Snow21

That's awesome! I hope you get good news soon! May I ask what schools you applied to?

I'm looking at Northern Arizona university and Seattle university (dropped down to 2 looking for a different third school ) They have good opportunities to really gain practical experience in student affairs which is one of my most important things.

Thank you for the information. It sounds like my scores, while not super awesome shouldn't get me automatically disqualified.

Thank you. It's nice to get insight from folks who have been on the other side of the application experience. My GRE scores won't expire until late 2017 so applying this fall is my last chance to use them. I was mostly wondering if re taking it would do much good. Overall, the three schools I'm planning to apply to right now don't ask for GREs ( not on purpose just the way it worked out).

Hello everyone, I was hoping to get an idea of what typical student affairs master's program GRE scores look like. I took the GRE a few years ago before going for my English MA. My scores were good enough to get into a couple MA programs but I have no idea if the student affairs folks would want higher scores. Does anyone have any idea about this?

Hm, no I hadn't thought about academic affairs. I'll have to look into that. I would love to advise education majors. I had great advisors who really helped me figure out my education plans, it would be nice to help other folks. I'm open to working with college students in pretty much any format outside the classroom.

Thanks for answering my question. I personally loved Americorps but didn't really think about them for working with college students, I did two years at education related sites (mostly for high school kids) and used my ed award for my MA in something not student affairs related. I'll have to think about that, not sure I can do that stipend again with no ed award payoff. I do wish I could find a better way to parlay my education and working with students experience into student affairs ( I was an English teacher and worked in tutoring) , but that doesn't seem to be useful when applying for jobs. The admissions jobs sound like they might be the way to go. I'll keep an eye out for any openings. I appreciate you giving me a couple of things to look at!

@ ZeChocMoose---Follow up question. So I've been trying to get a student affairs job and everyone (people I've interviewed with/ informational interview folks etc) pretty much tells me that since I'm changing careers and have no experience I need to go for the masters. Any suggestions on getting a job before deciding if the masters is necessary?

I graduated with my MA in 2015 and will apply for student affairs Master's programs that start in Fall 2017. I'm taking two years off to work, save a little money and hopefully get a good application together. However, I am struggling to find work that is in student affairs. Right now I'm working for an after school program for high school kids which I think ties into my overall goals of working with admissions but who knows what the people reading my resume would think.

Thanks for the feedback on Northern Arizona and Seattle U. I'm not planning on applying for this fall. I'm hoping to get in for fall 2017, so I've got a little time to learn more. Sorry for the confusion by OSU I meant Oregon State University.

Hey everyone. I know y'all are in the throes of interviews and acceptance letters but I have a question for Fall 2016 apps. Has anyone applied to or have any info about the feel/ perception of the programs at Northern Arizona University, Seattle U, SUNY Buffalo or OSU? I'd appreciate any insights.

Yeah, I don't suggest anyone follow that particular path. Although, it was worth it. I got to go to a school pretty much for free. No clue if that would have happened or if that school would have been on the list if I'd only done one or two schools.

This is amazingly helpful. One of my alma mater's just posted an opening for a Resident Director so I'm going to go ahead and put in for that (I checked after seeing your response). I will reach out to folks and see if I can get some informational interviews set up. I also appreciate the reassurance that hope isn't lost.

Thank you. I will keep applying. Most of the folks I know who have the types of jobs I want do have student affairs related degrees, but I know that's not everyone's experience.

Thank you. I thought trying to get a job in higher ed should be my main focus at the moment. I'll definitely put in for residence hall director and admission counselor jobs. I just haven' had much luck getting a foot in the door so far but hopefully that changes. I do have a follow up question. Since all the jobs ask for a Master's in Student affairs/ higher ed etc should I just ignore that and apply anyway?

Seattle U is the only school I'm considering right now. I really love how their program is set up. I feel like I should find a second program just in case though. But I'm also trying to not go overboard on it this time. Last time I applied for grad school I applied to 14 schools. Was a bit nuts by the end of it.

Congrats! That's exciting! I may have to come back here and ask you questions when I'm applying for next year.

Background: I have a B.A in English and Secondary Education in addition to an M.A in English. I really like working with college students and am very interested in working in student affairs (specifically admissions and student life). All of my jobs have been centered around education, after school programs and residence life (when I was in undergrad). Today I'm running a small after-school program for a non profit. There is no room for movement but I do hope that my experience working with almost college students could help propel me into student affairs. Now: I'm weighing my options. All the jobs I've looked at and applied for require an M.ed in Leadership or Higher Ed etc. I really want to work in this field but I also don't want to go back to school and end up not liking it. Which is what happened with teaching. I can't apply for anything until this fall and wouldn't (hopefully) start a program until Fall 2017. I'm kind of nervous because I don't want to put off school forever but I don't know if its worth taking the leap without serious work experience in student affairs. Also I don't want to look like I'm just collecting Master's Degrees ( I got my M.A. within the last two years). Also in talking to people it looks like if I want to move up in student affairs the degree will still be necessary even if I get the entry level job without the degree. Any advice or suggestions for figuring out if I should move forward with applying or wait for some type of job to open up and see what happens? I suppose I could keep applying for jobs and apply for school since I'll have another year of work regardless. I guess I'm asking if folks feel like an M.ed. in Student affairs related fields was/is helpful and if it would be worth it do a second Masters degree.

Yes I am, but not until this fall (fall 2016). Are you thinking about attending?

Thank you so much. This makes me feel so much better. I'm definitely going to figure out how to work in how my other degree is useful and how I came to HE/SA in my statement. Also thanks for the advice about showing that I know what I'm getting into. I'm feeling a lot better about getting started on my app now.

Hey Patrick Yeah, I was pretty sure a Masters would be necessary to pursue this career. I am glad to know I'm not the only one who went this way after a different original career path. Can I ask if you feel like the first Master's degree hindered your application in any way? I'm worried they're going to see that and just think I'm trying to rack up degrees or something. The other masters degree is recent-ish. I originally wanted to go on for a Phd and be a professor but by the time I realized how much I didn't want to do that it seemed silly not to finish the MA I was working on. Now I'm seriously wanting to work in HE/SA and I'm worried my history is going to be a problem.

I'm wavering between doing this for fall 2016 or 2017. HESA is a recent interest of mine. Right now I'm researching. I would love to stay in the PNW if possible. I've got family and folks that can't just be uprooted and moved around. I've got Seattle U and the University of Washington Seattle on my list right now. I'm not sure about UW's leadership in education program, but Seattle U's Student Development program sounds pretty good. Just weighing my options and trying to decide if the M.ed is necessary to move forward in this career. This would be my second Master's and I'm feeling a little old to go back to school but I'm really interested. Sigh, hopefully thegradcafe can help me make some decisions.