Geography and Internship Match Rates: Quantifying Competitiveness and Discussing Implications for the Internship Imbalance

In response to the internship supply/demand imbalance, the field of psychology recognized a crisis and proposed solutions. With each passing year, however, graduate students face the real possibility that they may not match. Using four years worth of site match rates, competitiveness is quantified and analyzed with respect to implications for the field, APPIC, internship sites, graduate programs, and prospective interns. Results suggest geographic differences in match rates are less meaningful for applicant strategies than monitoring competitiveness using site match rates and submitting 10 to 15 applications. Discussion includes implications for students and how they may use match rate data to improve their site selection strategies and chances for a successful match.