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I know this is a very broad subject with a million possibilities but I just thought I'd throw this out there because I need to work it out in my mind.
I am a much older, non-traditional student working on my first Bachelor's. I am majoring in Psychology with a minor in Sociology and I should be finished, hopefully, in about a year. I plan on going to grad school to become a school psychologist which is a specialist program and usually 2 to 3 years.
I assumed I'd just stay here in Texas for that since tuition is reasonable but if there is any way to work it out so that I could move out of state and finish school elsewhere I would be all over it. I know that some schools offer assistantships and out of state tuition waivers so I keep thinking that maybe, if I can find a school where costs are about the same and cost of living isn't a whole lot more, I can get the heck out of Texas sooner rather than later. The thought of 4 more years here just makes me very depressed. However, since I've chosen the dreaded psych degree for undergrad, I realize that I now MUST go to grad school if I want to work and eat in the future.
So where to begin to look, aside from Googling every possible school program in the country to compare tuition costs and see what financial assistance options they have?
I suppose it's most important to decide first where we might like to relocate and then go from there. I also have no idea as to how much to count on being able to get a graduate assistantship or other aid, most university websites will say they offer "many programs" and that "many students receive assistance' but that's still pretty vague for me when it comes to planning on moving. My whole family just wants out of Texas and we are longing for four seasons, and preferably mountainous or at least a hilly area. There are many other factors but that's the basic "must have" for wherever we move to.
Don't know what to tell you, but you are going to have to start Googling. To help, you can stick to programs that specialize, or have an area in, school psychology. Only State schools charge non-resident tuition, even at the Masters level. And fellowships, scholarships, etc. are limited. Your best bet for the most funding is a private school, and a Ph.D. program at that. Or a large State school that has the money.
I wouldn't choose a location first, then find a school. In particular if the COL is based on Texas. The only State that immediately comes to mind is Minnesota, where the COL more accurately represents the average wage than in most other states but the COL is higher than Texas, but so is the average wage.
Realistically you should base your move on the location of the school. If you do your research, your initial list will contain maybe 20 programs. From that, and further research, you will narrow it down to perhaps 7 programs. Apply to all 7; grad school admissions, even at the no-name podunk schools, is fairly competitive.
Forget to ask: do you have any undergraduate research experience?
Hi; thanks for your reply, and no, I don't as of yet. I am still working on my 1st Bachelor's. I am just now starting to take more upper level courses (I screwed around way too long at community college) so there's that.
I know this is a very broad subject with a million possibilities but I just thought I'd throw this out there because I need to work it out in my mind.
I am a much older, non-traditional student working on my first Bachelor's. I am majoring in Psychology with a minor in Sociology and I should be finished, hopefully, in about a year. I plan on going to grad school to become a school psychologist which is a specialist program and usually 2 to 3 years.
I assumed I'd just stay here in Texas for that since tuition is reasonable but if there is any way to work it out so that I could move out of state and finish school elsewhere I would be all over it. I know that some schools offer assistantships and out of state tuition waivers so I keep thinking that maybe, if I can find a school where costs are about the same and cost of living isn't a whole lot more, I can get the heck out of Texas sooner rather than later. The thought of 4 more years here just makes me very depressed. However, since I've chosen the dreaded psych degree for undergrad, I realize that I now MUST go to grad school if I want to work and eat in the future.
So where to begin to look, aside from Googling every possible school program in the country to compare tuition costs and see what financial assistance options they have?
I suppose it's most important to decide first where we might like to relocate and then go from there. I also have no idea as to how much to count on being able to get a graduate assistantship or other aid, most university websites will say they offer "many programs" and that "many students receive assistance' but that's still pretty vague for me when it comes to planning on moving. My whole family just wants out of Texas and we are longing for four seasons, and preferably mountainous or at least a hilly area. There are many other factors but that's the basic "must have" for wherever we move to.
Where to start?
Since you will be going to school wouldn't someone else in the family need to find a job? I'm just thinking of the household income and presuming they would have to quit the only source of income coming in if you moved.
In the Aerospace Engineering department at my school, all the graduate students work for a professor and go to school for free. I don't know anything about the other programs though.
There is a web site where you can look up different graduate degree programs by criteria, it's called gradschools.com and that may be a good place to start.
As far as graduate assistantships go, I need to learn more about that as an option. As for finances, my spouse is also a student and will be finishing up around the same time as me and looking for work at that time, I figure why not look both here and in whatever state we intend to move to as well (I am the only one with grad school plans out of the two of us though). I work from home and my work can be done wherever we go. My spouse does self-employment related work currently that is pretty portable as well.
My older child will probably not be living with us at the time so it is very likely that we'll have fewer people to move, so fewer costs in that regard.
I certainly wouldn't put all my eggs in that basket and would still apply to schools here as well if necessary to have a backup plan, but I would also love to find the opportunity to get out of here sooner if it exists!
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