I am a transfer student with a 3.7 GPA and hoping to pursue a Ph.D in Psychology in the near future. Money is my main concern when it comes to my academics. I have gone to an early admission day for Mt. St. Mary’s and was told I had an unoffical yes for their school, just have to turn in official transcripts. However, they are not ranked as a top school for psychology and their tuition costs around 37000. I have also applied to Cal States. Should I just go to Mt. St. Mary’s or save money, go to a Cal State, then transfer over to a better graduate program?
I would complete your degree at a CSU and apply to a solid grad school program. Did you not apply to a UC as well? They would be much cheaper than St. Mary’s and another good option. Good luck.
I go to MSMU and yes the mount is kinda pricey but the opportunities that you get here as a psych major are out of this world and honestly the mount offers a ton of financial aid.
Wait till you get your financial aid package, post it here, and we’ll be able to help.
I got my PhD in psychology at Columbia, and in my program were at least two people I can remember who went to Cal State campuses. I also have some colleagues from some research fellowships I participated in undergrad and early grad school who went to other Cal State campuses. Many of them have great psychology departments and dedicated professors who will mentor you in research and help you get into a great program.
Save the money and go to a Cal State.
I would wait and see if there’s merit aide. I think the quality of education and faculty to student ratio would be worth a little more money if you get a nice chunk of merit or need based aide. I went to a cal state, I don’t think they’re bad, they’re just overcrowded. You’ll also likely take a year longer to graduate, so factor that into your costs as well.