Internship selection day

Monday, March 10th was internship selection day here in Canada.  This is the day that all internship applicants both look forward to and dread at the same time, as this is the day that decides whether you get to be a dietitian or not.  A program that you applied to and interviewed at has decided that they want you in their program, or the programs have decided to pick your classmates instead.

You check your email at 9am on the dot and see an email from DC.  Take a deep breath.  Click it.  And find out your fate.

This is probably the most stressful time of the entire internship application process (not to say that the rest of it was any easier :/).  This is the moment where you find out how you will spend your next year, whether you will need to go through the whole process all over again next year (if you even want to go through it all again), and whether you'll be able to be an RD by next year.  Then you get to go to school with your fellow applicants later that day, because school doesn't actually end till April, and see the awkwardness. No one says a word.  No one dares look at anyone else, because you'll be able to tell the instant you catch their gaze whether they got the "successful applicants" email or not.  Or, you show up to class and only half of you are actually there.  You can bet dollars to donuts that the people in class are the ones who got in.  The ones who aren't there may be too devastated or embarrassed to deal with everyone else's excited and teary face.

In other words, it's a really, really crappy time.  Even for the successful applicants, it still sucks.  You want to be able to share your news.  You want to be happy for your friends who got in.  You want to be excited because you got in!!!.  And yet, you don't say a word.  You try hard to stifle your excitement and go about your business as though nothing happened, because you don't want to be the jerk who gets excited and jumps up and down with your friend, who you worked on your application with and who was your rock throughout the whole journey, only to find out that their dream was crushed by an unfair selection system.

Some people continued to get news throughout the week.  If an applicant was accepted to more than one program or got a grad school as well, they need to turn at least one of those programs down to select the one they'll take, meaning that their spot opens up for the next person on the list.  Now that a week has passed, most of these people have received their email, but there are still 60-70% of applicants who didn't get anything at all.

So now what?

I'll post up some blogs later about the next steps, no matter what your result was.  For now though, whether you were a successful applicant or not, you should be very, very proud of yourself.  Those who didn't get a spot - you went through one of the toughest application processes out there.  Yes, it sucks that you won't be spending your next year in internship, but here's the thing: you now get an extra year to gain more experience, build an even more stellar application package, be extra prepared for interviews because you've already done it once, and work to build up enough savings to actually make it through a whole year of unpaid internship next time.  You'll be able to get the inside scoop on internship programs from your friends who did get in, helping you to decide if that's really the right place for you to apply to.  You might actually end up in a better position than the people who got in their first time around!
Those who did get a spot, you should be proud of yourselves too!  Of course you're feeling excited, you told all your non-dietetic friends and family - but have you said anything to your classmates and colleagues yet?  Hmm.  Didn't think so.  Even though you're excited and proud, there's still a sense of shame that goes along with getting into internship because you don't want to hurt your friends' feelings.  I get it.  I was that person too.  In those first few weeks, I was DYING TO TELL PEOPLE, but only told the friends who didn't apply that year, and maybe one or two of my absolute closest friends who did apply.  But even when I told them my news, it was very quietly and almost shameful to say that I was in, because I knew that there were so many deserving people who didn't.  The reality is that you are among about 30% of applicants who managed to get a spot, and you should be incredibly proud of yourself for that accomplishment!

No matter what your news was, BE PROUD OF EACH OTHER.  Support each other.  This is the time when, regardless of your news, you need a hug really, really badly.  Be there for your classmates/fellow applicants and don't be ashamed to share your news!