USC, UCLA, or BC for Student Affairs grad programs?

[LL2013]

I have been accepted into the following graduate programs in the field of higher ed and student affairs:

 

USC - EC program

UCLA - MSA program

BC - Higher Ed program

 

Please share any feedback that you might have on the programs - i.e. the courses, the faculty, grad life, preparation for career, etc.

 

Thanks!

[hesadork]

Congratulations!  I think you face two threshold questions:

 

1) Location - In your heart of hearts, do you want to be in New England or Southern California?  It would be hard to imagine two more different regions (or two more different cities than Boston and LA).  Go with your gut on this.  It looks like you're already living in Boston; do you want to stay, or are you wanting a change?

 

2) Program - Ed Counseling is very different from HE (even HE with a strong SA emphasis like UCLA or BC).  If your passion is to work at the post-secondary level, and you want to have the option to work in a variety of different functions, EC may not be the right credential.  On the other hand, if your true passion is counseling, and you want to be able to do it in a variety of different contexts, an HE degree probably isn't the right choice.  (Out of curiousity, why did you choose Rossier's EC instead of its PA/SA option?)

 

If you're able to answer these two questions honestly I think it will make your choice very straightforward.

 

Finally, you didn't mention aid so I'm assuming the cost of all three would be relatively similar.  If that's wrong (ie, if one of the options is significantly cheaper) then I would bump the cheaper option to the top of the list.

 

Good luck!