

Many of my classmates have become frustrated with the Match process of Phase II because there are too few sites as opposed to the many applicants that are applying. I was personally fearful of when I applied for internships because I didn't know what would be available. I strongly believe that more sites need to be created. It is discouraging and depressing to a grad student towards the end of their academic career to have to wait another year or settle for any internship due to limited internships.There are a lot of graduate schools out there and little experiential experience because of limited internships, please even out this imbalance.

The scarcity of positions offered probably affects all applicants by causing a tremendous amount of stress during the application/interview/and matching process. I personally was matched to a program but one colleague that did not match during the first or second phase has been extremely distressed by the results. She now has to stay an extra year in school when her training there is by all accounts complete. She passed her qualifying exam and proposed her dissertation but the lack of internship sites available has delayed her professional life by a full year. Graduate programs are largely responsible in my opinion. Programs should be able to partner with internship sites in order to guarantee that those completing their program will continue on with a seamless transition to an internship. The APA also could relax their requirements for internships so that more internships can be accredited.

The imbalance, to some extent, contributed to me not placing in both phases of the match process. Although some of the onus for not placing fall on me, it seems asinine that nearly a quarter of the students who applied this year will not match. Their professional careers have been placed on hold for at least one more year. Moreover, for a small number, this may even end their career in this field. I believe that for profit universities (not the students themselves but the systems that continually take more and more students) have inundated the system. APA needs to do something to regulate this process without being draconian.

I would start off by saying that the system is "messed-up," flawed, or problematic. I would indicate that it is imperative that programs either place a cap on the number of students they allow into their program or that sites/government increase the budget or create more positions, so that so many prospective interns would not go unmatched. It is sad that we invest as much money, energy and time to result in going unmatched. Personally, I am well qualified and a "good fit" for many if not all of the positions I applied to in Phase I; however I only received one interview out of 20, possibly because in my autobiographical essay, I included a small Christian piece about how that has shaped the type of persona and thus sensitive clinician I am. Instead of seeing that as a benefit or plus, I believe 19/20 sites saw that as negative and used it as a dis-qualifier. I feel like I was discriminated against. I believe that if my essay did not include that info/piece, I would have surely matched. It is a very disappointing experience that was confirmed by a fellow peer who experienced the same thing, as well as by a mentor and training director.

Although I find it very stressful and anxiety provoking to know that there is such a discrepancy in this area, I do not necessarily blame APPIC or my graduate program. I understand that it is a difficult situation and greatly appreciate your attention to it. I wish I could offer a suggestion for resolving it, but have no helpful ideas.

I have a concern about the number of students who are being admitted into some of the professional schools. Coming from the Chicago area, this not only impacts internship placements but all the practicum experiences leading up to internship as we compete for limited training positions (and even struggle to acquire adequate face-to-face hours within some of those training positions that take a number of externs). It seems like perhaps admitting 100+ students each year is a bit excessive.

This is the second year that I have participated. Although successful, the second time around, it was a huge expenditure of time and money. I spent almost as much money applying as I will earn from the stipend. I really believe that sites ought to be limited to interviewing about 5 or 6 people per position. I think that if internship is going to be a requirement, then there is an obligation for placement or assistance with cost of participating in the application process from the graduate institutions. I am taking $75,000 dollar paycut to finish the internship requirment. The internship stipends need to be increased considering the cost of applying. Phone interviews or teleconferencing interviews need to be considered.

This process was the most stressful thing I've ever had to endure. The fact that 1 out of every 4 applicants will not match creates a significant amount of anxiety.

This is the second time I have gone through the process, but the first time I participated in the match. The imbalance between applicants and sites is not trivially stressful. My marriage was put in jeopardy because of the difficulty in obtaining a position. Further, it was nearly impossible to be matched in an area that was geographically acceptable. Although I have matched, I must move a fair distance away and the strain of doing so and trying to bring my family along for a one-year internship is proving extremely difficult. The internship process must change. The negative impact of the process as its stands today is substantially detrimental to the lives of those involved. Given the current trends, this only can increase.

The imbalance has been hard on myself and a lot of my classmates applying to internship. Personally, it is very discouraging and at times I felt "hopeless" in the process. This is one of the hardest processes I have ever had to do and felt it was an emotional roller-coaster, especially putting all the hard work into Round 1 and not matching. I felt depleted going into Round 2. It did end up working out for me in Round 2, but I know many others who have not matched and are now forced to wait until next year or accept unaccredited APPIC/APA sites. It's sad to see, since a lot of my classmates are great psychologists in training. I do not think that them not matching means that they have a deficit in skills or knowledge, it's more about the physical spots available that is unbalanced to us a graduate students. I have seen some of my classmates doubt their abilities and have lower professional self-esteem just from these internship process. And I don't think that's fair for SO many people to have to take that hard blow. I do not have a solution to the problem and it will be a tough one to resolve.

I think the whole internship process is absolutely absurd. Having to spend so much money to attend interviews for positions that are not even guaranteed is completely unfair to students who are already drowning in loans. I have been extremely affected by not obtaining an internship. I am worried that applying next year will be even worse, considering the terrible imbalance of students applying and internships, being that even more students will be applying next year. I feel even more sorry for the students who will be applying in the future being that every year is worse than the previous one. I have had to seriously consider other possible changes in my life and/or career. Had I known prior to entering such a program, that I would be so close to completing my studies, only to be stopped because of something that I do not even have that much control over. It is unfortunate that so many qualified students will have to pause their life and career for 1 or more years because of internship. Some type action needs to be taken quickly to improve this problem.

I see the imbalance between number of applicants and number of positions available as a huge problem....a systemic problem that results in a lot of pain and turmoil on an individual level. Throughout this whole process, those in my life who are not associated with the field did not understand what I was so distressed about. "You get goods grades, you've worked hard at your training, of course you'll get a spot!" And I had to explain to them (over and over and over again) that almost everyone applying has good grades, they all have numerous hours at training sites that I'm sure they worked hard at too, and that a fourth of students who apply will not be placed. And the real kicker...that for MANY of those students, it has little if anything to do with how qualified they are or how good they are at their work. One of my current colleagues is one of the most gifted clinicians I have had the privilege of working with and learning from, and she did not 'match', nor did she secure a place through the clearinghouse (last year). I personally applied to 16 sites and was offered only three interviews. My classmates expressed genuine shock, because they know me well and know how much I have to offer, and could not believe that I didn't get more interviews. And even though I know the statistics, I understand the level of competition, I understand the shortage of positions, I understand all these thing intellectually, it does feel like a personal failure-like a personal short-coming. The imbalance between the number of positions offered and the number of applicants is a failure of the system, but when you are a student in the midst of it, it certainly doesn't feel that way...it feels very, very personal. I don't know what solution there is. I think helping sites do what it takes to become APA accredited so there are more sites would help. I have concerns about programs that take an abundance of students...schools that then flood the market. I don't know what the answers are, but it is very clear that something needs to be done.

I know that I am not aware of ALL the issues that exist with the match process, but I am BAFFLED as to why APA, APPIC, and other organizations seem to be so perplexed about why there is an imbalance between the number of available internships and the number of applicants. It is clear to all the students--the rising number of PsyDs that are pumped out of the professional programs are to blame. My PhD cohort numbers a whopping 5 students. Meanwhile, the corresponding cohort at the Illinois Professional School of Psychology numbers over 60 students! Multiply that by the number of professional schools across the nation, and you can easily see why there is this 'supply/demand' issue with the match. Also, it should be noted that once the non-APA approved sites are removed from the match directory, the supply/demand issue becomes even more pronounced. Because, let's face it, completing a non-APA approved internship is a detriment to students. The recent article in the gradPSYC publication is an good example--the student in the main article shares how she took a non-APA accredited internship, and ended up regretting it--she ultimately completed a SECOND internship at an APA accredited site. I believe the reason the match process causes so much anxiety for students is because every year, top-notch students do not match; these stellar students fall through the cracks. Also, I heard that some sites will rank students based on how the site believes the student will rank them. All those emails that Greg Keilin sends to students with reminders and instructions and "strongly urging" students to rank a certain way, and to remain calm--well, these emails need to be sent to sites as well. Sites need to be held to some standards--it seems like the only thing they are held to is not divulging rank information before the rank deadline. But are there other regulations that the sites must adhere to? I think there should be. I think that APPIC/match is not motivated to fix the supply/demand issue because it all comes down to dollars and cents--the revenue generated by the match means that it isn't in the match's best interest to fix the problem. Overall, I would like to say that the students are not fooled--there are easy fixes, but the interests of the students run counter to the interests of match/APPIC (read: money). But unfortunately, students' hands are tied--we are bound to participate in a corrupted process. To be honest, I am very pessimistic that there will be any real efforts to fix the supply/demand issue. As students, we are just getting 'lip service' from match/APPIC.

I think some serious disclosure needs to be made available to students before they apply to any training programs. I was only aware of the challenge because I took the time to consult with other individuals outside of my program.

Knowing that there are not as many internship positions as there are applicants has been a concern of mine for some time. Furthermore, I have received my graduate training in a PsyD program (one affiliated with a university) and it is well known that there is sometimes a bias against PsyDs. As a result, I have worked excessively hard throughout my graduate career so that I could make myself a top competitor in the internship process. Fortunately, it paid off and I was matched at my #1 choice site. However, in retrospect, now that the internship process is done and I am beginning to have a semblance of a life again, I realize how much I sacrificed (family, friends, self-care, etc) in the service of building my CV. On the one hand, I am happy to have received the training opportunities that I have, but on the other hand, I wonder if it would be possible to receive good training without also having to make such sacrifices. Of course, it is not all due to the mismatch in the number of internship sites vs. the number of applicants that I worked as hard as I did; I am aware that some of this is due to my own personality and drive. Nevertheless, the fear of not matching was always in the back of my mind and always a motivating factor in taking on new projects. In summary, I think we are doing a disservice to our field by allowing things to operate as they are currently. How can we promote self-care to our clients if we abandon it ourselves? But how can we make ourselves competitive enough to match without sacrificing some (or most) of our own self-care? Also, it appears to me that the field is being flooded with students from programs that have such large class sizes, they could not possibly be receiving top-notch, or possibly even just adequate, training. If there are not enough internship sites for the number of students applying, then either we need to reduce the number of students applying or increase the number of internship sites. I think more initiative needs to take place to address such concerns. It does not seem professionally appropriate to allow things to stay the way they are currently.

For me, I was personally not affected by the imbalance with my match result, as I was successfully matched to my first choice in my rank list. However, the match imbalance is a very real problem that was ingrained in my mind by my faculty and my psychologist supervisors that made the process EXTREMELY stressful, because even with a strong background from a well-known, accredited program, I was very unsure if I would match. I don't know what the answer to this problem is; it seems as though it is the influx of more programs and more students to PhD and PsyD programs without a similar increase in internship positions (however, this is just my view).

This imbalance between applicants and positions has affected me financially. When I did not match last year I had to spend an extra year in school which I could not afford. This program has cost me MUCH more than what I intended. The pay scale for psychologists is NOT enough for me to pay off the loans needed for my education and training. I am regretting coming into this field because it has caused more dissatisfaction and financial injury than it has been beneficial and fulfilling. I am unsure where the future of psychology stands because it seems as if we have no direction considering we cannot even deal with this imbalance issue. What is the purpose of obtaining a PsyD when PhD candidates are more sought after in the clinical field? Why not get rid of the internship process and just leave the post doc? I cannot in good conscience recommend anyone to come into psychology with all of the issues going on where the state of the field suggests that the negatives now far outweigh the positives. We seem more interested in getting money for programs than we are for our students and future psychologists.

My restrictions to stay local due to family and financial situations made it difficult with the limited number of sites available. As a result, I am forced to do a two-year part-time internship, which is creating a very difficult financial strain. Graduate schools need to make this information available early in the admissions process. These are serious considerations to enrolling in a PsyD program that requires pre-doc internships prior to awarding a PsyD. I did not know to ask these questions at the beginning of the program.

The imbalance between the number of applicants and number of positions affected me financially, emotionally and added to a devastating set back for my career. I do feel that I am a highly qualified candidate but because of some deeply personal situations (death of my daughter being one of them) I have not gone through my graduate program in the normal fashion. My family's financial situation has made it impossible for me to apply beyond the State where I live and since I must have an APA accredited internship in order to continue in my chosen field, I was limited to 4 internship sites. I could only apply to 3 of these sites because my daughter passed away at the 4th site (a hospital). One aspect of the devastation is that I miss my daughter terribly and I made a pact to live my life in her honor. This personal pact has given me strength to continue my mission & my goals. However, in some ways, I feel I have let her down. I do not feel that not matching is due solely to the disparity of positions vs applicants. There are issues with my psychology department that I also feel played a role - there is no focus on really preparing students for internships. In addition, there is always myself to look at. I do not have very many integrated reports (a missing link that I was not aware was a problem). I also did not do well on my interviews (it would have been nice to have support from my department in this regard - practice interviews). Overall, it is a sorry situation for me and I am very concerned about next year. There are not many practicum sites available and I know I need to really beef up my CV with integrated reports and more intervention work. Nevertheless, thanks for asking. I don't think APPIC has much influence over how many positions are available. I hope you don't feel too distraught over the many sad stories you will likely receive. Thank you.

As a PsyD student, I often feel that the onus of the internship imbalance is pointed my way. It seems that everyone recognizes there is a problem, but there is a lot more finger pointing about who to blame than there is action toward a solution. I feel the biggest issue in addressing this lies in advocacy and funding. It seems like there are sites that have an interest in becoming internship programs, but they don't have the resources to do so. The GPE grant is one of few sources of funding, and is highly competitive and specific. I think there needs to be more advocacy on the part of students and the profession to get internships funded. It is extremely unfair that qualified individuals have to put their lives and careers on hold because of the shortage. It is a problem that needs to be directly addressed, in a timely manner. It is frustrating to me as a student that there has not been any real or impactful steps taken to address this.

Although I found a match, the imbalance has made my life incredibly difficult. I would not have applied to so many sites if there were not such a large imbalance; this took a problematic amount of time and money.

demoralizing to not be matched

The Match process has had detrimental effects to both my professional and personal life. Professionally, I am left without funding in my department and forced to search for jobs for which I am a) overqualified for or b) not interested in or not relevant to my chosen career path. I have completed ever other degree-related requirement for my program, including my dissertation defense, and my progress toward my degree has been stagnated because I did not match to an internship site in either phase. I have also incurred an enormous amount of debt over the last 5 years of graduate study, which I will have to begin paying back since I will not be enrolled in any credit. Unfortunately, the only clinical jobs for which I am qualified for as an unlicensed master's level clinician are nothing more than glorified babysitting at half the income of a true babysitter. I will be forced to take a job teaching for community college or in an area outside of psychology which will further discount the value of my application when I apply again next year. Personally, I have suffered a great deal. I have been preparing application materials for almost a year and making arrangements with partner so that we can both pursue our professional goals and preserve our relationship. We agreed that my partner would put off his next career step until after my internship year, which allowed us maximum flexibility to relocate to any geographic area. Despite my broad search and my ability to apply to sites based on "fit" alone, I still did not obtain an internship. This has caused considerable strain on our relationship as we faced incessant uncertainty for almost a year on where we would end up, and are not forced to scramble for whatever jobs we can get regardless of their relevance to our chosen career paths. Not only has this past year of applying been a complete waste of time, money, and resources, I am forced to spend another year applying and do whatever I can in the meantime to offset the costs of loans, living expenses, and application costs. In sum, I am dismayed that I entered a field that treats its up and coming professionals so poorly.

Not matching to an internship position this year has severely affected my family's financial stability, my own emotional stability, and overall personal equilibrium. I feel as if my whole life's path has been derailed, and I am now in limbo- with no solution in sight. Because I want to work in a VA Medical Center, which requires APA-accredited internship experience, I am severely limited with the internship positions that remain. Thus, like many others, I am taking one more year to "build my CV" although I am more than a little discouraged on the lack of externship possibilities at this point (as application deadlines have already passed). In short, I have been through considerable hardship in my life, but I think I can safely say that this is the first time I have been frightened by what lies on the horizon...

The number of unmatched applicants is terrifying and created overwhelming anxiety when applying. My fiance' did not match last year, which resulted in us accruing significantly more debt (especially with him having to apply and travel for interviews AGAIN), having to put off starting a family, and now we are going to spend our first year of marriage apart - across the country - for our individual interviews. This year several of my close friends and colleagues were not matched despite being stellar candidates. It created a huge rift in our cohort as half of us celebrated, and the other half are walking around like depressed zombies. I feel like the problem needs to start with APA and their willingness to accredit huge PsyD programs which spew out way too many candidates. I understand that there is a lack of funding for positions, and internships get cut when funding is cut, so I don't really feel that there is much for programs to do. I just know from my fiance' and friends going through the pain of not matching that it takes an enormous psychological toll, tremendously increases financial distress, and there are no alternatives or supports lined up ahead of time.

Applicants having to travel all around the country for interviews, when alternatives such as Skype and Google Video exist, is just plain WRONG. I personally have gone way into debt with the travel expenses I incurred this year, and all for NOTHING. To make matters worse, I do not know how I will be able to come up with the money to travel to interviews again this coming year. I will certainly be at a disadvantage, and i feel that this is a cruel reality in light of the amount of time and hard work I have spent on my career until now.

The applicant/position imbalance is staggering and I hope that work is being done to address it. I participated this year because I did not secure a match last year, and I heard of people who have not secured matches for 2+ years. I think it's unethical to require an internship to complete a degree and then not have the resources to allow degree candidates to complete this requirement in a timely and financial viable window of time. I think it's important to hold both academic programs and internship sites accountable for this applicant/position imbalance. While there have been several interesting ideas about how to accomplish this, I'm unaware of strong steps being taken to do so. Please please please do something. While I've been successful securing a match this year, last year I was not, and it was extraordinarily painful and discouraging.

The imbalance is significant and affected my life both personally and professionally. A tremendous amount of money has been expended to reach the point of internship which is required to complete the program and it is a risk to not be able to access a site. Thus the work to this point can place a student in the position to not complete their doctoral program.

I was greatly affected . Iwas anxious, stressed out, irritable. I felt as if I regressed almost. Waiting to hear back from places and then going on interviews, it is an emotional rollercoaster. It is scary to think that you have 25% chance of not matching. Waiting another year at 31 , is a big deal. I need to move on with my life. My husband was greatly affected too by my moodand by the great deal of anxiety that I was under.

This selection process seems to be outdated in terms of understanding that not everyone who is applying for internship is unable to leave financial and family responsibilities behind for a year. I was a nontraditional student throughout my postsecondary education career. Additionally, please understand that I was informed about the match and how it worked and I still wanted to become a psychologist despite the difficulties I knew that would be upon me currently. My thoughts are this process assumes a student will be able to move for a year and given the economy at this moment this is an unrealistic expectation for myself and a I'm assuming a few other students.

I think that upon being admitted to a doctoral program there should be a guarantee of internship training. APA and doctoral programs need work together to actively outreach mental health insitutions with a proposal to help them develop internships that meet APA accreditation. Attending a doctoral program is a tremendous investment of time, energy, and money to not be guaranteed a quality internship experience.

It made the process more stressful. I think that the statistics provided to students prior to application should be more specific e.g. what types of students don't get matched? Rather than just overall numbers, which are frightening.

The imbalance of applicants to sites had affected me profoundly. I have spent thousands of dollars and countless hours attempting to secure a position. I did not match. For me, this means either accepting an unaccredited, non-APPIC site, or spending another $40K and another year of my life in school. I made a deliberate choice to pursue an education with APA accreditation. To accept an internship with insufficient or no accreditation minimizes everything I've worked and paid for. Given that I am 42 years old, taking another year in school costs time in my remaining working life that I don't feel I can spare. This is a very serious matter to me, with high cost and deep life impact. Had I known how incredibly imbalanced the opportunities were I likely would never have pursued this particular degree program, despite how passionate I am about it. The situation is tragic.

This was my second time going through the APPIC match process because I did not match last year. I feel like my program could use some improvement in preparing students for the match system. In fact, I believe it should be mandatory for all clinical psychology programs to at least offer a semester course on the internship process. Personally, I am getting married shortly, and almost immediately afterwards I will begin internship at a location six hours from my future husband. After going on internship interviews, this appears to be the norm for both graduate school and internship, and is quite sad, but manageable. I would have preferred to be engaged while on my internship and be with my husband while married. He is tied to the state we're in because he is a local business owner. Clearly, financially this was a huge burden as well, to re-apply and go another year on a small stipend. Since this unequal match is not going away, it appears that systemic changes are necessary. That is, incoming graduate classes must be smaller, and/or more internship positions need to become available.

As I've said in some of my other responses, the process worked out extremely well for me; however, I am well aware of the current imbalance between applicants and positions available and it is very disheartening for those in my cohort and the field of psychology. I struggle with the issue, because I feel as though many graduate schools have contributed greatly to the imbalance, such as allowing very large class sizes. I do feel as though a great injustice is being done to many students who are obtaining hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of debt not to match for internship, because there's just not enough space. I feel programs across the board should do a better job at being realistic with students about the crisis at hand, because it truly is a crisis for our field and unfortunately many will suffer the consequences.

It is shameful that the psychology profession has allowed so many trainees to go through 4 - 6 years of doctoral training only to not be matched. In comparison, 94% of all applicants to medical residencies were matched this year. The "weeding out" of trainees should occur at the doctoral application level, and on a limited basis throughout doctoral training. It is particularly shameful for programs to charge tuition- without providing assistantships or fellowships- knowing that a number of their students will not match and will have significant student debt. APA has started to require programs to report more information about their match statistics, which is a step in the right direction. However, "caveat emptor" is not sufficient as a regulatory process for doctoral programs in psychology, and is a poor reflection of our professional values as psychologists. My frustration pales in comparison to the feelings of the many unmatched and debt-laden applicants from this year: I matched at my #1 choice, and have no debt, as my program provides 100% funding. I am simply appalled that APA, as the accrediting body for training programs and internship sites, has allowed the imbalance of applicants to sites to happen by maintaining standards for accreditation that result in too many trainees and not enough internships. In its regulation of training programs and sites, APA can and should make sure that these two components of psychologist training match up. It is no surprise that the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System has arisen given the faults of APA's system. Of course, there are other reasons for why PCSAS has started up, related to professional values held by clinical scientists that they feel are not reflected in APA. Nonetheless, APA's management of the accreditation process has created problems that, if left unaddressed, will result in significant rifts within the field of psychology, and has already resulted in harm to trainees.

It's a very stressful situation for me and my classmates. I am fortunate enough to get a match. It's a big relief for me. Some of the highly qualified students in my program did not get match. It really affects their self-esteem badly. I don't know if there are simple solutions about this. Maybe we should not produce so many doctoral students when there are not many internship opportunities.

This was definitely one of the main causes for anxiety for myself and other students. The fact that getting an internship is not "guaranteed" can be extremely financially, personally, and professionally harmful for students/future psychologists.

When I read this question I started crying, because for me this experience has been so difficult and my anxiety so great but I thought it was something that I had to suffer in silence. I honestly didn't think anyone cared as long as the programs filled their spots, they didn't think about the applicants that interviewed and interviewed and didn't get matched. Obviously if there is an imbalance between spots and applicants, then there is a problem. If the difference between getting picked and not getting pick comes down to variables not in the control of candidates, then again, it is not fair. The process is unethical to require so much from candidates and then not have enough spots for qualifies candidates. I do wonder if my University did not train me correctly, or if the programs are too specific. The last two people to match from my University already had terminal master's degrees with 1000 prior hours. I wonder if I received enough FACE-2-FACE hours, and I should have received specific trainings in the latest EBT, such as TF-CBT, DBT, ACT, PCIT, which seem to be needed, not just the generic kinds. During this process, which has been so time consuming, I've stopped working on my dissertation and I've had to seek out professional help. Obviously I'm trained enough to recognize depression when I see it in myself, and unfortunately it occurred in the context of this process, which is now in it's seventh month. In my situation in particular, I was selected for eight interviews (narrowed down to 1 of 20-30 interviewees from over 100 applications each) but then didn't match. I thought that since I did so many interviews, and the interviews went so well based on the responses "next year we want you to. . ." "when you come here. . ." "you will be working out of ___ building" I would surely match. It was such a shock to me on match day (both of them, actually) that I was staring at the email as if it was a mistake. It's not fair for a TD to heavily imply he would be seeing me again, and then I don't match. It was terrible each match day when I saw "We regret to inform you you were not matched to a position." It's been very hard to understand that I have excellent qualifications, but that there are so many excellent candidates for so few positions. It's not logical. I'm trying not to "take it personally" since there are so many qualifies applicants, but then of course I wonder "why didn't they pick ME" and one's self-esteem takes a beating--especially after doing so many interviews and traveling so much. I try to tell myself that there are variables out of my control, and I am still an excellent candidate despite not matching, but obviously the depression I have developed after this process indicates I am not able to avoid feeling "rejected." Either there need to be more positions, or less candidates invited for interviews. APA should review the process for getting certified, because it seems that there is not enough incentive for places to get certified. OR APA should not certify as many Universities, or the Universities should be more selective and accept less students. OR it shouldn't be so important to get an APA accredited position. If it is so important to get an APA accredited position and there are simply not enough, it is unfair to so many qualified people. I am now in the process of contacting professors and other contacts in the city where I did my undergrad, to see if I can secure an unaccredited internsh

My life and the lives of my family members has been adversely impacted by the outcome. I did not secure a position for next year and will have completed my dissertation in the interim, which means, like many others I will have little to do to next year to advance my professional development aside from obtaining addition externship training and am pessimistic about matching next year as well. Given that an internship is a requirement for graduation, there should be enough opportunities for all students to fulfill the requirement. This is the case with all other advanced degrees.

The application process was a great sacrifice of those aspects of my life dear to me at the time. At the same time, having gone through the experience, I arrived at a place in my life that now affords me greater freedom from the limitations I've imposed upon myself based upon what I thought were the expectations of the field. I know this answer is vague, but I am now happy to have withdrawn from the process altogether and reset my sails for a course that feels right for me. Perhaps I would still have been sailing in a direction that does not work for me if it had not been for going through the stressful APA internship application process.

I did not match in phase 1. I am a student in a clinical science program who has been heavily involved in both research and the clinical side of things as a clinician, clinical supervisor, and clinical researcher. I received positive feedback from many sites regarding my interviewing as well, both before and after match day (afterwards, I had been in close contact with many internship faculty so I emailed them to ask whether they had suggestions for change). Indeed, at two sites the training director sat down with me at the end of the day and essentially stated that we did not need to interview because s/he had already heard how fantastic I was from other interviewers and my current faculty. Instead, we chatted about hobbies. I’m not trying to build myself up, but do want you to understand how I was approaching match day: I was excited, happy, and anticipatory regarding finding out where I would spend the next year (and hopefully two or three, with post-docs). Nobody could tell me why I didn't match, even the three training directors who kindly spent hours on the phone with me going through my application section by section. This was extremely frustrating and upsetting; I am not an overly emotional person, but after receiving my match results I was unable to attend work for three days because embarrassingly, I didn’t think I could hold it together. It is a tremendously powerless feeling to not match despite having done everything-- and much more-- than what is required and what most others prepare. Most importantly, I know I am not the only person who had this experience. There were ~800 people who did not match, and presumably ~600 people who as of now, are looking at enrolling in APPIC again next year. This comes at excessive monetary and personal cost. Moreover, we do not have a choice: without an APA accredited internship site, we do not have a degree or career. I am fairly powerless at the moment to change this, but you are not. Please act on behalf of students now and in the upcoming years for whom this problem is only going to get worse. Something needs to change, and it is better to try something (anything) to make small steps towards improvement than to continue giving lip service to a problem that is compounding every year. Thank you for your consideration of my experience.

I think that given the imbalance between applicants and positions, it is incredibly important to not restrict your search for sites, whether it be geographically or for any other reason unless absolutely necessary.

After putting so many months into the application process, I felt numb when I found out that I didn't match. I have always received positive feedback from professors, supervisors and colleagues and was very confused and disappointed by the result. It was very hard to not take this result personally and wonder if I had made a mistake going into this field. Although, many people in the field understand the gravity of this imbalance, it is very hard to be on the unmatched side of things. In the end, I decided to take a non- APPIC internship because I knew it would be too difficult for me to go through the match again. I am satisfied with my decision, but worry about how this will impact my future career.

I was pleased with the outcome and look forward to the new opportunities ahead.

For a field that is oriented to helping people, it has demonstrated the tendency to be extremely inconsistent in how it treats it future professionals. For example, my husband and I were both successful in the match will be living a 5 hour drive apart from one another. I know of several other couples who have longer distances to see one another. While we strive to become valued as scientists and clinicians, particularly in the medical field, we are extremely lax in how we regulate admission into our graduate training programs and the accreditation process. The internship crisis is generally not known to psychologists who are not involved in graduate programs or APA governance. As a field, we need to be more consistent in our priorities to earn the respect of other professions to help insure programs (scientific and clinical) continue to be awarded federal funding.

Since there is a shortage of positions, it is certain that about 30% of applicants will not be matched each year. Make the internship a requirement for licensure and not for graduation! Applicants have already invested so much money and effort in their studies, internship cannot stand in the way of their degree. The unmatching can even decrease the self-efficacy of these applicants, which can affect their performance as therapists.

I was lucky to be matched in phase II but after not matching in phase one I had no clue what to do the next year. I was going to lose my assistantship at the end of this year and was going to have to find a way to pay the bills. I was also going to have to pay for a whole extra year of school and figure out where that money was going to come from. In addition, if I had not matched in phase II my boyfriend and I were going to have to do another year of long distance.

I can sum this up best by restating what a medical student said to me when discussing this issue with them "If this problem existed for medical doctors, there would be an uprising" and this is putting it mildly.

It has impacted me both personally and professionally. However, like many others, I don't know what the solution is, I just know that something needs to be done. It is extremely defeating to work so hard to get so far in a program and then to have this roadblock. I know I am not alone when I say that I receive positive feedback from supervisors, patients, and practicum sites both on my clinical skills and interpersonal skills. I have a diverse background, but applied to sites that fit extremely well with the experiences I have and my interests. I asked for feedback from sites I interviewed with and also received positive feedback. So there is a disconnect somewhere and the student is left after internship to pick up the pieces. I am an "older" graduate student who is ready to move on with life. As graduate students, many things get put on hold including building financial stability for the future. This process makes that situation even more stressful. It leaves many feeling bitter, broke, and disheartened. One additional problem is the extreme emphasis on accredited internships. The impact it has beyond internship year, despite whatever work experience an individual may accrue, is ridiculous. I understand and support the need for standards, but if one can prove that an unaccredited site meets these standards, it should not prevent employment anywhere. Again, this is a change in the culture that will have to occur and I don't see it happening anytime soon. The lower the match rates get, the more individuals will be forced into these unaccredited positions because the bottom line is we are all ready to get out of school and use this degree that we have spent countless hours and dollars on.

While I did not withdraw because of the applicant-position imbalance and I'm pretty confident I would have matched had I chosen to submit a rank list, I think the imbalance caused me a lot of unneeded stress and is absolutely ridiculous given the number of psychological organizations and positions available. There is a very pressing need to work with more organizations to create more positions. It seems like APPIC and the APA-accreditation body could offer some sort of start-up support to organizations interested in going through the accreditation process and becoming APPIC members. The site I am going to offered just as good of training opportunities as the APA-accredited/APPIC sites I interviewed with. I talked to many previous interns and really did my research to verify this. They focus on training and provide excellent, regular and required supervision and didactics just like other APPIC/APA-accredited sites. One previous intern told me she always wondered why they didn't seek APA-accreditation and I think it is because they are so busy training interns and providing needed services that they haven't invested the time or money into seeking accreditation or membership. To me, they would be a perfect site for APPIC and the APA-accreditation body to target for providing a little support and help towards applying and going through the initial process. Doing this with several sites over time would go a long ways towards reducing the imbalance and offering a wider variety of internship options to interested applicants.

In speaking with individuals who went through this process many years ago, it seems that the imbalance puts an extra layer of undue stress on the applicants. I know that this issues significantly weighed on me throughout the entire process & I know of many people from great Ph.d. programs that had a difficult time matching in the past. As a first year, I was told of this problem and from the very beginning I began to worry about this issue and worked very hard to build my experience so that I could be competitive. Unfortunately, this is a big problem that hurts students not matter what stage of training they are in. I know that in our program many people have been waiting until their 6th or 7th year to apply for internship because of this issue and the worry that they will not match because of the imbalance.

I had already observed the negative impact not matching could have on the psyche of my peers, and I emotionally prepared myself beforehand. However, no amount of preparation prepared me for the feelings of incompetence and anxiety that not matching would produce. The feelings never became something unwieldy, as I had already decided that I would complete my dissertation during the year that I would not be in my internship. I spent a great deal of time telling myself that I am competent, that I am worthy of an internship, and that it will happen. I also had to remind myself that my limited geographical location, in an area saturated with Ivy institutions (and I attending a distance based--albeit APA approved--learning program) was a death knell to my application. I was still surprised by feedback from directors which indicated that my application was discounted at the outset due to my program affiliation, and was disheartened that my MA degree from an ivy leage school, prior work as a School Psychologist, Spanish speaking skills, current doctoral training in community based mental health centers and hospitals, and letters of recommendation were insufficient to warrant an interview! I am still trying to understand the whole process, despite much reading on the APPIC website. Next year, I will apply to a larger geographic area, and will be closer to having finished my dissertation. I will also be open to applying to non-APA accredited internships. I am hopeful that will increase the number of interviews I receive.

Personally, the imbalance has been very stressful since the start of my education. Since year 1, I have worried about it, and at what should be the end, I have to worry for another year that it was a mistake to enter a PhD program. There is no other equivalent professional degree program (e.g., law school, MBA, med school) to which you are essentially told "almost 1/4 of you may not graduate, not because you are unqualified or did not fulfill the requirements of your program, but because your professional organization cannot seem to get a handle on the fact that there are not enough training positions available to fulfill this requirement." I understand that these other professional degreed students are not told "we can guarentee you jobs," but at least if you enter a program and pass the competency marks you will receive a degree. At the end of this process, when I am unmatched, it is financially, personally, and professionally stressful. I have not yet received a response that tells me there is something I could do differently to obtain an internship next year. I have hear "luck," too many times in trying to prepare for next year, even from training directors. The additional costs associated with an additional year in graduate school are quite burdensome. And it is unlikely that I will ever earn enough to replenish the amount drained from savings in pursuit of this degree. Finally, this problem will not only be a problem for students during the match. This imbalance means that the entire field of psychology is going to be flooded with doctorate level professionals. The degree will be less valuable and there will be fewer jobs for those entering the job market. I have friends with high quality internships who now having difficulty finding a post-doc. Some of the responses include taking on additional interns or practicum students and not needing a full time (read, better paid) post-doc. If APA wants to continue to be the accrediting body, they need to be accountable to the students and to the profession.

Apply to as many sites as possible. Before applying, check the site's statistics from previous years. For example, if you are a Psy.D. candidate and the site has accepted mostly Psy.D. candidates for the past few years, apply there and rank them high on your list.

The imbalance between applicants and positions creates a personal and professional strain. Not matching the first time was dissappointing, but not matching a second time is demoralizing. The year between the first and second match, I followed the advice of many to expand my geographical area, gain more practicum hours and different experience, have faculty provide feedback on essays, practice interviewing, etc. The thought of getting this far and not finding and internship that is the difference between graduating and not graduating is so incredible. All training institutions should have designated slots for the students they train (like some already have). I had a career prior to starting this journey and to be faced with this roadblock at this time in my life is not acceptable. I can't imagine that individuals in the field of psychology are not more sensitive to the plight of students that are having a tough time trying to complete requirements of their training program. Although APA addressed the issue in a letter, those long-range solutions don't help those of us who are still searching for internships now. I'm spending time completing my dissertation, but the thought of going through the match a third time is financially and personally draining. Any help in this area would be appreciated by all the quality students left behind. Thanks for asking this quesion.

It might cost me a year of my life! I didn't get matched or even interviewed by all 9 of the sites that I applied to. I want my money back because it seems like I paid of a service that was not provided. This is a serious problem. For graduate students to graduate, we are required to complete these hours. How can we do that when we are not given an opportunity to do so? Perhaps the solution is to require more practicum hours and no internship. Also, I am facing a financial situation. I have a baby on the way, about to buy a house, and am now a 1 income family. We are required to leave jobs (if we have time to do them in grad school) and somehow support ourselves on a stipend that is less than what I could get paid out of college. We get paid less than minimum wage! I know it is part of our education, but this occupies time and we cannot have another full time job. If I had received an internship, that would be my complaint...raise stipends.

The overwhelming number of applicants versus available positions has created a system that doesn't work. I HAVE TO have an internship as a degree requirement but yet I have been unable to obtain an APA approved internship after trying for 2 years. If I choose to participate in a non-APA internship, then I lose the ability to be a licensed neuropsychologist so I am between a rock and a hard place. The additional years added to my education because of the inability to match has put a financial and emotional strain on my immediate family. In the end, I am not willing to risk damaging my marriage to fulfill this degree requirement. The final outcome is that the field of psychology (and neuropsychology in particular) is most likely going to miss out on a very conscientious, ethical and empathetic clinician.

I think the imbalance between applicants and positions has created situations where people like myself are not matching, when we are ready, qualified, and able to go out on internship. I find it to be ridiculous that almost 1/3 of applicants are not able to get an internship site - mostly due to a lack of positions. I think programs who send large numbers (anything over 8, really) should be required to fund a certain number of internship sites as well, as those programs are the ones flooding the internship system. I know of a program that sent 34 applicants out into the system this year, and I find that to be outrageous, given that my program only send out 5-8 each year. I know there is not an easy solution to this problem, but I believe it is rather ridiculous that roughly 800 people are left without internship positions. In other professional fields, this does not seem to be as large of an issue, so we need to look at the regulations they have on internship/rotation/residency positions and the number of applicants they allow.

Personally, I am appalled by the current status of the internship application process and the number imbalance. So many highly qualified applicants were left unmatched, which after spending 4 or 5 years finishing all other requirements is horrific. I was impacted financially, emotionally, and physically, by the process this year. Applicants are required to spend thousands of dollars on applications, travel, etc., which is absurd. The stress, travel, etc., took a toll on my physical health and the constant state of anxiety wore me down emotionally, While I am lucky to have a wonderful support system, the experience definitely impacted how I interacted and engaged in my relationships. Although my life seems to be revolving around internship, I am getting married and OUR lives began to revolve around it as well. It is difficult to coordinate a partner's job search with the internship search, and financially, this process has been HORRIBLE. I have nothing but negative things to say about the number imbalance. Shame on schools who are accepting applicants in large numbers to make money. Graduate students have spent YEARS of hard work, time, energy, and a lot of money to get to their final year and internship. To be left in a position to not be able to complete the requirements to graduate, or to have to wait another year to reapply is one of the most terrible and inhumane things I have ever heard of. APA and whomever else is responsible for this should be ASHAMED of themselves. This is an incredibly serious situation that seems to continue to be ignored.

Let students start filling out the AAPI earlier, and put more direction regarding what essays should be about.

The majority of students spend 4 to 5 years establishing an area of interest and expertise, building their vitae and their student loan debt and living on next to nothing. From the time psychology students enter graduate school they know that the match is tough. They see previous students, outstanding and qualified students, having to place their lives on hold to wait and try again the next year. Graduate school no longer feels like a time to engaging in interesting and exciting experiences; rather, it is 5 years of trying to become competitive for the match. Bottom line, the imbalance is horrible and the personal experience of not having matched is devastating. What goes along with “We regret to inform you that you did not match to a position”? You feel like a failure and an embarrassment. Your colleagues try to identify where you went wrong because they do not want to think that it may happen to them. Your faculty members question your choice of internship designations and pick apart your application. Maybe your interview style was too enthusiastic or you came across as too nervous and unsure. You must not have practiced enough. Your spouse or significant other tries to comfort you, but in their eyes you see their anger, frustration and disappointment. "Five years, and I am expected to sit around and wait one more?" "What if you don't match next year?" "What about me and what I want? When are we finally going to be able to start a life?" Maybe you did apply to the wrong sites. Maybe your goals were set just a little too high. Maybe your program did not have the experiences or opportunities available to make you more competitive. Maybe no one was there to tell you that you were not as competitive as you thought you were...Whatever the reason, in the end it really does not matter. It does not change the fact that you failed. You failed yourself, you failed your family, and you failed your program. That is what goes along with not matching…

One major thing, having partcipated in Phase II, is that going to newer programs should not penalize the student forever. As I have chosen to accept a non-accredited program rather than wait another year, I have now limited my career choices for the future. In this specific case, I am going to a site that had accrediation as part of a consortium and has now decided to become their own separate site. Because the process to become accredited takes years and the sites must have had interns in order to become accredited it seems like a slight to the interns. The sites are not losing anything by this process but the potential interns are losing a lot. There were several sites that I found to be excellent fits and programs during Phase II that I did not even look at during Phase I due to the accreditation status. Again this seems to be an unfair system affecting the future interns moreso than the sites.

I never expected to not match. I definitely thought phase II would bring me better luck, but I was just as unlucky. The current PMVS has nearly no sites listed, and nothing accredited. This is not the way it's supposed to be for students after they spend 4 years and hundreds of thousands of dollars getting through their doctoral programs.

I found the internet based application to be very difficult to use due to my visual impairment. It is important that not only the application its self is accessible, but also that each of the internship's websites are accessible. This was not the case this year, which made the process much harder and more frustrating for me. Additionally i had a few internship sites state in their materials that it was required that the applicant have a driver's license in order to be considered for their internship positions. I found this to be frustrating because even when i called and stated that i am blind (and therefor do not have a drivers license) I was told that i would not be considered. This needs to be addressed because my ability to be a successful intern (or clinician) should not be determined based on weather or not I have a drivers license.

This process has been grueling and has taken quite a toll on my life. When I began graduate school I had NO idea that this imbalance (let's get real - APAGS only refers to this as a CRISIS) would be built in and that the course of my future would hinge on my ability to secure an additional year-long training slot following the THREE YEARS of practicum training I had already received. From when I became of this imbalance a few years ago to now, I've consistently been told, "We're working on it" by well-meaning councils, directors, etc. Meanwhile, students' frustrations and anger turn inward and/or explode onto others. This process has destroyed the confidence of my peers, compromising their ability to help others. What irony that our profession is so inhospitable to its future colleagues! Finger pointing continues relentlessly amongst students, faculty, and administrators. Everyone seems to be blaming others, yet nothing seems to change year after year. There is such anger and resentment growing that I fear for how this will affect our future generation of psychologists. In contrast, it seems the majority of "graying" psychologists do not ever seem to quite grasp that this is a huge guild issue and seem to enjoy stating how hard internship was for them. I do not believe this is the same! Each year a gasp arises in professional organization meetings when it's announced that one in four to one in five students are not matching at an internship. Yet where is the support outside of universities? I could go on for pages and pages, but I am so exhausted from this process I want to forget about it.

I'm sure you will be hearing much from those in my cohort who did not match. Basically my goals were met, but I fear for those who did not match. The Argosy students/sites seem to provide a disservice to others in the field.

In my experience in graduate school I have known several highly qualified students across different programs who did not match, at least not initially. In my opinion, there are way too many professional schools taking way too many students who are then flooding the internship pool. It doesn't seem right that some schools can have 40 people applying for internship with insane amounts of hours because their programs completely emphasize clinical work, whereas other programs have 4 or 5 well-balanced students who maybe don't meet certain hour requirements (e.g., 1200 hours) because they have had significant research and teaching responsibilities as well as clinical responsibilities. I know this is up to sites to figure out, but I think there should be some limitation on how many students can apply from any given program in order to discourage these programs from taking 90 students per year and not providing ideal training for our profession.

This is my second year of not matching, despite an additional year of experience and interviewing at three sites. The current imbalance is a disservice to the psychology community and discourages future professionals from our field. Personally, it has put my life into limbo for two years forcing my husband and I to put off our plans of having children and also impacting my husbands career mobility. I believe that if schools are to require internships to graduate than they should provide that experience instead of leaving students who have invested thousands of dollars in the lurch. I invested my full time and effort in getting an internship yet still fell through the cracks. I am one of one thousand. That is clearly a problem.

I did not receive an offer for an interview with any sites outside of our consortium. It was very discouraging and devastating as my dream was to work with children (my consortium does not have sites that focus on children). I have worked through my devastation and I am extremely grateful that I did match with my first choice of sites where I interviewed. I am deeply concerned for the future of our profession - it seemed like we received emails every other day about sites pulling out of the match. I understand it is somewhat of a hardship to train interns and provide funding. Perhaps some kind of incentive, while maintaining the quality of the internship, would be helpful.

Thankfully, all members of my cohort matched this year but there are several graduate students in the class below me preparing to apply in the next cycle. I am quite concerned about those who were not successfully matched this year but am even more concerned about the growing imbalance as programs continue cutting back while more skilled clinicians and researchers emerge. I regret that programs will not guarantee internal internship positions for unmatched applicants.

The imbalance is a serious problem. It creates a very stressful bottleneck at the end of a long process of becoming a psychologist. It is as if, by being admitted into a clinical psychology doctoral program, you are really just entering into a lottery with a 75% chance of getting your Ph.D even if you do everything you are supposed to do and even if you do all of those things incredibly well. It makes me feel very upset at the large professional schools that seem to hang out Psy.D. degrees to most people who can pay to attend an expensive professional school. People like myself, who could never afford such a school and instead had to compete for a spot in a fully-funded, stipend-awarding, Ph.D. program are then potentially held back from completing an internship by someone who paid his e her way into the applicant pool. It is very disturbing and dilutes the status of the field.

This is the most stressful process I have ever participated in both personally and academically. I am married and have a son under the age of 1 - the imbalance in sites and students created a tremendous amount of uncertainty in our future and a hurricane of stress and anxiety around my family. Had I not successfully matched, I likely would have withdrawn from my program and pursued law school. I know this was echoed by a number of other students in my program. I saw the most highly qualified student in my program not match to a site, and only secure 1 interview - this is unacceptable. The inequities are many and seem like they will be so difficult to address.

I did not match last year and it was an awful experience. Of course, I moved on and made the best of the situation, but with some emotional and fiscal hardship on myself and my family. I believe my not matching also increased the anxiety of fellow students about the match process. The biggest toll not matching took was on wasting my time and resources. Having to reapply stole time from me that I could have put towards professional products. In my and my faculty's eyes I was prepared for internship the first time around, but to stay competitive for the following year I engaged in more practicum (unpaid as most are), which took time away from activities that would actually help me professionally (e.g., publishing). Applying is itself incredibly time consuming, and I had to completely re-do all that work and then some. I applied to more programs and visited more programs and re-worked my original application (not much was kept the same and so the workload was substantial). Re-applying took time away from other more meaningful professional activities and I truly felt that this work was unnecessary because I was prepared to go the first year. So, not only did I feel held back last year, but I was actually mired in more work and wasted considerable time in order to obtain an internship this year that I was already prepared to take last year. Wasting time that could be useful for actual progress in my professional development also means more time spent in low and unpaid work. This is frustrating as well, but I was lucky to have a partner to help me financially through graduate school. I feel awful for those students who do not. The imbalance cannot be acceptable as the new norm for students. I don't have the answer to this problem given my lack of understanding of why this problem exists, but I am sure there is a better option for us than what is currently available.

Personally, I really wanted to get an APA site. I felt very stressed thinking about the imbalance of applicants and the likelihood that I would get a slot. I ended up not applying to sites that I really wanted or experiences that I wanted because of the influx of applicants and my lack of research experience. I focused more on applying to sites which I thought I was competitive for at the advice of my training director. I think this hurt my education as a whole and am disappointed at the amount of students per positions. This process also increased the power differential between applicants and programs. Students are basically at the mercy of internship programs and I know that I and many other students traveled far and wide to places we did not necessarily want to go because of the imbalance of applicants to positions. Overall, I think this imbalance forces students to settle on their educational needs because it is better to get a slot at all then wait another year when the selection process could have an even larger imbalance of students to positions.

I felt that this process is very biased and imbalanced. Many of my friends and colleagues did not match, and I believe this is in part due to the high number of APA accredited institutions that mass produce psychology students. I am from a PsyD school, but there are only 10 in my class, and we focus our efforts on clinical/theoretical knowledge, ethical behavior and professionalism, as well as research. I believe APA should do something about accrediting so many institutions that are producing a large number of students that flood the system and make matching a nightmare for all of us.

The internship application process is a stressful, but rewarding process. You should be proud of the work and effort you put in regardless if you get a site or not. It is competitive, but you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you and do not just rank a site based on the idea that you think they will take you. If you do not like a site, for example, that says you will work on average 60 hours a week, then do NOT rank them if that is not what you want. Also, apply to more than just 5 sites because you are NOT guaranteed an interview. You should also apply to a variety of sites that are different on the competitive spectrum. For example, if you apply to neuropsych sites, but only have 50 hours of experience in that area that site maybe too competitive to get in so apply to others that share your similar interests that you may have better odds with. It is a delicate balancing act that you should definitely take time to process before making rash decisions. Also, come up for air once in awhile to break free from essay writing etc... Spend time with your friends and family, they are your support system and you are going to need them throughout this process so don't take them for granted. And finally, (sorry I am just as long-winded in person) this is an exciting process and you should view it as such! Good luck!

It's scary to realize that no matter how hard you work, what your qualifications are, or how well you are recommended your graduate school experience could end with no degree because there are not enough work positions for the people applying for pre-internships.

I appreciate the opportunity to share how this internship match process has personally and professionally affected me. In fact, as one of the many casualties of this broken system, I do not feel like there is much that a candidate can do within this process. Paralyzed by this system, the only resource I feel I have is my voice. Therefore, I took the liberty of writing a letter to Dr. Greg Keilin last week. This is the letter that I wrote: It is hard to approach this letter and not have my words bleed with the depth of emotion, heartache, and frustration that I feel. I am writing to share with you the crushing, personal reality of not being placed at an internship site. Sadly, this is the second-year in a row that I have been stuck in this ‘match process,’ unable to attain a position. It is a defeating, heart aching experience. I find myself intensely frustrated, especially considering that I will be sitting in this place for 3 years, unless I am able to attain a position within the Clearinghouse. This is the same length of time that it took me to complete all of my doctoral coursework. I have worked tirelessly within this time frame. I have excelled among the top of my class, overcame obstacles and personal challenges, including enduring the multiple deployments of my husband to war zones in Iraq/Afghanistan, and now Libya, all while being a virtual single-mom to a lovely soon-to-be 4-year-old little girl. I have balanced these things in an environment without family or social support, and was still the first in my class to complete all necessary coursework. I have done this with the intention of attaining an internship position and graduating. As I reflect on the past 5 years as a doctoral student and the personal challenges I have faced, I have often felt that the profession has held me in the face of adversity. It has been the intense depth and love I have for the work that I aspire to do within this field which has enabled me to push forward with the grit, tenacity, and perseverance necessary in order to walk the steps I have taken. Not once did I waiver in my intention to become a psychologist. This steadfast commitment and determination to become a psychologist held me when I was presented the gift of unexpectedly becoming pregnant two weeks into my first year as a doctoral student while my partner was simultaneously re-stationed to an airbase 1,000 miles away. It held me through my isolating pregnancy and the 2nd year of my doctoral work when I returned to my studies with a newborn while balancing the fears of having my husband fight a war in the Middle East. My passion for this doctoral degree and desire to work within this field sustained me when I returned for my 3rd year of coursework while facing the heart breaking fears of having my father’s cancer return after 25 years of remission. I have steadfastly held onto the unwavering confidence in knowing that not only do I love what I do and am wholeheartedly committed to a pursuing a lifelong career in this profession, but also knowing that I am good at it. Yet now, I, like 1,103 other doctoral students facing the similar crushing reality of working so hard these previous years and not being placed at an internship site, feel like this profession we love is letting us down. It is painfully clear that our field is flooded with many qualified candidates and there are simply not enough positions. Sadly, this ‘match crisis’ will continue to be in eff

If I don't receive an internship next year, I simply won't have enough money left (or enough loans to take out) to be able to complete my doctorate.

This process has taken an emotional and physical toll on me. The thought of $170,000 of debt with no degree to find a job to pay it off leaves me feeling powerless. There is no clear critique on why I did not match other than I may not have had enough hours. Though, to get more hours that is an extra year of debt doing an unpaid job. It is hard to think of taking on a 4th practicum when you already feel the financial strain and have no assurance that it will even get you an internship. Right now, I feel and wish that I had never chosen the field. Though it is something I love it does not seem worth the financial drain it will put on me for the rest of my life.

N/A.

I cannot put into words the anxiety and stress it has caused me. When I did not match the second time, I began to consider the amount of loans I had accumulated and the prospect that I may not graduate.

The question is whether APPIC will continue to stradle the fence on APA only submissions. If you do decide to restrict, you are discriminating against rural communities and others. If you don't decide to restrict, this will be repeated next year.

I think it creates some anxiety. However, since I was lucky enough to get my 2nd choice I do not feel that it has greatly affected me. However, it seems like the level of anxiety only seems to increase over the years as the imbalance gets bigger and bigger. What I would like is if more sites became APA accredited or information on why some sites aren't. I definitely was restricted to only APA accredited sites because of program requirements.