Northcentral University...legit or not?

[grad_school_granny]

I had never considered this program before yesterday, but here's why I'm asking the question:

 

My local university is very nebulous about what they want in terms of volunteer experience/research in order to be accepted there. I wanted to get into their MSW program but in spite of repeated attempts to contact them to find out what kind of volunteer experience I need, I have gotten no response. I was able to speak with someone in the program and they just said to keep trying to contact the director (I've been trying for about 8 months) and that my current work with children wouldn't count.

 

I them looked into their LPC program and they want to know what research you've been involved in or "special projects". Well, that doesn't tell me much and they aren't very receptive to answering inquiries either. I'm middle aged and just last year graduated with my BA in Psychology and have never been involved in any research or special projects.

 

I made an appointment with a career counselor hoping she could help me sort through that they want from me and tell me if I'm even making the right decision at my age and she told me that she is doing her internship through Northcentral University online and told me what a great program it is. I talked to them and they do not even have a GPA requirement and are for profit. When I voiced my concerns to my career counselor about this she just said the program really is a good one. 

 

Everyone else tells me that online programs are a no go and that you won't get hired afterwards, but especially if you go to a for profit school. Does anyone here have any advice?

[lewin]

How is someone supposed to learn the practical interpersonal skills required to be a counsellor or social worker from an online course? I just don't see how that's possible. IMO, good impulse to be skeptical.

[grad_school_granny]

How is someone supposed to learn the practical interpersonal skills required to be a counsellor or social worker from an online course? I just don't see how that's possible. IMO, good impulse to be skeptical.

 

I asked the same question and was told that you learn this in practicum/internship.

[lewin]

I made an appointment with a career counselor hoping she could help me sort through that they want from me and tell me if I'm even making the right decision at my age and she told me that she is doing her internship through Northcentral University online and told me what a great program it is.

 

I think I misinterpreted this sentence to mean that the internship was online too.

 

Otherwise, I also think that personal contact with and mentorship from faculty is much more important at the graduate than undergraduate level. Though I'm in experimental not clinical so I don't have direct knowledge here.

Edited January 28, 2015 by lewin

[TXInstrument11]

This sounds like bad news to me too, especially if you have to pay for all of the tuition. I would definitely not take the risk without a second opinion from a professional, preferably in your field. Do you have any former professors to which you can address your questions? They can sometimes be a lot more helpful and knowledgeable (even for careers outside theirs) than you would think. If that's a no-go, you could try to contact Northcentral directly to see if they would be willing to give you graduate outcome stats, but you would need to be wary of sales pitches they may have ready. 

Edited January 28, 2015 by TXInstrument11

[grad_school_granny]

This sounds like bad news to me too, especially if you have to pay for all of the tuition. I would definitely not take the risk without a second opinion from a professional, preferably in your field. Do you have any former professors to which you can address your questions? They can sometimes be a lot more helpful and knowledgeable (even for careers outside theirs) than you would think. If that's a no-go, you could try to contact Northcentral directly to see if they would be willing to give you graduate outcome stats, but you would need to be wary of sales pitches they may have ready. 

I actually did contact them regarding stats and I was told that the stats are on their webpage...somewhere...I'm still looking for those. Also, was told that the school does not keep stats on how many students actually were licensed or became therapists, that's something only individual states would have knowledge of. 

[TXInstrument11]

I actually did contact them regarding stats and I was told that the stats are on their webpage...somewhere...I'm still looking for those. Also, was told that the school does not keep stats on how many students actually were licensed or became therapists, that's something only individual states would have knowledge of. 

To me, that last part sounds kind of odd. I thought it was relatively common for schools to follow up with their grads. Many simply send out surveys which, while not completely accurate, can give a decent indication of outcomes. Maybe you could contact a few schools you're not interested in just to get an idea of their competition? You could compare how open these other schools are with their info and how they approach conversations with you compared to Northcentral. 

Edited January 28, 2015 by TXInstrument11

[grad_school_granny]

To me, that last part sounds kind of odd. I thought it was relatively common for schools to follow up with their grads. Many simply send out surveys which, while not completely accurate, can give a decent indication of outcomes. Maybe you could contact a few schools you're not interested in just to get an idea of their competition? You could compare how open these other schools are with their info and how they approach conversations with you compared to Northcentral. 

 It does sound very odd. I have spent the entire day researching other programs and have posted to the Social Work forum to see if anyone has any info on the Western New Mexico online MSW.

[Generis]

I wouldn't do it. For profits are going broke left and right, and the government is begining to crack down. Also when you are competing with the other handfuls of MSW students produced every year, it could be something like online vs. in person education that makes the difference. Plus their course content isn't as regulated, and in this field, it's probably be best to have more of that face to face interaction.

A lot of colleges (i.e. the CSUs in California) have online programs that are much cheaper and more highly respected. I'm just not sure if they offer MSWs

Good luck to you!