2001 APPIC Match: Survey of Internship Applicants
Summary of Survey Results
March 19, 2001
This survey of applicants who were registered for the 2001 APPIC Match was conducted via the internet between February 26 and March 18, 2001. Subscribers to the e-mail list MATCH-NEWS were notified that a survey was available at a specific internet address.
Results of the survey are presented below. A total of 1,425 internship applicants completed the survey. Please keep in mind that this is not a scientific sampling, as not all applicants were subscribed to MATCH-NEWS and thus some did not receive notification that a survey was available. In addition, a small number of respondents were unable to complete the survey because they were not using a recent version of a web browser.
Some of the more interesting findings from this survey include:
1. Applicants were strongly supportive of the new ROLIC (Rank Order
List Input and Confirmation) system and of submitting rankings via
the internet (see questions 6a - 6d).
2. Applicants felt that the new Friday/Monday notification process was
less stressful and strongly endorsed that it be continued in future
years. This result is particularly interesting given that applicants
also felt that the new process was clearly better for unmatched
applicants but was not necessarily better for matched applicants
(see questions 9a-e).
3. Applicants strongly endorsed the continuation of the APPIC Informal
Problem Resolution process (see question 11).
4. When asked about the timing of the entire internship selection
process, applicants preferred by a 3-to-1 margin to keep the process
as it is (Match Day in late February) rather than moving it later
in the year (Match Day in late March or April) (see question 12).
5. Applicants have mixed opinions about whether or not APPIC
should adopt a uniform application deadline date (Yes = 47%,
No = 40%; see question 13a).
6. Applicants strongly endorsed the notion that APPIC should adopt a
uniform interview notification date (Yes = 80%, No = 12%; see
question 13b).
Missing data and "Not Applicable" responses were eliminated, and percentages do not necessarily total 100% due to rounding. Survey questions 7 and 17-20 requested open-ended comments and thus the results are not included below.
1. Type of Doctoral Program
Clinical 1044 73 %
Counseling 253 18 %
School 57 4 %
Other 69 5 %
2. Degree Sought
Ph.D. 966 68 %
Psy.D. 428 30 %
Ed.D. 8 1 %
Other 19 1 %
3. Is your doctoral program APA- or CPA-accredited?
Yes 1315 93 %
No 104 7 %
4. Were you matched to an internship program by the APPIC Match?
(i.e., did your official notification from National Matching
Services indicate that you were successfully matched to an
internship program?)
Yes 1257 88%
No 157 11%
Withdrew / No rankings submitted 8 1%
INTERPRETATION NOTE: It appears that unmatched applicants were
underrepresented in this survey (2001 APPIC Match statistics
indicated that 18% of participating applicants were not matched).
5a. The materials and instructions provided by National Matching
Services (NMS) were clear and comprehensive.
Strongly Agree 952 67 %
Agree 413 29 %
Neutral 26 2 %
Disagree 13 1 %
Strongly Disagree 19 1 %
5b. The registration process with NMS went smoothly.
Strongly Agree 1093 77 %
Agree 265 19 %
Neutral 20 1 %
Disagree 22 2 %
Strongly Disagree 22 2 %
5c. The submission of my Rank Order List to NMS went smoothly.
Strongly Agree 1136 80 %
Agree 213 15 %
Neutral 23 2 %
Disagree 16 1 %
Strongly Disagree 25 2 %
5d. NMS was responsive to my questions and concerns
(choose "N/A" if you never contacted NMS).
Strongly Agree 215 61 %
Agree 77 22 %
Neutral 30 9 %
Disagree 18 5 %
Strongly Disagree 12 3 %
5e. I am satisfied with the Match result that I received from
the Matching Program.
Strongly Agree 867 63 %
Agree 255 19 %
Neutral 76 6 %
Disagree 75 5 %
Strongly Disagree 105 8 %
5f. Overall, I am satisfied with the APPIC Matching Program.
Strongly Agree 736 52 %
Agree 446 31 %
Neutral 125 9 %
Disagree 55 4 %
Strongly Disagree 52 4 %
6a. I found the ROLIC system to be user-friendly and easy to use.
Strongly Agree 975 69 %
Agree 372 26 %
Neutral 33 2 %
Disagree 14 1 %
Strongly Disagree 19 1 %
6b. The printed ROLIC instructions that were send to me via regular
mail were clear and easy to follow (if you didn t use these
printed instructions, check N/A )
Strongly Agree 695 66 %
Agree 296 28 %
Neutral 37 3 %
Disagree 12 1 %
Strongly Disagree 19 2 %
6c. The on-line ROLIC instructions that were provided on the NMS web
site were clear and easy to follow (if you didn t use these
on-line instructions, check N/A )
Strongly Agree 887 68 %
Agree 368 28 %
Neutral 31 2 %
Disagree 13 1 %
Strongly Disagree 14 1 %
6d. I prefer to submit my rankings via the internet rather than the
method used in prior years (i.e., filling out a ranking form and
submitting it to NMS via regular mail or fax)
Strongly Agree 1206 87 %
Agree 130 9 %
Neutral 24 2 %
Disagree 6 0 %
Strongly Disagree 24 2 %
7. (Not included - this was an open-ended question about the ROLIC
system)
8a. In your judgment, did you experience any violation(s) of
APPIC Match Policies by any site?
Yes 141 10 %
No 1082 76 %
Unsure 198 14 %
INTERPRETATION NOTE: Last year, applicants responses to this
question were: Yes = 15%, No = 74%, Unsure = 12%.
8b. Did you reveal any ranking information (e.g., "You are my
first choice") to any site?
Yes 11 1 %
No 1399 98 %
Unsure 11 1 %
INTERPRETATION NOTE: Last year, applicants responses to this
question were: Yes = 2%, No = 96%, Unsure = 2%.
8c. Did you experience inappropriate pressure from any site to
reveal your rankings?
Yes 63 4 %
No 1302 92 %
Unsure 54 4 %
INTERPRETATION NOTE: Last year, applicants responses to this
question were: Yes = 8%, No = 86%, Unsure = 5%.
8d. Did any site reveal ranking information to you (e.g., "You
are our first choice")?
Yes 39 3 %
No 1329 94 %
Unsure 53 4 %
INTERPRETATION NOTE: Last year, applicants responses to this
question were: Yes = 4%, No = 92%, Unsure = 4%.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR QUESTIONS 9a - 9e:
As you may know, this year APPIC implemented a new early
notification plan to distribute results to applicants: first,
providing information about whether or not they matched (on
Friday, February 23), followed by informing them of the specific
site to which they were matched (on Monday, February 26). The
purpose of this new Friday/Monday notification process was to
provide a 3-day window so that unmatched applicants would have
time to prepare for the opening of the Clearinghouse.
When answering the questions below, please keep in mind last
year s results notification process: (a) no results information
of any kind was released on Friday, (b) applicants learned on
Monday morning whether or not they were matched as well as the
specific site to which they were matched, and (c) unmatched
applicants had to begin negotiating the Clearinghouse beginning
two hours later on that same day.
9a. Overall, the new Friday/Monday notification process was LESS
stressful than if I had received all of my results on Monday only.
Strongly Agree 541 38 %
Agree 375 27 %
Neutral 215 15 %
Disagree 164 12 %
Strongly Disagree 111 8 %
9b. I believe that the new Friday/Monday notification process is
better for UNMATCHED applicants.
Strongly Agree 936 67 %
Agree 291 21 %
Neutral 77 6 %
Disagree 49 4 %
Strongly Disagree 36 3 %
9c. I believe that the new Friday/Monday notification process is
better for MATCHED applicants.
Strongly Agree 257 19 %
Agree 211 15 %
Neutral 324 23 %
Disagree 328 24 %
Strongly Disagree 262 19 %
9d. The new Friday/Monday notification process should be continued
in future matches.
Strongly Agree 612 43 %
Agree 359 25 %
Neutral 250 18 %
Disagree 110 8 %
Strongly Disagree 79 6 %
9e. (ANSWER ONLY IF YOU WERE UNMATCHED): The new Friday/Monday
notification process was helpful in giving me time to prepare
for the Clearinghouse.
Strongly Agree 100 64 %
Agree 28 18 %
Neutral 11 7 %
Disagree 7 4 %
Strongly Disagree 10 6 %
INSTRUCTIONS FOR QUESTIONS 10a - 10d:
This year, APPIC instituted an Informal Problem Resolution process
that provided applicants and sites with the ability to consult with
an APPIC Board Member regarding problems and difficulties that arose
during the selection process.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Please respond to the following items ONLY if you had
contact with Dr. Nadine Kaslow to discuss a question, concern, or
problem (otherwise, please skip these items):
10a. APPIC responded quickly to my inquiry.
Strongly Agree 33 58 %
Agree 11 19 %
Neutral 3 5 %
Disagree 3 5 %
Strongly Disagree 7 12 %
10b. My contacts with APPIC were helpful in understanding, addressing,
and/or resolving my situation.
Strongly Agree 28 51 %
Agree 11 20 %
Neutral 6 11 %
Disagree 3 5 %
Strongly Disagree 7 13 %
10c. Overall, I am satisfied with how my situation was handled by APPIC.
Strongly Agree 26 47 %
Agree 12 22 %
Neutral 9 16 %
Disagree 2 4 %
Strongly Disagree 6 11 %
10d. Overall, I am satisfied with how my situation was resolved overall.
Strongly Agree 24 47 %
Agree 10 20 %
Neutral 8 16 %
Disagree 2 4 %
Strongly Disagree 7 14 %
11. Please answer the following question regardless of whether or not
you used the APPIC Informal Problem Resolution process:
Should APPIC continue to have an Informal Problem Resolution process
in addition to its existing formal complaint process (via the APPIC
Standards and Review Committee)?
Yes 1363 99 %
No 8 1 %
12. APPIC has been asked to consider moving the internship selection
process one to two months later in the academic year. Implementing
such a change would involve moving the entire selection process,
including application deadlines, interview dates, the rank order
list deadline, and Match Day.
What is your opinion about the timing of the internship selection
process? (check one)
Should not be moved (Match Day in late February) 857 60%
Move one month later (Match Day in late March) 154 11%
Move two months later (Match Day in late April) 144 10%
No opinion 198 14%
Other 161 11%
13a. Should APPIC adopt a uniform APPLICATION DEADLINE DATE (i.e., all
internship sites would have a single date by which all written
applications are due)?
Yes 675 47 %
No 566 40 %
Unsure 180 13 %
13b. Should APPIC adopt a uniform INTERVIEW NOTIFICATION DATE (i.e.,
a single date by which all internship sites would be required to
notify an applicant if he/she will be interviewed)
Yes 1138 80 %
No 169 12 %
Unsure 115 8 %
14. Currently, APPIC sponsors an INTERN-NETWORK e-mail list that allows
applicants to discuss issues relevant to the internship application
and selection process.
If APPIC created a new e-mail discussion list for current interns
(to discuss issues and concerns that arise during the course of
the internship), how likely would it be for you to subscribe to
such a list during your internship year?
Highly Likely 326 23%
Somewhat Likely 511 36%
Unsure 192 14%
Somewhat Unlikely 241 17%
Highly Unlikely 146 10%
15. Did you use the APPIC Travel Discount program to buy an airline
ticket or rent a car?
Yes 150 11 %
No 1188 84 %
Didn't know about it 83 6 %
16a. The APPIC Match Policies were sufficiently clear regarding
what constituted "acceptable" and "unacceptable"
communication between applicants and sites.
Strongly Agree 412 29 %
Agree 717 50 %
Unsure 141 10 %
Disagree 140 10 %
Strongly Disagree 10 1 %
16b. The Match Policies' limitations on the communication of
rankings helps to reduce applicant stress.
Strongly Agree 381 27 %
Agree 518 37 %
Unsure 280 20 %
Disagree 191 13 %
Strongly Disagree 45 3 %
16c. I believe that the Match Policies' restrictions on the
communication of rankings should be ELIMINATED, allowing
applicants and sites to communicate in any way they choose.
Strongly Agree 70 5 %
Agree 139 10 %
Unsure 229 16 %
Disagree 417 30 %
Strongly Disagree 554 39 %