gakkoshinrigaku

I just sent my deposit to Northeastern! Thanks everyone for your advice and insights throughout this process.

Are you deciding between Tufts and Northeastern too? Feel free to PM me if you're interested in talking!

Is it appropriate to ask the faculty contact at each program what they perceive to be the major differences between the two programs? I've already been in touch with a couple grad students at each school, and they've all been super wonderful (which makes me feel bad I can only pick one program!), but when I asked them why they picked their school instead of other ones in the area, I got kind of vague answers about not clicking as well with the faculty/students in other programs.

I'm having the hardest time deciding between Northeastern and Tufts (specialist level). I know this is a good problem to have, but does anyone have any thoughts on either of those schools? Or suggestions for aspects of the programs to compare, aside from the obvious?

I think most programs will let you do an internship in another state, but the issue is where you want to work after that. Logistically I think it's going to be easier to find your first "real" school psych job in the state you do your internship, especially because each state can have slightly different requirements. You might end up certified in the state you do your internship but not in the state you went to school in, I think. Sorry that I don't know more than this, but it's definitely a reasonable thing to ask the program about before you accept! Out of curiosity, what MA school(s) are you looking at?

Did anyone attend the Tufts interview yesterday? I was invited but opted for a skype interview instead since I'm currently living on the other side of the world. I'd love to hear what the in-person interview was like!

Thank you so much, that's exactly what I was looking for. I can see part of the article but unfortunately not the chart that lists the information by state/region, so thank you for letting me know the stats for my region.

Yeah, I definitely will. I was just wondering about the more general prevalence of paid internships and which states usually offer them, since I was so surprised to hear Massachusetts doesn't.

Yup, specialist level. I hadn't heard about that, but that's crazy! I'm willing to take the chance that I'll have to accept an unpaid internship in order to go to school/live in my preferred location, but I wish it was easier to find out which states have funding/laws/whatever that allow them to provide paid internships.

One of my top choice schools says it is almost impossible to find a paid internship in the third year, because they are so rare in the entire state of MA. They told me many students relocate to find a paid internship in another state. I've been trying to find data on the prevalence of paid internships by state and haven't been successful. Does anyone have any information on this? I don't like the idea of working for free for a year and logistically I'm not sure if I could support myself during that time, but if I want to end up working in MA long-term it seems best to do an internship there. What do people who take unpaid internships do for money?! Is it common to take a full-time unpaid internship? I know this is further down the road for me but I'd really like to have all the info going in. Thanks!

Thank you!!

If I'm entering at the Masters/Ed.S level, is there any benefit to attending a program that also has an APA accredited PhD program instead of a program that is only offers a Masters? As of now, I don't plan to try to switch to a PhD, but I would consider getting one mid-career, and I also might like to get some research experience during my Masters program. I'm trying to decide between two programs that seem pretty similar in other respects, so any insights would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hi Everyone! This is my first post, but I've been reading this forum for a couple months. Thank you all for sharing your experience. I have 2 questions I was hoping someone could help me with. 1) Is there is significant difference between a degree that is a Masters+Ed. Specialist and a Masters+Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (CAGS)? One of my top programs give the C.A.G.S instead of an Ed. S, and it's the only program I'm applying to that does this, so I'm less familiar with what it means. 2) When interviewing with one of my top schools, I asked the typical question, "In your opinion, what really sets X program apart?" and one of the things the director mentioned was that their program does "not have a behavioral focus." He elaborated a tiny bit, saying that many other programs are focused only on a child's behavior, but that their aim was to view "the whole child." I'm having trouble understanding exactly what this means in terms of the program's philosophy and what they will teach me. I know behaviorism is a big part of school psychology, but all the programs I applied to seem to have a very multi-faceted approach, and the course offerings don't seem to be different. What do you make of this? Is this part of an ongoing debate in school psychology? Thanks!!