School Psychology Ph D: CUNY versus Fordham?

[ohdear]

I was recently accepted into the School Psychology Ph D program at CUNY and Fordham. CUNY has 1 year tuition remission and is only about $8000 per year (less 4th and 5th year). Fordham is about $1050 per credit (about $25,000 per year) but maybe a better reputation? Any thoughts?

Edited April 15, 2010 by ohdear

[origin415]

Even if Fordham had a better reputation, how long will it take to pay back the debt you'll accumulate?

How much will Fordham increase your earning potential over CUNY? Probably not enough to be worth it, I'd go for CUNY.

[schoolpsyche]

I was recently accepted into the School Psychology Ph D program at CUNY and Fordham. CUNY has 1 year tuition remission and is only about $8000 per year (less 4th and 5th year). Fordham is about $1050 per credit (about $25,000 per year) but maybe a better reputation? Any thoughts?

That is a hard decision. I guess it depends on your career goals. If you think you may want to ultimately work with a university, I personally think the Fordham degree will hold more weight. I have also heard that the CUNY program can be very inconsistent and can be frustrating because of administrative issues with organization.

Good luck with your decision.

[jacquilevin]

I have been presented with the SAME ISSUE.

As of today, I've been accepted to both CUNY and Fordham phd programs for school pscyhology.

if you've made your decision since posting this, please LET ME KNOW what you decided and why. I can use any help I can get.

thanks!

[LTee]

As a side not, what are you career goals with a ph.d in school psych? I myself am doing an Ed.S program, and I was curious about the differences as far as careers go between the two.

[jacquilevin]

As a side not, what are you career goals with a ph.d in school psych? I myself am doing an Ed.S program, and I was curious about the differences as far as careers go between the two.

as a specialist (i think that's what Ed. S is, correct me if i'm wrong) you are not able to do private practice work in new york. you also can not teach as an adjunct (or assistant or any type of) professor, and getting a job with a school district is much harder (since you are competing with candidates who have a PhD). the doctoral programs allow you, if you want, to take the licensing exam to become a licensed psychologist and do some of the same types of things someone coming from a "clinical psychology" program would do but with your own awesome specialty of being school-children oriented (assessment, consultation, intervention!)

unless you live in an area where PhDs are very rare and/or your state allows you to do more than just work with a school district, I would recommend the PhD. Not only will your training be better (you'll be better at your job!) but doors will open. going from a specialty/masters program into a PhD program should not be difficult if you decide to do so in the future.

as for my career goals, I don't know right now.

[ohdear]

I have been presented with the SAME ISSUE.

As of today, I've been accepted to both CUNY and Fordham phd programs for school pscyhology.

if you've made your decision since posting this, please LET ME KNOW what you decided and why. I can use any help I can get.

thanks!

hi! congratulations! i actually ended up choosing CUNY for the school psychology ph d for a few reasons... i found the faculty to be very helpful and supportive through the decision process. i also reached out to a few current students...all had wonderful things to say about the program and faculty. i dont know how much ratings mean to you (or how much they mean in general)...but US news and NRC both rated CUNY higher than fordham ...http://www.socialpsy...org/ranking.htm , http://grad-schools....rankings/page+3 . also, i unfortunately have to pay for my graduate education and living expenses myself, so the over $80,000 difference in debt made a huge impact on my decision. aside from that though, i felt that CUNY would better prepare me for my future goals. im hoping to work in a university setting, have a private practice, and perhaps work in a school as a psychologist some day...current students that i spoke with had similar goals and felt CUNY prepared them for all.

as many people told me, you can't go wrong with either program. many people don't get into any school psych phd programs...especially APA approved programs.

id love to hear from you though about their thoughts/decision....so let me know how everything goes!