Antioch NE PsyD program

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jtb

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I am interested in Antioch's program and having scoured the forum I have seen a positive recommendation and a few negative but the negatives did not have a great deal of depth regarding the "why" of these appraisals. Any folks out there who have visited, applied, been accepted, attended or declined care to shed some light on the subject for me? It does appear that their full APA accreditation must be fairly recent as 2005 posts comment on how they are not but their website notes they have full accreditation. Thanks in advance for any and all info.
Josh

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Antioch has been APA accredited since 1988. Students there attend on a unique schedule where they go one or two (very long and intense) days a week. Its interesting and I have met a graduate who enjoyed her experience there. I thought I'd go there but I decided that I did not wish to relocate to New England. The Antioch universities across the country form a system of institutions and are known for their nontraditional approach to education. For me that was a big draw since I am attracted to schools that are based on the ideas of John Dewey and progressive education movement. I can't speak to any specifics beyond that.;)
 
JTB, I have PMed you with some information regarding your inquiries concerning ANE. Please feel free to contact me if you are still looking for information.
 
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I am an Antioch alum. I am reluctant to label the program good or bad--that really depends upon what your career goals are (i.e., is the program a good match for your needs?). However, there are some factual issues that I believe are important for students considering ANE's program to be aware of:

1. Although their overall match rate has remained strong (90-95%) over the past 5 years, their APA match rate has steadily declined, from 85% to 50%. This suggests that as the match imbalance grows, Antioch students are being perceived by internship directors as less competitive for internship.

2. Tuition increases at Antioch are routine and take place in a clandestine fashion (students are not forewarned, the reasons for the tuition hikes are not addressed, and students are not given an opportunity to comment). For me, this increase meant borrowing an additional $10K dollars over the course of my education (on top of an already steep tuition).

3. Antioch has a unique schedule that can seem appealing at first, especially for non-traditional students who cannot relocate to attend school, but this apparent convenience is deceiving. Generally speaking, students attend classes one day per week and then arrange for practicum training at sites throughout New England (the idea being that the student should be able to find practicum training in their own community--sounds great, right?). In reality, my own experience (and that of many of my classmates) was that we had to go to great inconvenience to secure and attend practicum training (e.g., multiple relocations, lengthy commutes and/or overnight lodgings, etc.). Further, because practicum sites are independent of Antioch, the nature and quality of training at these sites varies tremendously.

4. If you attend Antioch, be prepared to spend countless hours writing. Professors there seldom use traditional methods of documentation (examinations). Instead, documentation is in the form of written assignments. Depending on your preferences, this could be good or bad.
 
Thanks for all of the seasoned advice, those are definite factors that can make or break a program for a student. The only factor that worries me is the APA internship match rate. I plan on working in a VA after school, and an APA accredited internship is required. I have talked with an admissions representative as well as a staff member who seem confident that if properly motivated I will be able to attain this goal. I would really appreciate any more feedback that you have about the program, both positive and negative.
 
I am also an Antioch U. Student. I wanted to clarify some of the above points. Firstly, the Antioch system is non-traditional, so yes this means that essays and not standardized measures will be utilized. I have found that tuition, even with 3% increases used many but not all years, is still competitive with other PsyD programs. These increase can be compensated for through work-study research positions, or even some scholarships. Antioch is a growing force in the clinical community, Santa Barbara and Seattle Campuses are conforming to APA standards in order to get their accreditation status. Furthermore as non-profit the Antioch System has more integrity towards tuition increases than for-profit schools. ANE is not for everyone, go and visit, talk to students and faculty, it is just right for the right kind of students.
 
I just wanted to mention that I'm pretty sure the majority of programs employ papers and other writing for course grades. Heh, even my exams for statistics class were essays :). So, if anyone reading this thread sees extensive writing as a potential drawback to a program...um, I guess I'm not sure what to tell you.
 
Is it true that this program does not use grades? Does this mean no GPA, no test grades etc ?
 
I just wanted to mention that I'm pretty sure the majority of programs employ papers and other writing for course grades. Heh, even my exams for statistics class were essays :). So, if anyone reading this thread sees extensive writing as a potential drawback to a program...um, I guess I'm not sure what to tell you.

I was wondering about that as well. I've taken a few classes outside the department that had some MC exams (mostly stats), and a handful of classes within the department had exams that involved MC in addition to other components. However, the dominant model by far is writing (well, and "doing" when it comes to classes that involve clinical skills). As it should be in my opinion. You learn a lot more, rote memorization is largely irrelevant at this level, and well...in the real world we will all likely be writing plenty of notes, reports, and manuscripts but we sure as hell won't be taking MC exams.
 
Is it true that this program does not use grades? Does this mean no GPA, no test grades etc ?

Antioch University New England does not have a traditional grading system, which can be frustrating to students acclimated to a more traditional grading rubric. In the one year that spent in the MA program, I found that the grading system could be a bit subjective at first glance, but the thorough and professional explanations and critiques of student's work made up for the lack of the traditional grading system. I personally respond well to this grading system, due mostly due to the thorough feedback that has greatly helped my future work.
 
Antioch University New England does not have a traditional grading system, which can be frustrating to students acclimated to a more traditional grading rubric. In the one year that spent in the MA program, I found that the grading system could be a bit subjective at first glance, but the thorough and professional explanations and critiques of student's work made up for the lack of the traditional grading system. I personally respond well to this grading system, due mostly due to the thorough feedback that has greatly helped my future work.


Do they use a narrative form of grading? The original Antioch in Yellow Springs was a school that utilized narrative grades and was at the vanguard of non-traditional student-centered education. There are still a few schools such as Goddard College, Prescott College and perhaps a few others that eschew "grades" and instead focus on detailed narratives of student's individual strengths and weaknesses. Fielding was part of the progressive educational movement and still uses detailed narratives feedback in addition to letter grades. I have come to value narrative feedback greatly. Is Antioch similar in providing narrative feedback?
 
ANE's grading system is comprised of a scale that includes "Outstanding, Excellent, Very Good, Satisfactory, Needs Improvement," and so on. At first, it brought me back to grammar school when these classifications were used to assess quality of work. "Outstanding" grades are extremely difficult to achieve, as the school declares that if a student achieves an "Outstanding" grade, their work is up to par with professional standards and ability. Although these grades are subjective, and depth of feedback attached to them is extremely meaningful and beneficial to continual academic and professional improvement.
 
Is it true that this program does not use grades? Does this mean no GPA, no test grades etc ?

Let me clarify this point, instead of a standard grade e.g. A- you get a narrative grade, e.g. a paragraph or two from each of your professors, explaining your progress. After that you do get a marking e.g. Outstanding, or Passing with reservations..... These can be formulated by the registrar to give you a GPA if you ever need one for transfer... SO in short there are grades but they arn't written as A B C D F but can be converted to this format if you need it.
-good luck
 
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Could anyone here give me information on what the interview process is like? Specifically, I would like to know:
1. What attire is expected
2. What I should bring as far as materials
3. Any other helpful bits of advice
I interview in 3 weeks - thanks so much in advance!
 
Could anyone here give me information on what the interview process is like? Specifically, I would like to know:
1. What attire is expected
2. What I should bring as far as materials
3. Any other helpful bits of advice
I interview in 3 weeks - thanks so much in advance!

1. Always wear business attire, i.e. suit, pantsuit, or other professional dress. Treat it like a job interview.

2. Bring copies of your CV.
 
you also might want to brush up on your knowledge of Ravens and their affinity with humans.

Is this the place that allowed that dissertation? Well, I guess the program is good if you really don't want anyone to take your "research" seriously.

Unless, of course, that raven dissertation was some kind of deep allegory for the ability of Raven's Progressive Matrices to determine the intellectual functioning in human subjects.
 
Is this the place that allowed that dissertation? Well, I guess the program is good if you really don't want anyone to take your "research" seriously.

Yes, it is.

http://www.antiochne.edu/dissertati...inity-on-merging-nature-and-the-human-psyche/

Unless, of course, that raven dissertation was some kind of deep allegory for the ability of Raven's Progressive Matrices to determine the intellectual functioning in human subjects.

Please, let this be true.
 
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Ravens aside, I've always wondered about Antioch. There was a campus for one not far from where I went to grad school, and I heard that there were no actual grading metrics for the undergraduates, but rather that the students assigned their own grades to themselves based on how they believed their performance to be. this cant be true...right?
 
It's a weird setup. IIRC they setup agreements to do XYZ and then they work towards those goals, as opposed to taking an exam and that's the grade. I think they are the same program where they meet in the afternoon and evenings and it's sort of like a commuter campus. I looked there over a decade ago and remember thinking it was kind of an odd-duck with how they did things. It wasn't necessarily bad, it was just odd.
 
IMO, I would stay away from Antioch for a Psyd. The tuition is absolutely ridiculous, not to mention the cost of living in that area. Their match rates have also gone down to numbers I would not be comfortable with. Like the previous poster mentioned, the 'research' that comes from the program is..I dont know the right word...not exactly taken seriously.

I do know some people who interviewed there, and the main consensus was that they "dodged a bullet" by not attending. I was told that during interviews, research was not discussed, and there did not seem to be much importance placed on it. Even if your goal is to do only therapy, having a majority of faculty who are not engaged in research is a red flag IMO.
 
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I lived in that area for several years post-masters. The local reputation was that it was a good school decades ago, but had become quite the sinking ship. It was one thing if you got a MA in the 70s or 80s, but anyone going there within the last 5-10 years were mostly people who couldn't leave the area for one reason or another (family for instance) or didn't have other options.
 
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