ChasingMavericks

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 all! Just got word I was invited to a group interview for the College Counseling & Student Development masters program. Anybody else in here invited/going?

I'm sure I can't be alone in this never ending mental battle about whether to continue education right away or to step out into the field. I know for me I graduate with a masters in public health (health education & promotion) in May, which I have always planned on using for work on a college campus as I am very into programming and addressing health problems and situations that commonly affect college students and integrating this knowledge through different areas of student affairs. I'm mostly interested in working at small private colleges and far down the road hope to become a dean of student. I have applications in for a few student affairs programs for Fall 2016, but have also been thinking heavily about going into the work force instead and gain more experience and insight. It's a very difficult choice and a scary one at that! I would just love to open up a conversation about this. Did you work and then decide to go on for more school? Are you getting your degree before working? Why? Do you have another degree already? How in demand is a specific masters in higher ed/student affairs/etc.

Thank you both for the recommendations! I'll be sure to check them all out.

Hey all! Anybody out there have good book suggestions for starting a career in student affairs/higher ed?

I'm headed out next week to visit my top school! When I set up my campus tour they offered to make me an appointment with the director of my intended program so I was like sure why not! Sounds like a great opportunity, but as it's getting closer I find myself getting more and more nervous. I've done a ton of research on the school, surrounding area, and the program and I've already applied for Fall 2016 but I don't want to show up without having any questions and no way to keep the conversation flowing. I know I probably sound silly to you guys, but I'm just having a brain fart! What are some questions you guys have brought up when speaking with a coordinator/director/etc? What are your experiences?

Hey all! I'm headed to Minnesota in a week to visit two schools. I have everything taken care of for the visit, but advice on how to dress for the cold would be really helpful! It's been a few years since I lived in a cold and snowy state, so I only have the minimum cold weather attire. How much should I layer? What should I expect?

Thanks random_grad! That's what I was thinking of doing, making it clear of when the internship starts. While I've been working on my current masters I haven't really been involved in much else, decided to just focus on school, so being able to show that I have plans for the interim makes me feel a lot better!

So a thought for you all. How do you all deal with putting jobs on your resume that you have been hired for already but they don't start until after your grad applications need to be submitted? For instance, my graduate applications are due in December/January for Fall 2016. I have already been hired for an internship that I will begin January 2016 (Jan-May as a graduation requirement for my current graduate program -I graduate from that in May 2016). I have also been hired already for a summer job 2016. Both are related to my field so I would love to place them on my resume. Has anybody faced this dilemma? Had any experience with this? Please no negative/snarky comments.

That's kind of the gist I've been getting from reading online and from some friends in other counseling programs. Thank you for your heads up! I definitely am going to stick with CACREP accredited programs, it just seems like it takes away so much hassle that can come with licensure.

I'm also the same person who was posting on the Mankato city post, so thank you for replying to that as well! I'm all set with a Suzuki Grand Vitara 4WD My plan/hope is to go up to visit Minnesota in early January for about a week to get a feel for the harsh winter weather, area, and people. Spend some time visiting SCSU and MSU Mankato and my cousin in MSP. Something about Minnesota seems like it might be a good fit for me, but we shall see! I'm constantly on the search for that perfect place. This might be a weird question, but do you know much about medical stuff in the area? Hospitals, doctors, etc? Depression can definitely be hard in the winter and I always like to make sure I am prepared for that. I appreciate all your postings!

Well I'm not from Southern California originally, but I would have to get used to the snow again! I grew up in the dreary PNW and then spent many years living in Montana and New York, so I have a lot of experience with snow and the dreaded wind chill, but like I said it's just a matter of getting used to it again

What do you love about the school? I've lived in many small towns, some even smaller than Mankato so it actually seems like a nice number I would just love to be back in a community that is friendly and easy-going. It looks like it's pretty close to Minneapolis, is MSP the closest airport? Just any details you can elaborate on about the town, people, MSU, etc. I want all the information I can get. If I end up getting accepted then I'm going to be sure to make a visit.

If I end up attending SCSU then I will be living in on-campus housing (hopefully as a graduate resident assistant, if not then just as a resident). But I'll be sure to keep my eyes open if I do end up attending. As for traffic, I'm coming from Southern California so as long as it doesn't take me 3 hours to travel 15 miles then that's totally fine St. Cloud is a pretty small town though, only about 60,000 people? Are people generally nice (in town and on campus)? What is the campus community like? I've lived in a few different states, but haven't spent much time in Minnesota at all. I am hoping to make a visit if I get accepted before I make any decisions. Any suggestions for things to check out or to pay particular attention to?

Sorry, clarification I am only applying to masters in counseling programs, so APA has no affect in my licensure. CACREP is what matters and what makes it a lot easier to be licensed, but there are still programs out there that aren't CACREP accredited, so I was hoping to hear from some people who maybe had done a counseling program that wasn't accredited by that entity and their experience becoming licensed or those who maybe are deciding to go the route of a program that isn't CACREP. If you take part in a CACREP program then you are exempt from post-masters experience and supervision requirements that are needed before taking the National Counselor Exam for Licensure and Certification. I want to work in any of those student affairs pieces you mentioned AND also in the role of a mental health counselor at a college, which is why I know I need to be licensed. Lucky for me there are programs that are Masters in College Counseling & Student Development that will give me what I need to do all of the above.

Just masters for me.

So I was straight out of undergrad when I attended grad school in NY for the first time, so I was 22. There were only maybe 2 of us in that program who were right out of undergrad, the rest of them were 25 and older with most of them being in their late 20s/early 30s. For me, that program didn't end up being the right fit, so I didn't complete it. Then when I was 24 I started a different program in CA and most everybody in this program is around their mid 20s, with only a few sprinkled in there being younger or older. It's definitely heavily 24-26 year olds. Once I graduate from this program I'll hopefully be doing another program Fall 2016 So it'll be interesting to see the age range in MN or NC.

Great! What can you tell me about the area? Do you like living there? Do you go to Minnesota State? What is the area like? Friendly? Neighborly? Any rundown of the town would be great! And if you do happen to go to MSU then I would love to hear about your experience there.

This is one of my top choices along with North Carolina State University. Is anybody else applying to the SCSU College Counseling & Student Development masters?

Anybody spent any time there/lived there? Looking for more information about the area!

Would love to revive this thread! St. Cloud State University is one of my top 2 choices, so I would love to start gathering information about the area to help aid with my decision making.

Hello Hopeful One! I can understand how you are feeling right now. But I'm here to assure you that the GRE is truly not the only piece of the puzzle. I decided not to study at all. I took the GRE twice and the best I did was a 148 verbal, 136 quantitative, and a 4.0 written. Only 2% of people taking the GRE did worse than me on the quantitative section...and that was the first time I took it! I did even worse the 2nd time around. With those scores I was successfully admitted to 3 out of 5 Masters of Public Health programs, and 2 other unrelated graduate programs. The rest of your application matters just as much as test scores. Like Rising Star said, start focusing on those other aspects. Get stellar letters of rec., amp up your resume, and kill it on the personal statement. It sounds like you've really already made up your mind and feel like you need to retake it. More power to you. But just try to remember it isn't the only part of your application. Stay hopeful!

Yeah Edinboro is CACREP accredited, but so far it hasn't made the cut.

Where has everybody been doing their searching for schools? Google? NASPA? Elsewhere?