M.Ed or M.A. for Counseling???

[lex14]

Hi! I am currently in the process of deciding where I will be going to graduate school in Fall 2011. I got accepted to a few schools for Counseling Psychology with a concentration in School Counseling and I have narrowed my choices down to the CACREP accredited schools. My biggest issue is that they are two different degrees, M.Ed and M.A. To make it easier I'll break it down a bit.

The first school is Rider University in New Jersey which is a M.A. in Counseling Services with a School Counseling concentration.

The second school is West Chester University in Pennsylvania which is a M.Ed in Elementary/Secondary School Counseling.

I am not sure which one is best for me, being that both of them have very similar coursework/internship/practicum etc. I am interested in possibly going on for my doctorate in the future, so I don't know if this would be a factor is what program I choose. I have tried to research and talk to many different people, but I have not been very successful in getting a straight answer. If anybody could please help me out and let me know if there is a big difference between M.Ed vs M.A. in regards to School Counseling. Thank you so much!!!

-Alexis

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[Hadashi no Gen]

As far as I know there is no difference in the "name" of a type of degree (MA vs M.Ed vs MS, etc) if the content is the same. In counseling, sometimes the difference has to do with graduate practicum/internship hours (this is the case with my school's Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling program)... but other than that, I am pretty sure that a Masters degree in school counseling would have similar coursework if they are in the same state.