Some of the other schools she has looked at (but we hadn't heard of some of them, and they list that they are psych only schools) are Spalding University, The Chicago School, The Wright Institute, Forest Institute, and some others that I can't remember right off hand. I saw a school in Ft. Lauderdale that seemed to have a lot of low GRE scores accepted but worried that it might be an unreputable school. It was NOVA something or other...I am not saying it isn't a good school or not, I just don't know.
Anyways, any comments on her situation would be appreciated.
First off, I'd inquire about accommodations, though I've heard you need to stay on top of the testing services to make sure you get what you need because students have reported difficulties with getting accommodations on the testing day.
Out of that list, I'd only realistically consider The Wright Institute and Nova (Southeastern University). The other schools are unaffiliated with universities and have mixed reputations at best. The Wright Institute is not university affiliated, but it seems to have a pretty good reputation in CA.
Here is what I wrote about it from another thread:
Wright Institute.....good training, older program (avg starting age is probably 31-32, at least 50% have MS and have been practicing), $$$ because of location, few research opportunities. This is all based on me looking at it when I was applying. I cut it because although it had a GREAT feel and a very tight knit group, I didn't like the lack of research options and the internship placement was focused on staying in CA. It seemed to place well in CA, but I didn't want to practice in CA.
In addition to that, it is really close to the Berkeley Library which is an awesome resource, but their on-site library stinks. It really does reflect institute training and not university training because of the facilities and the feel. It isn't a good or bad thing, it is just something to be aware of because some students want a university feel.....activities on campus, sporting events, big speakers/names, etc. Because of the older starting age at TWI, it seemed that many of the people had lives outside of school, and weren't looking for the above stuff as much.....of course, this is just based on my limited experience out there one weekend.
As for Nova, it has a pretty good reputation as PsyD's go, I'd consider it in the 2nd tier (Rutgers, Baylor, Pepperdine are all top tier), solid clinical training and internship placement, though it has crappy funding. I am currently a 4th year there, and I wrote a bit about my experiences (good and bad) from another thread.
.....overall it has been a very good experience. I was accepted into a number of other programs (funded and unfunded) that were rated higher on those posted rankings, but they weren't as good of a fit for what I wanted. I think fit is really important. Everyone has their own criteria....I was concerned with some of the average completion rates of some of the PhD and PsyD programs, as well as having access to solid training in my areas of interest (in addition to another 5-6 things).
I just missed out on a couple of my top choices, but the year-long wait to re-apply to those programs wasn't worth the funding difference (which is definitely a consideration for most, but I'm going back into consulting, so the $ wasn't a big deal for me; I should have it paid off in ~5-7 years.)
I think the Nova training is excellent, and I think overall it produces very good clinicians. We do well overall with placement %, with most of the misses due to the stragglers that should have been weeded out. I'd like to see more consistency from top to bottom, but as someone in the top %, I'm happy with my training.
The biggest knock (besides poor funding) is the size....which in some areas really helps, but in others it hinders. They are cutting the incoming classes each year (as of last year), which is a step in the right direction. If I had my druthers, I'd cut the bottom 20% of the class now, and reduce each year. I've utilized the larger faculty, and have already setup some opportunities down the road (both research and professionally)...so the size helped me in that regard.
There is a large base of research here (both PsyD and PhD), and you can get access to some great projects. I've done research in a couple of areas, and have been able to present at major conferences and publish. Because there are PhDs and PsyDs in the program, I think it encourages research across the board. For the PsyD, there is a required directed study (that functions like a dissertation) that all students are required to complete, so if you want to avoid doing research as a PsyD (which I think is a HUGE mistake), I'd look elsewhere.
Nova also has an on-site clinic that hosts a range of faculty run programs, and it provides a major source of research and practicum placements for our students; on and off site practicum experiences are available. The on-site clinic allows for students to more easily balance classes and seeing patients. Off-site experiences (what i've done) offer a range of placements in the field which include mental health centers, hospitals, prisons, etc.
With the Vail model (PsyD), there are very few fully funded programs, so cost should be considered. PhD programs get most of the funding because of the research grants, though while pursuing your PsyD there are still opportunities for TA, grad assistant, and scholarships.
I'm taking a less traditional path, so I'm not limited to just clinical or academic work. I had a career in business, so I'm going back into the business world and will be doing mostly business consulting and executive coaching. My clinical interests will still be pursued, just not as my primary focus.
In retrospect, I wish I would have found SDN sooner.
...since I have found out about some great PhD programs that I didn't even consider when I initially applied to clinical programs back in '03.
-t
To update that a bit (since it was written 8-9 months ago) I'll add......
Looking back on my experiences at Nova I think I would recommend the program to some people, and not to others. Clinical training is excellent, and based on feedback I've gotten from post-docs, licensed clinicians, and training directors.....NSU does a very good job with clinical training. I know training can vary by your supervisor, so I'm not going to say it is great across the board, but students pretty much know how each practicum site rates (because of student evaluation forms from the last few years), so you try and match yourself up with a site that fits what you want. Speaking of matching, it does pretty well every year during the match process, always above the national average. I think last year was 87% (with the other 13% having options after match, but declining. Since I'm doing internship now, I've been picking the brains of some of the upper-level administration that I know, and I feel pretty comfortable going into this process).
As for the research.....I think as Psy.D's go, the research opportunities are above average because of also having a Ph.D. program here (which is
ranked 9th in the US on total average publications, but the larger faculty inflates that number, so take that with a grain of salt). IMHO they need more large grant work, in addition to the smaller research projects that go on. I've talked to some profs who have some nice grants proposals in the works, so hopefully they come to fruition.
One of my biggest complaints is the lack of easily available teaching positions with the undergrad or at another local uni/comm college. There are opportunities, but there isn't a formalized process to place people, and it is a PITA to find positions. There are plentiful TA positions, but they personally didn't really meet my need for wanting to teach teach, and not grade papers and teach on occasion.
Another complaint is obviously funding. It isn't cheap to live in S. FL, and they don't have enough funding for the students. Living down here was great (minus Wilma and a couple other hurricanes), but they need to do better. They said they are working on it, but that is a common complaint by most everyone. As I mentioned in my previous post, the money isn't as big of a problem for me because I have options outside of traditional psych jobs, but if you want to work in a community mental health center, or just work part time....I wouldn't recommend Nova.
-t
ps. As for GRE scores, they seem to not be as picky about them....they just can't be prohibitively low. I know they rank applicants based on a certain number of total points. GPA, LOR, and the essays are probably more important....at least that is what I've been told.
pss. Internship placement isn't everything, but it is definitely important. I know the programs you mentioned above all were sub-par in the APPIC report from 2000-2006, maybe they improved since then....but just an FYI.
