2005 APPIC Match: Survey of Internship Applicants
Summary of Survey Results
May 8, 2005
This survey of applicants who were registered for the 2005 APPIC Match was conducted via the internet between February 28 and March 27, 2005. All 3,389 applicants who registered for the APPIC Match were sent an e-mail message (along with two reminder e-mails) about the availability of the survey at a specific internet address. A total of 2,320 internship applicants (68%) completed some or all of the survey.
Results of the survey are presented below. Missing data and "Not Applicable" responses were eliminated, and percentages do not necessarily total 100% due to rounding. Some survey items requested open-ended comments that were not included below.
Some of the more interesting findings from this survey include:
1. Approximately 78% of internship applicants in the 2005 Match
were female (see question 27). Questions 22-30 provide
additional demographic information.
2. Applicants submitted an average of 12.4 internship applications
(see question 13). The means reported by applicants in previous
years were:
2004 Match 12.4 applications
2003 Match 12.1 applications
2002 Match 13.1 applications
1999 Match 13.8 applications
3. Approximately 52% of applicants reported that at least one site
requested or took a photograph of them at some point during the
process (see question 12). (Some sites request such photos at the
time of interviews in order to better remember their applicants).
4. Question 32 provides the median numbers of practicum hours
reported by applicants. We recommend that applicants interpret
these numbers cautiously, and recognize that numbers of practicum
hours are considered by many internship Training Directors to be
one of the less important aspects of the application.
5. Applicants were offered an average of 6.7 telephone or on-site
interviews (see question 15).
6. Half of all applicants report having a "geographic restriction"
in their internship search. Of this group, 73% stated that this
restriction limited the number of sites to which they applied
(see questions 18 and 19).
7. Approximately 5% of applicants indicated that the preferred
internship structure for them would be a two-year, half-time
internship (see question 35).
8. Applicants reported that approximately 87.9% of sites complied
with the Match Policy that required them to notify applicants
of their interview status (e.g., received an interview, no
longer under consideration) no later than the date listed in
sites' APPIC Directory listings. This compares to 87.9%
last year and 87.6% in 2003 (the first year the policy was
implemented). See questions 13 and 14.
9. A total of 86% of respondents stated that APPIC's new service of
publicizing "late-breaking" changes to internship programs was
helpful to them (see question 10).
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1. Type of Doctoral Program
Clinical 1791 77 %
Counseling 317 14 %
School 106 5 %
Combined 62 3 %
Other 40 2 %
INTERPRETATION NOTE: A "combined" program could mean: (a) a doctoral
program that defines itself as a "combined" program (e.g., clinical-
school), or (b) an arrangement negotiated by a student in which he/she
integrates the curricula of two separate doctoral programs at his/her
school.
2. Degree Sought
Ph.D. 1404 61 %
Psy.D. 901 39 %
Ed.D. 0 0 %
Other 9 0 %
3. Is your doctoral program APA- or CPA-accredited?
Yes 2174 94 %
No 137 6 %
4. Please check the item that applies to you (please respond even if
you withdrew from the Match or did not submit a Rank Order List):
This is my FIRST time 2168 94%
participating in the Match
This is my SECOND time 135 6%
participating in the Match
This is my THIRD time 6 0%
participating in the Match
Other 5 0%
5. 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 1878 81%
No 363 16%
Withdrew / No rankings submitted 74 3%
6a. The materials and instructions provided by National Matching
Services (NMS) were clear and comprehensive.
Strongly Agree 1451 63 %
Agree 731 32 %
Neutral 54 2 %
Disagree 27 1 %
Strongly Disagree 49 2 %
6b. The registration process with NMS went smoothly.
Strongly Agree 1693 73 %
Agree 493 21 %
Neutral 46 2 %
Disagree 24 1 %
Strongly Disagree 53 2 %
6c. The submission of my Rank Order List to NMS went smoothly.
Strongly Agree 1760 78 %
Agree 407 18 %
Neutral 23 1 %
Disagree 7 0 %
Strongly Disagree 47 2 %
6d. NMS was responsive to my questions and concerns
(choose "N/A" if you never contacted NMS).
Strongly Agree 339 59 %
Agree 127 22 %
Neutral 61 11 %
Disagree 21 4 %
Strongly Disagree 26 5 %
6e. I am satisfied with the Match result that I received from
the Matching Program.
Strongly Agree 1251 57 %
Agree 420 19 %
Neutral 145 7 %
Disagree 131 6 %
Strongly Disagree 267 12 %
6f. Overall, I am satisfied with the APPIC Matching Program.
Strongly Agree 1050 46 %
Agree 685 30 %
Neutral 252 11 %
Disagree 161 7 %
Strongly Disagree 140 6 %
7. In December, NMS mailed a packet to each applicant registered for
the Match that contained the applicant's password and instructions
for submitting lists and obtaining Match results. The instructions
were also available on the NMS web site. For next year, NMS is
considering eliminating the mailing of packets in December, and
only providing this information to applicants via the internet.
a. Would it be acceptable to you to have the instructions
for submitting lists and obtaining results available for
viewing and/or printing ONLY from the NMS web site, and not
sent via regular mail?
Yes 1351 58 %
No 768 33 %
Unsure 195 8 %
b. Based on security considerations, would you be comfortable
receiving your ROLIC (Rank Order List Input and Confirmation
system) password from NMS via e-mail only, instead of via
regular mail?
Yes 1404 61 %
No 741 32 %
Unsure 165 7 %
8a. In your judgment, did you experience any violation(s) of
APPIC Match Policies by any site?
Yes 193 8 %
No 1962 85 %
Unsure 156 7 %
NOTE: Results to this question from previous years:
YES NO UNSURE
2004 8% 86% 7%
2003 11% 77% 12%
2002 11% 78% 12%
2001 10% 76% 14%
2000 15% 74% 12%
1999 12% 77% 11%
It should be noted that Match Policy changes over the years may have
influenced responses to this item.
8b. Did you reveal any ranking information (e.g., "You are my
first choice") to any site?
Yes 16 1 %
No 2274 98 %
Unsure 19 1 %
8c. Did you experience inappropriate pressure from any site to
reveal your rankings?
Yes 69 3 %
No 2184 95 %
Unsure 52 2 %
8d. Did any site reveal ranking information to you (e.g., "You
are our first choice")?
Yes 51 2 %
No 2195 95 %
Unsure 57 2 %
9. Were you subscribed to APPIC's MATCH-NEWS e-mail list?
Yes 2156 93 %
No, but someone else forwarded me the messages 77 3 %
No, I was not subscribed and did not receive 81 4 %
messages from MATCH-NEWS
10. For the 2005 Match, APPIC implemented a new service, allowing
Training Directors to publicize "late-breaking" changes to their
internship programs. These news items were distributed from August
through December to applicants via the MATCH-NEWS e-mail list.
Did you find this new service helpful? (Skip this question if
you were not aware of this service)
Yes 1845 86 %
No 294 14 %
11. Did any site ask you to complete an online version of the AAPI
(APPIC Application for Psychology Internships) via the internet?
(Please do NOT include times in which you sent your AAPI to a site
as an e-mail attachment)
For example, a site might have asked you to enter some information
from your AAPI into an online form.
Yes 195 8 %
No 2110 92 %
12. Did any site request or take a photograph of you at any point during
the process? (e.g., some sites requested a photograph at the time of
interviews in order to better remember their applicants)
Yes 1191 52 %
No 1107 48 %
13. How many internship sites did you apply to (i.e., how many
separate internship applications did you submit)?
Mean = 12.4 Median = 12
SD = 5.1 Mode = 12
Range = 0 to 67
INTERPRETATION NOTE: Only one applicant reported applying to
more than 35 internship sites.
14. Considering ALL of the sites that you applied to, how many
notified you of your interview status (e.g., received an
interview, no longer under consideration) on or before the
"interview notification date" listed in their APPIC Directory
information? (Please estimate if you don't know the exact
number)
Mean = 10.9 Median = 11
SD = 5.0 Mode = 12
15. How many interviews (telephone or on-site) were you offered?
Mean = 6.7 Median = 6
SD = 3.6 Mode = 5
16. How many programs did you include on your final Rank Order List
(i.e., how many program code numbers were listed)?
Mean = 6.7 Median = 6
SD = 3.7 Mode = 5
NOTE: Use caution when comparing these numbers with the results
from questions 13-15, since some sites used multiple program code
numbers.
17. What was the rank of the program that you were matched to?
(Please see the 2005 APPIC Match Statistics for this information)
DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
For the next several questions, "geographic restriction" means that you were limited to where you could live during your internship year due to family, health, or other personal considerations. It does NOT refer to where you might prefer to live during that year.
18. Did you have any geographic restrictions on your internship search?
(If NO, click the "No" button below and skip to question 22. If YES,
click the "Yes" button below and continue on to the next question).
Yes 1112 50 %
No 1120 50 %
19. Did this geographic restriction reduce the number of sites to which
you applied?
Yes 808 73 %
No 299 27 %
NOTE: Only respondents who replied "Yes" to question 18 were
included in the results for this question.
20. Please specify the reason(s) for your geographic restriction (Check
all that apply):
Due to my partner 802 72%
Due to my children 247 22%
Due to my family (other than partner 346 31%
or children)
Due to my friends 135 12%
Due to other personal concerns (e.g., 132 12%
health concerns)
Other 193 17%
NOTE: Only respondents who replied "Yes" to question 18 were
included in the results for this question.
21. What type of geographic restriction do you have?
Metropolitan area 404 36%
State 177 16%
Region of the country 423 38%
Other 103 9%
NOTE: Only respondents who replied "Yes" to question 18 were
included in the results for this question.
22. What is your current age?
Mean = 30.83 Median = 29
SD = 6.56 Mode = 26
Range = 23 to 70
23. How many dependent children are living with you?
None 1837 83%
1 206 9%
2 127 6%
3 34 2%
4 11 0%
5 3 0%
6 2 0%
24. How many adult dependents are currently living with you, or for
whom you are responsible? (DO include other relatives or
individuals, i.e., mother, father, grandparent, ward. DO NOT
include an able-bodied spouse/partner).
None 2084 95%
1 84 4%
2 15 1%
3 3 0%
25. What is your current marital status?
Married / Partnered 1102 49%
Not Married / Partnered 1135 51%
26. What is your country of citizenship?
U.S. 2004 89%
Canada 115 5%
Other 121 5%
27. What is your gender?
Male 482 21%
Female 1758 78%
Other (e.g., trans, intersex) 2 0%
28. What is your racial/ethnic identification? Check all that apply.
African-American / Black 141 6%
American Indian / Alaskan Native 24 1%
Asian / Pacific Islander 173 8%
Hispanic / Latino 151 7%
White (Non-Hispanic) 1731 78%
Other 93 4%
29. What is your sexual orientation?
Heterosexual 2065 93%
Gay 44 2%
Lesbian 55 2%
Bisexual 55 2%
Other 12 1%
30. What types of disability(ies) do you have? Please check all that apply.
Blind / Visually Impaired 6 4%
Deaf / Hard of Hearing 7 5%
Physical / Orthopedic Disability 29 21%
Learning Disability / Cognitive 24 17%
Mental Illness 24 17%
Other 54 39%
31. (Open-Ended Question)
32. We would like to know the TOTAL NUMBER OF PRACTICUM HOURS that you
reported on your AAPI for each of the three areas listed below. This
includes hours in a terminal masters program and both before and
after November 1.
a. Intervention and Assessment: Median = 906 n = 1600
b. Support: Median = 803 n = 1585
c. Supervision: Median = 406 n = 1592
TOTAL HOURS Median = 2187 n = 1585
INTERPRETATION NOTE: "Total Hours" were calculated by summing the
practicum hours provided by each respondent. Only those respondents
who provided valid numbers for all three types of practicum
hours were included in the "Total Hours" calculation.
APPIC advises applicants to interpret these numbers cautiously.
Applicants should NOT assume that the numbers of practicum hours
listed above are necessary to successfully obtain an internship,
as many Training Directors have told us that they consider these
numbers to be one of the less important aspects of an application.
33. For each of the following populations, what was the total number
of supervised integrated psychological reports that you reported
on your AAPI? This information can be found in Section 4 of the
AAPI ("Test Administration"), item 3.
a. Adults Median = 7 n = 1582
b. Children / Adolescents Median = 5 n = 1555
NOTE: Only medians were reported, as means and standard deviations
were greatly affected by a few applicants who reported an extremely
large number of reports.
34. Please provide the MONTH and YEAR that you designated on your AAPI
that you completed or expected to complete each of the following.
This information can be found in Section 1-B of the AAPI
("Education"), items 16 and 19.
(Results for this question are not included in this report)
QUESTIONS ABOUT HALF-TIME INTERNSHIPS
35. If the same APA- or CPA-accredited internship was offered as a
one year full-time training experience and as a two year half-time
training experience, which would you prefer?
Strongly prefer full-time 1241 69%
Prefer full-time 321 18%
Neutral 126 7%
Prefer half-time 57 3%
Strongly prefer half-time 41 2%
36. (Please answer this question ONLY if you SERIOUSLY CONSIDERED a
HALF-TIME internship)
Please rate the important of your reasons for considering a half-time
internship using the following scale:
1 = Not at all important 3 = Neutral 5 = Very Important
a. Desirable location (mean = 3.97; n = 207)
b. Allows me to meet family obligations (mean = 4.37, n = 210)
c. Allows me to continue outside employment (mean = 3.15, n = 204)
d. Allows me to continue academic coursework during internship
(mean = 2.32, n = 200)
e. Cost of relocation (mean = 2.85, n = 201)
f. Allows me to do longer term therapy (mean = 2.72, n = 204)
g. Allows me to work with a local population (mean = 2.48, n = 199)
37. (Please answer this question ONLY if you did NOT seriously consider
a HALF-TIME internship)
Please rate the importance of your reasons for not considering a
half-time internship using the following scale:
1 = Not at all important 3 = Neutral 5 = Very Important
a. Program faculty advised against it (mean = 2.56, n = 1567)
b. Slows down my academic program (mean = 4.68, n = 1602)
c. Less concentrated learning experience (mean = 3.92, n = 1584)
d. Fear that it may not meet recognized credentialing/licensure
standards (mean = 3.70, n = 1582)
e. Potentially lower salary for the internship (mean = 3.72,
n = 1582)
38. I support the development of more internships that are half-time,
paid, and APA- or CPA-accredited.
Strongly Agree 537 29%
Agree 495 26%
Neutral 578 31%
Disagree 140 7%
Strongly Disagree 121 6%