Sure, I agree, and he has been doing this pretty much all year. He’s going to keep working. He’s already consulted with one person today on how to navigate Match 2.
One minor clarification - he had no interviews the first time around, most likely because he lacked clinical experience. He has a lot of research experience and they really look for clinical, which is why he’s been emphasizing that all year. Really there’s no way he could have done anything else to prepare. I’m not saying there isn’t room for improvement, but he did everything he possibly could.
Do you know what the current national rate of acceptance is for clinical psychology Ph.D. programs? It’s 4%. As in, 4% of all people who apply in the nation will get into a program. And that’s where the competition starts. It just gets harder from there.
Thanks, you guys rock. I’m already starting to feel at peace with it. It hurts to see him hurt, but personally I can accept that this is what has happened and I will make the best of it. I think it’s going to take him longer, but I have faith that he will get there too. What else can we do? I have no intention of being miserable for the next year, no matter where we are.
I"m sorry to hear that. My point was that I assumed his family would want to help you guys if they knew how you guys were miserable. If I were extremely well off and my son or nephew and his wife were miserable and I was able to help, I’d want to know so I could help. But I also understand the desire to be autonomous and stand on your own too. In your OP you mention how he might not get funding for another year, and how you guys are stuck in a place you hate.
I understand the part about the social network too though, I started a new job a year ago and my social network pretty much went to shit. The pay and benefits are better, but I sit in a cubicle by myself all day, then sit in an apartment by myself afterwards. So I can relate.
Anyway, I do hope things work out for you both. But who knows if that’ll happen, you guys may be stuck in a bad situation for a year or two more like you said.
I’m sorry for the anguish this is causing you however, if that’s the case, maybe you should both have done a better job of preparing for the almost certain diappointment. He could be in the top 10% of applicants in the country and still not be an even money chance of getting matched. Making the top 10% is hard enough. In many interview situations the top 10% is the one person who gets the job.
I don’t wish to sound harsh but it’s a terrible career situation. What happens if this happens again, because surely it’s more likely than not? By those figures I imagine there must be dozens of other worthwhile applicants who feel equally hard done by.
Wow. With 96% of applicants being turned down, you really should come up with a Plan B, especially considering that politics undoubtedly drives many of these placements. If he has no connections at the places he’s applied to closer to home, then he should work on building his reputation where he is, and leverage those connections because it’s his best shot at landing a position. Even the best qualified candidate will be passed over for someone that has a powerful ally on his side. Trust me, I’ve seen it happen time and time again.
I have gone through the residency match for physicians (which works in a very similar way from the sound of it) and I have tried to help med school friends/younger med students who didn’t match, so I definitely empathize very much with you and your husband!
I don’t think that people outside of this world of “matching” realize how crappy it can be for someone who doesn’t match. You apply to some places, you get your hopes up over months of interviewing that surely one of them will work out, you might even look forward to the big day when you get your results, and then it’s a huge let down when you find out all at once that everyone rejected you. Sorry that this happened to you. I hate when this kind of thing happens to someone who worked hard for years and deserves to see it pay off.
I don’t know if this is true for PhD internships, but I know that in the physician residency world, the desirable places like Chicago, New York, California are extremely competitive because everyone wants to live places like that. It wouldn’t surprise me if the problem has nothing to do with what your husband did or didn’t do, but just that he had some bad luck in getting overlooked in the large amount of applicants for places like Chicago.
Sure, it’s always good to look at yourself and see if there is something, anything, you can do to improve your chances next time - but I hate to see people just assuming that it was his “fault” that something this crappy happened to him. Even very good applicants sometimes just have bad luck. There is definitely a lot of randomness and subjectivity to the residency match, and I bet that’s true for the PhD match too.
I think you and Lisa misunderstood Olives. I think Olives was saying that, in order to be accepted to the PhD program which her husband has already almost-finished, he had to beat out 96% of the other applicants just to get to where he is now.
However, he now has to compete again against everyone else from that top 4% to get an internship. Since only the very best get to this point, now everyone he is competing against is on top of their game and it’s even harder.
From some quick googling, it looks like the unmatched rate for internships (which is where Mr. Olives is at now) is more like 24%.
Yes, this is exactly what I was saying. What’s bugging me is the idea that because he’s in this situation, it’s because he’s not good enough or whatever. That’s not the case. It all comes down to how well you fit that particular program, and you don’t get multiple offers, you get assigned a place based on a match between your ranking of them, and their ranking of you. So some of his internship sites might have ranked him #1 but because he ranked them lower, there was no match. Having seen other candidates go through this I can tell you it’s a deeply flawed system that can result in an extremely qualified person being turned down. He’s certainly not the only person this has happened to - it just happened to 24% of applicants. It’s a cold, mechanical process where a machine spits out your fate, at at times seems completely arbitrary. But having that happen to you one time is bad enough - having it happen twice is just a slap in the face for the blood, sweat, and tears you have poured into your work. And every year he doesn’t match is a year longer until he graduates and we settle down.
Thank you a thousand times for understanding.
Now he’s going into Match 2, where the odds of a match are between 15%-25%.
Would he be able to do this internship out of the country?
I would think there might be more opportunities in perhaps a country without so many applicants - perhaps some Caribbean Island? Or does this have to go through a specific facility/university with a specific program/department?
Probably a dumb question, but has he met with other faculty to do mock interviews to find out his strengths and weaknesses in such interviews? This kind of practice can be very valuable. I know in “normal” interviews, people can do well in one respect but blow the interview because they talk too much or too little or because they don’t listen to the exact question or any number of other reasons.
BTW, I know both you and he are eager to get this show on the road, but from my own personal experience, sometimes things seem to happen for a reason. Who knows - maybe this delay will mean he will suddenly be available for the perfect internship out of the blue (someone canceled or quit or whatever). Take a breath. Putting added pressure on “now, now, now!” is not going to help him, nor will it calm your nerves. Take a step back and form a five year plan instead of rushing out to rent the uHaul and buy baby clothes.
Yes, he has done a lot of this, and will probably do a lot more in the future.
I know this is good advice, because someone else said the same thing a couple of years ago, and I started making some changes to the way I think about this. I went out and found some friends, and worked on taking advantage of my current opportunities, and it helped. I feel like I get a little better at this every year, but never quite there.
I just wanted to say, I still can’t get over what an inhumane process Match is. I remember when my SIL told me about it, I thought it was the most evil thing I’d ever heard of.
Getting two law school rejection letters in same day made me cry right there at the mailbox in front of god & everyone. To find out you’re simultaneously rejected by everyone must be truly terrible.
Yeesh. I just prepared my rank order list and am waiting for our match day. Luckily I am doing a not-very-competitive field (internal medicine) and have enough interviews that I should be okay. But the waiting sucks and count me in as one who thinks the whole match system is horrific.
Sorry to hear this olives. My sister went through residency match about 5 years ago and it was a brutal experience even though she matched on the first try. Best of luck to your husband for Round 2.
That sounds like a very good idea - take some time and wallow like crazy, then strap the gloves back on and get back in the fight.
Good attitude!
I wonder about this, too - if he never gets matched, what happens then? Either he gets matched eventually, or he moves on to a different career path - it probably isn’t what he wants, but that happens to people all the time, unfortunately. My husband wanted to be a sports journalist and graduated university into the job depression of the 80’s - he works as a construction safety officer now (and has started writing for online sports journals now!).
I know what you mean - I guess it’s one of those lifetime learning things.
I’m really, truly sorry for this setback, when you and your husband were probably all set to get on with your lives and get on with the next stage of things. In my experience, things usually turn out for the best, but it’s hard as hell to believe that while you’re going through them. I do agree with you that the commute from hell has to be dealt with regardless, though - that sounds like a huge stress in your life.
I just want to clarify, his odds of getting into grad school in the first place were 4%. He did that. His odds of matching each year are something like 75%. So it stands to reason that statistically he’s got to get a break sooner or later.
Last night we went over to our neighbors’/close friends’ place and they made us sympathy lobster, because they are awesome. And we played Settlers and I got really drunk, and Sr. Olives had a really good time. I’m trying to get him through this by reminding him that there’s more to life than just this. He’s got friends coming over today and throughout the week to help him stay on task with the applications for Match 2.
As for me, I’m a little sad but I’m going to be fine. I’m already looking forward to making our future plans, wherever we end up. It’s just going to be one more month of uncertainty while we wait for Match 2 results.
Sorry that this happened to you. I hate when this kind of thing happens to someone who worked hard for years and deserves to see it pay off.