School psychology competitiveness

[RTC19]

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Hello all,

I am a homebound tutor for a K-12 school district. I am thinking about pursuing graduate study in School Psychology.

My mom is a school psychologist. She got into a program with a B-average but this was the 80s. It seems like everything has gotten much more competitive the past 10-20 years.

Is it realistic to expect to get into a reputable school psychology Ed.S. program with something on the order of a 3.4 GPA? I have a V-shaped grade trend if that makes a difference. I got really sick my sophomore year and that had a negative effect on my schoolwork that year. I have been a near straight-A student the rest of the time.

Take care and stay safe!

- RTC 🙂

 

[Shutfreedom]

Yes you can. Where are you located? And what schools/programs have you looked into? I think that’s still a competitive GPA. Most school psychology programs now offer additional certifications/emphasis ABA/BCBA or Clinical/LPCC options. That is something id think about when selecting the school/program. You don’t have to take on additional options, but depending on the school/program it can be free... because you’re already paying full tuition. However, at private schools that’s $12k more.


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[niceman]

Your GPA should be fine. Programs typically look at a variety of supporting documents (GRE scores, personal statement, resume etc.) and place emphasis on the interview.

Some programs are still accepting students if you are interested in fall admissions:

2nd Round Candidate Match

The 2nd Round Candidate Match process for school psychology programs helps connect potentially qualified graduate student candidates with school psychology programs that have remaining slots for incom...

www.nasponline.org

 

[sikedpsyched]

Yes, I was accepted into a school psychology Ph.D. program with a 3.4 GPA. As others here mentioned, programs will also consider GRE, letters of recommendation, and research experience. When looking at a program, go to the website and search for "school admissions, outcomes, and other data." This will give you information regarding past students' GPA and GRE scores. You can compare your scores to those who have been accepted to that program. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or would like to chat.

 

[RTC19]

Thanks for all of the very helpful feedback, guys! 🙂 I really appreciate it! 🙂

I am currently studying for the GRE for which I am registered to take this summer. I would like to apply this fall for entrance the following year.

I am in Chicagoland and am currently planning to apply to:

Northern Illinois University
Loyola University Chicago
National Louis University
Governors State University
Eastern Illinois University
Illinois State University
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (not my first choice because it is so far south of my family up in the Chicago area, but I would be happy to go there if accepted)
Western Illinois University
All of the University of Wisconsin campuses that have programs (Madison, River Falls, Whitewater, some others)

I heard the Chicago School of Professional Psychology is for-profit/"sketchy" even though they are NASP certified and so I crossed that off the list.

Also, is this overkill as far as applying to programs goes? How many programs do people usually apply to?

All of these are EdS programs. I am not interested in pursuing a PhD.

 

[niceman]

Thanks for all of the very helpful feedback, guys! 🙂 I really appreciate it! 🙂

I am currently studying for the GRE for which I am registered to take this summer. I would like to apply this fall for entrance the following year.

I am in Chicagoland and am currently planning to apply to:

Northern Illinois University
Loyola University Chicago
National Louis University
Governors State University
Eastern Illinois University
Illinois State University
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (not my first choice because it is so far south of my family up in the Chicago area, but I would be happy to go there if accepted)
Western Illinois University
All of the University of Wisconsin campuses that have programs (Madison, River Falls, Whitewater, some others)

I heard the Chicago School of Professional Psychology is for-profit/"sketchy" even though they are NASP certified and so I crossed that off the list.

Also, is this overkill as far as applying to programs goes? How many programs do people usually apply to?

All of these are EdS programs. I am not interested in pursuing a PhD.

It's a personal decision depending on your resources (e.g., money, time spent on preparing apps and going to interviews). From what I heard 5-8 is a good range but you should check out the NASP website for program information to see how competitive those programs and their cohort size and apply to a range of schools in terms of competitiveness. There's some great faculty at Illinois State, Madison, and River falls as far as I know but they also seem to be very competitive. Good luck!