6 Tips on How to Get Through Graduate School for Educational Counseling


Before you begin reading this, I think I should start off by letting you know that I might not be the most qualified person to write a post like this, because I’m still in graduate school.  I haven’t completed my program yet, and I’m actually not even close to finishing.  I did, however, receive all A’s in my first semester if that means anything to you.

I am currently in my second semester of my program. The first semester was a totally new experience for me. I work a full time job along with this program, so it took some time to adjust and figure out how to successfully navigate through this new school/work life.

If you’re currently in a school counseling program or you are thinking about starting, this post was written for you.

1.)Self-Care

I know this sounds basic, and some of you are probably thinking this is such a useless tip, but trust me, it’s probably the most useful tip in this post. As expected, I realized that this program requires a lot of time. The “time” is filled with a lot of essays, reading, video presentations, and discussions. Graduate school can easily consume a good chunk of your life for the next few years. If you’re also working, then even more of your time will be consumed, pretty much leaving you with barely enough time to do anything fun.
Remember, make self care a priority. If you don’t, you can easily burn out.
Some of the things that I like to do for self care are:

-Take a nice walk around the neighborhood
-Do some stretches and breathing exercises
-Journal my thoughts
-Eat some delicious food

2.) Connections
This one was a big one for me this semester. I currently work at a school and I work semi closely with the school counselor. Because I work closely with her, I am able to ask her questions about things that I am learning in class and I am able to see what she does on a daily basis. I am also able to see how she handles situations that I learn about in this course.I think being able to see a counselor in action everyday, definitely helps me with my courses because I am literally gaining some real life experience.

If your counseling program is anything like mine, then chances are you will have to do an internship at some point in the program. Making connections can help you secure that early.

3.) Organized
If you’re at an age where you’re thinking about starting a Master’s program, then you should know how important it is to be organized.

If you plan to juggle a full time job, along with a counseling program, then it is crucial to be organized, otherwise you might find yourself in some trouble. You don’t want your poor organizational skills to be the reason you forget to do an assignment that ends up being worth 50% of the class percentage.

4.) Familiarize Yourself With Graphic Design Websites
One thing that I learned in this program is that we do a lot of projects. Counselors make a lot of newsletters, flyers, and other cool signs to promote school events. If your counseling master’s program is similar to mine, then chances are they will prepare you for the future in making these cool graphic designs.

A lot of the projects that I did this semester required me to make cool flyers and designs, so I had to familiarize myself with programs such as Canva (which I highly recommend).

5.) Be Prepared to Write and Read
In the past 5 months, I probably read more than I have in the past 5 years (which really isn’t saying that much because I don’t really read too often). You will be reading and writing a lot in this program. If you are passionate about being a school counselor, the material you read and write about should be very interesting though. Although I read quite a bit this semester, I didn’t mind it because I truly enjoyed everything I read.

Remember, take good notes and soak everything in, because it will be useful for you in the future.

6.) Stay Motivated and Enjoy the Process
This semester felt long, and when I think about the upcoming year and a half that I have ahead of me, it seems so far away. However, as I reflect on this past semester, I’m realizing that I actually had a lot of fun learning about school counseling. I also gained a stronger desire to become a counselor, but for different reasons then when I started the program. I now have a stronger desire to make a difference in the lives of students. I now have a better understanding of how important the role of a counselor is to the lives of students. When I started this program, I just wanted it to be over so I could start working, but now I am eager to not only complete the program, but to fully soak it all in and prepare myself to become a great counselor in the future.

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