Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Schools Concentrating On Family And School Social Workers
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at Cambridge College, Quincy College, Northeastern, and Holyoke Community College.
Fastest Response From Schools
- Request Info: For the fastest information for prospective students, look at the Spotlight schools on this page.
Student Body
- Part-Time: For schools emphasizing part-time studies, consider UMass Boston, Worcester State, Bridgewater State, and Fitchburg State.
- Female: For schools particularly welcoming to female students, consider Smith College, Wheelock College, Simmons College, and Regis College.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Atlantic Union, Cambridge College, BU, and Regis College.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Lesley, Atlantic Union, Fitchburg State, and Greenfield Community College.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Smith College, BU, BC, and Gordon.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Gordon, Smith College, Eastern Nazarene College, and Wheelock College.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at BC, Northeastern, BU, and Clark.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at BC, Northeastern, Smith College, and BU.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Smith College, Atlantic Union, BC, and Regis College.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Springfield College • Springfield, MA
Studying Counseling And Psychological Services (completion in 1996)
• 8/16/2011
"I have recommended this school to others. I feel I was well prepared for my career."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I think it is a great place to learn due to small class sizes, hands on learning, and professional teachers. I have recommended this school to others over the years, and will continue to do so. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | I chose the school because it was close to my home at the time. The school's counseling program had an excellent reputation. |
| Program Quality | 5 | I think the school system wants my assistance in working with their students in need and they support me in doing my job. Schools are very limited on resources and funds which often make it difficult to meet the needs of all students in need of services. |
| Instruction | 9 | I believe I was well trained for my career. I also believe I still have access to relevant continuing education training. |
| How Difficult | 8 | The clinical program was not very difficult, however there was a lot of research and writing. The schedule is not very demanding. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Many of my classes involved hands on learning. I found this to be the best way to learn my trade. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | I attended many evening classes and some intersession classes as well. I was also able to attend classes over the summer months. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | My academic adviser was very attentive and readily available when needed. The school's resources were less satisfactory, though. |
| Social Life | 9 | The school was known around town for its social activities and student spirit. I did not elect to become socially involved in these activities during my time there. |
| Placement Services | 7 | The school assisted me in finding a relevant internship during my final year. Many of the places we had to choose from led to full time employment after graduation. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | The school sends out publications quarterly. I have never been very invested in alumni networking. |
Lesley University • Cambridge, MA
Studying Expressive Therapies (completion in 2002)
• 9/23/2011
"My education definitely prepared me for my career. There's some disorganization and dysfunction present at the program, but that's probably true everywhere."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would recommend it for music therapists, it's a huge plus that the program prepares students to be licensed by the state, which many programs don't. This makes it much easier to be hired and to bill to insurance. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | For expressive therapies, it's one of the best in the country. It's average for general counseling and mental health programs of study. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The school is great in terms of teaching theoretical knowledge and professional orientation. Some of the clinical skills instruction is lacking in terms of boundaries and ethics, solid diagnostic skills, and professional writing. |
| Instruction | 5 | The instructors in the specialized programs (music therapy, art therapy, etc.) seem to be hand-picked and are very skilled. The teachers of more general material are often selected at the last minute through informal networking. Teachers don't seem to get a lot of supervision and there isn't a lot of standardization in terms of what is taught in different sections of the same course. |
| How Difficult | 7 | Academically, the program could stand to be much more thorough. The purely academic aspect of the program is very light. In terms of the personal work and time required, it takes a lot to actually be prepared to be a good clinician. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The program requires more internship hours than are required for licensure. Some internship supervisors have interns do a lot of observing, while others have them jump right in. Sometimes there is a shortage of internship sites, and while the program makes sure that everyone has a placement, there are some poorer-quality placements. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 3 | The program can be taken over two years or longer, but there is only one section of the core music therapy classes, so one must take them when they're offered. The other more general classes are offered at more flexible times. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | The facilities are nice. The library is linked with other local university libraries, so it's possible to borrow just about anything. |
| Social Life | 5 | This isn't really that applicable to graduate students, but I'd say it's average for what graduate students probably encounter in general. There are some relevant events like arts cafes. |
| Placement Services | 5 | The career center's online job listing is poorly organized. It seems that many of the listings are written by human resource folks without any assistance from the career center, which means that they often don't actually understand the various licenses and degrees. On the plus side, there are tons of listings. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | The relevant alumni resources are the career network and the licensure adviser. The licensure adviser holds a different license than the one for which graduates are eligible and seems to know very little about the licensure exam or how the licensing board deals with various issues. Said adviser participates in the alumni listserv and frequently gives inaccurate information. |
Bridgewater State College • Bridgewater, MA
Studying Social Work (completion in 2007)
• 3/7/2012
"I was very happy with my decision to attend this school. I am pleased with the amount of knowledge and experience I have from attending."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would recommend attending Bridgewater State College to anyone who is looking to join the social work community and make a difference in people's lives. This is the right school for all who are interested in this field. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | Bridgewater State College is known for its growing social work community. They are an excellent school for both their bachelors and masters programs. |
| Program Quality | 10 | I am very satisfied with this program because of the success rate we have maintained. |
| Instruction | 10 | Bridgewater State College provided me with the skill set I needed to help the clients I work with. Through intense classes and internships, I learned how to overcome challenges such as confidentiality and ethical dilemmas. |
| How Difficult | 8 | I was faced with many challenges while attending this school. Some of the harder aspects were the amount of internships I had to complete. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | There was a good balance between learning with the text books and being hands on in the community with internships. I enjoyed the balance between the two. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | This school provides you with the ability to make your own schedule and work around your needs. The hardest part of scheduling included the many hours of internships required. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | This school has many different facilities for both students and alumni to utilize. I still often use their library to further my learning. |
| Social Life | 10 | Many of the friends I have today I found while attending events at school. They have a great outlook on diversity and school sprit open to all of its members. |
| Placement Services | 5 | The school did not have a hand in helping me find my job today. Although they introduced me to a network of different organizations, they did not provide me with places to apply to. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I receive letters and information about alumni programs but have been unable to take advantage of these. I feel that there could be more networking. |
UMASS Boston • Boston, MA
Studying School Psychology (completion in 2006)
• 4/8/2012
"While it may not fit into a typical college ideal it met all of my needs and even exceeded them. I got a solid, wonderful education and work experience that has served me well."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | It would depend on what they were looking for in a school and where they want to work. If they hope to land a job in Boston, then no. It is very competitive there so I would recommend a more prestigious school. |
| Program Reputation | 6 | As I said UMASS Boston is know for being solid. Some schools have a better reputation but there are others that are know to be un-reputable schools. UMASS Boston is in the high end of the middle |
| Program Quality | 7 | Umass Boston is a great school. However is has a reputation as being solid but not extraordinary. |
| Instruction | 10 | I had some wonderful professors who really knew their stuff. Those same professors also took the time to help one on one when it came to my Masters Thesis. |
| How Difficult | 6 | It was a difficult program yet there are others that are much more demanding. The fact that I was invested in my program and took advantage of the schools' help made it easier. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | My program was mostly book learning except for the internship. However I would say it was a good mix because the different types of internships that were offered were amazing. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | They offered many night courses, weekend courses and online courses. Professors also had very flexible office and meeting hours. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | I never relied to much on most of these. The classrooms were great. The academic advisors were top notch. They were flexible in their meeting and office hours and able to provide valuable information. I know there were also a lot of study and support groups but I did not attend them |
| Social Life | 1 | UMASS Boston is more of a commuter school. It is not live-in and does not provide activates such as athletics. |
| Placement Services | I never had to use them. I was offered a job out here in TX even before I graduated. | |
| Alumni Network | I never had cause to use it. I am unsure of how it would be. |
Tufts University • Medford, MA
Studying Child Development (completion in 2011)
• 4/11/2012
"I am very satisfied with both the Child Development dept. and Tufts University. The dept. was a small size and I felt everyone knew everyone. While Tufts, overall, was much larger, I enjoyed the "campus-like" feel and never felt I was "just a number"."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I do not believe it is for everyone. However, if you are dedicated and truly passionate about helping others (whatever way that may be), it can be very rewarding. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | There aren't many programs specifically for "Child Development", but the Eliot-Pearson dept. at Tufts was very well known and respected. Each professor had made profound efforts in the social science community and truly made the graduate program what it is today. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The Eliot-Pearson Dept. of Child Development at Tufts University was a wonderful, comprehensive, and reputable program. Each professor was extremely knowledgeable and available for help or support at any time. |
| Instruction | 10 | I did not have an instructor I did not care for or respect. Each professor was reputable in the child development community and could offer more knowledge and guidance than the students could even ask for. |
| How Difficult | 7 | The program (and courses) were definitely challenging. However, I worked hard because I truly enjoyed the course topics and took a vested interest in the assigned work. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The dept. definitely emphasized research and writing, but also gave students the option to complete a Thesis or Capstone internship before graduation. I chose to complete an internship, so I was able to gain some invaluable, hands-on/in-the-field experience. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | While the dept. offered some late-afternoon and evening courses, most courses were catered towards full-time students who did not have more than one part-time, outside job. While the schedule may not have been extremely flexible (also due to specific course requirements for program completion), each graduate student was able to embark on internships and other field placement experiences outside of typical classroom time. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | The dept. itself is located in a building that definitely needs to be remodeled. The computer labs and library, however, on the Tufts campus (for all undergrad and grad students) were phenomenal. |
| Social Life | 5 | There were some opportunities to get involved in the social aspect of the department, but I felt they were limited. I truly liked most of the other graduate students in the program and, based on its small size, was able to meet and maintain some good friends. |
| Placement Services | 7 | I have not taken full advantage of the career services at Tufts. However, I have obtained some materials from their office and am impressed with the guidance, support, and various services offered to both undergraduate and graduate students. |
| Alumni Network | 9 | I have contacted a few Eliot-Pearson alum for networking purposes and each has been very responsive and willing to help. Tufts also offers an online database with alumni information which can be very helpful. |
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