caitlinaliceinwonderland
New member
This is my admissions essay for an M.Ed program in counseling & human services (I edited out the school names for anonymity). I will, of course, be asking my professors to read it as well, but I'd rather get some feedback first so I don't look like a complete idiot in front of them if the essay isn't that great haha. Feedback is greatly appreciated! Thanks.
In August 2007, as a somewhat confused and scared college freshman, I had no idea what career path I wanted. However, from the day I scheduled my classes for my first semester of college, I had an interest in the field of psychology. I signed up for an Intro Psychology class, and knew within a few weeks that this was something I should seriously consider as a major. However, I did not make the decision lightly, and continued taking Psychology classes. The classes that I subsequently took and the professors I had deepened my desire to major in Psychology. By this point, I was a Sophomore, and was a little intimidated by the major, since I knew it required graduate school to work in the field. However, when I tried to consider other options, I could not see myself in any other major but Psychology. As a senior now, I cannot imagine not furthering my education in graduate school. The more I learn about Psychology, the more I realize I do not know about it. I have loved my undergraduate Psych classes, but they have mainly taught me about Psychology, and not so much how to “do” Psychology. After interacting with so many influential people in the field, I have developed a desire to actually contribute to it, not just learn about it.
My year-long Research Methods class gave me a chance to discover at a more personal level what psychology is all about. I am quite interested in how our surroundings impact our perceptions of others and ourselves. I conducted a study looking at the negative effects of airbrushed models on society’s perception of beauty, and found significant results showing that exposure to airbrushed, idealized women caused participants to rate unairbrushed, “normal” women as significantly less attractive. I am interested in learning more about the stigmas of physical “perfection” and their many impacts on day-to-day life. I would love to be able to expand on my prior research and examine how these stigmas affect college-aged girls’ self-efficacy. I am particularly interested in Professor ******’s research on self-efficacy as a predictor of academic performance and adjustment to college. It would be fascinating to study how girls succeed/fail in college, academically and socially, in relation to their self-image (which is often impacted by the media). I appreciate that ******’s program is highly research-oriented, since many counseling graduate programs are not.
This past summer, I had an internship in a Human Resources department, which was a career I had initially been considering. I enjoyed the environment and the people very much, and believe I would be quite content in a job like that. However, while it was a fantastic summer experience, and taught me a lot about displaying a more professional presence, I discovered I had no real passion for it. It just served to reinforce my desire to pursue counseling and research psychology.
I hope to continue my education past the Bachelor’s level and receive a M.Ed in Counseling Psychology and Human Services. I wish to counsel individuals on a personal level and potentially acquire a teaching position with a community college. While I am not currently pursuing a doctoral degree at this time, I would definitely consider pursing a Ph.D. or Psy.D. in the future after I have spent some time in the field pinpointing my interests even further.
I have qualified for the dean's list every semester except the spring of my Freshman year, and currently carry a 3.77 GPA at ********* College and a 3.79 GPA in my major. My major GPA is raised to a 3.83 factoring in the Psychology classes I took at ************ Community College. I have also been accepted into ********’s chapter of Psi Chi. I believe I am well-qualified for graduate work, particularly research, since I received a B+ and an A- in my two research methods courses.
I may not have a lot of experience in the field of Psychology yet, but that is something I wish to obtain through the M.Ed program at ******* University. I expect the program to be challenging and exciting. I believe that it would be an ideal fit for my interests, and would enable me to pursue a career in the field of Psychology, something I would not be able to with just my B.A. I hope I receive the opportunity to do so.
ughh sorry it all ran together. i had it separated into paragraphs but yahoo answers took them out apparently :/
In August 2007, as a somewhat confused and scared college freshman, I had no idea what career path I wanted. However, from the day I scheduled my classes for my first semester of college, I had an interest in the field of psychology. I signed up for an Intro Psychology class, and knew within a few weeks that this was something I should seriously consider as a major. However, I did not make the decision lightly, and continued taking Psychology classes. The classes that I subsequently took and the professors I had deepened my desire to major in Psychology. By this point, I was a Sophomore, and was a little intimidated by the major, since I knew it required graduate school to work in the field. However, when I tried to consider other options, I could not see myself in any other major but Psychology. As a senior now, I cannot imagine not furthering my education in graduate school. The more I learn about Psychology, the more I realize I do not know about it. I have loved my undergraduate Psych classes, but they have mainly taught me about Psychology, and not so much how to “do” Psychology. After interacting with so many influential people in the field, I have developed a desire to actually contribute to it, not just learn about it.
My year-long Research Methods class gave me a chance to discover at a more personal level what psychology is all about. I am quite interested in how our surroundings impact our perceptions of others and ourselves. I conducted a study looking at the negative effects of airbrushed models on society’s perception of beauty, and found significant results showing that exposure to airbrushed, idealized women caused participants to rate unairbrushed, “normal” women as significantly less attractive. I am interested in learning more about the stigmas of physical “perfection” and their many impacts on day-to-day life. I would love to be able to expand on my prior research and examine how these stigmas affect college-aged girls’ self-efficacy. I am particularly interested in Professor ******’s research on self-efficacy as a predictor of academic performance and adjustment to college. It would be fascinating to study how girls succeed/fail in college, academically and socially, in relation to their self-image (which is often impacted by the media). I appreciate that ******’s program is highly research-oriented, since many counseling graduate programs are not.
This past summer, I had an internship in a Human Resources department, which was a career I had initially been considering. I enjoyed the environment and the people very much, and believe I would be quite content in a job like that. However, while it was a fantastic summer experience, and taught me a lot about displaying a more professional presence, I discovered I had no real passion for it. It just served to reinforce my desire to pursue counseling and research psychology.
I hope to continue my education past the Bachelor’s level and receive a M.Ed in Counseling Psychology and Human Services. I wish to counsel individuals on a personal level and potentially acquire a teaching position with a community college. While I am not currently pursuing a doctoral degree at this time, I would definitely consider pursing a Ph.D. or Psy.D. in the future after I have spent some time in the field pinpointing my interests even further.
I have qualified for the dean's list every semester except the spring of my Freshman year, and currently carry a 3.77 GPA at ********* College and a 3.79 GPA in my major. My major GPA is raised to a 3.83 factoring in the Psychology classes I took at ************ Community College. I have also been accepted into ********’s chapter of Psi Chi. I believe I am well-qualified for graduate work, particularly research, since I received a B+ and an A- in my two research methods courses.
I may not have a lot of experience in the field of Psychology yet, but that is something I wish to obtain through the M.Ed program at ******* University. I expect the program to be challenging and exciting. I believe that it would be an ideal fit for my interests, and would enable me to pursue a career in the field of Psychology, something I would not be able to with just my B.A. I hope I receive the opportunity to do so.
ughh sorry it all ran together. i had it separated into paragraphs but yahoo answers took them out apparently :/