Generally a good idea, but places like William James have huge cohorts. Their program data on their website indicates that there are currently 90 students in their fourth year. You won't get a representative sample. Plus, anyone in theirv4th year there has already invested OVER $200,000 in tuition and fees, with another up to 50k+ to go. You may remember the phenomenon of "cognitive dissonance" from your intro to psych class- with such a RIDUCULOUSLY, CRIMINALLY, EXPLOITATIVELY HUGE, you're likely to get positive reviews regardless of actual lived experiences. I'd ask the school for list of students who left the program and get their perspective! Better yet, forget about them and don't go there. Spend the next year or so making yourself more competitive for better programs thatvwont lead to untenable amounts of debt (or a waste of funds that could payoff more if better spent).
forums.studentdoctor.net
Im sure you have. I have worked with several grads of and students from WJU. Some were really good, most weren't. I've also worked with several grads of and students from other, more reputable programs. Some were pretty bad, most weren't. Or I could be lying and making this all up. While they may contain useful and accurate information, testimonials (especially from largely anonymous folks on the internet) should be weighted pretty low when making quarter-to-a-third of MILLION dollars decisions that could negatively impact your well being for decades. There is objective data on current and historic outcomes and tuition publishe on the program websites. There's also several posts hereabouts regarding the realities of 250k loans and compound interest as it relates to median psychologist salaries.
Adelphi, like the others, is incredibly expensive and the cost of living in the area is oppressively expensive. I would anticipate needing loans in excess of $250k to cover everything. Additionally, they have a very strong psychodynamic focus which can be limiting depending on what you want to do and where you want to settle down.
I also was involved in a massive ethical violation from someone who graduated from Adelphi that disturbs me more and more every time I think about it (happened ~10 years ago). Not saying that this is indicative of the program as a whole. But it’s just another reason it’s left a bad taste in my mouth.
Yep. Dude pulls in 150-175 a year too. There's part of me that (almost) respects the borderline criminogenic behavior. Almost.
Yeah, I've had a handful of colleagues with this level debt tell me they got it forgiven all of a sudden one morning because of the changed pslf stuff. All of them were making bare minimum payments, one in particular said she never even thought about the debt, just "assumed it would go away one day." Yikes.
Also just found out this dude hasn't made any payments for 2 years since COVID but all of the months still counted as payment. Covid really helped dude luck out.
Is the government bailing them out, or is the government sticking to the contract in which the psychologist has planned to work in an under-served area that does not have enough providers? I'm asking this sincerely. I thought the reason PSLF exists is because otherwise there would be no access to care in certain impoverished areas? Maybe I am being naive, but aren't there students who go into grad school fully aware of what they are planning to do?
Just my observation: most I know who have had their huge loans forgiven work in decent sized cities. For state or fed. Make decent living with EXCELLENT benefits and retirement. It was more seen as a given for these folks that they weren't going to have to pay it back. Never planned to.
For sure, there are primary care docs, inner city teachers, and public defenders that will be helped. For each of those, there is a rich suburban district teacher, mid tier law grad that works for the federal government, or private school PsyD grad that works for the VA. Those in the latter group could have chosen a similar path to me (public schools, funded program, drive beater cars for a few extra years, pay off the debt quickly), but they chose to enjoy their lives a bit more. I have friends and colleagues getting 200k+ in debt relief with nicer cars, nicer homes, and weekly brunch dates. There was no reason not to take out the debt. Meanwhile, colleges will continue to raise tuition, PhD programs will fold to start money making PsyD programs, and lower tier law, pharmacy ,etc schools will thrive on the dream that you can get out, take a government job, and suffer no consequences to taking the easy route. Or, just take IBR if all else fails. Tax payers will be left holding the bag and eventually this cycle with implode as the housing market did because you can't give everyone a six figure job and loan forgiveness.
Hi! I, too, have been recently accepted to this program and am on the fence about whether or not I should attend in the fall. I'd love to hear about your experience publicly or privately, whichever you are more comfortable with. Is the cost worth it? Are you being fulfilled in this program? How reputable would you say it is, especially with field placements and whatnot? And anything else you think I should know would be great!
