12/17 Interview at Hospitals & Clinics of Minnesota

Internship Site: Hospitals & Clinics of Minnesota

Major Rotations: Pediatric Psychology/Neuropsychology

Special Stuff: Work in Hemotology/Oncology; Ability to choose amount of time spent in therapy, assessment & consultation; Awesome compentency grid that tells us exactly what specific skills we need to develop; 3-4 hours a week working in a community placement.

Downsides: Focus on billable hours; Might work on own as only intern; May be decreasing amount of time in community placements.

I arrived in Minneapolis the day before the interview and met up with a former student from my program at University of Toledo who was letting me stay at his place. While waiting for him to get out of work I stopped at the Mall of America for an hour and a half. That place is HUMONGOUS, and was totally overwhelming, especially two weeks before Christmas. I couldn't get any meaningful pics from the interview so my pictures this time are from the mall!

For dinner we met up with another former student from the program. It was so nice to see people from UT - we really are so supportive and helpful to each other, it feels like seeing family in some ways.

My interview was from 8:30 until 1:00 pm. I was dropped off early by my friend from the University of Toledo who is living in Minneapolis. The other three candidates showed up very early as well so all four of us sat in the lobby and conversed. It's really fun meeting people on internship interviews because for the most part they are really nice and supportive. There's a small sense of competitiveness of course but we're all going through the same hell so we focus more on helping each other!

Anyway, we first met with the internship director who gave us a quick overview of the program and then we met individually with four different faculty members for a half hour each. The faculty at Children's are exceptionally nice and welcoming. This was an even more conversational interview than the one at Michigan. I really felt on my game also. Children's Minnesota has two locations: one in downtown Minneapolis and one in St. Paul. There will be 3 interns; one in St. Paul and one in Minneapolis. I interviewed at St. Paul and was a little disappointed that I didn't get the chance to see the Minneapolis campus. I also don't really want to be the only intern at a site.

One of the girls at the interview was leaving right after the interview to go to the airport, as I was. We shared a cab to the airport and she told me that she was going to be interviewing at the Children's Hospital in DC. I said she could stay with me if she wanted, and then we're both going to interview in Philadelphia two days after so we'll probably drive there together. It's so nice to have someone to go with to interviews. Last year I made my parents go to several of them. Just finding your way around is exhausting in itself although I'm used to not knowing where I'm going by now! lol

Now I get a break for a few weeks before heading out to Miami!

The Roster Is Set!

So I heard from my last two sites today (Texas Children's Hospital, University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey), both of which were rejections. They also were both higher choices of mine so I was a little disappointed. BUT, that means that the interview season for 2010 is set and ready to go. Time to buy plane tickets!

12/14 Interview at Children's Hospital of Michigan

Internship Site:    Children's Hospital of Michigan

Major Rotations: Neuropsychology/Outpatient (6 mos.)

                             Pediatric Psychology/Inpatient (6 mos.)

Special Stuff: 3 month rotation in rehabilitation of kids with spinal cord injuries, ability to supervise less advanced graduate students.  

My interview was from 8-1 pm today. I met with three different faculty members for an hour each and then had lunch with two of the current interns. The faculty members were all very nice and the interview was conversational in tone. There were no bizarre/"gotcha" questions (as Sarah Palin would say), and only one clinical scenario asking me what else I would want to know and how I would approach the case. Luckily, the case presented was a kid with diabetes so I was golden!

One of the interviewers asked me what I would do if I didn't match again this year. I told him that I didn't know, that it would be really hard to get so close to graduation and not make it all the way. I didn't end up answering the question really because I don't know what I'll do, but I also am not going to dwell on it!

The interns said that they were very happy with their training so far and could not come up with one thing they did not like. The interns live in Royal Oak which would be awesome. I love that area and I would be able to hang with my classmate Darren!

I am really feeling the work of the last year is paying off ten-fold. The psychologists I met with were all impressed with my experience and the fact that I had sought out the experience in DC this year. I also felt pretty confident about the interviews themselves because I've been there before. It's strange talking to the other interviewees all of whom, at least today, were applying for the first time.

I am waiting in Detroit for my flight to DC, which has a layover in Atlanta (yes, Atlanta). Since Atlanta is extremely foggy and is now getting storms, the flights are grounded there. My flight is two hours late already...... It's going to be a LOOOONGGG day of work tommorrow! :(

Interview Invite #8!

I am sitting in the airport waiting to go back to DC and just got an email from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. They would like to invite me for an interview! This is definitely one of my top sites. I will give an update on my interview at Children's Michigan later, just wanted to get this up!

Children's Hospital of Michigan

Tomorrow is my first interview of the 2009-2010 internship interview season. I did a mock interview on Friday with one of my supervisors at Children's in DC and I felt pretty good about it. I've been told that I need to work on bragging about myself more but it's very hard for me to do that. I like to let my work speak for itself but when you're up against others who have no problems bragging it can cause problems!

Anyway, I will post pictures tomorrow and give a recap of how the interview went. Wish me luck!

And the rejections keep on coming....

I got another rejection - this time from Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinics (Pittsburg, PA). The places I have been hearing from lately are very research-based and probably don't think I have enough research experience for their sites. It's a little disappointing because these places also had some of the public policy stuff I was interested in too. It's okay though, like I said before I can't complain with already having 7 interviews.

Rejection Week

Apparantly this is the week of rejections - everyone I've talked to here in D.C. heard nothing but rejections this week. This include me, unfortunately. I heard from the University of Chicago Illinois and the Devereaux Foundation, both of whom did not offer me an interview. I need some more good news soon, the glow from the acceptances is wearing off! :)

First Rejection

Got a taste of rejection today, which was disappointing but I've been so lucky and blessed so far that I'm sure I'll get over it! :) The rejection was from the University of Maryland, I had applied for the school psychology program. So, that's 8 down, still need to hear from 7 more.

Three in one day!!

As I settled into the Flint airport ready to fly back to D.C. I realized I had two voicemails - one from Kennedy Krieger Institute (Baltimore, MD), and one from Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center (Oklahoma City, OK). Both asked me to come for interviews! Then I checked my email and there was one from Mailman Center for Child Development/U of Miami (Miami, FL). What a crazy day!