MFT program — Need Advice

[wannabemft]

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Hi all,

I need some perspective. So I'm in the middle of my application process for a couple of private schools for MFT programs in California: St. Mary's, Santa Clara University, University of San Francisco, and Azusa Pacific University.

I just found out I got accepted into Azusa, and I'm still in the middle of the application process for the other schools. I'm really excited and eager to start, but I'm terrified of the cost of tuition for private schools. The reason why I only applied to private is because I don't have a very competitive undergraduate GPA (2.9), I didn't major in psychology, and I don't have any relevant experience.

With that said, I'm currently living in Northern California and going to school in Azusa would mean living expenses + tuition, whereas if I were accepted and went to the Northern CA schools I would remain at home.

Another option is waiting until next year and applying to public schools, namely state schools like Sonoma State, CSULB, CSULA, SDSU, SF State, etc. But like I said, my GPA isn't great and no relevant experience, and I've read these programs are very competitive. So I'm wondering if I should hold out another year, gain some experience, and apply to the state schools or if I should just go for it now with the private schools?

Thanks for your help!

 

[calimich]

The private schools you mention in the Bay all have solid reputations and provide quality training; however, like you know, they are expensive. I encourage my own students to consider the public state schools you mention. At the MA level, there really isn't much of a reputation difference between the schools you are considering and as long as the program leads to licensure, you'll be ok.

If you waited a year to gain some experience and perhaps take a psychology course or two at a community college, you'd be more competitive all around. And, postponing the start of your career by one year to avoid $30,000+ in loans would be worth it, imo.

 

[wannabemft]

Hi Calimich,

Thanks for your response! I know we're supposed to remain anonymous on here, but I saw that you're an assistant professor. Are you currently teaching at a CSU? I'm asking because I would love to know what you're looking for in a candidate, especially for those who don't have a particularly strong background in the field. (If not, please disregard this comment.)

In terms of taking a few psychology classes, I'm actually taking one now — Abnormal Psych — and I've learned a lot of really useful information, overview from it. I've also been reading some of John Gottman's books since I'm interested in his evidence-based research in couples therapy. But do you think taking classes will be enough? I've tried to gain some experience in the mental health field (both paid and volunteer) and it has been quite difficult since I don't have any background in it.

I just don't want to wait a year to apply to CSUs and still not get accepted, and have wasted the year I could have been learning.

Thanks,

wannabemft

 

[calimich]

I'm not at a CSU, however I am familiar with them. In general, admissions committees look for evidence that you can be successful in their program, and then in the field; counseling programs also want to see maturity, self awareness, interpersonal skills, and an ability to incorporate feedback.

Taking, and doing well in, psych classes will help. Finding a way to gain some experience is also important -- both for admission and for you personally. How do you know you want to be in this field if you've not had any experience with it?

 

[psychstudentgrad2024]

I know this post is older but I'm guessing it is showing up in searches by new people and I want to jump in because your situation really resonates with me and I think calimich gave some solid advice worth building on.

I'll be honest, my own GPA in undergrad was nothing to write home about and I spent years after grad school dealing with student loan payments that made me question every financial decision I'd ever made, so when I see someone weighing $30k+ in private school tuition against waiting a year to strengthen their application I always want to say please please take that seriously because the debt follows you around for a long time and your starting salary as a new MFT associate is not going to make those payments feel small. Calimich is right that at the MA level the name on the diploma matters way less than people think, what matters is getting licensed and getting good training, and honestly some of the best clinicians I know came through programs nobody's ever heard of.

The other thing I'd say is don't let the "competitive" label on CSU programs scare you out of applying because I almost talked myself out of opportunities by assuming I wasn't good enough and that would have been a huge mistake, sometimes programs are looking for life experience and maturity and genuine passion for the work just as much as they're looking at GPA numbers. Taking a psych class or two at a community college like calimich suggested is a great move and it shows admissions committees you're serious, but also look into volunteer crisis line work or even just informational interviews with therapists in your area because that stuff adds up fast on an application.

Also I found this free tool that's really helpful if you're trying to compare California MFT programs. It walks you through cost, location, format, all the stuff that actually matters when you're making this decision. Definitely worth a look when you're in the weeds on this.

Good luck with everything