u/Any_Librarian47

Hi everyone. I got into a school psychology program two hours away from me. i think it’s a great program, but in a city I hate which I think is also a factor holding me back. I remember feeling surprise I was accepted but not excitement, which is really different to what I felt when I got into a top UC for undergrad.

I started out wanting to go into clinical psychology (PhD) , decided that was out of reach for me after no luck getting psych research + other factors, and after a bit decided to go into school psych. I graduated last year, completing my B.A in psych in 3 years. I applied half heartedly to schools (mostly bc I felt I didn’t have enough experience) since my family said I should try anyway and see where I get in. School psych is really competitive in California, for state schools anyways, and I realize that this is an opportunity and I could get rejected from everywhere next year even if I apply on a broader scale, delaying yet another year of stable income. (Applied to 3 + 1 private, got accepted into 1 state and 1 private, and waitlisted at one, and rejected by one I considered a safety lol).

And I really do want to become a school psychologist and become financially independent (my family’s great most of the time but very strict and I hate depending on them financially).

the program would cost me $30-40k depending on the housing I get.

but I just feel this really weird block and I don’t know what to do. I dont know if it’s burnout even though I’ve already taken a year off or if it’s the dislike for the city/campus. Or maybe it’s money holding me back, i could find a full time job and save up for a year but it’d be in ABA. I keep trying to focus on the positives of going. Did anyone feel similarly? I’d appreciate any advice at this point.

taking another year also seems pointless, I live in a small town away from cities, so there’s little opportunity here. At least at the program I‘d have a better chance participating in a lab.

Hi everyone.

im a first gen soon-to-be grad student who comes from a very low income family. for grad school I’ll have to take student loans (grad plus/only federal loans) but I’m very, very nervous about doing so. I didn’t realize how little aid grad students get, as I had a lot of my undergrad paid for through grants in a very expensive city.

There is an online / hybrid program that will cost 33k a year for two years (private). Third year is a full time internship so lower cost tuition (about 8k)

another program (state university, 2 hrs away) will likely waive tuition or at least have it down to 4k at the most, for each year but I’d have to pay for housing, which is insanely expensive in the area, likely coming to about 20k per year (17k if I get a single room on campus). I also hate the location, which is why I’m really leaning towards for the online one.

i have 13k in undergrad loans already.

TLDR: so is ~85k-90k in total loans (including interest) too high for a program where jobs in my area are usually starting at 100k (80k after tax probably)? I’d likely move back in after graduation and aggressively pay it off for at least a year though I dread doing so, as my parents are extremely strict and overbearing.