FAQs for Resident Applicants
How can I apply to an APPCN program?
Contact the directors of the programs you are interested in, and
ask how to apply.
Does APPCN have a standard application form or a standard application
packet?
No. However, most programs request a curriculum vitae, 3 letters
of recommendation, and a graduate transcript. Some programs allow
the curriculum vitae and letters to be submitted by email. A few programs
may also ask that you submit samples of your work (e.g., evaluative
reports).
Is there an application fee?
No, there is no fee to apply to specific programs. However, there
is a fee to participate in the Match.
Do I need to have some clinical experience
in neuropsychology in order to apply?
Generally, yes. The Houston Conference Guidelines, to which APPCN
programs aspire, indicate that some education and training in clinical
neuropsychology should occur prior to the residency, in the doctoral
program and internship. However, there is no requirement for a specific
number of hours or units of neuropsychology training. Still, the Houston
Conference Guidelines were intended to be aspirational in nature,
and not all programs may have fully implemented them. Thus, you may
wish to check with the program you interested in. It is likely, however,
that an application to an APPCN program from someone with experience
in neuropsychology will be viewed more positively than one from a
person without experience.
Do I need to have an internship in order
to apply?
Yes.
Is it necessary to be from an APA- or CPA-approved program in clinical
psychology and have an APA- or CPA-approved internship in clinical psychology?
APPCN programs require that applicants have completed an APA- or
CPA-approved graduate program. Some require the graduate program to
be in clinical psychology, and some welcome applicants from other
kinds of programs as well (e.g., school psychology). An APA- or CPA-approved
internship is preferred by many programs but not required. In some
cases, exceptions are made. If you do not have these qualifications,
you should talk to the directors of the programs you are interested
in. Also, you can get some information about specific program requirements
and preferences from the APPCN website www.appcn.org.
Do I need to have a neuropsychology internship in order to apply? What
about an internship that meets INS-Division 40 or Houston Conference
guidelines for internship training in neuropsychology?
APPCN does not require a formal neuropsychology internship, but some
APPCN programs do prefer applicants who have this type of internship.
To find out, you need to ask the directors of the programs you are
interested in.
Can I apply if my doctoral degree is in a non-professional field of
psychology, such as experimental psychology or developmental psychology?
APPCN requires that applicants have a doctoral degree in a health
service delivery area or else have completed a "respecialization"
program.
Do I need to complete requirements for the doctoral degree in order
to apply?
You can apply if you will complete your degree requirements before
the start date of training. However, the closer you are to completing
these requirements, the more competitive your application will be.
For most applicants, the major unmet degree requirement is the dissertation.
Programs may ask applicants specific questions about the status of
their dissertations (e.g., if data are collected).
Is it necessary for the doctoral degree to be awarded before the start
date of postdoctoral training?
No. This is because some universities only award degrees once per
year.
Do I need to have completed all degree requirements before the start
date of postdoctoral training?
>APPCN strongly encourages trainees
to complete all their degree requirements before starting postdoctoral
training. Otherwise postdoctoral training would be adversely affected
by time spent completing doctoral requirements. Some programs may
not offer the same stipend to non-degreed residents as those with
their doctoral degree. State licensing boards generally will not credit
time in a residency program toward requirements for postdoctoral supervised
training until the degree is conferred. Thus, for a number of reasons
it is desirable to have your degree before beginning your residency.
Do APPCN programs have a uniform start date?
There is no uniform date, but the start dates of most APPCN programs
are from July to September. The exceptions are mostly when programs
have positions that need to be filled at other times of the year.
Do APPCN programs have a uniform application deadline?
No. You should look on the APPCN website
or contact the program directors for their deadline. However, there
is a deadline for all applicants and all programs to submit their
rankings to National Matching Services. Therefore, no programs can
accept applications after the deadline for submitting rankings. Applicants
should apply early enough to avoid having their applications reviewed
in a rush.
Do I need to interview at the International
Neuropsychological Society (INS) meeting?
Interviewing at the INS meeting is convenient but not required. APPCN
programs offer interviews at the annual INS meeting, which is usually
held during February or March. This meeting was chosen because it
is just before the Match. By traveling to the INS meeting, applicants
can interview with multiple programs at minimal expense and time.
The Waikoloa, Hawaii INS conference will be February 5-9, 2008.
Do I need to interview on-site at each
program I apply to?
There is no APPCN requirement for
on-site interviews. However, some programs invite their top candidates
to come for interviews. Some programs only interview at INS. Again,
you need to ask each program director what is their policy.
Regarding the Match:
How do I get an application for the
Match?
The APPCN
index page has a link to the NMS (National Matching Services) web
site or you can link directly to http://www.natmatch.com/appcnmat.
Click on "Applicant Registration" on the NMS
web site.
What percentage of present APPCN members
will definitely participate in the Match?
All the APPCN member programs that have positions available that
begin in 2008 will participate in the Match.
Will other sites that are not members be eligible to participate?
Yes, programs that are not members of APPCN may participate in our
Match, provided they meet certain minimal qualifications and agree
to abide by the APPCN Match Policies. However, participation in the
Match does not imply that a non-member program complies with the training
guidelines and standards for membership set by APPCN. There are some
non-APPCN programs that are probably of similar quality to APPCN programs.
But unless they apply for membership and allow peer review of their
programs, their compliance with APPCN standards cannot be determined.
There are almost 50 programs in APPCN now so it is fair to say that
the vast majority of the high quality, organized residency programs
in clinical neuropsychology are in APPCN.
What implications do the existing APPCN Match guidelines have for applicants
who do not receive placement by the end of March in the APPCN Match?
Does it not limit an applicant's options to apply to non-APPCN residency
programs that are not participating in the Match as a safety net to
ensure employment for the upcoming year?
You can apply to all the non-participating
programs that you wish. They are not bound by any rules of the Match
and neither are you in your dealings with them. It is possible that
non-participating programs may pressure applicants to commit before
the Match date. In such cases, the applicant has to decide whether
to hold out for a participating program or opt out of the Match.
Do you have any recommendations on an appropriate manner to graciously
negotiate the delay of such commitments?
There may not be a gracious way to delay commitments. Our suggestion
would be to simply state assertively to any non-participating program
that asks you to commit before the Match date that you are participating
in the APPCN Match and would prefer not to accept another position
until the Match results are out. You could even suggest that the program
participate in the Match, if it is eligible to do so. If they persist,
then you will have to make the kind of decision we discussed previously
(i.e., do you take a sure thing or hold out for the possibility of
getting into a participating program). Of course, the pressuring program
is in the same position. They have to decide whether it is better
to hold out for you or to accept a more eager, but potentially less
qualified, applicant.
If a student were to accept such an offer from a non-APPCN program:
(a) How quickly will the computer system respond if the student notifies
the National Matching Services?
If applicants want to withdraw from the Match (perhaps because they
have accepted a position elsewhere), they can do so up to the deadline
for submitting Rank Order Lists, which this year would be February
29, 2008. Once processing of the Match begins, withdrawals are no
longer
accepted. Match Results Release Date is March 10, 2008.
(b) How many applicants are likely --
in reality -- to notify the Match service of prior commitment to non-participating
programs and might attempt to play both systems?
This is a hard question to answer.
In previous years, the majority of registered applicants submitted
a rank listing. The remaining applicants either withdrew formally
from the Match or did not submit any rank listings. Very few applicants
who withdrew or did not submit rank listings were ranked by any APPCN
programs, and to the best of our knowledge no applicants reneged on
positions to which they were matched. Hence, we do not believe that
applicants attempted to "game" the two systems unfairly.
Moreover, the Match is open to non-member programs. The more programs
that participate in the Match, the less able applicants are to play
both systems. The likelihood of such "gaming" depends in
part on how many non-Match positions exist that make offers to applicants
who would prefer positions offered in the Match. Remember that to
participate in the Match, each applicant must sign an Agreement that
states, among other things, that the applicant agrees:
1. Not to make any commitments
to or contracts with any participating program prior to the release
of the Match results. If I choose to accept a position at a residency
program that is not participating in the Match, or decide not to
participate in the Match for any other reason, then I will NOT submit
a Rank Order List containing any choice(s) of programs for the Match,
but will submit a withdrawal from the Match.
2. To accept appointment to the program with which I am matched.
I understand that I cannot avoid accepting appointment to the program
with which I have been matched without a written release from the
program concerned; also, that another program participating in the
Match cannot offer me a position unless I have this release.
3. APPCN is responsible for enforcing this Agreement, and violations
of the terms of this Agreement will be reported to the APPCN Board
of Directors. So in addition to numbers of positions, the question
becomes - how many applicants will choose to violate an agreement
that they have signed?
(c) If the match service is not notified, how does that affect the remaining
participants?
That depends on the specifics of the circumstances and the relative
desirability of the positions. There are a few scenarios where an
applicant commits to a non-APPCN program and then also participates
in the Match:
1) Applicant is not matched: no
effect on any participants
2) Applicant is matched and reneges on the commitment to the non-participating
program: The non-participating program will have a spot to fill,
which they will offer to other applicants. If they offer the spot
to an applicant who did not match (whether or not they participated
in the Match), then there is no effect. If they offer the spot to
an applicant who is matched, then it depends on which position the
applicant prefers. If the applicant prefers the matched position,
there is no effect. If the applicant prefers the non-participating
position, then it depends on what action the applicant takes: if
the applicant honors the Match commitment, then there is no effect;
if the applicant reneges on the Match commitment, then see #3 below.
3) Applicant is matched and reneges on the Match commitment: This
would make a previously filled position now available again in the
participating program.
In conceptual terms, an applicant reneging on a Match commitment
has potentially harmed another applicant in the Match who may have
preferred the vacated position and been desirable to the program,
but has now matched elsewhere. The program has also potentially been
harmed because other applicants it may have wanted to fill the position
may now be matched elsewhere. The Match result is "final."
Applicants and programs must accept the Match result, and the results
are not adjusted because of "violations."
In practical terms, the effect on
participants depends on what the participating program does. The program
is bound by Match rules not to offer the position to another matched
applicant, unless the applicant receives a written release from his
matched program. If the program offers the position to an applicant
who was not matched, then there is no effect.
If the program entices a matched applicant to seek a release from
another matched position, this could in theory start an undesirable
chain reaction of "match violations" (in spirit if not in
fact). APPCN should try to make sure this doesn't happen. National
Matching Services informs us that in other matches they administer
in which some positions are offered outside the Match, this has come
up from time to time, but is usually not a serious problem.
Again, the effect that reneging on
a Match commitment would have on Match participants is really not
different than if there was no matching program. With or without a
Match, an applicant who has previously accepted one position may renege
on that commitment to accept another position. In fact, experience
in other professions has shown that this happens far less frequently
with a matching program than without one.
updated 09-23-06
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