schpsy92

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My recommendation is to apply to your in-state program (I think most states have a school psych Ed.S program) because then you would only be responsible for in-state tuition, which in most states is reasonable. Also like others said before, ask about funding during interviews - best people to ask are current students NOT faculty

In my opinion, it's a waste to get a Ed.S in School Psych if you plan on getting your doctorate in Clinical Psych. I doubt that many (if any) credits would transfer over to the Clinical program b.c School & Clinical take vastly different courses.

I think a 690 is completely fine. Most doctoral programs I've seen waver around 700 as the average Psych GRE for Accepted Students.

Hey guys I'm a first year at a Psy.D in school psych program - feel free to ask any questions about curriculum, funding, social life idc whatever you want to know

This type of "character education" is not regularly done by school psychologists, but it is somewhat common. The school social worker or guidance counselor may do this alongside, or instead of, the school psych. I would also recommend to use fairly interactive means for a group like this in order to keep the young (and often fidgety) students engaged

Well, I'm not a teacher or a teacher ed student, but I've worked in school systems for quite a while (as employee / volunteer) all throughout NY State. It is quite difficult to get a teaching job purely with elementary certification, especially in Long Island and Westchester County. I've heard a single 3rd grade teaching position on LI receive over 800 applications, and I bet this happens on a fairly regular basis.

Well, one thing to consider is that Bank Street's program will allow you to be dually certified - which makes you significantly more marketable for jobs in the relatively competitive elementary ed field (in New York). But, I personally don't think it's worth 3x the cost.

Great question actually! So, one of my schools had a policy that if you were not admitted to the doctoral level, you would be automatically considered for the masters level. I believe this policy varies from school to school, so your best bet would be to contact the school psych admin assistant at the college you are interested in and ask him/her directly.

I'm looking for housing in Queens, seeing as I will be attending St. John's University (in Jamaica, Queens) starting in the fall! I was curious if anyone had opinions on certain boroughs in Queens... I would really like to be near a subway line that goes into Manhattan, is relatively close to the St. John's campus (by bus), and is not too expensive.

Unless you (somehow) got massive funding from TC, I would pick Albany. No specialist-level program is worth getting in massive debt for - at least in my opinion.

I just got my financial aid in a separate email from TC Financial Aid office. Laughing at how horrible it is. Will be turning down the offer tomorrow

I can't believe that the final decision day is only a month away! I'm torn between two schools, but I'm still waiting on official funding packages from both of them. That will likely sway me to choose one school over the other. Question: Do we get official financial aid packages from the university financial aid office before April 15th or do we just get funding information from the school psych department / program itself?

Without a Masters Degree, most doctoral programs will be 5 years at a minimum. But, there are a small handful of doctoral programs that will grant the Ph.D / Psy.D in 4 years ... you can PM me if you want more information.

I think that graduating from a non-APA accredited program would hurt one's chances at going into academia / hospital type work, but I don't think it would matter for the K-12 school system and private practice. If you have an interest in either of the first two settings, you should probably go to an APA-accredited program just to be on the safe side.

Supposedly, they will be released on March 17th this year. http://www.tc.columbia.edu/financialaid/index.asp?Id=Announcements&Info=2014-2015+Award+Letters

Does anyone know when TC typically sends out financial aid information for accepted students?

A major con is that Alliant and Chicago School are professional schools that are often really expensive and have big cohort sizes (so you won't get as much individualized attention in your program). It would probably be better to just take the GRE and apply to an in-state public school

I got the unofficial acceptance email today! I applied to the school psychology - master's program.

Well if you only want to work in the school system as a K-12 school psychologist, I doubt that not having APA accreditation will hurt you. I've never seen a K-12 school mandate that a school psychology applicant is from an APA accredited program (some will prefer NASP or NCSP applicants though). If you are more interested in working in community based organizations like a hospital, then it would probably hurt you. For private practice, I'm not sure how that would affect you.

I have one interview coming up, in which they told me in the interview invitation email that there would be a writing exercise. I feel like most schools wouldn't try to blindside applicants too much (hence leaving a bad taste in their mouths), but I still think the writing sample is kind of ridiculous as well.

For me, it's pretty much all about location and funding. Also, I'd prefer to get a doctorate, but I'm also considering masters-level programs. I'm only considering NASP/APA accredited programs.

That's crazy that a school is forcing you to make a decision so early. Like iPhi said, schools are supposed to give you until April 15th to make your decision. I would tell them politely (even though they sound rude) that you would like until that date for your decision. If they deny it, decide if you like the program enough (like in your top 2 or 3 schools) to put the deposit down -- you can always withdraw if need be and yes you're not supposed to do that but they are forcing you to make a premature decision so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

Yeah, I think the snow really slowed things down in the Northeast, especially in NY! I have two interviews this week, and two next week (two doctoral-level and two specialist-level)

Based what I've heard, there is a slight difference in pay between specialist and doctoral-level psychologists in the school systems, but not much (2-4K / year?)