2002 APPIC Match: Survey of Internship Applicants
Summary of Survey Results
March 23, 2002
This survey of applicants who were registered for the 2002 APPIC Match was conducted via the internet between February 25 and March 17, 2002. 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 1,171 internship applicants completed the survey. Please keep in mind that survey participants were not selected randomly, as not all applicants were subscribed to MATCH-NEWS and thus some did not receive notification that a survey was available.
Some of the more interesting findings from this survey include:
1. Applicants preferred that APPIC establish a REQUIRED interview
notification date (as opposed to continuing the current VOLUNTARY
date) by more than a 3-to-1 margin (70% vs. 21%; see question 8).
2. 93% of applicants indicated that APPIC should REQUIRE all
internship programs to notify all applicants of their
interview status (see question 10).
3. Applicants submitted an average of 13.1 internship applications,
compared to an average of 13.8 reported by applicants in a survey
conducted after the 1999 Match (see question 12).
4. Approximately 73% of all interview offers were tendered on or
before the December 15 voluntary interview notification date
(see questions 13 and 14).
5. Applicants reported that approximately 82% of sites notified them
of their interview status (e.g., received an interview, no longer
under consideration) (see questions 12 and 15).
6. Applicants reported that approximately 27% of sites requested
supplementary application materials that duplicated information
that was already provided on the AAPI (see questions 12 and 16).
7. The average number of airline tickets purchased for attending
interviews and open houses was 1.8. A total of 41.1% of
applicants in this sample purchased NO airline tickets (see
question 19).
Missing data and "Not Applicable" responses were eliminated, and percentages do not necessarily total 100% due to rounding. Survey questions 20-24 requested open-ended comments and thus the results are not included below.
1. Type of Doctoral Program
Clinical 852 73 %
Counseling 208 18 %
School 38 3 %
Other 71 6 %
2. Degree Sought
Ph.D. 799 68 %
Psy.D. 343 29 %
Ed.D. 3 0 %
Other 24 2 %
3. Is your doctoral program APA- or CPA-accredited?
Yes 1103 94 %
No 65 6 %
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 1066 91%
No 94 8%
Withdrew / No rankings submitted 7 1%
INTERPRETATION NOTE: It appears that unmatched applicants were
underrepresented in this survey (2002 APPIC Match statistics
indicated that 15% of participating applicants were not matched).
5a. The materials and instructions provided by National Matching
Services (NMS) were clear and comprehensive.
Strongly Agree 788 67 %
Agree 328 28 %
Neutral 15 1 %
Disagree 8 1 %
Strongly Disagree 30 3 %
5b. The registration process with NMS went smoothly.
Strongly Agree 877 75 %
Agree 234 20 %
Neutral 16 1 %
Disagree 13 1 %
Strongly Disagree 28 2 %
5c. The submission of my Rank Order List to NMS went smoothly.
Strongly Agree 926 80 %
Agree 187 16 %
Neutral 8 1 %
Disagree 12 1 %
Strongly Disagree 29 2 %
5d. NMS was responsive to my questions and concerns
(choose "N/A" if you never contacted NMS).
Strongly Agree 141 56 %
Agree 68 27 %
Neutral 22 9 %
Disagree 12 5 %
Strongly Disagree 7 3 %
5e. I am satisfied with the Match result that I received from
the Matching Program.
Strongly Agree 738 65 %
Agree 226 20 %
Neutral 64 6 %
Disagree 40 3 %
Strongly Disagree 75 7 %
5f. Overall, I am satisfied with the APPIC Matching Program.
Strongly Agree 612 52 %
Agree 363 31 %
Neutral 90 8 %
Disagree 51 4 %
Strongly Disagree 48 4 %
6a. In your judgment, did you experience any violation(s) of
APPIC Match Policies by any site?
Yes 124 11 %
No 905 78 %
Unsure 136 12 %
6b. Did you reveal any ranking information (e.g., "You are my
first choice") to any site?
Yes 7 1 %
No 1147 98 %
Unsure 9 1 %
6c. Did you experience inappropriate pressure from any site to
reveal your rankings?
Yes 55 5 %
No 1068 92 %
Unsure 37 3 %
6d. Did any site reveal ranking information to you (e.g., "You
are our first choice")?
Yes 38 3 %
No 1080 93 %
Unsure 45 4 %
7a. In general, my doctoral program faculty provided a high level
of support for my internship application and interview experience.
Strongly Agree 344 29 %
Agree 407 35 %
Neutral 183 16 %
Disagree 176 15 %
Strongly Disagree 56 5 %
7b. I worked closely with other students in my program throughout
the process (e.g., sharing information, giving and receiving
support).
Strongly Agree 356 31 %
Agree 395 34 %
Neutral 171 15 %
Disagree 172 15 %
Strongly Disagree 71 6 %
7c. I took the selection process very seriously (i.e., I worked hard
on my application; invested much time and energy; etc.).
Strongly Agree 963 83 %
Agree 179 15 %
Neutral 16 1 %
Disagree 5 0 %
Strongly Disagree 2 0 %
7d. I attended local or national workshops that focused on the
internship selection process.
Strongly Agree 127 11 %
Agree 203 17 %
Neutral 86 7 %
Disagree 269 23 %
Strongly Disagree 475 41 %
7e. I used reference materials (e.g., the APAGS workbook, Megargee's
book, other books) to educate myself about the internship selection
process.
Strongly Agree 277 24 %
Agree 336 29 %
Neutral 96 8 %
Disagree 182 16 %
Strongly Disagree 273 23 %
8. Please indicate your preference of the following options:
a. APPIC should keep the current VOLUNTARY 245 21 %
interview notification date of December 15,
and, in addition, should ask each internship
program to list their actual interview
notification date in the APPIC Directory.
b. APPIC should change to a REQUIRED interview 818 70 %
notification date, where all internship
programs would be required to adhere to
the December 15 date of interview
notifications.
c. No preference. 101 9 %
9. If APPIC moves to a REQUIRED interview notification date, HOW
IMPORTANT do you think it is for those sites that offer only
telephone interviews to be mandated to comply with this
requirement?
Extremely Important 373 32 %
299 26 %
Somewhat Important 321 28 %
111 10 %
Not At All Important 51 4 %
10. Should APPIC institute a policy that requires internship programs
to notify ALL applicants about whether or not they will be
interviewed (in other words, programs would be required to notify
those applicants who are rejected for an interview in addition to
those that are offered an interview)?
a. YES - APPIC should require programs 1080 93 %
to notify all applicants of their
interview status
b. NO - APPIC should not have such a 87 7 %
requirement
11. Did you use any of the APPIC travel discounts to purchase an
airline ticket, hotel room, and/or rental car?
Yes 107 9 %
No 1011 86 %
Didn't know about it 51 4 %
12. How many internship sites did you apply to (i.e., how many
separate internship applications did you submit)?
Mean = 13.1 Median = 13
SD = 5.6 Mode = 15
Range = 0 - 40
13. How many interviews (telephone or on-site) were you offered?
Mean = 7.4 Median = 7
SD = 3.8 Mode = 7
Range = 0 - 24
14. Considering ONLY those sites that offered you an interview, how
many made the offer ON OR BEFORE the December 15 voluntary
notification date? (Please estimate if you don't know the exact
number)
Mean = 5.4
SD = 3.4
15. Considering ALL of the sites that you applied to, how many
contacted you via telephone, e-mail, or letter regarding your
status (e.g., received an interview, no longer under
consideration)? (Please estimate if you don't know the exact
number)
Mean = 10.8
SD = 5.2
16. A number of sites request additional application materials
beyond the AAPI and AAPI Verification Form, letters of
reference, cover letter, and transcripts. In your experience,
how many sites (of the ones that you applied to) requested
materials beyond those listed that, in your opinion, duplicated
information that you had already provided on the AAPI?
Mean = 3.6
SD = 3.8
17. How many programs did you include on your final Rank Order List
(i.e., how many program code numbers were listed)?
Mean = 7.7
SD = 4.3
18. What was the rank of the program that you were matched to?
(Please see the 2002 APPIC Match Statistics for this information)
19. How many separate round-trip airline tickets did you purchase
in order to attend on-site interviews or open houses?
Mean = 1.8 Median = 1
SD = 2.1 Mode = 0
Range = 0 - 16
A total of 41.1% purchased no airline tickets; 16.6% purchased
one ticket; 13.7% purchased two tickets; 11.2% purchased three
tickets; 7.4% purchased four tickets; 4.3% purchased five
tickets; 5.7% purchased six or more airline tickets.