Research Experience and School Counseling

[galacticmisfit]

Hi Everyone!

I'm looking into applying into a Master's School Counseling program in California's public universities. I graduated with a BA, cum laude, in Psychology and in Political Science with a 3.7 GPA. I'm studying for the GREs right now so no scores yet. I have a lot of volunteer experience with elementary, junior and senior high students. Right now, I'm an AmeriCorps member thinking of doing a second year working with juvenile delinquents before teaching english for a year or two abroad and then applying for grad school. I looked over the applications for most of the programs I'm looking into and I feel kind of nervous that I don't have any publications, conferences, research experience or societies/associations on my vita. I worked for a psychiatry professor in my university on a sleep deprivation study conducting routine surveys but I'm not getting any publication or research credit for it. Apparently, AmeriCorps is suppose to look pretty impressive on one's resume, but I don't know.

What do you guys think? Is undergrad research experience important for a program like school counseling? Or am I better off with my volunteer and AmeriCorps experiences? Any advice on school counseling programs in general?

Thanks!