"Help me decide" mega thread
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- choosing programs clinical psychology cw liu post george washington university help deciding liu clinical psyd liu post liu post psyd liu psyd long island university psyd pacific pacific university psy.d psychology psyd sopp the wright institute university of hartford university of hartford clinical university of hartford psyd wright state wright state university
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Wow.
That was a lot...
Well unfortunately we can only really provide feedback on what we are given. It's a pattern on here that people question the financial decision of taking on an unfunded program (PsyD or PhD). Saying, "what is it to you?" seems counter to your original intention of asking for advice. Once you got your advice on your original question (which of these following PsyD's should I attend), you could have very easily stopped responding. However, your continued engagement with this topic possibly signaled (falsely) to others that you were looking for more advice. In addition, no one is saying you can't make whatever decision you are making. But as helping people, most people on this forum are interested in providing information. If you peruse the answers you've received, none have said at any point, "DO NOT ATTEND A PSYD." And honestly, no one will care if you do. But they do seem to care enough to tell you what other options may exist and how they may be similar to what you want, but with more funding. If that is not comfortable for you to hear, that's fine. Again, you do you man.
I am in a PhD program. And I had friends who went to PsyD programs. When they were making decisions, we had the very same discussions many have on this forum about cost, loans, future regrets etc... Some chose funded PsyDs. Others chose unfunded because they felt the training was right for them and their parents would pay. I have certainly said in other posts I've made that if a person can pay and wont be wracked with debt, that's their decision to make and to go with the program with the best outcomes. Others have argued that the money could go toward other things and that has merit too. I understand your impulse to justify a life decision you're already pretty set on making. I've certainly done the same myself.
My program is balanced, fully funded, and has a 100% match rate so I am very confident in my decision and currently don't regret it and doubt I ever will. At least not in the sense that I spent money on something I wont be able to pay back without serious cost to my well-being in the future. I also don't regret the additional 2 years I spent bettering my resume in order to get into such a program, even though it meant I started my PhD at 29 instead of 27. Others might feel differently and, again, that's fine.
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Hello everyone! Pleeeease help me decide between the following programs!!!
I received an offer from the Rutgers GSAPP PsyD (General) program. I also received a fellowship for $12,000 which is associated with an 8-hour weekly professional activity. This means I will have to pay about $17,000 (since I am an out-of-state student) plus living expenses to go to Rutgers.
I also received an offer from the St. John's University Clinical Psychology PhD program. I haven't received a fellowship but received a tuition-remission from this program. This means that it will be much cheaper to attend St. John's than Rutgers GSAPP.
What do you guys think I should do? My priority is becoming a clinician, but I would also like to keep my options open for teaching and research. I think that Rutgers GSAPP has a better program and reputation than St. Johns, but is it worth paying that much? I am not really interested in any of the research that faculty at St John's is conducting, but I understand that it is not a very research-heavy program anyway. One other factor in my decision is the location of the school--Rutgers is in New Jersey, while St. John's is in Queens (which means I'll get to live in NYC if I go to St. John's). Anybody who goes to St. John's who can tell me more about the program?
Thanks in advance!!
I received an offer from the Rutgers GSAPP PsyD (General) program. I also received a fellowship for $12,000 which is associated with an 8-hour weekly professional activity. This means I will have to pay about $17,000 (since I am an out-of-state student) plus living expenses to go to Rutgers.
I also received an offer from the St. John's University Clinical Psychology PhD program. I haven't received a fellowship but received a tuition-remission from this program. This means that it will be much cheaper to attend St. John's than Rutgers GSAPP.
What do you guys think I should do? My priority is becoming a clinician, but I would also like to keep my options open for teaching and research. I think that Rutgers GSAPP has a better program and reputation than St. Johns, but is it worth paying that much? I am not really interested in any of the research that faculty at St John's is conducting, but I understand that it is not a very research-heavy program anyway. One other factor in my decision is the location of the school--Rutgers is in New Jersey, while St. John's is in Queens (which means I'll get to live in NYC if I go to St. John's). Anybody who goes to St. John's who can tell me more about the program?
Thanks in advance!!
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NYC is one of the most expensive cities in the country and will definitely be significantly more expensive than New Brunswick, so don't underestimate the living expenses differential. Honestly, you'll be so busy and poor during grad school that living in NYC probably won't be as big of a benefit as you'd think.
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Hey! Thanks for the advice! I got into the adult track at St. Johns
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I feel like Baylor would have a bone to pick with you.
I agree. Rutgers has a much better reputation than St. John's. Also, in regards to location, as someone who has lived in both areas, go with Rutgers. New Brunswick has the same nightlife as Manhattan, just on a smaller scale, and cheaper, if you happen to find the time. Also, Manhattan is actually an easier commute on public transit than if you were going to try to get there from that part of Queens. Neither area is cheap, but NYC is significantly worse in regards to COL. Also, if you move to the area, you could most likely get in-state tuition after the 1st year, so that could cut down on cost.
Well said.
Final update for anyone who cares: I was accepted to one of my wait-list options and offered tuition remission with a scholarship to cover remaining costs. Additionally, the school is located near relatives so I won't have to worry about rent/living costs. I will be attending. I guess I won't have to worry about those dreaded loans after all.
Thank you to those who provided genuine feedback and advice, good luck to the others.
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Trying to decide between Widener and Roosevelt. Widener was always my top choice but will end up costing double of what Widener costs. Help!!!!!!
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I have to choose! Help!
Roosevelt is only 20,000 a year and in Chicago which is a city I know and love. There seemed to be a lot of support for the students, and a cohort size of 20 seems just big enough to be able to choose friends, but still have small classes.
DU is like...40 or 50,000. BUT you can do it in only 3 years. Thing is, everyone I talked to said that most people do not, and end up with a forth year. Denver is a cool city, but I don't know anyone there/haven't really been there. Also, the cohort size is a bit worrisome- 40 or so.
What do you guys think? The clock is ticking. I am leaning towards Roosevelt but thought I would ask the vast Internets first...
Anyone have opinions?
I'm having trouble choosing between widener and Roosevelt. Any insights here would be greatly appreciated too!
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Your post is unclear, which one was your top choice? Roosevelt has the better national reputation. Widener likes to sell their captive internship as a strength, but dodging the appic match really isn’t a good thing. Roosevelt also has smaller cohorts and a strong APA match rate. What’re your interests? How do your research interests match with the faculty at either school?
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Thank you so much for your quick reply. Widener had always been my top choice due to its human sexuality dual degree program and CBT track. Ive wanted to go there for years. That said, I know that there are many routes to becoming a sex therapist. I dont necessarily need the masters to work within my desired population.
Though widener has been my first choice school, I have no savings and will require 100% loans. While both schools have offered me scholarships, I have done the math and Widener still comes out to around $50k more, not taking into account that i will need to get a car.
I dont really know the reputation of either school. Which school holds higher esteem? How are each schools viewed within their community? Are there any students on this thread of either school?
Any insight you may have, I would greatly appreciate.
Thank you!
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Hi!
So I have currently been accepted to 3 schools: University of Indianapolis, University of Hartford, and Marywood University.
So far, I have only been offered a scholarship at Marywood University of $4,000 annually for 4 years.
I am also waitlisted at PGSP-Stanford Consortium & Loyola University Maryland.
If I have to choose between one of the 3 schools above, is there one with a better reputation?
My biggest concern with Marywood is the APA internship match rate.
With Hartford, I was concerned about the vibe I got from the students and the increasingly long time it takes for students to graduate. They also did not have an on-campus clinic.
I really liked University of Indianapolis!!
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!
So I have currently been accepted to 3 schools: University of Indianapolis, University of Hartford, and Marywood University.
So far, I have only been offered a scholarship at Marywood University of $4,000 annually for 4 years.
I am also waitlisted at PGSP-Stanford Consortium & Loyola University Maryland.
If I have to choose between one of the 3 schools above, is there one with a better reputation?
My biggest concern with Marywood is the APA internship match rate.
With Hartford, I was concerned about the vibe I got from the students and the increasingly long time it takes for students to graduate. They also did not have an on-campus clinic.
I really liked University of Indianapolis!!
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!
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Marywood does not have a good reputation. There are many internships that will not consider apps from such places. UofI and PGSP have much better reputations. Hartford has an ok reputation. At that point, I'd be looking at the total overall debt load when I was done and choose whatever kept me below 40k, if possible.
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Thank you very much! I appreciate the advice.
I was informed that I'm in the top three on the waitlist for Loyola University Maryland. What is their reputation in comparison to the other schools I listed?
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Which school did you decide to go with? I'll be attending the University of Indianapolis!
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I'm still on a waitlist for Adelphi.
MHlady2014
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Hi! I'm really interested in doing the Ph.D at Arizona State University...for many reasons, including financial and personal on the location of Arizona. But I'm a bit worried. I noticed that the school's entire list of match sites that students have already matched at in the past only has 3 in the state of Arizona. Why does it look like all the Ph.D's (and heard the Psy.D's too) are leaving the state? I called the college and they said many leave to complete post docs in another state as well. I believe post doc isn't currently required in AZ, but I was told they do have them around. Can anyone shed some light on all this? I don't want to pick the wrong school and location since I want to settle down in AZ after finishing the program. I understand that I can't really pick during the match, but are there really only like 3 places to match in AZ? Why do people keep going out of state? Thanks for any info!
According to the APA website, there are 10 accredited pre-doctoral internships in Arizona. It's not uncommon for people to move for internship. You can always move back to AZ after completing the program. Also, are you planning to apply to more than 1 program? PhDs are incredibly competitive, and putting all your eggs in one basket can be a dangerous game.
MHlady2014
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Okay, that makes sense. I know they are competitive. I'm going to apply to most of the schools in the area, and some are Psy.D. I really don't have an issue with going to one over the other. I'm jut potentially trying to stay in state and I don't know why everyone is leaving. Is 10 a low number?
Psychology is a pretty transient field as a whole. Because research fit is such a huge component of program acceptance, the people who limit themselves geographically can hinder their likelihood of getting into a good program. The more common view is too focus on training first and location second. After you are done with training, you can always settle down wherever it is you'd like to be. Compared to the general size of the state of Arizona and population density, I don't think 10 is that low of a number. The main thing is also looking at what types of opportunities are available. Someone who is interested in neuro is probably not going to complete a UCC internship. You should look at what your specific training goals are and if the available internships match those goals. You can also maybe try to send an email to the DCT at ASU or your potentially faculty of interest. The good news is that you have a lot of time to do your research in the time before apps are due for next cycle.
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THis is true not just of grad programs themselves, but also internships and post docs. If you geographically limit your applications for internship, you risk not matching to an APA accredited cite, which is a huge deal.
People are "leaving," because that's the norm in psychology. Clinical psychology doctoral programs are arguably the most competitive in terms of admissions, especially as funded programs typically take less than 10 new students each year. People who are serious about being competitive for grad school apply widely across the country, lest they severely hinder their chances of admission. Similarly, students that want to match to APA accredited internship sites (you definitely want to do this, the alternative is very bad) also apply broadly, typically across the country. Post doc might give you more flexibility about moving or not moving, depending on what you want, but, depending on what you specifically want to do (e.g., a specialty like neuropsych, forensic, or rehab psych), you may need to move again to get the best training possible and set you up for the future.
But this is all putting the cart before the horse. What exactly is it that you want to do for a career? Private practice therapy? Assessment? Forensic work? Neuropsych? Teaching? Research?
Honestly, my guess is that most of the people DON'T actually want to stay in Arizona and so are matching at places outside of Arizona on purpose and not because they couldn't find something in the state. Clinical PhD programs especially (less so for PsyD) tend to attract younger people who are in their mid to late 20s when facing internship year. Most of those people aren't restricted geographically due to family, spouses, etc... and so are highly interested in exploring another area of the country for a year and are highly likely to want to go after a major city or just not the general state where they did their degree.
If Arizona were a highly competitive area like major cities (Chicago, NYC, Philly, LA, SF, etc...) then I'd say it's cuz it's just freakin hard but honestly Arizona isn't a highly sought after region for internships. 10 for the entire state is VERY low. I'm pretty sure any of the cities I listed above easily have 10 or even 20 in various areas of psychology (college counseling, VA, hospital, outpatient, etc...). So another reason might just be that Arizona does not have that many sites and so people match outside of Arizona because whatever is available in Arizona got snatched up by a student from a different school. You have to consider the fact that there are many different types of internship sites. If you want to do assessment work with adults, you'd probably wanna apply to a hospital or VA setting. There might only be 3-5 of those in Arizona and people typically apply to 17 internships. Then of those 3-5 sites, maybe only 3 actually match with your experience and expertise, and maybe only 1 puts you as their first choice. So even if you ranked ALL 3 as your top 3 and one maybe in Nevada or Colorado as your 4th, it's possible you'll end up in a different state due to the lack of sites in Arizona.
MHlady2014
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ASU and UA are the only reputable schools in AZ. The others are predatory diploma mills. Many of us making clinical internships will not consider internship/postdoc applications from the diploma mills. Check out the accredited match rates on APPIC for verification of this.
Yeah no problem! I can feel your pain when it comes to needing to stay in a certain geographic region. It's something I'm thinking about a lot, even though I'm a couple years away from internship year. On one hand you've got your career to think about that you've worked really hard for. On the other you have loved ones or other obligations that necessitate you stick around. And sometimes the ideal situation may not arise. It's tough for sure.
The_Random_Casual
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Hello, this is my first post here and I have been struggling to find some recent information on some schools I am thinking of applying to. I am hoping this forum can help me out and perhaps share some opinions on what's up. I just recently got my bachelors in psychology, and I am hoping to apply to graduate programs over this coming fall. I have a few researched, and in fact I am going to take my GRE today...of which I am not too confident, but we all got to do what we all got to do.
Regarding specific schools. I live in Southern California, and there are a few campuses near me that I am hoping to collect data on. Does anyone have any experiences with the Chicago School of Professional Psychology or John F. Kennedy University? From what I can tell, they both have many reviews both in support of them or against them. Ranging from systemic and shady practices, or actually not too bad, or decent. Like, I am going to be talking to some enrollment advisors and I think I will be asking them about this range of information, but I would want to go in knowing a little more. Though the fact they both have APA accreditation for their clinical psychology programs is a good sign, everything else concerns me.
Like, I am hoping that I do well in my GRE, or if I bomb it, that perhaps I will not be so horrible in late September or October because it looks like institutions that have GRE requirements are more reputable? Like from what I can tell universities like Azusa Pacific or Fuller are a little more reputable overall. I hope to stay in California because my family has been suffering some setbacks and I need to be available, but I need to do what I need to do.
So...yeah. Urm, anyone got any info or advice?
Regarding specific schools. I live in Southern California, and there are a few campuses near me that I am hoping to collect data on. Does anyone have any experiences with the Chicago School of Professional Psychology or John F. Kennedy University? From what I can tell, they both have many reviews both in support of them or against them. Ranging from systemic and shady practices, or actually not too bad, or decent. Like, I am going to be talking to some enrollment advisors and I think I will be asking them about this range of information, but I would want to go in knowing a little more. Though the fact they both have APA accreditation for their clinical psychology programs is a good sign, everything else concerns me.
Like, I am hoping that I do well in my GRE, or if I bomb it, that perhaps I will not be so horrible in late September or October because it looks like institutions that have GRE requirements are more reputable? Like from what I can tell universities like Azusa Pacific or Fuller are a little more reputable overall. I hope to stay in California because my family has been suffering some setbacks and I need to be available, but I need to do what I need to do.
So...yeah. Urm, anyone got any info or advice?
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I would avoid these schools. If I were to get an application for internship or a job candidate, that application finds its way right into my circular filing bin.
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APA accreditation should not be considered "a good sign" but the minimum standard for a clinical psychology program. To apply for APA-accredited predoctoral internships through the APPIC match, your program must have APA accreditation or be scheduled for an accreditation site visit. If you do not have an APA-accredited internship, then you essentially shoot yourself in the foot before you've even started.
Reviews may be helpful to learn about culture or environment, but the critical information is in the "Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data" spreadsheets that programs are required to post on their website. Look at the rate of placement in APA-accredited internships. The vast majority of programs place 100% of their students. There are some exceptions, especially with smaller cohorts (e.g., three out of four applicants matched, but the one unmatched applicant applied to too few sites or other reasons). However, with programs with larger cohort sizes like the ones you've listed, they need to be placing nearly all of their students. If you're going into clinical work, then look at the licensure percentage rate. California also posts rates of passing the EPPP for each program; look into that, as well.
How will you be paying? The programs you've listed are incredibly expensive and offer very little funding. Taking John F. Kennedy University as an example, their first-year tuition is $33,978. Based on their outcomes data, the average time to graduation is five years. Extrapolating leads to the program costing $169,890 in tuition alone. If you take out $175,000 in loans with a 25-year repayment plan at 6.6% interest -- the rate for federal Direct Unsubsidized loans -- then you can expect to be paying back $1,193 per month. That monthly payment can lock you out of a comfortable living, especially if you want to stay in California where the cost of living is already high.
Having said all of that, the norm for clinical psychology programs is to waive tuition and pay graduate students a stipend and to place them in APA-accredited internships, so it says a lot when a program can't do these things.
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What do you mean by "scholarships?" Are these full funding packages, just full/partial tuition waivers, etc.
What do you mean by "integrated - limited to PA?" A program should make you license-eligible throughout the country.
Edit: It appears they have a captive 2-year 3x a week internship (which sounds more like a regular practicum?), hence the 100% match rate. I suppose you could look into the possibility of internships through APPIC if you were interested. However, you would need to make sure you're competitive. Also, the scholarship appears to be for 1/3 of the tuition for 3 years, so not full tuition. I wasn't able to find an actual curriculum, just a listing of random certificates. The EPPP pass rates are about the same if you're looking at the Yeshiva Clinical; the combined track is lower.
I've heard ok things about both programs. They're both expensive. I would guess your research match and living preference (rural vs city) would be factors to take into consideration. I don't know if 1 necessarily has a significantly better reputation than the other, but I'm also a student. Others who are in the field may have a better assessment of reputation.
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Right, that's a captive internship. The reason that APA internship match rate is a good barometer of a program's success is because it shows how competitive the students are across the country for internship positions. When the school has it's own captive internship, the students don't really participate in the match, so match rate isn't an evaluative metric anymore. Therefore, it's harder to find out if the students from Widener are competitive when stacked against students from other programs since they don't have to compete with them.
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Then what's the overall cost of attendance (e.g., tuition, fees, books) after the scholarship? What is the realistic cost of living there?
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Those costs should really make it a no-go for either program. That debt is huge on its own, but factoring in compound interest is going to make it substantially worse. On top of that, the typical earnings for psychologists aren't commensurate with that level of debt, as opposed to, say, physicians. I wouldn't count on PSLF being there to alleviate that debt, especially in this political climate.
Beyond finances, as has already been noted, captive internships really aren't a good thing. I wouldn't consider it to be a "strong selling point" that a program had to set up a captive internship because they were having difficulty training their students to be competitive for internship. It's there way of compensating for and covering up deficiencies in their program. Instead of rectifying whatever programmatic problems they have and thereby increasing their internship numbers that way, they are taking the wrong path and just setting up an internship site that can't reject their students or accept more competitive applicants from other programs.
Furthermore, captive internships also limit what training opportunities you can receive. Internships aren't just about checking a box to get your degree and license. They are supposed to provide you with more advanced training beyond what you received in your grad program. A captive internship site can't possibly provide every possible type of training, which means that programs which rely on captive sites are limiting their training.
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I'm not just saying that it's a "hefty price," I'm saying that it's not worth it. It doesn't really matter how much you'd love being a psychologist, that level of debt ruins your quality of life so much that it's not worth doing.
There are a few PsyDs with better funding, but they are also as competitive as balanced PhDs, such as Baylor and Rutgers.
mjuniper42
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Hi, I need some help deciding between two clinical psychology PsyD programs! I got into Midwestern University-Glendale (Glendale, Arizona) and LaSalle University (Philadelphia, PA).
Midwestern-Glendale seems to have a poor reputation, although most of what I've read has been about the Downer's Grove location. 76% of their students complete it in three years (and then do their one year of internship), and they have a match rate of 88%. I know that attending a 3+1 program means sacrificing something in my education, so I would most likely take the optional 4th year. Their cohort size is about the same as the LaSalle, and their licensure rate is 85% (LaSalle's is 93%). The rate of attrition at both schools is 0.
If I chose Midwestern-Glendale, I would be close to family, friends, and all of my hobbies/lifestyle choices that I enjoy (very into the outdoors). The school has a poor reputation that seems to be improving. I got a better feel from the campus, and their students seemed happier.
If I chose LaSalle, the education would be better, but I'd be living in a place that I dislike. I wouldn't have much access to the things I enjoy, and I really don't like living in a big city like Philadelphia. I'm confident in my ability to make friends and meet people, so proximity to family and friends is just a perk of Midwestern, not a deciding factor.
I can't decide how much weight to put on quality of life vs quality of education. With an APA match rate of 88%, how crappy can Midwestern really be? I know I'd be a lot happier there than at LaSalle, but I don't want to jeopardize my future with this choice. Just a note, the financial aspects of both programs are equivalent for my situation, so that does not play a factor.
Midwestern-Glendale seems to have a poor reputation, although most of what I've read has been about the Downer's Grove location. 76% of their students complete it in three years (and then do their one year of internship), and they have a match rate of 88%. I know that attending a 3+1 program means sacrificing something in my education, so I would most likely take the optional 4th year. Their cohort size is about the same as the LaSalle, and their licensure rate is 85% (LaSalle's is 93%). The rate of attrition at both schools is 0.
If I chose Midwestern-Glendale, I would be close to family, friends, and all of my hobbies/lifestyle choices that I enjoy (very into the outdoors). The school has a poor reputation that seems to be improving. I got a better feel from the campus, and their students seemed happier.
If I chose LaSalle, the education would be better, but I'd be living in a place that I dislike. I wouldn't have much access to the things I enjoy, and I really don't like living in a big city like Philadelphia. I'm confident in my ability to make friends and meet people, so proximity to family and friends is just a perk of Midwestern, not a deciding factor.
I can't decide how much weight to put on quality of life vs quality of education. With an APA match rate of 88%, how crappy can Midwestern really be? I know I'd be a lot happier there than at LaSalle, but I don't want to jeopardize my future with this choice. Just a note, the financial aspects of both programs are equivalent for my situation, so that does not play a factor.
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Congrats on getting accepted into both programs! I'm from Philly, and I took classes at LaSalle so I wanted to weigh in. If you visited LaSalle, I'm sure you saw that it is not in a very safe neighborhood. The campus itself is safe but I doubt you would be living on-campus. I personally chose not to pursue further education there because, like you, I enjoy the outdoors. However, I live in Philly (another not-so-safe area) so I wanted a change of scenery for undergrad. Maybe you don't think you would like living in a big city because you haven't yet? Maybe this is one of those situations where you could step out of your comfort zone and expose yourself to something totally different. You might hate it, like you thought you would, but you will have exposure to totally different experiences if you live and work in Philly. Having experience in urban areas and with underserved populations is great experience to have as well. However, it is 4-5 years of your life and that is a long time to hate the place you live. You know yourself best, so I would do some reflecting and trust your gut on this. But, if you do come to Philly, I would be happy to be your first new friend! Good luck with everything
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Hello everyone.
I got an offer from LIU Post (PsyD) with some tuition remission (18k). I really liked the program and the advisor I would be working with. Unfortunately, the tuition happens to be high and the remission I was offered seems to be the most they could offer.
The tuition at LIU is 50k/a year, plus I would have moving costs, rent and most likely buying a car.
89% of students obtained an APA-accredited internship in 2016-17, 88% in 2015-16, 80% in 2014-15.
84% obtained licensure.
This was my second year applying and I got 5 interviews and 3 offers total, but LIU is the best fit. My other two programs are almost as expensive, even with the funding being offered, so I'm basically deciding between trying to find a job and going to LIU.
If anyone has any thoughts about the program, I would love to hear from you.
I got an offer from LIU Post (PsyD) with some tuition remission (18k). I really liked the program and the advisor I would be working with. Unfortunately, the tuition happens to be high and the remission I was offered seems to be the most they could offer.
The tuition at LIU is 50k/a year, plus I would have moving costs, rent and most likely buying a car.
89% of students obtained an APA-accredited internship in 2016-17, 88% in 2015-16, 80% in 2014-15.
84% obtained licensure.
This was my second year applying and I got 5 interviews and 3 offers total, but LIU is the best fit. My other two programs are almost as expensive, even with the funding being offered, so I'm basically deciding between trying to find a job and going to LIU.
If anyone has any thoughts about the program, I would love to hear from you.
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With an average completion of 5-6 years and tuition due of 32k a year after your remission (160k total), you are looking at well over 250k in debt after car/rent/food/insurance/gas/moving/internship/school materials/etc. You would be paying on that for 10-15 years best case, and which will severely limit any earning you may have (I encourage you to look at the current loan repayment estimates and starting salaries). Even if you happen to have 250k sitting in the bank, there are a lot of better ways to utilize the money with better long term outcomes (volunteer to work for a lab full time at a funded doctoral program and eat all costs to live in the area for a year). I would not take that option in either case.
What sorts of programs did you apply to, where were they located geographically, what was your GRE, what sort of research background do you have, what is your area of interest, etc.
Recently I've applied to various clinical psychology programs and am currently deciding out of the programs I've been accepted to. I only applied to clinical psych PsyD and MA programs. In the future I primarily want to work as a clinician (probably in private practice or a clinic) and work with adults and adolescents struggling with anxiety, depression, & eating disorders primarily. I would like to be able to provide therapy and give assessments. I also like the idea of having the flexibility to do other things like teaching later on. I feel that a doctorate-level psych degree provides the most career flexibility, however I've heard if I just want to stick with providing therapy that becoming a MA-level clinician (like an MFT or LPCC) is a better route to take (for saving time/money/ending up with a similar salary as a psychologist). If it makes any difference, I would like to work in CA or possibly another west coast state in the future.
The following are the current programs I'm deciding between:
-Midwestern University (PsyD)
-Azusa Pacific University (PsyD)
-Xavier University (PsyD - currently on the waitlist)
-two local MA programs (one would prepare me to later apply to PhD programs; the other would prepare me to do that AND would give me the training to be able to apply for MFT/LPCC licensure following completion of the program)
I'm currently leaning towards doing the MA program that would prepare me for licensure, since it's the most flexible option and I could still apply to funded PhD/PsyD programs if I wanted the extra training in assessment post-graduation. Also, the pricing of the PsyD programs is a concern for me, and I don't want to be paying off school debt for several years. The MA program I'm leaning towards is very affordable.. I guess my main question is: What option do you think would be best for me to pursue considering my career interests? Also, if you have any knowledge about the programs I mentioned, I would love to hear about it.
Thanks in advance!
The following are the current programs I'm deciding between:
-Midwestern University (PsyD)
-Azusa Pacific University (PsyD)
-Xavier University (PsyD - currently on the waitlist)
-two local MA programs (one would prepare me to later apply to PhD programs; the other would prepare me to do that AND would give me the training to be able to apply for MFT/LPCC licensure following completion of the program)
I'm currently leaning towards doing the MA program that would prepare me for licensure, since it's the most flexible option and I could still apply to funded PhD/PsyD programs if I wanted the extra training in assessment post-graduation. Also, the pricing of the PsyD programs is a concern for me, and I don't want to be paying off school debt for several years. The MA program I'm leaning towards is very affordable.. I guess my main question is: What option do you think would be best for me to pursue considering my career interests? Also, if you have any knowledge about the programs I mentioned, I would love to hear about it.
Thanks in advance!
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FTFY
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Honestly, choose one of the masters programs.
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Hi there, I also got an offer from LIU and intend to accept it, so maybe we will be classmates!
After spending some time on this forum, I realized that some people give advice without doing proper research. Sure, LIU's tuition for the first to third year is 50k/year. However, they only charge 10k for the fourth year and you'll get paid for the fifth year internship. That being said, the tuition will cost around 100K, and perhaps you'll have additional opportunities to make money. Does that sound a lot better than 250K debt?
Also, don't forget that people in NY areas tend to have an above average income. Though you still have to spend years repaying the debt, it won't be as long as 10 years
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Every school has high tuition for the first ~3 years and then cheap/no tuition in the last year or two because you're taking fewer classes. This is not exclusive to LIU.
The difference is funded programs offer full tuition remission and LIU doesn't.
Also it's fairly misleading to mention NYC income without mentioning the high cost of living. 150k after cost of living (even with the partial tuition remission mentioned) is a conservative estimate.
Would be very interested to see where you're getting 100k as an estimate.
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Also, note that internship applications and the associated travel can cost a fair chunk of change.
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Isn't 50k * 3 = 150k, not 100k?
Not to mention moving for internship, if you match outside of NYC (geographic restrictions being one of the primary reasons students don't match for internship, even at high quality funded programs).
Then, there's conference travel, though I'm not sure how much research experience students get in this program, which is somewhat of a concern.
You're grossly underestimating the costs of the program and living in NYC, as well as overestimating how much you'll earn and how quickly you'll be able to pay off your debt.
It's probably not a great idea to insinuate that other people haven't done research, when you either haven't done it yourself or you've been selective about it to affirm that you made the correct decision by accepting admission to this program.
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Hi, I am specifically referring to one reply that says "With an average completion of 5-6 years and tuition due of 32k a year after your remission (160k total)." Clearly, this person never bothered to take a look at the page of LIU nor thought of the possibility that some programs only charge high tuition fees for the first three years. It's not an insinuation.
And I didn't include the living cost. I should've indicated that, my mistake.
