On the Road to Somewhere Finding the Right Fit for Graduate School

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On the Road to Somewhere Finding the Right Fit
for Graduate School

• Moderator Jodie Andrys, Dominican University
• Presenters Eliza Freedman, Highland Park-Intern
  Christa Raska, Dominican
  University Michele Vaughn, College of
  Lake County

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Suggestions to Make Your Life Easier

• Begin the search process early
• Find out how to work courses into your work
  schedule
• See if your supervisor is supportive of you going
  to school
• Find out about benefits for college tuition from
  employer
• Selecting a program that fits for you
• Requirements for internship, thesis, Comp exams
  requirements at the end of the program
• How long is the program for a part-time vs. a
  full-time student
• Application Process
• GRE/GMAT-entrance exams required before admission
  to program
• Letters of recommendation
• Personal Statement
• Transferring course work from different programs
• Interviews with program staff
• Personal Benefits
• How is this program going to benefit you for your
  professional career
• Is it worth the time and the money

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Is Graduate School Right for You?

• Reasons for attending Grad school
• You have a clear sense of the career you want to
  pursue and an advance degree is necessary to have
  in order for you to achieve this
• You have work experience under your belt and are
  ready to take on graduate level work
• You crave more knowledge and miss receiving
  formal education
• Reasons for Not attending Grad school
• Pressure from your colleagues, friends, parents
• You are not ready to take on the demands of the
  course work, research and papers
• Maybe there are other alternatives to fulfilling
  your goals such as workshops and seminars

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Christa Raska

• Master of Science in Organizational Leadership
• part-time
• Dominican University
• Undergrad-Interdepartmental Communication
• Admission Counseling 8 years
• 1 year corporate
• Married, taking care of grandparents, home, life

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Christa Raska

• Why I Chose Program
• Quality of program
• Tuition Remission
• Flexibility of program
• Application Process
• Application Fee
• Personal Statement
• 2 Letters of Recommendation
• Program
• 1 class every 8 weeks
• 1 class at a time finished in 2 years

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Eliza Freedman

• Graduated in 2002 from Undergraduate in English
  and journalism
• Pursing Masters of Education in School Counseling
  at Loyola University Chicago
• Admission Counselor for 6 years
• Worked at LUC while attending school
• Juggling marriage, school and work

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Eliza Freedman

• Choosing My Program
• Higher Education-the right fit for me
• Requirements-Application, GRE, personal
  statement, pre-requisites, transcripts,
  recommendations
• Tuition Benefits
• 2 courses paid for per semester
• I pay student activities once a semester
• Program
• 2 years of class work
• 1 year practicum in high school setting
• Sit for Type 73-School Counseling cert.
• Comprehensive Exams at the end of program

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Why I Choose to be a School Counselor?

• Current trends show that there will be numerous
  school counselor retirements in the next 5-10
  years creating thousands of job openings
• To keep pace with 42 other states who have
  removed the teaching certificate requirement from
  their certification requirements
• Illinois ranks 45th nationally in its ratio of
  students to counselors. The minimum
  recommendation by the American School Counselors
  Association is 250 students to 1 counselor. The
  national average is 5001 and Illinois is 7001
• Source http//www.imhca.org/school.html

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Jumping Through the Hurdles

• Time Management
• Fall travel and your courses
• Work
• Staying Healthy
• Balancing Life
• Preparing for the Practicum Year

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Michele Vaughn

• EdD Educational Leadership Argosy University -
  Current
• MS Degree / Counseling (9/06)
• Undergrad / Psychology (12/03)
• 2 Years in non-profit sector
• 2 Years in Higher Ed / Recruitment
• Promoted to Associate Dean for Community
  Education

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Michele Vaughn

• Choosing the right fit.
• My higher ed. learning experience consisted of
  the community college, 4 year traditional
  classroom (night classes / weekend courses) and
  distance learning.
• In my TRIO learning experience, I have come to
  find that many shun the very appearance of the
  online learning community without even
  recognizing the open doors it has provided for
  many nontraditional students.
• Argosy University Accredited (by the Higher
  Learning Commission (HLC) and is a member of the
  North Central Association (NCA). Argosy is also
  authorized by the Illinois Board of Higher
  Education.
• Highlighting my EdD Program
• Program 60 Credits- Total Courses 16-
  Residencies 2- Comp. Exam Yes - Dissertation
  Yes
• Credits per Course 3
• Course Length 7½ weeks
• Program Length 3-4 yrs
• Tuition 750 per semester credit hour

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Professional Organizations to Know More About in
Your Field

• ACPA- American College Personal Association
  myacpa.org
• NASPA-National Association Student Personal
  Administration naspa.org
• ASCA-American School Counseling Association
  schoolcounselor.org
• ACA-American Counseling Association
  counseling.org
• AACU Association of American Colleges and
  Universities aacu-edu.org
• AAHE American Association on Higher Education
  aahe.org
• AASCU American Association of State Colleges and
  Universities aascu.org
• AAU Association of American Universities aau.edu
• ACE American Council on Education acenet.edu

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Any Questions?