<p>Hi I'm currently really researching top undergraduate programs in psychology, hoping to hear some opinions, advice, recommendations, non-recommendations even, to any universities that can really provide what im looking for. I'm hoping to find a school with a great psychology program that allows me to also focus on Counseling/counseling psychology, since my career aspirations would definitely end up in obtaining a PHD in counseling psychology, but that's not till down the road. So please any advice would be great.</p>
<p>A undergraduate psychology program will not allow you to focus on counseling. You might find some programs that might offer an introductory course or even some field experiences (e.g., at a crisis hotline), but that wouldn’t be a good reason to pick one department over another. Counseling is an area that you wouldn’t get into until graduate school. There are many schools with good undergraduate psychology programs. You should focus first of all, however, on picking a school that is the best overall fit for you in terms of location, size, finances, selectivity, etc. rather than focusing on just one particular department.</p>
<p>oh alright i see what you mean, and completley agree. Thanks. Any recomendations on good undergraduate psychology progrmas in California? i’ve herd UCLA is great, hoping i could get a little feedback on that.</p>
<p>I’m sure UCLA is great!</p>
<p>Are you instate for UCLA? If not, can you pay the $50k per year to go there?</p>
<p>I believe the UC app deadline is within a week.</p>
<p>From having taken classes in UCLA’s psych department, I can tell you that you can’t go wrong with UCLA. UCLA’s department offers a wide selection of classes that are interesting(or at least to me). Although I’m not a psych major, I think if I were one, I’d look into large research universities like UCLA for the purpose that they offer a wide array of classes, often taught by the people whose text book your reading(or is being read around the country). I’m not sure if this is everywhere, but being exposed to current research that professors are working on(even if it’s just a random comment they make in lecture/class) is rewarding.
The only down side to a school like UCLA for a popular major like psych are the potential class sizes. You really have to go out of your way to compete for resources like participating in research, or simply getting your professor’s attention for more than 5 minutes(when they’re teaching classes larger than 100 students, office hours don’t become a way of “getting to know your professor” for a future letter of recommendation, it becomes a matter of learning to wait in line outside their office).</p>
<p>My advice is to look at the top phd or psyd programs for psychology. Those schools may not emphasize undergraduate teaching, but they would be the best bet for getting one of the best psych education(even if you have to read it out of a text) and best research opportunities in the field.</p>
<p>Even if major research universities are not your cup of tee, most top LACs or small schools will have a strong department.</p>
<p>Admission to Doctoral programs in counseling psychology is quite competitive. When you get to that stage, you’ll want to check these two APA publications:
[Graduate</a> Study in Psychology, 2011 Edition](<a href=“http://www.apa.org/pubs/books/4270094.aspx]Graduate”>http://www.apa.org/pubs/books/4270094.aspx)
[Getting</a> in: A Step-by-Step Plan for Gaining Admission to Graduate School in Psychology, Second Edition](<a href=“http://www.apa.org/pubs/books/4313012.aspx]Getting”>Getting In, Second Edition)</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids: Yeah im sure UCLA would be great! So I definitley have that school in mind, and yeah luckily California is my home state otherwise im sure the tuitions would for sure be a great burden. i was actually thinking of going out of state for college but decided it’d be smarter to attend schools here, since i can qualify for more federeal aid and what not, specifically for that reason. </p>
<p>@like0806: Exactly, i think UCLa’s research oriented psychology department really can come in benefit later on for my graduate studies, and well for what i hope to become. and big class sizes isnt a complete shock since i know how popular the department is. especially in UCLA. Thanks for the heads up. i’m sure UCLA is worth every penny and line waiting moments, right? 
I HOPE! do you believe Columbia’s University is a good choice for the PHD? @ zapfino: Thanks!</p>