So I am a current undergrad looking for a school to transfer too.
I am considering UCI and ASU.
my problem is that ASU is not as good of a school as UC Irvine, but it is free for me because I work at Starbucks. And I love online classes, I take half of my classes online now anyways.
I am planning on going to grad school so j don’t know if the lack of prestige of an ASU degree would affect my grad school admissions. The prestige of a graduate degree is more important to employers than the prestige of an undergrad degree.
bUt I also know that because ASU is free, I would save myself the 30,000 of debt that I would incur at UC Irvine.
I am torn. Any feedback or insight would be helpful.
Your intended major and graduate school plans?
It is likely that, for most majors, ASU will be good for a strong student who seeks serious academics. After all, many of the top students from Arizona attend ASU. Some fairly weak students from Arizona also attend ASU, but they are unlikely to choose the same courses that the top students choose.
Psychology and honestly I am an okay student but I manage a 4.0 at community college. I would like to be a therapist for a drug treatment center. Thank you for your reply!!
Also I’m going toward a masters in clinical psychology.
The debt for UCI would be unwise in any case.
ASU psychology seems to be a respectable department. It offers a BA and BS major:
https://psychology.clas.asu.edu/undergrad/advising/degreereq
The BS major appears to be intended for more serious students looking at post-graduate study. There is also a psychological science option with even more emphasis on research methods.
An issue is that ASU online is unlikely unsufficient to get into a Clinical grad program since it’s unlikely upper-level classes are all offered online and you’d have no research or clinical experience (both of which are needed for grad school). Can you see if you can continue working at Starbucks and attend ASU “brick and mortar” for part of your classes, and continue taking online classes for the rest?
I do currently work in the psychology field, would that help for the clinical experience for grad school admissions as you mentioned? I also have the ability to shadow case mangers and the clinical director if I ask. I checked and ASU does offer upper-division classes online. I have done volunteer work in the field as well.
I also LOVE UC Irvine. I live 10 minutes away and it is a beautiful campus. But as I am putting myself through school, debt is a large factor in this decision.
Do you have California residency, are you a dependent or independent (age 24, married, or military veteran) student, and what is your financial aid situation like (try UCI’s net price calculator)? Some aspects of your situation can significantly impact what your cost at UCI will be.