Fall 2016 School Psychology

[TN_Bella]

Nope, no word yet. Their website says that interview day is February 5th, so either that day is incorrect or I should hear something back soon!

[grad29]

I have an interview for a University in Wisconsin on Friday, January 29th. It's for one of my top choices, so I'm really nervous! It was for a January 10th program deadline. For a Masters/Specialist program. I'll let everyone know how it goes and post all the questions they end up asking, what it's like, etc... Wish me luck!!! 

Edited January 20, 2016 by westy3789

[estrella]

I'v had interview call backs from two universities so far ( School psych PhD). University of Minnesota ( my interview was awful, i messed it up) and university of california, riverside. Got rejected by North Eastern ( said they would prefer me as a masters candidate). I'm still waiting on two more. 

Ugh, waiting is torture. 

[grad29]

1 hour ago, estrella said:

 I've had interview call backs from two universities so far ( School psych PhD). University of Minnesota ( my interview was awful, i messed it up) and university of california, riverside. Got rejected by North Eastern ( said they would prefer me as a masters candidate). I'm still waiting on two more. 

Ugh, waiting is torture. 

What types of questions did they ask you for the phd interview? Congrats on even getting an interview at the u of m though, that's one of the toughest phd programs to get into

[TheProcess]

I applied to 4 EdS programs and no word yet either.  Good luck to all.

[ohhappyday]

I applied to all ma/specialist programs. 

William James college (MSPP)
William and Mary
Northeastern
Umass boston
East Carolina

haven't heard back from any of them yet, but the deadline for most was on Jan 15. So I'm being pretty impatient!
have any of you guys read this before? http://www.indeed.com/forum/job/School-Psychologist/School-psychology-career-pros-cons-please-advise/t236420
I know this is from a while back but this scared me so much, I almost didn't apply

[grad29]

Yes I read that. It almost scared me away as well, considering it was one of the first few things I read when I was looking into it all. One of the last posts on that thread describes it the best when he says that as long as you're willing to push through the first couple of years, get some experience, and find a district that works for you, it's totally a sustainable career. I think it has a lot to do with what state and district you work in, as far as how difficult the job will end up being. Like any career, sometimes you start off as the low man on the todem pole and have to work yourself up.

But being out of school for about 4 years, I can tell you that life is just as much of a grind with just a degree in psychology. Working 60-80 hours per week barely bringing in $40,000 a year working in group homes, school psychology will be a step up for me and what most people would experience.

Lastly, a lot of people on that thread were from Southern California districts, where it seems that jobs are nowhere near as numerous, or as sustainable. You could also say that most people who are motivated to post on a thread of pros and cons are those who are unhappy with their jobs. Some of the difficulties mentioned probably stand true for most, but I bet any pro and con thread of any occupation is going to focus more on the negatives than the positives. 

Once you're able to find a good district, you'll make $60,000+ with benefits, holidays, weekends ,summers off, and doing something that you can be proud of -  that's worth a few years of hopping around and struggling. 

Edited January 20, 2016 by westy3789

[kingslayer]

Congrats on the interviews, everyone! My first is next week. Hopefully we all hear something back soon. I have one acceptance so far, though I didn't interview for it, so I may have to call and ask if it's legit before I get too excited. I need to enroll in a yoga class asap

[ohhappyday]

6 hours ago, westy3789 said:

Yes I read that. It almost scared me away as well, considering it was one of the first few things I read when I was looking into it all. One of the last posts on that thread describes it the best when he says that as long as you're willing to push through the first couple of years, get some experience, and find a district that works for you, it's totally a sustainable career. I think it has a lot to do with what state and district you work in, as far as how difficult the job will end up being. Like any career, sometimes you start off as the low man on the todem pole and have to work yourself up.

But being out of school for about 4 years, I can tell you that life is just as much of a grind with just a degree in psychology. Working 60-80 hours per week barely bringing in $40,000 a year working in group homes, school psychology will be a step up for me and what most people would experience.

Lastly, a lot of people on that thread were from Southern California districts, where it seems that jobs are nowhere near as numerous, or as sustainable. You could also say that most people who are motivated to post on a thread of pros and cons are those who are unhappy with their jobs. Some of the difficulties mentioned probably stand true for most, but I bet any pro and con thread of any occupation is going to focus more on the negatives than the positives. 

Once you're able to find a good district, you'll make $60,000+ with benefits, holidays, weekends ,summers off, and doing something that you can be proud of -  that's worth a few years of hopping around and struggling. 

yea I hope that the job opportunities arent as scarce as the people on there have stated. thanks for your insight

[grad29]

53 minutes ago, ohhappyday said:

yea I hope that the job opportunities arent as scarce as the people on there have stated. thanks for your insight

Every program except 1 of the 8 I applied for have 100% employment placements. Although that attests to the vibe of that thread, meaning that, there's a reason why 100% of graduates find jobs after finishing...there's a lot of school psychology positions out there with high turnover. Yes there's also a high demand for school psychologists in general, but I bet a lot of that "demand" is created by districts with high turnover. However I'd much rather have a bad position than no position and like I said, after the first few years of struggling you should be able to find a "good district" to work for. That seems to be the common thinking of people in that field. Whether or not that holds true for me, only time will tell

Edited January 21, 2016 by westy3789

[estrella]

11 hours ago, estrella said:

Pretty easy ones. It was my nervous-ness that got in the way. I'd prepared for detailed difficult questions. They asked me "why school psychology, why uofm , and how do I handle conflict". 

I feel much better about my riverside interview though. Won't be that nervous. 

So U of M put me on the waitlist. ARGH. 

[monthofmay]

Hey everyone, 

Has anyone heard from UMass Boston's PhD program yet? In the past interviews have gone out around this time. Thanks! Good luck to all!

[grad29]

The interview I have coming up is 5 hours long. That's a very long time. I'm guessing they are having some sort of group thing, bringing in other potential applicants along with me and taking the time to show the campus and program information, etc..., then individual interviews sometime throughout. Is that normal?! That's like spending the entire weekend at your girlfriend's family's house the first time you meet them. I imagine myself doing much better sitting down for an hour answering questions, then I would having to find professional things to talk about with other graduate students and worrying whether I'm chewing with my mouth open/other random things. Feel me? Tips??! I'm freaking out over here!

Edited January 23, 2016 by westy3789

[kingslayer]

1 hour ago, westy3789 said:

The interview I have coming up is 5 hours long. That's a very long time. I'm guessing they are having some sort of group thing, bringing in other potential applicants along with me and taking the time to show the campus and program information, etc..., then individual interviews sometime throughout. Is that normal?! That's like spending the entire weekend at your girlfriend's family's house the first time you meet them. I imagine myself doing much better sitting down for an hour answering questions, then I would having to find professional things to talk about with other graduate students and worrying whether I'm chewing with my mouth open/other random things. Feel me? Tips??! I'm freaking out over here!

I think that's normal! All of the schools that have contacted me all offer a half/full day interview. I actually would prefer it. It's a good chance to show your personality, ask really good questions, find out if they're nice, ect ect. I'm actually really upset that all of my interviews are via Skype. On one hand it's great because I don't have to compare myself with others who are there (and the focus can be on me & the school's awesomeness), but on the other hand I'm super afraid of it negatively impacting my application.

I hope one day they offer an option where they can facetime or skype you during the campus tour if you can't actually be there.

Good luck!

[grad29]

What do you think is the ratio for school psychology masters/specialist programs of the number of students invited for an on campus interview to the number of those applicants who receive offers? I'm sure they can't give 100% of the people acceptances, but I would think it would be a lot higher than the clinical programs, where supposedly they invite about twice as many people in for on campus interviews than they can accept. So maybe it's like 75% of the people will be accepted that would go to this, what do you think?

[TN_Bella]

7 hours ago, westy3789 said:

What do you think is the ratio for school psychology masters/specialist programs of the number of students invited for an on campus interview to the number of those applicants who receive offers? I'm sure they can't give 100% of the people acceptances, but I would think it would be a lot higher than the clinical programs, where supposedly they invite about twice as many people in for on campus interviews than they can accept. So maybe it's like 75% of the people will be accepted that would go to this, what do you think?

UT-Austin posted on their website that 50+ for PhD and 60+ for Masters apply, they interview 25-30, and they accept 10-15 (combined). 

Edited January 25, 2016 by TN_Bella

[ohhappyday]

i am dying waiting around for some sort of reply from the schools I applied to. I was not a psychology major for undergrad so I know my chances are pretty slim but still I am so anxious! How many schools did everyone apply to? phD or masters? 

[grad29]

 

5 hours ago, TN_Bella said:

UT-Austin posted on their website that 50+ for PhD and 60+ for Masters apply, they interview 25-30, and they accept 10-15 (combined). 

Okay, thanks for that information, so about 50% at UT-Austin. The programs I applied to do not have a PHD program at their university, so I'm thinking the universities that do are bigger and would have more applications.  I would guess that at the interview I'm attending, they'll bring in about 20 candidates and select around 12-14. They have two interview dates, so I guess I'll find out how many people go, multiply it by 2, and make sure to ask how large the cohort is!

[grad29]

I have another interview at UW-Whitewater this upcoming Wednesday. That was the most competitive of the programs I applied to, so that they are interested is nice. What's also nice is its only 2.5 hours instead of 5! 

I worked 102 hours last week, so I'm going to need to quit a part time job just so I can get through this month prepared and alive by the end of it. I wish it were March!

Edited January 25, 2016 by westy3789

[childlover]

I applied to 5 masters/specialist programs! I wanted to see if anyone has heard anything?! 

1. Florida State University

2. Northeastern

3. Columbia

4. St. John's University

5. UMass Boston

[ohhappyday]

I also applied to Northeastern and Umass Boston! Haven't heard anything back yet. goodluck! and please let me know if you do later!

[grad29]

Here are the types of questions I came up with that might be asked, if anyone can think of any others feel free to chime in. I know that if I have a bullet of ideas in my head about a certain question it will help me feel prepared and less nervous:

Why school psychology, why our program, tell me about yourself, what is school psychology, what are some of your life experiences that will help you out as a school psychologist, what are a few of your strengths and weaknesses, what are your career goals, what research topics are you interested in learning more about, why should we accept you....more?

[kingslayer]

Just finished my first Skype interviews ever!

It was quite intimidating.  I kept hearing myself say "you guys" and other fun ~~professional~~ phrases such as that, but I couldn't stop myself. Grrr. Trying to keep positive thoughts right now.

50 minutes ago, westy3789 said:

Why school psychology, why our program, tell me about yourself, what is school psychology, what are some of your life experiences that will help you out as a school psychologist, what are a few of your strengths and weaknesses, what are your career goals, what research topics are you interested in learning more about, why should we accept you....more?

I was also asked these questions, along with "What would your employer say about you?" and "What are your research interests?"

[grad29]

Ha! Nice. I'm sure you did fine. I'm just afraid at saying "ughhh" when asked a question I don't expect when I'm trying to think of something intelligent to say. That's what freaks me out a bit is wanting to give good answers but not being able to think of them fast enough under pressure. I'll come up with a few research topics I find interesting in case they ask.

I wrote a paper for one of the programs about the relationship between extracurricular participation and academic performance, so that's something I could talk more in depth about. I'll have to come up with a few others though. 

 

[Love3]

5 hours ago, westy3789 said:

Here are the types of questions I came up with that might be asked, if anyone can think of any others feel free to chime in. I know that if I have a bullet of ideas in my head about a certain question it will help me feel prepared and less nervous:

Why school psychology, why our program, tell me about yourself, what is school psychology, what are some of your life experiences that will help you out as a school psychologist, what are a few of your strengths and weaknesses, what are your career goals, what research topics are you interested in learning more about, why should we accept you....more?

Tell me about your experience working with children. Tell me about your previous research experience. Why EdS instead of PhD or vice versa (depending on what program you are applying to)? What qualities do you feel are important for a school psychologist? One school even asked: Tell me about time that I was placed in leadership position and how I handled it.