Best Student Affairs/College Personnel Programs

[SAgal]

Hello!

 

In my university, I have been very involved in student leadership. I've been a Resident Assistant, Senior Resident Assistant (head/leader of an RA staff), on the university's academic integrity board, student conduct board, peer mentor, and have founded a club. I want to continue working with college students, so I am pursuing a masters in student affairs/college personnel/higher education (so many different program names)!

 

I will be applying this upcoming fall for programs that start in the fall of 2016. I'm looking for a prestigious program that focuses on student counseling and development. I'd also like a program with plenty of assistantships.

 

What are your thoughts?

 

Also, is it true that student affairs programs that "require" the GRE don't place much weight on it? I have a stellar GPA, but will be taking the GRE at the end of the summer. I'd like to only have to take it once.

 

 

[higheredhopeful]

You seem like you have plenty of experience to apply to Master's programs right out of undergrad. I just finished the grad school search, but I was looking at programs focused less on counseling and more on administration/policy. If you have questions about the specific schools in my signature, let me know!

 

You can start your search here:

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-education-schools/student-counseling-rankings

 

I would also look at the recent issues of the ACPA's Journal of College Student Development and see what schools have members on the board + faculty who publish in it.

 

Could you clarify what you mean by prestigious? Education schools don't really come with the same ~*prestige*~ importance as business or law schools, for instance, and rankings from U.S. News and World Report aren't super relevant. Experience is the most valuable part of the hiring process after graduating, so you want to make sure you have the right assistantship/internships during grad school.

 

Most programs publish the median GRE scores of their students. As long as you aren't WAY off, you should be fine. I don't think GRE scores alone would ever disqualify someone.

[FeelTheBern]

I'm applying for Higher Education programs in the Fall as well. I'm interested to know how competitive the programs are, particularly ones that offer full funding.

I have a 3.8 cumulative GPA and I have a little over a year of experience working as the I-20 Coordinator for International Services and the Assistant Supervisor for Circulation and Reserves at my university. It doesn't look like any of my programs require the GRE. Any insight is greatly appreciated!

[FeelTheBern]

Thank you for the advice MAC2809! I noticed that you mentioned specific schools like UConn and U of Pacific as offering full funding. From the research I have done so far, it looks like almost every school offers Graduate or Teaching Assistantships, which cover tuition plus a stipend.

Were you referring to full-ride scholarships that those schools offered, or full assistantships?

Just wondering because I am only planning on applying to schools that offer some sort of funding by means of scholarships/assistantships.

 

Also, since you have gone through the application process, could you speak to the competitiveness of higher ed master's programs?

[LaDa]

This might sound crazy, but disregard those rankings! There isn't an online list of the top programs.

 

Student Affairs is a very tight-knit field, and you'll go farther based off your experiences and networking, more so than the rankings from a company where schools can "buy" their way into top slots (looking at US News Rankings).

 

From my research, the better schools for a master in Student Affairs or Higher Education include: University of Maryland - College Park, University of Vermont, Michigan State University, Bowling Green, Colorado State University, UCONN, and Indiana or The Ohio State (one of those red ones, I can't remember which). That's in no specific order - but your own list will develop its own order after you talk with the program and current grads. 

 

Good luck!

Edited June 14, 2015 by LaDa