Counseling - Selection of Students

The Counseling Program, Department of Educational Psychology, has a once a year admission policy. The deadline for application for admission for the subsequent fall semester is February 15. Students are notified concerning their application status by April 15th. Students are required to respond to the program's offer of admission by May 1st.

The applicant pool for the School Counseling program based on applications received for the 2007-2008 academic year consisted of 42 individuals. From this pool a total of 21 students were accepted into the program.

Because the focus of the program is to prepare school counselors to work with poor and minority youth, we are attempting to attract a student body of graduate students that matches the diversity of the student bodies found within urban public schools. Once a student is admitted to the program, the attrition rate is lower than 5% and is generally due to a student's change of aspirations, career goals, or personal reasons.

The Department of Educational Psychology has a limited number of graduate assistantships and tuition waivers for School Counseling students, and occasionally students are able to secure paid internships during their final year in the program.

Each student, upon formal admission to the program, is assigned an advisor who assists the student in developing his/her plan of study. During the second semester in the program, students select an advisory committee consisting of two associate advisors and the major advisor, to advise and direct their course of study. Students are at liberty to change their advisory committee, if the committee as set up is not viable for the student to achieve his/her goals.