02-22-2014, 10:07 AM
I am currently a few months into the program after graduating from TESC with a BA. A little background first: WFU's online Masters in Counseling is one of only a couple such programs that are CACREP-accredited, which is very important in a counseling program. Most others are from smaller religious schools (Adam State is an exception). WFU is the only US News ranked school to offer this program online to my knowledge. I'm told the entrance requirements are stiff but I got in, not sure if that proves that statement true or false. My grades during undergrad were less than stellar.
In any event, I've had a few surprises thus far. Each semester consists of two classes (except for a few later ones where practicum counts as a third class). The classes run consecutively, not concurrently which is a good thing. (at least so far they do anyway). The work load is pretty heavy. This isn't undergrad, and it shows almost immediately. We write multiple small papers a week and are also required to post in a forum and respond to others as well as keep a journal. This sounds simple but the requirements are stiff, you can't just slap some forum post up like you could during TESC's Capstone. Most papers sans the forum posts must be APA-formatted and everything must be cited. We have three books to for this class, a textbook (authored by the professor, who also is the former president of the American Counseling Association as well as former president of about a dozen other organizations), as well as two other books. Failure to cite these texts results in fairly large point deductions per failure.
Our cohort is fairly small, which is a good thing I suppose. One thing that shocks me most is, again, the grading. I received a 100 on my TESC Capstone (which was on a psychology subject by the way). My first paper for this class received an 80 for not citing enough (I cite heavily). Last week I had points docked for citing two editions of the DSM "too many times without citing other things". Keep in mind most people don't even own DSMs, I do so I thought I was going above and beyond. Nope.
None of this is a bad thing, min you. In fact, I like it this way, it forces you to learn. I finish the first class this coming week and start the second a week later. I'm told this is the easy class and they only get harder.
Overall, this is a wonderful program. It's worth every bit of time and money spent, but if you're thinking of going this route, be prepared: this is NOT undergraduate college. Wake Forest is ranked # 23 in national university rankings. I'm told they take that seriously and their nickname of "work forest" is well deserved. However, I cannot stress enough how worth it this is. I know some here have expressed interest in a program like this and it's worth looking into.
In any event, I've had a few surprises thus far. Each semester consists of two classes (except for a few later ones where practicum counts as a third class). The classes run consecutively, not concurrently which is a good thing. (at least so far they do anyway). The work load is pretty heavy. This isn't undergrad, and it shows almost immediately. We write multiple small papers a week and are also required to post in a forum and respond to others as well as keep a journal. This sounds simple but the requirements are stiff, you can't just slap some forum post up like you could during TESC's Capstone. Most papers sans the forum posts must be APA-formatted and everything must be cited. We have three books to for this class, a textbook (authored by the professor, who also is the former president of the American Counseling Association as well as former president of about a dozen other organizations), as well as two other books. Failure to cite these texts results in fairly large point deductions per failure.
Our cohort is fairly small, which is a good thing I suppose. One thing that shocks me most is, again, the grading. I received a 100 on my TESC Capstone (which was on a psychology subject by the way). My first paper for this class received an 80 for not citing enough (I cite heavily). Last week I had points docked for citing two editions of the DSM "too many times without citing other things". Keep in mind most people don't even own DSMs, I do so I thought I was going above and beyond. Nope.
None of this is a bad thing, min you. In fact, I like it this way, it forces you to learn. I finish the first class this coming week and start the second a week later. I'm told this is the easy class and they only get harder.
Overall, this is a wonderful program. It's worth every bit of time and money spent, but if you're thinking of going this route, be prepared: this is NOT undergraduate college. Wake Forest is ranked # 23 in national university rankings. I'm told they take that seriously and their nickname of "work forest" is well deserved. However, I cannot stress enough how worth it this is. I know some here have expressed interest in a program like this and it's worth looking into.
BA Psychology - TESC
CLEP Biology - 56
CLEP Human Growth and Development - 56
CLEP College Mathematics - 54
CLEP Educational Psychology - 58
CLEP Social Sciences and History - 70
CLEP Analyzing and Interpreting Literature - 59
ECE Psychology of Adulthood and Aging -B
ECE Research Methods in Psychology - B
DSST Substance Abuse - 429
DSST Fundamentals of Counseling - 53
DSST Intro to World Religion - 458
CLEP Biology - 56
CLEP Human Growth and Development - 56
CLEP College Mathematics - 54
CLEP Educational Psychology - 58
CLEP Social Sciences and History - 70
CLEP Analyzing and Interpreting Literature - 59
ECE Psychology of Adulthood and Aging -B
ECE Research Methods in Psychology - B
DSST Substance Abuse - 429
DSST Fundamentals of Counseling - 53
DSST Intro to World Religion - 458
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