Snow21

This is not a perspective that will help you be successful.
Why would any school accept anything less than the best they can get?  That is what is necessary for maintaining a good reputation. 
Fix your grammar and stop peddling mediocrity.  o.O

I wanted to apply to NAU! (I'm from the Phoenix area) I didn't even realize it had what I wanted until it was just too late to pull together an application. I ended up applying to two schools in Minnesota and just had an interview at one of them today.

Personally I would say if the schools you are interested in don't require it then don't waste the money to send it in or retake it. I applied for student affairs programs for this fall and only one of the schools required it. Where are you thinking of applying? I always love to hear where people are interested in attending!

Hey there!! Like you, I was originally thinking I'd pursue a doctorate in counseling psychology. With that, I began a master's program in counseling and student personnel psychology. However, after taking some counseling classes, I realized it wasn't for me. Luckily the program I was in allowed for students to concentrate on Higher Ed by taking a career counseling class and doing an internship within a higher ed setting. I'm currently doing a 700-hour internship at a career counseling center at a small private college. Just wanted to give you a background on where I'm coming from  From what I've seen, you don't see people with Ph.Ds...that would make you overqualified to be quite honest (career counselors really don't get paid that much!). All people in the office I'm at have their master's degrees- some are master's in counseling and others are master's in student leadership & affairs. I've found that my master's in counseling degree is super helpful within career counseling. 

You should be fine. I would look for 2-year programs with a required internship so you can build up your work experience, which will be invaluable for after you graduate. Take a look at NYU, Vanderbilt, Boston College--all those schools have a lot of people coming straight out of undergrad with not a ton of work experience. 

Others might disagree with me, but I currently work in higher education and while my colleagues all have advanced degrees, they are from a variety of disciplines (MFA in creative writing, PhD in Music Conducting, MA in Cultural Studies etc.). I think it might be worth applying to positions in higher education this upcoming year to see how much success you have. If you get an entry-level position and cannot advance, perhaps you can simply enroll in an HESA degree at the college you work at. I would also suggest you look up the backgrounds of those in positions you aspire to.

Agreed with the above. Try applying to some jobs and see what happens. A lot of people at my institution in various roles have master's degrees, but not necessarily in higher education/student affairs. Like olympichopeful said, if you can get your foot in but there's no room for advancement, you might be able to enroll into a higher ed program at the institution you work at. If you can't get in anywhere, then you'll know to apply to full-time master's programs.
Also, I don't know if it's common but when I was beginning to research master's programs, I saw some places don't like those who already have master's in other disciplines to apply to their programs (they recommended applying to their corresponding Ed.D/PhD program instead). 

I agree with the other posters - you really want to work in the field for a couple years before you go back and get your MA in student affairs/higher ed.  Usually, the way that programs are set up, it assumes that you have some full time experience in the field and I am not sure how much you get out of it if you don't. And similar to teaching, a lot of student affairs professionals leave the field within the first couple years on the job so you want to make sure you at least like working in an university before you invest more time and possibly money in another degree.
Since you have prior residential life experience, I would look at residence hall director jobs.  I would also look at admission counselor positions because they are targeted towards people right after their bachelor's degree.  Usually, it is the easiest to get a position at your alma mater or a school comparable to your alma mater.
You may also find that you don't need a master's in student affairs/higher ed to progress.  The field values experience a lot and since you already have a master's - it might not be necessary depending on the school you work at.

Snow21,
I agree with everyone's comments, and your own, that you are best served to just apply to jobs, rather than consider grad school. I also would not be discouraged that you have been unable to move further into the job application phase, as many of the positions you are referencing (specifically, admissions and residence life) are often filled by alumni of the school. I can't recall if anyone had mentioned it yet, but I would suggest reaching out to your alma mater(s) and try to hold informational interviews with individuals in the departments you are interested. Even if these conversations do not lead to a job, it may help you orient your experience and degrees to set you apart in your job application/cover letter. To that end, I would ignore specific master's requirements, apply, and frame your cover letter around your experience, which many have explained will be more helpful than the additional degree.
Hope this helps. 

Like others have suggested, I think you can get a res life position in student affairs easily with your experience and degrees. There are some institutions which are really strict on a higher ed/student affairs/ed leadership requirement, however, I think experience ultimately matters more. Definitely apply for full time jobs, and possibly some grad programs to explore your options. 

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

Yes! I got accepted today, fortunately. I hope to start classes this year as well 

Hi,
The thing is that professional development is incredibly valued in the field. Many will eventually get an Ed.D to progress in their careers. There aren't many other fields that require a doctoral degree to be a senior administrator. So, they should value your previous masters a lot. It was the case for me in all the places where I applied to. They will feel confident you can reach a certain level of success and that you know what you're getting yourself into. I know the main thing the University of Missouri looks for is fit in terms of career progression. I'm not sure how other institutions would look at it, but if you could explain how your previous masters intersects with HESA and how it can be useful in your practice, I think that would help. Graduate degrees in the social sciences tend to purposely seek out diversity (research shows that a diverse group of individually weaker individuals will outperform an homogeneous but individually stronger group - I could get you a reference for that if you need it). Be very direct about what you bring to the table and try to match it with research interests of faculty if you can. Use your masters to your advantage.

One key advice: You know what you're getting yourself into. Ask questions and show how you are already able to navigate graduate school. Give directors of the program a call and explain you already have a masters and want to ask specific questions to see how this degree would complement your professional journey.
P.-S. Don't worry... I have way too many degrees and it worked out well for me  

Patrick
https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickarsenault

Hey,
I think you will need a masters to progress. Virtually all positions in student affairs require a masters. This is also my second masters and I do feel a little old, but so far it's wort it. Get in touch if you have any specific questions. I'm happy to help! I don't really know the programs in your area though.

Patrick

I think the masters will be required if you plan on becoming a director or some kind of department head. Maybe even a PhD depending on how far you want to want to go. 

I studied philosophy in college, then went into the navy for a couple months, then started a program to be a teacher and was in the middle of that when I applied. In my essay I basically talked about how I've been helping people with college/law school/commissioning essays for years and really am fascinated with the admissions process. No idea how that worked but it did.

I am sorry to hear that you weren't successful in this round of applications.

Based on your school selection, you are applying to a broad range of programs. What do you want to learn about in your program? As higher ed and student affairs programs can be very different from each other, it is helpful to get a general sense of your overarching interests. Do you want to learn about: Student development and counseling? Administration and leadership? Education policy and research?

How are you selecting the schools that you are interested in? I agree that you should look at cost and availability of assistantships, but you also need to evaluate programs by their fit. Some programs are very practitioner's focused, some are very research focused, and the rest are a blend of those two. Do you plan to pursue a PhD in the field? If you do, you might want to evaluate programs differently depending on whether this master's is a terminal degree for you or not. Looking at your school choices, you seem all over the map in terms of program fit.

Once you know what type of program that you are interested in, you can draw up a list and start contacting current students and faculty. They can give you a better sense of what weights they put on the individual pieces of your application. When you said you did mediocre on your GREs, I am not quite sure what score that translates into. Some programs might have minimums for their GREs and undergraduate GPAs. You need to make sure that you meet those otherwise I would advise you to take the GRE again.



This is good that you have experience. How are you talking about this in your SOP? How are you highlighting this on your resume (assuming the program requires one when you apply)? When you say "TONS," do you mean several years -or- are you talking about while as an undergraduate student? Which is fine (by the way), but you should know that you will be in an application pool with master's applicants that have 1 - 5 years of professional experience.



These programs are all well known to pretty well known for the field of higher ed/student affairs. You might be in fierce competition again. How did you pick them? Are there professors you want to work with there?



It seems like I may be a bringer of bad tidings- but I think the take away from my post would be to narrow your focus and decide what type of program that you would like to pursue. I also would talk to student affairs professionals on your undergraduate campus. They may have some great recommendations.

One creative solution I have seen when the applicant didn't have stellar academic credentials is that person took several classes as a non-degree seeking student in the program and did well in the courses. He was able to get to know the faculty and establish himself as a known entity. This was very helpful when he applied and helped mitigate academic concerns. Of course this requires you to be in commuting distance of a program that you are interested in which might not be possible.

I am sorry that I don't have any program recommendations. The programs that I know that are not competitive are not academically rigorous so I would not want to recommend them. (In the long run) the better advice would be to tell you to retool your SOP and resume and talk to the current students and faculty than to look for programs that are not competitive.

Since a lot of master's programs are classes - use your electives wisely.  Don't be afraid to take classes outside of your department or the school of education!  In my master's program, I took a PhD-level course in Cognitive Science and it was pretty awesome.  So explore!
 
To maximize your chance to be employable after graduation, don't just do classes.  Get an assistantship, internship, teaching, or research position.  As education tends to value experience a lot, you want to make sure that you are securing positions that are similar to what you want to do after you graduate.  I had a 2 year assistantship and two semester long graduate internships.  While I was extremely busy, it helped me to narrow down what I wanted to do after graduation and gave me the necessary experience to secure a job relatively quickly.
 
Make friends with your cohort mates.  These people will be the start of your professional network when you graduate and can be extremely helpful to you in the future.  Also -- it makes the program much more enjoyable to have people to study with and commiserate with when times are tough in the semester.  Also --utilize the older students in the program.  Ask for course recommendations and good places to do internships/assistantships.
 
And if you are all interested in going on to your PhD -- make sure you have a good relationship with at least one ideally two professors in your program.  And try to get involved in research during your master's.  It will give you some good insight on whether the PhD makes sense for you in the future.  Particularly helpful if you are not sure whether you want to go on or not.