YellowSubmarine

I heard back from one of mine very quickly, and was really supportive. The other is on sabbatical and I have yet to hear back from- in her original email she told me to contact her a week before the applications were due, so I think I'll just send her a reminder before the due dates if I don't hear anything. Good luck with yours!

Just a quick update- they both said it was fine (although one asked me to send my unofficial scores ahead of time?). Thanks for the help, everyone!

I don't know if you guys have stumbled across this this at any point, but the Student Doctor Network forums have had some insightful conversations about different programs, etc. going on (in both the Mental Health and the PhD Psychology subforums), if you're interested. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=207

This makes me feel a little better. I've contacted the department and I'm waiting to hear back, we'll see what happens. Thanks for the input!

Some of the programs I'm looking have applications due the same day that my GRE scores will be sent out (Dec. 1st). Does anyone know if my application would still be considered? Does this vary by program?

Hi all, So, I'm applying for masters in mental health counseling programs this fall (most of the deadlines are Jan 15th and later). Many PhD programs in this field, I've found, require a masters beforehand. However, some will consider you for the PhD program, and, if rejected, automatically consider you for their masters program. I was planning on applying to 6 masters programs- however, long story short, I kind of want to apply to a PhD program or two to see what happens (after getting several different opinions about the idea). This would mean that I'd have to finish my applications by Dec. 1 rather than Jan 15th. The problem: I've already contacted two out of three of my letter writers very recently. They'd still have plenty of time to write the letter (5 weeks), and it would still be to the same programs (just for the PhD, not the Masters program). Is this kosher? Will it make me look flakey to my letter writers? Any advice here would really be appreciated.

Have any of you spoke to anyone in the programs at Columbia or NYU? I remember reading some nasty things way back when on these boards about a few programs that tended to let a lot of students in and not really prepare them for much of anything- I can't find the thread anymore, and I'm not sure if it was anecdotal or not. Maybe I'm delusional. Gvh, I'm very much in the same boat. I'd love to go on and get my PhD right after my masters. I looked at applying to a few clinical programs this year but in the end decided against it (I'm not sure I'd get in- I have a lot of research experience but most of it is cognitive/developmental, not with clinical populations).

Samblues- I feel really lucky, I graduated a year ago and I'm working full time now, so I have the evenings to work on applications. I'm having a hard enough time as it is narrowing down schools/re-writing my statement of purpose/filling out applications/studying for the GRE/etc... I can't imagine having schoolwork on top of everything (although I remember watching a lot of friends struggle through it). Out of curiosity, what are everyones' career goals at this point? Are any of you applying for PhD programs right now as well? Are you hoping to go on and get your PhD eventually? I'm curious what other people looking at these programs are up to.

My goodness- I sure hope you're ahead of the curve because I'm just starting my applications now! My top choices at this point are whichever of those programs admit me (if they give me money that'd be even better)- I guess I'd say my dream school is Columbia. I'm not sure if I'm being to ambitious? I'll find out in a few months, hah.

I'm applying to masters programs in counseling for fall 2012 right now as well. Right now my list is: 1) Columbia 2) NYU 3) Northwestern 4) University of Minnesota 5) a few backup schools (pending), around Milwaukee or Chicago I hadn't really considered Johns Hopkins until you mentioned it but the program looks pretty interesting. I've also heard of people applying to Harvard but their program doesn't really seem to be very counseling-based (more developmental?). What have you heard about it? How are your applications going at this point? I'm still brushing up my statement of purpose and officially gathering up my LOR's.

Thanks for the input, cogneuroforfun.. I feel like I have a decent resume- research, good GPA, extracurriculars and volunteering (haven't taken the GRE yet but I'm studying a lot). I chose to take time off more because, as of last winter, I was still torn between research (non clinical/mental health related) and counseling. I'm hoping to apply to more competitive programs, though. I guess it's not so much about whether or not my resume needs it- I feel like I'm cheating the system or something. Does it look flaky to only stay in this position for a year? Most of the lab managers in our department stay for 1.5/2 years, at least. I'm wondering what other people with similar jobs have done.

I recently finished my undergrad and went the route of taking time off and am working as a lab manager, volunteering, having my dreams crushed by the GREs... Doing all the fun, exciting things that an individual hoping to go to grad school might do. However, I've recently started worrying: should I apply this winter, for admission in fall 2012? Should take two years off and instead go for fall 2013? It's only been a month or two of working as a lab manager full time and I already miss academics. However, I feel like both my bank account and my application (I'm hoping to apply for M.A. counseling psych programs, if that's helpful) might be stronger if I've been in the job for more than 5-6 months at the time of submission. Is it even kosher to ask for a LOR from my current professor after that amount of time? What do schools look for? How long do people normally stay in lab manager positions? Any input is appreciated! Thanks so much. =)