counseling phd?

[Student4Life0]

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Hey all,

I have been advised to apply to counseling phd programs as well as the psyd programs that I am applying to. I have been told that they are slightly less stringent with their admissions, and would be easier to get into. Also, I have found a few that are fully funded (a big plus for me!!!) Does anyone have any advice regarding the counseling phd? The big programs that I am looking at right now are Boston College and University of Miami. From what I have read, both are funded and look like a good fit for me. Any advice?

 

[deleted176373]

Hey all,

I have been advised to apply to counseling phd programs as well as the psyd programs that I am applying to. I have been told that they are slightly less stringent with their admissions, and would be easier to get into. Also, I have found a few that are fully funded (a big plus for me!!!) Does anyone have any advice regarding the counseling phd? The big programs that I am looking at right now are Boston College and University of Miami. From what I have read, both are funded and look like a good fit for me. Any advice?

I would add Texas A&M to the mix...

I was in a position where I could have chosen from Clin Ph.D., Clin Psy.D., Counseling Ph.D., and Counseling Psy.D.; I decided to rank them partially by the long term financial impact that these different training programs would have on my life and ended up with a decision to rank funded programs over non-funded programs.

Most of my rankings ended up like this:

Clin Ph.D. (All funded)
Coun Ph.D. (All funded)
Clin Psy.D. (Some funded)
Coun Psy.D. (all non-funded)

Now there were exceptions to this overall progression, I ranked Baylor high on my list because of proximity to my spouse, funding, duration and research match. It was a Psy.D. program but was certainly in my top 5 list of places to go. I ranked it higher than a Counseling Ph.D. program I was accepted to, but lower than the Clinical Ph.D. program I eventually decided to attend.

Obviously funding, while important, is not the only factor.

For me, my factors were:

Program Duration
APPIC Match Rate
Location (proximity to spouse)
Ability to pursue military psychology relevant research
Funding
Training philosophy (Ph.D v Psy.D and Clinical v Counseling)

You will no doubt have your own list of priorities. You should define what is important to you, then decide which programs meet those criteria. For me, non-funded programs were not an option. I couldn't afford to do it.

Mark

 

[docma]

University of Oregon also has an excellent program and the combined program at UCSB is well-regarded.

 

[Student4Life0]

thank you!

yes funding is becoming an issue for me. i am already accumulating quite a bit of debt in my unfunded masters program. my only worry is that my gre scores are not competitive enough. i wont even say what i got the first time i took them (2 years ago...horrendous), but i am re taking them in a month. the problem is, i really dont see scoring higher than the 1100 range...maybe 1200.

so this puts me in a bad spot. everything else is pretty solid...research and clinical experience, 3.9 GPA, solid LOR. i have been told that i interview very well. but with those scores (and lack of publications), i know i am not competitive for phd clinical programs. that is why i am hoping that perhaps phd counseling programs will be less stringent. however, the programs that i am looking at only admit 6-8 students. with my gre scores..i fear that i will end up at an unfunded psyd program, and while i would still be happy to get into a good psyd program, i fear that 200,000+ in debt is going to be a bad move...

 

[stigmata]

Colorado State Univ.

 

[docma]

Don't talk yourself out of success. Counseling psych programs are fewer; they also probably have on average fewer apps per position and they are often looking for students with master's degrees already and some experience base. Ironically, programs that are less "competitive" also have the advantage of being able to look in more detail at the whole person, not just the stats. If you present yourself convincingly and are in the ballpark for GREs you may be pleasantly surprised. It certainly doesn't make sense to discount yourself before you've started. Especially if you can look broadly geographically you may have good options. In urban areas the prof schools have often put "counseling psych" programs out of business (Northwestern, Stanford, for example, may been impacted by the proliferation of competing programs and the downturn in funding of Schools of Education---but that is shifting and if you look at a wide geographic range there are good options.)