1. “Given my current schedule, I am not able to make all the Zoom events during Temple’s interview days. What should I do?” 

Formal interviews with faculty and current students will be arranged individually at the mutual convenience of each interviewer and the applicant. And, the required Virtual Lunch will be recorded so that applicants can view it later if they absolutely cannot attend one of them. It is recommended that prospective students do what they can to attend their scheduled interviews; however, we realize this is not always possible. If you cannot attend an interview, please let us know as soon as possible so that alternatives can be considered. Attendance at other events (e.g., Grad Student Q&As, Lab Chats, Diversi-TEA presentation) are encouraged but not required. Some of the information presented in these events will also be provided in the welcome packet materials on this website. Applicants are encouraged to reach out to their virtual “host” or other current grad students with any questions that remain unanswered after interview week.

2. “What if I have questions after interviews or admissions?”

You will be assigned a “host” - a graduate student who is not a member of the lab you are applying to and will serve as a resource to you throughout the admissions process. Your host can remain as a resource after interviews or post-offer of admissions if you have further questions. And, you can also email Dr. Lauren Alloy, Head of Clinical Admissions, at lalloy@temple.edu.  If you have DEI-related questions, please fill out this Google form and a member of Psychology Graduate Students for Inclusivity or a student member of Psychology and Neuroscience Department Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion will be in touch.  

3. “What do I wear to a virtual interview? Will this affect my likelihood of admissions?”

Forms of personal expression, including hairstyle or color, facial hair style, piercings, or tattoos, will not factor into admissions-related decision making. Typical interview attire often consists of some combination of the following: suit jackets or cardigans, suit pants or skirts, ties (optional), button-downs or blouses, and/or dresses. However, we are well aware that financial constraints may make it difficult to purchase these articles of clothing. As such, we recommend that individuals attempt to approximate typical interview attire as much as possible based on what they already own, but interviewers (grad students and faculty) are cognizant of limitations in attire selection and for applicant apparel to factor into admissions decisions as minimally as possible.

4. “I do not have a fully private space for Zoom interviews. Will this impact my application?”

Although it is recommended that applicants do what they can to find a quiet, private, and distraction-free space for their Zoom interviews, we acknowledge that this is not always reasonable/possible. Your application status will not be negatively affected based on your interview environment (e.g., background and noise in the environment). Additionally, you may decide to use a virtual Zoom background during your interview if your computer allows. Here are helpful instructions for setting up virtual backgrounds in Zoom.

5. “What do I do if I have technical difficulties during my virtual interview (e.g., the call is dropped, connectivity issues, etc.)?”

At the start of each virtual interview, your interviewer will ask for a phone number that you can be reached at should technological issues arise. They will call you if the call is dropped or if there are any issues so you can both decide how to proceed. If you continue to experience tech issues, please reach out to temple.clinical.admissions@gmail.com for further assistance.

6. "I live in the Philadelphia area. Can I come to the interview days in person?"

Some faculty and current students will be conducting interviews at home, so we ask that you do not come to interview days in person. However, when you are accepted to Temple's Clinical Psychology program, feel free to reach out to your mentor to arrange a campus visit.

7. "Which time zone should I consider when scheduling individual interviews?"

All interviews will be conducted in Eastern Standard Time (EST).

8. "What are the next steps once I finish all my interviews? When should I anticipate a decision regarding my application?"

After our Interview Days, sometime during the week of 1/13/25, the clinical faculty will meet and make decisions about which interviewed applicants we would like to make an initial offer of admission, which applicants we would like to keep as high alternates on our waiting list, and which we would consider lower alternates on the waiting list. We then submit our recommendations for who we would like to accept to the Dean's Office of the College of Liberal Arts (CLA). Once our recommended "accepts" are approved by CLA, we are able to start informing our interviewees of decisions. Dr. Alloy will personally call each interviewee and let them know their status. She will call accepted applicants first, followed by the alternates. Alternates on the waiting list also have a chance to be accepted later on in the process if applicants with initial accepts decline our offer of admission. Most likely, Dr. Alloy will be able to start making phone calls to inform interviewees of their status by the end of January or the beginning of February. And, if we are able to offer acceptance to alternates on our waiting list, Dr. Alloy will call and notify you of the acceptance as soon as we know we can accept you. All admissions offers come with 5 full years of funding, which is why we cannot make more admissions offers than we have the funds to support.