COGSCI

General psyc degree will allow you to get some exposure to psychology and you can apply to phd or masters in counselling psychology. If you want to do counselling, I suggest you look into MSW or Master's in Counselling. In terms of counselling psyc online degree, there is Yorkvill U (http://www.yorkvilleu.ca/programs/graduate-programs/master-of-arts-in-counseling-psychology/) and Columbia for online MSW. I would urge you to look into programs in your area. As a person above me mentioned, it is more beneficial for you to learn face to face when it comes to counselling psyc.

If you have 3 semesters left, try to take courses in health psychology, medical sociology, or social anthropology. When the time comes, sell your global health minor on your personal statement along with your extra curricular activities. I would also look into getting applied public health experience by volunteering at the local public health unit or at your school's health psychology lab. By doing so, you can get a good recommendation letters from the professors in related field. Bottom line is, your major and the courses you take do not matter as much as you think. It's about how you present your undergrad/work experience through your CV and personal statement.

For most schools, you have to meet the minimum cutoff for TOEFL. I would call the admissions department and see what they say, but I think they might ask you to take it again

It depends on the program. Some MSWs have specialization in social work administration. You are not really tied to your personal statement once you get in so I thought that would be a good way for you to frame your personal statement, just a strategy option.

You do not need another BA. If you want to pursue an academic career in literature, UCL program would allow you to do that. Also, journalism is not a completely unrelated to your field of interest (it's not like you graduated with a degree in chemistry right lol?). Just increase your activities related to lit while you are doing your masters and you should be set for the next step (PHD!!!).

I think focusing on your experience during undergraduate years would be helpful. I am sure you are aware of this but mentioning this from high school would not work well on graduate schools apps. also, I would try to frame your personal statement towards social services management rather than direct intervention. Since you have business background, that would be your strength compared to other applicants.

I think searching for schools at your reach might be a good idea here (so like no top 10 schools). Your GPA is not ideal but many schools accept sup 3.0s for their master's program. If your ultimate goal is PhD, you might want to do a masters first. it doesn't really say what your program of interest is but I am guessing bio? I would take GRE once again, increase your research activities, and search for safety schools/program. Again, this is not a hopeless situation! Just have to aim low for now and do a good job in your masters so you can apply to awesome schools for your phd !!

Your GPA is not horrible and you certainly have good amount of experience. However, I would apply to more than those two institutions because many experienced professionals apply to MPA or MPP. This was my strategy: apply to 3 dream schools/programs, 2 schools at your current level, and 1 or 2 safety schools. Good luck!!

If MA is not necessary for your PhD (because you were just trying to increase your chance), you could defer your MA program for a year and apply to PhD programs. I wouldn't recommend just applying to schools around your SO's area, but I am sure you have a list of dream schools for your PhD. In academia, though it may not be always true, more opportunities can be available for you if you are more flexible with you locations. I would have a conversation with your SO and see how that person feel about moving or doing long distance. This would be an important conversation to have whether you decide to pursue MA or PhD.

Your educational background and work experience would definitely be great for your applications. One thing that you might want to do to perfect your application would be gaining some research or policy related experience. Though since you've been in the industry for a long time, this might not be necessary but remember that PhD is a research based program. You might also need to take GRE again. Writing should be at least above 4.0

See which organizations interest you in each area for practicum. There is not guarantee that you can get placed there but at least you can see where you can gain experience during your graduate training

I do understand your parents' concerns but I think your practical GBC option is the solution in this situation. Now, we do need to recognize that the name value between UT and GBC is... I don't need to explain right? But in terms of practicality and job prospects, commerce degree with CFA will be better. Another option would be doing BA in psyc or economics rather than doing BSc at UT. See if you can transfer and start fresh (at some institutions they allow you to start with "clean" GPA when you transfer to a different program). Ultimately, your situation has to do with your motivation/study habits. Since you did not do well in calc, I am not sure if commerce would be the best choice. Management math course are not crazy like what you went through in sciences but what you are considering is still a field (degree/profession) that deals with numbers. Lastly, Canadian grad schools look at the last 2 years or the final year of your undergrad so you can still apply to graduate programs if you think that you can really work hard and get above 3.3 for the rest of your degree. UTM has a Master of Innovation program which is a management program for science graduates. York, UBC, and McGill also have Master of Management programs if you want to go into management/finance after you finish your psyc degree.

First of all, you are thinking wayy ahead (I am assuming this is regarding 2018 application round). Apply to UC and CSUs and see which ones you get in. You can accept the offer from CSU if that comes first and cancel it when you get accepted to UCLA. Only thing in that scenario would be you losing your deposit. You need to apply to about 5~8 institutions so apply to 6 schools (including UCLA) and see if any of the institutions offer you funding. That might change things for you if you are concerned about financial side. You can also defer if you get into CSUs and wait for UCLA. Anyways, focus on your applications and don't assume that you will be accepted to CSUs

Increasing number of researchers are now incorporating qualitative methods so you can look into that since it is not stats. You do need to know the basics of quantitative methods for PhD though. It is not like calculus and most of it is done through a program (SPSS or SAS).

If you just applied to one school this year, it means that you did not get rejected because your application was not good. You got rejected because other people (this year) were better fit for the program. I would also ask other people to look at your personal statement. McGill (especially epi) puts huge emphasis on quantitative skills because they do not have health promotion stream like other public health institutions do. If you are just focused on McGill, I would encourage you to gain some quantitative research experience before you apply again. UT has a MPH program specifically for people with nutrition background so that might be a good program for you. Queen's have global health emphasis so that would be a good one for you as well. Overall, MPH programs are getting very competitive so I would encourage you to search for more schools/programs.

Congrats on getting into two awesome programs! I know that NYU M.A. sounds awesome right now but if it is just for Master's, I would choose fully funded program over a "sexy" name. Especially if you are thinking about doing PhD, it does NOT matter where you received your Master's degree. Focus on building your research skills and network with profs in Toronto (UT, Ryerson, and York). Some of them should have ties to Columbia because profs collaborate with faculty members from other institutions.

LSE is internationally recognized as one of the top institutions for social sciences (especially economics and IR). If the cost isn't an issue, I would go with LSE. McGill is a good school for polic sci too so you are not choosing anything less if you decide to go there. As you said, it is more to do with people's perception. If you are interested in doing PhD, I would stick with McGill because you can always go to LSE or other schools with "wow factor" for your PhD. If you are thinking about ending your studies with your Master's I would look into funding/scholarship options at LSE. Again, you cannot go wrong with these two Congrats!

I think your logic tells you MSU already but you need some assurance. I think if you build relevant experiences while you are at MSU to match the jobs that you want in California, you should be just fine!

If admin within the non-profit field is your goal, I would recommend MPA because you already have professional credential as a social worker with your BSW. It is great that you already have some field experience too because your experience would definitely help when it comes to policy development and implementation. Some MSW schools have administrative focused concentration so I would apply to MPA and MSW programs to see which ones you get accepted to. Maybe some schools offer you scholarship and that would sway your decision (you never know!). It is always good to have options

I would choose Adelphi program because it would allow you to become a clinician. Having the opportunity to gain experience through practicum would increase your chance to get accepted to clinical psyc PhD programs. I would also engage in research project or do a thesis if that is an option for Adelphi's program. Remember, a good PhD application should reflect your practical AND research experience. Columbia is a great school for sure but TC's psychology in education program is not a clinical program so I do not see the point of you going there. You would be able to interact with profs from the clinical psyc department if you choose to attend TC so that might be a good thing if you want to attend TC for your PhD (I don't think they fund their students 100% though).

Sounds like a frustrating situation! I do think you can still apply to US institutions. If you have good credentials, some schools offer Master's position if you apply for PhD and don't make the cut. At undergrad level, your senior thesis could be sufficient enough because some people won't even have that before they graduate. If it is possible at all, try to see if you can gain experience from other natural/social science related laboratories that would allow you to gain some quantitative skills. Even if it is not related to physics, you can demonstrate that you know how the actual research process looks like.

You are at the beginning of your career and looks like you've been staying at each place for more than 6 months so school are not going to penalize you for that. I would like you to think harder about your programs though. Is public policy really what you would like to do or are you more interested in organizational psyc? Most of the things that you've been involved so far points to organizational behavior/marketing. While Masters in Public Policy is a great choice for a stable career, I just wanted you to think about what your passion or goal is. It is great that you are thinking about getting more experience in public policy through internship though! That would definitely help

I am really sorry to hear that your situation is not getting better despite you continuous efforts. After reading your post, I just wanted to point out few things that I've noticed. Since I do not your full story, please ignore the points that might not be relevant: 1) You have a huge pride on your previous degrees (top 20 unis, top 5 programs and etc...). While these are great achievements, people would like to see WHAT you did rather than WHERE you received your training. Don't get too fixated on your awesome academic history, focus on building your awesome practical/research/professional experiences that you can talk about in the interviews. Maybe one of the reasons why you were not successful in getting into PhD programs is because you are aiming for "top schools" or "top institutions." 2) School, program, and GPA do NOT define a person outside of academic world (mostly). You have teaching and social work credentials so working with inner city schools as a teacher or a social worker would allow you to get the field experience you need to get to the director or middle management role that you want. Just having Master's and PhD alone will not qualify you for middle management jobs. 3) PhD requires evidence of research efforts. Looks like your Master's degrees were professional degrees without research components. I would urge you to work as a research assistant or research coordinator under social work or educational psychology profs for 2 years before you apply for PhD programs again. Building your relationship with profs in the field is a good way to get awesome reference letters. 4) There is no ONE job or opportunity that will set you for a successful career path. You need to get your hands dirty and look for lower level positions. Most importantly, you need to commit to a field of work (educational policy? history? mental health? child welfare? homelessness ????? what is your interest????). As others said, I think more schooling is not a solution for you at this point. I really do hope this help!

If your goal is to conduct research or practice in various clinical settings, Master of Psyc in Education is not going to lead you to that. As you said, it would be nice to study in NY and get that IVY league degree if it is fully funded BUT I would aim for clinical psyc programs.

Currently doing my PhD at a Canadian institution Good luck with your decision