fafsaavoidant
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Posts posted by fafsaavoidant
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On 10/15/2021 at 10:37 AM, sanna927 said:
Does anyone have any thoughts on reusing personal statements? I applied last year and didn't get in, but I'm planning to re-apply this cycle. My research interests and experiences haven't really changed much... would love to hear what others in the same situation are doing. Thanks!
I'd echo the statement above, and say that its fine to reuse a statement, but its worthwhile to get extra feedback! That feedback could shed light on why it might not have been as successful last time. The portions about your research interests could conceivably remain the same, but the more personal aspects of your statement might be worth delving back into. Might also be worth changing up if you're applying to work with different faculty than last time.
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I hope some more folks do start using this thread. I just started my Masters program, and I'm compiling my list now for counseling (and maybe clinical??) doctoral programs next year! I was really hoping that this thread would be active so it could inform some of my decisions! I'm really hoping to work on refugee trauma, and be on the east coast. I have a pretty good list going, but would love to see if there's anyone else with similar interests, and if so, which programs were on their minds!
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Hi there-- does anyone have any insight into the Temple University Counseling Psychology masters program? I can't find much info from people who have completed the program, and it's not mentioned much in GradCafe forums.
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Is anyone else having trouble making a decision without being able to visit the schools, and get a feel for the campus? I'm struggling!
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On 5/12/2021 at 4:00 AM, DSWHopeful2021 said:
Strong emphasis on social justice and treating underserved and marginalized populations. I also find that the MSW is flexible (you can do clinical, medical, school, industrial, policy....). And a big pro - LCSWs are currently the only masters-level license able to bill Medicare - this often means more opportunities. I find that federal agencies also lean toward LCSWs (e.g. the VA).
This is a super helpful response, thank you!! I wasn't aware of the Medicare fact! The social justice portion is really significant for me, and its something I don't see addressed as much in the psych programs.
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6 minutes ago, ahopefulgradstudent said:
I have not heard back! I did email someone last week and was told that the timeline remains the same - 6 to 8 weeks from the last week of March so we should be getting something at the end of May. Im so anxious!! Did you email someone to know that they were currently looking at your application?
Yep! I went into my application and there was a contact email somewhere in there. The response I got looked something like "Your application is actively being reviewed. Decisions for this batch of applications will hopefully be ready in 1-2 weeks"
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On 4/8/2021 at 1:15 AM, ahopefulgradstudent said:
I applied to Columbias Ph.D. program and got denied but they offered to put my application into the Master's of Arts in Psychology in Education pool - which I responded to do with a yes please. (Fordham did the same thing with me too but I just got rejected yesterday.) However, they said that this is a whole separate review process that will take 6-8 weeks !! Kind of frustrating but does anyone know anything about this? TC. Columbia is my top school and I'm kind of nervous to keep waiting for another 2 months only to be rejected (again) but I'm trying to have positive thoughts.
Did you hear back? Last week, I was told that they were currently looking at my application, and that it would be 1-2 weeks before I heard back.
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I was an alternate in two different programs, and didn't get either slot, which really was a punch to the gut. I wish I'd applied to more programs (I only applied to five), and I also wish I'd avoided the big name schools entirely-- there's something to be said for schools that are really good, but aren't as well known. I also don't know if I did a good enough job relating my current career (I'm pivoting) to the programs I was applying for. Frankly, I think my first denial messed with my head a bit, and put a lot of self doubt in my head.
That said, I'm taking a break. I was admitted to a masters program, and that will hopefully help me the next time I do my applications. Best of luck next time, everyone!
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Hey everyone! I'm looking to get some thoughts from prospective clinical social workers about why they decided to pick an MSW vs counseling or clinical psychology. I've been admitted to both MSW and counseling psych (M.Ed) programs, but I'm leaning toward an MSW because I love the community focus.
A little background on me: I'm an international affairs professional pivoting so I can do direct clinical work with refugee and immigrant populations in the US. I was drawn to MSW programs because the people that I know who are social workers have a lot of positive impact in the communities they're working with.
So what about you guys?
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3 minutes ago, prospectivegradstudent123 said:
I got my decision yesterday... it was a rejection. I’m honestly very shocked, because it was a very strong application. My resume I feel is great and filled with lots of experience, my 3 recommenders were strong (1 previously worked as a professor in the program, the other go their PhD at the institution), and my personal statement was honest and relative as to why I would be needed in the social work field as a Latinx, first gen trilingual woman. Really don’t know what happened... if anything it was my GPA because it was a 2.8... I was pretty upset to say the least yesterday haha. Congratulations on your acceptance!
I'm really sorry to hear that. I've had the same experience with another school, and I spent the rest of the day in a daze. I hope you have some other options, because I know for a fact that someone with your background, experience, and language skills would be an asset!
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On 4/21/2021 at 6:27 PM, prospectivegradstudent123 said:
I am waiting on my decision from Tulane! I applied last week April 16th and although it's only been a couple of days my anxiety has be dragging me so bad!
Just so you know, I was notified of my acceptance and financial aid package yesterday-- hope you get an email soon too!
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14 hours ago, MaryQofS said:
[Apologies in advance for the long-ass post! Brevity has never been one of my strengths]
I am a non-traditional (43-year-old) student who would like to get a PhD in Psychology (preferably at Duquesne since I am very interested in humanist and existential therapies, but I am open to Counseling Psychology programs as well). I have been told that 43 is "too old" to try to get a PhD in Psychology, and that I would be better off just doing an MSW given that I do want to be a clinician eventually, but I have reviewed the coursework for several MSW programs and it just doesn't interest me all that much. I really don't want to go into debt taking coursework that doesn't interest or inspire me. Also, if I ever moved back to my country of origin, I wouldn't be able to work as a therapist even if I'm a LCSW in the US. In my country only graduates of psychology, psychotherapy, or counseling programs are able to work as therapists. I do love the social justice focus of MSW programs but, honestly, I would rather just read books about this in my spare time than spend money on classes about it. I am most excited by the idea of taking classes about counseling theories and pathology.
My next thought was, of course, that I should do a Master's in Counseling, but my heart hurts a little when I think that these programs mainly train people to be "consumers of research" rather than researchers themselves. Even though my ultimate goal is to be a clinician, I absolutely want to do research, too, so this has led me to explore the idea of doing a PhD in Psychology. (Some of my research interests are behavioural addictions, specifically interpersonal addictions like "love addiction"; family estrangement; and procrastination and perfectionism).
The issue is that I do not believe that I would currently be competitive enough to get into a funded PhD program because I don't have a background in Psychology or any research experience. I'm sure that I would have a good chance of getting into a non-funded humanistic program, but I'm not willing to get myself into 200K of debt.
My Bachelor's degree from a major UK university is in foreign languages (I received a "double first" which I suppose is the US equivalent to "summa cum laude") and my Master's degree from a US R1 university is in Comparative Literature. I received a massive scholarship to come to the US for graduate studies (I intended to get a PhD and become an academic), but I crashed and burned for a variety of reasons - mainly mental health-related but also because I realized pretty quickly that academia wasn't for me. My graduate transcripts are pretty poor, and I worry that this makes me look like somebody who doesn't have what it takes for graduate study.
I am currently training to be a substance abuse counselor, and I will start a full-time job in the addiction field in a few months. I have also been taking lots of Psychology prereqs at my local Community College. I also have experience volunteering as an advocate for survivors of sexual assault.
I am hoping that completing a Master's degree in Counseling Psychology would make me a much more attractive candidate for Duquesne or Counseling Psychology PhD programs. However, I am unclear on how I can easily find terminal Master's programs in Counseling Psychology without spending months googling. Isn't there a nice, handy list somewhere? I am also unclear on how one is supposed to know whether a program is good or not.
Texas Woman's University has a Master's that really appeals to me because of the feminist perspective and because it would also allow me to get licensure as an LPC if I decided not to take the PhD route after all. However, my friend says that it's a "low ranking state school" and that if I want to get into a PhD program later, I need to think about the name/status of professors who would be writing me letters of recommendation. I'm not sure if she's just being a snob, or if she has a point.
University of Detroit Mercy has a Master's in Counseling (not Counseling Psychology) that interests me because they claim that students regularly publish in peer-reviewed journals, but I don't know if I would just be wasting my time doing a Counseling Master's if my goal is to apply to a PhD Program.
I would be grateful for any and all advice! Thank you in advance!
I'm by no means an authority on this, but I'm someone who is also trying to pivot from a much more unrelated field. I'm baffled that people would tell you that you're too old. I'm a mid career professional (not yet in my 40s), but when I asked schools about age being something I was concerned about, they repeatedly showed me examples of people in their program who had started in their late 30s or even late 40s (one guy was a retired from his first career!). While I didn't get into my PhD schools this time around, I was an alternate for two different schools, which was both heartbreaking (so close!) and reassuring (that my application wasn't a compete joke, despite not having the same qualifications as others). You're way more qualified than I was, so you've ABSOLUTELY got a shot.
Your friend has a slight point about name recognition, but I'm a firm believer in applying to schools you'd genuinely like to attend because of the coursework and faculty (regardless of the name), then maybe mixing in a big name or two in there for kicks (don't rely just on rankings!). Frankly, the well-known schools are super competitive when it comes to financial aid, and you'd end up 200K in debt anyway.
You've already got a few schools that you're interested in getting a PhD from, so see if you can perhaps find MA programs that mirror what the first year or two of the phd coursework would be, so you're not wasting time on classes that won't count toward a program. Better yet, apply to MA programs that have PhD programs you'd be interested in. Either way, you'll be able to build relationships that may help you later on.
Hope some portion of that is helpful to you!
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Hey there! I've seen a couple people talk about having their financial aid/scholarship packages appealed or modified. I know some schools provide forms that you can fill out, but I don't know that my schools have something like that (Fordham and Howard, anyone?).
Does anyone have any further recommendations? On what grounds did you appeal (need, merit, etc), and how successful were you?
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This is a bit of a tangent, but have any of you ever had issues with a school during the application process that made you want to attend just a little bit less?
I'm currently dealing with an institution that sent me an "incomplete application" email when my application has been completed for weeks (and it shows that in my application dashboard). The fact that they sent the email at the end of the day on a Friday drives me up a wall, because I won't get a response until Monday (and they're always slow to respond to email). What about schools that mess up your financial aid, lose transcripts, send terse emails, or delay your decision?
I know all of these things are small in the grand scheme of things, and won't actually change my decision to attend if it's truly the right school for me. Not to mention, they're people, and people make mistakes. But when I get hints that a program is disorganized, it's just so disheartening!
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10 hours ago, claypot14 said:
Hey folks. I’ve been admitted to a handful of programs and am now having some anxiety about choosing.
I’ve been accepted to UCLA, UW, and UT Austin. Originally I thought I would definitely go to UT if I got in, because it is so much more affordable, and it’s in my home town of Austin, so I’d be close to my family. It’s also considered a pretty good program.
In talking with a couple current and recent students from all of the above programs, I am getting the impression that UCLA and UW are going to be the more intellectually challenging programs of the three. I was very privileged to have an excellent undergrad education, and I think my expectations for grad school are pretty high as a result. An undergrad friend of mine who is currently in UT’s MSW program said that undergrad was by far more challenging than her graduate school experience has been, while that has not been the same for my friend at UW. It sounds like UW perhaps is also doing a better job of addressing issues of diversity and identity?
I realize that these are just a handful of experiences out of many, and I am trying to not let them influence my choice too much. Much of one’s experience will be influenced by individual classes, professors, etc. But from other research I’ve done, it seems like UCLA and UW would be more rigorous. I think I probably just need to accept my offer at UT, as it is between $20,000 and $30,000 a year cheaper (!!!!!), but I am feeling a little deflated, confronting the idea I may not feel as challenged.
I’m sure I will get a lot out of any program I attend. I do not mean to be an elitist here, and I know UT is a fantastic school. I’m just in my feels / anxiety a bit about it? Does anyone else relate, or have relevant perspective / advice to share?
Thanks!
Just my two cents:
I was in this situation with my previous graduate degree-- I went with the more expensive and rigorous option. HOWEVER, I financially regretted the decision later. I wish I'd thought more at the time about which specific experiences I thought I'd be missing by going to the cheaper option, and asked the school if there was a way to replicate those experiences at their institution through study abroad, mentorship, cross enrollment, research, or internship opportunities.
Diversity and Inclusion issues are a different thing altogether. The "more rigorous" option that I chose also had diversity and inclusion issues that made my time there much more emotionally taxing.
Now, my perspective has changed a bit. Go with the school that holistically makes the most sense. None of the schools you've stated have bad academic reputations, even though there's definitely a couple different tiers. Choose the school that doesn't give you undue financial hardship (if you're not willing to take that on), and the one that has the best academic concentration for you. If you end up at the "less rigorous" option, that just means you have less excuse not to be the standout student in your class. And there are definite benefits to that as well!!
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11 hours ago, ZippyZup123 said:
Hey I just wanted to throw this question out there but I am curious about how other people are going to go about it.
Do any of you plan on working while you are in grad school? Getting scholarships are not as accessible for grad students and tuition is a lot of money even for in state tuition.
I know some some loans are available but I am interested in not taking out the students loans that fafsa awarded because the loans start accruing interest immediately and they can't be absolved in a bankruptcy.
Another question is have any of you been successful in negotiating with your employer to give a stipend for grad school in addition to salary?
I am interested in how other people are plan on dealing with tuition, work and school for the upcoming year.
I'm 100% considering working, which is really difficult. If I accept the local school, my current employer is open to letting me negotiate part time work or maxiflex hours. Its weighing on me hard because the close to home option isn't necessarily where I want to go. But in terms of being financially responsible, it might make the most sense. And a stipend won't work for me because I'm changing fields entirely. =\.
I have a masters degree in my current field, and I've been looking specifically for adjunct professor slots near or at the schools I've been applying. Or maybe some type of independent consultant work. Who knows.
I think the moral of the story is that I'm going to have to be really creative. I'm waiting until I have my placement, so I have an idea of how much time I'll have at my disposal, and where I'll physically be. Then I'll work out the rest.
Good luck with your process! It's HARD, but years from now, you'll thank yourself for being proactive.
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5 hours ago, SoFloHomo said:
I got the results about a week ago. They've determined that I do not have the core competencies of social work and am not fit to be left alone with clients. I'm still graduating, but I had to appeal their decision. I felt better knowing the process was over.
Then I got to work. I have to attend an appeals meeting next week and I want to kill myself. I dont even want to go to school there anymore.
I'm really sorry that all of this is happening to you. You're going through something incredibly stressful, and I hope you take the time to take care of yourself (and find a great emotional/mental health support system) before you do anything else. Seriously, because the language you're using is concerning.
I'm sure you have great things to contribute to this field! Maybe this is the time to take a strategic step back and figure out what avenues are still available to pursue. There will be one, even if you can't see it right now! Find "Team You" -- mentors, people who care about you, therapists, life coaches, etc, and get their feedback on how to proceed.
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1 hour ago, MSW_2021 said:
I know I won't be getting my deposit back and I'm fine with that. I committed to NYU and filled out the field placement form as well but I'm thinking of switching to UCLA (I was originally waitlisted but now offered a spot). Do you think I'll be burning bridges by telling NYU that I won't be attending anymore? One of the main reasons is cost tbh since I'm from CA and UCLA would be significantly cheaper. I didn't expect to get off the waitlist at all. I doubt I'll apply to NYU in the future but I just feel kind of bad.
Chiming in to cosign what has already been said. Thousands of dollars is a valid reason to change your mind about anything. Just be respectful and understanding, and it'll be fine. Telling them ASAP might even create space for someone who really wants to be at NYU and was waitlisted! Good luck, and congratulations on being able to choose between two great options!
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On 4/10/2021 at 4:46 PM, DSWHopeful2021 said:
I’ve found scholarships are a little harder to come by for professional degrees - but there are often opportunities for stipends or loan assumption depending on which sector you go into. I did psychiatric social work with a local govt. agency with an at risk/underserved population and was given a 20K stipend and automatic job with that agency upon graduation. That agency also offered 10K a year in loan assumption.
This is great! Did your institution help you set this up, or did you find this on your own?
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11 hours ago, MSW_2021 said:
Hey everyone! Has anyone paid their deposit and committed to a school and then changed their mind? How did you go about informing the other school that you're no longer attending?
All you can do is be honest, and give them as much heads up as you can. "I previously made a deposit, however circumstances have changed," isn't an awful way to start. Be apologetic, don't burn bridges, and let them know why! Perhaps you got a bigger scholarship somewhere else, or there's a family-related reason to stay closer to home.
Just remember, you're committing a lot of time and money, and you're the only one who will truly have to live with your decision. Schools are great, but they're also businesses run by real people. They'll get it. And you won't be the only one to do this, either.
...just don't expect to get that deposit back. You might. But also you definitely might not.
- trahenagem and Gradguy11218
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9 hours ago, trahenagem said:
I feel kind of silly asking this, but if an acceptance/deposit deadline is written "decide by April 22nd", does that include April 22nd itself? I understand deadlines to conventionally include that last day, but I don't want to mess up! I'm trying to delay paying until the last min if possible as I was told I'd have another uni's decision by tomorrow.
I've generally taken this to include 22 April, but it can't hurt to call and ask a clarifying question since theres so much at stake!
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1 minute ago, prospectivegradstudent123 said:
I am waiting on my decision from Tulane! I applied last week April 16th and although it's only been a couple of days my anxiety has be dragging me so bad!
I applied 1 April, and I'm still waiting! Hopefully we find out quickly!
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First time poster, long time lurker here!
I was a late applicant, and am still waiting on word from Tulane and Hunter (been admitted to Fordham and Howard, and waitlisted at UPenn due to applying way after the deadline). I already have a pretty good idea of what financial aid will look like at those three schools ( *eternal Beaker frown* ), but haven't been able to peg how generous Tulane is with their aid.Can anyone speak to scholarships at Tulane? Was anyone admitted and offered a generous package?
Counselling Psychology Applicants 2022 CANADA
in Psychology Forum
Posted
I'd personally add another couple schools(because I'm a Nervous Nelly), but you never know! If you've carefully selected schools that are a great research/faculty fit, and your qualifications are solid, then you might be just fine!