Admissions Concerns

[thatgirltag]

Hi-

Currently a college sophomore looking to go to a school counseling program, mental health counseling or BCBA program in the future.

So due to medical reasons, each semester- I'm taking 11-12 credits max. I would like to take 16-17 credits, but unfortunately my health makes it difficult to do so. Tried to do that, health got worse and had to withdraw from a class.  I'm concerned as I know graduate programs want to see rigor and I'm just worried that I won't be able to stand out in the admissions process or show that I can handle grad class rigor. 

Any advice?  Is this going to negatively affect me and hurt my chances of getting into a program? 

[LazarusRises]

Undergrad performance is just one piece of the graduate admissions decision. Internships/publications/research/post-college work etc. are all just as important, if not moreso. 

If you're worried that your academic performance isn't up to par, I might suggest taking a few years off between undergrad and grad school and getting in some good work experience in your field. That will show the admissions committees that you're able to do more than just take classes & exams. 

[PsyDuck90]

12-15 credits is the standard number of credits that people take. To stand out, most students do outside activities such as research relevant to the field. 

[Iamawreck]

On 3/3/2020 at 1:02 PM, LazarusRises said:

If you're worried that your academic performance isn't up to par, I might suggest taking a few years off between undergrad and grad school and getting in some good work experience in your field. That will show the admissions committees that you're able to do more than just take classes & exams. 

To put into perspective, I had taken classes that had nothing to do with School Counseling, while I took a few Psych classes anyone who looked at my courses through my undergrad years could tell I had no idea what I was doing. It took me 3 years before applying again and throughout that time, while I continued to experiment, there definitely was some more logic to the jobs and internships I took up. I kept in touch with professors (Also, gave them a heads up I was considering grad school and may want a letter in the future and to please not forget me haha) I knew would make great references/recommendations and made sure to maintain bridges with jobs and internships. When I felt I was ready, I applied to two MA School Counseling programs and got into both! 

I think Academics is a bigger factor if that's really all you have to rely on to prove your commitment to the field, although, after meeting a few other people who were applying and got interviews I don't recommend relying on academics for a school counseling program. From what I understand it makes sense for engineering, bio, etc. majors to have that emphasis, but for school counseling and mental health, they want to know more about who you are as a person and why you are choosing this path since you are about to enter a service industry. If you've worked with kids/students before that is a big plus. Not a single person who made it to the interview rounds had 0 experience working with kids. 

You can always feel free to message me if you want! I haven't started my program yet, but it definitely took me some time to come to terms that I deserved to be accepted into the programs I applied for because I had a lot of doubts just like you do!