jessable01

I have my M.A. in Professional Counseling, which I know is not a school counseling concentration, but I'll just answer from what I've gathered from the counseling field in general. I don't know as much about the specific licensure or credentials required to practice as a school counselor, but I've encountered that jobs basically just want to see a specific license and awesome recommendations, and if school counseling doesn't have a specific license, then jobs typically want to see CACREP accreditation and the state certification (and awesome recommendations). I would never dream of spending $70K on a masters degree in counseling. I got mine for under $20K, have worked for a couple years to get my state license and done some research, and just got accepted to a counseling PhD program. In the interview, they never asked me about my masters program's prestige, rather they asked what my current interests and work/research experiences have been. I don't even know what masters programs some of the other counselors I work with attended. As long as its accredited and they're able to get their license, no one really seems to care what masters program in counseling you went to except for in that "getting to know you" way. I'm in the Midwest and not the NYC area, so I don't know if things are any different out there, but I wouldn't spend so much money for the school since, as you mentioned, you're going to come out with the same state credential as someone who attends the $20K state school. What's most important is getting close with your professors and taking advantage of all the opportunities you can so you can get awesome letters of recommendation down the road rather than going to a school solely for the prestige attached to the name. But that's all just my thoughts!

I'm applying to PhD programs in Counselor Education and Supervision, but not in school counseling