Internship Application Dates

ACLP recommends common internship application deadlines in order make the process as equitable as possible for prospective interns. There are several important dates each internship cycle.

Winter/Spring Internship 2021

Application Deadline: September 5, 2020*
Initial Offer Date: October 13, 2020
Acceptance Date: October 14, 2020
2nd Offer Date: October 15, 2020

Summer 2021

Application Deadline: January 5, 2021*
Initial Offer Date: February 9, 2021
Acceptance Date: February 10, 2021
2nd Offer Date: February 11, 2021

Fall Internship 2021

Application Deadline: March 15, 2021
Initial Offer Date: May 4, 2021
Acceptance Date: May 5, 2021
2nd Offer Date: May 6, 2021

In order to provide ACLP staff with sufficient time to review your transcripts and other documentation, please review the following deadlines:

August 22, 2020: Transcripts and other documents must arrive at the ACLP office by this date to ensure sufficient time for processing and approval before the September 5, 2020 deadline to apply for a winter/spring 2021 internship.

December 20, 2020: Transcripts and other documents must arrive at the ACLP office by this date to ensure sufficient time for processing and approval before the January 5, 2021 deadline to apply for a summer 2021 internship.

March 1, 2021: Transcripts and other documents must arrive at the ACLP office by this date to ensure sufficient time for processing and approval before the March 15, 2020 deadline to apply for a fall 2020 internship.

Internship Application Deadline - Definitions

Application Deadline

ACLP recommends that all application materials be postmarked by the application due date.

Please note: Some programs may want to receive applications by the due date. It is the internship candidate's responsibility to verify the postmark vs materials deadline with individual programs.

Please note: All accredited internship sites are required to follow the offer process as outlined below.

Initial Offer Date

The Initial Offer Date is the day on which all top-choice internship applicants will be notified that they have been selected. Following the interview process, all clinical internship coordinators will make offers to their chosen candidates on this same Initial Offer Date.

On the Initial Offer Date, coordinators will make offers between 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, so that applicants in other time zones will have the same time-frame during which to receive offers. During this time, coordinators may call and offer to all of their top choice candidates to fill all open spots they have for their program Ex: For programs who have 3 spots available, they may offer to their top candidate for each spot on this first offer day.

If an applicant accepts an offer immediately on the offer date, it is acceptable for the coordinator to accept this immediate answer; however, ACLP advises that coordinators set a time to confirm this acceptance the next day (the Acceptance Date).

If a top candidate immediately declines the offer then the program should wait until the 2^nd offer date to continue making any other offers.

ACLP recommends that applicants not being offered a position should be given notice by the program within one week after the Initial Offer Date (e.g. by phone, letter, or email).

Acceptance Date

The very next day following the Initial Offer Date is the Acceptance Date. On this day, all internship applicants who have received an initial offer will either accept or decline the offer(s). Applicants are strongly encouraged to immediately decline any additional offers and are discouraged from altering their acceptance in light of new offers.

2nd Offer Date

The very next day following the Acceptance Date is the 2nd Offer Date. At this time, internship coordinators can make additional offers as needed to fill their programs. Coordinators will make offers between 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, so that applicants in other time zones will have the same time-frame during which to receive offers.

Applicants may continue to receive offers after they have accepted an internship. Applicants are strongly encouraged to immediately decline any additional offers and are discouraged from altering their acceptance in light of new offers.

End of the Offer/Acceptance Process

ACLP suggests that the selection process be completed within one week of the Initial Offer Date, but recognizes that this process may last beyond the week for some programs that need to fill multiple positions.

Offering Beyond 2nd Offer Date

What do you do if you don’t find all the intern spots you were looking for after the ACLP recommended internship offer and acceptance dates?

Answer: Make another offer!

All internship sites, including Accredited Child Life Internship sites are welcome to make offers after the 2^nd offer date as long as they have initially followed the application, offer, and acceptance deadlines set by the ACLP. This gives programs an opportunity to fill spots that would otherwise go vacant for a semester and provides more students with much sought after placements. Offers after the 2nd offer date may only be extended to candidates from the original pool and not from a new search.

Questions?

If you have questions about this process as an Accredited Internship Site, please contact InternshipAccreditation@childlife.org.

All other questions can be directed to eeagon@childlife.org.

Guidelines for Offer and Acceptance Days

Offers on the Initial Offer Date will be made between the business hours of 1:00 om and 5:00 pm Eastern Time.

Offers will not be made to applicants prior to the Initial Offer Date.

Resources:

Offer Times by Time Zone

Atlantic Time (2:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m.)
Eastern Time (1:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.)
Central Time (12:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.)
Mountain Time (11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m., except Arizona)
Arizona Time (11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. or 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m., depending on time of year)*
Pacific Time (10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.)
Alaska Time (9:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.)
Hawaii-Aleutian Time (8:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. or 7:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m., depending on time of year)**

*AZ is in the Mountain Time zone and does not observe daylight savings time (except in the Navajo Indian Nation).

** Hawaiian Islands do not observe daylight savings time.

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