Neurotic California undergrad wanting to pursue an Education Master's, but need some help...?

[akri]

tl;dr: I've talked with Education advisors at my school and they've assured me it is possible to apply without an Education minor. I was going to just apply to two programs in my area -- UC Davis and Sac State -- and if I didn't get in, just reapply with a stronger application that next cycle. But I'm a reentry student (26 yrs) and don't really want to delay my education + career anymore. I'm eager! And want to start! And excited! 

Steps I've taken:

• Talked to an Education advisor at the School of Education at UCD. 
• I have talked to ~six teachers about their experiences, advice, and what made them decide to pursue teaching. One of them was actually my mom, who is going into her 30th year teaching and still loves it with every fiber of her being lol. The others were friends, so I knew they could be candid with me. Definitely solidified the decision. 
• I have reached out to my nearest school district for steps to take to do observation hours with various ages + schools in my area. Still waiting for a call back. (Left a voicemail this morning.)
• I have taken a practice CBEST exam. I know where test centers + times for the CBEST and CSET.
  • I am less confident in ways to "study" for this outside practice exams, and I've heard AP books for the social science tests? I don't understand why there are 3 SS tests? This aspect kind of confuses me. Wtf is the CSET?

Some background:  I have spent a LOT of time researching PhD programs in various areas of study -- History, English, Science & Tech Studies -- but nothing really sat well with me. A lot happened my junior year that ultimately dissuaded me after researching +  talking with a ton of grad students.

I'm fairly fluent with the GRE, where to find resources, picking out a program, knowing how to research faculty, the "etiquette" of interacting with future colleagues, what a PhD program "looks for" in an applicant. (A lot of my undergrad CVs are tailored to it: I've done my own undergrad research, am going to a conference funded by my program this September, am slotted to be a research assistant to one of my favorite professors, might be an undergrad TA in the Spring). 

I know exactly 0 about the culture of the Education application process... I saw UCLA takes the GRE, but it was unclear to me if that was for their PhD Education track, or also their Master's -- the website was a little vague. Stuff like that confuses me (repeat: I don't know how to research Master's programs lol.)

More specific questions?

• How do I research a Master's program education philosophy + methodology + approach to teaching/interacting with students? (I'm more social justice minded so I want that sensitivity in my training program.)
  • How do I know that a Master's program is a good fit for me? (i.e. After researching PhD, I knew UCSB was a better fit for what I might want to study than, say, Stanford, which is "higher ranked" than UCSB.) 
  • Is a Master's in Education not something with much variability? Is a Master's from an online school in Oklahoma going to 'look the same' as one from, same, UCLA, even if their rankings are different? 
• How do I research funding for a Master's program? (I understand this is unlikely, but again, I want to give myself the best shot at all the resources available to me; still going to pursue this even if it means student loans tho lol.)
• General advice? How many programs should I apply to? Etc. 

Anyway, apologies because I'm sure this is a repeat question + situation. I gave up scouring this site + Reddit for info.

[JWalters]

On 8/3/2019 at 12:40 PM, akri said:

tl;dr: I've talked with Education advisors at my school and they've assured me it is possible to apply without an Education minor. I was going to just apply to two programs in my area -- UC Davis and Sac State -- and if I didn't get in, just reapply with a stronger application that next cycle. But I'm a reentry student (26 yrs) and don't really want to delay my education + career anymore. I'm eager! And want to start! And excited! 

Steps I've taken:

• Talked to an Education advisor at the School of Education at UCD. 
• I have talked to ~six teachers about their experiences, advice, and what made them decide to pursue teaching. One of them was actually my mom, who is going into her 30th year teaching and still loves it with every fiber of her being lol. The others were friends, so I knew they could be candid with me. Definitely solidified the decision. 
• I have reached out to my nearest school district for steps to take to do observation hours with various ages + schools in my area. Still waiting for a call back. (Left a voicemail this morning.)
• I have taken a practice CBEST exam. I know where test centers + times for the CBEST and CSET.
  • I am less confident in ways to "study" for this outside practice exams, and I've heard AP books for the social science tests? I don't understand why there are 3 SS tests? This aspect kind of confuses me. Wtf is the CSET?

Some background:  I have spent a LOT of time researching PhD programs in various areas of study -- History, English, Science & Tech Studies -- but nothing really sat well with me. A lot happened my junior year that ultimately dissuaded me after researching +  talking with a ton of grad students.

I'm fairly fluent with the GRE, where to find resources, picking out a program, knowing how to research faculty, the "etiquette" of interacting with future colleagues, what a PhD program "looks for" in an applicant. (A lot of my undergrad CVs are tailored to it: I've done my own undergrad research, am going to a conference funded by my program this September, am slotted to be a research assistant to one of my favorite professors, might be an undergrad TA in the Spring). 

I know exactly 0 about the culture of the Education application process... I saw UCLA takes the GRE, but it was unclear to me if that was for their PhD Education track, or also their Master's -- the website was a little vague. Stuff like that confuses me (repeat: I don't know how to research Master's programs lol.)

More specific questions?

• How do I research a Master's program education philosophy + methodology + approach to teaching/interacting with students? (I'm more social justice minded so I want that sensitivity in my training program.)
  • How do I know that a Master's program is a good fit for me? (i.e. After researching PhD, I knew UCSB was a better fit for what I might want to study than, say, Stanford, which is "higher ranked" than UCSB.) 
  • Is a Master's in Education not something with much variability? Is a Master's from an online school in Oklahoma going to 'look the same' as one from, same, UCLA, even if their rankings are different? 
• How do I research funding for a Master's program? (I understand this is unlikely, but again, I want to give myself the best shot at all the resources available to me; still going to pursue this even if it means student loans tho lol.)
• General advice? How many programs should I apply to? Etc. 

Anyway, apologies because I'm sure this is a repeat question + situation. I gave up scouring this site + Reddit for info.

Lots of questions here, and I'll respond to a few.

Your first choice to me seems to be either A: Finding a perfect program that meets all of your specific interests or B: Finding a program that gives you the freedom to design your own thing.

You know a program is a good fit if you visit and like the feel AND the kinds of things people do when they leave the program match your aspirations.

Master's programs have a lot of variability, I'd say. Some schools are more theoretical, some are more practice-based. Within each school, different cohorts have different profiles, as well. There may be great schools that are generally a bad fit for your interests, but have a program or professor who'd be perfect.

How many to apply to? Find your top 2-3 choices. Commit yourself writing those essays. If you can adapt that work to complete applications for 2-3 more programs that interest you, then do it. The only constraining factors are money for the applications, and time for completing them. There are regularly people who get in to one top program and not another. When you apply to a few extra programs, it just keeps your options more open. Maybe you'll be a " I'm going to this dream school.. or nothing!" kind of person, but I've seen how that can be very challenging. What you believe you want around app time and what you actually want when it's time to decide may not be as similar as you think.

 

[t_ruth]

It was a bit unclear from your post: Do you want the Masters to go into teaching or to ultimately go into a PhD and research?