4everastudent Posted March 28, 2014 Posted March 28, 2014 Hello everyone! I applied to a few masters programs in hopes to boost my application for Counseling Psychology PhD (yes, I plan to become an RA at whatever school I end up going to). I am not sure which would be better for my application. One of which (the school I currently attend) has an APA Accredited Counseling Psych PhD program. The other does not have Counseling Psych, but it's an Ivy and it is in the top five graduate school's of education. Should I remain at my current institution in hopes of gaining a good reputation with the program to strengthen a PhD application? Or should I go with the higher ranked, ivy? Thank you for your suggestions in advance!
PsychGirl1 Posted March 28, 2014 Posted March 28, 2014 (edited) The program with the most research opportunities, where you will be matched with a professor who can write you a fabulous LOR and fight for you during the admissions process to a PhD program. Talk to current students- figure out what they like/don't like about the program, what opportunities you will have, and what people tend to do after the program. Edit: If it wasn't clear, none of the variables you listed are particularly helpful in the decision process. Edited March 28, 2014 by PsychGirl1 Lisa44201 1
PsychGradHopeful14 Posted March 28, 2014 Posted March 28, 2014 The school you attended and a pre-existing relationship with faculty at a program can have an impact on the decision to admit you, despite what people may say. These are factors to consider because when multiple applicants are about equal, it can boil down to things like networking and school prestige. That being said, you shouldn't focus solely on that for making a decision between two master's programs. You want to boost your PhD application in more ways than just having a foot-in-the-door in one of these aspects. If it is between these two, you may want to consider where you will have more opportunities to stand out when applying to PhD programs, as well as whether you want to have options or are just trying to go PhD at your current school specifically.
4everastudent Posted March 28, 2014 Author Posted March 28, 2014 Thank you for the responses, it is greatly appreciated!
alyoshakaramazov Posted April 5, 2014 Posted April 5, 2014 I've heard that getting experience from multiple traing environments is desirable.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now